The jungle swallowed their footsteps. Every branch snapped like a warning. Every rustle in the leaves carried tension. Bernad and the remaining survivors walked deeper into the unknown, the glowing sky dimming above them as if reacting to their movement.
They had no idea where they were going—only that they couldn't go back.
"There's no map, no direction," Rayan muttered, his eyes scanning the strange, towering trees. "But something's pulling us. Can't you feel it?"
Bernad could. It wasn't instinct. It was more like a magnetic pull—an invisible force, humming beneath the ground. The system hadn't just marked them; it was watching.
Suddenly, a sharp noise cut the air. A pulse—like a wave of energy—rushed past them. It wasn't sound. It was… data.
A floating interface appeared again, but this time, it displayed a rotating red symbol. Words followed:
"New Presence Detected: Entity Class A."
"Synchronization Detected."
A thundering crash exploded ahead. Trees cracked. The ground trembled. Something was coming.
"Get down!" someone shouted.
They scattered behind rocks and trees just as a massive figure burst into view. It wasn't human. It stood tall, armored with obsidian-like plates, glowing veins running across its limbs. Its face was hidden beneath a metallic mask shaped like a beast.
It looked at them—and paused.
Then the system spoke:
"Trial Initiated: Survival Protocol."
The entity raised its hand, and a blade formed—liquid metal solidifying mid-air. It didn't speak. It moved.
Faster than thought.
The first to fall was Leo. A single hit, and his body was hurled against a stone, blood painting the moss below. No time to scream.
Bernad's mind froze. He had no weapon. No skill. Just fear—and the rank F.
The others tried to fight. Rayan managed to throw a punch, but it bounced off the creature like paper against steel. It retaliated, slamming him down with a force that cracked the earth.
"Bernad!" a voice called. "Run!"
He couldn't.
The world slowed. The sky flickered. And then—he heard it.
A voice inside his head. Calm. Cold.
"Override Accepted. Awakening Protocol Engaged."
Time snapped back.
A surge of heat exploded in his chest. His vision blurred, his veins burned, and for a moment—he saw light. Not just any light. It was gold.
Pure gold.
His body moved on its own, dodging an incoming strike with impossible speed. The entity turned to him, curious now. Almost… cautious.
Then the system rang again:
"Bernad – Rank Updated: [Unknown]."
"Ability Activated: Golden Command – 0.4% Synchronization."
A wave of golden light erupted from Bernad's hands, slamming into the entity's chest. It staggered back, its obsidian armor cracking for the first time.
The others stared, stunned.
"You… you have power," whispered one of them.
Bernad didn't understand how. His heart pounded like a war drum, and the power was unstable—raging inside him. But it responded to his will.
The entity stood again, now leaking black energy from the cracks in its armor. But it didn't attack.
It bowed.
And then vanished into the jungle, dissolving into fragments of light.
The interface returned:
"Trial Complete. Survivors: 4."
"Bernad – Class Undefined. Anomaly Registered."
The jungle grew quiet.
No one spoke. Not until Rayan finally rose, wounded but alive.
"What the hell are you?" he asked.
Bernad looked at his hands, still trembling. "I… don't know."
But deep inside, something had awakened. Something that didn't belong to any rank. Not F
. Not S. Not even the royal tiers.
It was beyond the system.
And the island had noticed.