Pass the first checkpoint of the marathon test of Anfang was the biome beyond the plains. It was a gargantuan forest enveloped with massive trees that spanned over 50 meters in height. Along with its thick bark, its broad leaves covered the entirety of the forest, blocking the light of the golden sun.
Meaning that when one goes deeper and deeper into the forest, the surroundings will become as dark as night.
Inside the gargantuan forest, near the first checkpoint, a young fat man was going through the route while holding a rifle under his hand. His name was Dante Regent Astarte, the third son of Astarte.
At first, when he entered the forest, part of the sunlight still covered his body. But now, the same couldn't be said, as the only thing he could see in his surroundings was nothing more but darkness comparable to the night.
Bound by the darkness with no moon and light, death and horror creep in.
Dante had a serious expression plastered on his face as each of his careful steps didn't produce any needless rattling noise. The gleaming light of his rifle flashed, giving him some sight. But that didn't stop his heart from wildly beating, with each breath creating chills within his spine.
He didn't know what to feel under the darkness. The dread of death and horror kept covering his body as cold and echoing chills. This made him understand that he wasn't afraid of the darkness but of the ones lurking under it.
Numerous thoughts passed through his head as he kept surveying every inch of his dark surroundings.
'The situation is more serious than I thought.'
'I never expected it to be dark here.'
Dante knew that the darkness was a big disadvantage. It limited his vision, making it hard for him to aim the gun and shoot it as efficiently as possible. Not only that, but he was hesitant to use light.
After all, it was like igniting a flame in the darkness, possibly full of moths.
'The nurse didn't give me any information regarding the beasts that tread within this forest.'
'I thought that I might be able to handle them fairly as soon as I kill them on sight.'
'But a problem stems from this as I can't see anything other than darkness.'
He understood that the flashlight on his rifle wasn't enough. The only use it had was for him to see what he was shooting. Though, in this kind of circumstance, a gun might be a disadvantage to have.
As such thoughts plagued his mind, Dante kept treading through the route given to him that was directed towards the second checkpoint. It took a while for him to reach there, and he wasn't even running anymore.
Honestly, he was anxious about what could happen to him in the forest. But he knew that there was no going back. Though he did acknowledge that entering the gargantuan forest alone might have been a stupid move.
Dante then sighed and thought. 'This circumstances is inevitable, especially being under an infamous situation.'
He was cautious and didn't like mingling with other people or recruits.
And his wariness wasn't irrational.
He was astonishingly weak compared to others. He had bad stamina, strength, and agility. The reason why he managed to punch the recent bastard recruit to death was because of his ambush tackle.
Without it followed by a direct fight against the bastard, the one that would have their face broken would be none other than him.
So in simpler terms, Dante was lucky.
He'd fancy for such things to never happen again since he might not be able to do anything against them if they grouped themselves together.
'I'll have to be cautious and get awareness of my surroundings.'
'But how do I do it?'
Dante thoughtfully questioned himself, wondering what he needed to do. He squinted his eyes as he kept walking through the route of the marathon test.
Having thoughts dwelling within his mind was the only way to keep some of his sanity in this damnable place. Despite being used to being alone without anyone to talk to, Dante still likes a bit of human presence.
After all, it made him feel that he was still within the world of humans. But what about this place where no humans or animals could be seen? Like another dimension of darkness that might imprison him in the forest forever.
Of course, this was nothing more but his paranoia acting up. But in a strange world like this, some impossibilities might become probable.
'I need to calm myself.'
'Tread through the route with bravery and calmly assess situations.'
'Perceive without panic and fear, only then, one shall survive the dreadful circumstances.'
Dante sighed to himself as the edges of his lips began raising themselves. 'His teachings are becoming useful the more I continue living in this new reality.'
He regained some of his confidence and vanquished a part of his fear.
Things appeared to be going well for Dante until it happened.
The darkness began to engulf everything, and it was starting to affect him. The flashlight of the rifle under his hands was flickering for no reason.
*WISSSHHH!!!*
The cold breeze of wind passed through the bushes, making them rustle. The swirling and rustling noise echoed throughout his ear as if warning him something was about to come.
Calming thoughts weren't enough for Dante as his body acted on instinct.
His supposedly calm heart began beating wildly without delay. The hair on his pale skin rose, giving him goosebumps. A chill kept resonating through his body, mainly his muscles and bones. As a result, his muscles were surely tense, making them unreasonably shake.
Dante's terrified state was getting worse.
And what had happened next was unexplainable and made it worse.
*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!*
Echoing and deep thuds sounded one after another as Dante raised an eyebrow and immediately turned off the flashlight of his rifle. He looked around and ran towards the nearest bush, and crawled under it without hesitation.
Dante hid behind one of the gigantic trees where the thick bush was located. He kept his breathing silent and table as he peeked through the bush, wanting to know where the thuds came from.
The thuds didn't stop as the rustle of the bushes around his surroundings got louder.
A short while later, something emerged in the darkness of the gargantuan forest. It was a massive figure, and what it looked like shocked Dante.
'A giant humanoid bipedal figure.'
He thought to himself while peeking through the bush.
Dante couldn't see it clearly, but he knew damn well that it was a monster.
'What the- '
'That wasn't an animal or a beast. What I saw was far from it.'
Dante wondered what the hell he just saw in the darkness of the forest. A big humanoid dark figure walking through the forest was a piece of bad news. And this was Dante's first time handling one.
The monster kept walking through the route and passed Dante. It was a pleasant sight for him to see the damn monster leaving. Though this does raise a question.
Forget about reaching the goal. Will Dante even survive or get out of this forest?