Kael's trial had begun. He found himself falling from the sky, the cold wind cutting through his bare skin like a blade. He plummeted toward the ground, spiraled in panic, just thinking about the experience that he had suffered in the temple.
With bitter sarcasm, he muttered "At this point, I should just introduce myself as Kaelvren, the Unluckiest Bastard Alive.'"
Every day found a new twist of misfortune. It was starting to feel like a skill.
"Maybe I insulted the Goddess of Luck in a past life. Or worse… maybe I dated her and broke her heart." He sighed, bitterly amused. "That would explain a lot."
As he kept falling, he sighed.
"Some people are born with talent, others with wealth. Me? I was born with the exclusive, never-ending curse of cosmic misfortune."
The air struck his naked skin as his body picked up speed. His luck was truly something else.
"At this point, I'm convinced the universe has a VIP subscription just to watch me in misery."
Just as he braced for sudden and a painful death from the impact, his descent slowed unnaturally, and he landed with a heavy thud, spared from fatal injury. "Huh... I'm alive."
With that, a screen appeared in front of him. A crimson glow pulsed from its edges, the words forming as if written in his own blood.
« Seeker's Trial of Misery »
Description: Escape if you can.
Time Limit: Infinity.
Kaelvren stared at the ominous text, his heart sank.
"Oh, fantastic. A game with no exit button. Just my good luck."
For a brief moment, He lay stunned, the realization sinking in that he was trapped in an endless trial, yet again a victim of his cursed luck and the pain that was surgerging through his limbs, forcing a strained gasp from his lips. His body was unharmed, but fell stiff due to the pain from falling.
After minutes he took a deep breath and stood up. Started to scan his surroundings. The air was thicken with the smell of rotting. He was completely stark naked, standing in the middle of a dark and frigid night.
Then, he noticed something far more unsettling.
A grotesque sight stretched before him a circle of civilization ruins as fallen from above like him. Crumbled buildings stood like broken bones, their remnants scattered across the land. But beyond that there was something way worse.
A mountain of corpses.
Monstrous bodies of Rank 9, 8, and even Rank 7 creatures were piled atop one another, their twisted forms frozen in death. It seems their blood had been long since dried, leaving behind a landscape of decay and carnage.
A shiver ran down to his spine.
He shivered. "This... this is no ordinary place."
" Since this was no ordinary place, I had to move quickly.because Survival depends on finding a shelter, but the night was merciless, stretching on endlessly. And, as always, I was blessed by misfortune to have nothing to protect myself and nowhere to hide in this desolate land."
He found an intact corpse, but with skin as tough as armor. His bare hands were useless against it.. As he was a mere Lesser, he lacked the strength to even try. With that he thought that "I need a weapon."
Then he went on frantic search at the ruins for anything useful, but his luck was his eternal enemy in that search he found nothing. Since he had no options. He grabbed a sharp stone and struck it against another, chipping away at the edges until It become something usable.
Even then, cutting through the monster's hide was agonizingly hard and slow. The hide was thick a fuck, like a steel, and the stone blade was far from the ideal choice for a knife. Time dragged on. Hours passed as he chipped stone, each second was like a test of his patience. with his painstaking and hard work. He made a coat for him and made long ropes. With that he went to another search for a stick for his weapon since he can't use the bone of the monster.
After a long time "Finally," he muttered, holding up the sturdy stick. "If I bind the sharpened stone with this… I'll have a weapon. Ropes, a makeshift coat, and even a bag to carry water if I ever find any."
A pause. "Wait. Am I going insane? Why am I talking to myself? There's no one to listen to." With those thoughts he packed everything and the moment he took a step away from the ruined site, a chill rose in the air, and he heard a whisper from the shadows.
His heart stopped. His body tensed.
From the shadows, a twisted, grotesque form emerged.
"A Grave Stalker…" Kaelvren blurted out, immediately slapping a hand over his mouth, panic rising. If it heard him, if it sensed him it was over. He was telling himself "I don't want to die—not like this. I haven't done anything yet. I'm not ready "Kael's eyes were full of tears because the being in front of him was a Rank 8 Harbingers . Its presence alone made his limbs go numb, he had a suffocating aura that was pressing against his very soul.
Kaelvren's breath hitched. Cold sweat slid down from his back.
"Run.
Run, you son of a bitch. If that thing notices you, you're dead." with this thought he decided to run.
But his legs refused to move. His mind screamed, yet his body betrayed him, it was frozen in his place like prey caught in a predator jaw.
The monster came closer and closer. Its hollow, soulless eyes were locked on him.
"He saw me and now I am dead".
As panic surged in body he gripped on his chest like an iron vice. His thoughts spiraled in a madness.
"Is this it? Is this how I die?
I swear, I must be the unluckiest descendant of a—"
He couldn't even finish the thought before the monster took another step forward.
He yells in his mind.
He refused to die here. Not here. Not like this.
Even if the monster before him was a Rank 8 Harbingers , even if it was leagues beyond his strength, he wouldn't just accept death without even struggling.
But then… he noticed something.
The creature was a little bit different from what he saw in the books. Deep gashes marked its body, black blood oozing from its wounds. Its breath was ragged, its movements sluggish as if he was a drunk.
It was on the brink of collapse.
If even a twig struck it now, it might just keel over and die.
Kaelvren's fear dulled.
It was replaced by greed.
Even though his eyes burned with greed at the thought of claiming something valuable from the Rank 8 corpse, Kaelvren didn't rush in recklessly.
He waited.
An hour passed by with each passing second stretching into eternity of time. His muscles ached from staying still in a single position, his breath shallow as he watched the dying creature. The Grave stalker lay motionless, its body shuddering with every breath. As he was barely clinging to his life, its strength drained, its existence hanging by a worn out thread.
This was his chance.
Summoning every ounce of strength left in his stiff body, Kaelvren lunged. His crude spear drove deep into the creature's back and shattered upon the impact. Yet, despite breaking apart, the jagged stone tip plunged deep enough to pierce the monster's heart.
The Grave Stalker let out a final, blood curdling shriek, its hollow eyes widening in agony. A violent tremor wracked its broken form, its breath hitching in one last struggle.
Then—silence.
The monster collapsed.
With that, a sharp DING! echoed in his mind.
A mechanical voice cold and emotionless resounded within him.
[You have slain a Rank 8 Harbinger, Grave stalker.]
All the soul fragments you will have accumulated will be calculated at the end of the trial.
Kaelvren's breath became ragged, his chest rising and falling in exhaustion. He had done it. He had actually killed a Rank 8 monster.
"If world come to know i killed a Harbinger when i am just a lesser than I will be hail as the greatest genius of all time"
But before he could even process his victory, something unexpected happened.
Before he could catch his breath, the voice echoed once more.
DING!
> [You have obtained a Utility-Type Artifact.]
As Kaelvren's mind processed this words a disgusting smile formed on his face hehehehe "I finally have my own artefact not given by someone else hahaha"
His mind was full of himself made trash song
An artifact, an artifact, I finally found
It rolled to my feet… luck? Or destiny bound?
Heh. Even misfortune knows I wear the crown.
With a deep exhale he try to Summon the artifact as though of the
artifact a dark sinister looking pair of shackles materialized.
Its surface was engraved with ominous symbols, and the metal felt unnaturally heavy, almost as if it carried a presence. The chain was giving a feeling as if it was waiting for their next victim.
Kaelvren's eyes narrowed as he examined them.
Kaelvren's gaze remained fixated on the artifact. With that, he uttered a word, "Details."
A black holographic screen popped up before him. Filled with a detail on the artifact.
---
Name: Grief Shackles
Rank: Harbingers (Rank 8)
Type: Utility-Type Shackle
---
Effects:
Curse: Gradually drains the strength of the bound target, inducing pain and weakening resistance. The longer the target remains shackled, the stronger the effect.
Binding: Once attached, the shackles cannot be removed by normal physical force. The more the target struggles, the tighter the chains become.
---
[Description]
"Once wielded by a great warrior to bind a demon of calamity, the Griefshackles have since fallen into a dormant state. The rusted chains carry the remnants of an ancient curse, causing agony to those ensnared. Though its full power remains sealed, its binding and weakening effects persist."
---
[Usage & Effects]
1. Restraining Opponents:
When thrown, the shackles seek out the nearest target within a 10-meter radius and attempt to bind them. If latched onto a limb, the movement of that limb is severely restricted. If bound around the torso, the target's entire body movement slows down significantly.
2. Weaken & Debilitate:
Targets suffer progressive strength loss, making their attacks weaker the longer they remain shackled. Pain and fatigue increase over time, reducing mobility and combat effectiveness.
3. Escape & Limitations:
The shackles automatically release after 30 seconds in their current sealed state. Struggling against the binding causes the chains to constrict faster, making escape even harder. The artifact's true potential is locked, but it may evolve when Kaelvren becomes stronger.
---
[Flaws & Weaknesses]
Limited Duration: The shackles only last 30 seconds before automatically releasing.
Cannot Bind Large Creatures: The artifact struggles to restrain creatures that exceed a certain size or strength threshold.
Sealed Power: The true abilities of the Grief Shackles are locked, making them far weaker than their original state.
Single Target: The shackles can only bind one enemy at a time in their current form.
Cooldown Period: After use, they take several minutes before they can be activated again.
Unable to Use: Due to its wielder needed to be at least an achiever that is why the relic is currently sealed for the trial end.
---
Kaelvren's expression darkened as he read the last line. His eyes twitched.
"What the hell?" he muttered. His fingers clenched around the artifact, veins bulging on his forehead.
His breathing turned into anger as the realization hit him.
"I can't use it?"
"Why the hell can't I use it, huh!?" As he shouted in the desolate land "Fucking why!? Why is it always me!?"
His misfortune always seemed to strike at the worst time possible. Every single time. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as he gritted his teeth.
"Why can't I just be lucky for once!? Even for a goddamn hour!
Fuck you goddess of luck if you exist."
In his anger, he kicked a small rock.
The tiny stone ricocheted off a larger boulder then bounced back on his face.
THUD.
It smacked him square in the forehead.
Kaelvren froze, his body stiff. His eyes filled with tears but he stopped it.
As if fate itself was mocking his misery.
Kaelvren's face twisted, his expression caught between rage and the urge to cry he didn't know whether to cry or laugh. His eyes burned, but he held it in, his breath unsteady.
His mind raced, searching for a solution that could salvage this mess.
What should I do now?
But no matter how hard he tried to think, there was only a single word echoing in his head.
Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.