I had already learned one thing about this world.
Everything revolved around self-interest.
Arthur and Alice had abandoned me and left me to fend for myself.
I didn’t blame them.
In fact…
I was glad they had left.
My goal was simple now.
I had to awaken.
But it wouldn’t be easy.
At the moment, I was nothing more than an ordinary human.
My physical strength had its limits.
However, there was one thing about humans that could be limitless.
Intelligence.
And right now, that was the only thing I could rely on.
I recalled Arthur’s battles.
I needed to learn from him.
He could accomplish so much with nothing more than a small knife.
When I fought alongside him, all I had done was finish off the monsters he had already wounded.
Yet even killing a single injured monster had nearly drained all my strength.
And now, the System had given me a quest to kill five hundred monsters.
So far, I had only killed five.
Even those five had been barely alive when I delivered the final blow.
I couldn’t rely on strength alone.
I had to use my brain.
Otherwise, completing this quest would be impossible.
First, I needed a safe place to stay.
I also needed a reliable supply of food and water.
Without those things, I wouldn’t survive long enough to complete the quest.
After thinking for a while, I decided to return to the pond.
There was both food and water there.
With that decision made, I began walking back.
Returning to the Pond
By the time I reached the pond, night had already fallen.
I didn’t do anything else that night.
Instead, I waited for morning.
I found a suitable tree and built a temporary shelter among its branches.
Ever since the Awaken World had appeared, the trees in this region had grown to enormous sizes.
Living in one wasn’t particularly difficult.
In fact, I even considered building a temporary home there.
Unfortunately, I had no proper tools.
Building an actual house in the middle of the desert was impossible under these circumstances.
For now, I would have to make do with the shelter of a tree and the open sky above me.
Two Days Later
Two days passed.
Yet I had made very little progress.
My only goal now was to hunt monsters at night.
So I waited for darkness.
Eventually, the sun disappeared beneath the horizon.
Monsters only emerged at night.
During the day, they remained underground.
That meant I could practice and prepare during daylight without worrying too much about being attacked.
When night finally arrived, monsters began emerging from beneath the desert.
I watched them carefully.
In the distance, I spotted a monster standing alone.
However, two groups of monsters were moving between us.
I immediately abandoned the idea of attacking it.
There was no point fighting an entire group just to reach a single monster.
For now, I had no one to rely on but myself.
So I waited.
Quietly.
Patiently.
I watched the monsters move.
Eventually, one of them separated from its group and began approaching me.
I remained completely still.
I waited until it came directly in front of me.
Then—
I pounced.
Just as Arthur had done.
I drove my knife straight into the monster’s throat.
It didn’t even have time to understand what had happened.
Its body collapsed onto the sand.
I looked down at it before opening my System panel.
My expression immediately changed.
My kill count hadn’t increased.
Not even by one.
I was confused.
Then, a moment later, I understood.
These weren’t One-Star Monsters.
They were ordinary monsters.
I froze.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
So that’s why my kill count was still only five.
Arthur had deliberately given me opportunities to finish off the One-Star Monsters.
After seeing that I could survive even after killing five of them, they must have realized that I could manage on my own.
And when I still hadn’t awakened after completing the previous trials, they decided to leave me behind.
They didn’t want me slowing down their journey.
So they abandoned me.
At last, I understood what had happened.
An Impossible Quest
I didn’t get another chance to kill a monster that night.
I was deeply disappointed.
I had thought I could gradually increase my kill count.
But now, I had to kill five hundred One-Star Monsters.
Just thinking about it was enough to drive me crazy.
For the next three days, I followed the same routine.
I practiced during the day.
I hunted monsters at night.
Slowly, I began to improve.
After killing several ordinary monsters, I could fight for much longer than before.
My stamina was gradually increasing.
But even after all that…
I still wasn’t ready to fight a One-Star Monster.
There was something else I had noticed.
I couldn’t sleep.
Not during the day.
Not at night.
At first, it surprised me.
But there was nothing I could do about it.
Ever since arriving in this world, I hadn’t slept even once.
My mind was always awake.
Sometimes, thinking continuously gave me terrible headaches.
Another three days passed like this.
I trained during the day.
I hunted monsters at night.
Then, one day around noon…
I suddenly noticed someone approaching.
I quickly climbed into a tree and hid among its branches.
The stranger slowly approached the pond.
It seemed that the pond was visible from a considerable distance.
I didn’t understand how that was possible at first.
But there were no trees surrounding the pond, which meant someone could see across the desert for several kilometers.
Perhaps this person had traveled from far away.
A short while later, the stranger reached the pond.
The first thing he did was jump into the water.
He drank his fill.
Then he climbed out and picked a date from one of the nearby trees.
I watched him carefully.
I didn’t say anything.
I was trying to understand his behavior.
Suddenly, the man spoke.
“Come down from the tree.
I already know you’re there.”
I was completely surprised.
He had noticed me!
Slowly, I climbed down and stood in front of him.
Now that I could see him properly, I noticed his long hair falling down his back.
His face looked almost unreal.
His features were flawless, and his fair skin was completely free of blemishes.
He stood around six feet tall.
Despite his appearance, he looked incredibly young—perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old.
The man smiled at me.
“My name is Noctis.
What’s yours?”
“I don’t have one.”
He didn’t seem surprised by my answer.
“All right.”
Noctis smiled again.
“You can call me Noctis.”
“Okay.”
My voice remained cold.
He studied me for a moment before asking,
“How long have you been stuck here?”
“About fifteen days.”
He nodded.
“Oh, I see.”
Then Noctis spoke again.
“I can tell you something interesting.”
“Okay.
Tell me.”
He smiled.
“First, bring me some food.
Then we can sit down and talk.”
It had been a long time since I’d had a proper conversation with anyone.
So, without saying anything, I brought him some food.
Noctis’s Explanation
The two of us sat beneath the tree.
After a while, Noctis asked,
“Why haven’t you awakened yet?”
I thought for a moment before answering.
“I need to kill a lot of monsters before I can awaken.”
Noctis smiled.
“That’s actually a good thing.”
I looked at him.
“You’ve been here for fifteen days and still haven’t awakened.”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“The reason is probably that you’ll become stronger than others when you finally awaken.”
I frowned.
“I don’t understand.”
Noctis smiled.
“Then let me explain everything.”
He turned his gaze toward the desert.
“When people in this world reach the age of sixteen, their powers awaken.”
“They’re given a test.”
“To pass that test, they must complete a specific mission.”
“If they fail…”
He paused for a moment.
“They die.”
I remained silent.
“Those who succeed become Awakened.”
“Many people awaken immediately after taking the test.”
“But there are also people who don’t awaken right away.”
He turned to look at me.
“People like you.”
“They’re given a special System Quest.”
“Those who complete that quest and awaken afterward usually gain a little more power than they otherwise would have.”
I asked,
“Is this System Quest impossible to complete?”
Noctis shook his head.
“No.
It’s difficult, but not impossible.”
I stared at him.
“Then why am I being forced to do this?”
He answered calmly.
“Because your power will be greater when you awaken.”
I clenched my fist.
“I have to kill five hundred One-Star Monsters to awaken.”
I looked directly into his eyes.
Yet his expression didn’t change.
No surprise.
No fear.
Nothing.
Noctis let out a sigh.
“That’s troublesome.”
Then he slowly nodded.
“Now I understand why you haven’t awakened yet.”
We sat in silence for a while.
Then Noctis suddenly spoke.
“I’ll help you.”
I looked at him.
“But eventually, you’ll have to help me, too.”
I remained silent.
I already understood how this world worked.
Everyone acted in their own interests.
Everyone looked out for themselves.
After thinking for a moment, I finally answered,
“All right.
I’ll help you.”
Noctis smiled happily.
“Good!”
He stood up.
“Then I’m ready to help you.”
He turned toward the desert, where darkness was beginning to spread.
“Starting tonight, I’ll help you hunt the monsters.”
To be continued…