Alex held the [Token Compass] tightly as he kept walking forward, his footsteps quiet against the cracked ground.
His plan wasn’t to hunt any of the [Token Holders] yet.
Not until the last few hours.
For now, survival was the smartest choice.
Alex had considered pulling up his [World Map] to check his surroundings, but when he tried, nothing appeared.
Instead, a message popped up.
[This is a special domain. It cannot be mapped.]
Alex sighed.
So that was how it was.
With no map to rely on, the only tool he had to locate the [Token Holders] was the [Token Compass] and his own eyes.
That wouldn’t normally be a problem, but this domain was massive, so large that even with a tool that pointed him in the right direction, he wasn’t sure if 30 minutes would be enough to find someone.
He could only hope it would be.
But that was a problem for later.
For now, he kept moving.
Hours passed as Alex ran through the barren landscape.
He spotted several participants along the way.
Some were alone, while others travelled in groups.
They each had their own strategies: either chase the [Token Holders] now to guarantee their spot and fight as a team, or simply wait for the end, like Alex.
But he didn’t engage any of them.
There was no point in wasting energy on fights that didn’t matter, even if that meant reducing the amount of people who could be annoying in the future.
Eventually, as he kept running, something caught his eye.
A structure.
And not just any structure, this one was different.
It was at the very edge of the trial domain, standing against a massive dome-shaped barrier that stretched endlessly in every direction.
A city.
Or at least, what remained of one.
[The Space City]
Alex approached cautiously.
The city was mostly intact, with tall buildings made of strange, silver-like metal.
It had an eerie stillness, as if it had been abandoned for centuries.
But what interested Alex the most wasn’t the city itself.
It was the barrier.
The trial domain’s edge.
It was a giant dome, so large that he couldn’t see the other side.
Xyrran had said that this was an entire battlefield, and standing here, Alex could finally see what he meant.
Curious, he reached out and touched the barrier.
BOOM!
A powerful force struck him instantly, launching him backward several meters.
Alex barely landed on his feet, his body tingling from the impact.
A message appeared.
[Don’t attempt to leave again.]
Alex exhaled sharply.
So there really was no way out.
Not that he expected there to be one.
After dusting himself off, he turned his attention back to the [Space City].
There had to be something here.
And sure enough, as soon as he stepped past the first ruined building, a golden panel appeared in front of him.
[Space City Trial: Monster Wave]
[Defeat five waves of monsters.]
Alex cracked his knuckles.
“Another one, huh?”
Well, he had nothing better to do.
The moment Alex accepted the trial, the air around him shifted.
The ground rumbled.
Then, they came.
The first wave.
Hundreds of shadowy creatures crawled out of the ruins, their bodies flickering between solid and intangible, like living darkness given form.
Their hollow, glowing eyes locked onto Alex, and then—
They charged.
Alex didn’t move.
Instead, he raised his hand.
All Elements Fox Summons!
He had already done that with the other trial, but we don’t change a recipe that works, right?
A pulse of energy spread through the air as the elemental foxes materialized around him.
Without hesitation, the foxes lunged at the monsters, tearing through them like paper.
Fire scorched the shadows, lightning crackled through their bodies, and wind blades sliced them apart with ease.
The first wave was gone in seconds.
Then came the second wave.
This time, the creatures were larger, faster, stronger.
But the result was the same.
Alex barely needed to lift a finger.
His fox summons handled everything.
The third, fourth, and fifth waves followed.
Each one more powerful than the last.
And yet, none of them posed a real challenge.
Before long, it was over.
A final notification appeared.
[Trial Completed.]
[Reward: ???]
Another chest materialized in front of him.
Alex opened it without hesitation.
Inside, there was a single item.
[Token Veil (One-Time Use)]
[Effect: Makes the user completely undetectable on all detection-type items or abilities for 10 minutes.]
Alex’s eyebrows raised slightly.
Another useful tool.
With this, he now had two items that could give him a major advantage in the trial.
There were likely more structures like this across the domain, each with their own trials and rewards.
But Alex had no interest in searching for them.
He already had enough.
Instead, he sat down against the chest, arms crossed, and closed his eyes.
He wasn’t sleeping, just thinking.
And waiting.
Hours passed.
The domain remained eerily silent, broken only by the occasional distant sound of battle.
Then, Alphox spoke.
“You shouldn’t rest, human. If you sit around too much, they might judge you as useless.”
Alex opened one eye.
“What are the criteria for that, anyway?”
“From what I know, it’s based on how proactive you are, how many fights you take, and if you manage to impress them.”
Alex smirked, “Then it should be fine as long as I do a bunch of interesting things by the end, right?”
“Hm…” Alphox scratched his head. “I guess so. But be careful.”
“Yeah.”
A golden panel appeared in front of Alex.
[And…]
[…Even if they try anything, you can always use World Cleaver.]
Alex grinned.
“True. Thanks, Kaelios.”
[No problem, human.]
And so, he continued waiting.
But then—
A notification appeared before every participant in the trial.
[Time Remaining: 12:00:00]
[Half of the time has passed. It is time to start the real challenge.]
Alex opened his eyes fully.
That… didn’t sound good.
The participant count had dropped to 170.
The [Token Holders] had been switching constantly, except for the strongest ones, like Astariel.
And then, the true rules of the trial were revealed.
[New Rules Added]
[1. The domain will gradually shrink as time goes on. Do not touch the shrinking barrier.]
[2. Monsters will now begin spawning inside the domain, not just within structures.]
And the final, most dangerous rule—
[3. The Calamity is slowly approaching. It will chase Token Holders when the time is right.]
Alex’s expression darkened.
This changed everything.
No one knew what “The Calamity” was.
But the fact that it was specifically hunting [Token Holders] meant one thing—
Getting a token was now more dangerous than ever.
Alex stood up and turned toward the edge of the city.
Then, he noticed something.
“…Huh?”
A section of the city was gone.
More specifically, it was now outside the dome.
Alex approached the edge of the trial domain.
Looking down, he saw it.
The barrier was closing in.
Slowly.
But steadily.
“So it’s actually shrinking…”
It was a way to ensure no one just hid.
By the end, the trial domain would be nothing more than a tiny battlefield, forcing every remaining participant into direct combat.
This trial was designed to have only ten survivors at most.
And at this rate…
There might be even fewer.
Alex exhaled and turned away, dashing in the opposite direction.
The trial had entered its most dangerous phase.
And he wasn’t going to sit around waiting for death.