The next morning, the sky over New Fornia was a deep, unbothered blue, as if the heavens had decided, "Whatever chaos you're about to face, not my problem."
Shunya stood at the entrance of the National Cultivation Government Organization's combat arena, clutching the small wooden number tag Jean had given him. It read #47, which he assumed was supposed to make him feel official. It didn't. It just felt like a lottery ticket to disaster.
The arena itself was… massive. Bigger than any stadium he had ever seen in his old world. High stone walls surrounded an open battlefield that looked like someone had mashed together three different terrains—flat stone in the center, grasslands to the east, and a suspiciously swampy patch to the west. Oh, and in the far corner, he could swear something moved in the shadows.
"Don't stare at it," Naomi said from behind him, stepping past with the grace of someone who didn't even need to warm up. "That's probably one of the beasts they're throwing in."
Vikoria came up on his other side, her usual calm expression in place. "They didn't tell us what beasts, did they?"
"Nope," Shunya said, adjusting the strap on his training vest. "Guess they want us to be surprised. Like a birthday party, but with more screaming."
Jean, standing at the sideline with a clipboard, gave a sharp whistle to gather attention. "Listen up, all participants!" His voice carried like a man used to yelling at people from a distance. "The free-for-all will last until only ten participants remain standing. Beasts will enter the arena at random intervals. If you are unable to fight, throw your tag on the ground and raise your hand. You will be removed immediately."
Shunya leaned toward Vikoria. "Translation: Don't die."
"Exactly," she said without looking at him.
The gates opened, and the fifty participants shuffled in. Most looked confident. A few, like Shunya, looked like they had questions about their life choices.
The moment the signal horn blared, chaos erupted.
To his left, two cultivators immediately clashed weapons, sparks flying. To his right, a group of three teamed up to rush an isolated fighter. Somewhere behind him, someone yelled, "Who summoned a snake?!" which was not the kind of sentence Shunya wanted to hear this early in the fight.
He decided not to jump into the thick of it yet. Instead, he moved toward the grassy side, keeping low, scanning the field. His system's interface floated lazily in his vision:
[Tip: Avoid early aggression to conserve energy. You are not a protagonist in an action movie… yet.]
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Shunya muttered under his breath.
Vikoria was already a few meters ahead, her staff spinning in lazy arcs as she kept two opponents at bay without actually striking them. Naomi, on the other hand, was doing the exact opposite, she'd gone straight for the center, knocking people back with precise, fast strikes.
"Show off," Shunya grumbled, even though he couldn't deny it was impressive.
Five minutes in, the first beast appeared. The arena gates at the far side opened with a heavy groan, and a massive shadow stepped forward.
It was a boar. A huge, tusked, nightmare version of a boar, its back lined with jagged black fur, eyes glowing faintly red. It let out a low rumble that turned into a roar, and then it charged straight into the nearest group of fighters.
Screams followed.
Shunya's instincts screamed at him to run the other way, but instead he found himself moving closer— slowly, cautiously. The boar wasn't just attacking randomly; it seemed to focus on anyone who made loud noises or big movements.
[Observation: This beast relies on sound and motion cues. Stay quiet. Move slow.]
He ducked behind a boulder, watching as Naomi narrowly dodged the boar's charge, slicing along its flank as it passed. She didn't kill it, just slowed it down— clearly saving her strength for later.
Another beast appeared fifteen minutes later. This one was… well, Shunya didn't have a name for it. It looked like a cross between a wolf and an oversized lizard, its scaled tail swinging like a whip.
The battlefield got even messier.
"Shunya!" Vikoria's voice cut through the noise. He turned to see her fending off a spear-wielding opponent, clearly getting annoyed. "Little help?"
He hesitated. His combat skills were still shaky, but the system had promised him "minimum bonus combat skill" to pass. Time to see what that meant.
He rushed forward, grabbing a fallen short blade from the ground. His body felt lighter, faster— his swings not perfect, but not clumsy either. The spear wielder tried to jab at him, but Shunya sidestepped and smacked the flat of the blade against the man's shoulder. The hit made the opponent drop his weapon in pain, giving Vikoria the opening to push him back and force him to retreat.
"Nice timing," Vikoria said, catching her breath.
Shunya grinned. "Guess the system wasn't lying."
By the thirty-minute mark, half the participants were down, either knocked out or choosing to surrender before getting flattened by a beast. Shunya had managed to avoid serious injury, but his arms were aching and sweat dripped into his eyes.
Naomi passed him at one point, tossing a quick remark over her shoulder. "Keep up, rookie. The fun part hasn't even started."
He was about to ask what she meant when the ground shook.
The third beast entered.
It was huge. Twice the size of the boar, with a long, serpent-like body covered in pale green scales. Its head was crowned with sharp horns, and every breath it took rattled the air like distant thunder.
[Warning: Unknown beast species detected. High threat level.]
Shunya swallowed hard. "Oh… great."
The serpent roared, and for the first time since the fight started, every remaining participant stopped moving.
Even Naomi's confident expression tightened. Vikoria's grip on her staff turned white-knuckled.
The announcer's voice boomed from somewhere above. "Final phase… begins now!"
Shunya had the sudden, sinking realization that this was no longer just about passing a test.
Something was very wrong with this "training" exercise.