********************

[Notification!]

[The Curse of the Underworld has activated. You have sacrificed 1075 HP and converted it to corrupted blood.

- For the next 10 seconds, each of your attacks will be strengthened by the soul energy and the plasma of corrupted blood which you have sacrificed.

********************

A man with shoulder-length hair, firm face with firm jaw line, is holding a sword being imbued by some red plasma. He charges forward toward a green dragon monster with the little HP he has.

The dragon raises its head for a moment and then brings it towards the man with his mouth wide open. A dazzling hot light shoots out from the bottom of the dragon's mouth cavity. A torrent of hot and corrosive breath bursts out, but the man doesn't stop his dash.

His magical short sword, which has been strengthened by The Curse of the Underworld technique, disperses dragon's deadly Corrosive Breath. The shockwave engulfed by the dense plasma hits the dragon's chest and continues to penetrate the monster's heart.

"Damn, you punk!" The dragon covers the hole in its chest with one of its membrane wings. "How could a wimpy kid like you…"

The man is surprised. He has been trapped in Icalaterra for 10 years. This is the first time he meets a dragon that speaks in the human language.

"Zack, get away from there!" A female warrior shouts loudly.

Zack sees something glowing beneath the thick membrane of the dragon's wings. The enormous energy heat makes the dragon explode from the inside. Zack covers his face out of instinct, and is blown away until he hits his back so hard against the cave wall.

[Congratulations!]

[You've just cleared the 6th trial]

[The portal to the 7th trial realm has been activated]

In a closed cavern, with no way in or out, four warriors lay unconscious. The entire cavern is soaked with blood, pieces of obliterated bone, and also bloody pieces of flesh.

There is also green liquid on the ground, releasing hot steam, filling the entire cavern with poisonous green gas.

********************

[Alert!]

[You've been inflicted by The Great Zovern's nethertoxin]

- The nethertoxin deals 75 chaos damage over time per second

- The nethertoxin decreases your base HP regeneration rate by 25 %

********************

Only a few fire torches installed on the walls illuminating the place. And there is a blue portal looking like rippling water floating slightly above the ground.

Two men lie wasted on the ground. One has big body build wearing full body armor. The other one is lean, having white hair, and is wearing some kind of layered wizard robe, lying face down covered in nasty and squishy dragon's organs.

There's also a beautiful female warrior with angelic golden hair, kneeling with forehead on the ground, with one hand still holding a pole of a war banner. She is totally unconscious, but there are four overlapping auras with different colors circulating around her.

On one of the cave walls, Zack sits leaning back unconsciously. An alert sound continues to echo in his head. The man gasps and opens his eyes. The first thing that appears in his vision is a hologram, in the form of a small notification window.

He coughs blood a few times and then looks around.

​

"The gate?" He notices the blue portal in the middle of the cavern. "At last! I can get out of this shitty place now!"

However, another notification, which is explaining his critical condition, makes his relief not last long.

********************

[Alert!]

[Your HP has reached 3% and keeps decreasing]

[Your Vitality has reached 10% and continues to decline]

- When your HP reaches 1%, you won't be able to move.

- When your Vitality reaches 5%, your base HP regeneration rate will turn to 0 and your body will stop healing by itself.

********************

"I know it already," mutters the man as he approaches his friend, the guy with the white hair. "Hey, Joel! Wake up!"

He doesn't get any response, but notices the friend is still breathing. Hence, he drags that one friend toward the portal, before coming to the others. Sadly, he is too weak, and can only drag one friend at a time.

As he rushes towards his last friend, the female one, he stumbles as soon as he reaches her, and seems struggling to get back up.

"Hey, Mary! Wake up!" Zack pats the woman's cheek a few times.

Mary opens her eyes. She then looks around and chuckles. "So, you did it, huh? You killed the boss?"

"Yeah! We need to leave. The portal has been activated."

The girl realizes her vitality aura is still active, which helps them to negate the negative effect of the nethertoxin. But soon, as Zack helps her to get up, her mana runs empty, and all four of her auras are gone.

"Zack! We need to leave!"

"I know! But…"

Zack's HP declines to 1%. He immediately falls down. Mary is back to unconsciousness again, which makes Zack impatient and desperate. He pats her cheek, trying to wake her up with a shattering voice.

"No, Mary! Please, wake up! I can't bring you to the portal like this! Please!"

Mary opens her eyes slightly, half-conscious, yet still tries her best to whisper. "Then, just leave me here! Believe in yourself! You can reclaim your freedom."

That's the only thing she can say before she passes out. In desperation, Zack hits the ground with both clenched hands over and over, crying pathetically.

They've been trapped together in this simulated world for 10 years. Only one more trial to clear, they will reclaim their freedom. But here he finds the portal to the 7th trial realm so close, yet so far for him to reach.

In the end, he forces Mary to stand on her feet while trying his best to stay awake. "We've gone so far because of that smart brain of yours. While me, I'm just a guy who built his talent tree like a moron."

He pushes her toward the portal. Mary walks unsteadily like a zombie for a few steps, and then falls into the portal. And Zack, he just collapses, with the tip of his finger only a few centimeters away from the portal.

"Their chance to clear the trial with you is better than with me! Take them out of this world."

********************

[Alert!]

[Your HP has almost reached 0]

[Your Vitality has reached 1% and continues to decline]

- When your HP reaches 0, you will die.

********************