player POV-Chapter 56: Before the test 3

Inside a vast room drowned in darkness, it felt as though the outside world had been completely cut off from it.

There was no clear source of light, and yet, seated at the center of the room was an exceptionally handsome young man, his legs crossed and his back perfectly straight, despite the exhaustion evident in his body.

"Ugh..."

A heavy sigh escaped him, tinged with suppressed pain, as he lowered his head slightly before regaining his composure.

His shirt was completely soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his body, as if every pore had been forcibly opened.

Drops of sweat slid down his forehead, passed over his temples, then fell onto the cold floor beneath him, producing a faint sound—the only sound that could be heard inside the room.

Steam visibly rose from his body, not due to the temperature of the place, but because of the violent struggle raging within him as he attempted to form an "Anya Core" inside his body—a clear manifestation of physical exhaustion and internal turmoil that was impossible to ignore.

He shut his eyes tightly and focused his awareness to its absolute limit. The moment he began using Anya, the air around him started to change gradually...

Colorless threads appeared around his body. They were not stable, constantly shifting and transforming.

For a moment, they were coated in deep black, then turned into cold blue, followed by dark purple, and then shining gold... cycling through all colors before returning once more to a colorless state.

The colorless threads moved on their own, as if responding to an inner force within him. They slowly advanced toward his chest, then pierced his skin without resistance, slipping into his body through its magical pathways.

The instant the Anya entered him, his body trembled violently in response to the colorless threads flooding inside.

The pain was immediate.

The entry of the threads into his magical pathways was anything but gentle.

The Anya was heavy and dense, pressing fiercely against those pathways. With every centimeter it advanced, it forcibly expanded them, tearing them slightly before reconstructing them with both precision and brutality.

The pain intensified further.

He clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding harshly, yet he did not open his eyes.

His breathing became ragged, his chest rising and falling violently as the colorless threads slowly carved their way toward his heart.

"Endure... don’t stop now..."

He barely whispered, his voice hoarse, as if even speaking required immense effort.

One thread slowly approached his heart, and with it, more threads began to appear. All of them were colorless at their core, yet constantly shifting in hue, as though they were breathing.

One by one, the threads entered his body, slipping through his internal pathways until they gathered at the center of his chest.

There, an intricate circle formed, its center being his heart.

The Anya threads carefully wrapped around his heart, circling it without piercing it immediately, as if observing and testing his readiness before merging with it.

The pain reached its peak.

It felt as though his heart was being crushed between two invisible hands. Its beats faltered—accelerating wildly, then suddenly slowing—until he nearly lost consciousness. In that moment, he almost collapsed... but he did not.

With desperate willpower, he forced the Anya forward.

The threads slipped directly into his heart.

A muffled scream lodged itself in his chest, yet no sound escaped.

The Anya did not merely pass through his heart; it pierced its tissues, spread to every cell, and began altering him from the inside.

Gradually, his heart began to transform...

into a core.

The color of his heart changed.

At first, it turned blue, then suddenly shifted to black. Moments later, it gleamed gold, then sank into a deep purple. Other colors appeared briefly, intertwining and clashing before slowly fading away.

With every additional surge of Anya, the transformation deepened further.

His entire body trembled, his muscles stretched to their absolute limits, while his consciousness wavered on the edge of collapse.

Even so, he continued without hesitation, injecting Anya again and again, determined to move forward.

Gradually, the colors began to fade, little by little.

Until, in the end, only one color remained...

Colorless.

In that moment, he felt the Anya flowing through every part of his body. It was no longer heavy or violent, but harmonious, coursing smoothly through his newly formed pathways.

The pain slowly subsided, leaving behind deep exhaustion... and a strange sense of comfort and completion.

His shoulders lowered slowly, and his breathing finally steadied. He opened his eyes cautiously and stared at the screen that appeared before him.

— Ding... Ding —

[ Congratulations! The host has successfully formed an Anya Core ]

Zion stared at the notification for a few moments before opening his status, carefully examining his statistics.

==== Status ====

Name: Zion Steele

Rank: D-

Strength: D

Agility: E+

Endurance: E+

Intelligence: D

Anya: D+

Luck: A

Combat Style:

Eternal Shadows – Rank B

A style that relies on speed, stealth, and precise maneuvering, turning battle into a dance of hidden movements and sudden strikes. It is a balanced style that combines offense and defense, making the fighter difficult to predict while exploiting the surrounding environment to their advantage.

Skills:

Body Indifference – Rank D

A temporary state in which the user completely denies their body, feeling no pain regardless of the extent of damage they suffer, even if they sustain severe injuries or their limbs are torn apart. The state lasts for a limited time, and once it ends, the sensation of pain, physical damage, and all bodily consequences return all at once.

Absolute Mind – Rank F

Temporarily increases the user’s intelligence threefold, greatly accelerating analysis and comprehension, but causes severe and irrational mental pain that intensifies the longer it is used.

====

Finally, after more than a month, he succeeded in forming the core and breaking through Rank D.

His breathing was heavy, sweat slowly trickling down his forehead, yet his lips curved into a faint smile, barely visible.

However... the feeling was incomplete.

Before he could savor his moment of triumph, his senses suddenly trembled.

He narrowed his eyes slightly as his awareness spread outward.

One... two... no, more. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Several people were watching him closely.

With complete calm and without unnecessary movement, he reached for the hilt of his sword.

The cold metal settled into his palm, granting him a familiar sense of stability. He rose slowly, his body still exhausted, yet his stance was straight, firm, and devoid of hesitation.

He turned his head slightly toward the shadows surrounding him...

And spoke.

His voice was calm and low.

"Come out of your hiding places."

At nearly the same moment, the air began to move.

Footsteps emerged from the shadows, one after another, until the full picture was revealed.

Before him stood a group of twenty students.

They spread out in a semicircle, surrounding him, their eyes fixed on him—filled with unmistakable caution.