Morning arrived quietly.
Sunlight slipped through the cracked window of the tiny apartment, illuminating dust floating lazily in the air.
Lysander Vale sat on the edge of the bed.
Silent.
Still.
The events of the previous night replayed in his mind again and again.
Car crash.
Reincarnation.
System.
The novel.
And most importantly—
His death.
He slowly exhaled.
"So today is the day."
In the original story, the Eclipse Hunter Academy Entrance Exam began today.
Thousands of candidates.
Only a few hundred would pass.
But inside the exam was a training gate.
And inside that gate…
Monsters.
He stood up and walked toward the small mirror.
The young man staring back had long black hair and dark hollow eyes that seemed almost empty.
A stranger's face.
But his life now.
"…Lysander Vale."
The name still felt unfamiliar.
He picked up the old coat hanging near the door.
Today would determine whether he lived or died.
And in the original novel…
Lysander died inside that gate before the story even started.
His fingers tightened slightly.
"Not happening."
The city streets were alive with energy.
Crowds gathered near the massive academy gates.
The Eclipse Hunter Academy stood like a fortress at the center of the capital.
Massive towers.
Black stone walls.
Flags bearing the academy crest fluttering in the wind.
Hundreds of young candidates waited nervously.
Some wore expensive armor.
Others carried polished weapons.
Most of them looked confident.
Lysander looked… ordinary.
Simple clothes.
No weapon.
No armor.
A poor orphan among future elites.
He preferred it that way.
Less attention.
Better survival.
A loud voice echoed across the courtyard.
"Welcome to the Eclipse Hunter Academy Entrance Examination."
All conversations stopped.
A tall man in a black academy uniform stood atop a stone platform.
One of the examiners.
Behind him stood several powerful hunters.
Their presence alone felt heavy.
"Your exam is simple," the examiner continued.
"You will enter a controlled F-Rank Gate."
A massive circular portal began forming behind him.
Dark energy swirling slowly.
Gasps spread through the crowd.
Inside the portal was a forest.
Dense.
Quiet.
And dangerous.
"You must survive for two hours," the examiner said calmly.
"Defeat monsters and collect their cores."
"The top candidates will pass."
The portal stabilized.
"Enter."
The candidates moved forward.
Some excited.
Some terrified.
Lysander stepped into the gate.
Darkness swallowed him.
Then—
The forest appeared.
Tall trees.
Cold air.
The smell of damp soil.
A monster's distant growl echoed somewhere.
His heart beat steadily.
The scene was exactly like the novel described.
Which meant one thing.
The death scene is coming.
He remembered it clearly.
A group of candidates would wander into a ruin structure.
Inside they would accidentally awaken a monster pack.
Chaos would follow.
And one unlucky background character—
Lysander Vale—
Would die first.
He looked toward the deeper forest.
"…That ruin."
If he avoided it…
He might survive.
But another thought appeared.
That ruin might also contain Kagekiri.
The black tachi.
The weapon that would become his only chance of surviving this world.
He sighed quietly.
"Of course it's there."
The place where he was supposed to die…
Was also where his future weapon waited.
Typical.
He began walking toward the ruin.
Carefully.
Slowly.
Ten minutes later.
The forest grew quieter.
Too quiet.
Then he saw it.
Ancient stone walls.
Half-buried in the earth.
A ruined temple structure hidden among the trees.
The same one from the novel.
His death location.
He stepped closer.
Suddenly—
A scream echoed through the forest.
"HELP!"
Lysander froze.
Another scream followed.
Then the sound of monsters.
Multiple.
His expression darkened slightly.
"…Already?"
In the original story, this moment happened later.
Which meant something had changed.
He rushed forward.
Breaking through the trees.
What he saw made his stomach tighten.
Five candidates were trapped near the ruins.
Three wolf-like monsters circled them.
Ashfang Wolves.
Their red eyes glowed with hunger.
One girl had already fallen.
Another candidate tried to fight but was clearly losing.
Then Lysander recognized someone.
Silver hair.
Elegant posture.
Cold blue eyes filled with panic.
Elara Moonveil.
The elf genius.
One of the future strongest mages in the world.
But right now—
She was about to die.
One wolf lunged toward her.
She tried to cast a spell.
Too slow.
Lysander moved.
Not toward the wolves.
But toward the ruin entrance.
Because inside that ruin…
Was the weapon he needed to survive.
And if he didn't claim it quickly—
Everyone here would die.
Including himself.
As he crossed the broken temple doorway—
The air suddenly changed.
Cold.
Ancient.
Waiting.
And deep inside the ruin…
Something responded to his presence.