The sixth day came with a chill.
By now, the three had fallen into a rhythm. School by day, masks on their faces, smiles faked. Training and stockpiling by night, their powers growing sharper, faster, stronger. But beneath their steady pace, a tension simmered—the countdown loomed closer, and they all knew it.
That evening, the system's cold voice suddenly rang in unison through their minds.
> [Linked Reincarnation System Notice]
Tutorial Trial Unlocked.
Objective: Survive the Trial.
Time Limit: Until All Enemies Are Eliminated.
Failure: Shared Penalty.
The world blurred.
Shadows stretched, light shattered, and in an instant, they were no longer in their park. Instead, they stood in a pitch-black arena — an endless wasteland of cracked stone under a bleeding red sky. The air reeked of ash.
Figures stirred in the distance. Grotesque, twisted forms — not zombies, not monsters, but something in between. Their eyes glowed white, hollow and unblinking.
Arin's shadow rippled outward, swallowing the ground beneath their feet. "So this is the system's way of testing us."
Liora lifted her hand, necrotic light weaving into a jagged spear. Her eyes narrowed. "Then we pass. Or we don't leave."
Kael flexed his fists, crimson energy burning through his veins. He smirked grimly. "Good. I've been itching for a fight that counts."
The first wave struck.
---
The creatures lunged in packs, moving faster than zombies ever could.
Arin's shadows lashed out like whips, strangling the first few before they reached his friends. His mind burned with the strain, but the power came easier than before. He was no longer fumbling with his gift—he was shaping it.
Kael roared, his fists slamming into the ground, spikes of hardened blood erupting upward to impale half the wave. He absorbed their momentum, his body glowing brighter with every hit he endured.
Liora stood at the center, skeletal tendrils bursting from the earth at her command, skewering enemies and knitting into barriers that shielded her friends. Her power, once called a curse, now wrapped them in armor made from death itself.
And as they fought, the system pulsed:
> [Wave 1 Cleared.]
Shared Progress +120 EXP.
Bond Synchronization Increased.
The next wave came larger. Faster. Stronger.
They bled, they staggered, but they adapted. Arin used Kael's crimson spikes as anchors for his shadow blades. Liora's necrotic constructs reinforced Arin's shields. Kael's blood armor thickened whenever Liora's healing mist brushed against his wounds.
Their teamwork became instinct, three souls flowing as one.
Finally, the last enemy fell, shrieking as Arin's shadow blade pierced its chest. Silence returned to the arena.
The system spoke once more:
> [Tutorial Trial Completed.]
Reward: Linked Skill – Triune Resonance (Lv. 1).
Effect: When fighting together, stats increase by 15%.
Warning: This trial will never appear again. You are expected to survive on your own from here forward.
The world shattered.
They stumbled back into the park, gasping, bruised, and bloodied—but alive. The red of the trial sky still lingered in their eyes.
Liora sank to her knees, her hand trembling as necrotic sparks fizzled away. "That… wasn't just training. That was a warning."
Kael wiped blood from his lip, his fists still glowing faintly. "Good. I don't want an easy path. Let them throw everything at us."
Arin looked up at the night sky, his shadows slowly retreating. "This was just the system's way of reminding us. The world isn't going to wait. We either rise… or we break again."
---
Unseen by the three, across the park, two figures stood hidden in the dark.
A boy and a girl, both students from Crescent High, had followed them. Their eyes were wide, their breaths shallow as they watched the display of impossible power.
"Did you see that?" the boy whispered, clutching the branch of the tree he hid behind. "They… they shouldn't have powers. No one should. Not yet"
The girl's eyes narrowed, reflecting the fading glow of Arin's shadows. "They're hiding something. Something big."
Her lips curled into a faint, dangerous smile. "And I want to know what."