A Skill Maker: Reincarnation

The soft bellows of the wind caressed his face, carrying with it the damp scent of moss and the distant, earthy musk of decaying foliage. Somewhere deeper in the jungle, birds shrieked—a sharp, sudden cry that echoed across the dense thicket, as if the forest itself was waking up hungry.

Matthew stood still, surrounded by the quiet tension of nature holding its breath. 'What was the exam anyway? Outdoor survival? Navigation? Shouldn't they be providing some explanation?'

Sighing, Matthew took out his phone, checking it he saw that he was just on time to see 8:29 turn to 8:30. And with that as if programmed a thunderous sound suddenly boomed through the forest.

Matthew looked at the source — into the sky, and saw a massive holographic video?

"You all might be confused.. So let me answer your question. You are all inside a rank D dungeon. We had used a spell to transfer the monster in this place temporarily to somewhere else while you get settled in."

A man, old and wrinkled, spoke. He was balding and had a greyed goatee. He was wearing a black formal suit.

One thing that caught Matthew's attention was the left side of his face. It was badly scarred across his blinded left eye.

Matthew knew him of course.. he had researched about him yesterday.

The principal of The Academy.. Geralt Silverwind III. All this was being broadcasted on the humongous hologram in the sky.

"This place was a place of reminder for me," the old man Geralt continued as he reached out for his scar.

"This is where I got my scar.. And yes, I could have gotten rid of this scar.. and even have my eye healed.. But no, I want to be reminded of my failure.. So I will never do them again.."

Matthew, who was watching, felt a chill run down to his spine. Even though it was only a video recording, he could still feel the man's oppressive aura from here. He swallowed a lump forming on his throat and continued to listen.

"That is why, I sent you all in here.. So that all of you will learn, know, and remember.. That a simple mistake might cost your life within a dungeon.. And I hope you don't do the same thing I did."

"This is The Academy.. and I welcome you all to the Jungle, Newbies."

With that.. The recording ended and Matthew was left with his heart beating. Both in excitement, fear, and uncertainties.

Suddenly, he had yet to pry his eyes away from the giant hologram when a different image was broadcasted.

Zooming in with his skill, he took a better look. 'It's the instruction on what to do!' Over him, Matthew began reading the instructions on how to pass the entrance exam.

It reads:

-The task is to kill and hunt down as many monster within the dungeon.

-Each monster will give fixed points depending on their rank.

-D rank monster give - 10 points, E ranks - 5 points, and F ranks - 1 point

-Defeating or Killing another participant will cause them to lose 100 points and will earn you 100 points.

-To pass the goal is to have 1000 points by the end of the cycle.

"A hunting and survival task huh?... that's pretty doable," bringing his hands together he stretched. This is gonna be a long exam, because back when he was researching about the world he had learned some stuff about Dungeons and some of the terms used in relation to them.

And a cycle is the duration in which the dungeon would open up partially to absorb more Aether in the real world.. and once 5 cycles pass a dungeon break will happen because by that time, the dungeon will have absorbed enough Aether to fully open up.

And every cycle happens every third day. Meaning, everyone here had 3 days to get a thousand points to pass. Meaning, they all need to be knowledgeable enough to survive outside without supply and be capable enough to kill and hunt those monsters.

But there's one problem.. Matthew has never been an outdoor person.. 'Fuck...Well, at least I know enough of the basic?.... it's just not practiced.'

He sighed and finally began moving.

...

1st day: 8:45

Matthew had gone into the forest. There's nothing around him except trees and bushes. Looking up on one of the trees beside him, an idea struck his mind. And not long after, he had climbed a tree.

Just this simple activity had caused him to sweat. 'I don't think I'm trained to do extreme activity huh..'

Shaking his head, he looked ahead. He had climbed as high as he could without endangering himself. He couldn't reach the very top of the tree as the branches were already too thin.. But this height was enough for now.

Using his ability, he strained his eye and zoomed towards the horizon. Checking any nearby point of interest. When suddenly a thunderous crackling of thunder echoed throughout the forest.

Turning his head towards that direction, he saw a part of the forest where the sky had darkened and rumbling thunderclouds gathered.

'That might be my target.. but there's also a chance it's not. Anyway, let's not engage with that person yet.. Our priority is to hunt monsters for now.' He thought.

Matthew then continued to survey the surroundings, keeping in mind the directions of places where he suspected a skill was being cast — like a brief bright light, a small explosion... or a place where birds flew away from.

'Huh.. most of them are on my eastern side.. Let's avoid that general direction for now..' Nodding to himself, he slowly began descending the tree before making his way to the west.

...

On the outside world. A giant colosseum was filled to the brim, with people cheering loudly towards a holographic screen floating at the very center.

"It seems like our rising star has already spotted her first prey!" A commentator yelled into the mic as they all watched what was being broadcasted on the screen.

At the center, the hologram displayed a shot — perhaps from a drone? — as it recorded a beautiful girl.

She was strikingly beautiful. Her thick, snowy white hair cascaded in soft waves, framing her face with a pristine elegance that contrasted with the deadly chill clinging to her aura. stopping just at her neck and framing her face like a silken veil.

She wore a tailored, ice-blue winter coat with a fur-lined collar and silver fastenings and a black belt, the hem falling gracefully just above her knees.

The coat hugged her waist with subtle definition, flaring slightly at the bottom for a sleek silhouette. Beneath it, she wore matching ice-blue slim-fit jeans that elongated her legs, perfectly tucked into a pair of pristine white winter boots with faux fur trim and subtle silver accents.

A few feet away in front of her was a wolf-like monster twice her size.. But it was impaled in a thick spike of ice that pierced through its back.

At her feet, the surface of the mossy forest floor was frozen. The ice stretched out in front of her — first small shards, then growing into jagged crystals, ending at the massive spike that skewered the wolf.

Then the video showed her moving toward one direction.. to the west.

"Seems like our Ice Princess has chosen the west as her goal! — Now let us check another of our stars! A young one that hails from the family Brightstar!"

The screen changed, showing a different feed. This time the focus was a guy. He had a two-block hairstyle, black hair and an athletic body. He wore a black tricot tracksuit that had a design of a golden lightning bolt running across its back.

Around him, two familiar wolves lay charred and dead. The surrounding soil was burned and cracked. Suddenly, a figure ran toward him — and despite the drone not having the ability to record sound, everyone could more or less guess what the figure said.

The figure was a beautiful girl the same age as the man beside her. She wore a similar tracksuit, accentuating her curves and figure. On her face, right beside her luscious red lips, was a mole that only increased her charm.

"Ohoho? Looks like our Star already found a beautiful partner? A girlfriend? Or is this just a temporary party to pass this Exam? We will find out soon! Who knows — a Hans Junior might already be on the way!" The commentator spoke, garnering a few chuckles from the audience.

This went on as the hosts of the event chose the most interesting participants to watch, and the commentator enhanced the entire show. This meant that those who were not as interesting were left alone.

Even the invisible drones that guarded some of them drifted away to find other exciting footage. And that included Matthew, who spent most of the early game walking further into the west.

...

"This should be far enough." Wiping his brows with the back of his hand, he sighed and turned around with a small smile. "Let's go hunting, shall we?"

With that, Matthew headed south. Searching for some monster to kill. 'Now that I think about it.. This will be the first encounter I'll have, right?' He thought, clenching his hand as he walked, feeling a surge of excitement from the thought of it.

'I wonder what will be the first monster I'll meet?' he wondered while looking around. He even used Zoom to check for any monster from afar. Then, wanting to check the place he came from, he turned his attention to it.

His question didn't stay unanswered for long, as a group of wild wolves had been tracking him when he made his way here. He could see them sniffing around a few hundred feet away from him.

"Would you look at that," Matthew mumbled. His heart was beating loudly in his chest... this was it.. his very first fight against monsters.

This would decide if he was just a random NPC in someone else's story... or if he was Him.

"Now... how do I deal with a group of monsters that plan on killing me..." he mumbled before remembering a tactic gamers use when dealing with multiple enemies.

'That can be done... hopefully,' he thought before he began making his way to meet his guests.

...

A pack of five wolves, each as large as five feet, sniffed around for the scent of their prey. Based on the scent, their target was alone. It would be an easy hunt. Suddenly, all of them raised their heads and looked in the same direction. The scent was stronger now. He was getting close.

Meanwhile, Matthew jogged carefully, eyes fixed on the monsters now just a dozen meters away. 'Come on, beast... notice me already.'

When he saw the monsters snap their attention toward him, he froze. The wolves began running. Maybe they were following his scent — he smiled, then bolted back the way he came.

While running, he brought his hands together... horse, rooster, serpent... But he didn't speak the word yet. 'Not yet,' he said to himself.

Turning back, his heart nearly jumped out of his throat. One of the wolves had lunged. He rolled to the side just in time, making sure not to separate his hands. 'Not yet!'

His heart thundered, but he forced himself to calm down. Getting up with his elbow as support, he continued running in a different direction.

He glanced behind. 'One, two... three... where are the other two??' he screamed in his mind, eyes scanning frantically.

Up ahead, he saw a faint silhouette. Activating Zoom drained a sliver of his mana, and he spotted the two missing wolves laying an ambush for him. 'Hah! Clever, but it doesn't work on someone with Zoom!' He laughed in his mind and veered away.

As he changed direction, the leader of the pack growled. The two wolves abandoned their post and rejoined the charge. One of them, positioned ahead, caught up to Matthew faster.

With a powerful leap, it lunged. Matthew rolled aside just in time. But that movement let the rest catch up. Another wolf sprang toward him — he rolled again, barely dodging, before scrambling to his feet.

The pack was upon him.

He staggered back. His spine hit a tree. All five wolves surrounded him, snarling.

But Matthew smiled. 'Finally.'

"Cut."

With that simple word, the activation requirement was met. A gust of compressed wind burst forward — almost invisible.

The wolves didn't even have time to react.

The sound of slicing flesh echoed sickeningly.

All at once, all five wolves were decapitated. Their massive bodies collapsed with a wet thud, blood pooling around their gaping wounds.

Matthew stood still, panting. His wide eyes stared at the corpses, and his trembling hands slowly unclenched at his sides. The cold sweat dripping down his temple mixed with the heat of adrenaline still rushing through his veins.

His breath hitched as he struggled to comprehend the scene in front of him — five lifeless beasts, felled by a single word.

"I won," he mumbled, his voice shaky, almost uncertain.

He felt a churn in his stomach. The sight — the blood, the clean severed necks — made his guts twist.

But it was...

"Awesome... huegh," he gagged, holding it back before quickly turning away.

Yeah... it'd take some time to get used to this.