Wind shredded the breath from Joshua's lungs as he plummeted straight toward the ground.
[BONUS OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE IMPACT]
[REWARD: +200XP]
[IMPACT IN 5...]
His chest tightened, before his voice released all at once. "MOVE—!" Joshua screamed, but the velocity ripped the sound apart. His limbs refused to obey. The fall spun him helplessly, twisting the sky into a blur of blue and white.
[4...]
The wind shear clawed at his skin.
[3...]
...
[EMERGENCY OVERRIDE ENGAGED][HOST DEATH: GUARANTEED][EXECUTING TRAJECTORY CORRECTION]
"What—?!"
White-hot energy exploded in his body, every nerve firing at once. His muscles seized, then flung into motion like someone grabbed ahold of him and yanked.
His right arm jerked downward, twisting his torso mid-air. His legs tucked without his permission shifting his center of mass.
Barely. Only for a second. But it was enough.
[TRAJECTORY ALTERED]
He missed the spike racks, the iron poles, the jagged tiles, and smashed through a training dummy. Its body exploded into rubble around him. The impact tore through his spine, a fire-like burning spreading throughout his body.
Pain swallowed the world in one white-hot wave.
He bounced off of the debris, hit the ground again. His ankle twisted with a nauseating crunch. His knee buckled sideways. His shoulder dislocated against the dirt.
But finally...he slid to a breathless stop.
Dust rose.
Blood dripped.
The world faded in and out.
I'm alive?
Barely.
His chest refused to rise for a full second.
Then—
GASP—!
Oxygen slammed back into him, cold and painful. A notification of glowing blue text invaded his vision yet again.
[BONUS QUEST COMPLETE!]
[REWARD HALVED DUE TO SYSTEM INTERVENTION]
...
[+100 XP]
[LEVEL UP AVAILABLE]
[REQUIREMENT NOT MET: STAND]
The prince let out a pained mix of laughter and coughing. Stand?
He couldn't even twitch his finger.
"Stand...? I can't even feel my legs."
He felt a warm liquid trickle down his temple. Blood. Lots of it.
Above him, towering over the training grounds, the Demon Palace loomed.The throne hall stretched out on a massive open balcony overlooking the courtyard — like an execution platform built into the sky.
And lining that balcony were demons.
Dozens of them.
Guards. Nobles. Sorcerers. Soldiers.
All leaning over the railing. Watching him. Waiting for him to die.
He remembered their whispers.
Their hunger.
Their disgust.
Their certainty he wouldn't survive.
His fingers curled into the dirt.
"I—" His voice cracked."will not let them see me crawl."
He dug his only working arm into the ground. His elbow and wrist screamed under his full weight as he forced his torso upright.
His dislocated shoulder dangled.
His breath came out in strangled rasps.
His eyesight barely hung on.
But he rose to one knee, and with all the strength he could muster, he pulled himself upright. Every fiber in his muscles protested his choice. But he was standing.
[CONDITION MET]
[DO YOU WISH TO LEVEL UP, JOSHUA VALE? DOING SO WILL TIE YOU TO THE SYSTEM PERMANENTLY.]
[YES / NO]
"Yes!" he hissed through bloodied teeth. "Do it. Just fucking do it."
Light burst around him. It wasn't warm, or comfortable. The aura felt like molten needles stitching broken parts together without care.
His ankle joints snapped back into alignment; torn tendons rewove. The swelling receded. His shoulder popped back into place with a hard snap that made him grunt.
He stumbled forward, breathing a deep inhale.
I can breathe again. What the hell is this system? Have I always had this?
Instead of answering—
[LEVEL 1 -> LEVEL 2]
[ATTRIBUTES REBALANCED]
[DAMAGE NULLIFIED: 87%]
His breathing steadied. His body still relentlessly reminded him of his condition, but he was no longer dying.
[MAGIC WILL UNLOCK AT LEVEL 3]
[CURRENT QUEST: SURVIVE THE PRINCESS' ONSLAUGHT]
Joshua exhaled slowly.
Survive her?
He turned his head upward, seeing Lysandra falling silently, her heels tapping against the cracked stone with perfect precision.
Her brows furrowed looking at him. Instead of being broken, bleeding out, or collapsing, he stood.
Eyes widening, her lips curved slightly.
"You are still standing. How unexpected."
Joshua met her gaze, jaw clenched, chest rising in ragged breaths.
"I came here to marry you and to prevent a war," he forced out. "Not… not to die as an animal would."
She stepped close. Her breath brushed his ear.
"How much longer can you endure, little prince?" Her clawed nail traced his jawline. "I will strike you ten times," she whispered. "No restraint. No mercy. If you survive all ten, I will accept you as my husband."
She leaned in, her lips almost at his ear.
"But if you die…" Her tone sharpened to a lethal whisper. "I will personally see to it that Arial — your precious kingdom — is our first target when the war begins."
She stepped back, mana flaring like a crimson inferno.
"Prepare yourself Prince."
Her voice shook the courtyard.
"Your trial as my future husband begins now."