In a white space, with only a human-shaped mist present, a light flickered before a teenager appeared.
He looked around, then sat on the ground tiredly and muttered, "Thanks for the crazy ride, but next time give me a warning first." He sighed deeply.
The human-shaped mist didn't respond but tilted its head in confusion, silently observing the young man. Drowning in his confusion, the teen asked, "What?"
The mist remained silent for a while. "You're... different. Most mortals who pass the challenge either go insane to the point where we have to erase their memories, or they come out completely changed. But you… you changed, yes… but not in the usual way. You simply added something new to yourself, and that was it. Interesting indeed."
The young man furrowed his brows, a little confused, though those words struck close to the truth. At his core, he still had the same easy-going, go-with-the-flow personality. But if he entered a fight now, it was as if a switch flipped—he'd turn into a bloodthirsty maniac, fighting with cruel precision.
It wasn't that he hid his love for battle. It had always been part of him, just dormant due to a lack of opportunity. Now, that part had become second nature, seamlessly woven into him without disturbing his normal self. But in combat? His enemies would learn to beg for mercy as he fought slowly, deliberately, and viciously.
Whether it was something he gained… or something he lost… that was a matter of perspective.
Still confused, he asked, "What do you mean?"
The mist didn't answer directly. "Nothing. Just checking on you before letting you continue." It paused, then asked, "Tell me, mortal. What drove you during the trial? I sensed no fear, no pride, no anger, no joy—not even satisfaction when you defeated the volcanic bear. None of the usual mortal emotions. I only sensed excitement… the thrill of battle?"
The young man tilted his head. "That's normal, right? I ended up here by accident—or luck or whatever—so what's there to be happy about? I'm not aiming to achieve anything here." He smirked. "At first, I was just playing around with magic and powers, not even sure this was real. But somewhere along the way, I just stopped giving a shit."
Suddenly, his bloodlust surged. The smirk on his face twisted into a wicked smile, the kind that made most people run for their lives. The sheer pressure behind it was overwhelming.
"I started enjoying the fight itself. Not the power. Not the victory. Just the clash—the thrill. I even started using my powers not to win, but to extend the fight, to make it more fun."
He calmed, then continued with a wide grin. "That's why I didn't feel joy when I beat the bear. It was just the first one. And DAMN—I am fired up for moree!"
The mist nodded. "I see. This will be our last meeting. I'll leave you a gift for the… interesting time."
To the young man, it almost looked like the mist was smirking.
"Enjoy your life."
With that final word, he found himself free-falling toward a vast open sea.
"FUUUCK!!!" he screamed, right before crashing into the water.
Seconds later, he surfaced and floated there, eyes closed. Then he opened them, glared up at the sky, and groaned. "You don't drop a guy into the middle of the ocean with a predator under his ass. That's just low."
As if on cue, something massive swallowed him whole.
After a while, a beam of light shone high in the sky—and the young man reappeared, floating instead of falling.
"Sigh… How the hell am I supposed to win against that?" he muttered. Yet, contradicting his words, a massive grin formed across his face, bloodlust leaking from his aura.
He could sense it—a giant shark swimming far away, one that could manipulate both the sea and waves themselves. According to the info he'd received, it wasn't just limited to water—it controlled all waves.
Wave Manipulation: the ability to control waves—tidal waves, sound waves, brainwaves, even electronic and radiowaves. And that was just scratching the surface. The applications? Straight-up cheat code level.
As for the sea, everything in it—the water, the creatures—obeyed the shark. Thankfully, there was a limitation: it couldn't use wave manipulation outside of a water medium.
Still, it was one of the strongest creatures he'd ever heard of related to water—and probably the strongest he'd ever face.
"But luckily, the bastard's still just a beast," he muttered. "It doesn't know how to use those powers creatively. It can kill me anywhere in its domain, yeah, but from a distance? I can sense it coming."
He considered a plan. "I could nuke it with volcanic bombing—take it and everything around it out in one shot. But…"
He looked toward the horizon. "That'd be boring. Nah—better to win in its domain, its game. Not every day you get to fight a superpowered shark."
He deactivated his levitation and began to fall. As he descended, his body began to shift—his neck sprouted lines of khYachim, and his arms grew massive, reshaping into a half-human, half-shark form.
Before hitting the water, he grinned. He didn't plan to fight just yet—he wanted to train first, sharpen himself. But sadly, the moment he entered the sea, the shark sensed him.
And sharks, in comen love to hunt.
So… rest in peace (again) for our poor MC.