Leon opened his [Inventory], his gaze calm but focused.
All Trial Takers gained access to their inventories the moment they resonated with the Trial World. It was one of the few advantages that gave humanity a fighting chance — the ability to carry essentials, survival gear, and weapons into the unknown.
"Let's see what we're working with," Leon muttered as he mentally selected the Starter Survival Pack.
A faint glow of light began to form over his palm.
Leon watched it solidify into a box, the process still surreal even after a year of preparation.
"Tch. No matter how many times I see it, I can't get used to this."
He set the box carefully on the wide tree branch.
Opening it revealed carefully packed supplies — food rations, water containers, and several vials glinting with soft colors.
Tier-V F-Rank Healing and Stamina Recovery Potions.
All courtesy of his family.
Leon smiled faintly.
"Good... at least I won't have to waste time gathering berries or setting traps."
Securing survival necessities meant he could focus completely on clearing the Trial.
He returned the box to his inventory with a thought and immediately pulled out the second gift his family had prepared — a Tier-V F-Rank General Skill Orb.
Unlike most Trial Takers who only relied on the Federation's basic subsidy equipment, Leon's family had gone above and beyond.
They didn't know what talent he would awaken, so they had chosen something flexible — a general skill orb usable by anyone.
As the skill orb floated before him, a system notification popped up:
> [System Notification]
Use Tier-V F-Rank General Skill Orb?
[Y/N]
Without hesitation, Leon mentally selected Y.
The orb disintegrated into thousands of sparkling particles, rushing toward his forehead and merging into his gabella.
Leon blinked.
"Huh. This one's pretty useful."
Another system message unfolded before his eyes:
> [System Notification]
You have learned the General Tier-V F-Rank Skill: Echolocation.
Description:
Allows the user to sense hostile threats within a 50-meter radius.
Activation: Spontaneous
Cost: 1 Aura per activation.
Leon chuckled softly.
"My parents really pulled out all the stops... If this were a normal family, they'd barely afford Tier-I equipment, much less something like this."
Most new Trial Takers depended solely on Federation subsidies, scraping by with minimal gear unless they proved themselves exceptional early.
A Tier-V item like this? It would cost a fortune.
Leon shook his head in appreciation, feeling the warmth of gratitude toward his family.
With a thought, he equipped the rest of his gear:
A Tier-V F-Rank Armor Set — a lightweight but durable black leather suit reinforced with hidden metal fibers — and a Tier-V Basic Sword, sharp enough to easily slice through most F-rank creatures.
Now fully outfitted, Leon finally climbed down from the tree branch, landing smoothly.
He stretched lightly, a cocky grin spreading across his face.
"Guess it's time to start my trial."
But then, his grin turned a shade darker, a glint flashing through his blue eyes.
"—But before that..."
He tightened his grip on the sword hilt.
"I need to extort my EX Talent first."
****
After climbing down from the tree, Leon moved carefully through the dense forest. Thanks to his newly acquired Echo Location skill, he didn't have to worry about hidden threats — any hostile being within fifty meters would immediately trigger his senses.
Choosing a direction opposite the goblin village he had seen earlier, Leon muttered to himself, "What I need to test cannot be done in a tree. It'll attract too much attention."
It seemed today, the goddess of luck was still smiling upon him.
After only a short walk, encountering nothing but a grazing deer — which he wisely chose to leave alone — and rabbits that were on heat Leon found what he was searching for: a small cave nestled against the valley walls.
Cautious from his one year of training, he approached the cave entrance.
His eyes scanned the ground for tracks or scent markings — signs that a beast had claimed it.
After a thorough check, he nodded, satisfied. "Good."
Sword in hand, Leon walked deeper inside, the shadows swallowing him as he ventured further.
Reaching a solid section of the stone wall, he took a battle stance, muscles tense with anticipation, and slashed hard against the rock.
At first, nothing happened.
Leon frowned. "Was I wrong—"
[System Notification]
> [+1 Attack Point]
The message blinked before his eyes, cutting him off.
Leon's eyes widened in shock, then bloomed into a grin of pure excitement.
"It worked!" he exclaimed.
Without hesitation, he opened his talent page:
> [Attack Points: 1/10,000]
Staring at the small but satisfying number, Leon chuckled, almost disbelieving.
"I can't believe it actually worked..." he repeated, excitement thick in his voice.
When he had first read the details of his {Attack} talent, a thought had crossed his mind:
The description said "attack" — it never specified what he had to attack.
A loophole.
A way to farm attack points infinitely — and safely.
After all, rocks didn't move. They didn't fight back.
He had never loved a rock so much it was perfect.
"Guess it's time for me to grind," Leon muttered, lifting his sword once more.
He struck again.
[+1 Attack Point]
Then again.
[+1 Attack Point]
Again.
[+1 Attack Point]
Again.
[+1 Attack Point]
And again.
[+1 Attack Point]
Relentlessly, he hammered the cave wall with strike after strike.
The cave echoed with the rhythmic thud and scrape of metal on stone, but because Leon was deep inside, the sounds were safely trapped within.
Minutes blurred into hours.
Sweat dripped from his body, his bare torso gleaming under the dim light.
He had removed his upper clothing early on to move more freely and reduce exhaustion.
Cracks spread like spiderwebs across the stone walls, not only at the point of impact but all around him. Some slashes, empowered by critical hits, left visible gouges in the rock.
If not for the high durability of his Tier-V F-rank sword, he might have already been left weaponless.
After two full hours of nonstop grinding, Leon delivered another powerful strike —
[System Notification]
> [You have reached the limit.]
Leon paused, panting lightly. His muscles ached, but it was a good pain — a victorious pain.
He opened his talent page once again:
> [Attack Points: 10,000/10,000]
Seeing the maxed-out number, Leon grinned widely.
He quickly checked the system time:
11:30 PM.
His eyes narrowed.
"Guess I have to be fast in distributing the stats," he said to himself.
If he didn't use the points before midnight, the system would treat them as tomorrow's gains, and he wouldn't be able to farm the full 10,000 tomorrow.
Efficiency was key.
"System, put 5 points into Strength," Leon commanded mentally.
The system responded instantly, deducting 500 attack points.
As the points flowed into him, Leon felt a tangible surge of power course through his muscles.
His body tightened, his grip on his sword felt steadier and stronger— like he could shatter boulders with a single swing.
"Wow... the Attack Points are really effective," he said, flexing his hand.
Normally, for Trial Takers to raise their stats, they had to grind endlessly, physically train for weeks, sometimes months, pushing their human limits just to gain a slight advantage.
But Leon?
Two hours of attacking a rock wall, and he was already leaps and bounds ahead of most of his peers.
"I really love this talent," Leon said with a laugh.
Without wasting another second, he continued assigning points, carefully distributing them across his stats.
Today marked only the beginning — and Leon intended to use every advantage he had to leave the others in the dust.
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A/N: Please send power stones and leave reviews.
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