The first Fate Wraith stepped forward.
Up close, it was worse than anything I had imagined.
Its body was tall—nearly eight feet—with limbs too long for its frame, bending at the wrong angles like a broken puppet. Its "skin" looked like torn shadows stitched together with glowing blue script that moved like living sentences across its surface.
There was no real face.
Only a smooth, hollow mask of darkness with faint lines of shifting text where eyes and a mouth should have been.
And yet…
I felt it looking at me.
Not with sight.
With purpose.
The other five shifted behind it, their movements jerky and asynchronous, as if each existed half a second out of sync with reality.
The air smelled wrong.
Like burned parchment and cold metal.
Rex swallowed hard.
"…Kyle."
"Yes?"
"If I die here, delete my search history."
"Noted."
Aether stepped forward, his presence changing instantly.
His posture lowered, grip tightening on his sword, aura flowing naturally as if his body was built for battle.
"Seraphina," he said calmly, "right flank control."
She nodded once.
No hesitation.
No fear.
She raised her hand slightly, frost already forming in the air around her fingers.
Rex took position behind them, gathering fire mana nervously.
And me?
I stood half a step behind everyone.
Too slow.
Too weak.
Too exposed.
[THREAT ASSESSMENT:]
Fate Wraith – Low Tier
Origin: Stray fragments of broken narrative
Combat Style: Corruption + Direct Physical Tear
Weakness: High mana disruption, unstable fate fields
Recommended Host Action:Avoid frontline.
"…Great," I muttered. "Even my system told me to stay in the back."
---
The lead Wraith moved.
Not running.
Not lunging.
It simply disappeared for a fraction of a second—
And reappeared three meters closer.
Space folded for it.
Aether moved instantly.
Steel met corrupted shadow.
The clash sounded wrong.
Not metal-on-metal.
But reality scraping against itself.
Blue sword aura sheared a deep line through the Wraith's shoulder, scattering drifting symbols like torn paper.
The Wraith did not bleed.
It reacted.
Its arm twisted backward at an impossible angle and lashed forward like a whip.
Aether barely blocked in time, sliding back several steps across the black stone.
Seraphina raised her hand.
The ground beneath two Wraiths instantly crystallized in ice, freezing their legs in place.
She flicked her fingers.
Explosive frost bloomed upward, shattering one completely.
Rex launched a compressed firebolt that struck the second frozen Wraith and detonated, burning it into collapsing black ash.
Two down.
Four still moving.
One of the remaining Wraiths turned its hollow "face" toward Rex.
Rex froze.
The air around him darkened and twisted.
"…Oh no."
The Wraith reached out.
The space between them warped, dragging Rex forward as if by invisible chains.
"REX!" I shouted.
Aether tried to intercept.
Too far.
Seraphina tried to freeze the distortion.
Too unstable.
Rex was pulled violently forward.
And then—
The Wraith stopped.
Mid-motion.
Its arm trembled violently.
Thin black cracks spread across its body.
I felt it again.
That strange resonance deep inside my chest.
Like two wrong puzzle pieces grinding against each other.
With a sharp, broken screech, the Wraith collapsed into dust before it could touch Rex.
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Rex slowly looked at his own hands.
"…I didn't die."
Aether turned toward me sharply.
Seraphina's golden eyes locked directly onto my face.
"That was not coincidence," she said quietly.
My heart pounded.
"I didn't cast anything," I whispered. "I swear."
"I know," she replied.
"That is the problem."
---
The remaining three Wraiths attacked at once.
Aether and Seraphina moved like veterans.
Perfect coordination.
But I stayed rooted.
My legs felt heavy.
My breathing was shallow.
Every impact between blade and Wraith sent shockwaves through my body even though I wasn't being hit.
[STATUS EFFECT: FEAR LOCK – ACTIVE]
CAUSE: Direct contact with fate-class entities
RESULT: Physical hesitation, delayed reaction time
I hated it.
I was alive.
I had power.
And yet my body still reacted like prey.
Seraphina shattered another Wraith.
Aether destroyed the fifth.
Only one remained.
And naturally—
It turned toward me.
Its head tilted.
The script across its face rearranged itself.
Something inside me recoiled.
[TARGET CONFIRMED: MISWRITTEN CORE]
It stepped toward me slowly.
Not rushing.
Not attacking.
Like a butcher approaching livestock.
My body refused to move.
"Kyle!" Rex shouted.
I tried.
My legs didn't respond.
Fear locked every joint.
The Wraith raised its claw.
Aether was too far.
Seraphina was mid-cast.
Rex's fire focus was unstable.
This wasn't comedy.
This wasn't cringe.
This was death.
---
In that moment, I didn't suddenly become strong.
I didn't awaken hidden power.
I didn't break fate.
I did something far smaller.
Something far harder.
I forced my body to move anyway.
The claw slashed.
I twisted sideways at the last instant.
Not fast.
Not clean.
The attack tore across my side instead of straight through my chest.
White-hot pain exploded through me.
I screamed as I hit the ground hard.
Blood soaked into the black stone.
[MAJOR DAMAGE DETECTED]
[ENDURANCE CHECK: CRITICAL]
But I was alive.
Barely.
And now the Wraith was off-balance.
Aether reached it in an instant and cleaved it in half with a single decisive strike.
Silence returned.
All six Wraiths were gone.
---
My vision swam.
Rex was suddenly beside me.
"KYLE—HEY—STAY AWAKE!"
Seraphina knelt at my other side.
Her fingers hovered just above my wound.
Frost sealed the torn flesh instantly.
Not fully healed.
But stabilized.
"You are physically unfit for direct engagement," she said flatly.
"No argument here," I croaked.
Aether stood over us.
"You reacted late," he said. "Fear delayed you."
"I know."
"You nearly died."
"I also know."
He studied my face.
Then said something unexpected.
"But you still chose to move."
I blinked.
"That hesitation would kill most people here," he continued. "You forced through it anyway."
Rex looked between us.
"…Is he being complimented?"
Seraphina stood slowly.
"His body is weak," she said. "His fate is not."
I hated hearing that sentence.
---
The sky rumbled.
Not loudly.
Not violently.
Just… unnaturally.
Dark clouds gathered above the cracked horizon.
From far away—
Footsteps echoed.
Many.
Not monsters.
Not Wraiths.
Human.
Aether's eyes narrowed.
"Multiple mana signatures approaching," he said.
Rex stiffened.
"Teams?"
"Yes."
Seraphina closed her eyes.
"…And they are armed with intent."
From the distant ridge, silhouettes began to appear.
Armored figures.
Human.
Students.
Weapons drawn.
I felt my stomach drop.
This was no longer just a survival trial.
This was turning into a hunt.
---
As I struggled to sit up, blood still warm on my side, I looked at my shaking hands.
I wasn't weak because of low stats.
I was weak because:
I had no training.
I had no instinct.
I had no will hardened by battle.
Cringe gave me growth.
Fear gave me hesitation.
If this continued—
I would die long before I ever reached "strong."
I clenched my fist.
"…System."
[YES, HOST.]
"I don't want to be protected forever."
[INTERPRETING INTENT…]
"I don't want to be the bait anymore."
The system was quiet for a long moment.
[NEW GROWTH CONDITION UNLOCKED:]
CORE PATH – SURVIVAL THROUGH DIRECT CONFLICT]
REQUIREMENT: Host must now earn power through actual life-and-death victories, not just humiliation.
[WEAK → STRUGGLING PHASE HAS BEGUN]
My chest felt tight.
Not from pain.
From fear.
And something like determination.
Rex looked at the approaching figures.
"…Kyle?"
I slowly pushed myself to my feet.
"Yeah?"
"I don't like that look on your face."
"Good," I said quietly. "That means I'm finally serious."
Aether and Seraphina both turned toward me.
Multiple enemy teams stepped into view across the ridge —
Each carrying academy weapons.
Each watching us with dangerous intent.
And I finally, truly understood:
This trial wasn't just testing my fate anymore.
It was testing whether I even deserved to live in this world.