From the monitoring hall a short distance from the Trial Grounds…

  the Head of the School watched hundreds of light dots—each representing a student—move across the projected terrain. Nearly half the markers flickered with low excitement.

  “Half of them aren’t impressed with the rewards,” he muttered. “Mid-grade spirit stones aren’t that hard to obtain if you have backing. What they’re really waiting for is…”

  Out on the field, the supervising teacher raised her voice.

  “Like every year, there is also a special prize for the winner,” she announced. “This time, it comes directly from the Council. One of the esteemed elders has sent a guest to observe this final test after your Awakening. The first-place reward will be an artifact from the First-Grade Open Locker—one of the Council’s public treasuries. The best part is this: you will receive an artifact that most closely matches your awakened soul.”

  The plaza, which had been merely tense before, sharpened instantly with focus.

  Near the monitoring array, a man dressed in council robes shifted uncomfortably.

  “The only reason I came,” he grumbled to himself, “is because Madam ordered me to serve as the guest and deliver the prize from the locker. I don’t even know why she cares about this batch. And if I ‘miss anything,’ she said I’ll be punished…”

  He shuddered slightly. “Guarding duty for three months in the Forbidden Lands as punishment.”

  Near the Trial Grounds entrance, the teacher stood before a round stone gate humming with light.

  “Everyone, get ready,” she said. “I’m opening the entrance now. You will be sent to the outer layer of the testing grounds first.”

  The students barely heard her. After the artifact announcement, they were vibrating with impatience. A soul-matched artifact was nearly impossible to obtain through normal means—no one wanted to waste this chance.

  The gate flared open.

  Most students surged through at once, a flood of uniforms and clashing auras.

  Only one figure walked instead of running.

  WINI.

  A faint burning sensation had started in his left eye, spreading along the right side of his body and leaving his thoughts jagged. Jaw clenched, he stepped through the portal last.

  Behind him, one of the teachers frowned.

  “That student… the one who awakened the Void Soul, right? Looks like he’s already lost his confidence…”

  Trial Start — 900 Students

  Light twisted—and then WINI stood on rough ground beneath a pale sky. A translucent interface bloomed across his wristband, displaying a map and ranking list.

  Total participants: 900

  Points: 0

  Position: Outer zone

  Even with the strange heat pulsing in his left eye, he began moving. The Trial Grounds around him were a mix of scrubland, broken stone, and low shrubs—perfect terrain for ambushes.

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  A blur shot from the underbrush.

  A ferocious rabbit.

  “So this is the low-class beast mentioned in the records,” WINI thought. “Normal-type. Extremely common across the continent.”

  The rabbit lunged for his throat, faster than he expected. WINI’s reaction lagged half a beat behind his thoughts.

  Small body. Short charge distance… of course it’s fast.

  He raised his arm on instinct. The beast redirected mid-air, jaws snapping shut around his forearm—around skin he had coated with his spirit energy a heartbeat earlier.

  The rabbit’s teeth met… nothing.

  To the beast, it felt like biting air.

  A cold understanding slid into place.

  So that’s how Cancellation works on contact.

  The rabbit recoiled in confusion, then coiled to spring again.

  This time, WINI was ready.

  He tried pushing his energy outside his body—but with his current control, only a thin stream responded. He adjusted his intent, compressing that stream into a narrow strand.

  A thread.

  He flicked his wrist, swinging the void-tinted thread toward the rabbit’s neck.

  The beast leapt.

  The invisible strand sliced through fur and bone without resistance. The rabbit’s head separated cleanly and fell to the ground.

  WINI stared at his hand, half shocked, half thrilled.

  “Thread Slash,” he murmured.

  The name settled naturally, as if it had always existed.

  He moved deeper into the first zone.

  An Ironhide Boar snorted ahead, its armor-like hide catching dull light.

  “Strongest defense among common beasts,” WINI recalled.

  The boar charged.

  He sidestepped at the last moment, letting it thunder past, and snapped another Thread Slash across its thick neck. The attack looked almost lazy.

  The boar’s head flew just as easily as the rabbit’s.

  Nearby, Gonad drowned a ferocious rabbit in a localized surge of water, his Tidal Dominion pulling the beast into a shallow, swirling field at his feet. When another rabbit tried to flee, it darted straight toward WINI—

  —and lost its head to another thread.

  Gonad froze. “WINI, what was that skill? It looked so simple, but it’s insanely strong. That was really cool.”

  “It’s nothing,” WINI replied. “I’m just using my energy in a different form.”

  Gonad didn’t fully understand, but nodded anyway. “Okay… want to hunt together?”

  “Yes. Let’s go.”

  They advanced side by side. Three more ferocious rabbits and two Ironhide Boars emerged, spreading out around them.

  “WINI, I’ll take the rabbits,” Gonad said. “Can you handle the Ironhides?”

  “Yes.”

  As the rabbits leapt, Gonad activated Tidal Dominion. Water shimmered over the ground, forming a circular field that dragged the beasts down as if the earth itself had turned fluid. The rabbits thrashed briefly, then went still.

  WINI glanced over. “Nice. Not bad.”

  He turned back to his targets.

  Threads lashed out—faster now, more confident. Two clean arcs, two falling heads.

  Gonad whistled. “So that’s how your Awakening skill works?”

  “Yes,” WINI said. “But I’m applying it differently.”

  “I still don’t get it.”

  WINI thought for a moment. “Think of your innate skill like an egg. You can eat it raw—like how you’re using it now. Or you can turn it into an omelet. Same egg, different preparation.”

  Gonad’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Same base, different applications. I get it now. I’ll try some ‘recipes’ too. But seriously—you’re a genius for figuring this out so fast.”

  “I’m pretty sure most students have already realized similar things,” WINI said calmly. “Except you.”

  “Rude,” Gonad muttered, grinning. “Alright, let’s keep going.”

  They pushed deeper.

  Then the heat in WINI’s left eye flared violently.

  The restlessness spread down the right side of his body, sharp enough to blur his vision. He staggered forward, one hand clamping over his eye.

  “WINI! What happened?” Gonad snapped. “Did someone sneak attack you?”

  “No.” WINI’s voice tightened. “I just… need time. Can you hold the beasts off while I stabilize my energy?”

  This time, he couldn’t push through it. He dropped to one knee, shut his left eye completely, and focused inward.

  “Don’t worry about anything,” Gonad said, stepping in front of him as distant snarls echoed through the trees.

  “I’ll defend you. Just focus on circulation.”

  WINI drew a slow breath and turned his awareness inward—toward the churning void-light pressing against his eye.

  This chapter marks the true beginning of the Trial Grounds—where awakened skills stop being theory and start revealing their real nature. WINI’s Void ability is only starting to show its behavior, and not all progress comes without a cost.

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