The moment Liang Wei slammed into the water, it was as if he had tapped into the framework of reality itself.
Dust in the air.
Moisture in the mist.
The buzzing wings of the bees. The heartbeats all around him, pumping blood and oxygen through their vessels, carrying the molecules that composed their bodies.
He felt it all.
It was exhilarating.
And with a single thought, he could change how they responded to the world.
Liang Wei's ice-reddened body glowed with a visible aura composed of blue 1s and 0s. It pushed outward into the pond as he enacted his first rule, transferring the spin of his ring blade into the water.
Transfer complete: Vortex initialized.
The broken, icy water churned, dragging those on the surface into the freezing lake.
Liang Wei was pulled underneath as well. He looked to his sides as the currents circled.
His banner sank with him, no longer bound to the ground.
It floated behind him, the same digital aura spilling out data in the form of code.
He felt it pulsing.
Waiting.
He grabbed the banner. Its blue digits started changing, darkening into black numbers.
The code strands began altering the way the water flowed.
It became viscous and constricting.
The insects were the first to fall victim to the new darkness—
Grasshoppers and spiders gurgled, their eyes blinded, pupils stinging with chemicals that stained them.
Their green bodies struggled to move through the murky clouds around them.
The spiders tried swimming to the surface using their natural sense of direction, only to have blue code appear around their limbs.
Crk… Crkk…
Freezing their legs into crystal-coated weights that dragged them deeper.
"This… this is amazing~" he bubbled in the ink-mixed water. His skin started glowing with a mural of his current dive.
Shining on his back as fish were calligraphed across his sinking mural.
He saw each scale, texture, and finished detail as his leaking aura took on the fishes' forms. They moved like piranha, with jagged, sharp teeth. They swam away as more were born around him.
Fwiish...
They trailed through the water made of solid ice—chomp! They bit through the lake-bound monsters, killing in droves, all under his control, passing through the dark with cunning prowess.
But with each kill, he felt lightheaded—
His head was overheating—
He felt omnipresent.
Everything was clear to him. Even now, he felt his summon. He repositioned them away from Xuyue, sending them to the surface where the curious fireflies lingered.
He sensed Xuyue's shock as she reached the surface and took deep breaths before realizing he wasn't there.
Her expression slowly turned to disbelief.
She removed her wet priestess gown and armor.
Left in medieval undergarments, she inhaled sharply and dove headfirst into the cold currents.
She had reduced her water resistance, sacrificing warmth for speed.
Her eyes widened when she saw a catfish torpedo past her, fully encased in ice crystals, bursting out of the water. Its mouth gaped wide as it devoured the luminous insects alive.
All under Liang Wei's control—
While he had lost command over his own body the moment he touched the banner, In exchange for holding it aloft and leading all creation within his domain.
This level of awareness was something he never thought possible. It was inhuman.
And because of that, his body began burning nutrients just to sustain it.
It burned through his reserves.
Thinned his natural fat.
His perception expanded out of the lake, into the falling snow, past the swarm of fireflies, toward the exit portal—
Then he hit a wall.
The portal he was supposed to be guarding restructured against his advance.
His eyes began to close, tiredness washing over him.
If I had this back then… maybe I could have beaten her.
He watched air leave his lungs.
Why am I getting so tired…?
More importantly—
Why can I hear my alarm ringing?
His mind churned. His vision swirled.
Liang Wei saw through the portal.
He saw his dorm room.
His desk and chair slightly off to the side.
The sound of his assignment reminder.
…Is this a sign I'm finally waking up?
Silence washed over him.
Was I really dreaming after all then? he asked, his newfound realization settling in.
Liang Wei blinked heavily, trying to stay conscious.
The entire lake darkened in seconds.
Then I still have time to get my revenge on that group of mercenaries~
...
Wild Beast Calligraphy — Seven-Colored Chameleon
Rank: Grade 4 (Adept)
Type: Stealth / Ambush
• Adapts elemental resistance based on the last attack received
...
His chameleon adapted to its surroundings, treating his domain as an elemental attack. Triggering its cells to gain resistance over the elements, in doing so it developed colder skin.
Ice-armored scales.
Frost-tipped claws, larger body mass, and webbed appendages from its fingertips and hind legs, while its tail ended with a fin. "Hsss"—air leaked from its neck as it grew gills to adapt further.
Becoming a monster to both water and cold—
A faint hum resonated through the air.
Then the arena itself pulsed—the sky fracturing into geometric patterns of light.
[Combat Time Recorded: 1:38:16]
[Wave Status: Uncleared]
[Reward Access Unlocked]
Congratulations!
You have survived the time required for thorough Immersion Testing.
You are among the few players to complete this trial and defeat an elite two-stage Serpent-class monster.
Bonus Rewards:
You have obtained a random dungeon key (Lv 1–5), 1 cosmetic item, 3 base skills & 1 Divine:
Ethereal-Mountain Glimmer (Glider). A relic belonging to the Winter Sapphire Fairies' best engineers.
[(Basic)] Sapphire Fairy Skill Set:
Appraisal (Basic)
Loot (Basic)
Blueprint (Basic)
[(Divine)] Sapphire Fairy Skill:
Divine Scale (Divine Skill)
Total Rewards Obtained:
Half-Damaged Basilisk-Lizard Skin ×1
Charred Basilisk-Lizard Skin ×5
Raptail Bones ×18 (Includes: 6 Skulls, 6 Leg Bones, 4 Tail Sections, 2 Rib Cages)
…
Elemental Flame Lion Core (Shattered) ×1 (Lv. 15)
Charred Flame Lion Hide ×2
…
Frozen Mist-Silk Phantom Spiders ×16
Iron-Mandible Burrow Ant Mandibles & Shells ×58
Thorn-Drinker Spirit Bee Singers ×73
Iron-Shell Grasshopper Ink-Stained Bodies ×15
Green-Fields Grasshopper Cores ×34
Thorn-Drinker Spirit Bee Honey ×5
As the reward text faded, a faint shimmer rippled through the air. The system's mechanical tone softened into something almost… alive.
Thank you for participating in the area's evaluation.
This data will be used to improve beast combat and coordination in later arenas.
Scanning character data… 1%… 2%… 3%… 100%.
It has been found you have an 87% sync rate with your digital avatar, placing you among an astonishing top 15% of players.
However, due to time restrictions and wave performance, you were stunted at Wave 3, placing you below 73% of players in that category.
What is this…?
Liang Wei's mind couldn't keep up as he was suddenly hugged by Xuyue.
Her face was one of desperation as she finally found him.
Her first instinct was to pull him upward as she tried to swim them both to the surface.
[Your choices have been recorded. A large amount of time was spent preparing ingredients, brewing potions, and creating NPCs.]
(For future attempts, it is recommended not to focus on potions, as every five rounds in the arena you will automatically receive a healing potion.)
New Title Granted: Wave Beginner
He felt a "Wave: 2" panel hover over his head.
But he couldn't hold on anymore.
He closed his eyes…
Ring! Ring! Ring!
…And began drifting toward the sound of his phone's alarm.