CHAPTER 18: SURVIVAL TRIAL (4)

Chapter 18 : Survival Trial (4)

The forest was deathly quiet.

Michael’s boots sank slightly into the damp soil as he moved, each step deliberate, careful not to snap twigs or disturb leaves. His sword hung sheathed across his back, the faint shimmer of frost clinging to the hilt like it was breathing with him. The dense canopy above filtered the light into uneven patches, making shadows dance across the undergrowth.

It wasn’t silence out of peace. It was silence out of fear.

The forest was holding its breath.

And then he heard it.

—Growl.

Low, guttural, vibrating through the air. It wasn’t just one. It was dozens layered on top of each other, faint at first, then clearer as he advanced. He paused, narrowed his eyes, and vaulted upward. His body coiled like a spring and then— whoosh—he shot to the highest branch of an ancient oak.

From there, he finally saw them.

A mass of wolves.

Down below, prowling the clearing in front of a jagged cave entrance, nearly seventy wolf-like monsters circled restlessly. Their black-gray fur gleamed faintly in the weak sunlight, and their eyes glowed with an unnatural yellow hunger. Frein Wolves.

Michael’s memory clicked instantly.

Common E-rank monsters. Always in packs. Wolf Claw skill. Sharp Bite. Enhanced coordination. Against one or two? Manageable. Against seventy? Suicidal.

He crouched low on the branch, holding his breath, studying them. The air smelled of iron and musk, a predator’s domain.

And then, his gaze shifted deeper into the cave.

At first, he thought it was just the shadows. But then the shadow moved. Massive, broader than the others, with fur darker than midnight. Its breathing reverberated through the cavern, eyes gleaming crimson instead of yellow.

Michael’s heart sank.

A line of blue text flickered before his vision:

[Ferin Wolf (Mutated)]

Rank: D

Skills: Wolf Roar (Grey), Air Slash (Green)

He exhaled slowly.

So it’s not just a pack. It’s a pack led by a mutated D-rank alpha. Perfect.

Any normal F+ adventurer would have turned back immediately. Facing seventy E-rank monsters, plus a mutated D-rank alpha, was suicide. Even for Michael, head-on, it was impossible.

But Michael didn’t come here to fight head-on.

---

He touched the cold hilt of his sword, his mind running calculations. Seventy wolves. Coordinated attacks. The alpha would rip me apart in seconds if alerted. I can’t fight them like this.

He needed something new. Something that could let him think faster, act smarter. His current set of skills wasn’t enough.

Michael clenched his jaw.

"System. Open Creation Function."

A ripple of blue light appeared before him, forming a translucent screen hovering in the air.

---

[Creation Function]

Options: [Skill] – [Arts] – [Weapon]

---

Michael selected [Skill] without hesitation.

Another prompt flickered:

[Imagine the skill process in your mind]

He closed his eyes. He pictured the battlefield. Wolves circling. Their movements, their growls, the twitch of their muscles before a strike. He imagined seeing not just the present but the immediate future—branches of possible outcomes stretching before him. His mind running thousands of calculations in seconds. A state where instinct met probability.

He whispered:

"Something... that lets me analyze, predict, and act with precision. To always choose the best possible move."

The system hummed.

---

[Processing...]

... 70% ... 86% ... 93% ... 100%

[Skill Creation Complete]

[Quantum Analysis Mind (Purple)]

---

Michael opened his eyes as the description appeared:

[Quantum Analysis Mind (Purple)

Aspect: Mental / Cognitive

Visual Effect: A faint purple aura shimmered around his eyes, fractal patterns flickering across his irises.

Description: The user enters a hyper-analytic state for 5 minutes, perceiving immediate futures as branching probabilities. Instinctively guided toward the highest-success outcomes by calculating enemy micro-movements, air currents, energy fluctuations, and environmental stress points.

Active Ues : 2/2

Cooldown: 2 Hours]

---

Michael exhaled, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

"Perfect."

---

The purple glow flared briefly in his eyes as he activated Quantum Analysis Mind.

Suddenly, the world slowed.

Every wolf movement became clearer the twitch of their ears, the flex of their paws, the rhythm of their breathing. He could see the way air shifted when one wolf inhaled too deeply. He didn’t just see their movements; he saw the probabilities of what they were about to do next.

Michael melted into the shadows of the branches, then activated Shadow Swap. His body blurred, dissolving into darkness and reappearing silently behind one isolated wolf.

The wolf stiffened too late.

Shhhk!

A clean sword slash, precise to the neck, severed its life instantly. The body slumped without a sound.

Michael vanished again, slipping between shadows. Another wolf. Another neck. Then another.

Like a phantom, he danced across the clearing, his strikes surgical. No wasted movements. No unnecessary sounds. Wolves fell one by one before they even realized death had reached them.

---

[System Notification: Frein Wolf Slain +100 Points]

[Frein Wolf Slain +100 Points]

[Frein Wolf Slain +100 Points]

---

By the time he paused to breathe, 26 wolves lay dead, their bodies collapsed silently in the underbrush.

And the alpha hadn’t moved from the cave.

Michael smirked faintly.

So far, so good.

---

He scouted again from above, purple lines of probability dancing in his vision. A smaller group of eight wolves lingered on the far edge of the clearing.

He slipped through shadows, dropping silently behind them. Raising his hand, he summoned Frost Bullet. Six shards of condensed ice shimmered into existence, each glowing faintly blue.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Each bullet pierced vital points eyes, throats, joints. Wolves collapsed without howls, their bodies freezing upon impact.

He didn’t stop. Another splinter group, this time six wolves. He cut them down with Sword Slash, his blade trailing sparks as it cleaved through legs, immobilizing them before finishing with precise strikes to the neck.

The tally rose. Wolves fell. The pack was thinning.

By the time Michael stopped, breathing hard, only 20 wolves remained. And the alpha still hadn’t emerged.

But he knew it wouldn’t last.

---

Michael crouched on a high branch, letting his mana recover for fifteen minutes. Sweat dripped down his temple, and his muscles ached, but his eyes never left the cave.

Then it happened.

A deep, guttural roar shook the clearing. The remaining wolves stiffened, their eyes blazing. From the shadows of the cave stepped the mutated alpha.

Its fur was darker than night, bristling with malevolent energy. Its crimson eyes locked on the corpses littering the forest floor, and its jaws opened in a snarl.

"Awoooooo!"

The Wolf Roar exploded outward, a shockwave of sound that made the trees tremble. Michael gritted his teeth as pressure slammed into him, his Ice Shield shimmering to absorb the brunt of it. Cracks spiderwebbed instantly across the shield.

Boom!

The shield shattered, shards of ice scattering like broken glass.

The wolf lunged forward. Its claw swept air compressed into a crescent blade.

Air Slash.

The ground ripped apart where Michael had been standing a second ago. Dirt and bark exploded into the air. Michael’s body blurred as he rolled to the side, sparks flying as his sword met the aftershock of compressed wind.

He clenched his jaw.

This thing... it’s on another level entirely.

---

Purple flickers reignited in his eyes. Quantum Analysis Mind activated again, probability threads branching out before him. He could see possible futures—slashes that missed, claws that struck, his death replaying a dozen different ways. But the threads narrowed toward one slim line of success.

Shadow Swap!

Michael vanished, reappearing behind the wolf, his sword descending in a frost-coated arc. Sparks flew as his blade scraped across its hide, leaving a shallow wound. The wolf roared and spun, claws glowing with mana.

Michael raised his hand—Frost Forge! His sword shimmered, coated in crystalline ice. He met the claw strike head-on. The impact rattled his bones, frost and sparks exploding outward.

His mana flared dangerously low. His body screamed in exhaustion. But he had one chance left.

Space Affinity... fuse with Frost Forge.

The blade in his hand warped, icy mist swirling with faint distortions in the air. The edge looked unstable, as if reality itself bent around it.

The wolf leapt, jaws wide.

Michael roared back, pouring every ounce of mana he had left into his sword.

Spatial Frost Slash!

The world seemed to shatter as his blade cut through the alpha’s body. Space rippled, ice spreading through the wound.

The wolf froze mid-leap, its body split cleanly in two, then collapsed to the ground with a final thud.

---

[System Notification: Ferin Wolf (Mutated) Slain +500 Points]

---

Michael fell to one knee, panting, his vision blurry. His sword trembled in his grip, frost evaporating into mist. Every muscle ached. His mana was completely drained.

But he was alive.

And he had won.

---

The surviving wolves scattered into the forest, leaderless. Michael staggered into the cave, dragging himself deeper until the darkness embraced him.

The air inside was cold, damp, but safe. For now.

He leaned against the stone wall, sliding down until he sat, sword resting across his lap. His chest heaved, exhaustion clawing at him, but a faint smile tugged at his lips.

"This will do... as shelter for the night."

Outside, the moon rose higher. The forest grew silent again.

And in the heart of the cave, Michael closed his eyes, victorious over the first day of survival.