Hunger...

The increasing sounds of voices gradually pulled Jiho out of his sleep. As his eyes opened, he found himself surrounded by the darkness of night and people who seemed frantic, standing in the middle of the street.

He couldn't recall how long he had been asleep. It must have been late into the night. His body was still capable of movement, but the burning sensation in his stomach was undeniable. The dangers he had faced earlier now seemed to have faded from his mind, but it felt different now.

"Hey... Aren't you going too far? You've taken everything for yourself, and now this…"

"What's up, man... If you're so strong, come and take it… What I do is none of your business…"

Jiho's senses sharpened at the sounds that came through amidst the grumbling.

Currently, a bodybuilder was holding a bundle with dried meat and a water bottle. Not far from him, a young man lay collapsed. His face was bruised, showing signs of being beaten.

The commotion seemed to stem from the bodybuilder, with a crowd of people surrounding him, accusing him of hoarding supplies. Most of them were shouting accusations, yet no one moved to help the beaten young man.

"I'm going to kill you... You damn dog..." The young man, consumed with rage, spat out these words and lunged at the bodybuilder with a knife.

The bodybuilder, distracted by the crowd's insults, was caught off guard by the sudden attack. The knife pierced his abdomen before he even had a chance to react. He never expected a scrawny young man, whom he had dismissed, to strike like this.

"Die, bastard..."

The young man, now in a frenzy, continued stabbing the bodybuilder's body with the knife.

The surrounding crowd, previously so vocal, fell silent in shock and fear. They all stepped back, worried that they might be the next target.

After stabbing the bodybuilder with a knife in a fit of rage, the young man grabbed the bundle with dried meat and the water bottle and quickly retreated, leaving the scene.

With a knife tightly gripped in his other hand, no one dared to stop him as he made his way down the street.

Jiho finally came to his senses, taking in the scene before him. He couldn't quite grasp the events that had passed while he was unconscious. How long had he been out? He realized that in the time he'd been asleep, people had already started killing each other for food.

Why hadn't they left the safe zone to search for convenience stores? Didn't the massive entity say that leaving the safe zone during the Third Trial was possible?

"Hey, you're awake," Kalyira's voice cut through his foggy thoughts as she appeared beside him with a soft smile.

"Yeah... What happened while I was out?" Jiho asked, glancing at Kalyira. Although they had only met recently, it felt like they had known each other for much longer.

Kalyira paused, glancing around before looking back at Jiho, who was seated. She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. "A lot happened, actually. After you fell asleep and night fully set in, people started getting desperate for food. A group of eight people left the safe zone to search for something outside..."

Jiho frowned. "Did they make it back?"

Kalyira shook her head. "Only three of them made it back. They tried to return to the safe zone, but the barrier wouldn't let them in. They kept pushing, desperate, but in the end, they had no choice but to run in the opposite direction before the monsters arrived."

"So they were trapped?"

"Exactly… Do you remember what the massive entity said before the second trial? 'You have one hour to arrive at the safe zone. After that, entry will be impossible.' Maybe that's why... we can leave, but we can't come back in. The barrier is permanent."

Jiho let out a heavy sigh, understanding the weight of their situation.

Kalyira nodded grimly, her eyes scanning the surroundings. "It feels like we're all being pushed to the edge. Then... something strange happened."

We all heard a system announcement in our minds. It said, 'Hidden Trial on the way'…

"Hidden Trial?" Jiho frowned. "What does that even mean?"

"I'm not sure..." Kalyira sighed. "But right after that, new messages followed."

[Food will be provided every 10 minutes.]

[Hunger rate will increase every 30 minutes.]

Jiho's expression darkened. "Hunger rate increasing... So this is some kind of survival trial?"

"Seems like it," Kalyira murmured. "And then the food started appearing—out of thin air. Every ten minutes, another piece would just materialize."

"So, food is just appearing now? That's... weird…"

But the situation is getting worse. Right now, the safe zone is divided into three sections—east, middle, and west. Food appears every ten minutes, but there's no fixed location—it spawns randomly. That means not everyone gets a fair chance to grab it," Kalyira explained.

"The first piece of food appeared in the eastern section, and the bodybuilder—the one who was already dead—managed to take it. Since he was the closest, it wasn't surprising. But when the second piece appeared, a boy—the one who had killed the bodybuilder earlier—rushed to grab it…"

Jiho nodded slightly. At this moment, everything started to make sense.

"It's like we're all becoming animals, driven by hunger and fear..." Kalyira continued.

That was the truth. Though the purpose behind the system's Trials remained unclear, it almost felt like they were being sent back to the Stone Age, forced to learn the rules of survival all over again.

As they were talking, Jiho noticed something strange. Black smoke was starting to emerge from the bodybuilder's corpse. At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but the smoke didn't disappear when he blinked.

He glanced at Kalyira, but she didn't seem to notice the smoke. She was looking at him with a puzzled expression instead.

"Is that a spirit?"

The thought crossed Jiho's mind. If it wasn't a spirit, then what could it be?

"Personal Trial…"

As soon as the thought formed, a black screen appeared in front of him.

Personal Trial: "Echo of the Vengeful Spirit"

Objective: Find the soul of a fallen challenger within the Third Trial. Their soul is trapped in an endless loop of torment. End their suffering and devour their soul.

Reward: Lost Horizon

Failure Penalty: Loss of fragmented memories.

The [Personal Trial] was clear. To succeed, he would need to find the soul of a fallen challenger before the Third Trial ended. The bodybuilder in front of him seemed to fit the description perfectly... it appeared that fate was on his side this time.

With that thought in mind, Jiho accepted the quest and moved toward the black smoke, determined to absorb it. Based on his previous experiences, all he needed to do was make contact with the smoke and focus, allowing his spirit to merge with it.

"Where are you going?" Kalyira asked, noticing that Jiho was heading toward the bodybuilder's corpse.

"I just want to try something... just a moment," Jiho replied, answering her as he continued walking forward.

Just as he was about to approach the bodybuilder's dead body, a loud, commanding voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd.

"We can't keep going like this!" The voice boomed from the top side of the safe zone.

Jiho turned his head toward the source of the voice. A man stood there, tall and firm, his presence demanding attention. He was the leader of the Valora country group. His gaze swept over the scattered survivors, his expression stern but composed.

"Killing over food? Is this what we've been reduced to?" His voice carried an air of righteousness, filled with the conviction of a man trying to restore order. "I understand that we're all hungry. I understand that fear drives us. But we are not mindless beasts! If we allow chaos to take over, then we are no better than the monsters waiting outside that barrier.

Some people murmured in agreement, while others simply watched, their expressions unreadable. The leader took a deep breath and continued, his voice steady. "We need to establish order. Fighting will only bring more suffering. If I receive food, I will share it fairly. No one should have to kill just to survive."

A brief silence followed his words, the crowd absorbing what he had said. Some nodded, seeming relieved at the promise of fair distribution, while others remained skeptical. Jiho kept his eyes on the leader, wondering if his words would hold weight when hunger grew unbearable.

Before anyone could respond, the familiar glow of the system announcement flashed before their eyes.

[Hidden Trial in Progress...]

[Food will be provided every 10 minutes.]

[Hunger rate will increase every 30 minutes.]

Jiho's attention flickered between the system messages and the so-called leader trying to restore order. His words were noble, but how long would they last? Hunger and desperation had already turned people into killers. Could a mere speech really change that?

Before Jiho could dwell on it, he felt something—an unsettling shift in the air. His gaze snapped back to the bodybuilder's corpse. The black mist wasn't just lingering anymore—it was moving, swirling in an unnatural pattern. Then, all at once, it shot toward him.

A sharp, piercing pain struck Jiho's mind, like an unseen force clawing through his thoughts. Images—memories that weren't his—flashed before his eyes. The bodybuilder's final moments played out in his mind: the desperate struggle, the hunger, the betrayal, the rage. And then… the abyss.

Jiho staggered back, gasping. His body felt cold, yet his mind burned with an eerie clarity. Something had changed.

A new system message appeared before him.

[You have absorbed a Fragment of a Soul...]

[You earned the ability: Echo of the Fallen Lv.1]

Jiho's mind was still reeling from the rush of new memories and the strange power pulsing within him. The system's sudden silence left him with more questions than answers. He barely had time to process everything when another system message flashed before his eyes.

[Personal Trial Complete: " Echo of the Vengeful Spirit "]

[Reward: Lost Horizon]

Jiho's lips curled into a slight smile as he looked at the two black screens before him.

Right now, he still had one use left for the Lottery System, and hadn't he already completed the [Personal Trial]? The only thing left was to check what he had obtained.

First, he would try using the Lottery System.

In a split second, an image of a dark-colored Lottery Spin appeared before his eyes. A total of twelve items, each useful in their own way. Most were one-time-use items, not particularly high-value, but a few of them caught his attention.

Void's Gift

A single-use teleportation item. It allows the user to escape from danger, though the destination is random and uncontrollable.

This was the most intriguing item in the Lottery Spin. It was a one-time use, but it could save his life, so possessing it seemed invaluable.

The second item was Essence of the Fallen, a pill that temporarily boosts the user's strength, useful in urgent situations.

Essence of the Fallen

A one-time boost to strength for a short period. It can help overcome tough situations or enemies.

The rest of the items were similar:

Night's Talisman

One-time use: Cloaks the user in a shadowy mist, making them invisible for 5 minutes. Movement speed is reduced, and loud noises may break the effect. Ideal for stealth or quick escapes.

Soul Token

One-time use: Summons the soul of the nearest fallen to rise from death and fight alongside the user for a brief time. The ally vanishes after a short duration.

Dark Seed

Plant this cursed item to gain a random beneficial or harmful effect; the outcome is unpredictable.

The last item, "Dark Seed," was a little more mysterious. No one could predict what kind of effect it would have, but its name alone was enough to spark curiosity.

After considering all the items in the Lottery Spin, Jiho pressed the button eagerly, his excitement growing.

End – 18