A blood-soaked Alex fell to the ground from exhaustion. He stumbled into a puddle of mud on his way to the Trials. His newly stolen armor was now drenched in the crimson of the fallen Lizard Tribe. Alex panted heavily.
I... killed them...
I killed people...
I killed innocent people...
Alex tried to stand up, but his legs gave out beneath him. He barely managed to lift himself on one foot before collapsing again into the mud.
His vision blurred. His breathing quickened. The weight of his actions pressed on him like an unseen hand.
I did it without mercy...
How could I have done that...
I don't deserve to live...
He reached for his knife, but his arm wouldn't move. His strength had left him completely.
Then came the chill. His body grew cold; his skin, pale. Something tugged at his legs. Alex looked down and saw skeletal hands — faint, ghostly shapes clawing up from the ground. One by one, the faces of the Lizard Tribe appeared, hollow-eyed and silent, grasping at him. They clung to his legs, then his waist, then his chest.
He tried to shake them off, but they wouldn't let go. His voice failed him. The phantoms reached his neck — cold fingers brushing his throat. Panic surged through him.
Someone... help me...
Please...
The sound of rain broke through the terror. In an instant, the visions vanished.
Alex gasped and staggered to his feet. The rain poured down, washing the blood from his armor. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though the storm itself was cleansing him — rinsing away his guilt along with the crimson stains.
He looked down at the still bodies of the Lizard Tribe. Empty eye sockets stared back at him, unblinking and accusing. Alex took a long breath and began walking through the forest once more, toward the Trials.
***
A flower.
Her smile.
A white dress flowing in the wind.
Why can't I remember her face…?
Who was she…?
"I wouldn't ignore you... you're one of my best friends."
Who... are you...?
"Alex, don't ever stop being yourself. Don't change who you are because someone tells you to..."
"I think we should stop being friends..."
Alex jolted awake, gasping. He was slumped against a tree near the dim glow of a small campfire. The forest around him was pitch-black. A droplet of water slid down his hand.
Why am I crying...?
***
Two days later, he finally reached the Trials.
It looked like something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie — a massive temple crowned by a single pillar stretching into the clouds.
That must be the path to the next floor...
Alex stepped through the temple gates. Moments later, the doors slammed shut behind him. Torches along the walls ignited one by one, lighting a narrow, endless corridor.
The Trials were infamous — dangerous, yet rewarding. Every ten floors, one Trial offered the chance to skip ahead another ten. It was the fastest path upward... but few survived.
Deadly monsters, traps, and labyrinthine halls awaited those who dared.
Luckily, Alex had read about this Trial in the novel. He knew the general route to the boss chamber. If he could just recall every turn...
But now he stood at a crossroads. Two hallways stretched before him, left and right.
Was it left...?
No... maybe right...
Wait... which one was it again...?
Alex frowned. He was lost.
***
Which way was it…?
Left…?
Right…?
F*ck if I know…
Think… Think…
Alex kept glancing between both hallways. One was brightly lit, while the other was shrouded in total darkness.
Knowing the story… the hallway with the bright lights would probably kill me.
But if I go through the dark one, who knows what kind of trap could be waiting…
He walked toward the brightly lit hallway on the right. Carefully, he took a step inside
and before he could even realize it, the entire hallway exploded, engulfing everything in flames, including him.
He jolted awake, gasping. He was back in front of the campfire he had made, leaning against the same tree. The forest air was still damp. He was right where he'd started—hours away from the entrance of the Trials.
"F*CK!" Alex shouted, slamming his fist into the tree. The impact left a deep imprint in the bark.
And so it began—the cycle of walking to the Trials, dying, and waking back in the forest. Alex had died in every possible way: impaled, crushed, suffocated—you name it.
And so began his fifteenth regression.
***
This time was different...
He had avoided every single trap he'd set off before. He leapt over the massive hole in the floor. He dodged the spikes that shot from the walls. He sidestepped the poison arrows that whistled through the air.
Alex had managed to level up to Level 20—thirteen levels higher than when he first entered the Trials.
"Open character profile."
CHARACTER PROFILE
Alex Morales (Age 16)
Level: 20
Title: The One Who Cheated Death
STATS:
Strength
Stamina
Intelligence
Speed
SKILLS:
Regressor (Round 16) (Legendary)
Prophet
Alex had dumped all his skill points into Strength and Speed. It let him mow down opponents in seconds—whether they were massive skeleton knights or tiny skeleton guards, they all fell just the same.
Finally, he reached the last room of the Trials—the boss room.
He stood before a massive golden door. When he pushed it open, the blinding light revealed a vast chamber with a towering throne at its center.
And sitting upon that throne… was a colossal skeleton.
The creature slowly rose, and only then did its true size become clear.
The high ceiling barely contained it. It was at least a thousand times Alex's height.
Alex shuddered.
This must be… the King of Skeletons.
He tried to draw his dagger—but his body refused to move.
What the f*ck…?
Alex strained against the invisible force, but his limbs wouldn't budge. The Skeleton King's footsteps thundered closer.
Fear started to take over.
Move, move, move, move, MOVE—
SPLAT!