Day 3:

  Jason slipped onto the floor as he tried moving, his breath forced from his lungs as the weight pressing down on him felt unnatural. His muscles strained against the force as if the very world itself had turned against him. He clenched his jaw, pushing himself onto one knee. This kind of pressure wasn't completely devastating, he'd used up to 2.5x Gravity Shift before.

  But this was different. This was constant, and he wasn't activating it. He felt shackled to the ground. Three times his body weight, holding him down, it was simply there. He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stand, planting his feet firmly against the ground. He refused to be stuck like this. He had no choice but to adapt.

  Jason looked at his mini map once more, the updated interface flashed continuously, a single red dot glowing in the distance, waiting for him. Jason narrowed his eyes, already knowing where it was. The graveyard. His jaw tightened.

  Dragging his greatsword behind him, he turned to Kaitlin, who stood a few feet away, her face a mix of worry and curiosity. "Stay here," he told her, rolling his shoulders. Even that simple movement felt off. His entire body was sluggish. Kaitlin frowned. "I can help".

  "You can't" Jason said simply, his tone firm. "This is my trial. If you interfere, I might fail." Her fists clenched, but she knew he was right. She had watched him fight. This wasn't something she could participate in. "...Fine," she muttered. "But I'm stopping anything else from getting in the way."

  Jason gave her a slight nod before pushing forward. Each step was heavier than the last, his body protesting with every movement. He had to adjust, he had to get used to this. If this was the new normal, then slowing down wasn't an option.

  By the time he reached the graveyard, the atmosphere had changed. The air itself felt wrong. The closer he got, the more unnatural the world became. A thick, gray fog clung to the ground, swirling unnaturally around the tombstones. The sky above seemed darker, as if something was sapping the light from the world.

  Then he saw it. A lone figure standing at the center of the graveyard, towering over the landscape. The Skeleton King. It was massive, nearly three meters tall, its bones an unnatural black with streaks of glowing green veins running through them. A tattered, regal cloak hung from its shoulders, and in its skeletal grip held a massive battle mace, stained dark from past battles.

  The moment Jason stepped closer, its head turned slowly toward him, empty sockets glowing with a ghostly fire. Then it moved, the Skeleton King slammed the bottom of its mace into the ground, sending a low, echoing pulse throughout the graveyard. The fog thickened and suddenly, the sound of rattling bones filled the air.

  Jason tensed as skeletons began rising from the ground. Dozens of them. They clawed their way form the graves, armored knights, archers, and even skeletal beasts crawling from the earth, their weapons already drawn.

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  Jason's grip on his greatsword tightened. "Of course you can summon minions" he muttered under his breath. "That's fair." Before they could swarm him, Kaitlin raised her hand, mana pulsing from her fingertips. "Not today." The air around her shifted, and with a sharp snap, thick frost chains erupted from the ground, snaring the first wave of skeletons.

  The ice spread, locking them in place, and before they could break free, a crackling burst of electricity surged through them, shattering them into pieces. Jason smirked. "Good." The Skeleton King took a slow deliberate step forward. Unlike the rest, it wasn't in a rush. It didn't need to be. It was watching, waiting for Jason to make the first move.

  Jason exhaled, forcing his body to adjust, his weight felt heavier but his instincts remained the same. The Skeleton King moved first, swinging its battle mace, cleaving through the air like a falling boulder. Jason barely managed to step aside, the ground shattering where the impact landed. The force alone sent a shockwave rippling through the graveyard, shaking the very ground beneath them.

  Jason took advantage of the opening, he launched forward, swinging his Wolf King's Fang with all his might. Even under the weight of the seal, his sheer strength carried the momentum, the blade crashing against the Skeleton King's ribs. CLANG! His blade bounced off. Jason's eyes widened slightly. Reinforced bones.

  The Skeleton King swung again, forcing Jason to throw himself backward. He was too slow, the edge of the mace clipped his side, sending shockwaves of pain through his ribs. Jason gritted his teeth, rolling away before the next strike could follow. He didn't have time to hesitate.

  He quickly cast Exoskeleton, increasing his total strength to 110 points, 11 times that of the strongest human, the increase in strength and health helped improve the weight of the seal upon his body, he felt a little more in control.

  Unable to use Gravity shift he placed half his endurance stats into agility, increasing it to 150 for the next thirty seconds.

  Somewhat in control of his weight now, Jason dashed towards the Skeleton King, ducking low under the incoming mace strike, appearing beneath its ribcage. With a sharp inhale, he activated Overdrive once more, burning the rest of his endurance for raw speed. His greatsword slashed upward, aiming for the joints, not the bones themselves.

  The impact connected. A loud crack echoed as one of the Skeleton King's arms tore free. The massive beast staggered, but it didn't scream or react. It simply turned its head slowly, its hollow eyes burning brighter. Then a sickly green energy erupted from its shoulder, regenerating its arm instantly.

  Jason's stomach twisted. It had regeneration too?? The Skeleton King raised its mace with both hands now, preparing to bring it down in a devastating, final attack. But that's when Jason saw it, the Skeleton King's core, hiding behind the ribcage. This was where he had to strike. His body was already at it's limits, he rolled to the floor, dodging the mace before thrusting upwards with all his might, piercing the Skeleton King's core.

  The Skeleton King stood motionless. Then the bones collapsed, as if the string connecting them together had been cut, they hit the ground and turned to dust. Jason exhaled, his body trembling as the exhaustion crashed into him. His body was screaming after such intense work. However, the fight was finally over.

  System Notification:

  You have slain First-Class Monster: Level 30 Skeleton King

  You cannot gain any additional experience until your trial has ended.

  Jason staggered, barely catching himself, as he wanders over to the dead Skeleton King's corpse, he picks up a vial and reads the system notification:

  Potion of the Undead: Instantly restores 65% of all attributes, but slows further regeneration by twice the amount. Jason put the vial into his back pocket, wanting to let his endurance recover naturally.

  However, the world had other plans for him, his mini map flashing red again. His second trial had arrived.