1 Chapter 1: Aspirant

Rake was a normal kid. His life was boring and meaningless.

But there were some things that he was very passionate about and that was web novels. And the one among them that was his favorite was the webnovel called 'Shadow Slave'.

He was caught up to the latest chapter when one day suddenly he woke up in a jungle on an island. "Where am I?"

And suddenly his world was twisted and bent in a way that did not make sense.

The reason was a tiger that jumped at him from the bush near him and bit his neck clean off.

Rake did not feel anything. Only shock and darkness.

And the next thing he heard was....

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your first trial....]

........

'I.... Where am I?'

Rake thought to himself. He was surrounded by sand in a beach that went as long as he could see. 

He suddenly saw a blue window with a voice saying,

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your first trial....]

Huh? That can't be right. I was just sleeping and woke up to a nightmare where my head was bit off. This must also be a dream huh? I must've been reading too much 'Shadow Slave' for this to happen. 

Right?

Yeah. Definitely. I am just having a bit of a silly dream that I am going to wake up from soon. 

right.

Rake then got up from the sand and started walking in a random direction. 

'Let's see, there's a beach here. And beyond that there are forests. Seems nice. If I keep walking forward, there will surely be coconut trees. I love coconuts. This is a nice dream. I haven't been to a beach in such a long time. 

Is this a sign that I should go visit a beach after my semester ends? Hmm, food for thought.'

As he started walking, a small blue transparent crab suddenly popped out of the ground, pinched his leg, and punctured it.

"Oww, that hurt. get off!"

Rake shook his leg with all his strength and managed to get the small crab off his leg.

But the small wound started bleeding.

"Argh, what was that for? and why do I feel pain in this dream?"

And soon everything became blurry. Rake started feeling queasy and dizzy. Soon he passed out.

[You have died. Your Trial begins anew.]

And this time Rake woke up with a startled long gasp.

"What!! what! What is this?"

And this time he was not on a beach. he was instead sitting on a rock with sea waves crashing into it. 

"This can't be real. Why is this happening? I have exams, homework, assignments and my mom. I can't be here. This is not real. That was not real.

All this must be a dream, right?

Or..or a simulation. 

yeah, that's right. I must be someone that they are testing that neuralink on. Right. All of this will go away. All is well.

Calm down Rake, calm down."

And with that Rake took two deep breaths and somewhat calmed down. 

"Now, where am I? This looks like an island. And I think I heard something like a system. Since this is a simulation, there might be a system, cause why not? Doesn't hurt to try."

Rake was still in his delusion. After all, no one would believe that they were dropped in another world randomly. He didn't even get the isekai protagonist meeting with ROB treatment. One minute he is napping and then one minute later he is on an island. Who would isekai be the first thing to come to their mind?

"System, status?"

Rake asked out hoping for a response. And that was when he saw it, his status screen. It felt very weird. It was like seeing with your eyes yet not. He saw his surroundings perfectly, and at the same time, he also saw the status screen. And it looked familiar.

***

Name: Rake

True Name: -

Rank: Aspirant

Soul Core: Dormant.

Memories: -

Echoes: -

Attributes: [Favored By Fate],[Talented],[Living in a tutorial]

Aspect: [Misplaced soul]

[Misplaced soul] Aspect Description:[You are a stranger in this world, you do not belong here.]

[Disliked By Fate] Attribute Description:[Fate does not appreciate your existence since you are an anomaly. Yet, it is forced to help you. You have increased luck. Both good and bad. You have a higher rate of memory and echo attainment. But, Fate will always guide more and more nightmare creatures to you.]

[Talented] Attribute Description: [It is easier for you to learn things]

[Living in a tutorial] Attribute Description: [You will revive after death in your first Nightmare trial. Yet the more you die, the harder it will be to pass your first trial.]

***

"This.....is from Shadow Slave. Am I-"

And that was when a big blue shark leaped up from the water and bit into his left shoulder and took him down as well into the water.

Rake felt extreme pain. Pain that he could not describe. Mostly he was in shock. The last two times, he couldn't comprehend what was happening. It was either over in an instant, or he didn't feel anything. 

Yet this time, there was no mercy. The Shark took him down into the water. He could not breathe, yet he had to. Saltwater gushed into his nose and lungs, causing more damage as he tried to cough and get the water out of his lungs. It was not possible. 

He felt searing pain, the likes of which he had never experienced in his life. While at the same time, he was being drowned. Two things that he never thought he would ever feel in his life. His weak willpower could hardly resist. And in just a few seconds, he gave up and stopped any kind of struggle.

The shark took him deep into the water. Smelling his blood, the other sharks in the sea also gathered and too bites out of his limbs. And in just that one minute, Rake was dismembered as he bled to death.

The last thought in his mind was, 'Help! I don't want to die!'

He didn't know how much he would regret that sentiment soon.

***

[You have died. Your Trial begins anew.]