Old Lady Veena finished the last bite of cake slowly, savoring it as though it were a luxury from another lifetime. She wiped the crumbs from her fingers and leaned back in her chair, the faint glow of the projection cube reflecting in her tired eyes.

Tyler sat across from her quietly, waiting.

"You asked about Carbonyx," she said at last.

"Yes."

Veena tapped the table lightly with her finger, as if organizing her thoughts.

"Sector 11 only mines the raw ore," she began. "The rocks the miners dig out of those tunnels are only the beginning. Those black stones with purple veins—that’s Carbonyx ore. Dangerous stuff, as you’ve already seen."

She gestured toward the projection device, where the frozen image of the laboratory still hovered faintly.

"But those ores never go directly to the Capital," she continued. "First they are transported to Sector 2."

Tyler listened carefully. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"What happens there?"

"Refinement," Veena said. "Sector 2 houses the largest industrial facilities in Libria. Massive plants built only for one purpose—to process Carbonyx ore."

"And the result is electricity," Tyler said.

Veena nodded slowly.

"Yes. Pure electrical energy. Not stored like batteries, not temporary power like generators. Continuous energy."

She tapped the side of the projection cube.

"The exact method of refinement is a state secret. Even many people living in the Capital don’t know how it works. But the result is undeniable."

She leaned forward slightly.

"The Capital never runs out of electricity."

Tyler’s eyes narrowed.

"In a world without Spirit Qi... without Aura, Prana, or Mana," he thought to himself, "whoever controls energy controls everything."

Electricity meant machines.

Machines meant industry.

Industry meant weapons.

And weapons meant power.

Veena watched him silently, recognizing the look in his eyes.

"You’re not asking these questions out of curiosity," she said.

Tyler didn’t respond.

Veena chuckled softly.

"Whatever you’re planning, boy, just remember something. Carbonyx is the devil for a reason. Every civilization that rises on something like that pays a price."

Tyler stood up.

"Thank you for the information."

He left Veena’s house deep in thought.

—

Two days later.

Tyler was sitting quietly on the rooftop when a golden message suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[You have successfully prevented Tansy’s father from becoming infected.]

[Task Completed.]

The message was brief.

But Tyler smiled.

The protective suit had worked. By shielding the body from Carbonyx radiation, the infection had stopped spreading.

But as the golden text faded, something strange happened.

Tiny, faint cubes began drifting through the air toward him.

They were so translucent that he almost missed them.

Small geometric fragments of light.

They gathered around his body and dissolved into him silently.

Tyler’s expression changed.

"Was that... Cube Fragments?"

He frowned slightly.

"Fragments automatically collected after completing a task?"

He had never actually seen them before.

In his previous Trials, the fragments had always been gathered invisibly, without any physical manifestation.

But now he had clearly seen them.

"Strange," he muttered.

As the last fragment dissolved into his body, another message appeared.

Tyler’s eyes sharpened immediately.

"What now?"

A new mission panel unfolded before him.

[- Find a way to refine Carbonyx.]

[- Win in the Capital Games with Tansy and enter the Capital.]

Tyler read the message twice.

His brows furrowed slightly.

The first task made sense.

If he could learn how Carbonyx was refined, he could control the very foundation of Libria’s power.

But the second task...

"Capital Games?" he murmured.

And with Tansy?

He leaned back slowly, staring up at the gray sky of Sector 11.

This Trial was becoming far more complicated than he expected.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Tyler was still sitting on the rooftop, lost in thought over the strange new tasks, when a faint sound suddenly reached his ears.

His eyes twitched.

That voice... He knew it. He was familiar with these kind of voices.

Tyler slowly stood up and listened more carefully.

"Hmm... but her husband isn’t home, right?" Tyler frowned.

Curiosity got the better of him.

He quietly crossed the rooftop and jumped down to the Tansy’s building before climbing carefully down. The ladder creaked faintly as he descended. Once he reached the window, he leaned slightly and peeked inside.

What he saw made his eyes widen.

Inside the room, Tansy’s mother was standing naked very close to a young man. Her perky butt was visible to Tyler’s eyes as young hand patted it.

Tyler froze.

Before Tyler could even process what was happening, she leaned forward and kissed him passionately.

Tansy’s mother... was having an affair?

His mind raced instantly.

Her husband was still alive. Just few days ago they had all eaten dinner together. Tansy and Rose adored their father.

Should he tell them?

If he revealed this, it would destroy the family. But if he stayed silent...

Tyler found himself in an unexpected dilemma.

He leaned closer, trying to see the man’s face clearly.

Then Tansy’s mother knelt before the young man and took his thing in her mouth and with practiced precision she moved her head front and back.

The young man turned his head.

Tyler’s expression froze.

He nearly choked on his own breath.

The man inside the room... was him.

Another Tyler.

The second Tyler casually patted Tansy’s mother on the head before glancing toward the window.

Their eyes met.

The fake Tyler smirked.

"Ah—!"

Tyler suddenly gasped and shot upright.

The world around him changed instantly.

Instead of rooftops and wooden houses, he was lying on the forest floor surrounded by trees and damp earth. Sunlight filtered through the branches above.

Tansy was kneeling beside him, staring down with a worried expression.

"Are you alright?" she asked sharply.

Tyler blinked several times, still trying to steady his breathing.

"I told you not to go near that mushroom," Tansy continued, pointing toward a strange fungus growing near the base of a tree. "Its spores cause hallucinations."

Tyler slowly sat up.

Now he remembered.

Earlier that morning he had gone hunting with Tansy in the forest. While searching for edible plants, he had picked up a strange-looking mushroom, it looked like a man private part penetrated into woman private part.

Apparently that had been a mistake.

He looked at the mushroom again.

The thing looked harmless enough, but the hallucination it caused had been disturbingly vivid.

Tyler exhaled slowly and shook his head.

"That was... unexpected."

Tansy folded her arms. "I warned you."

Tyler carefully picked up the mushroom using a piece of cloth and placed it inside a thin plastic-like bag from his pocket. He sealed it tightly before tying the opening.

"I’ll experiment with it later," he said thoughtfully.

Tansy stared at him like he had just suggested eating poison for dinner.

Tyler only smiled at Tansy’s annoyed expression, but he couldn’t help noticing something.

The more he looked at her, the more she resembled her mother.

For a brief moment, the image from the hallucination flashed back into his mind.

Naked Tansy’s mother.

That... scene where she gives her head.

Tyler quickly swallowed.

"Why are you making that face?" Tansy asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Tyler said quickly.

Before she could press further, Tansy’s expression suddenly changed. Her body stiffened, and she raised a hand silently, signaling him to stop moving.

Without saying a word, she grabbed Tyler’s sleeve and pulled him behind a thick tree trunk.

"Don’t move," she whispered.

Both of them slowly peeked out from the side of the tree.

Something massive walked into the clearing.

It looked like an ostrich—but far larger than any normal bird.

Nearly nine feet tall.

Its long legs moved with heavy, deliberate steps as it scanned the area. Its feathers were dark gray, almost metallic in color, and its beak looked thick enough to crack stone.

Tyler held his breath.

Tansy didn’t even blink.

The giant bird turned its head left... then right...

For a moment, the forest fell completely silent.

Then something else moved.

From the tall grass behind the bird, a tiger-like creature slowly crept forward.

It had no stripes. Instead, its fur was a strange mix of dark black and deep orange, like shadows crawling across fire. Its body was low to the ground, muscles tense as it prepared to strike.

Tyler’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Both predator and prey were within ten meters of them.

The tiger moved closer... closer...

Then suddenly—

It leapt.

The beast aimed straight for the bird’s neck, jaws opening wide to deliver the killing bite.

But before its teeth could sink in—

"Tot."

A small, sharp sound echoed.

The ostrich moved faster than the eye could follow.

Its beak shot forward like a spear.

The tip pierced straight through the tiger’s skull and out the other side.

The tiger’s body went limp instantly.

Tyler and Tansy froze.

Neither of them dared to breathe.

The giant bird shook its head once, dislodging the corpse. Then it bent down, grabbed the tiger’s body with its beak...

...and swallowed it whole.

Like a chicken eating a worm.

Tyler blinked slowly.

The ostrich looked around the clearing one more time, seemingly satisfied that no other predators were nearby.

Then it calmly walked away into the forest.

The moment it disappeared, Tyler finally exhaled.

"That’s... one big ostrich," he said.

"Yeah," Tansy replied calmly.

Then she reached for her bow.

"What are you doing?" Tyler asked, staring at her.

Tansy nocked an arrow.

"It’s our chance," she said seriously.

Tyler stared at her like she had just suggested fighting a dragon.

"You want to hunt that thing?"

Tansy pulled the bowstring slightly, testing the tension.

"Ostrich meat tastes like chicken."

Tyler stood there, completely dumbfounded.

This girl...

She was absolutely serious.