Kai's eyes slowly opened. He clutched his head, squeezing it hard.
"Ahh… it hurts too much."
His vision blurred, the mind spinning, and he realized he was lying on cold, black familiar metallic ground.
He waited until the pounding in his skull eased. Mist curled endlessly around him.
"Trial realm… ahhh…" He let out a breath, then forced his head up—notifications floated before him, blinking. He ignored them for now.
Instead, his mind replayed the memory. "I was drowning… and that monkey was chewing my—" His eyes widened. He instantly checked his hand which was now completely intact.
"I guess it confirms it– if I get hurt or die there, it won't affect me here." He exhaled sharply, noting it down in his head, though the thought only raised more questions.
More and more questions flooded in his mind as he replayed everything again.
"The system said HP decreases by 1 every minute. Then why was it dropping so fast? And.. when I just moved, why was I still drowning? Did thirty seconds pass that quickly?"
His mind processed everything as he stared at the mist around him.
"Now that I think of it…" He muttered to himself. "I assumed that monkey was teleporting, but maybe that wasn't the case. Maybe it was just… walking at.. at normal speed."
He paused, replaying the image in his head.
"Maybe it wasn't the monkey that got fast… maybe it was me who got slow."
He closed his eyes and thought for some minutes.
His eyes widened.
"My perception of time— it changed somehow. Time was flowing so fast that my brain could only register it as the monkey moving faster… but why?"
Kai rested his hand on his chin, tilting his head slightly. With his other finger, he tapped his temple in thought.
"Everything was fine until that monkey showed up. Time sped up for me the moment I saw its creepy figure. Creepy… fear… unstable…" He exhaled sharply. "Yes. I was too scared."
He closed his eyes again and thought for 10 minutes or so.
"What if, in that place… perception of time changes depending on mental stability?"
He went silent, staring into the mist.
"Yes. That explains everything."
His voice grew steadier, as if convincing himself.
"It explains why I suddenly teleported back here. It explains how my HP dropped faster. It explains the so-called teleportation. And it explains why I drowned so quickly."
"Everytime when there was a distortion in the time, my mind wasn't totally stable."
He made a mental note to test this possibility and took some deep breaths to calm down.
"Guess, I need to start meditation."
Kai lifted his torso and got into a sitting position, glancing at the system notifications.
"Let's see…"
---
[Congratulations! You've successfully completed the tutorial trial]
The message brought a faint smile to his face — just as he guessed, it was a tutorial.
[+2 Free Stats Gained]
[+10 mL Vitality Serum]
[+10 Skill Points]
[+1 Fragment of the Shadow Element]
—
[Trial Completed for the First Time]
[Hidden Quest Completed]
[+2 Free Stats Gained]
—
"Four free stats…" he muttered, curious. How much difference could one point even make?
—
[A New Quest Has Been Received]
[Kill the Shadow Monkey]
[Reward: +1 System Skill]
—
"Now that's what I'd happily do," he muttered, smirking. That little nightmare won't get away next time.
—
['Trials' Tab Has Been Unlocked]
—
[Skill 'Assess' Has Been Leveled Up]
[Now Provides More Relevant Information]
—
['Shadow Skills' Tab Has Been Unlocked]
[A New Shadow Skill Has Been Gained]
[Shadow Resist (Passive) (Lv.1)]
[Shadow Resistance: 20%]
[Allows User to Resist External Shadow Abilities]
[(Doesn't Affect Time Distortion)]
[Cost: None]
—
"Twenty percent resistance to shadow abilities…" Kai calculated mentally. "So instead of drowning in thirty seconds, I'll probably last thirty-six. Only if I stay calm..
No! it is something else I guess."
That was the last notification.
"I can't test this skill until I go back to the shadow world."
Back on the home screen, he noticed a small white dot glowing beside the profile icon.
"Guess something new's there."
He tapped it open.
—
[User: Kai Zen]
[HP: 20 / 20]
[Ability: Partial Shadow]
[Shadow Mana: 100 / 100]
[Soulmark Status: Awakened]
—
Kai frowned. "So… it's not 'System' anymore. It's 'Shadow.' And only partial at that." He sighed. "Figures."
"Is it because of the trial? Does that mean the trials are how you gain your abilities?"
He wasn't sure. Maybe everyone with a soulmark had a system — maybe not. He'd soon find out in the Demon Militarization Institute — the academy built for those gifted with soulmarks.
Students without a soulmark, or without potential, were expelled — unless they had the money to buy their spot. Those who didn't… were done for.
And those who stayed without power? They usually ended up as puppets for the strong.
Kai exhaled slowly. "I hope the system gives me something useful…"
He tapped the new [Trials] tab.
—
[Trials]
[Shadow Route]
[Human Route]
[System Route]
—
"Three trial routes?" He blinked, surprised. "Don't tell me I have three different abilities. 'Human Route'… seriously? Sounds like I'm just leveling up my breakfast skills."
He opened the trial description.
—
[Trials is a soulmark function that allows the user to reach and master their peak potential by collecting elemental fragments.]
—
"Peak potential, huh?" He muttered, leaning back. "So the best version of myself... This is insane."
He switched to the [Shadow Route].
[1 / 7 Trials Completed]
A smile crept onto his face. "Yeah… I get it now. If I complete all seven shadow trials, I'll unlock the full shadow ability instead of just this partial form. The fragments are like pieces — I've gotta collect them all to complete the picture."
He laid back on the cold, dark ground and tried opening the other routes.
[Do You Want to Initiate the Trial?]
[Yes] [No]
"Nope." He shook his head quickly. "I'm done for today."
Everything that happened had already overloaded his brain. He needed a break.
"Now, what do I do with these free stats?"
[4 Free Stats Available]
He opened his current attributes.
—
[Strength: 12]
[Stamina: 22]
[Agility: 12]
[Acuity: 15]
—
He remembered how the monkey had appeared — fast, almost teleporting.
"I should increase my Agility," he decided.
[+2 Agility Assigned]
[+1 Stamina Assigned]
[+1 Strength Assigned]
—
[Strength: 13]
[Stamina: 23]
[Agility: 14]
[Acuity: 15]
—
He added one point to Strength so he wouldn't end up too weak to even move properly, and one to Stamina to see how much difference it made.
"Alright… last time I could barely manage seventy-two push-ups before collapsing. Let's see what happens now."
He inhaled deeply and started his test. His breaths grew heavier and heavier until his arms finally gave in and he dropped.
"Eighty-two," he panted, lying flat on the cold floor with a faint grin. "That's… progress."
After catching his breath, he finally felt ready to leave this place without a single worry.
[Do You Want to Exit?]
[Yes] [No]