“You will now be granted your second reward.” The voice did not seem to care about Akira’s tantrum. Instead, in a completely neutral tone, it announced its next words.

  “As your second reward, your Heart Core will now be awakened.”

  Akira's body tensed at the words. His confusion was replaced by an intense curiosity and dread. What was that? His mind raced, trying to grasp any meaning behind the phrase.

  Before he could process further, a surge of warmth began to fill his chest. It wasn’t painful, but it was powerful, like something deep inside him was coming alive.

  His heartbeat quickened, and the sensation spread from his chest outward, sending ripples through his limbs. It felt like a slow, pulsing force, something ancient and primal, yet foreign to him.

  His vision blurred for a moment, the fog around him swirling and intensifying, almost as if it were reacting to the awakening happening inside him. He felt something shifting within him, a knot of energy, a dormant force being drawn out and into focus.

  Out of nowhere, another sharp sensation shot through his chest. Akira gasped, clutching at his tunic as if he could hold it together, but the sensation was growing stronger. It felt like his entire being was being reconfigured, restructured from the inside out. His breath caught in his throat as his body shuddered.

  Then, it stopped. Like nothing happened, the feeling of power inside of him disappeared.

  He looked down at his hands, his heart racing with questions that threatened to overwhelm him. What had just happened?

  Heart Core?

  Suddenly, with just the thought of the word, he was transported somewhere different.

  Akira looked around to see nothing but darkness, like the world around him didn’t even exist. Something, however, caught his gaze.

  His silver eyes moved up to the sky to see… A lightless sun, it was nothing but a small pebble in the sky, yet it stood far.

  Its color was a lifeless gray and its shape was a perfect sphere, it held no imperfection or malformations, not even a single crack.

  Akira himself didn’t know how he could see it in such detail, despite the object being hundreds of meters away, but he just could. Despite this being the first time seeing this thing, he knew exactly what it was.

  “That's my… Heart Core?” His words formed a question, yet the truth was deeply seeded in his mind and heart.

  A realization struck him. What if the crystals he had found inside of the corpses of the monsters were also Heart Cores? Was he going to become a monster like that? What was the use of a Heart Core?

  Without an explanation, he was suddenly back in the mist realm.

  Akira stumbled, disoriented by the sudden shift between the strange void and the mist. His heart was still racing. He could feel the pulse of something new within him, but its nature eluded him. Heart Core, that was what the voice had called it. The words lingered in his mind like an echo, demanding his attention.

  “Now, onto your third and final reward.” The voice spoke softly without need for explanation.

  “Wait, wait, wait, what is this place?! What's a Heart Core? What do I even do with it?” Akira looked around the mist, hoping the voice would at least present some hint or guidance.

  His words fell onto uncaring ears.

  Ignoring his questions completely, the voice continued.

  “Your third and final reward will be a Trait, [Spectral Shift].”

  “Trait? What the-”

  As if answering his call, runes appeared in front of him, the language was foreign to him yet he understood it.

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  Trait: [Spectral Shift]

  Trait Type: Active

  Trait Description: The user can momentarily shift into an elusive ethereal state, allowing them to phase effortlessly through physical objects of their choice. This spectral form lasts only a few moments, during which time the user becomes untouchable by all that is material, as if they were nothing more than a fleeting whisper in the wind.

  "Your rewards have been granted, hunter. Your Selection Trial is complete. Please proceed forward onto the first Sanctuary."

  “Wha-” Before finishing his sentence, a Mist Gate appeared in front of him, so instantaneous you could swear it had been there the whole time.

  However, there was one difference between the Mist Gate that took him here and this one. Aside from the apparent change in the shape and size of the rocks that formed it, the symbols on it were different.

  His fingers brushed against his chest, searching for some physical evidence of the transformation, but there was nothing. He clenched his fist, testing his strength, but his body felt no different, stronger, perhaps, but not in any tangible way he could measure.

  He glanced back at the Mist Gate. The thought of stepping through filled him with a mixture of dread and anticipation. Every step forward felt like it was dragging him deeper into an endless spiral of unknowns, yet there was no turning back.

  “Sanctuary.” He murmured to himself, the word bitter on his tongue. “What kind of place is that going to be?”

  Akira took a shaky step forward, then another, his bare feet brushing against the solid mist beneath him. He paused just before the threshold of the gate, the mist swirling around him like restless spirits. With a deep breath, he stepped through.

  The transition was instantaneous, a sensation like being pulled through water without the resistance or weight. Akira emerged on the other side, blinking rapidly as his surroundings solidified.

  He was no longer in the mist-filled void.

  Instead he stood on a dirt path, the world around him transformed.

  Fields of golden wheat stretched endlessly on either side, swaying gently in a warm, sunlit breeze. The air was sweet, carrying the faint scent of grain and wildflowers. Above, the sky was a perfect canvas of blue, dotted with soft clouds that seemed to drift lazily, unbothered by the weight of the world.

  For a moment, Akira stood frozen, his senses overwhelmed by the sudden serenity. “Am I… still alive?” The mere beauty and calmness of this new stage confused Akira to the point he thought he had somehow died and passed onto a better place.”

  Then a bitter chuckle escaped his lips. “Who am I kidding? If I was dead I wouldn't be in a place like this."

  The golden hues of the wheat glowed under the sunlight, a stark contrast to the suffocating atmosphere of the mist realm. The silence was broken only by the rustling of the stalks and the occasional chirp of unseen birds.

  His eyes followed the dirt path to the horizon, where a massive wall of gray stone rose into the heavens. It was impossibly tall, its surface smooth and imposing, a barrier that seemed to defy the natural order. The path led directly to a colossal wooden gate, raised as if in silent invitation.

  The sight filled Akira with unease. The peaceful landscape felt almost too perfect, like a facade waiting to shatter.

  He clenched his fists and forced himself to move forward. Each step was hesitant, his bare feet pressing against the soft dirt path as he made his way toward the gate.

  As he got closer and closer, he could start hearing murmurs… people. The sounds were unmistakable, people talking, laughing and arguing.

  For a moment, his instincts screamed at him to turn back, to retreat into the golden wheat fields and vanish from sight. Yet he knew there was no safety in the fields, no refuge in turning back.

  He glanced behind him, half expecting the Mist Gate to still be there, waiting to whisk him back into the mist realm, but it was gone. There was no retreat. Only forward.

  The gate was wide open, and far too big and heavy for anyone to move, its wooden bottom was the only visible part of it, covered in intricate floral patterns molded with silver and gold.

  Looking inside, he saw a sight that terrified him to the bone.

  It was a massive crowd, tens, if not hundreds, all dressed like him and looking just as confused.

  Akira froze, his feet rooted to the ground. They were all standing at what looked like the entrance to a big city, this place only had a few stone buildings that looked like abandoned houses.

  For a split second all eyes turned to him, yet the uninvited gazes left as soon as they came. For a second Akira stood there in shock, this was the first time he saw this many people together, his messy, raven hair flopping in the breeze.

  The conversations ranged wildly.

  “Hey, did you guys also wake up in the middle of a field?” A short girl asked.

  “So what was your guys' condition to pass through the Mist Gate?” A dark-skinned boy asked as well.

  “I had to catch this giant fish in a river where I woke up and drag it to the Mist Gate.” A woman with brown hair styled in a bun said.

  “What are you guys talking about? I didn’t have any conditions to pass. I just walked through and got my rewards.” Another man added.

  As he stepped closer, he caught a glimpse of a group gathered near the center of the open courtyard. The group in the center, the ones wearing armor and carrying real weapons, caught his attention. Their confidence was stark against the confusion of the rest.

  They were speaking with an air of authority, addressing the gathered crowd.