Chapter 3: Stepping above the river

The young man shared three important pieces of information with Nova.

The first was about why the catastrophe happened.

After the aliens invaded, humanity lost almost immediately. It was a checkmate on the first move. All military facilities were either destroyed or taken over before humans could even react.

The aliens demanded ten “Severers” — individuals with exceptional combat abilities. In response, the world government sent the ten strongest military personnel. But they had all died during the trial the aliens had prepared.

Somehow, the aliens realized that even ordinary people had the potential to become one of the Ten Severers. So, instead of limiting the trial to just the military, they made every single person on Earth a candidate.

This time, however, the trial was different. The difficulty increased gradually to reduce the number of deaths. And the Earth itself became the stage—with the Stairs as the goal.

The second piece of information was about the trial itself.

There would be many different stages—each one like Earth, but with unique themes and different types of creatures. The goal in every stage would always be the same: reach the stairs. However, the tasks inside could vary.

There was also a global time limit of one year. If ten Severers weren’t born within that time, the Earth would perish.

There was also a limitation placed upon each individual. Each person could remain in a stage for a maximum of one month. If they didn’t move on, the black creature inside them would swell with the negative energy it had absorbed and eventually kill them. The only way to cleanse it was by moving to a new stage, where it could absorb different kinds of energy.

And of course, if someone died during the trial, their death would be real.

However, not all hope was lost. To counterbalance the extreme difficulty of the trial, individuals were granted skills—this was the third piece of information.

According to the young man’s story, the aliens had claimed that every individual would receive a skill. For instance, the young man himself had gained the ability to teleport, while others awakened powers such as pyrokinesis, telekinesis, enhanced vision, and more.

However, in reality, only one out of every hundred people could awaken it.

Luckily, the part about absorbing power from dead aliens turned out to be true. Anyone who managed to kill one could boost their physical abilities just by touching the body. It was all thanks to those black, eel-like creatures that had flooded into the city like a tsunami that morning—a swarm of tiny things, no bigger than a needle. They were also the reason people could use their skills.

“I guess I don’t get the skill, huh. But wait… that black, eel-like thing that went into me—it was about the size of two fingers!” blurted Nova with a hastened voice.

“Huh? No, they definitely came in a massive surge, like a tsunami, but it was a swarm of needle-sized creatures,” the young man replied. “Maybe some of the swarm, about the size of two fingers, got separated by buildings or something.”

That morning, from the horizon, a black tsunami as high as skyscrapers rushed toward the city. Nothing was destroyed—the wave passed like a blanket being laid over a bed. But each person received at least one of those black creatures.

Hearing the young man, Nova thought, ‘Are my eyes deceiving me? No… it’s definitely as big as two fingers. Then… sigh, there’s nothing I can do about it.’

Nova gave up on the things he couldn’t do anything about—at least for now.
The young man would speak up if it was something important; their lives were on the line, after all.

“Wait… this area’s close to my house,” Nova said, carefully weaving his way through a road overtaken by thick vines.

They were approaching the river near where he lived—a river nestled beneath the slopes.

Their pace was slow as they looked around for any creatures along the way. Sometimes, they even stopped—just to make sure.

“Is that so?” the young man replied. “But listen—remember the safe route I mentioned? It starts in the two-story residential area, right after this section with the skyscrapers. So, you probably already know this, but before the safe area, wherever we go, there’s a chance we’ll run into those creatures. Prepare yourself!”

“Yeah, I know,” replied Nova.

Just as they finished speaking, they spotted a creature ahead on the right side of the road, facing away from them. Fortunately, it hadn’t noticed them yet. They slowed their pace, carefully threading their way past it.

Somehow, they managed to sneak by without a fight. With a quiet breath of relief, they continued on toward the river.

Since there were no creatures in sight along their current path, they couldn’t risk changing direction—it would only raise the chance of running into one. So instead of heading for the bridge, they kept going straight toward the river.

“So, what’s the time limit for us to reach the stairs this time?” Nova asked.

“Four o’clock,” the young man replied.

Nova checked his wristwatch. “But it’s only half past one. I think we can get there in about thirty minutes,” said Nova. “Let’s take a break—I’ve been fighting and running nonstop this whole time,”

“We do have some extra time, but maybe we can use it to help others along the way. Besides, we don’t know what might happen next—leaving a bit of spare time won’t hurt,”

“It can’t be helped,” Nova muttered with a sigh.

After that, they walked in silence. Nova focused on conserving his stamina. He also needed time to process everything he had just learned. Meanwhile, the young man seemed lost in thought.

...

Three minutes later, they reached the slope near the river. Nova realized they were very close to his house.

Peeking from the corner of a building that faced a wide, empty road stretching between the river and a row of buildings, they spotted a creature approaching from the right.

They planned to retreat and look for another hiding spot. But just as they took a step back, two buildings ahead, a pair of creatures emerged from a doorway. The moment the creatures looked around, they spotted Nova and the young man.

Without hesitation, Nova and the young man bolted in the opposite direction—where no creature had yet appeared. The two pursuers let out a roar and gave chase, their noise alerting the creature from earlier, which quickly joined in. Now, three creatures were after them.

But just as they picked up speed, two more creatures climbed up from the slope ahead. In total, five of them were now surrounding the two from multiple directions.

Their only remaining option was to head toward the river.

"One last piece of information, friend. Their maximum leap is around three to five meters. With this distance, even if you try to swim, they’ll catch you," said the young man, his voice heavy with regret. "And my teleportation only works on one person—myself, no exceptions. So..."

The young man lowered his gaze and clenched his fists tightly. "Sorry. I’d help if I could… but—good luck!"

The young man vanished with a flash, teleporting repeatedly as he slid down the slope toward the river.

Nova looked at the young man and noticed that his teleportation had about a half-second interval.

Then, on reflex, Nova said, “I…”

Nova immediately shut his mouth—realizing he had nothing to say. He just kept running and dove down the slope, sliding toward the river. The creatures were closing in, now only about ten meters behind. The river was just three meters ahead. Right beside him was his house—tucked beneath the bridge. He hadn’t even realized he’d come this far, not with everything going on.

The young man reached the riverbank and immediately teleported again—appearing just above the surface of the water. The river was about five meters wide. With each teleportation limited to around two meters and a half-second delay between them, he fell, soaking himself up to the abdomen.

He then teleported again and reappeared midair, dropped, and splashed into the river once more. On the third attempt, he finally landed on the opposite bank.

‘What should I do? Three seconds left,’ thought Nova, his face drenched in sweat as he scanned his surroundings. According to the young man’s warning and a rough estimate, with only ten meters between him and the pursuing creatures, he had two—maybe three—seconds at most.

Then his eyes caught something leaning against the bridge’s wing wall.

‘My self-made surfboard?! Why is the thing I used back when I was depressed here? But whatever—let’s use it. I just hope my body still remembers,’ thought Nova, grabbing the surfboard.

Nova stepped back to the edge of the slope. The nearest creature was now just six meters behind him.

Without wasting a second, he sprinted toward the river at full speed, clutching his surfboard under one arm.

When he was three meters from the water, he heard the pounding steps behind him grow heavier—the creature had picked up speed and was now only four meters away.

At two meters from the river’s edge, the creature had closed the gap to just two meters.

With only a meter left, Nova leaped forward, threw the board down, and planted both feet on it in one smooth motion. He dropped into a low horse stance to keep his balance as he soared toward the river.

At that very instant, the creature reached the spot where Nova had been just a moment before—mere inches too late.

One of the creatures behind Nova couldn't stop its momentum in time and tumbled headfirst into the river.

The others managed to stop just before the edge.

The creatures then crouched low, muscles bulging as they gathered strength for a leap.

Meanwhile, Nova skipped across the surface of the river like a flat stone, his surfboard gliding with three splash touches that instantly put four meters between him and the pursuing creatures. The wind rushed past him as he moved—his beard flailed in the surge of the soothing air.

Now, only two meters remained to the far bank.

However, the bulging muscles in the creature’s legs made it clear—they were ready. They leapt forward one after another, closing the four-meter gap in an instant.

“Haha, I’d definitely be caught if I tried to swim,” muttered Nova.

One of the creatures soared toward him. He ducked—lowering his stance even further and stretching out his arms for balance. He let the creature pass over him, sending it plunging into the river.

The next creature lunged forward.

With his surfboard beneath him, Nova skipped across the water for the fourth time. He was now just one meter away from the opposite bank.

As he launched into the air after the fourth skip, he made a sharp turn to face the creature head-on. With an open palm, he pivoted on the board into a horse stance. Then, as the creature came in with a punch, Nova raised his open palm to meet its fist, positioning himself parallel to the direction of the force.

Nova absorbed the punch. The force launched him straight backward—flying through the air, still maintaining his horse stance—while the creature plunged into the river.

With the momentum, he landed one meter past the river’s edge. Then, maintaining his stance, he slid while standing—arms stretched out for balance—gliding an additional two meters before coming to a halt. In total, Nova had been thrown backward by four meters.

The remaining two creatures plunged into the river, reaching the spot where Nova had already been moments earlier.

“Fiuh,” said Nova.