[You have killed “Luther, Demon Archer” and gained 5.3 billion experience points.]
The notification echoed in Alex’s mind as Luther’s lifeless body hit the ground.
A moment later, a familiar warmth surged through him, and he knew what was coming next.
[You have reached level 805, gaining 4 stat points for every attribute and 5 free points to assign.]
He had leveled up again, but the rise in stats wasn’t what held his attention.
No, what really mattered was the golden glow beginning to fade from Luther’s body.
Because now that Alex had killed a [Token Holder], something important was about to happen.
Fwish! Fwish!
The golden outline surrounding Luther shimmered before vanishing completely.
The token that had floated above his head began spinning rapidly, as if resisting what came next, but it was futile.
The token shot through the air, closing the distance between it and Alex in a blink.
It phased into his chest, disappearing from sight.
A new sensation washed over him, and a golden outline now traced his own body.
Above his head, the token hovered, gleaming brightly for all to see.
[You have become a Token Holder.]
[Do not lose your token by dying.]
Alex clenched his fists, feeling the weight of this new status settle in.
He’d survived so far, but now things had shifted, the rules were different.
Nearby, the other two tokens from the demon woman and beast man, Astariel’s earlier victims, hovered above their corpses, untouched.
It seemed anyone could claim them just by making contact if the person who killed them already had a token.
But there was no one left to do that.
Because…
Ding!
[The fifth calamity has ended.]
[Participants Alive: 5.]
Alex’s eyes narrowed.
The other trio must have taken out the remaining participants to fulfill their conditions and reduce the number of survivors.
Now, only five people remained, and all of them were Token Holders.
[Tokens Available: 5.]
Five tokens. Five people. The trial had entered its final stretch.
The domain around them continued to shrink, forcing the survivors closer together.
Alex could now clearly see Astariel and the trio off in the distance. But none of them were moving.
They were just… sitting there.
No one made a move to attack. There was no point. The calamities were over, and they had all secured their tokens.
For now, violence had no purpose.
The minutes dragged on.
[Time Remaining: 52:03]
“So, you actually won,” Alphox’s voice rumbled in Alex’s mind, breaking the silence.
“What, didn’t believe in me?” Alex smirked.
“Not that,” Alphox replied with a chuckle. “But it’s still surprising.”
Alex shrugged. He wasn’t about to argue with that.
Even he hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly.
[Time Remaining: 28:45]
Astariel sat with his eyes fixed on the sky, completely zoned out.
The trio, on the other hand, were acting like children, running around, laughing, and shouting, as if this were all just a game.
Alex, meanwhile, summoned five of his [All Elements Fox Summons].
The foxes gathered around him, and he spent the time playing with them, enjoying the calm after the storm.
It must’ve been boring for the dragons watching outside the trial.
But honestly, what did they expect?
They couldn’t seriously think the survivors would keep fighting after everything that had happened.
They all had tokens now. There was no need to risk losing them.
Or maybe they in fact expected only to be one or two people left alive by this point?
Still, a question lingered in Alex’s mind.
‘Could I even win against these opponents if it came down to it?’
His Destiny Points were drained, and there were no more monsters in the zone to farm for more.
Asking for Astariel’s help was out of the question, he’d already used that card.
[Time Remaining: 00:59]
He considered asking Astariel for a duel, maybe to gain some points that way, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
Astariel wasn’t stupid. He’d definitely get suspicious.
“Why would you need to fight me again if it’s over?”
That’s exactly the kind of thing Astariel would say, even though he didn’t know him for long.
[Time Remaining: 00:05]
Even so, as the timer ticked down, a gnawing feeling grew in the pit of Alex’s stomach.
[Time Remaining: 00:04]
He was supposed to feel relief.
He had endured all these trials, outlasted countless threats, and now he was among the final five.
[Time Remaining: 00:03]
And yet… something felt wrong.
[Time Remaining: 00:02]
It was like his instincts were screaming at him, warning him that this wasn’t the end.
[Time Remaining: 00:01]
The unease grew heavier, suffocating him. This couldn’t be it.
‘It’s not over yet,’ his mind whispered.
But why? The calamities were done and Xyrran wouldn’t interfere anymore.
The survivors had been chosen, all that remained was the final judgment, whatever that meant.
But surely, that wouldn’t be so bad, right?
[Time Remaining: 00:00]
The countdown hit zero, and all the participants instinctively looked to the sky.
“…”
None of them celebrated.
Astariel continued to stare upward, his expression unreadable.
The trio had stopped running and laughing, their faces now grim.
And the feeling of unease in Alex’s chest flared, almost unbearable now.
The reason why became clear a moment later.
[Hey, human.]
The voice boomed in his mind, and suddenly, everything around him stopped.
The world turned grey.
Alex’s heart pounded in his chest.
“What the…”
Time wasn’t just slowed, it had fully stopped.
The wind froze mid-breeze, and the foxes around him stood motionless.
Even the faint hum of the shrinking domain had gone silent.
Alex tried to move, but nothing worked.
His body was paralyzed, completely frozen in place.
Only his mind remained active, and he could barely shift his eyes.
Golden panels flickered into view in front of him, their glow the only color in the otherwise grey world.
“Alphox?” Alex called out mentally, searching for any sign of his dragon ally.
But there was no response. Alphox, like everything else, was frozen.
It was just him.
And Kaelios.
The golden panels continued to materialize. Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire
[One of my most powerful passive abilities is my instinct.]
[I use it to make decisions. I trust my instinct more than anything else.]
Alex’s mind raced, ‘What is this? Why now?’
[That instinct… it was transferred to you, by the way.]
Alex’s thoughts stumbled, what did Kaelios mean by that?
He understood the concept of a god’s instincts, since they were probably more powerful than normal.
But Kaelios had stopped time, gone to this much effort, just to tell him this?
[Didn’t you sense it as well? That something was wrong? That this couldn’t be the end?]
Alex’s pupils shrank.
‘He’s right,’ that gnawing feeling… it wasn’t just paranoia.
[That’s the instinct of the Chosen One. It was granted to you.]
The implications hit Alex like a thunderbolt.
His unease wasn’t just a coincidence. It was real. His instincts were right. Something was coming.
[Be careful, human. It’s not over.]
[Don’t die on me.]
Before Alex could even process what that meant, the world exploded with sound and color.
A deafening boom echoed in his ears as time resumed its natural flow.
The grey faded, and everything snapped back into motion.
And just as it did…
[The timer of the Dragon Bloodline Trial has reached 0!]
[It is now time to start the Final Calamity.]
“Huh?” Alex muttered aloud, his blood running cold.
This wasn’t over.