CHAPTER 30 - Survive
Li Chen kept moving after the fight, though not quite as smooth as before. His steps felt a bit heavier, his legs less responsive, and his breathing hadn't quite settled down. Fighting that worm had definitely taken more out of him than he cared to admit.
Still, there was a small sense of satisfaction somewhere in the back of his mind. A level up. A new skill. A beast core already absorbed. For something they called a "penalty," it hadn't felt all that punishing.
However, something just didn't feel right.
Li Chen let out a slow breath as he walked, his eyes scanning the dim, broken landscape. The ground stretched out endlessly, dry and uneven, with those two dull moons still hanging overhead like they had nowhere else to be. Everything about this place screamed unfinished, like it had been abandoned mid-creation.
And yet
That feeling from earlier hadn't gone away. If anything, it had gotten worse.
"…This can't be it," he muttered to himself, without really thinking.
The worm had been dangerous, sure, but not dangerous enough to be the real penalty. In fact, it had helped him more than it hurt.
Which could only mean one thing.
He hadn't reached the actual problem yet.
Li Chen kept walking, his pace steady despite the fatigue, until something ahead finally made him slow down.
At first, it just looked like a faint glow on the ground.
But the closer he got, the clearer it became.
Lines.
Lots of them
Curved, layered, crossing each other in ways that definitely didn't look random. The ground itself had been carved into a large circular pattern, and a faint light pulsed through the grooves, like something underneath was still active.
Li Chen stopped a few steps away.
"…What is this?"
He didn't step back, and he didn't step forward either. He just stood there, watching it for a moment.
There was something about it that felt… familiar.
Not in a clear way, more like a faint memory he couldn't quite grasp. The longer he looked, the stronger that feeling became, like he'd seen something similar before, or maybe felt it.
The light along the lines flickered again.
Li Chen's brows drew together slightly.
"…An array?"
That was the closest he could come up with.
And not just any array.
Something about it told him it wasn't simple.
Before he could think any further—
"You intend to leave a fragmented space by walking?"
The system voice cut in, flat and unimpressed.
Li Chen didn't even flinch this time.
"You've been quiet," he replied, glancing back down at the glowing pattern.
"That is because you have been doing nothing worth commenting on."
Li Chen let out a small breath through his nose.
"Yeah, that sounds about right."
There was a brief pause.
"The array beneath your feet is a spatial rift anchor."
Li Chen's gaze sharpened slightly as the system continued .
"It is the only way out."
He stared at it for another second, then rolled his shoulders slightly.
"Could've said that earlier."
"You were busy surviving something you deemed 'not a penalty.'"
Li Chen didn't reply to that.
He just sighed and stepped forward.
The moment his foot entered the circle, the formation reacted.
Light surged through the carved lines instantly, spreading outward like something had just been triggered. The faint glow from before turned sharp and bright, tracing every pattern until the entire array lit up beneath him.
Li Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Right."
A blue panel appeared in front of him.
[Spatial Rift Link Established]
[Transit Sequence Initiating…]
"Of course it is," he muttered.
The light intensified quickly.
It flooded his vision, forcing him to raise an arm slightly as he tried to see through it. The ground beneath him didn't feel stable anymore.
It felt like everything around him was shifting.
His body followed.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if he was standing still or being dragged somewhere else entirely.
Then
Everything snapped.
---------
Thud!
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Li Chen hit the ground again, right on his backside.
This time, he didn't even try to hide the reaction.
"I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose…"
He pushed himself up with a small grimace, rubbing his lower back before dusting himself off, clearly more annoyed now than embarrassed.
He was about to say something else when the noise reached him
Clashing metal. Shouting. Something , definitely a bone breaking.
Li Chen's head snapped up.
"…What now?"
The scene in front of him had changed completely.
The empty, broken land was gone.
In its place was a battlefield.
It stretched out wide, filled with movement in every direction. Figures clashed in groups, weapons flashing, techniques colliding, bodies moving in ways that had nothing to do with sparring.
Dust filled the air, mixed with the sharp scent of blood, and the constant noise made it hard to focus on just one thing at a time.
Li Chen stood there for a second, taking it in.
Different robes. Different groups.
No clear side that he could identify immediately.
Not that it mattered.
A panel appeared in front of him.
[Spatial Transit Complete]
[Penalty Phase: Initiated]
Li Chen blinked once.
"…So this is it."
Another line followed.
[Objective: Survive]
[Time Remaining: 03:00:00]
He stared at it for a moment longer than he needed to.
"…Survive?"
That was the task.
Not win or defeat an opponent
Just survive.
Li Chen let out a quiet breath, his gaze shifting back to the battlefield.
That explained everything.
If survival was the goal, then he wasn't meant to overpower anything here.
Which meant everything here could probably kill him.
"Yeah… that makes sense."
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Li Chen moved immediately.
An arrow flew past his face, close enough that he felt it brush against his skin before it struck the ground behind him.
He didn't pause.
Didn't even look back.
He shifted his footing and moved, stepping away from where he had landed as another clash broke out nearby. A blade swung somewhere to his left, someone shouted, and another figure dropped to the ground not too far away.
Li Chen adjusted his path without thinking, moving along the outer edges of the battlefield instead of heading into the middle. His steps were quick but controlled, weaving through gaps and avoiding direct contact where he could.
Someone stumbled toward him, injured and barely steady.
Li Chen sidestepped without hesitation, letting them pass.
Another burst of energy exploded nearby, forcing him to shift direction again as debris scattered across the ground. His body reacted faster than his thoughts now, instincts taking over where hesitation would only get him caught.
The earlier fatigue was still there, but it didn't matter much anymore.
His focus had already shifted.
Three hours.
That was the real problem.
Li Chen exhaled slowly as he kept moving, slipping through the edges of the battlefield, avoiding anything that looked like trouble and adjusting whenever something got too close.
He didn't need to win here.
He just needed to last long enough to get out.