As nightfall arrives, Darian and Azreal trudge through the forest, illuminated only by the small amount of moonlight streaking through the leaves. Darian pops another small red pill into his mouth. “I am so happy my sister gave me a few of these Earth-grade healing pills. They aren’t cheap but they’ve saved my life today…” says Darian.

Azreal eyes the small, deep crimson red pill as Darian moves it towards his mouth. “What are these made out of?” he inquired. “Honestly, I don’t know much about alchemy, but I assume medicinal plants and alchemy fire are required. The alchemy recipes are very expensive and hard to find. So, unless you’re an alchemy expert or a disciple whose focus is on alchemy and medicine, you won't be able to understand the recipes or processes.”

Azreal nods his head in understanding. “Is it hard to learn alchemy? I imagine it's quite boring…” Darian immediately begins to chuckle. “Yes! I’ve heard it is also incredibly difficult! And some people devote their entire life to the alchemy path and still find themselves lacking…” Azreal thinks to himself, ‘I’m a little bit interested in being able to make my own medicine, but I'd rather fight than create pills… I'll have to leave this decision for later’ while they keep making their way through the forest.

Another few hours pass, well into the middle of the night, and the sounds of the local wildlife begin to get louder and louder. A slight nervousness seeps into both Darian and Azreal. “Do you know what kind of beasts and monsters are in the forest?” Azreal asks Darian. “No, the Sect Elders change the monsters each year for the Entrance Examination. The Elders of the Sect and core disciples are tasked with going out into the first heaven and capturing them to release into the forest. This way, the Entrance Examination serves a dual purpose, to test new disciples' ability to react and adapt to new situations whilst also testing and measuring core disciples against each other,” says Darian.

“That wolf was stronger than I'd imagined the Sect would want to use, no? Killing so many potential disciples seems wasteful?” Azreal responds while he moves away from Darian and looks into his eyes. “Now that you mention it, yeah, I think that wolf is way stronger than anything else I’ve heard about in the forest,” Darian responds. Azreal nods in agreement and suggests that now Darian has had a bit of a chance to recover, they both begin to run and leave this forest as fast as possible.

In agreement, Darian begins to move much faster and leads the way for Azreal to follow. They dart between the trees and deftly dodge a few smaller wolves they encounter without being detected. Another hour passes and the duo progresses much further compared to earlier. Moving independently is a huge benefit, and Azreal doesn’t anticipate the difficulty of helping someone of Darian’s size for so long.

"Stop!" Azreal gives a hushed command, his grip firm on Darian's shoulder, halting him with urgency. Darian twists, his gaze querying silently, "What's wrong?" Azreal's eyes bore into Darian's, a silent warning, as his arm lifts, pointing skyward. Darian's eyes trace Azreal's direction, his breath catching sharply at the sight that greets them.

Before them looms a massive spider. Its glossy black exoskeleton glistens under the scant light, standing menacingly on its eight towering legs. The creature, nearly four feet tall, is ominously busy, its limbs moving with sinister precision as it encases a large, unrecognisable mass within its thick, suffocating webs.

“I bet you anything that’s another disciple in there. What should we do?” Azreal whispers to Darian. “Do you think you can hit it with another one of those powerful strikes you used against the wolf?” Darian whispers back. Azreal nods and slowly and silently draws his sword. Darian takes out his great sword, which he still feels a little weak while holding.

“I will act as bait and block its first attack. I need you to try and kill it before the second attack begins. It’ll be worth it if we can harvest its poison sacks and fangs,” Darian whispers before slowly walking into a small opening in clear sight of the spider. Darian keeps his sword in one hand while using the other to bang on his chest and scream at the spider.

Darian’s bold actions shock Azreal, but he manages to quickly get his mind under control. Azreal takes another breath and tries to calm his pounding heart. After another breath, his unsure eyes steel over and become cold as ice. He manages to get into position behind a tree near Darian’s location and begins to watch the spider with great intent, trying to understand its movements and strength.

<Ding!>

<Congratulations! You’ve unlocked a system feature!>

<You’ve Unlocked Celestial Gaze>

<Celestial Gaze>

<Rank: Divine (restricted)>

<Description: The Celestial Gaze reveals all before the Glorious Holder, Son of Heaven. Celestial Gaze gives the ability to see the true nature of things and provide information only known to those who control the heavens! However, due to your power level being so low, almost every function will be locked.>

Azreal reads the ability and a small smirk begins to form, deciding to use his new power. He looks at the spider, waiting for a second before receiving a new notification.

<Venomous Spider>

<Danger Level: High>

<Species: Venomous Web Weaver>

<Speed: 40>

<Intelligence: Low>

Azreal reads through this information at lightning speed, just as he finishes comprehending his new ability and reading the information on the venomous spider, it has had enough and dives at Darian.

Just as the pair begins their plan, Azreal’s eyes go wide. “Darian! Watch out! It’s a venomous spider!” Azreal screams as he watches the spider propel itself forward from the branch it was sitting on. However, Azreal’s words are a few seconds too late.

A loud thud and Darian shouting out in pain quickly follow. “GAHH!” As the weight of the spider is more than he expects, he strains. Darian’s body begins to glow a slight red colour, and his eyes start to become bloodshot. Azreal uses his Celestial Gaze on his friend who is currently engaged with the venomous spider.

Azreal feels a sense of frustration as he activates Celestial Gaze. Most of the information he is supposed to see is too blurry to make out or simply missing from the character window that appears before him.

<Name: Darian Feldspar>

<Title: Adamantium Vanguard>

<Cultivation: Adamant Body Arts>

<Martial Adept 3, Soul Initiate 1>

Azreal wonders what kind of technique ‘Adamantium Body Arts’ could be. But he quickly pushes these thoughts out of his mind, as he knows this is not the right time to be considering that. Azreal begins to move, lowering his head. He quickly moves around the tree, popping up right behind the spider, raising his sword to strike.

Activating his ability, Poisonous Sword Stance, Azreal thinks it might be ineffective as the spider’s description mentions venom… but what other option does he have? Azreal strikes the hind legs of the spider with surprising ease, and they are cut clean in half, causing the spider to screech in agony as it attempts to turn and face Azreal.

“No, you don’t!” Darian bellowed, using his right hand to grab the spider’s head, crushing one of its eyes in the process. The spider suddenly finds itself under assault from multiple angles. In its panic, it begins to shoot its web. Instead of aiming, the spider simply shoots to cover anything behind it.

Azreal reacts quickly and dodges out of the way, giving the spider a second to breathe from the rear. It jumps out of the situation but without its hind legs, the spider can’t generate enough force to free itself from Darian’s grip. Darian predicts the spider will act this way and drops his sword, putting his second hand on its head. As the spider lifts itself, Darian manages to maintain his grip and stop the spider in midair.

As Darian attempts to use his Adamant Body Arts on the spider, he screams, “Adamant Body Arts Third Form, Titanium Grip!” Darian’s body begins to exude a heavy aura, his hands turning to metal. With a final grunt, he uses the entirety of his strength to slam the spider into the floor. As it collides with the hard forest dirt, Darian uses his titanium grip to rip parts of the spider's head apart.

“Azreal! Kill it now!” screams Darian. Azreal hesitates, as the strength Darian shows shocks him for only a brief second, before bringing his sword down in a wide arc, cutting clean through the spider's body, splitting it in half.

“Haaa... Haaa…” Azreal is out of breath, and Darian falls back into a seated position on the ground. “That was harder and easier than I thought it would be. You're a fucking monster, Brother Feldspar!” Azreal begins to laugh after finishing his sentence.

Darian smiles at Azreal’s words. “Glad you thought so. I worked very hard to bring my body up to this level. The body technique I cultivate requires extreme dedication and effort to improve my strength. I really thought I was a goner when the bastard dove at me, and you screamed something about venom,” he says. Darian stares at the corpse split in two lying in front of him. “You do know that someone this new to cultivation shouldn’t be anywhere near as strong as you…”

Azreal looks at his new friend with an awkward smile. “I’m not that strong! You’re the freak who caught a spider mid-air while it dove at you!” Azreal retorts with a light chuckle underneath. After a few moments, Azreal notices that Darian is now completely drenched in the spider's blood, his previously brown hair now stained a deep red, and his previously white robes are unidentifiable.

Azreal then notices a shimmering green object at the base of the spider’s head where it connects to its body. Azreal walks over and picks up the gem. Once closer, he begins using Celestial Gaze.

<Monster Core: Venomous Spider>

<Level: Basic Mortal Beast>

<If you cultivate and consume this core, the strength of your poison-based attacks will increase by 15%!>

<Master! You should wait a little bit before consuming this monster core… the stronger the core and the weaker the cultivator, the more likely you will face danger as you absorb the energy inside it. There is a chance you will die, become a monster hybrid, or explode!>

‘System…What the fuck? Explode… really?’

<Yes, Master! I would never lie to you!>

“Is that what I think it is? A monster core! It is!” Darian forces himself up, walking on weak legs, and approaches Azreal.

“That thing could be worth a fortune. The higher level the monster, the higher-level monster core it drops, and if you're truly lucky, you might even gain an ability from it!” Darian explains. “You keep it. I do owe you, after all… and this is not the favour, by the way. I just want to thank you and provide some help to my new friend since you're new to this world. You should know a monster core of that power will help your cultivation greatly!” Darian says.

“Plus, I don’t like using poisonous attacks! I believe if you’re going to fight, it’s best to do it face-to-face! With Honour!” Darian almost shouts the last part as if it’s been beaten into him throughout his life. Another laugh escapes Azreal’s mouth, and he puts a hand on Darian's shoulder. “Thank you, Brother. I will use this well.”

Azreal's racing heart begins to slow down, and his mind becomes clear. After taking in his surroundings, he begins to climb the tree where the spider had previously perched. He approaches the webbing, and to his utmost horror, Azreal can see slight movement beneath the cocoon of webbing.

Azreal tries to activate his Celestial Gaze but as he activates it, he feels an intense pain shoot into his eyes, letting out a small grunt of pain.

“Azreal! Are you okay?” Darian shouts up from below.

<Master should not try to use high-level techniques all the time until you become stronger! There is a strain placed on the body. I limited the Celestial Gaze to the lowest grade I could, but the strain on your body is still immense. Okay? Please be careful!>

‘Thanks, system…’ Azreal thinks, feeling a little down about how weak he is.

<It is my absolute pleasure, Master!>

As Azreal’s eye pain begins to subside, he can hear a faint voice. “Help me, please… I am so scared.” The voice is so faint, unless you concentrated, there was no chance of hearing it. Azreal places his ear to the webbing and hears the same voice, asking for help again. Azreal unsheathes his sword again and quickly runs the blade down the side of the web cocoon.

Imagine his surprise when a delicate hand springs out. The hand looks sickly, yet it twitches as he touches it. ‘Fuck me, someone’s trapped in here. Add that to the nightmare list…’ Azreal thinks to himself as he continues to open the cocoon.