I woke up tired, my body still aching from yesterday's fight. My hand throbbed dully, but it wasn't as bad as before. At least it wasn't bleeding anymore.
Sitting up, I looked around the small patch of land I had explored yesterday. I sighed. No matter how much I walked or searched, it was clear, I was trapped.
The rocky walls surrounding me didn't seem natural, and every time I tried to climb them, an invisible force shoved me back.
"This damn barrier," I muttered, rubbing my shoulder where it had thrown me. "There's got to be a way out."
For now, though, there was only one thing I could do was to hunt. My stomach growled, demanding food, and I needed to grow stronger if I was going to survive.
I grabbed my makeshift spear and headed into the forest again. The air was damp, and the faint rustling of leaves told me animals were nearby. But they weren't like any animals I'd ever seen, or at least I didn't think they were. My memory was still a blank.
I walked deeper into the forest, spotting creatures of all shapes and sizes. Some had long necks that bent unnaturally, others had glowing fur, and some moved in ways that didn't make sense. I couldn't name a single one of them.
Suddenly, I heard a strange noise, like a faint hum. I turned quickly, my spear raised, but all I saw was a green ball floating in the air.
"Huh?" I blinked, lowering the spear slightly. The ball hovered silently for a moment before bouncing to the side and reappearing behind me.
"What the—?" I spun around.
I tried to grab it, but it darted away again, bouncing as if it were alive.
"How are you doing this?"
As if in response, the ball suddenly grew legs, four of them, and bolted into the forest.
"Hey, come back here!" I shouted, breaking into a run.
The creature was fast, darting through the trees with impossible agility. It was leaving behind small explosions.. "what type of ability is this?" Its small, glowing body left faint green streaks of light in its path. I could feel it was using Neba somehow, but I couldn't tell exactly how.
"Damn it, you're too fast!"
Then, as if fate were on my side, the creature miscalculated. It ran headfirst into the rocky barrier and crashed to the barrier. It collapsed onto the ground with a dull thud.
"You dummy," I muttered, catching up to it. When I reached the creature, I stopped and stared. It was smaller than I'd realized, about the size of my head, and its glowing body flickered weakly.
"It's… dead?" I said, confused. "You died from that? Seriously? What kind of stupidity is this?"
I shook my head, unsure if I should even bother taking its core. But something about it intrigued me. The little creature had been using Neba in such a strange way, maybe its core held something valuable.
"Ah, fine," I muttered. I cut into the creature's body, carefully extracting its core. It was tiny, glowing faintly green as I held it in my hand.
The moment I touched it, my vision blurred, and text appeared before me:
[Animal: Bulby]
[Neba Core: Green - 1%]
[Compatibility: 100%]
[Special Ability: Nebastep – Ability to create small Neba platforms in the air beneath your feet. Each platform disappears in less than a second, with small explosions that pushes you forward and increases your movement speed.]
[Weakness: Overusing this ability will cause dizziness and movement issues. Weakness will lessen as ability develops more.]
I blinked, staring at the words. "Woah… 100% compatibility? That's insane, But… platforms? This is such a weird ability."
The weakness isn't too bad, and the ability sounds useful, especially in a fight. I hadn't seen anything else with a 100% compatibility, and who knows if I'll find another creature like this?
"Alright," I muttered. "Let's do this."
Taking a deep breath, I focused on channeling my Neba into the core. Suddenly, pain shot through my chest as it began to glow. I gasped as my chest split open like a book, revealing my own green core. The sight was horrifying, but I couldn't stop. Slowly, the Bulby's core floated into me, merging with my own.
"Agh!" I cried out, collapsing to my knees as pain wracked my body. My head pounded as a thousand whispers filled my mind, overlapping and chaotic.
"Whose voices are these?" I groaned, clutching my head.
The whispers grew louder, threatening to overwhelm me, until they suddenly vanished. I gasped, my breathing ragged.
When I opened my eyes again, new text floated before me:
[Name: ???]
[Title: ???]
[Neba Core: Green - 2%]
[Special Ability: Nebastep]
I sat back, wiping sweat from my forehead. The pain was gone, and my body felt… lighter. Even my injured hand looked completely healed. I unwrapped the bloody bandage and flexed my fingers, smiling faintly.
"This… this is amazing," I said, tossing the bandage aside.
Then i walked back to the crocodile Core, taking out rabbit's from my pocket.. I channeled my Neba through it, and my chest glowed green, but this time it didn't split open like before, Neba cores turned into a liquid and both of them were absorbed by me. Woah … [ Neba green core - 2.2% ]
But before I could enjoy the moment, a strange blue light appeared in front of me. It hovered in the air, glowing softly in the shape of a circle.
"What is this?" I muttered, stepping closer.
The light didn't move, but when I reached out to touch it, it floated forward, as if leading me somewhere. I followed it cautiously, spear in hand.
The lights guided me through the forest until they stopped at the rocky wall. The final light hovered just above the ground, pulsing faintly.
I touched it, and a shiver ran through my body.
"The barrier… it's gone?" I whispered.
Before I could think further, the ground shifted beneath me, and darkness swallowed me whole.
When I opened my eyes, I was floating in an endless void. It was silent, eerily so.
Then, a voice echoed in my mind:
[ First trial is almost complete. You will soon proceed to the second trial.]
"Trial?" I asked, my voice shaky.
[ As a reward, you may ask one question after each trial and get a memory of your past.]
I hesitated. A single question? My mind was filled with dozens, Who are you? What are these trials? Where am I? Who am I?*
The voice spoke again, as if reading my thoughts:
[ Your memories will return as you survive more trials.]
I clenched my fists. If my memories would come back in time, I had to focus on survival. But one question burned brighter than the rest.
"Who am I?" I asked.
[You are Dune, a 16-year-old born in the city of Fein.]
"That's it?" I sighed. "Couldn't you have told me a little more?"
Before I could say anything else, my vision darkened again.
[Last stage of the first trial begins now.]
"What? Last stage?" I muttered as the void around me vanished, leaving me in complete silence once more.
I thought the trial was over. What is this now?
My eyes opened to an unfamiliar place. It felt as though I'd been transported, though I hadn't felt anything, no movement, no sound, just the sudden change in surroundings.
How are they doing this? In front of me stood a single door, plain and unassuming. "So, they want me to go in, huh?" I muttered, gripping my spear tightly. With no other options, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The room was small and strange. The walls were bare stone, but the ground was covered in soft grass. I turned to look behind me, only to see that the door I had come through had vanished, replaced by yet another solid wall.
"Well… now I'm stuck here," I said with a sigh.
Before I could think of what to do next, another door appeared on the opposite wall. It creaked open slowly, and a figure stepped through.
"Huh?"
It was a man.
He was huge, easily over two meters tall, with a massive, muscular frame that made me feel small in comparison. His bare chest was scarred and intimidating, and his long, messy hair hung down over his shoulders. He wore simple brown pants and no shoes.
The man's thin beard framed a sharp, angular face, and his eyes glinted with an intensity that made my stomach twist. He glanced at me for a moment, saying nothing.
"Yo?"
I said awkwardly, trying to break the tension. The man didn't respond. Instead, he turned his head slightly, as though sizing me up.
That's when the voice echoed in my head
[Trial 1 Final stage: be the last one alive.]
"What the—" I couldn't even finish my sentence before the man charged at me.
"So fast!" I barely dodged as he barreled past me, slamming into the wall behind me. The impact cracked the stone like it was nothing. "Monster!" I gritted my teeth, my heart pounding. "He's crazy!"
I staggered back, clutching my spear tightly. How was I supposed to fight someone like him? He didn't even have a weapon, yet he was strong enough to break walls with his bare hands. The man straightened up, brushing bits of stone off his shoulder. He turned to me with a smirk.
"Good moves, kid," he said mockingly, his deep voice filling the room.
I swallowed hard, trying to think. "You don't want to talk this out?" I asked. "Maybe there's a way out of this without—"
"You're stupid," he interrupted, his smirk turning into a sneer. "Follow the rules, or you die. That's your only option."
Before I could respond, he charged at me again, this time faster than before. "Damn it!" I shouted, throwing myself to the side. I barely dodged in time. His fist grazed past me, sending a gust of wind so strong it nearly knocked me over. I swung my spear at him, hoping to catch him off guard, but he raised his hand and blocked it effortlessly.
"What?!" I gasped. His hand glowed faintly, green flames licking up his arm. My spear glanced off his skin, leaving no mark.
"Of course," I muttered, backing away. "He has an ability too." The man grinned, flexing his flaming hand. "What's wrong, kid? Scared?"
I gritted my teeth. This isn't just a fight, it was survival. I need to figure out how his ability works, and fast. And I also need to use my own. "Nebastep," I whispered, channeling my Neba. I felt a surge of energy in my legs, the air beneath my feet shimmering faintly. Help me out Bulby.
I charged, spear in my hand, aiming for the man's chest. The strike was quick, but not quick enough. The man caught the spear with one flaming hand, the fire dancing across his skin as though it didn't hurt him.
"Damn it!" I muttered as i pulled back my spear and tried to slash at his legs. Again, the attack hit but did nothing, his flame-covered leg swiping the weapon away. At that moment, the man stepped forward and caught me off guard with a crushing kick to stomach.
"Ugh!" I groaned, my back slamming into the wall with a painful crack. I coughed, staggering to my feet as the man charged again.
*C'mon, Nebastep!* I thought desperately. A glowing green platform formed behind my foot, launching me awkwardly into the air.
"Ah, this is so hard to control!" I stumbled midair like a drunk, each step vanished beneath me in bursts of green light.
The man chuckled, amused. "That's an interesting ability, boy."
Without warning, he conjured fire into his hands and hurled it. I barely dodged, leaping from one fading platform to the next. "Okay, I'm getting the hang of this!"
But then, the floor began to glow green. "What is this? "How many variations does this guy's ability have?"
"It's called Lava" the man answered."
As i leapt upward to avoid the molten ground, fireballs came hurtling towards me, relentless.
I spun through the air, dodging with Nebastep, though several fireballs singed my arms and legs.
"Damn it! I can't rest!" With a deep breath, i formed twin platforms beneath my feet and launched myself forward at insane speed. My spear thrust toward the man, but the blow was blocked, again.
"Enough of this!" This time, i used Nebastep on the spear itself, creating an explosive platform that altered its trajectory of my attention in mid-strike. The man stumbled, momentarily unbalanced.
In that split-second, i spun in the air, creating a platform beneath both feet and delivering a devastating double kick, propelling myself with Nebastep for added force.
The man's massive body flew backward, crashing into the wall with a thunderous impact.
"Hah… take that, bastard," i smirked through the pain. "Didn't think it would work, but here we are."
The man coughed blood, staggering back. "Damn it, i didn't think Nebastep could hit that hard... Now I kinda know how to use it."
But before i could catch my breath, the man stood up, wiping the blood from his forehead. His eyes burned with fury. He charged again, fists flying. I used Nebastep to dodge with ease, twisting around each strike.
"This is different now!" I grinned, planting a platform midair and kicking the man square in the face. Blood sprayed as the impact tore open the man's forehead.
Not wasting the opening, i dashed forward, my spear driving into the man's stomach. The hulking figure fell to his knees, groaning.
"Agh..." the man gasped.
"I... I'm sorry… This could've been avoided if—"
Suddenly, the man erupted in flames, a bright green blaze roaring around his body.
"I can't believe you made me use this," he growled, his voice trembling with fury.
"What the hell is this?" I stumbled back, my skin already blistering from the heat.
"My last resort," the man said, his entire form glowing green. "I have one minute to kill you, or I die."
With that, he surged forward. I jumped high, Nebastep launching me into the air, but the man followed, soaring upward with impossible speed.
"Damn it!" I stabbed my spear into the man's neck. It pierced cleanly, but he didn't even flinch.
Instead, he kicked me midair, sending me plummeting to the ground. I hit the floor hard, gasping in pain. "My hand's... screwed." I forced myself upright. Bulby, we have to last a few more seconds."
The man approached, his footsteps burning the ground. "What did you kill to get this power?" I asked, trying buying time.
The man smirked. "A Lava Golem. Rare... but I got lucky."
"Lava Golem? I don't even know what that is..."
The man gave me no time to think, charging again with flames swirling around him. I dodged desperately, using Nebastep to evade every attack. But the man was relentless.
Suddenly, he caught my leg mid-dodge and slammed me into the ground. "Agh!" I coughed blood, trying to crawl away. He loomed over me, kicking toward my face. At the last second, i activated Nebastep again, creating a platform to push the kick back. The force sent the man staggering.
I smirked weakly. "I'm your worst matchup."
"Doesn't matter!" the man roared, charging again. I tried to block, but dizziness from Nebastep clouded my balance. I stumbled awkwardly, unintentionally dodging as the man's flaming punch missed by inches.
"Ha... I would've died if that hit me," The man staggered, his flames flickering. Then, the fire vanished completely. He collapsed to his knees, panting heavily.
"I lost," the man said hoarsely.
"It was close," i replied, lowering my spear.
"Yeah... it was." The man coughed weakly, his body trembling. "What did you use your question for?"
"I asked for my name… I'm Dune."
The man let out a weak laugh. "You're stupid, kid. If your memories return eventually, why waste it on something your past self already knew?"
Dune frowned. "Then what did you ask?"
The man's expression turned grim. "I asked who they were. Dune, we're here because of them."
"Them?"
"The Gods," the man said, his voice hollow. "They put us in this trial..."
"Gods?" Dune's eyes widened. "Gods are real?"
Before the man could answer, his body froze and crumbled into ash, scattering into the air.
I stared at the now empty space. "What... the hell?" And then, everything went dark again.
[Congratulations. You have completed your first trial.]
[ Your reward is a memory from your past. Your memories will only be from a day before you came to this trial and also a one particular day which you can choose after beating 2nd trial. ]