The room Seungho was shoved in was pitch black. For all Seungho knew it might as well have been a dungeon, he wouldn't know the difference.
It was too late to change his mind now. He had to go through with it.
A flicker. The screen appeared.
[OPTION 3: AWAKEN — SELECTED]
["Become a Combat Hunter"]
[STATUS: PENDING | OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE]
"That's it? That's all I get?"
What are my stats?
It vanished.
"What does pending even mean? what are my powers?"
Nothing.
"Eh, sorry? Please, come back?"
Still nothing.
"Ok, I guess..."
He sighed. The darkness dipped back in, thicker than before.
He extended his arms and walked a few steps. The floor was uniformly flat and seemed empty. The air was colder than in the lobby.
He stood there in silence in the hope of picking up a noise or a smell that could hint him what he was supposed to do.
His eyes didn't seem to adapt. The darkness felt darker and darker.
He was stuck in there. There was nothing else for him to do but wait.
And he waited in the darkness what seemed an eternity.
Yet, the darkness here wasn't empty. It was waiting too. He didn't know.
Hopefully someone will remember to turn the lights on.
He was getting more nervous by the minute.
Suddenly he felt a presence. His blood began to agitate, bubbling up as if boiling.
Seungho froze.
He panicked.
Where are my powers?
"Screen."
"On."
"Ehm, system help."
"Dammit, this thing is not working."
He yelled. The sound didn't return.
How large is this cave exactly??
He had no idea what to do. Like this, he felt exposed and lonely.
His eyes ached. His blood burned. And slowly, impossibly, the darkness began to take shape.
A figure moved in it. Swift. Tall and slender.
Seungho whipped his head around, following it. He couldn't keep up.
The figure was there, and then over there. Everywhere and nowhere.
I can't simply stand here. I need to do something.
How deceptive our senses are!
So, he shut his eyes. That helped him focus and picture his opponent more easily than if his eyes had been open.
Don't think. Act.
He started moving to the side to see how the figure would follow him. He needed to gather information fast.
But his body had other plans. He started to feel sick, his blood flowing as if a magnet was attracting the cells of his bloodstream out of his body. He felt like needles all over his body were penetrating his skin all at once. Like myriad of stabs.
He needed to find shelter, fast.
But where could he run? There was nothing he could hide behind.
He broke in a cold sweat. Seungho was seriously getting scared.
"Stupid powers, do something!"
He quickly put his hand over his mouth to muffle his trembling voice. Whoever was observing his test could certainly hear him. Seungho needed to keep it together. That's right, they would surely rescue him if something went wrong.
He calmed down. He continued moving, to prevent himself from freezing from fear.
He stopped. A chill went down his spine.
The figure suddenly was behind him. It stood a couple of steps away. Close enough to kill him.
He wouldn't be able to react fast enough unless his powers kicked in.
"Aren't you going to rescue me?!" He addressed the test administrators.
Apparently not...
No. Stop worrying about that. You are imagining your own end, and that is exactly what will happen.
His teeth chattered. He shut his jaw tight and gripped his fists to collect his determination and move past his fears.
I am going to win this!
His nostrils flared.
"Are you—" He choked.
"How dare you stand behind me!"
His determination turned into anger. That's right, anger. He had to take that rage out from deep within himself, if he wanted to win, to survive.
The figure moved.
Not away. Not toward. It shited--left, right, behind him again before he could turn to face it.
With a quick step he sprinted forward.
He found himself alone again.
He spun, tracking nothing. The darkness was empty. Not even a gust of air betraying the presence of the dark figure.
Seungho realized it didn't smell.
Whack.
Something hit him. He fell on his knees.
His lungs burned.
He ducked instinctively, although the figure was already gone, again. And he didn't know when it would return.
He ran but there was nowhere to go.
The figure was everywhere. Behind him. Beside him. Wherever he chose to look.
A blow came from nowhere.
What the hell?!!
His ribs exploded with pain. He stumbled, caught himself. No blood. Not even a bruise forming.
Restless but also in perfect control. The more it moved, the more it was everywhere. It was closing in on him.
Another hit. His right arm. Seungho saw in his mind the broken line splitting his bones into two. His bones had definitely cracked.
He tried to scream. Nothing came out. Just air, bitter and useless.
Just then...Another blow. His thigh. Couldn't dodge what was already there.
So, Seungho turned his body to the other side, to protect his already hurt thigh. And he held his broken arm tight onto his chest to protect it.
His other hand touched the broken arm. The bones had shifted, but the arm held. Compact.
It is functional.
He almost laughed from relief. Then...
Ha! another hit!
It was incoming.
Seungho was preparing for impact. He just needed to make sure this thing didn't surround him, and strangle him.
He focused on his neck to protect it. He felt an energy there, like a fluid. He began imagining it extended over his shoulders, limbs, torso, all over his body, protecting him. A new kind of warmth enveloped Seungho. The energy began to transmute into light.
He could perceive a faint picture of his own body in front of him, glowing in the dark. A projection.
His body convulsed. Something in his throat wanted to come out, desperately. Then it stopped.
When Seungho lifted his head, the figure was in front of him. Its eyes burning in between violet and scarlet. They were incandescent and ferocious.
Instincts kicked in, Seungho placed himself in a fighting stance, one he had seen on TV martial artists take. Of course, he had no idea what he was doing.