The air in the Ashen Wastes was thick with falling gray flakes, making it incredibly hard to breathe.
"RAAAARGH!"
The leading Rot-Walker broke into a frenzied sprint. Its limbs jerked with horrifying speed, kicking up clouds of ash as it lunged straight for Moon's throat.
[Time Remaining: 02:45]
Moon's fingers finally hit something hard buried in the dirt. He yanked it free just as the zombie closed the distance.
It was a jagged heavy slab of blackened rock roughly the size of a melon.
The monster tackled him.
"OOF!"
Moon hit the ground hard and the wind was knocked completely out of his lungs.
The Rot-Walker was on top of him in an instant, snapping its jaws wildly just inches from his face. Acidic saliva dripped onto Moon's cheek and burned his skin.
"Get the fuck off me!" Moon roared.
Operating purely on adrenaline, Moon shoved his left forearm under the zombie's chin to hold back the snapping teeth. With his right hand, he brought the heavy rock down in a brutal arc.
CRACK!
The stone smashed into the side of the Rot-Walker's skull. The creature didn't even flinch. It just shrieked louder as its rotten fingers tore into Moon's cheap t-shirt.
"Die! Just die!"
CRACK! CRACK! SQUELCH!
Moon brought the rock down again, and again, and again. On the third strike, the jagged edge of the stone caved in the creature's brittle skull. Black blood splattered across Moon's face.
The monster went limp and collapsed heavily onto his chest.
Moon lay there for a fraction of a second with his chest heaving and his heart hammering rapidly.
[Ding!]
[Target Killed. Activation Requirement Met.]
[Limitless Plunder (Stage 1) Activated.]
A warm current of energy suddenly surged from the dead Rot-Walker's corpse. It traveled up Moon's arm and directly into his core.
The exhaustion in his muscles vanished instantly.
[Plunder Successful!]
[Raw Strength +0.5 acquired.]
[F-Rank Passive Skill: Necrotic Bile acquired.]
Moon's eyes went wide. He could actually feel his muscles getting denser.
The slight frailty that had plagued this malnourished body was instantly overwritten. It wasn't a massive change, but going from a weak teenager to an athletic adult in a single second was amazing.
But he didn't have time to marvel at his new physique.
[Time Remaining: 02:20]
Three more Rot-Walkers broke through the ash and dived toward him.
Moon kicked the corpse off his body and rolled to his feet. He dropped the bloodied rock and looked at his hands.
He opened his mental status screen and focused on his new skill.
┌──────[ Skill Profile ]──────┐
│ [Skill]: Necrotic Bile
│ [Rank]: F
│ [Effect]: Channels a weak corrosive acid into the Host's palms. Capable of melting flesh and low-grade armor over time.
└───────────────────────────┘
"Let's test this out," Moon grinned excitedly.
He focused his intent on his hands. Instantly, his palms began to glow with a sickly pale-green light.
A thin film of bubbling acidic liquid secreted from his pores and hissed softly as it reacted with the ash.
The closest Rot-Walker lunged and swiped a jagged claw at his head.
Moon didn't retreat. Empowered by his newly plundered strength, he easily sidestepped the clumsy attack.
He stepped into the creature's guard, raised both of his glowing acid-coated hands, and slammed them directly onto the zombie's face.
"SZZZZZZ!"
The reaction was instantaneous. The Necrotic Bile ate through the monster's rotting skin and bone quickly.
The Rot-Walker shrieked in bubbling agony as its face literally melted off its skull. It collapsed and thrashed on the ground for a second before going completely still.
[Ding!]
[Plunder Successful!]
[Raw Agility +0.2 acquired.]
Another rush of energy appeared. Moon felt his limbs become lighter and his balance corrected itself perfectly.
The lethargy of his old body was being completely rewritten with every kill.
This talent was addictive. The more he killed, the stronger he felt. The stronger he felt, the more he wanted to kill.
[Time Remaining: 01:45]
The rest of the horde surrounded him. Nine Rot-Walkers closed in a tight circle.
Moon didn't have a weapon, but his hands were lethal, and his body was rapidly adapting to combat.
He ducked under a wildly swinging arm, drove his knee into a monster's chest, and slapped his acid-coated palm against its throat.
SQUELCH!
The zombie gagged as its vocal cords dissolved and dropped to the dirt.
[Raw Vitality +0.3 acquired.]
He spun around and used his plundered Agility to dodge two more monsters. He couldn't fight them all at once.
He used the terrain to backpedal up a small dune of ash, kicking the loose dirt into their faces to blind them.
Every time one got too close, he reached out and melted a joint, corroded a skull, or simply used his enhanced strength to snap a brittle neck.
With every kill, a new prompt flashed in his mind.
[Raw Strength +0.1 acquired.]
[Raw Mana +0.2 acquired.]
[Raw Agility +0.1 acquired.]
His body was a furnace that burned hotter and hotter as the raw attributes flooded his system.
He was moving faster, hitting harder, and taking glancing blows that barely bruised his newly reinforced skin.
[Time Remaining: 00:10]
Only two Rot-Walkers remained. Moon was panting and his t-shirt was ripped to shreds.
His arms were covered in black blood and gray ash, but he wasn't tired. He was completely wired.
"Come on!" he taunted with his hands dripping with green acid.
The two zombies charged. Moon stepped inside the reach of the first one, grabbed it by the back of the neck, and shoved its face directly into the path of the second zombie's claws.
As they tangled, Moon drove his foot into the back of the first one's knee and snapped the joint. Then he stomped heavily on both their heads.
CRACK!
[Time Remaining: 00:00]
[Ding! Trial Timer Concluded.]
The red timer vanished from his vision and was replaced by a soothing pale blue light. The gray ash stopped falling.
The oppressive atmosphere of the Wastes seemed to pause.
Moon collapsed onto his back and stared up at the dark sky. His chest heaved, but a massive genuine smile broke across his blood-spattered face.
He was alive. He had fought a horde of monsters barehanded and survived.
[Congratulations, Candidate. You have survived the Beginner's Trial.]
[Calculating Rewards based on performance...]
[Ding!]
[Bonus achieved for eliminating the entire horde. Aggressive survival tactics noted.]
[Rewards Distributed: 1x Rot-Walker Claw, 500 Origin Points (OP).]
Two items materialized in the air above him and dropped onto his chest. The first was a wicked curved bone claw that was sharp enough to cut glass. The second was a notification showing his new currency balance.
[Initiating Return Sequence.]
The spatial distortion grabbed hold of him once again. Moon closed his eyes and embraced the pull.
He had entered the Ashen Wastes as prey, but thanks to his Limitless Plunder, he was leaving as a predator.