Once he arrived at the forest, Cain ran further through the narrow entrance and continued deep into the center.
Cain halted his progress and leaned his back against a tree trunk. His narrowed eyes scanned the surrounding area.
'Good, no one in sight.'
"Status."
He whispered, bringing up the blue panel that obstructed his view.
[NULL SEQUENCE v0.1.0]
> Core Parameters:
- Vitality: 17
- Mind: 19
- Physique: 17
- Agility: 24
- Sense: 17
- Corruption: 0%
> Bonus Point: 35
His left hand gripped the dummy katana on his waist. Cain covered his mouth, thinking of various plans for his future development.
The parameters displayed before him represented the strength that made him whole. His thoughts began tinkering with his status. It didn't take too long, and Cain's status was upgraded.
[Parameter up!]
- Vitality: 17 > 20
- Mind: 19 > 25
- Physique: 17 > 25
- Agility: 24 > 30
- Sense: 17 > 25
[Remaining Bonus Point: 4]
As he saw the change in his parameters, Cain's vision was distorted. His heart pounded so hard as if it wanted to burst out of his chest.
A ringing sound reverberated in his ears due to his suddenly enhanced senses. Cain closed his eyes, and tears started streaming down because of the stinging pain like a sharp knife dissecting his brain.
His legs trembled, unable to support his upper body. With one last jolt, he fell to a seated position, clutching his throbbing head.
'I didn't hear it would be like this.'
Cain gritted his teeth, trying to regulate his heavy breathing.
His ears twitched, hearing the rustling sound of trampled grass coming from behind. The steps approached slowly, like a tiger stalking its prey.
He took a deep breath while raising his gaze straight ahead. The blurred vision slowly blended in and became clear. His black eyes expanded as he witnessed a world that looked completely different from a few seconds ago.
Cain's vision could catch small details, such as tiny leaves buried in the green grass, or dew drops from a bush not far from his spot, making him widen his eyes while holding his breath.
The footsteps behind him approached. He could hear the person behind him pulling a sword from its scabbard. Cain sighed softly, his body loosening the tension that was restricting his freedom.
Just as he heard the following footsteps, Cain's body stood up as he ran around the large tree trunk, appearing on his enemy's side.
"Damn it!"
The black-haired boy cursed, his pupil shrinking to a dot as he lifted his longsword above his head.
'Here.'
Cain casually pulled his left foot the moment his enemy swung the sword. A silver flash cut through the air vertically, before it dug deep into the ground due to the user's tense state.
"Eh, I can't pull it out."
The grey-haired boy moved closer and lowered his center of gravity. In one fluid movement, Cain's hand flicked like a whip, holding the katana as he sliced toward the opponent's throat.
With wide eyes, the boy, who was unaware of a blade edge hitting his neck, gasped. Slowly, his body was swallowed by light, then disappeared from the forest.
"That's second."
His body suddenly tensed, feeling a tingling sensation creeping up from the nape of his neck.
Cain turned around and saw a flickering light from afar. The boy jumped from his spot, and then a bullet was shot at the place where he was standing.
Without further ado, he ran, trying to stay close to the trees as much as possible.
He kept running, circling the shooter. The flash flickered again from the same direction. Cain jumped and saw a bullet penetrating the tree trunk behind him.
"There."
The boy raised his pistol and pulled the trigger several times until it made a 'click' sound.
"Aaah!"
A scream from behind the bush, coupled with a white light that was sending the body to the arena, confirmed his third victory.
"Three."
With a flick from his wrist, the empty magazine was ejected to the side as he plugged a new one.
"Next!"
In contrast to his previous passive strategy. Cain sheathed his weapon and started stepping away from his spot.
With the increased sense stats, his awareness of the area drastically improved. Deceased shouts, the tangy smell of gunpowder, and footsteps—all of it was caught within a radius of tens of meters from his location.
Cain stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes. He saw a female cadet carrying a longsword. With light steps, he ran, and as the girl turned away from him.
His lips grinned, then he drew the katana from its scabbard and charged at the girl from the blind spot, like a tiger.
"Your mine!"
His swing cut diagonally from the right shoulder, passing through the left side of his waist. The girl's eyes rolled to the back, and the teleportation light slowly eroded her body.
Seeing the fragment of light fading from his sight, Cain looked down, seeing the reflection of his expression on the silver blade that reflected calmness.
'I didn't hesitate at all.' he whispered.
Since the beginning of this test, Cain felt something strange within him. Even though it was a training and far from a dangerous situation, his action to swing the sword at his enemy with killing intent did not change.
Blue veins popped out on his hand because, unknowingly, he was gripping the sword hilt tightly.
'Since when did this happen?'
Cain asked himself. His ferocity in wielding the sword at a fellow human briefly struck a chord in his seemingly empty reality.
Internally, a faint whisper chanted the bitter truth of what was happening, yet the boy chose to turn away and shake his head to rid himself of the dark fog clawing at his mind.
A rustling sound from behind snapped him from his reverie. He turned and immediately ducked, seeing a muzzle aimed at him.
Bang!
The fired bullet missed its target and managed to hit a part of Cain's hair, which made a panel appear on the edge of his vision.
…
[Durability: 260%]
…
But because there was no time to confirm, he pulled out his pistol and pulled the trigger three times.
Remarkably, Cain's enemy this time managed to avoid his shots and was only grazed by the first shot.
Cain leaped forward, and he continued with a roll to get behind the nearest tree.
Coincidentally, his enemy did the same thing. Both leaned against the thick trunk, pulling the pistol slide to check the bullet status.
'Still plenty.'
"Hahaha, I didn't think I would meet you this early, Cain. You're everyone's goal after all."
Cain raised his eyebrows, wondering why his enemy knew his identity well.
"I-Is that so? I'm sorry, but who are you?"
Out of the hundred cadets that trained with him. Cain only frequently interacted with Abel and Rika. As for the rest, he would exchange some light greetings in the morning and so on.
It sounded quite sad, and perhaps some of the other cadets considered Cain to be arrogant with his cold demeanor. But it didn't matter to him.
The gray-haired boy patted his own forehead, leaving a red mark that slowly faded.
"Haha, I already guessed you wouldn't know my name, listen and remember, my name is…"
Tragically, before the boy finished his introduction, an explosion echoed as a bullet managed to destroy his body shield, forcing him to be sent to the arena.
"Hm, who is that? Hey, um, are you dead? Hello?"
Cain wanted to peek, but accidentally showed his pistol from behind the hiding trunk. A hard jolt shook his wrist. He glared at the side and saw his pistol split into two.
'A sniper!? This is getting troublesome.'
His expression turned pale. He clenched his right hand several times to alleviate the numbness in his palm.
"Whose sniper is that?"
When the invisible shooter terrorized the boy, the identity of the sniper was a girl, and her body was flat against the ground.
Under the thick bushes that faded away her presence, the red-haired girl exhaled. She pressed her cheek against the rifle handle, breathing softly.
"Tch, missed the hand, huh."
Rika held her breath for a few seconds. Her sharp blue eyes drilled a deep hole into the rifle scope as she tried to wait for her prey to come out from behind the tree.
Yet her instinct gave an alarm to immediately find another position for a sniper who was always active to move once she pulled the trigger.
"You are lucky, this time."
She glanced left and right, ensuring that no one was around. The girl used both her elbows to paddle out of her hiding place.
Rika pushed her body up and once again scanned her surrounding area before dashing away, holding the rifle in her arms.
"Let's continue the hunt!"