Kyron moved through the dark undergrowth with a steady step, his hand brushing against the hilt of his sword. His expression didn’t waver—no fear, no hesitation, only the faint glow of confidence in his eyes.

But deep inside, a single name whispered through his mind.

Xu.

The memory of the Smiler’s past he had glimpsed still clung to him like a shadow, as if the forest itself wanted to remind him of human tragedy lurking beneath every twisted smile. He clenched his teeth and shook the thought away.

“This isn’t the time for pity,” Kyron muttered. “Only two days left. Only two more fingers… and I’m done.”

He recalled the examiner’s words. Smilers didn’t die under the sun—their skin burned, their strength weakened. Yet Xu’s blood spikes… they didn’t vanish, only burned slower.

So even sunlight can’t erase them completely.

The realization lingered like a thorn, but Kyron forced himself to push it aside. He found a small clearing where moonlight pierced through the canopy, bathing the ground in pale silver. It was quiet here. A perfect spot to rest. He sat cross-legged, resting his blade on his lap.

“For now… I’ll wait. But the real storm begins at night.”

---

Scene Shifts – Ali

Ali stomped through the forest, two blades resting against his shoulders, his messy black hair catching in the moonlight. His face twisted with impatience.

“Bruh,” he grumbled, kicking a branch out of his way. “One whole day passed and I haven’t even seen one decent Smiler. Not even one tough aspirant. What’s the point of an exam if I don’t get to smash something worth smashing?”

A scream ripped through the trees.

Ali snapped his head to the side and saw a boy barreling through the forest, face drenched in sweat and tears. His breath came in panicked bursts, and his legs looked ready to give out.

“NOOO! It’s impossible! How can a Smiler be that strong?! This exam is unfair!”

Ali dashed forward, cutting him off. “Oi, calm down! What the hell happened?”

The boy’s eyes rolled with fear as he stuttered out, “D-d-d-don’t go that way! You’ll die! There’s a Smiler—giant, blue, four arms—it’s smashing trees like they’re twigs. We tried! Nineteen of us! Nineteen aspirants fought together, and we couldn’t even scratch it! It ate eleven right in front of me. Its skin… its skin was so hard, some even broke their blades on its head! My best friend… he’s gone…”

Ali’s lips curled into a grin. His heartbeat quickened, but not with fear—excitement.

“Oh?” He tilted his head, his blades glinting as he twirled them in his hands. “So that’s the kind of opponent waiting ahead. Perfect.”

The boy froze. “W-what? No! Are you insane? You’ll be killed!”

Ali chuckled, brushing past him. “Heh. Ali only listens to Ali.”

And with that, he sprinted off, the ground shaking under his steps.

---

The smell of blood greeted him before the sight did. It was everywhere—splattered across leaves, dripping down tree bark, soaking the soil. Then the shadow appeared.

A colossal Smiler, its skin glowing faintly blue, stood among the ruined trunks. Four massive arms flexed, each hand large enough to crush a man whole. Its grin stretched from ear to ear, dripping with saliva as it chewed on a broken corpse.

Ali’s eyes widened—not with fear, but exhilaration. His blood roared in his ears.

“Finally… a REAL fight.”

A few aspirants still struggled against the beast, slashing and stabbing desperately, only to be swatted aside like insects. The ground trembled as the monster raised its massive fist and caved in another tree, showering splinters everywhere.

Ali planted his feet, blades gleaming like twin fangs. He bellowed at the top of his lungs:

“YOU GUYS GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! THIS ONE’S MINE!”

He lunged forward, every muscle surging.

“Bravery Emotion: Bear Style — WILD RUSH!”

The ground cracked beneath his charge as he swung both blades upward in a ferocious cross-slash, sparks igniting against the Smiler’s chest.

The monster barely flinched. Its skin was like iron.

Ali’s eyes widened for an instant. His strike had barely left a mark.

But then his grin returned, wider than ever. “Tough skin, huh? Heh. Guess sheer strength won’t cut it. Which means…”

He tightened his grip. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, and with every pulse, his body felt stronger, his stamina flaring like fire.

“…I’ll just have to get clever.”

The Smiler’s four arms reared back, ready to crush him.

Ali lowered his stance, eyes gleaming with the madness of someone who’d rather die than back down.

“Come on then, monster. Let’s see who breaks first!”

The hulking Smiler let out a guttural, screeching laugh as it ripped another tree apart with a single swing of its monstrous arm. The entire forest shook with its rampage. Its grin, stretched unnaturally wide, dripped with blood as its glowing blue skin pulsed like veins filled with fire.

Ali leapt high into the branches, his boots pounding against bark and wood as he tried to stay one step ahead. Each time the monster struck, a shockwave rattled the air, forcing him to jump again before the tree beneath him exploded into splinters.

“Aw, sh##—this one’s a monster!” Ali spat, sweat dripping from his brow. “Its skin’s too damn hard. I could cut through if I hit the neck clean… but finding an opening? Suicide.”

The Smiler’s four arms extended unnaturally, each limb stretching longer than it should, swiping and curling through the trees like monstrous whips. Ali’s eyes narrowed. Every projectile, every angle, the thing could cover it all.

If I keep running, I’ll burn out. If I charge straight, I’ll die.

He exhaled sharply, adjusting his grip on his twin blades.

“I gotta do something. QUICK!”

The Smiler slammed down where he had stood a heartbeat earlier, obliterating a thick oak into dust. Ali’s body blurred, dodging just in time, before spiraling upward.

“Fine then—let’s try THIS!”

“Bravery Emotion: Bear Style — CONSTATIVE SLASHES!”

Ali spun in midair like a raging cyclone, both blades flashing. A storm of slashes erupted outward, hundreds of glowing arcs slicing through the air. They battered into the Smiler, cutting across its chest, arms, and shoulders in a relentless barrage. For the first time, the beast staggered, its arms flailing under the onslaught.

Ali landed lightly on a broken branch, grinning.

“Yeah, that’s it! Broke its guard. Now I just need one opening—one shot to the neck, and this fight’s done!”

He bolted forward, his aura flaring with each step. But before he could close in, a massive hand lashed forward like a whip.

CRACK!

Ali barely had time to cross both blades in front of him. The impact shook his bones, sending him flying back into a trunk with a heavy thud. He coughed, gasping for breath.

“The hell?! I cut through it, so how—”

His eyes widened. The Smiler’s arm that had been shredded by his slashes was whole again, its skin freshly sealed as though nothing had happened.

“Regeneration… that fast?”

Ali narrowed his eyes, watching closely. The monster’s frame looked strange—its chest seemed thinner, its back uneven, and its glow flickered in odd patches. Then it hit him.

“…He’s sacrificing parts of himself. To heal the important tissues, he pulls flesh from useless spots.”

The realization lit up Ali’s mind. That’s why it regenerates faster than others. Which means…

He looked straight at the monster’s grinning head, his blades trembling with excitement.

If I attack while it’s attacking me, its body won’t have time to repair. Even if the neck is thick… it’ll fall.

Ali tightened his grip, adrenaline flooding his veins. He let out a deep, guttural roar that echoed through the trees.

“ENOUGH THINKING!”

“Bravery Emotion: Bear Style — COURAGE BOOST!”

A blazing orange aura exploded around him, the air distorting under the sheer intensity. Behind him, an ethereal image of a colossal bear rose, its fangs bared, its roar shaking the night. Ali’s muscles bulged, veins surging with power, his speed and strength doubling in an instant.

The Smiler responded with its own roar, all four arms shooting forward to crush him like an insect.

Ali’s grin widened. “PERFECT!”

He sprinted straight into the storm of limbs. At the last second, instead of dodging, he vaulted onto one monstrous arm, then another, sprinting across them like stepping stones. His aura flared brighter with each step, his blades glowing like molten fire.

The Smiler tried to recoil its limbs, but Ali was faster. With a savage roar, he leapt, both blades raised.

“DIIIIIIIIE!!!”

One clean, savage slash.

SHHKKKKK!

The Smiler’s neck split open, its grin freezing as its head tumbled to the ground. Its body staggered, twitched, and then collapsed, shaking the forest floor with a deafening crash.

Ali landed in front of the corpse, his chest heaving, aura fading. Slowly, he reached down, slicing one of the beast’s massive fingers free.

He clenched it tightly in his hand, smirking through heavy breaths.

“That makes four… only one left. One day to go.”

The giant blue Smiler’s body began to rot, the faint glow of its virus dimming as it dissolved into the soil.

Ali looked up at the dark canopy, sweat dripping down his face. His eyes gleamed with pride.

“Not bad… but the real monsters are still waiting out there.”