"It’s time to leave!"

Waldo lowered his head and looked at Dawn City. After months of construction, Dawn City had expanded several times its original size, easily accommodating millions of survivors.

The massive city walls exuded a majestic aura and loomed over the snowy plains, towering even higher than many continuous mountain peaks.

It was time to depart. Without much hesitation, Waldo stepped into the vortex.

Boom!

In that instant, countless terrifying lightning bolts that sent shivers down Waldo’s spine flashed through the void, tearing through the firmament, illuminating the vast and dark landscape. Waldo took a step into the vortex.

Buzzing!

At that moment, his mind buzzed as if it had been heavily struck. The surroundings became a blur, fleeting like flowing light. He felt as if he were drowning, struggling to breathe, under immense pressure that weakened his body. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Waldo lost his sense of time, and it seemed like his body had no weight, drifting aimlessly like directionless wind.

After an indeterminate amount of time, a thud! Waldo felt like he had landed somewhere. Perhaps the fall from a great height had caused his knees to ache, and his palms were cut by something sharp, causing a stabbing pain. His mind was still buzzing, making it difficult to open his eyes.

"Challenger Waldo, welcome to the Eternal Realm. Here in the Eternal Realm, you are no longer called a survivor but a challenger. As you come from the Seventh Trial Ground, your designation is Seven."

"Please remember your designation, Seven, as it will be your name in the presence of the Supreme Rulers."

"Congratulations on arriving in the Eternal Realm. The first assessment task by the Supreme Rulers will commence in thirty minutes."

"This assessment task is to survive for one hundred days in the Land of Darkness. Those who successfully survive will proceed to the next stage of assessment. Failure will result in death."

The system’s cold voice echoed continuously in Waldo’s mind for nearly two minutes.

At this moment, Waldo knew he had arrived in the mysterious Eternal Realm. He had a suspicion that the world he was currently in might be the same as the one he had initially seen in the sealed room.

However, Waldo didn’t dwell on these thoughts because his primary focus was on the assessment task.

Surviving for one hundred days in the Land of Darkness! As described by the system, this was an extremely perilous area.

Here, there was no sun, only eternal darkness. In this place, the strength of every challenger was significantly weakened. To survive, they had to explore the darkness, searching for resources.

However, was survival that simple? No.

The Land of Darkness was a highly dangerous place. It harbored countless mysterious and terrifying life forms. Even a level one hundred challenger could meet their demise with a single misstep. These bizarre life forms were abundant in the darkness.

Safe houses were the only truly safe places in the Land of Darkness, but they lacked resources. Waiting in a safe house until the hundred-day deadline passed was impossible. In the Land of Darkness, energy consumption was significant.

If energy wasn’t replenished for more than five hours, weakness and hunger would set in, reducing combat capabilities by nearly half.

Beyond ten hours without energy replenishment, regardless of one’s physique or previous strength, they would be severely weakened. Beyond twelve hours without food and energy replenishment, it was certain death and elimination from the assessment task.

In the Land of Darkness, all life forms were equal. To survive, one had to persistently explore the impenetrable darkness.

Completing the system’s side missions and earning rewards, or finding scattered resource chests in the darkness, is the only chance of survival.

This is a cruel world where not only challengers from different worlds but even some native inhabitants of the Eternal Realm are participating in this assessment.

Waldo opened his eyes. All around him was darkness, pitch black to the point where he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.

There was a special energy in the air, emitting an extremely chilling aura. Even his max-level ability, "Body Domination," couldn’t fend off the chilling energies invading his body.

Waldo couldn’t help but shiver. He had never experienced anything like this, not even in the freezing temperatures of the Ice Age. In this dark place, he felt an icy and bone-chilling cold.

What was more critical was that there was a peculiar force in this world that was rapidly draining his energy. If he didn’t get his energy replenished, he wouldn’t be able to hold on for long.

Waldo’s face showed concern, and his thoughts raced. He estimated that he could last for about seven to eight hours before his energy ran out. After that, his combat abilities would continue to decline. The Land of Darkness was undoubtedly dangerous.

Even more critical, Waldo noticed that his strength had been significantly weakened in this dark place. It might be the influence of the world’s rules. He needed to find food and resources as soon as possible.

Waldo scanned his surroundings. He was in a small room, and not far away, three or four figures lay on the ground. There were both men and women, some appeared human, and some were distinctly non-human.

"Ah! Where is this place? The Eternal Realm?" one of the awakened figures said, speaking in a language that sounded unfamiliar to Waldo.

However, what was strange was that Waldo could actually understand what the beastly man was saying. The one who had awakened was a massive, horned orc-like man with a thick coat of fur on his chest, and his forehead bore huge horns. He had a pair of large, crimson-colored eyes.

However, there was a hint of confusion and bewilderment in his eyes. He appeared to be in a dazed state.

"Other challengers from the different worlds!" Waldo realized upon seeing the beastly man, but he didn’t speak.

At this moment, the remaining two individuals also started to regain consciousness. One of them was a young man dressed in peculiar attire, while the other was a seductive and alluring woman dressed provocatively, with fair skin and a mesmerizing beauty.

Her dark eyes seemed capable of captivating one’s soul, radiating a powerful allure. Upon seeing her, even Waldo couldn’t help but cast a few more glances her way.

Her presence seemed to possess a unique magnetism that was hard to resist, even more captivating than Alanna and Helen, drawing everyone’s attention.