Chapter 10: An Extra's Desperate Stand

Following the scent of the human, a pack of six wolves approached a cave, miasma leaking from their bodies. With each step, they left a trail of death.

Closing in on the cave, the scent of the human became stronger, alerting the wolves to their prey's current location.

Stepping closer to the cave, anticipation evident as they relished the chance to eat a human again, heavy steps reverberated as the wolves surrounded the entrance to the cave, not willing to give the human a chance to escape.

Leading the charge was a wolf with a scar on its eye, its colorless left eye indicating its blind spot.

Excitedly running towards the cave, *Doof,* shaking the beast to its core, a sharp pain hit its head as an intangible force stopped it from entering.

Angrily trying to break down the invisible shield stopping it from entering the cave, it clawed and scratched at the barrier, using its full strength.

Yet nothing, the barrier stood tall, showing no signs of any damage done to it as it still stopped the wolves from entering.

Frustration in its tone, the wolf let out a sharp howl as it called its pack.

Hearing the howl from the Alpha, the wolves assembled as each of them threw a flurry of attacks at the invisible force.

After an hour of relentless attacks, the wolves gave up, exhausted.

Seeing that they wouldn't be able to reach their prey, the alpha let out another piercing howl as all the wolves went into the forest, waiting for their prey to exit the cave.

---

Looking at the wolves' retreating figures, a sigh of relief released itself from Bellator's mouth.

Bellator's heartbeat thudded loudly as the thought of what could've happened became apparent, his veins visible, and his body subtly shaking.

'What was that?' Bellator thought as he approached the cave's entrance.

Not feeling any sort of resistance, Bellator quickly took a step outside the cave.

'I don't know what that barrier is, but it just saved my life,' Bellator thought as he entered the cave again.

'This barrier was never explained in the novel, but I guess the novel had no way of being 100 percent accurate.' He thought, wondering about the presence of a mysterious barrier.

'Though I can't be relying on luck from now on, I should've prepared for something that was not within the novel's pages occurring. Yet, after seeing this cave, I blindly trusted the novel, thinking all events would go as planned.' Bellator thought, grateful to whoever had put up the barrier.

Setting up a tent and a campfire, Bellator took out some beef jerky from his storage ring as he started snacking.

'I've made it here, so all I need to figure out is how to activate the test.' He thought, coming out with multiple hypotheses.

'What did the character in the novel activate the test? What were his exact actions? Maybe if I can recreate it, I could trigger the test.' Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out his diary and started reading.

He could've just thought of the contents since he had a photographic memory, but reading it helped him notice tiny details he would've usually glossed over.

Reading the chapter, a few things stood out to Bellator.

'Firstly, he was injured. I'm not sure if being injured or not is a requirement, but hopefully, it isn't.'

'Secondly, it was storming. Now I can't control the weather, so if that's a condition, I might never be able to acquire this item.'

'Thirdly, his state of mind. I had this thought that maybe it wasn't a physical requirement but a mental one. In the novel, the character's heart was filled with despair before the test arrived.'

'None of these conditions are something I could recreate. I can only try and see if there's any other way to activate the test.'

Heading into the tent, Bellator drifted to sleep as darkness engulfed his vision. During the night, the wolves hid in the bushes, patiently waiting for the day their prey would leave the safe environment of the cave.

Even as beasts, the wolves understood the need for food. So, it didn't matter how long the human stayed there; sooner or later, he would leave.

As night descended upon the continent, many people went to sleep, whether it was the tired laborer from a long day of work or a child tired from the repetitive task of school.

Everyone got ready for bed. Except in one home, the light was on as a boy with a blindfold was busy packing some clothes in a backpack.

The house was currently empty, devoid of any furniture or any proof that a loving family had once occupied those walls.

Putting the backpack inside his storage room, the boy switched the light off as he said goodbye to the home that held his childhood memories.

Walking through the now-empty streets of the safe district 3, the boy walked dressed in a dark coat, as the darkness of night concealed his identity.

Walking for a few more minutes, the boy arrived outside a shop. The shop's wooden sign with its name stood out as the boy walked right in.

"You ready for your first job, kid?" a big man with brown hair and brown eyes, and a big beer belly asked.

Staying silent, the boy nodded.

"I don't know why someone with your disability would want to participate in something so dangerous, but as long as I get paid, it's none of my business," the man said as he led the boy to the backrooms.

As the moon faded and the sun rose, in the forest, a boy in a tent could be heard snoring.

The boy had white hair and golden eyes as his skinny and malnourished body was on full display. The boy stood at a height of 5ft11.

Small murmurs could be heard coming out of Bellator's mouth as he talked in his sleep.

"I'M SORRY," he abruptly shouted as his body shot up, sweat trickling down his forehead as a series of thoughts swirled through his head.

'It was just a dream,' Bellator repeated inside his head as he tried to forget about the dream he just had.

Calming himself down, Bellator prepared himself.

'Since I don't know how to activate the test, I might as well stay productive,' Bellator thought as he prepared himself breakfast.

A disgusting odor came from his body, proof of him neglecting his hygiene.

After breakfast, Bellator started doing push-ups. Since arriving in the world, he had not made any strides in improving his physical condition.

As he started doing push-ups, the weakness in his body became apparent after he reached twenty, as his arms shook, struggling to support his body. Yet, he continued, determination visible in his eyes.

Collapsing on the floor as his hands couldn't continue, he took a big gulp of water as he cooled his beating heart.

Standing up, Bellator ignored his aching arms as he put the backpack on with all his items inside and started doing squats.

Reaching 100 squats, even with the backpack on, sweat trailed down Bellator's back, and his legs wobbled, a sign that he was reaching his limit.

Taking the backpack off, Bellator immediately collapsed to the floor as exhaustion set in.

A week continued like this. Bellator had not exited the cave once since his arrival and had dedicated all his time to working out. Although slight, the physical changes were noticeable.

He had gained a bit of weight and no longer looked as skinny as before, yet he was still a far cry from average weight.

'I don't have a lot more time. I'm almost out of food, and I still haven't figured out how to activate the test.'

During the week he had spent in the cave, Bellator had tried different methods to try and trigger the test.

He had done numerous experiments such as searching through the entire cave to see if there was any physical trigger and many more. Yet, they all had the same result.

Nothing happened.

After a week of no results, Bellator's resolve was at an all-time low. On the 8th day of receiving no results, he made a decision to give up.

'I don't have a lot of time before the academy starts, and I haven't made any progress. If I continue like this, I'll go to the academy with no items at all. It would be better to just go to the next item,' he thought, crushed that he had traveled such a long distance for nothing.

Exiting the cave, the sun's warmth hit his skin, providing a sense of relief as he started his journey back.

Throughout the week, Bellator had not seen any signs of the wolves.

'I should leave as fast as possible. During this week, I have had the protection of the cave. Without it, I am dead meat,' he thought as he started walking.

A distance away from Bellator, six wolves could be seen watching his every move, silently sitting and watching him leave the protection of the barrier.

The wolves made no sound as they patiently waited for him to walk a certain distance from the cave.

Unaware of the looming threat of death, Bellator walked through the path he had previously traversed.

Yet as he continued walking, a sense of unease followed his every step, and his heart started pounding.

Seeing him a suitable distance from the cave, one of the wolves went near the entrance of the cave as they blocked it.

Even if they were beasts, they learned from their mistakes as they wouldn't allow their prey to escape again.

The wolf let out a sharp howl, giving a signal to the rest of the pack.

Hearing the howl, a shiver ran down Bellator's spine as a sense of foreboding hit him.

Without a second thought, he immediately started running back to the cave.

Yet turning around, a huge wolf as big as a car stood in his path, saliva dripping from its mouth as a sadistic smile planted itself on its face.

The wolf had a scar on its eye as its colorless left eye was on display. Seeing the wolf, Bellator's body came to a complete halt.

A fear deeper than any he had ever experienced before came.

Although Bellator had known that this was a world full of monsters, he had only read about them. No matter how much he had prepared himself, seeing a beast that big which was planning on killing him made him feel hopeless.

It was understandable. He had come from a peaceful world, one where the most dangerous threat to humans were other humans.

So now, seeing a beast in person, he finally understood where he was.

[Luminous Conquest], a world where only the strongest survive. A world full of pain, hurt, and death. A world where someone like him, who had never even seen a beast, would struggle to survive.

As hopelessness seeped into his very being, Bellator wanted to give up. He just wanted to die.

Yet amidst his hopelessness, an image came into Bellator's mind: a little girl with blonde hair waiting for his return.

'I WILL SURVIVE,' Bellator thought as he stared at the wolf, determination visible in his eyes.