-Third Person P O V-
The sky on Elerium was a rare kind of sky, painted with various shades of blue and purple, with hints of golden rays shining past the clouds, revealing a small bustling village in the distance. People were laughing, even dancing to a groovy tune emerging from a man playing the flute.
The village seemed joyful, and nothing could ruin this happy scene. That was until several individuals appeared in the sky and dropped directly onto a few villagers, killing them instantly. On the bright side, none of the falling individuals were hurt.
-Thorn's P O V-
"FUUUCCKKINNG SHHIIIT!"
I shouted in agony at the top of my lungs, my body stuck on the ground in a position resembling a certain long-haired martial artist who died to a little green man, with a small crater around me.
"Ugh..." Moaning in pain, I rolled over and climbed to my feet. Finally standing, I silently cursed the system in my head and looked down at the mangled body of a man beneath me.
"Fuck, that bastard probably stained my clothes." I muttered under my breath, kicking the body away.
"Did we really have to fall from the sky?"
Words not spoken by me entered my ears. Furrowing my eyebrows, I turned to face the voice and saw several other individuals near me, all standing in their own small craters.
"Seriously man, my brother never told me we'd be sent in like this." a tall brown-haired guy said, looking at a blonde-haired man.
As they conversed, my eyes narrowed subconsciously, and my mind flashed to what I heard right as I blacked out.
"All participants are ready. The newbie scenario has now commenced. The Great Mother wishes to change all."
Snapping back to the present, thoughts instantly filled my head.
"So it looks like these guys are the other participants, and judging by the ugly brown-haired kid's words, his brother is also a Realm Traveler." I analyzed quickly
"These guys have more information than me, so I should probably dig out some info from these fools." I muttered in a low voice, schooling my expression into that of an innocent, oblivious fool.
"Wait, hold on. Aren't you guys a bit too comfortable? Exactly what the hell is going on here?" I asked aloud, keeping my expression tight with no hint of my true predatory nature.
Everyone turned, looking at me with bewildered expressions, as if I were a fool. Then my eyes unconsciously swept to the right, landing on a girl with delicate features, silver hair, and blue eyes.
'Wait, why are her eyes sparkling?' I thought, watching as something that looked like electricity ran through her irises.
Suddenly, the girl's expression changed, as if she had an aha moment.
"I see. You must be from one of those planets where Realm Travelers are virtually unknown. How backwater." the girl said with pity, shaking her head.
Annoyance instantly sprang up within me.
'I'll show you backwater, you bit—'
"Well, I guess I'll explain. We are all here in a Newbie Scenario. Prior to becoming a full-fledged Realm Traveler, you have to clear whatever is demanded by the System." she paused before continuing
"The first trial is apparently not very difficult, and you can just call out to the system to see the details of the trial. Since we are all participants in the same realm, we have the same clear conditions and trial."
Ignoring their faces, I decided to follow her advice.
"System."
[Scenario: Crimson Moon
Difficulty: D Rank
World: Elerium (variant)
Details: A world of talents, gods, beasts, monsters, and pursuers of Heavens Staircase. In this scenario, cultists are planning to weaken dimensional barriers by evoking a Crimson Moon that will lead to horrific bloodshed. Change the fate of this scenario. Twenty percent clear condition. Note: Higher percentages lead to better rewards.
Time Limit: 23 h 57 m 53 s
Name: Thorn Woods
Age: 18 Years
Talent: N/A
Race: Human
Power System: N/A
Skills: N/A
Items: Trio Of Lucky Dice (rolling a dice increases your luck for an hour; rolling 3 at once massively increases your luck for 3 hours)
Status Clearing Pills (pills that clear all forms of negative status, including petrification, paralysis, and induced madness)
Eye Of Foresight (consumable eye that grants the wielder a brief glimpse into danger in the future)]
Looking through the panel, my eyes traced the Skills area, and I frowned.
'No skills? That shouldn't be correct. I'm pretty sure I was the most versatile person on Earth. It must be that the skill panel refers to something supernatural, like in those novels,' I thought, before waving the screen away and focusing on the others.
"Now, it would be better if we all introduced ourselves. Though many of you already know me, I will start first." the blue-eyed girl began, sweeping her eyes across us before continuing
"My name is Victoria Emert, heir to the Emert Dynasty. My talent is named Silver Ruler, allowing me to control silver." she finished, and the others nodded respectfully
'She's hiding something… and what the hell is the Emert Dynasty?' I thought, picking up on small cues that let me know she was not telling the full truth
"Good to meet you, Miss Emert. I am Robert Max, heir to the Max House. As for my talent, I think it is best if I keep it undisclosed for now." a tall bald man said serenely.
"I am Eugene Black, younger brother of Thomas Black, the lord of the Black House. My talent is called Requiem. That is all." a blonde man said.
I grimaced internally. 'How the hell did I end up with a bunch of young masters? They seem to have supernatural abilities as well. I'll have to play the sheep dressed as a lion to avoid showing weakness.'
Then the brown-haired guy spoke.
"Just call me Jacob. My talent is Signature Spade, which allows me to multiply my overall power by drawing Spade cards generated by my talent."
'Damn it, so many names. Hopefully some of them die so I don't have to remember all this,' I thought, keeping my expression blank as I prepared to introduce myself.
"I am Thorn Woods. Apparently, my talent is Blade Work, which grants me exceptional skill, speed, and damage while holding any blade." I lied, hiding the fact that I had no talent.
Everyone nodded at me, then looked to the right. I saw a short blindfolded guy with golden hair.
"WHAT THE HELL?" The words slipped out of me, and I immediately placed some distance between me and him.
'He was here the whole time and I didn't notice? How?' I thought, watching him turn his head as if he could see through the blindfold.
"My name is Grey Blake. As for my talent, I refuse to disclose it. Additionally, time is being wasted. I suggest we split into teams of two to gather information and maximize scenario percentage." Grey said, his words void of emotion and perfectly paced.
"I will tag along with Thorn. The rest of you figure it out." he said, which Eugene did not take well.
"Hey, you blind fuck! Who the hell made you the lead—" Eugene started, but Robert pushed him.
"Hey! What the hell, man?! Do you have a death wish…" Eugene trailed off, touching his cheek, a bead of blood on his finger.
Embedded in a tree next to Eugene was a sharp dagger with blood dripping from its edge. Suddenly, the dagger vanished and reappeared in Grey's palm.
"Huh… not bad." I commented, genuinely impressed. Seeing the blood stirred a long-repressed feeling within me.
'To think my blood lust would return so easily… it's delicious,' I thought, fingers twitching from sheer desire.
"Grey has a point. Instead of continuing this nonsense, it's better to split up and gather information. We still do not know what this Heavens Staircase is, or even the basic information about this world. After we split up, let's regroup." Victoria said, grabbing Robert by his bald head and dragging him away.
Eugene and Jacob nodded reluctantly and moved into another area, leaving Grey and me.
"It seems they are all familiar with each other." Grey said, and I sighed.
"Whatever. Just follow me and don't hold me back. I'll get all the information we need." I said, walking deeper into the village.
A few minutes later, the sound of a flute reached our ears. Following it, we saw a man playing the flute with a large crowd dancing in a circle.
"Hey, I guarantee that guy has the information we need. I'll go up and ask nicely." I said, smiling, my body itching for a fight.
I pushed through the crowd, using my frame to move them out of the way.
"Hey!"
"What gives?!"
"You dare?!"
Hearing that, I smacked the arrogant roadblock aside and continued.
The man playing the flute suddenly opened his eyes and stared at me, ignoring Grey completely. He raised an eyebrow and continued to play, as if to say, "What do you want?"
"Hey, me and my subordinate here need some basic information. We are new here and need assistance." I said politely, waiting for a response.
The man stopped for a moment, evaluating me with his eyes, then closed them and continued playing his music.
I instantly became overcome with joy.
"Heh, I haven't stretched in a while. Thanks for this opportunity." I thanked him with true gratitude, tearing off my sleeves to reveal my muscles. These same arms that once liberated masses from life came out of retirement.
"Yo, crazy guy, I don't think that's smart." Grey said. I threw a casual blow at the flute man, only to hit pure air. Grey had already dodged.
'Strange… how did he know?' I wondered, shrugging and walking closer to the fake musician.
"There's one thing you should know, Grey." I said, philosophical.
"The thing that turns life into the ultimate experience is risk, particularly risk born of defiance, even risking your very life." I shared from experience
"A man who has never put his life on the table has never truly lived. If you were to put my heart on a scale and his, mine would outweigh his. Do you know why?" I asked, receiving silence.
"Because each encounter and survival with death increases your life's value. A wolf that chews off its leg to escape a trap understands the value of life more than a coddled wolf. That knowledge leads to greater value. In short, you must tightrope the blurry line between life and death to truly live."
A maniacal grin spread across my face. I slipped into a southpaw stance and delivered a powerful hook to the flute man, drawing strength from my core and legs. The fist connected. The crowd gasped.
"Hm! Nothing but tra—" A strong force hit my face, sending me flying several feet back.
"Interesting speech. If only your punch matched your words, maybe then you'd be interesting. As it stands, you're nothing but a worm with a bit of intelligence, and I'm about to add self-awareness on top of that." the man said in perfect composure, pocketing his flute.
He vanished, picked me up by the collar, and threw me into a tree.
Boom.
The impact resounded loudly. Birds flew away in alarm.
"Agh! Damn that hurt!" I yelled, hot pain throbbing across my cheek and back
"Maybe I was too arrogant. It has been a while." I groaned, pressing my back against the tree for support.
He walked toward me, mimicking my earlier domineering walk.
'Shit! He's copying my walk… I really was too arrogant,' I thought.
He vanished again, appearing a foot away.
"Also, don't ever call me kid again, okay kid?" He said before delivering a casual but powerful kick to my solar plexus.
'Fuck, I'm screwed,' I thought, gasping for air. I looked at Grey, who smiled and waved, as if he could see everything through his blindfold.
"Bastar—"
Boom