The soft blue glow of Leon's status panel illuminated the dark cave as he stared at it.
Talent: {Attack} — EX Rank
Strength: 12 > 32 (+20)
Vitality: 10 > 25 (+15)
Stamina: 11 > 26 (+15)
Senses: 10 > 23 (+13)
[Starter Survival Pack]
[Tier V F-Rank Sword]
[Tier V F-Rank Armor]
Leon closed the glowing interface with a swipe of his hand, watching as the last of his attack points vanished into his stats. The surge of energy that followed was immediate — a roaring river of power that rushed through his limbs, tightened his muscles and sharpened his instincts.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the subtle tension in his tendons, like coiled springs waiting to be released. His breathing was steady, his vision crisp, every sense heightened beyond anything he had known before.
"Guess it's time to rest," he muttered, voice low but satisfied.
From his inventory, he pulled out a dried ration bar and bit into it. The taste was bland — a chalky mix of protein and preserved grain — but it filled the hollow in his stomach.
After finishing the last bite, he stepped outside the cave to gather broad, soft leaves, layering them across a patch of stone to make a makeshift bed. It wasn't luxurious, but it was clean and quiet.
His Echolocation served as a living radar. If anything approached, he'd know instantly.
For now, that was enough.
So He slept peacefully.
By dawn, the cave echoed once more —
Leon's blade bit into stone with tireless rhythm. His bare torso glistened with sweat, muscles dancing under the strain of constant motion. Stone dust clouded the air around him, but he didn't stop.
A full month — that's how long the trial would last. And charging into the goblin village now, undergeared and only partially leveled, would be suicidal.
Every day began the same.
Morning — Attack the cave wall, accumulate points.
Midday — Practice swordsmanship, work on his footwork and stance.
Afternoon — Survey the area beyond the cave, map the terrain.
Night — Rest and relax before assigning points just before midnight.
He stuck to the cycle.
By the sixth day, the pattern had become ritual —
Until the moment it shattered.
[System Notification]
> [You have reached your stat limit.]
Leon stopped assigning points. His finger paused in the air, and his brows furrowed. His stat panel, showed:
He stared for a moment, then cursed under his breath.
"...I was so excited by my talent that I didn't think this through."
Trial Takers ascended ranks, and each rank came with a hard ceiling. For F-Rank, the limit was 100 in every stat. He was right there — brushing up against that barrier.
Leon exhaled slowly and rubbed his hand across his face.
"Well," he muttered, "let's see if my EX-Rank talent makes me different."
Lying on the floor of the cave, he whispered mentally:
"System, put 33 points into Strength."
The moment the command left his thoughts, it hit him.
Pure, unfiltered, reality-ripping pain surged through his body like molten lightning. As His muscles spasmed.
But to Leon, it felt like his body was being torn apart from the inside.
He grit his teeth, clawing at the cave floor as a scream clawed up his throat and echoed through the narrow stone chamber.
The very walls seemed to pulse with his suffering.
The pain vanished as fast as it came.
Leon lay on his back, gasping, drenched in sweat, the stone beneath him cool against his skin.
When he could finally focus, he opened the panel again.
A grin crept onto his face.
"I really love this talent," he whispered, eyes wide, chest rising and falling. "But... guess I've got to go through excruciating pain five more times today."
He rolled onto his back, wiped the sweat from his brow, and stared at the cave ceiling.
Outside, the world was quiet.
Inside, the screams of a man breaking nature's limits began again.
Perched high atop a thick tree branch, Leon peered through the dense foliage, eyes locked on the goblin village below.
From this vantage point, he had full view of the crude huts, bonfires, and patrolling figures that made up the savage settlement.
The wind rustled through the leaves, but Leon's gaze remained steady.
He had spent nearly an entire month inside that lonely cave — striking stone, training, refining his swordsmanship, and raising his stats until every fiber of his body screamed power.
Somewhere along the way, he had almost forgotten this was a trial at all.
His voice was low but contemplative. "Despite hitting that wall for 28 days... I didn't get a single Evolution Point."
It was a bitter pill. While his stats had grown beyond what most F-Rank Trial Takers could dream of, his equipment and skill remained unchanged.
A single weapon upgrade, or a new skill, could've made a world of difference.
He sighed, then smirked slightly. "Let's not be greedy. My current stats are more than enough to decimate that entire village."
Suddenly, movement caught his eye.
A group of goblins emerged from the shadows between trees, trudging back toward the village.
They laughed and growled among themselves, clutching struggling women in their arms — bound, bruised, and terrified.
The sight made Leon's expression darken.
As His jaw tightened.
"Guess I have to be fast," he muttered, with a cold edge in his voice.
This might have been a trial — a fabricated world, a test meant to push him — but there were some things he refused to overlook.
The goblins in this world weren't the mischievous pests shown in games or fantasy stories back on Earth. No, these ones were predators — brutal, intelligent, and grotesquely twisted.
And they didn't just kill their captives. They ate them. Women in particular, because their flesh, according to the goblins' warped instincts, was more "nutritious" than that of men.
Leon's grip on his sword tightened. His gaze was icy.
Without another word, he leapt from the tree — a blur of movement descending like judgment itself.
Sword in hand, rage in his chest, and stats primed for war, Leon Kael was about to start a massacre.
Talent: {Attack} — EX Rank
Strength: 132> 517 (+385)
Speed: 108 > 478 (+370)
Vitality: 105 > 470 (+365)
Stamina: 106 > 471 (+365)
Senses: 103 > 438 (+335)
A/N: Please send power stones and leave reviews.