The moment he accepted the mission, the world blurred.
Reality folded like silk caught in wind.
One blink—and Markandeya found himself no longer floating in the vast cosmic core. Instead, he stood on the edge of a vast, foggy woodland valley. The trees pulsed faintly with spirit energy, their branches lined with glistening silver moss. The air smelled sharp—like ozone and iron. Spiritual density was so high that it almost formed mist.
A faint shimmer surrounded him. A barrier?
> [Trial Zone: Entry Confirmed]
Environment: Tier-0 Spirit Beast Habitat (Instanced Zone)
Time Limit: 3 hours
Goal: Survive.
Hints: 3 beasts active in zone. No killing required.
His instincts fired on all cylinders.
The barrier. It wasn't to keep him in—it was to keep other things out. Or maybe to isolate him entirely.
He crouched slightly, spreading his awareness.
His spiral of qi rotated silently in his soul. The fire wisp inside him flickered with nervous anticipation. The chakra node tingled. His proto inner realm pulsed gently, but remained inactive unless he focused.
"I need a plan," he murmured.
Running around for three hours in blind fear wasn't surviving. It was flailing.
He started walking.
Not aimlessly. He looked for elevation, for tree clusters with clear visibility, for any sign of movement. He observed every scent change, every footstep echo. He listened—not just with ears, but with energy.
He didn't have any weapons. But he didn't need any—not yet.
Observe. Adapt. Survive.
A survivalist's creed.
Minutes passed. Then an hour.
The forest sang softly with shifting wind.
Then—branches cracked.
Markandeya dropped instantly, hiding behind a rock half-buried in moss.
He felt the vibration before he saw it.
A large, panther-like beast emerged through the mist. Sleek, pitch-black fur. Faint green lines across its shoulders that glowed when it exhaled. Spirit beast—no doubt. At least Tier-0 peak, maybe more.
> [Beast Identified: Verdant Phantom Stalker]
Traits: Stealth, Speed, Venom
Status: Scouting territory
Aggression: Passive (for now)
Markandeya held his breath.
It walked within ten meters.
He could hear its heartbeat—slow, calm, powerful.
His mind raced. He could try and run, but its name alone told him that wouldn't work. The beast was born to chase.
He tapped into his inner spiral. Pulled a thread of fire qi. Carefully, silently, he funneled it through his legs—not to move, but to heat the air slightly and mask his scent with rising warmth.
A trick he'd read in some forgotten Earth novel.
The beast sniffed. Growled low.
Then walked past him.
Minutes later, it was gone.
He exhaled—slow and steady.
> [Status: 1 Beast Encounter Survived]
> [Trait Progress: Instinctual Heat Veil – 14%]
"You are evolving passive survival techniques."
Markandeya smiled.
Not just survival—growth.
That encounter gave him insight. If he kept leveraging instincts and energy creatively, the system rewarded him.
He moved again—this time toward a low hill. It had visibility on all sides and dense foliage overhead.
Half an hour passed before the next beast arrived.
This time, it wasn't silent.
It crashed through the trees, bellowing.
A hulking, horned reptilian creature with bark-like scales and glowing veins.
> [Beast Identified: Ironpine Basilisk (Young)]
Traits: Heavy Defense, Mid-range Qi Shock, Low Stamina
Aggression: Mild
Status: Disturbed by previous predator
It wasn't looking for prey—it was fleeing something stronger.
Markandeya backed away slowly, then pivoted.
He didn't need to confront it.
But he followed it at a distance—just enough to stay behind the curve of danger.
He observed its movement, learned the way it used qi to absorb shock from the ground, saw how it repelled sharp branches using pulse waves.
The system pinged again.
> [Passive Learning: Qi Shock Absorption – 9%]
[Observation Bonus: 3 Points Gained]
> "The system rewards survival and learning," Markandeya muttered.
He was piecing it together.
This wasn't a fight-to-grow system. It was adaptive. It watched how he used the world—and scaled him accordingly.
Smart.
Two hours in.
The third beast was the worst.
It didn't walk.
It flowed.
Mist parted and reformed as it slithered silently along the ground. Like a snake made of fog and wind and shadow.
Markandeya didn't even see it until it was almost on top of him.
He leapt aside—barely dodging a tendril that cracked the stone behind him.
The creature hissed—though it had no mouth—and lunged again.
He dropped into a roll, released a burst of chakra-infused fire in all directions.
It wasn't meant to attack. It was meant to disorient.
The mist beast staggered, flinching back.
He didn't wait.
He sprinted.
Heart pounding, legs pumping with spiraled qi, chakra humming in his veins. He didn't look back.
He found a hollow in the hill and collapsed inside, masking the entrance with fire and dirt. Then he entered a meditative state—forcefully calming his energy to avoid leaking presence.
Minutes passed.
Then:
> [Time Remaining: 3 Minutes]
> [System Alert: All Beasts Returning to Core Dens]
He almost collapsed in relief.
> [Trial Completed]
Reward: +10 points, Random Defensive Artifact, Beast Sense Passive Unlocked
> [Item Received: Boneleaf Cloak (Tier-0)]
Traits: Natural Camouflage, Passive Qi Dispersal
> [Beast Sense (Passive) Unlocked]
You can now perceive hostility level and directional intent from nearby beasts.
The trial zone shimmered—and collapsed.
Markandeya returned to the energy core, still breathing hard.
But something had changed.
His instincts were sharper.
His energy more fluid.
He wasn't just a soul anymore.
He was a survivor.
A cultivator in progress.
And this was only the beginning.
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