I wasn't dreaming. That much I knew now. The blood on my hands, the ache in my muscles, the scent of burning stone in the air—this was all real.
And it wasn't just a different place. It was a different reality.
The System had chosen me, and the rules of this world were nothing like Earth.
As I stood on the crumbling stone platform, heart pounding in my chest, I realized something terrifying.
This world wasn't built to hold your hand.
It was built to break you.
The platform trembled beneath my feet as the System's interface expanded before my eyes.
[LEVEL UP COMPLETE]New Features Unlocked: Status | Inventory | Skill Tree | Class SelectionUnspent Attribute Points: 5Class Trial Initiated: Claim Your Weapon
Lines of glowing text hovered in front of me, crisp and elegant, like the code of a god's operating system.
I blinked twice, and the text shifted.
[STATUS PANEL – AIDEN KURO]Level: 2Race: Human (Unranked)Class: [UNASSIGNED]Title: Marked by AscensionHP: 110/110MP: 60/60STR: 12 | AGI: 10 | END: 11 | INT: 9 | WIL: 8Available Attribute Points: 5
SKILLS:— Shock Pulse (Lv. 1)— Improvised Strike (Lv. 1)
I stared at my name, my stats, my skills—my identity distilled into numbers and traits. It should've felt cold or impersonal. But instead, it felt like possibility. Like I was finally seeing who I could become.
Without hesitation, I dumped three points into Agility, one into Strength, and one into Willpower. If I was going to survive in a world that ran on raw power, I'd need speed, resilience, and the ability to adapt.
The interface shimmered and faded.
That's when the wind changed.
The floating platform began to drift forward through a stormy void of dark skies and distant floating towers. Ahead, a single spire loomed—ancient and glowing with runes. At its base, a sword hovered above a stone pedestal. The weapon shimmered like starlight laced with thunder.
My goal was clear.
But between me and that blade... was hell.
The ground beneath me groaned as more platforms emerged from the fog, each carrying constructs—stone guardians etched with ancient runes, their movements sharp and mechanical.
[Trial Two: Claim Your Weapon]Objective: Reach the BladeTime Limit: 180 SecondsEnemies: Arcane Golems (Lv. 3–4)Danger Level: Moderate–High
A countdown began in the sky. 3:00.00.
I took my first step—and the trial began.
2:59.92
The first golem lunged at me, its arms swinging like wrecking balls. I ducked, rolled, and countered with Shock Pulse. Electricity sparked from my palm, crackling across the creature's stone body and exploding its joints.
[+10 XP][Shock Pulse Leveled Up: Lv. 2]
No time to rest. Another golem was already charging.
2:30.41
I sprinted across a spinning platform, leapt through a gravity loop, and landed hard on another section of floating land. Two constructs awaited me—this time with glowing blades instead of fists.
One attacked low. The other came from above.
I slid under the first, letting its blade skim my shoulder, then sprang to my feet and used Improvised Strike—grabbing a chunk of stone and hurling it into the other's face.
The impact sent the second reeling long enough for me to charge it, duck under its blade, and punch the rune at its core with a shock-enhanced fist.
It crumbled into dust.
1:50.89
The platforms were collapsing now. Each second I lingered cost me ground. The pedestal and sword were still twenty meters away—but something new had appeared in front of them.
A guardian.
Twice the size of the others. Cloaked in armor. Carrying a halberd forged from dark mana. Its level flashed in the air above it: Lv. 5.
A boss.
[Arena Guardian – Trial Boss]
I barely had a minute and a half left.
I ran anyway.
1:20.14
The Guardian charged. I barely dodged the swing of its halberd—fast, faster than something that size should move. I countered with Shock Pulse, then again, overcharging it into Arc Surge. A burst of energy exploded from my palms, disrupting its core for a second—but only a second.
I was thrown backward by the recoil.
My ribs screamed in pain. My vision blurred.
0:59.00
I coughed blood.
Get up, Aiden.
This wasn't a game. I wasn't on a timer for fun. I was on a timer because if I didn't claim that sword, I died here. Forgotten. Like the others before me.
I used the crumbling edge of the platform to feint right, then doubled back, letting the guardian overcommit to a strike. As it turned, I leapt over its back, my fingers just inches from the blade.
0:20.77
My hand closed around the hilt.
The moment I touched it, the storm exploded.
Lightning tore through the sky. The platform shattered. The guardian froze mid-swing.
[Weapon Acquired: Azure Fang – Bound to Aiden Kuro]Passive: Adds Lightning Damage | +5% MP RegenActive Skill Unlocked: Arc Flash (Lv. 1) – Unleash a cone of lightning in front of you.
I turned and swung the blade.
A burst of radiant lightning erupted from the edge of the sword, engulfing the guardian and turning it into a pile of molten steel.
Silence.
The sky cleared.
The System spoke one last time.
[Trial Completed. Class Assignment Confirmed: SPELLBLADE]Welcome to the world of VANTERRA.
As the shattered pieces of the battlefield floated around me like stardust, I felt the weight of everything sink in.
This wasn't just some power fantasy.
This was a war.
And I had only just picked up my weapon.