Milo stood silently in the center of the chamber, his eyes fixed on the glowing screen before him.
The light flickered once.
Then, a voice echoed through the room.
Calm. Cold. Precise.
"Initializing Trial One..."
A brief pause followed.
"Capability Recognition Test."
Milo narrowed his eyes slightly, focusing on every word.
"This test is designed to evaluate your fundamental abilities."
"Reaction speed. Movement efficiency. Environmental awareness. Ability output."
As the voice continued, faint blue lines began to spread across the walls and the floor, slowly illuminating the entire chamber.
"The trial consists of multiple phases."
"Each phase will evaluate a different aspect of your performance."
"Adaptation is required."
"There is no fixed pattern."
Milo remained still, but his focus sharpened.
Milo stood silently in the center of the chamber, his eyes fixed on the glowing screen as the voice finally responded to his answer.
"Good… are you ready?"
Without hesitation, Milo replied in a calm and firm tone, "Yes."
The moment the word left his mouth, a sharp mechanical sound echoed from the wall, and a device emerged instantly before he could fully react. In the same instant, a red beam shot forward at high speed, forcing Milo to move on pure instinct as he narrowly avoided it, the beam cutting through the air right beside him before he managed to put distance between himself and the attack.
He stopped a few steps away, his expression unchanged but slightly sharper than before.
"...That was sudden," he muttered.
The voice echoed again through the chamber, cold and emotionless as ever.
"Phase One. Reaction Test."
Milo sighed and spoke calmly, "You should have told me before you..."
Before he finished, another red beam fired.
Milo leaned back quickly, dodging it as it passed just above him.
He straightened again, eyes sharper.
"…So that's how it is."
Milo kept dodging the beams as they appeared every short interval. It was easy for him, almost predictable after a few moments.
Then suddenly, the beams stopped.
A strange device rose from the ground, and multiple floating spheres began to emerge around the chamber, slowly spreading through the space.
Milo paused, looking around with a slight confusion.
Suddenly, a small sphere near him moved and shot toward his shoulder.
Milo reacted fast and dodged it, but in that same moment another sphere took advantage of his movement and hit him in the chest.
He stepped back slightly, stabilizing his balance.
Milo thought to himself...
"This is getting harder..."
The spheres began launching more frequently, but Milo was still evading them.
He jumped back, lowered his body, and twisted his movement mid-step, avoiding each attack with different reactions.
Every sphere missed him by a narrow margin, but the pressure kept increasing.
The situation became harder as the spheres started bouncing off the walls after he dodged them, returning toward him from unexpected angles.
Milo clicked his tongue slightly and adjusted his movement, but the pressure kept building as the attacks came back faster and more unpredictable.
Some of the spheres managed to hit him, but overall, Milo still avoided most of them.
Then, suddenly, all the spheres stopped moving.
A voice echoed through the chamber.
"Phase One completed."
Milo sat down on the floor and let out a slow breath, trying to steady himself.
"That was a bit confusing…"
He paused for a moment, then added quietly,
"…But I did it."
A soft whisper echoed in a different tone.
"Second test will begin…"
Suddenly, the ground began to shift vertically.
Milo steadied himself and started moving with the motion, trying to adapt while thinking about what kind of test this would be.
Behind him, a model of an insect appeared on the wall, opening its mouth wide.
Milo frowned in disgust.
"…Couldn't they come up with something better than this?"
The ground began to move faster.
Milo started running.
Obstacles began to appear gradually, forcing him to adjust his path on the move. Flying objects targeted him from above, while uneven platforms and rising structures appeared in his way, making him jump and climb without stopping.
Bright lights suddenly shifted toward his eyes, trying to disrupt his vision.
But Milo kept running.
Something suddenly struck Milo's foot, making him stumble. He almost fell, but he quickly regained his balance.
Ahead, on the far wall, a button appeared with a message.
"Press me!"
Milo's eyes lit up slightly.
"…I need to reach it."
A faint, transparent energy spread through his body as he accelerated. He started running faster, but the obstacles increased in difficulty, becoming harder to avoid. Some of them managed to hit him, yet he didn't slow down.
He kept pushing forward without stopping until he finally jumped at the last moment and hit the button with his head.
He fell to the ground right after impact.
Everything stopped.
A voice echoed.
"Stage cleared."
Milo slowly stood up, fixing his hair and catching his breath. After a brief silence, he let out a small sigh.
"…Not bad."
The system spoke in a calm voice.
"Well done. You have successfully cleared the second stage."
The voice continued in the same calm tone.
"The third stage will begin in ten seconds."
Milo paused for a moment, thinking to himself.
"…This time, there's a delay before it starts."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…That's a bit strange."
A few seconds passed.
Then suddenly, multiple figures began to appear all around the chamber.
Not real people… but artificial constructs.
They stood silently, surrounding the area.
Milo looked around at them, a faint smile forming on his face.
"Oh… finally."
His eyes sharpened.
"Now it gets interesting."
One of the constructs moved first. It stepped forward, raised its hand, and attacked.
Milo reacted instantly. He pushed the arm aside and followed with a direct punch, sending it flying before it hit the ground.
At that moment, the system's voice echoed.
"Phase Three has begun."
Several of the constructs rushed toward Milo at once.
One of them threw a punch.
Milo lowered his body, a confident smile forming on his face as a faint transparent energy spread through him. In the next moment, he drove a punch into the construct's abdomen, sending it flying into the others behind it.
Another one attacked from behind.
Milo dodged without turning, caught its arm, and slammed it into the ground.
In his mind, he thought,
"…They can be defeated with a single move."
Two constructs advanced toward him at the same time, one from his right and the other from his left.
Milo leaned back slightly, then moved forward in one smooth motion, grabbing both of their heads and smashing them together.
Milo let out a light laugh.
"Hehe!… I learned that one from Herax."
In that moment, his guard dropped slightly.
From behind, another construct rushed toward him.
As Milo turned to look, a punch was already coming toward his face.
He didn't step back.
He caught the arm, pulled it toward him, and lowered his head in the same motion… then drove a powerful punch straight into the construct's face, his energy surging through his arm.
The impact was so strong that the construct was sent flying, crashing hard into the wall.
The constructs gathered together, forming a line as they stood in front of Milo.
One after another, they began to step forward.
Milo cracked his fingers, his expression turning serious.
"Come at me."
At the same time, in other virtual locations, several other examinees were going through the same test as Milo.
Among them was Herax.
He was fighting the constructs using pure physical strength. Some of them tried to climb onto him, but he grabbed them and slammed them into the ground with brute force, or delivered heavy direct strikes that shattered their balance.
He laughed loudly.
"This is fun!"
Meanwhile, in another chamber, Kuroto Kuroka remained completely calm.
He didn't rely on his ability or energy at all. He moved lightly and precisely, striking the constructs' weak points with minimal effort.
His long black hair swayed with every smooth movement, as he dismantled them quietly and efficiently.
After a few minutes of fighting, Milo stopped and took a breath. A slight sign of fatigue appeared on him.
He had taken down all the constructs. Their bodies were scattered across different corners of the chamber.
A few seconds later, they began to fade and disappear gradually.
The system's voice echoed.
"Well done. You have cleared the third stage."
"Processing and analyzing your combat style to generate the fourth stage."
Milo's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What does that mean?"
After a few seconds, a single construct began to form.
From the ground upward, its body was reconstructed piece by piece until it fully materialized.
This one looked different. Stronger in build, more refined, with defined facial features
eyes, a nose, and ears.
It slowly turned its gaze toward Milo.
Milo's expression shifted slightly, showing clear surprise.
A faint transparent energy spread out from the construct as it assumed a combat stance.
The system's voice echoed, announcing its designation.
"Construct: Milo. Ready for the start of the phase."
Milo heard his name and a cautious smile formed on his face.
"…So you're copying me. Interesting."
He raised his stance as well, fully prepared now, his gaze turning serious.
In an instant, both of them dashed toward each other.
Milo raised his right arm.
The construct Milo also raised its right arm.
Both moved in perfect synchronization, ready to deliver the first strike.