Jae-Hyun’s heart skipped a beat. A Rank C monster. Here. His mind raced. This wasn’t just stronger than anything he had faced—it was in a completely different league. The system had said only to survive, but now survival seemed almost impossible.
What do I do? he thought, his breaths quickening. Run? Where would I go? Hide? To what end? The doubt clawed at him again, louder now, but he forced himself to confront it. No. I can’t run. I won’t. Where would that leave me? Weak. Useless.
He straightened his posture, his exhausted body trembling but unwilling to bow. If I can’t overcome this, how can I ever face them? My father. My brother. This... this is nothing compared to what’s waiting for me.
The Frost Revenant roared, shaking the ground and sending a flurry of ice shards into the air. The cold became sharper, each breath slicing through his throat like shards of glass. His muscles burned, and his body felt like it was one wrong move away from collapsing. Jae-Hyun's vision blurred momentarily, but he blinked the haze away, gripping his blade tighter.
"If I can't face this, what hope do I have against them?" he thought bitterly. His sister's face flickered in his mind—fragile, terrified, and relying on him. He couldn't afford to fail. Not here. Not now.
His jaw tightened. "Let’s do this."
The fight was chaos.
The Frost Revenant’s strength was overwhelming. Its massive claws tore through the ground with each swipe, forcing Jae-Hyun to dodge relentlessly. His summons were obliterated one by one, their dark forms unable to withstand even a single blow. Each attack from the Revenant left deep craters in the icy terrain, the impact sending shockwaves that threatened to knock Jae-Hyun off his feet.
He darted around the creature, using every ounce of his agility and Predator’s Insight to find an opening. The Revenant’s glowing core—embedded deep within its chest—was the only weak point he could identify. But reaching it was another matter entirely. Every time he got close, the beast would unleash a devastating counterattack, forcing him to retreat.
A clawed swipe came too fast, and Jae-Hyun barely managed to raise his blade in time. The force of the blow sent him sprawling across the icy ground, his back slamming into a jagged ice formation. Pain exploded through his body, his vision darkening for a moment. He struggled to his feet, blood dripping from a gash on his forehead.
His summons were gone. He was alone.
The Revenant roared again, charging toward him with terrifying speed. Jae-Hyun’s mind raced, doubt gnawing at him. Is this it? Am I going to die here? The thought sent a cold dread through him, worse than the icy air. But another voice rose within, stronger: No. Not like this. If I’m going to fall, I’ll fall fighting.
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He forced his body to move, his resolve solidifying even as his strength waned. Then, a faint, familiar sensation stirred within him—a surge of power, raw yet controlled. It wasn’t the uncontrollable rage that had overtaken him before; this was different. It was steady, deliberate, like a fire fanned by resolve. His exhaustion didn’t fade, but it dulled, and his movements grew sharper, his blade feeling lighter in his grip. For the first time in the rift, he felt like he wasn’t merely surviving; he was fighting back, an edge honed by sheer will.
As long as I’m breathing, I can fight.
The Revenant lunged, its massive claw descending like a hammer. Jae-Hyun sidestepped at the last second, the impact sending shards of ice flying past him. He retaliated with a swift strike, his blade aiming for the cracks in its scales. The blow connected, but it was shallow, barely scratching the beast’s hide.
The Revenant retaliated, its tail whipping around and slamming into Jae-Hyun’s side. He was sent flying again, his body skidding across the ground. He gasped for air, the pain threatening to overwhelm him.
Get up. Get up! he screamed at himself.
Through the haze of pain, he saw it. The Revenant’s glowing core flickered briefly, the cracks around it pulsing faintly. It was a small window, but it was all he had.
Jae-Hyun forced himself to his feet, gripping his blade tightly. He channeled everything he had left into one final attack. His mana surged, the Frostbound Relic amplifying it as best it could. His vision blurred, but his focus was unwavering.
The Revenant charged, its maw opening wide as if to swallow him whole. Jae-Hyun sprinted forward, his blade glowing with a desperate intensity. Time seemed to slow as he leapt into the air, aiming directly for the core.
The blade struck true, piercing the Revenant’s chest with a resounding crack. The surge of power flowing through him guided his every motion, each strike imbued with precision and force. The beast let out a deafening roar, its frame convulsing violently as the glowing core splintered into fragments. A wave of light and ice exploded outward, engulfing the battlefield. Jae-Hyun felt the energy rippling around him, a chaotic dance of destruction and renewal. Yet, through the storm, he stood firm, the power within him steadying his every step as the Revenant crumbled to dust.
When the light faded, Jae-Hyun was on his knees, his blade buried in the icy ground. The Frost Revenant was gone, its remains scattered like glittering dust across the battlefield. His body screamed in agony, every muscle burning with exhaustion. The timer flickered faintly in his vision: 8 hours remaining. The rift felt more alive now, the air around him humming with an unseen force. For a fleeting moment, the ground beneath him shifted subtly, as though something far greater than the Revenant had stirred. A faint glow in the distance caught his eye, beckoning him forward—a path or a new threat, he couldn’t tell.
Despite the victory, exhaustion weighed on him like an anchor. His breath was uneven, his limbs trembling. But his grip on his blade tightened, and a faint smirk crossed his lips. This isn’t over. Not yet.
Jae-Hyun let out a shaky breath, his hands trembling as he forced himself to stand. His thoughts swirled, but one rose above the rest: I have no choice but to win. Not here, not later. Always. Because if I don’t, no one will save me. No one will save her.
Because to stop now would mean dying as the same weak person he was before.