We quickly built a temporary shelter near the pond.
It wasn’t comfortable, but it was enough to protect us from the cold wind and provide a place to rest.
From that day onward, Noctis began training me.
His training methods were strange.
Sometimes, he made me practice sword swings until my arms could barely move.
Other times, he forced me to run through the forest while carrying heavy stones.
But the strangest part was what happened every night.
Whenever I couldn’t fall asleep, Noctis would simply walk up to me and knock me unconscious with a single strike.
At first, I thought he was joking.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said cheerfully.
“Sleep is important for your growth.
Since you can’t sleep normally, I’m just helping you out!”
I silently stared at him.
One day, I would return the favor.
Of course, I had no intention of saying that aloud.
After several days of training, Noctis finally announced that we would begin hunting monsters.
“Are you ready, Nameless?”
I adjusted my grip on the sword.
“Let’s go.”
Night descended upon the forest.
As darkness swallowed the surroundings, the ground began to tremble.
One after another, monsters emerged from beneath the earth.
Their grotesque bodies and terrifying cries filled the forest.
I instinctively tightened my grip on my sword.
There were too many of them.
Before I could even finish counting, I realized that nearly twenty monsters had gathered in front of us.
“Noctis, there are—”
I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence.
Noctis had already moved.
He casually stepped forward, his long hair swaying behind him.
There was no tension in his expression, no trace of fear in his eyes.
He looked as though he were going for a leisurely walk rather than charging into a group of monsters.
Then his sword flashed.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
The monsters barely had time to react.
Within less than a minute, all twenty lay motionless on the ground.
Noctis stood among their corpses, his sword resting casually in his hand.
Not a single drop of blood had touched his clothes.
He turned toward me with a bright smile.
“Your turn!”
I stared at him.
Was this man even human?
Arthur and Alice were already far stronger than I was, but even they would have needed to take those monsters seriously.
Noctis, however, had slaughtered them as if he were cutting vegetables.
I couldn’t understand how someone like him could exist.
“Don’t just stand there staring at me,” he said.
“You have a quest to complete, remember?”
I forced myself to look away.
He was right.
My goal was to kill five hundred One-Star Monsters.
And I couldn’t afford to waste time.
I approached one of the remaining monsters that had been injured during Noctis’s attack.
Its body was covered in dark scales, and its face resembled that of a scorpion.
Several small holes were scattered across its cheeks, releasing a strange, unpleasant sound whenever it breathed.
It struggled to stand when it noticed me approaching.
I raised my sword.
The monster lunged.
I dodged to the side and swung my blade toward its neck.
The impact numbed my hands, but the sword cut through its flesh.
The monster collapsed.
A familiar notification appeared before my eyes.
[One-Star Monster Killed.]
[Quest Progress: 6/500]
I stared at the notification for a moment.
Then I looked at the monster’s corpse.
One down.
Four hundred and ninety-four to go.
I let out a quiet breath and moved toward the next target.
That night, I killed twenty-six One-Star Monsters.
It wasn’t an impressive number compared to Noctis’s performance, but I didn’t care.
Every kill brought me one step closer to awakening.
And awakening was the only thing that mattered.
The following days passed in a similar manner.
During the day, Noctis trained me relentlessly.
At night, we hunted monsters.
Whenever I made a mistake, he corrected me.
Whenever my movements became sloppy, he forced me to repeat the same exercise until I could perform it properly.
He never seemed to get tired.
He never seemed to lose his temper.
And no matter how dangerous the situation became, he always maintained that ridiculous smile.
The thought became more convincing with every passing day.
There was something strange about Noctis.
He seemed to know things before they happened.
Occasionally, he would change our route without explanation, only for us to discover a dangerous group of monsters in the direction we had originally intended to travel.
When I asked him how he knew, he would merely laugh.
“Experience, my dear Nameless!
Experience!”
I didn’t believe him.
But I didn’t ask again.
Everyone had secrets.
And I had no intention of revealing mine, either.
As the days passed, my swordsmanship gradually improved.
My movements became faster, my reactions sharper, and my body stronger.
More importantly, my quest progress continued to increase.
[Quest Progress: 435/500]
I stared at the notification.
Only sixty-five monsters remained.
Finally, I was getting close.
However, there was one problem.
Our food supplies were running low.
“We need to finish this within two days,” Noctis said while examining our remaining supplies.
“Otherwise, we’ll have to waste time looking for food.”
I nodded.
Two days.
That was enough.
It had to be.
I had already endured countless injuries, exhausting training sessions, and sleepless nights.
Giving up now would be ridiculous.
Besides, I could feel it.
Something was waiting for me beyond this quest.
Something that might finally give me the power I needed.
The power to survive.
The power to protect myself.
And perhaps, one day, the power to make certain people regret their decisions.
I tightened my grip on the sword.
“Let’s finish it tonight.”
Noctis glanced at me before breaking into a wide grin.
“That’s the spirit!”
The final night arrived.
The moment darkness covered the forest, the monsters began emerging from beneath the earth.
Their roars echoed through the trees.
I drew my sword and charged forward.
This time, I didn’t hesitate.
My body moved almost instinctively.
I dodged claws, avoided snapping jaws, and struck at vulnerable points whenever an opening appeared.
I wasn’t strong enough to fight carelessly.
One mistake could still cost me my life.
But I was no longer the helpless person who had been abandoned in the desert.
I had learned to fight.
I had learned to survive.
And now, I was going to complete my quest.
One monster fell.
Then another.
And another.
The hours passed as I continued fighting.
My arms grew heavy.
My breathing became ragged.
Blood trickled down my skin from several shallow wounds.
Yet I refused to stop.
Finally, after killing the last monster, a notification appeared before my eyes.
[One-Star Monster Killed.]
[Quest Progress: 500/500]
[Congratulations!
You have completed the special quest.]
I stood motionless.
For a moment, I couldn’t believe it.
Five hundred.
I had actually done it.
Before I could process the information, a strange energy surged into my body.
My muscles tightened.
My heartbeat accelerated.
An indescribable sensation spread through every part of me, as though something dormant deep within my body had finally awakened.
I clenched my fists.
So this was what it felt like.
The energy continued flowing through me until the sensation gradually subsided.
Then, another notification appeared.
[Special Quest Completed!]
[Rewards Granted: Eye of Truth, Shadow Blade.]
[Special Reward Granted: Free Class Selection.]
I narrowed my eyes.
A free class selection?
Before I could investigate further, a new panel appeared before me.
[Class Selection]
Choose one class category:
* Fighter: Close-range and long-range combat specialists.
* Healing: Mages and healers who specialize in magic, recovery, and support through healing abilities.
* Supporting: Assassins and tank fighters who specialize in stealth, disruption, defense, and battlefield control. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
[Warning: Your chosen class will influence your future development.]
I studied the options carefully.
Fighter.
Healing.
Supporting.
Each category offered different advantages, but I wasn’t interested in choosing something simply because it sounded powerful.
I needed a class that suited me.
A class that would allow me to survive against stronger opponents, attack when necessary, and escape when fighting was no longer beneficial.
I didn’t need to fight fair.
I needed to win.
My gaze settled on the Supporting category.
More specifically, the Assassin class.
An assassin didn’t need to overpower an enemy directly.
They could conceal their presence, identify weaknesses, and strike when the opponent least expected it.
For someone like me, that was the perfect choice.
I selected it.
[Class Selected: Assassin.]
[Unique Path Unlocked: Shadow Power.]
A new wave of energy surged through my body.
This time, however, it felt different.
The surrounding darkness seemed to shift around me.
For a brief moment, I felt as though I could sense something hidden within the shadows.
Then the sensation disappeared.
A final notification appeared.
### [System Status]
Name: Nameless
Class: Assassin [Shadow Power]
Core: 0 Stars
Title: None
Potential: 4 Stars
Passive Abilities:
* [Eye of Truth]
* [Shadow Blade]
I carefully examined my status.
My core was still at zero stars.
My potential was four stars.
And I had obtained two passive abilities whose functions I didn’t yet understand.
Still, this was a beginning.
A real beginning.
For the first time since entering this world, I had taken a meaningful step toward becoming stronger.
I closed the status panel.
Behind me, Noctis was humming a cheerful tune as he cleaned his sword, seemingly unconcerned by the corpses scattered across the forest.
“Congratulations, Nameless!” he said without looking up.
“You’ve finally awakened!”
I glanced at him.
“Is this what awakening normally feels like?”
“Not exactly.”
He turned toward me, his smile widening.
“Your situation is a little special.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, most people awaken after completing their test at sixteen.
You, on the other hand, received a special quest because your awakening was delayed.
The system gave you an opportunity to choose your own class, and your potential isn’t bad either.”
He paused, then tilted his head.
“But don’t get too excited.
Four-star potential doesn’t mean you’ll become invincible.”
“I know.”
“Good!
Because this world is full of monsters far more terrifying than the ones you’ve killed tonight.”
I remained silent.
I already knew that.
The desert had taught me one thing: no matter how much stronger I became, there would always be something capable of killing me.
That was why I needed to keep growing.
I looked down at my hands.
The power I had gained might be small, but it was mine.
No one had given it to me out of kindness.
I had earned it through blood, pain, and relentless effort.
And I intended to make full use of it.
Noctis suddenly slung an arm around my shoulders.
“Come on!
Let’s celebrate your awakening!”
“How?”
He grinned.
“By sleeping, of course!”
I stared at him.
Before I could respond, he raised his hand.
A sharp pain struck the back of my neck.
Darkness swallowed my vision.
As consciousness faded, I heard his cheerful voice.
“Sweet dreams, Nameless!”
That bastard.
It was the last thought that crossed my mind before I lost consciousness.