I rubbed my temples, feeling a surge of headache coming over me.
-Sigh..
'Difficulty 3 trial…'
Very few people knew about the difficulty 3 trial, but one thing was clear—it was extremely brutal and one of the most dangerous challenges in the first trial.
It was an unreasonable difficulty with unpredictable scenarios and terrains that made it hard for any Soul Macer to survive in such a harsh environment.
Some Soul Macers had managed to clear difficulty 3 and ascend to become Highly Figured Arbiters, but the sad truth was that many others had lost their lives during their first trial at this level.
I shook my head and let out another sigh, forcing a bitter smile.
"I should have expected this."
I inwardly facepalmed at my naïveté, thinking that I would face a low trial difficulty.
'Well, there's no point in regretting it now.'
What I needed to focus on now was finding a decent shelter and securing enough food until the end of the trial.
"But where…" I muttered, lost in my thoughts, as I scanned my surroundings.
My eyes brightened as I thought of a possibility, similar to what I had read in novels.
'There must be some survivors in this ruined city, right?' I wondered, unsure of my theory.
"Wait, no… why would I want to find them in the first place?"
"This is an apocalyptic city, I can only rely on myself. The chances of me being killed by a survivor are pretty high." I realized, sighing inwardly at my foolishness again.
'Good thing I read a lot of novels back then, they might come in handy in this situation.'
Snapping out of my thoughts, I roamed around the desolate area.
The city that lay in ruins was incredibly large, with broken buildings everywhere. The streets and floors were stained by a sinister black liquid that seemed to corrupt everything it touched.
After wandering for hours, I suddenly realized something. The city was eerily quiet, unnaturally so. The silence was so deep that it made me shiver, feeling goosebumps on my skin.
The bodies scattered throughout the area were all mutilated, showing signs of destruction.
I hadn't seen a single whole body. Images of the gruesome scenes I had seen flashed in my mind, each one showing missing limbs or victims being swallowed by a thick, viscous black liquid.
My instincts screamed danger, telling me that these ominous black substances were bad news. They might be the reason behind the city's devastating collapse.
"Is my purpose to purify these black liquids?" I pondered aloud, putting my hand on my chin in deep thought.
But after a moment of reflection, I shook my head, realizing that I didn't have enough information about the current situation.
Standing in the middle of the desolate streets, I looked up at the darkening sky. The sun was slowly setting, casting a gloomy shade over the surroundings. My unsuccessful search for food and shelter weighed heavily on my mind.
I put a hand on my forehead and let out a soft sigh, feeling a mix of frustration and exhaustion.
Gathering my resolve, I took a light, cautious step as I explored the ruined city once more.
…
1 hour later.
As I walked into a crumbling five-story building, I noticed that some of the rooms were surprisingly well-preserved despite the destruction.
The building had four floors, but the third and fourth ones had partially collapsed. The second floor, however, seemed relatively intact, except for some cracks on the walls and blood stains on the floor. The furniture in the rooms was covered with dust and debris, but it remained in good shape.
I chose one of the rooms on the second floor and quickly barricaded the door with whatever furniture I could find, preparing for any unwelcome visitors or potential beasts that came out during the night.
I guessed that the lack of living creatures during the day meant that they were active at night.
-Sigh..
"How troublesome." I thought to myself.
Taking a seat on the ground, I contemplated my next course of action.
Fatigue and hunger began to take their toll as I realized I had no food with me. With nightfall approaching, the danger would escalate, making my situation even more precarious.
"I'll have to observe the organisms that emerge during the night," I muttered, as I stood up.
Carefully, I began to block all the windows in the room, ensuring no unwanted intrusions could occur. However, I left one window partially open, allowing for emergency exits or to gather information by observing the outside world when nightfall comes.
As I stretched my tired body, I surveyed the room before making my way toward a worn-out bed that lay nearby.
Thoughts raced through my mind as I contemplated my situation. 'I only have a few more days to find food. If I fail to secure some food, I might die from starvation.'
"There's also the fact that I can't fight. I don't have any combat experience at all." I sighed as I calmed my rapidly beating heart. The fact that I lacked combat experience only worsened the situation.
I managed to secure myself an enrollment into a Soul Macer academy through the fact that I was one of the top students within Valery High, as it was one of the more prestigious high schools within the city where I reside.
While the academy offered a curriculum similar to what I had experienced back in high school, there was one notable addition—a mandatory martial arts class that all students were required to participate in.
It has all the subjects that I experienced back in high school, except that there is a martial arts class where students would need to participate.
The fact that I transmigrated into this world without inheriting any previous experience of the host body meant that I had no prior combat knowledge or skills whatsoever. Despite taking control of my body, I lacked any fighting experience. To make things even worse, the distinction between practical combat and life-or-death battles only heightened the challenge.
In short, instead of facing a difficulty level of 3, it felt as if I had been thrust into a difficulty level of 5.
Coming out of my thoughts, I rose from the bed and made my way toward the open window.
"Around 30 minutes until nightfall," I muttered.
Until then, I'll make use of the time to practice with the longsword I have with me.
...
Inside a dim underground cave, the walls were tainted by the presence of black liquids seeping through the narrow cracks. Countless shadowy creatures prowled the area, their eerie forms evoking the very essence of darkness.
These shadowy creatures possessed a striking appearance, adorned with four luminous yellow eyes, each accentuated by menacing red slits.
As they traversed the cave, their movements imprinted the ground with inky trails of the black substance. The diversity of their tails was extraordinary, some exhibited spiky appendages, and others featured a more pointed structure.
However, there was one that stood apart from the rest. It bore a striking resemblance to that of the fearsome Dionaea muscipula(Venus Flytrap). What set it apart was the presence of its sharp, teeth-like structures that mimicked a colossal mouth, exuding a viscous blackish goo.
Each of these creature's bodies was filled with a murky blackish goo, through which the outlines of their skeletal framework could be discerned. The interaction of their black and whitish scales emitted an eerie luminescence, casting an otherworldly glow throughout the surrounding area.
"A̒͒r̦͔̅ĕ w͋͒e star̮t̩ͣi̼̿̿ń͞g͈͉ soͣon͑͆́? cͮo̶ͭ́m̯͓m̱ͣ͠a͑ͥn̫d̤̈́ẻr̦?" one of the creatures inquired, its vicious mouth drooling blackish liquid, which splattered all over the rocky floors.
In response, the creature with a teeth-like tail emitted a piercing screech before delivering its chilling proclamation.
"So͐onͦ.̙..̡̾ W̸̳͊ë́ w̛͒il͚̆̓l̄͗̽."
"O͉̔n̓c͎͑eͮ͘ w̱̃̕e d̫o͞,͐͞ t͔h͖̀ò̹̞se̿̌ p͜eͧ͠s͔ͥ͛k̺͠ÿ huma͖n̷̰s̹ͫ w̷͖͆į͑ll b͉e̖͇͓c̋o͉ͯͤm͚e ou̷r̆͐ fo͆̑̚o̬͚͠d."
"Ṯh͠è e͂̀nd of̧̈́ h̛̳um̊an̊̐͊i͐ͯty wỉlͥl̥̻̀ å̺͢cĉeͮl̓ě̺rat̺e̝͚ o̼ͬǔ͈̐r̭̓͜ g̜̝͂o͐d̗'s d̹̺ͨe͈̤͜sͯĉ̶ȩ̛͐nͭ̏͝t t̛̲o t̢̗̽hi͑s̯ r̈́e̩̿a̶ͬ̏l̈́̿͝m."
The creatures shivered in excitement as their screeches reverberated through the air. It was as if they were engaged in a fervent act of worship, paying recognition to their deity.
...
Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as if a miniature stream cascaded down my face. The sensation of my sweat engulfed my entire body, drenching me as if submerged in water. I continued to swing my sword, despite its increasing weight.
My arms grew weary, burdened by the strain, and ached with soreness. The sword felt like an anchor, dragging me down with each swing.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally succumbed to the exhaustion.
Collapsing to the ground, I took in deep breaths in an attempt to replenish my depleted energy.
Leaning against a nearby wall, I stood up and walked towards the open window.
Taking a glance at the outside world, I instinctively stumbled to the floor.
What I witnessed nearly scared me half to death.
"Shit! What are those things." I whispered, trying not to attract the attention of the black-and-white scaled creatures near my building.
They appeared to be some sort of beasts covered in black liquid. What made them truly terrifying were their four pairs of luminous yellow eyes and the two tails they possessed.
"I bet those eyes grant them night vision or something." I thought to myself as I recalled their monstrous appearance.
Shaking my head, I contemplated deeply.
"So, what is the purpose of this trial? I still don't understand." I muttered.
"If the purpose is for me to eradicate those creatures, then no, I can't do it alone."
Unless I had the help of other survivors nearby, it would be impossible to eliminate those things outside the building.
"But the rules explicitly state that I shouldn't trust anyone within the trials..."
"Ughh..." I growled, clutching my head with one of my hands as I tried to figure things out.
"First things first, I need to identify their weakness, and I must also figure out the black liquid as well," I thought, nodding my head as I finalized my plans.
'But how?'
Although, I finalized my plans. How am I supposed to get close to the creature without getting myself killed or getting detected by more than one of those creatures?
My gaze swept over the surroundings as I assessed the area, searching for any available tools or resources that I could utilize.
I took my cautious steps, ensuring not to attract the attention of the creatures outside the building, as I approached a nearby cabinet and opened it.
'A box of match!'
My eyes lit up as I began to formulate a plan to utilize the box of matches to eliminate one of these creatures.