Chapter 3: Entering the Novice Trial, Spirit Cemetery

The environment of the Novice Trial was vast, a sprawling prairie bordered by dense forests.

Gentle breezes swayed the tall grass, and the distant rustling of leaves hinted at the presence of wildlife.

The monsters here were weak and sparse, but the trial's purpose was clear: reach level 10 or remain trapped. 

It was a way to ensure every participant grasped the basics, forcing them to adapt through firsthand experience.

And though they were already taught most things about this trial, there were still some things that could only be known by experiencing it yourself.

Karl exhaled slowly, taking in his surroundings.

The silence was deafening.

The information suggested there were around 100,000 newly awakened across the empire participating in this trial. 

Despite that, he stood alone.

Maybe it was just really big?

With no real combat experience, Karl felt a twinge of unease. 

Still, he reassured himself. 

"I have skills to rely on… I'll manage."

The trial would usually grant you a very basic weapon related to your profession if you didn't bring one yourself.

But in Karl's case, he received nothing.

'So I fight with my bare hands and skills...?' he thought, 'I guess I'll find out soon.'

He began walking, the sound of his shoes crunching softly against the grass.

For several minutes, nothing happened, only the occasional chirping of birds.

But then—

Rustle!

From a nearby bush, a small creature suddenly darted out: a [Wild Rabbit].

Karl froze as the rabbit screeched and bolted toward him with surprising speed.

'Here it is.'

It wasn't the kind of fluffy, harmless creature he had expected.

Its crimson eyes glinted with malice, its sharp teeth bared.

But Karl already knew what he needed to do.

"Spirit Flames…"

[Spirit Flames (F-Rank)]

[Proficiency – 0%]

[Effect: Summons a spiritual flame that can be launched at a target, burning their soul.]

Focusing, he raised his open palm toward the charging rabbit.

A flicker of white light appeared, condensing into a shimmering flame.

The rabbit lunged–

"Take this!" Karl said, releasing the flame.

The spiritual fire shot forward, striking the rabbit mid-air.

Boom!

The creature collapsed instantly, its body charred and motionless.

Ding!

[You have slain a level 1 Wild Rabbit.]

Karl stared at the lifeless creature, stunned.

He glanced at his system panel, checking his experience.

[Level: 1 (1.00%)]

"One percent per kill, huh," he mumbled, "I guess that's not too bad, let's see how far this goes."

Ding!

[Your proficiency with "Spirit Flames" has increased by 2%]

"Right."

Once a skill's proficiency reaches 100%, its rank automatically upgrades and becomes more powerful.

But the further you went, the harder it would be to increase the proficiency of a skill.

With that done, Karl was ready to move on and check for more monsters to kill.

But before that happened–

[You forgot to take the spirit.]

"...?"

A panel came to block his path.

Confused, Karl turned around toward the rabbit's charred corpse.

Sure enough, hovering just above it was a faint, glowing orb.

It pulsed softly, as if beckoning him.

"Right… spirits," Karl muttered, approaching the orb cautiously.

The eerie light it emitted seemed to resonate with him.

Without hesitation, he reached out, and as soon as his fingers touched it—

Ding!

[You have taken the Wild Rabbit's Spirit.]

The orb vanished, its essence surging into Karl's body.

Then another panel appeared:

[Current Spirit Cemetery: 1/5.]

"So, this is how I fill my cemetery," Karl whispered, his unease giving way to fascination, "Guess I'll need a lot more of these."

The only real question left was: how do I use them.

There was no tutorial, and neither the reaper nor any of the panels he had explained anything to him.

He stared at his hand, flexing his fingers as though that might somehow trigger the spirit.

Nothing happened.

"Oh well."

Karl moved forward, quickly spotting four more Wild Rabbits.

Each one fell to his Spirit Flames in quick succession, their spirits rising as orbs that he took.

[Level: 1 (5.00%)]

[Spirit Flames Proficiency – 10%]

And of course, the most interesting one.

[Current Spirit Cemetery: 5/5.]

After grabbing the last orb, his cemetery was now full.

He even killed another Wild Rabbit to test it, but no spirit orb appeared.

It was clear he couldn't take more.

At this point, it had been around ten minutes since the start of the trial, and everyone else should have figured out how to use their skills.

Except for him, probably.

"How do I even use these things?" Karl muttered, pacing.

He tried everything: calling out commands, clenching his fists, focusing his mind.

Nothing worked.

The frustration built, and he was about to give up when—

"That damn..." he gritted his teeth, "...Spirit Cemetery!" he finished.

But the moment he said these two last words while thinking about the spirits...

Blink!

The world shifted.

The prairie vanished, replaced by the eerie silence of the Spirit Cemetery.

But in contrary to when the reaper erased everything, leaving only the desolate grass and skeletal trees, this time, something happened.

Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!

Five weathered tombstones erupted from the ground, each radiating a faint, ghostly glow.

Etched into the cold stone were images of the Wild Rabbits Karl had slain, their forms captured in haunting clarity.

[Here lies level 1 Wild Rabbit.]

The same inscription marked all five tombstones.

"Damn," Karl muttered, eyes narrowing.

But what truly caught his attention wasn't the eerie sight, it was the sudden appearance of new panels as he approached the tombstones.

[Profession: Spirit Summoner]

[Effect: Absorb the spirit of the dead and control them.]

From this, three separate panels branched out:

[From here, you may choose to:]

[Absorb the spirits, with a chance of enhancing your stats.]

[Link the spirits to create a "Spirit Summon."]

The panels dissolved, leaving him with a decision.

[Absorb] or [Link].

Karl was left there, in that void, with these two choices.

[I would recommend for you to pick the pace up.]

"Yeah, I know."

He'd realized it the first time he was pulled into the [Spirit Cemetery]: his physical body didn't transfer with him.

Instead, it remained outside, completely motionless, a sitting duck.

This put him at great risks, and also meant that he would need to select the good moment to head to the cemetery.

"Well, I'll try both anyway."

[Do note that as you go, it will take more spirits to create summons or enhance your stats.]

[Though the effects of both will be much greater, too.]

"Hm..."

Karl extended his arm toward the [Link] option.

He knew what enhancing his stats was, but even then, he felt like a summon would be more useful.

That depends on the strength of the summon, though.

He had absolutely no information on how they worked, after all.

Ding!

[You have selected to link the spirits of the Wild Rabbit!]

Suddenly, the five tombstones shuddered.

Wisps of white, translucent energy seeped from the ground, taking the shape of the rabbits' original bodies.

The spectral rabbits floated silently, their forms shimmering with an otherworldly light.

Without warning, they began moving toward one another, merging into a single mass.

Fwoosh!

A blinding flash of light erupted, forcing Karl to shield his eyes.

When the brilliance subsided, a notification appeared:

Ding!

[You have created your very first summon!]

[Level 1 Frenzied Rabbit Spirit]

Before him stood a rabbit slightly larger than the others, its spectral body radiating menace.

Its glowing red eyes locked onto Karl, and its sharp, translucent claws scratched eagerly against the grass.

As the spectral rabbits merged, the ground beneath the five tombstones began to tremble.

Crack!

One by one, the five tombstones fractured, their jagged remains collapsing and sinking into the earth.

But before Karl could process what was happening, the ground shook violently once more.

From the very center of where the tombstones had fallen, the earth split open, and a slightly bigger stone structure began to rise.

With a heavy, grinding noise, the new tombstone emerged, towering above the previous ones.

Its surface was polished and dark, etched with glowing runes.

The text upon it read:

[Frenzied Rabbit Spirit]

[Level: 1]

[Status: Alive (?)]

"Okay."

[Spirit Cemetery: 0/5]

[Summon Cemetery: 1/5]

The "Summon Cemetery" and "Spirit Cemetery" seemed to be different too.

One was for the spirits he collected from monsters, while the other was for the summons he created from said spirits.

He understood how this profession worked now.

By killing monsters, he could take their spirits, and when he gathered enough of them, he could create summons to aid him.

But before he could delve deeper into the mechanics, the ground beneath his feet quaked violently, sending ripples through the eerie silence.

Karl's chest tightened, he knew what this meant: he was under attack in the outside world.

With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and murmured, "Spirit Cemetery."

Blink!

When he reopened them, he was back in the real world, face-to-face with danger.