The school was buzzing like a disturbed hornet’s nest.
Students swarmed near the Mission Board, where a blood-red notice had appeared overnight:
[VIRTUAL CUBE TEST - SCHOOL LEVEL]
"Survive. Score. Stand out. Or die unknown."
"Disclaimer: All mental injuries, deaths, and losses are your responsibility. Sign the waiver before entry."
A crowd had already gathered.
kwon chen , the school’s infamous bully, stood tall on a bench, arms crossed, flanked by three students.
“Listen up, losers!” he barked, “wanna pass the test ? Then pay me, and I’ll let you join my elite squad. I guarantee 2nd-rank kills. Guaranteed points. No refunds.”
He pointed to his "squad":
Shin Rok – A-rank, brute-type.
Do Min-seok – A-rank, tactician.
Yoo Jang-mi – B-rank, illusionist.
All loyal, all greedy.
Most students eyed him with a mix of desperation and fear.
And then…
Yanluo walked past them.
Hands in pockets. No expression. No hesitation.
kwon chen raised an eyebrow.
“Hey, cripple-rank. Want to survive? I might let you clean our boots for a spot.”
Yanluo didn’t even glance.
He walked straight to the registration desk, filled the Death Waiver, and stamped it.
[System Notice: You’ve agreed to potential termination inside the Virtual Cube. You crazy bastard.]
What students didn’t know…
Five major universities were watching through crystal projections from an observation tower nearby.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-->> Serpentspire Academy
-->> Skyhold Sanctum
-->> Ironcore Institute
-->> Venom Rose University
-->> Shadowroot College
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nam Gung Seo-yoon, the elegant goddess of the school, rejected all offers for teaming .
“I work better alone.”
Everyone nodded. No one dared question her.
Ryu Han, the charming top student, formed a team with two A-rank fighters—efficient, safe.
Kwon chen, the bully, entered with his trio like a mob boss.
Then came the whispers:
“Why is that guy going in alone?”
“Didn’t he awaken with trash skills?”
“He’ll die before the second wave.”
Yanluo stepped into the portal without looking back.
[Entering Virtual Cube… Loading Mind Sync…]
The moment Yanluo stepped into the VR Cube, he felt it.
The air wasn’t coded—it was breathing. The trees whispered, and the fog moved like it had purpose.
This was no simulation. It was a battlefield in disguise.
?? [Seeker System Active]
SP Tracker: 0 SP
Current Skills: Dash, Shapeshift, Shadow Kill, Defensive Barrier
Scene 1: First Blood – Rank 1 Slaughter
The initial phase began with Rank 1 monsters—weak, territorial, and fast.
Dozens of students charged into the mist, blades drawn and spirits high. The excitement was infectious.
Yanluo, however, didn’t rush. He watched. Calculated.
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Soon, he spotted a nervous group of D-ranks cornered by horned rabbits.
He shapeshifted into their friend—then shouted the wrong elemental counter.
“Fire! Use fire!”
The girl hesitated. She cast it. The rabbits absorbed the flames, grew faster, then swarmed her.
[SP Gained: 80 – False Command Resulting in Panic & Injury]
Later, he stole a healing potion while disguised as a medic, then "accidentally" gave a paralyzed student a fatigue pill instead.
[SP Gained: 120 – Life-Endangering Sabotage]
Another time, he tripped a guy mid-sprint, causing a chain-reaction fall that left three injured.
[SP Gained: 100 – Induced Internal Chaos]
He moved like a ghost. Helped no one. Hurt everyone.
And by the time the Rank 1 phase ended…
SP: 1,500
Scene 2: Rise of the Ravagers – Rank 2 Wave
The cube trembled. Rank 2 monsters spawned—twice the size, three times the savagery.
kwon chen laughed madly as he tore through Razorboars and Needlehounds.
Nearby, ryu han lit up the forest with spearflames.
ryu haan cut silently through Nightjackals, her movements too perfect to even attract sound.
Yanluo?
He baited students into unsafe zones by shouting monster locations.
One poor support class rushed where he pointed—only to find three Blade Beasts waiting.
[SP Gained: 200 – Indirect Lure to Death]
Another time, Yanluo used Shapeshift to mimic an elite, stole a rare buff scroll, and applied it to himself.
[SP Gained: 130 – Theft + Identity Fraud]
A wounded boy begged for help. Yanluo knelt… and whispered in his ear:
“Tell your mom… you deserved this.”
Then walked away.
[SP Gained: 160 – Psychological Sabotage]
SP: 3,200
Scene 3: The Wall of Fangs – Rank 3 Carnage
The cube shifted again.
Thunderclap. Fog cleared. Rank 3 monsters appeared.
Massive, intelligent, and tactical.
A Rank 3 Thornback Ape tore through teams like they were paper dolls. A Night Wyvern howled overhead, disabling magical gear with its shriek.
Even kwon chen and ryu han started grunting. No longer toying—now fighting to survive.
Yanluo tried to stay distant… but Rank 3 monsters hunted differently.
A Lurking Serpent sniffed out his presence, chasing him into a pit.
For the first time… he was the prey.
He barely escaped using Dash + Shapeshift. He tricked the monster into attacking a nearby squad instead.
[SP Gained: 220 – Redirected Danger to Teammates]
One of the squad members turned and screamed, “Hyun-suk, help!”
Yanluo just tilted his head and disappeared.
[SP Gained: 200 – Abandonment under False Identity]
He fled to a vantage point and began sniping with shadow-infused daggers, never helping—always looting.
He even killed a monster that another team had almost defeated and stole the loot while they were downed.
[SP Gained: 270 – Loot Hijack + Kill Steal]
By the end of Rank 3…
Only half the students remained.
Yanluo crouched on a bloodied branch.
SP: 6,500
Scene 4: The Basilisk Emerges – Rank 4 Catastrophe
Then the ground opened. The trees shook.
[WARNING: Rank 4 Monster Detected – Poison-Fanged Basilisk]
Thirty feet long. Emerald scales that shimmered like steel.
Its hissing created earthquakes.
The top-tier students were forced to unite.
kwon chen, nam gung seo yoon , Ryu haan , even lesser elites—all came together to hold it back.
For once, ego bowed to terror.
nam gung seo yoon coordinated the charge.
kwon chen used back stab and slammed dagger into its skull.
Ryu haan moved behind, cutting tendons with surgical cruelty.
And yet—it wasn’t enough.
A wave of poison knocked five students unconscious. One didn’t get back up.
Yanluo watched it all.
Then he smirked.
“This is it.”
Scene 5: Seeker’s Strike – Kill Steal of the Century
He activated Shadow Kill, waited for the moment…
When kwon chen pierced its heart and Ryu haan was mid-swing—
SHADOW KILL: Activated
From behind a rock far away, Yanluo stabbed the beast’s shadow with a smile.
The Basilisk screamed. Seized up. And died.
[SP Gained: 400 – Major Monster Kill Steal]
[SP Gained: 300 – Timing Exploit]
[SP Gained: 150 – Credit Robbery]
[SP Gained: 200 – Ego Damage Inflicted on Rivals]
[SP Gained: 50 – Laughed Internally While Doing It]
SP: 7,600
He didn't stop there.
He used Shapeshift to blend in with the rescue teams, then misdirected a med squad toward a fake location.
One of the dying students bled out because of it.
[SP Gained: 500 – Fatal Delay]
[SP Gained: 300 – Post-Battle Deception]
SP: 8,400
Scene 6: Suspicions Rise
Back in the control tower, Dean Lok zoomed in on the Basilisk’s death.
“No recorded skill. No physical contact. Only a flicker in the shadows…”
He rewound it.
“Shadow Kill?” he whispered.
“But… no student has it.”
The system flagged nothing. But he wasn’t convinced.
“We’ve got a rat. A very clever one.”
The goddess turned mid-walk. Her eyes shimmered violet.
She replayed the fight in her head.
“I saw you…” she murmured. “Even if just a flicker. That wasn’t kwon chen.”
Her sword hummed.
“That was Yanluo.”
Before the trial ended, Yanluo pulled one final act.
He used Shapeshift to enter the announcement zone. While everyone was watching the speech, he stole elite monster cores from a reward chest behind the scenes.
[SP Gained: 1,200 – Major Theft]
[SP Gained: 1,000 – National-Scale Deceit]
[SP Gained: 200 – Public Fraud Under Identity Mask]
Final SP: 12,000
The VR faded.
Seven dead because of high mental damage .
The principal spoke words that shook even the strongest:
“Your courage was tested. Some failed. Some passed. But none left unchanged.”
The crowd stood silent.
The results screen flashed—
TOP SCORER: ERROR // SYSTEM UNKNOWN
Gasps. Whispers.
Then—
Blackout.
Kwon Chen's eyes blazed with frustration as his grip tightened around his weapon, the anger bubbling beneath his calm exterior; his kill had been stolen, and though the thief had slipped away unscathed for now, he leaned forward, his voice low and dangerous, 'You think you've won? I'll make you regret ever crossing me. Next time, there won't be a lucky escape.'
Ryu haan also cracked his knuckles.
“I don’t care who it was. If they’re aiming for first—I’ll bury them.”
From the back, Yanluo walked quietly.
The world whispered of legends.
He walked like a shadow.
But now… he had 12,000 SP and the Store was about to refresh.
“Let’s see what the darkness offers next.”
