## Chapter 9: The Guide's Insight
Shiron's voice cut through the humid air of the Green Lands.
"The effect of the spheres begins now."
He looked at their confused faces and added, "These spheres aren't for power. They are for **Knowledge**. In this world, ignorance is the shortest path to the grave."
He stood tall, his shadow stretching over them.
"Now, I will assign your missions. Close your eyes."
"Yuro... your target is the **Thorned Beast**."
"Raino... your target is the **Iron Armored Giant**."
"Rin... your target is the **Lightning Knight**."
The three of them closed their eyes. Suddenly, the cold iron in their stomachs pulsed. Information began to flood their minds like a digital stream—vivid images, categories, and warnings appeared in their vision.
### **The System's Data:**
**[Target: Yuro]**
* **Name:** The Thorned Beast.
* **Rank:** Intermediate (S).
* **Description:** A creature encased in dense, jagged spikes.
* **Warning:** **DO NOT STRIKE WITH BARE FISTS.** Every blow dealt is reflected back. Striking this beast is equivalent to striking yourself.
* **Note:** Remaining data suppressed by *The Guide* (Shiron).
**[Target: Raino]**
* **Name:** The Iron Armored Giant.
* **Rank:** Intermediate (S).
* **Description:** A massive, metallic juggernaut wielding a colossal axe.
* **Traits:** High defensive plating. Requires heavy, concentrated attacks. Slow movement but possesses devastating destructive power.
* **Note:** Remaining data suppressed by *The Guide* (Shiron).
**[Target: Rin]**
* **Name:** The Lightning Knight.
* **Rank:** Intermediate (S).
* **Description:** A crimson-armored figure resembling a medieval knight, wielding a blade crackling with electricity.
* **Traits:** Exceptional speed and hit-and-run tactics. Can paralyze opponents upon contact.
* **Note:** Remaining data suppressed by *The Guide* (Shiron).
The same warning flashed for all three: *Information restricted by The Guide.* They didn't need to ask; they knew Shiron was testing them, forcing them to figure out the rest on their own.
"Scatter," Shiron commanded. "But you will go one by one. Yuro... you are first. Go find your prey."
Yuro frowned, still looking at the dense forest. "I don't even know where it is."
"Read the full note," Shiron replied coldly.
Yuro closed his eyes again. A map materialized in his mind, pulsing with a red marker. His target was in a region of thick shrubs and sparse trees.
---
### **The First Encounter**
As Yuro walked toward the coordinates, his mind was racing.
*'I rely entirely on my fists... if hitting him means suicide, what am I supposed to do?'*
He stopped in a clearing, looking at the ground. *'Should I pick up rocks? No... that won't help. Dammit, I should have chosen a different weapon.'*
His frustration was cut short by a sudden chill.
*SWOOSH!*
A massive, hairy arm swung through the air, aiming directly for his neck. Yuro's instincts, sharpened by Shiron's brutal training, kicked in. He dropped to his knees, the wind of the strike whistling above his head.
"What the—?"
He rolled back and looked into the shadows of the trees.
A massive Gorilla emerged, its eyes glowing with a primal hunger. Yuro felt a surge of fear, but he quickly suppressed it. He focused his vision, and the sphere's data flickered:
**[Target: Jungle Ape - Rank: Lesser (S)]**
"You're not even my main target," Yuro muttered, his confidence returning. "You're just an obstacle."
The Gorilla roared, charging forward with a thunderous pace. It threw a heavy haymaker. Yuro crossed his arms in a guard.
*BANG!*
The impact sent Yuro sliding backward, his boots carving ruts into the dirt. He shook his arms, a smirk forming on his face.
"My turn."
He lunged forward, his red gloves shimmering with invisible energy. He threw a straight punch with everything he had, aimed right at the beast's chest.
*CRUNCH!*
The blow landed, but to Yuro's horror, the Gorilla didn't budge. It stood its ground, absorbing the strike as if it were nothing.
### **The Gorilla's Wrath**
The clash between Yuro and the Jungle Ape was brutal. On the surface, Yuro seemed to have the upper hand, his movements fluid and his strikes precise. But beneath the surface, a dangerous fatigue was setting in.
Unlike the Gorilla, whose strength was a natural part of its massive frame, Yuro was burning through his energy reserves at an alarming rate. Every explosive movement cost him, while the beast only grew more enraged.
Yuro leaped back to create distance, but the Gorilla didn't give him a second to breathe. It lunged forward with primal fury. Yuro countered with a brilliant feint, slipping past its guard to deliver a barrage of kidney shots and sudden, sharp jabs.
Enraged by the stinging pain, the Gorilla roared and slammed its massive fists into the earth. The ground shattered, and a jagged slab of rock was propelled directly at Yuro. He tried to dodge, but the debris clipped him, throwing him off balance.
The Gorilla seized the opening. It swung its fist in a devastating, windmill-like motion, slamming it directly onto the top of Yuro's head. The force was immense, driving Yuro into the dirt.
Dust settled, and for a moment, it looked like the end. But Yuro's hand shot up, gripping the Gorilla's wrist with a vice-like hold. Using his legs for leverage, he delivered a shattering kick to the beast's elbow joint.
*CRACK!*
The bone snapped. Yuro scrambled to his feet, gasping for air. "Even the monsters here... have a brain," he spat, blood trickling down his face.
Yuro began to concentrate. His right hand began to glow with a humming, concentrated aura—a charged strike. Meanwhile, he used his left arm to deflect the Gorilla's clumsy, one-handed lunges. He noticed the beast's footwork was failing.
With a sudden burst of speed, Yuro delivered a roundhouse kick to the Gorilla's temple. As the beast staggered, he drove his charged right fist into its stomach with the force of a detonating bomb.
The Gorilla let out a guttural scream. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and its remaining hand began to glow with a sickly, molten heat. It was pushing its own limits, turning its fist into a weapon of fire. It lunged at Yuro, intending to burn him alive.
"You're not the only one who can reshape energy!" Yuro roared.
He formed his energy into sharp, jagged claws—**The Talon Fists.** He slashed at the Gorilla's chest, shredding hide and muscle. But the beast was relentless. It ignored the wounds, slamming Yuro's face into the jagged rocks of the terrain.
Through the blur of pain, Yuro saw the spinning, spiral-shaped stones scattered by their battle. An idea sparked. He retreated, baiting the beast into smashing a massive boulder. As the rock shattered, Yuro used his 'Talon' to slice and sharpen a jagged fragment of the stone into a lethal point.
He channeled a massive portion of his remaining energy into the makeshift spear and hurled it with everything he had.
The stone whistled through the air, piercing the Gorilla's throat and pinning it to the ground. The beast struggled for a moment, its roars fading into a wet gurgle, until finally, it went still.
The Jungle Ape was dead.
Yuro stared at his trembling hand. The numbness was spreading.
"Shiron warned me... but I had to see it for myself."
The Thorned Beast stood motionless, its obsidian spikes glistening. It was a living trap.
Yuro tried to analyze the situation.
'If I punch it, I break my hand. If I use my energy claws, the feedback might destroy my internal flow.'
He circled the creature, looking for a gap in the spikes. There were none.
The beast let out a low, vibrating hum, and the spikes began to glow.
Suddenly, the creature lunged. It didn't strike with claws; it threw its entire weight forward, turning itself into a rolling mass of death.
Yuro barely dodged, the air whistling as the spikes passed inches from his face.
"I can't hit it... and I can't let it hit me."
He looked at his red gloves, then at the jagged rocks on the ground.
"If my power is the problem... I need to change the medium."
Yuro didn't have time to think. The beast was already moving.
One of its long, needle-covered limbs lashed out toward him. Yuro reacted instantly, leaping into the air to dodge the strike. But the creature had anticipated his movement.
While Yuro was mid-air and defenseless, the beast raised its other limbs. Hundreds of tiny, obsidian needles erupted from its skin like a volley of arrows.
Yuro tried to twist his body, but the projectiles were too fast. Several needles pierced his shoulder and thigh. He hissed in pain, forced to retreat behind a massive tree for cover.
Blood dripped from his wounds, staining the grass. He leaned against the rough bark, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Dammit..." Yuro gritted his teeth, pulling a needle from his arm. "The information was right. This isn't just a fight; it's a death trap. At this rate, there's no way I can win."
Yuro's eyes gleamed with a desperate, cunning idea. He ignored the stinging pain and gripped the shards of needles he had pulled from his own flesh.
He stepped out from behind the tree, his breath steadying. He didn't punch; instead, he hurled the monster's own needles back at it, coating them in a thin layer of his burning energy.
*Hiss!*
The needles pierced the beast's gaps, the energy searing its hide. The Thorned Beast shrieked and retreated. It realized the hunter had changed his tactics.
Immediately, the monster swung its two long, thorn-covered limbs in a pincer movement from opposite directions. Yuro didn't jump high this time; he made a low, calculated hop.
But it was a trap. The second limb was already waiting for him at the landing point.
With no other choice, Yuro roared and grabbed the thorned limb with his bare hands. The spikes dug deep into his palms, blood soaking his red gloves, but he held on with a death grip. By pinning the arm down, he effectively locked the beast's movement, preventing it from firing another deadly volley of needles.
"I've got you now," Yuro hissed through the pain.
The moment Yuro's feet touched the ground, the beast unleashed its most treacherous move yet.
It slammed its remaining free limb into the earth, and a sickly energy pulsed through the soil. Within seconds, the lush green grass beneath Yuro's feet began to transform. The blades of grass hardened and sharpened, turning into a carpet of jagged, upward-facing needles.
Yuro hissed in pain as the thorns pierced through the soles of his boots. Walking became an agonizing task; every step was like stepping on a bed of nails designed to shred flesh.
The ground was no longer a platform—it was a weapon.
"You're trying to pin me down..." Yuro gritted his teeth, balancing precariously while still holding onto the monster's limb. "You want to take away my movement so you can finish me off."
The battlefield had turned into a literal minefield of spikes, making every move a gamble with his life.
"What am I supposed to do?" Yuro muttered, his blood dripping onto the thorns below. "This fight is rigged against me from every side. Is Shiron insane? He knows I'll lose. He knows this is my certain death."
But then, Yuro went silent. A cold realization washed over him.
"No... he knows exactly what he's doing." Yuro gritted his teeth, his gaze sharpening. "He chose this beast specifically because I rely on direct strikes. He wanted to see how I'd survive when my only weapon is turned against me. If I lose, I die. This isn't a simulation... this is reality."
The weight of the situation pressed down on him. He remembered something—a faint sensation from earlier. While he was heading here, he thought he heard Rin's voice. *'Watch his movements,'* it seemed to say.
Was Rin watching him? Was this all part of a larger observation?
"If he can see me, or if he can't... it doesn't matter," Yuro hissed, tightening his grip on the monster's limb despite the needles shredding his palms. "I have to stop waiting for help. I have to act on my own."