The figure stepped out from between the trees with the slow, deliberate confidence of someone who wasn’t afraid of being seen. Sunlight slid over him in fractured rays, revealing a tall, lean silhouette. Human. Or human enough that Mike’s brain accepted it without protest.

  Clothing: the same basic System-provided tunic Mike and Sael wore.

  Expression: cold.

  Eyes: sharp, scanning, calculating.

  Hands: gripping a stone club fashioned from wood and a chunk of jagged rock.

  Mike froze.

  Not a monster.

  A person.

  Lumi pressed closer to his leg, all six tails straight and bristling. The fox’s low growl rumbled like static building in the air.

  Sael whimpered, shrinking behind the boulder again.

  The man’s gaze swept the clearing, landed on Mike, and didn’t move. Something about that stare made Mike feel like prey. The newcomer tilted his head slightly, evaluating the distance, the terrain, the noise, the chance to strike without risk.

  Then he smiled. A small, satisfied curve of the lips.

  Mike spoke first.

  “H—Hey,” he said carefully, raising his hands. “We don’t want trouble. We’re in the same situation. Same tutorial. Maybe we can—”

  The man didn’t let him finish.

  He lunged.

  No warning. No hesitation. No words.

  Just raw intention.

  The stone club whistled toward Mike’s skull. Mike barely ducked in time; the blow smashed into the tree behind him with a crack that sent splinters flying.

  Holy shit, Mike thought, heart hammering. He’s actually trying to kill me.

  “Stop!” Mike shouted, stumbling back. “We’re in the TUTORIAL! You can’t just—”

  The System disagreed.

  A soft chime rang in Mike’s mind.

  [Notice: Candidate-on-Candidate combat detected.]

  [Clarification: Eliminating hostile candidates yields tutorial rewards.]

  Mike’s blood ran cold.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he whispered. “This is allowed?”

  The man grinned wider, lifting his makeshift club.

  “Allowed?” he rasped. His voice was hoarse, wild, like he hadn’t spoken in days. “It’s encouraged.”

  He swung again.

  Mike threw himself sideways, rolling across the dirt. The club smashed down where his ribs had been a second earlier.

  Sael cried out, “Please—stop! Stop—!”

  The attacker ignored them completely. His attention was locked on Mike with the intensity of a starving animal.

  Lumi darted forward, tiny fangs bared, fur sparking faintly with static.

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  “No—Lumi—!” Mike yelled.

  Too late.

  The attacker kicked the fox aside, hard. Lumi yelped, tumbling across the grass.

  Something hot and violent flashed inside Mike’s chest.

  He surged to his feet.

  “You bastard—!”

  He hadn’t wanted to use his abilities again this soon. Not with the imprint still lingering. Not with his mana so low. But instinct overrode caution.

  Lightning flickered along his arm.

  A spark burst between his fingertips.

  The man’s eyes widened for one fraction of a heartbeat.

  Then he attacked again.

  Mike raised his hand, energy swirling chaotically.

  “Static Step!”

  His body jerked forward in a burst of speed, not graceful but fast enough to throw off the man’s swing. The club whooshed past Mike’s shoulder as Mike shot forward, barely keeping his balance.

  He stumbled, caught himself, turned—

  The attacker was already pivoting, already swinging again, relentless.

  “Get—away—!”

  Mike thrust out his palm.

  “Chaotic Pulse!”

  The blast that erupted wasn’t big. Not like the Nightstalker fight. More like a lightning grenade going off prematurely. A sphere of blue-white sparks and violet flickers exploded between them, throwing both men backward.

  Mike hit the ground hard, rolling through dirt and grass. His arm burned from the backlash. His head rang.

  The attacker was worse off — thrown several meters, tumbling, coughing hard as smoke curled from his ripped tunic.

  Mike staggered to his feet.

  Lumi limped back to him, growling, fur crackling faintly with defensive static.

  The attacker spat blood.

  Then — impossibly — laughed.

  “You’re strong,” he rasped. “Good.”

  He sprinted toward Mike again.

  Mike’s stomach dropped. “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me—!”

  Sael, desperate and trembling, raised both hands. “Illusion—!”

  A flicker of pale light shimmered in the attacker’s peripheral vision. A ghostly blur — not enough to fool him, but enough to make him flinch.

  It bought half a second.

  Mike needed all of it.

  He grabbed Lumi, twisted, and dove behind a cluster of rocks as the club smashed down, sending shards flying. Thunder roared in Mike’s ears. His heart pounded like it was trying to tear free from his ribcage.

  He couldn’t run.

  Not with Sael.

  Not with Lumi hurt.

  He had to end this.

  He pushed Lumi gently behind him and stood, forcing his shaking legs to brace.

  Lightning crawled up his arm again.

  Wild.

  Uncontrolled.

  Alive.

  “Okay,” Mike whispered to himself. “No collapsing caves this time. No blowing myself up.”

  He stepped forward.

  The attacker charged.

  Mike thrust his hand forward.

  But instead of shouting a skill name, he did something new.

  He focused.

  A single spark.

  A single point.

  A single direction.

  Lightning snapped outward in a tight, narrow burst.

  Not a storm.

  A bolt.

  It struck the attacker directly in the chest.

  The force lifted him off his feet and slammed him into a tree trunk with a sickening crack. The club dropped from his hand. His eyes rolled back. His body sagged and fell forward, limp, hitting the ground facedown.

  Silence.

  A long, heavy silence.

  Then—

  [Hostile Candidate Eliminated.]

  [Issuing reward.]

  Mike stared as the notification hovered before him.

  Sael’s breath hitched sharply.

  Lumi whimpered.

  Mike felt sick.

  But the System wasn’t done.

  [Tutorial Quest Unlocked: FIRST SELECTION]

  ? Survive for 72 hours

  ? Defeat or evade hostile candidates

  ? Eliminate at least 1 major threat

  ? Optional: Eliminate additional candidates

  ? Reward: Advancement, skill growth, clearance to next trial

  [Warning: Chaotic Imprint detected]

  [Nearby creatures may be drawn to your location]

  Mike clenched his fists.

  He’d just fought a person.

  A real person.

  Someone who hadn’t hesitated for a single second.

  Sael wrapped their arms around themselves, trembling. “He… he would have killed you.”

  Mike swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

  “That is what the System wants,” Sael whispered. “This is… selection. Like my elders feared.”

  Lumi climbed Mike’s leg, trembling, burying himself against Mike’s chest.

  Mike held him close.

  His heart hammered. His muscles shook. His mind spun with fear, adrenaline, guilt — and something darker, deeper:

  A cold realization.

  This wasn’t a safe tutorial.

  This wasn’t a guided experience.

  This wasn’t a class introduction.

  This was a test of brutality.

  Of adaptability.

  Of survival.

  A selection.

  And the System — perfect, absolute, merciless — was watching everything.

  Somewhere in the forest, a distant roar echoed.

  Not animal.

  Not human.

  Something answering his imprint.

  Something drawn toward the fight.

  Mike’s skin crawled.

  Lumi whimpered again.

  Sael whispered a prayer in a language Mike didn’t recognize.

  Mike tightened his grip on the fox and forced himself to breathe.

  “Come on,” he said quietly. “We need to move. Now.”

  They turned toward the deeper forest.

  The shadows stretched longer.

  The air grew colder.

  The System prompted one final message:

  [First Selection — Time Remaining: 71:52:17]

  And they walked into the trees.

  Thank you for reading!

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