At first, everything in that foreign yet peaceful land seemed harmless to Skyler.
He survived by eating whatever he could find—mostly fruit, though it was often dry and tasteless, along with anything edible, such as flowers, leaves, and roots, that he believed was safe. Every now and then, he would discover berries or a water source.
Those were the days that felt like a feast, for finding water in that lonely place was the hardest part. Whenever he found some, he would greedily drink his fill before taking the opportunity to bathe and wash away the dirt that had accumulated over the days.
Still... despite feeling safe beneath the towering trees, Skyler could feel his mind slowly wearing down. With each passing day, the silence grew heavier, and negative thoughts quietly crept into his heart. Even his body was slowly beginning to weaken.
And the problem was psychological.
Because no matter where he looked, there wasn’t a single living creature in sight. Only endless trees, endless flowers, and silence.
More than once, the thought crossed his mind that perhaps he would never meet another living being again—that he would spend the rest of his life wandering this lonely world until he quietly disappeared.
He had even lost track of time. The last time he had kept count, more than a year had already passed. After that, he simply stopped counting, as it felt meaningless.
Sometimes, he found himself wondering while lying beneath the stars... Had Max and the others under him begun climbing the Battle Royal? How many levels of that place had they cleared by now? Perhaps they had already reached the place where the Divine War was taking place. Perhaps they had already joined the Divine War.
After all, they were so powerful.
So many questions... yet no answers.
Still, these questions maintained the hope within him. Because if they cleared the trial and he was still alive by then, he would be able to return to the real world. That small hope alone was enough to keep him going.
But one day, as Skyler climbed what he thought was just another tree to rest and watch the stars, he finally understood why the land he had wandered for so long felt so eerily devoid of life.
The ’tree’ suddenly began to move.
Skyler almost had a heart attack as the branch beneath him shook and everything around him suddenly lurched into motion.
He tumbled down, scraping himself and suffering several injuries along the way.
Fortunately, before he could fall from the creature’s back and be crushed beneath its colossal body, he managed to grab hold of something. Cursing under his breath as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, he found a narrow opening and hid inside it.
However, amidst the fear that made his heart pound, he could also feel a surge of thrill and excitement. After so long, Skyler had finally found another living creature!
The mountain-sized beast stood up and moved for days before finally coming to a stop beside a massive lake to drink water.
Skyler sat on its back, eating a fruit and patting the beast’s back. However, as he turned his head toward the lake, his eyes widened when he saw a large, prosperous city on the other side, filled with buildings and people with iridescent wings. Those wings were so beautiful, yet also familiar.
Nate had the same kind of wings!
Although his were nowhere near as beautiful as the ones Skyler was seeing.
The moment Skyler saw those wings, he finally understood where he was. This was likely a realm belonging to the spirit race.
At that moment, as Skyler rushed toward the lake recklessly, the beast beneath him lay down once more, becoming a part of the terrain—as though it had never existed.
Reaching the lake, Skyler paused and looked back. A smile flickered across his red-rimmed eyes as he gazed at the place where the massive creature had settled.
Raising a hand, he gave a wave in its direction before quietly muttering.
"Thank you... for everything."
He knew what he had just done was very childish. Maybe to the creature, he was just food, and it wouldn’t even understand what he had said. But in that lonely forest, it had been the only living companion by his side.
So, he was grateful.
With that, Skyler turned back toward the lake, planning how to cross it. Although it was very dangerous to wander into a city inhabited by another race that could very well kill him, he could only hope they were friendly toward humans. What Skyler didn’t know was that the massive creature had long since sensed him stumbling atop its body. It now watched him busy himself, its ancient green eyes filled with amusement.
’What a foolish yet pitiful cub.’
Hearing the faint sounds of activity, the creature slowly closed its eyes. It couldn’t help but laugh and sigh simultaneously as it wondered how this kid, who was so weak, had entered the Spirit Realm. However, the creature hoped the kid wouldn’t die anytime soon. After all, the people of the Spirit Race had little tolerance for outsiders. If the kid wanted to survive in their world, he would have to earn a place for himself there.
Many days passed peacefully.
But one night, the creature was startled awake by the sudden sound of a shout.
Opening its eyes, it saw the human—who had been happily trying to build a boat to somehow cross the lake—sitting slumped in the crystal-clear water, speaking dazedly.
"Someone died... who?"
Skyler’s eyes were unfocused as he stared at the message screen floating before him.
The 100th level trial had connected him, proving that everything around him wasn’t an illusion created by his own mind. But the news it had just conveyed wasn’t pleasant.
______
The Last Trial Progress:
One of the participants has died.
Remaining participants: 99
_______
The message screen disappeared, but Skyler still hadn’t snapped out of his daze.
It seemed that every time someone died in the trial, the remaining would be informed.