⚠️ You've entered Danger-Zone: FROST GRAVE
⚠️ You've been cursed with Frostbite. Every one hour spent in the frozen area will result in a loss of 50 health points.
⚠️ There are warm zones within the Frost Grave. You can regain 50 health points per hour while inside them.
⚠️ Defeat the Boss to end the Frostbite curse.
As soon as the glowing matrix tips disappeared, the title and conditions of the danger-zone they were in appeared clearly before everyone.
Each trainee focused intently on the messages, especially the first two warnings that mentioned their health points — those were the ones that mattered most.
"I've only got a hundred health points! If I stay here for two hours, I'm dead!"
"Oh my god, I didn't bring enough healing potions! This frostbite curse will kill me!"
"Where's my ID bracelet?! I want to quit—this is insane!"
The moment the warnings faded, chaos erupted. Complaints and fear spread like wildfire among the trainees.
Several of them instantly equipped their bracelets and selected the Quit option. Their bodies glowed with light, and within seconds, they vanished from sight.
In less than a minute, over a dozen trainees had already withdrawn from the survival matrix, leaving fewer people behind at the spawn point.
"Inventory."
Marlon's voice broke through the noise. He quickly equipped his ID bracelet, and a simple black screen appeared before him with several small tabs.
[ ID: 1820 ]
[ Contribution: 0 pts ]
[ Team Combined Contribution: 0 pts ] [ Overall Ranking: #3000 ]
[ Team Ranking: #50 ]
[ Health: 100% ]
[ QUIT ]
"Not bad," he muttered quietly.
Then his gaze shifted to his three shivering teammates. His mind went immediately to the three skill books he had gotten from fighting desert monsters the previous day.
"You guys…" he called out, drawing their attention. "I've got three passive skill books for sale."
Lyra and the two nerds turned to him with confused expressions, waiting for an explanation. Marlon continued quickly.
"As you can see, I'm not affected by this freezing cold," he said with a faint smile. "That's because of the passive skill I learned and it's the same one I'm selling. It makes your body sturdier, tough enough to resist the cold. Not completely immune, but far better than wrapping yourself in three heavy coats. With it, you'll be able to fight properly without your teeth chattering."
A few nearby trainees overheard him, but none paid much attention. Some thought he was bluffing to make money, while others simply ignored him.
Lyra, however, kept her sharp eyes on him. She knew Marlon — the troublemaker of the encampment, the cause of most of the inner conflicts during their stay in the desert. To her, this was just another one of his tricks.
"You could've told us about the skill books earlier!" Logan and Ashton shouted in unison. "Come on, sell them to us! We'll pay you along with what we owe for the Aether crystals and EXP orbs you sold us last night!"
Their quick response only made Lyra more suspicious. She was convinced the three of them were working together, trying to fool her. She had seen them talking the day before at the danger-zone, and it all looked like a setup.
But her thoughts shifted the moment Marlon summoned the three skill books from his inventory.
Three small, thick-backed brown books appeared in his hands, each surrounded by faint glowing runes. On the front cover, the words ROCK BODY glowed brightly in neon letters.
Marlon handed two books to the boys, then turned toward her with a smug smile. "Still not interested?"
Not just Lyra — even a few other trainees nearby were taken aback.
How did he get so many skill books?
Skill books were some of the rarest items obtainable from any danger-zone. If EXP orbs and Aether crystals had a 1% drop rate, skill books were below 0.01%.
And purchasing them, especially named ones, cost a lot.
In the entire training camp, only people like Drever, Selena, Lyra, and a few others from high-ranking families knew about Marlon's connection to the richest man in the world.
The rest didn't. To them, it was unbelievable that he could own such valuable items.
Lyra stared at the glowing skill book and then at Marlon, trying to find a reasonable explanation. But the freezing cold bit into her skin, and her patience snapped. She snatched the book out of his hand.
The three of them activated the books almost at the same time.
The skill books burst softly into specks of glowing light that floated toward their heads, merging into them before vanishing completely.
A moment later, they all received the same notification.
[ You've successfully learned the skill: Rock Body ]
Instantly, a strange but comforting warmth spread through their bodies, followed by a tingling sensation as their skin seemed to tighten slightly.
The feeling lasted only a brief moment, but its effect was clear.
The freezing cold no longer felt unbearable. The icy sting that had bitten through their bones earlier was replaced by the mild chill of standing in an air-conditioned room. It was cold, but now it was bearable.
As the three grew used to the change, Marlon's bracelet suddenly vibrated. He lifted his wrist and checked the new update.
[ ID: 1820 ]
[ Contribution: 300 pts ]
[ Team Combined Contribution: 300 pts ] [ Overall Ranking: #1 ]
[ Team Ranking: #4 ]
[ Health: 100% ]
[ QUIT ]
Marlon's lips curved into a grin. So, boosting my teammates' survival counts as contribution points, huh? Makes perfect sense.
He hadn't even started fighting monsters yet, but he was already ranked number one and his team had jumped straight into the top five.
This adventure was already shaping up to be an interesting one.
Around them, several trainees watched with wide eyes, some in disbelief, others in curiosity.
But Marlon paid them no mind. He turned to his teammates, his voice steady and calm.
"Let's go," he said. "We've wasted enough time here. Our adventure starts now."
..
SORRY FOR DELAYED UPDATE, here is 4 Chapters, enjoy (2/4)