Dream lay sprawled on the cold, jagged ground, chest heaving. His fingers clenched the hilt of his chipped sword, trembling violently. The last hell cat's body dissolved into ash before his eyes, leaving only silence-- broken by the flood of notifications lighting up his vision.
[Quest Complete: kill 5 beasts]
[ Reward unlocked: Void Map(lv.1)]
Dream coughed, rolling onto his back. Sweat plastered his black hair to his forehead.
"I... Survived...?" His own voice sounded strange, trembling with disbelief. The map manifested in his hands, glowing faintly with violet energy. Unlike anything he had seen before, it was no paper --- it was a hovering square of light, alive and pulsing. He swallowed, unsure whether to be afraid or relieved.
"System," he whispered hoarsely, "what... Is this?"
[ The void map. It has three levels of mastery]
[ Level 1: Reveals beast zones close to the Host]
[ Zones are marked in three degrees: Green, Orange and Red]
[ Green: Beasts weaker than the Host.
Orange: Beast equal to or slightly stronger than the hostm
Red: Beast vastly stronger than the Host. Death highly probable]
Dream's gaze flickered over the glowing image. His heart sank instantly.
Not a single green zone.
Only orange.... and red. Red being more.
His chest tightened, the realization stabbing through him like ice.
"There's .... there's no one weaker than me?"
The system did not answer. It didn't need to. The truth burned plainly across the map.
Dream bit down on his lip. A thousand emotions fought inside him - fear, despair, denial.
He had barely managed to scrape through against the extra six cats that had arrived after the previous three, trembling like a child almost the entire fight, and now the system was telling him there was no safety? No easy fights?. Although fighting 6 beast at once was impressive, the system seem to dismiss his efforts as not enough.
But even through the haze of panic, something else stirred inside him-- faint but sharp. If every beast here was stronger... then surviving at all meant he was already defying the odds.
Dream forced himself to his feet, sword dragging slightly against the rocks. His breath was still ragged, but his legs moved.
"... Fine. Show me ... the weakest orange"
The map pulsed, and a faint trial of glowing violet light stretched ahead of him, guiding him like a phantom path. Dream followed, every nerve in his body tensed.
The next battle came faster than he wanted. Three hell cat prowled into sight, their crimson eyes glowing in the shadows. Their low growls echoed, claws dragging against stone.
Dream's heart pounded. His grip was slippery with swweat and black blood.
[Reminder: you have unused stat points]
He froze. The system's voice cut through his spiraling thoughts like a blade.
"Right ... stats "
The glowing menu opened before him, displaying his current stat.
Name: Dream Crowne
Level: 3
XP: 10/500
Strength: 8
Agility: 8
Stamina : 3
Endurance: 3
Mind: 3
Available stats: 5
'should I go for strength now? ... No, agility really helped when facing multiple beast, dodging was easier, yes u should go for that ... no, stamina. I was exhausted really quickly, what's the point of moving fast if my body can't keep up... arghhh, what should I do?'.
"System, where do you think I should put my points?"
[ I suggest adding more points to your mind stats. While the void tests your strength, your most difficult obstacles will be your mental strength not your physical]
" I see, Mind it is"
[ Stat allocation: +5 mind]
[ Mind: 8]
The moment the adjustment settled, he felt it. His perception was suddenly clearer, he could see the hell cat that had spotted him earlier already closing the distance with their crimson eyes, about to attack.
They lunged.
Dream's body moved, dodging with precision. He swung his sword wildly, sparks flying as claw met steel. His muscles still burned with effort, every impact rattled his bones. He gritted his teeth, raised his sword again, and pushed forward.
Strike after strike, his swing grew panicked, more deliberate. He was still sloppy, still trembling -- but he was fighting.
And finally, after minutes of blood and terror, the last hell cat dissolved into ash at his feet.
Dream collapsed to catch his breath. The system recovers any injury but doesn't fully remove traces of fatigue and tiredness.
[+30 XP]
[+30 XP]
[ +30 XP]
A shaky laugh escaped his lips. "I .. actually can get used to this but... I'm really ... really tired"
"System, is there any safe location I can rest?" he asked eyes half opened.
[ If host kills every beast in this area. He can temporarily occupy this zone as a safe zone]
"Nothing here is ever free, is it"
No answer.
He just let out a bitter laugh as he stood up clumsily, to continue his haunt.
[ Host is low on stamina]
[ Host can access a stamina recovery potion from his inventory]
"...huh?... I have a stamina recovery potion. Open inventory"
[ Inventory ]
[Potion: Healing potion (x3), Stamina potion (X2)
Clothing: clothing armor of minor resilience( strength+2, defense+2, agility+2)
Food and supplies: Bread(X2), dried meat (x1), water(x1)]
His jaw dropped slightly. "You mean I had all this the whole time?. How?"
[ After every beast slane, the system will also reward the host with random items. Like food and clothing or even potion]
"And ..you didn't think to tell me that before..."
His body screamed for relief. Without hesitation, he pulled out the glowing vial of the stamina potion. The liquid shimmered like liquid light, cool and inviting. He uncorked it and downed it in one go.
The change was instant. His burning lungs relaxed, muscles loosened, and strength surged back into his arms. The weight dragging him down vanished like a fog under sunlight.
Next, he pulled out the cloth amor. At first glance, it didn't look like much -- simple dark tunic and trousers, with faint stitching glowing along the edges. But when he slipped them on, his body felt subtly different - lighter, stronger, sharper. His grip on his sword steadied. His posture straightened.
"Wow..." He was amazed at what even a clothing. from the system could do.
Finally, he grabbed some of the food. He hadn't realized how starved he was until the bread touched his tongue. He devoured it like a man who hadn't eaten in days, washing it down with cool water. The freshest he had ever had, or can remember.
When he finally finished, he exhaled in disbelief and satisfaction.
"This system.... Inspite how much of a pain you can be" he muttered "you're not actually a total jerk".
[ Keep it moving host]
The system suddenly said as if displeased with what Dream had said.
Rest doesn't last long in the void.