Shadow Husband:I Have a Hidden SSS-Class System-Chapter 72: FIRST TRIALS Part 1

Dawn broke over Eternal Bond headquarters as the first batch of ten candidates approached the trial chambers. The pristine white rooms were featureless except for the System interface pedestals at their centers—ten meters square of judgment where worthiness would be tested and some would die.

Rama and Sekar watched from the observation room, monitoring feeds from all ten chambers simultaneously. Medical readouts displayed vital signs. System compatibility readings showed real-time integration percentages. But they couldn’t intervene. Couldn’t help. Could only watch as thirty-eight candidates faced trials that would kill approximately six of them.

The morning air felt heavy with anticipation and dread.

Dewi was in Chamber 3. Young, nervous, determined. The girl who’d asked for private training weeks ago. The girl who’d apologized for looking at Rama wrong. She stood before her pedestal, hands shaking slightly, but her expression was resolute.

Please survive, Rama thought. You’re brave. You’re committed. You deserve to become a Champion.

Chamber 7 held a male candidate named Hari. Age 26. Quiet. Kept to himself during preparation. Could he be the second saboteur Fajar had mentioned? His isolation suspicious? Or just personality?

Can’t know. Can only watch.

"Beginning trial sequence," the System’s voice echoed through all chambers simultaneously. Cold. Mechanical. Absolute.

[CHAMPION WORTHINESS TRIAL: INITIATED]

[PHASE 1: MENTAL FORTITUDE]

The candidates stiffened as System pressure descended on them. Rama remembered this phase from his own trial—the crushing weight of judgment, the feeling of being examined by something vast and alien, the mental pressure that separated those with true worthiness from those who merely wanted power.

Vital signs spiked across all ten candidates. Heart rates elevated. Breathing accelerated. Stress hormones flooding systems.

Chamber 1 showed Candidate Reza with a heart rate of 145 bpm. High but manageable. Holding steady.

Chamber 2 displayed Candidate Siti at 167 bpm. Elevated. Struggling. Breathing erratic.

Chamber 3 showed Dewi at 152 bpm. Elevated but controlled. She was handling it. Gritting teeth, standing firm.

Chamber 4 showed Candidate Yudi at 189 bpm. Dangerous levels. Hyperventilating.

"Chamber 4 is in distress," a medical observer reported. "Candidate showing panic response. Heart rate critical."

"Can we intervene?" Sekar asked.

"Not during Phase 1. System lockdown. If he can’t handle mental pressure, physical intervention won’t help. He needs to master it himself or fail."

They watched helplessly as Yudi collapsed to his knees, gasping, clutching his chest. The System’s judgment was merciless—insufficient mental fortitude meant immediate rejection.

[CHAMBER 4: CANDIDATE REJECTED - INSUFFICIENT MENTAL FORTITUDE]

[COMPATIBILITY: 23%]

The System pressure released him. He collapsed fully, unconscious but alive. Medical team entered immediately, evacuating him to emergency care. The first failure of the morning, but at least he lived.

"First failure," Hendra said quietly. "Nine remain in this batch."

[PHASE 2: PHYSICAL INTEGRATION]

The remaining nine candidates began glowing as Champion energy flooded their bodies. The System testing physical compatibility—could their cells handle the transformation? Could their bodies adapt to Champion-level power? This was the phase where deaths happened. Where bodies failed catastrophically under the strain.

Rama watched the compatibility readings climb with growing tension.

Chamber 1 showed Reza’s progression: thirty-four percent, then forty-one, then forty-eight. Steady progression. Good signs.

Chamber 2 showed Siti fluctuating: twenty-eight percent, thirty-one, then dropping back to twenty-nine. Struggling. Body resisting integration.

Chamber 3 showed Dewi climbing rapidly: forty-five percent, fifty-eight, sixty-seven. Excellent compatibility. She was going to make it.

Chamber 5 showed Candidate Amir plateau at sixty-three percent after reaching sixty-four. Holding steady but not advancing further.

Chamber 7 showed Hari declining: forty-one percent, forty-four, then dropping to forty-two. Body rejecting Champion energy.

"Chamber 7 compatibility dropping," a medical observer warned. "Cellular breakdown detected. He’s rejecting."

[CHAMBER 7: CANDIDATE REJECTED - PHYSICAL INCOMPATIBILITY]

[COMPATIBILITY: 38%]

Hari collapsed. Medical team rushed in. Alive, but his trial was over. Two failures in the first hour of trials. Eight candidates remaining in the first batch.

"They’re dropping fast," Sri said tensely. "Two failures already. We haven’t even reached final phase."

Chamber 2 suddenly showed Siti convulsing. Her compatibility reading plummeted from twenty-nine percent to twenty-two, then fifteen. Alarms blared across the observation room.

"Chamber 2! Catastrophic rejection! She’s—"

[CHAMBER 2: FATAL REJECTION - CELLULAR BREAKDOWN]

[COMPATIBILITY: 11%]

Siti’s body couldn’t handle the Champion energy. Cells breaking down at molecular level. The transformation the System granted was too much. Too powerful. Her biology couldn’t adapt fast enough. She died in seventeen seconds despite medical team’s immediate intervention. Despite every safety measure. She just... died.

The first death of the trials.

In the observation room for families, someone screamed. Siti’s mother. Watching her daughter die through the feed. The raw anguish in that scream made everyone in the observation room flinch.

Security had to restrain her from breaking into the trial chamber. Grief turning to rage. "You killed her! You said it was safe! You murdered my daughter!"

Sekar’s hand gripped Rama’s so hard it hurt. But he didn’t pull away. Just held her. Shared the weight of that first death. The first of six expected casualties.

First death. Five more expected. Please, let it be only six total. Please.

[PHASE 3: WORTHINESS JUDGMENT]

The final seven candidates in the first batch reached the System’s ultimate test. Mental fortitude proven. Physical compatibility established. Now the System judged worthiness—did they deserve Champion status? Were they compatible not just physically but spiritually with the role?

Rama had no idea how this phase worked. The System’s criteria were mysterious. Some candidates with high physical compatibility failed worthiness. Others with lower compatibility succeeded through sheer determination.

Chamber 1 showed Reza’s compatibility peak at seventy-one percent. Holding. Holding. System judging his worthiness for what felt like an eternity.

[CHAMBER 1: CHAMPION GRANTED]

[REZA HARTANTO - LEVEL 31 CHAMPION]

Reza collapsed from exhaustion but alive. Successful. The first new Champion created from these trials.

Chamber 3 showed Dewi’s compatibility peak at eighty-nine percent. Exceptional. One of the highest readings Rama had ever seen. The System judged her for what seemed like minutes but was probably only seconds.

[CHAMBER 3: CHAMPION GRANTED]

[DEWI KUSUMA - LEVEL 32 CHAMPION]

Dewi fell to her knees, sobbing with relief and exhaustion and joy. She’d made it. Against fifteen percent odds, she’d succeeded. Became what she’d risked everything to become.

Thank god, Rama thought. One less person I have to watch die.

The remaining chambers reached their judgments over the next several minutes. Two more successes. One failure—a candidate who lacked the necessary qualities the System demanded, despite sixty-eight percent compatibility.

Chamber 9 showed Candidate Putri at seventy-seven percent compatibility. High. She should succeed. The System judged.

[CHAMBER 9: CHAMPION GRANTED]

[PUTRI SANTOSO - LEVEL 30 CHAMPION]

Four successes from the first batch. One death. Four failures who would live but never become Champions.

"Batch one complete," Hendra announced as the first hour of trials concluded. "Results: Four Champions created. Five rejections—four alive, one dead. Mortality rate for this batch: ten percent."

Better than expected fifteen percent. But still. One death. One family destroyed. Siti’s mother was still screaming in the family observation room. Other families trying to comfort her. Some crying themselves—relieved their children survived but horrified by the death they’d witnessed.

"Prepare second batch," Sekar ordered, voice tight but controlled. "Ten more candidates. Continue trials."

An hour and a half after the first batch concluded, the second group of ten candidates entered their chambers. Rama watched carefully, trying to identify any suspicious behavior. Any sign that one of them was Dragon’s Gate’s second plant.

But they all looked terrified. All genuine. All human.

If there’s a saboteur, they’re hiding it perfectly.

Trials began again. Phase 1 tested mental fortitude with brutal efficiency.

Two candidates failed immediately. Panic responses overwhelming them before physical integration even began. The System rejected them within minutes, and medical teams evacuated them to recovery areas. Eight remained in the second batch.

Phase 2 began shortly after. Physical integration testing whether bodies could handle Champion transformation.

Compatibility readings climbed across the eight remaining chambers. Some steady. Some fluctuating. All uncertain. Every number representing a life hanging in the balance.

Chamber 14 displayed a candidate named Sari. The girl whose mother had cried in Rama’s arms days ago, begging him to keep her daughter safe. Promising to sue if anything went wrong. Her compatibility climbed steadily: fifty-eight percent, then sixty-four, then sixty-nine.

Good. You’re doing well. Keep going.

Seventy-three percent. Seventy-six. Seventy-eight.

Then something went wrong.

Her body convulsed. Compatibility plummeted in seconds. Seventy-eight to seventy-one to sixty-three to fifty-four.

"Chamber 14 in distress!" Medical observer shouted. "Compatibility dropping rapidly! Unknown cause!"

Alarms blared. Medical team scrambling. But they couldn’t enter during active trial. System lockdown prevented intervention. All they could do was watch as a candidate who’d been succeeding suddenly failed catastrophically.

Sari’s body twisted in pain. Eyes wide. Screaming silently behind the soundproof chamber. Forty-seven percent. Thirty-nine. Thirty-one.

"She’s dying," Sekar whispered. "Why? She was doing so well. What happened?"

[CHAMBER 14: FATAL REJECTION - CATASTROPHIC FAILURE]

[COMPATIBILITY: 27%]

Sari died mid-morning, three hours into the trials.

The crying mother’s daughter. The girl who’d been scared and ready simultaneously. Dead at what should have been a survivable compatibility level when she’d reached seventy-eight percent moments before.

In the family observation room, the mother’s scream was inhuman. Grief so profound it transcended words. Just raw anguish that made everyone who heard it feel sick.

Rama felt something cold in his chest. This death was wrong. Different from Siti’s. Siti had low compatibility from the start—her death was tragic but explicable. System rejection of an incompatible candidate.

Sari had high compatibility. She was succeeding. Then sudden catastrophic failure for no clear reason.

"Pull her medical data," Rama said urgently. "Something caused that drop. Bodies don’t go from 78% to 27% without external factor."

Medical team pulled the data. Reviewed. Analyzed while the other seven chambers continued their trials.

"Found something," a medical observer reported minutes later. "Her stress hormone levels spiked dramatically at 76% compatibility. Adrenaline, cortisol, panic response—all surged simultaneously. Like she experienced sudden severe trauma."

"What could cause that?"

"Psychological shock. Extreme fear. Mental attack. Something that triggered fight-or-flight so powerfully her body couldn’t maintain System integration."

Rama’s blood ran cold.

Mental attack. During trials.

The saboteur. They’re not disrupting equipment or physical systems. They’re attacking other candidates mentally. Triggering panic responses that cause integration failures.

"How?" Sekar demanded. "The chambers are isolated. Soundproof. How could someone attack her mentally from another chamber?"

"System connection," Rama realized. "During trials, candidates connect to the System. If someone with System abilities was in a nearby chamber, could they use that connection to attack others? Send fear, panic, trauma through the System link?"

The medical team looked at each other uncertainly. "Theoretically... if someone had mental attack abilities and knew how to exploit System connections during trials... maybe. But that would require training. Expertise. Prior knowledge of System mechanics most hunters don’t have."

"Dragon’s Gate has System researchers," Hendra said quietly. "If they trained someone specifically to sabotage trials through mental attacks..."

"Then we have a saboteur in the current batch," Rama finished. "Using mental abilities to cause failures and deaths. Sari was murdered. Not rejected. Murdered."

They reviewed the second batch candidates still undergoing trials. Eight remained after initial failures. One of those eight was the killer.

But which one?

Rama watched compatibility readings as mid-morning stretched toward noon. Looking for anomalies. For signs that someone was doing more than just their own trial.

Chamber 12 showed Candidate Adi at seventy-one percent compatibility. Steady. Normal progression.

Chamber 13 showed Candidate Bima at sixty-eight percent. Fluctuating slightly but within normal range.

Chamber 15 showed Candidate Dimas at seventy-three percent. Excellent progression. Almost certainly going to succeed.

Chamber 16 showed Candidate Eka at sixty-four percent. Struggling but managing.

Chamber 17 showed Candidate Faisal at sixty-nine percent. Steady.

Chamber 18 showed Candidate Gita at sixty-one percent. Lower end but stable.

Chamber 19 showed Candidate Hadi at seventy-four percent. Strong. Excellent chance of success.

Chamber 20 showed Candidate Indra at sixty-six percent. Average but acceptable.

Nothing obviously suspicious. No candidate showing signs of mental attack abilities. All focused on their own trials.

But Sari was dead. Murdered through System connection. Which meant one of these eight was responsible.

"Can we scan for mental attack abilities?" Sekar asked medical team.

"Not without interrupting trials. And interrupting would fail everyone currently in chambers. We’d have to let this batch complete, then screen next batches before they enter."

"That doesn’t help the eight currently in trials," Rama said. "If the saboteur is in this batch, they could kill more before trials end."

As if on cue, another alarm blared around noon.

Chamber 18 showed Gita’s compatibility suddenly dropping. Sixty-one percent to fifty-four to forty-eight in seconds.

Same pattern as Sari. Sudden catastrophic failure after steady progression.

"Not again," Sekar whispered. "Please not again."

But it was happening. Gita convulsing. Stress hormones spiking on medical readouts. Panic response overwhelming System integration.

Forty-four percent. Thirty-seven. Thirty-one.

[CHAMBER 18: FATAL REJECTION - CATASTROPHIC FAILURE]

[COMPATIBILITY: 28%]

Third death by midday. Second murder.

Rama stared at the remaining six candidates in second batch. One of them was killing the others. Using mental attacks through System connections. Targeting those most likely to succeed and forcing catastrophic failures.

"We have to stop this," Sekar said, voice shaking with fury and grief. "We have to identify and stop the saboteur before they kill more."

"How?" Hendra asked. "We can’t enter chambers during trials. Can’t interrupt without failing everyone. Can’t identify who’s attacking without specialized scanning equipment we don’t have."

Rama thought frantically. [Tactical Overseer] showing him the six remaining candidates. Six chambers. Six people connected to the System. One of them a killer.

How do I identify them? What makes a mental attacker different from normal trial candidates?

Then he noticed something in the neural activity displays.

"Pull up brain scan data for all six candidates," Rama ordered.

The displays shifted. Showing detailed neural activity patterns.

Five candidates showed expected patterns. Stress, focus, determination, fear—emotions consistent with undergoing champion trials. Single-minded focus on their own survival and transformation.

Chamber 15 showed Dimas with something else. Dual processing. Part of his brain focused on his own trial, maintaining his seventy-three percent compatibility. But another part—the frontal cortex associated with targeted cognition and willful action—showing activity patterns inconsistent with internal focus.

He was thinking about something external. Targeting something outside himself. While simultaneously managing his own trial.

"That one," Rama said, pointing at Dimas. "Chamber 15. He’s the saboteur. His brain activity shows he’s doing something besides his own trial. He’s attacking others."

"Are you certain?" Sekar asked.

"Certain enough to risk it. If I’m wrong, we fail one innocent candidate. If I’m right, we save the other four from being murdered."

"Do it."

Rama grabbed the emergency override controls. "Dimas. Chamber 15. I’m terminating your trial. Now."

He hit the emergency stop for Chamber 15 only.

[CHAMBER 15: TRIAL TERMINATED - EXTERNAL INTERVENTION]

The System pressure released Dimas immediately. He collapsed, trial failed by external intervention rather than personal inadequacy. But alive.

And in the other five chambers, compatibility readings stabilized. The mental attacks stopped as suddenly as they’d begun.

Chambers 12, 13, 16, 17, and 19 all reached Phase 3 without further incident over the next twenty minutes.

Four successes emerged by early afternoon. One failure at worthiness judgment—the System deemed the candidate unworthy despite adequate compatibility. Zero additional deaths because the saboteur had been identified and stopped before he could kill again.

Security entered Chamber 15, restraining Dimas before he fully recovered consciousness. The second saboteur neutralized, but not before murdering two innocent candidates.

"Second saboteur neutralized," Rama said grimly as noon approached. "But three candidates dead. Two murdered. One from natural System rejection."

"Three deaths from twenty candidates," Hendra calculated. "Fifteen percent mortality exactly. Within expected rates. But two were murders, not natural failures."

"Dragon’s Gate will pay for this," Sekar said, voice ice cold. "Arif sent two saboteurs. Both caught. Both failed. But not before killing two innocent candidates. This is beyond corporate warfare. This is mass murder conspiracy."

"Proof?" Sri asked. "Can we prove Dragon’s Gate ordered this? Fajar confessed but claimed Arif hired him personally. Dimas hasn’t confessed yet. Without direct evidence—"

"Then we get evidence," Sekar said. "After trials complete, we interrogate Dimas. We build a case. We make Dragon’s Gate answer for Sari and Gita’s deaths."

Rama looked at the medical data as the morning session concluded. Two murdered candidates. Families destroyed. Lives erased because a rival guild wanted leverage.

Timeline 1, I let threats go unanswered. People died. Enemies operated freely.

Timeline 2? Different rules.

Dragon’s Gate just murdered two of my candidates.

That’s not corporate warfare.

That’s war.

And war had consequences.

Twenty candidates processed by early afternoon. Six Champions created. Three dead—one natural rejection, two murdered. Eleven rejected but alive.

Eighteen candidates remained for afternoon and evening sessions.

The trials would continue.

But Rama had made a decision.

Dragon’s Gate wanted leverage through death?

They were about to learn what happened when you murdered a Regressor’s people.

The trials weren’t finished.

But neither was the war.

And Rama was done playing defense.