Alex still had his ten elemental fox summons surrounding him like bodyguards.
They moved in formation, staying close and keeping an eye on their surroundings.
Just like the second rule stated, monsters had started appearing all over the domain.
[2. Monsters will begin appearing inside the domain, not only in the structures.]
They weren’t anything special, just mindless creatures, likely created by Xyrran himself.
No experience was granted for killing them, which further confirmed that they were artificial being meant only to make survival more difficult.
Their levels ranged from 1200 to 1300.
Weak.
Alex didn’t even need to lift a finger, his summons tore through them with ease.
And if anything got too close, he could end the fight in a few strikes with [Bleeding Claws].
No boss monsters appeared, and nothing that seemed remotely dangerous either.
Though they would be extremely useful for refilling his [Destiny Points] if he needed to, that was their sole purpose.
Alex simply kept moving.
He still didn’t use his [Token Compass].
And his [Token Veil] was also useless for now, after all, it only worked if he had a token to begin with.
The shrinking battlefield was something he had to take into consideration.
The compass was only valuable while the domain was still large, making it difficult to track [Token Holders].
If he waited too long, the area would become so small that finding them wouldn’t be a problem anyway.
‘Soon,’ he thought.
The only thing stopping him from using it now was the [Calamity].
[3. The Calamity is slowly approaching. It will chase Token Holders when the time is right.]
He wasn’t the only one hesitating.
Every participant was waiting, watching, trying to understand what the [Calamity] was and how it worked.
Even the [Token Holders] were probably stressing over it, wondering when it would appear.
Maybe this rule was only put to stress them out, and the calamity would only appear almost at the end of the timer?
That was entirely plausible.
Regardless, the real danger was being unprepared, and so being cautious was a must.
Alex kept moving, keeping his fox summons close.
Time Passed.
[Time Remaining: 10:30:12]
He passed by a few participants fighting monsters or talking to another, but still no [Token Holders].
The participants that weren’t chasing after the tokens were probably aware that trying that now would mean death.
You needed to be absolutely confident in your powers to have the balls of taking a token.
And anyway, if you did chase a [Token Holder] alongside 10 other people, and somehow managed to grab the [Token] yourself, wouldn’t you simply get chased?
It was stupid to do that.
[Time Remaining: 8:58:35]
[Participants Remaining: 99]
The number of players had finally dropped below 100.
But still… nothing.
No sign of the [Calamity]. No major battles. No major changes.
Something was coming. He could feel it.
[Time Remaining: 5:03:48]
The five-hour mark was about to hit.
Surprisingly, there was still no major action.
Alex noticed that at this point, some of the participants had started fighting each other.
Without [Token Holders] in sight, they had opted to take out the competition instead.
But the [Calamity] still hadn’t shown itself.
“They’ll be forced out eventually,” Alphox muttered, watching alongside Alex. “They can’t hide forever.”
“Yeah,” Alex agreed.
The domain had shrunk significantly now.
It was still a large battlefield, but much smaller than before.
He could see more people now, some were running, some were fighting, some were waiting.
Then, finally… he spotted his first [Token Holder].
A golden outline surrounded their body, making them stand out.
Above their head, a floating panel displayed the token, making it impossible to hide.
That was how the trial ensured they couldn’t just blend in.
The [Token Holder] he spotted was currently being chased by four other participants.
He was strong, holding his own surprisingly well.
He managed to take down one of his attackers.
But…
[Time Remaining: 5:00:12]
The man kept running.
[5:00:02]
He was caught and pinned down.
[5:00:01]
He broke free, slashing wildly with his sword, but his pursuers blocked the attack.
[5:00:00]
And the exact moment the clock hit that five hours were left…
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the entire domain.
“Huh?”
“What the hell?!”
Alex staggered slightly as the ground trembled beneath his feet.
A golden energy pulse surged across the battlefield.
Then—
Ding!
A loud notification echoed across the domain.
[The Calamity has arrived.]
[Its conditions have been fulfilled. It will spawn and chase the Token Holders.]
From the sky, a beam of light shot down, splitting the battlefield in two.
A massive figure slowly descended from within the light.
Alex’s eyes widened as he got a good look.
“…Xyrran?”
He wasn’t the only one who realized it.
All around, participants froze in place, staring in disbelief.
“Oh, shit,” Alphox muttered, his voice unsteady.
“What?” Alex asked.
“This is insane,” Alphox breathed. “They actually sent a Primordial Dragon after you? No wonder they said there would be no survivors…”
“No way,” Alex frowned, “Xyrran’s the [Calamity]?”
[The Calamity: Xyrran, Primordial Space and Time Dragon, has descended.]
[You can run, but you can’t hide forever.]
[Every hour, he will hunt Token Holders for five minutes, then return to his original position and wait for the next hunt using different “events”.]
[No event is the same.]
Alex clenched his fists.
So this was their plan.
The dragons were so confident that they thought Xyrran only needed five minutes every hour to wipe out the participants using different methods.
If he failed to eliminate enough, he would wait and repeat the process.
It was meant to crush any hope.
And then…
[First Calamity Event: Direct Confrontation.]
[The Calamity Will Now Start Attacking for Five Minutes.]
Xyrran opened clock-like eyes.
He exhaled slowly, scanning the battlefield.
Then, he grinned.
“Finally,” he chuckled. “Time to get rid of you all.”
He vanished.
One second, he was in the sky.
The next, he was standing directly in front of the [Token Holder] Alex had been watching.
It was instantaneous.
A fracture in space had appeared right before him, allowing him to step through reality itself.
The [Token Holder] and his remaining three pursuers froze.
And then…
“Time Stop.”
Xyrran whispered.
All four of them locked in place.
Frozen.
Completely unable to move.
Xyrran calmly stepped forward, tilting his head slightly as he looked them over.
Then, he opened his mouth.
“Void Flames.”
A wave of flames surged forward, dark and filled with swirling specks of light—as if the stars themselves had been ignited.
FWOOSH!
The flames devoured them.
Instant death.
Even the [Token Holder] was reduced to ash.
Alex watched from a distance, jaw clenched.
‘So… does the token transfer to someone else?’
But then… something unexpected happened.
The golden panel above the [Token Holder] shattered.
“Huh?”
A final announcement appeared.
[If a Token Holder Is Killed by the Calamity or one of its events, That Token Is Permanently Destroyed.]
[Current Tokens: 9]
Alex’s eyes widened.
The token didn’t transfer.
It was erased.
That meant that Xyrran wasn’t just eliminating players, he was reducing the number of possible winners.
At this rate, there wouldn’t even be three survivors by the end.
A heavy silence filled the battlefield.
Everyone watching had come to the same realization.
This trial… was almost impossible.