7 Ash Phoenix Flame

Liam had a mission to complete, and to do that, he had to pass the Pre-Trial stage of the Tower and defeat ten creatures of his choice.

Based on his observations, the Floor Map was divided into three zones: the Green Zone, the Red Zone, and the Yellow Zone. The Green Zone was a safe zone, where monsters didn't spawn, and battles between players were restricted by the system. The Red Zone was where battles between players were allowed, and it was where they all appeared to trick players that the only way to get a kill was to fight each other. And the Yellow Zone was where battles between players were also prohibited, but monsters spawned sporadically.

'The Yellow Zone... that's the answer I am looking for. Going up against a single player here gives me only a 50% chance of winning. That's too much of a risk. And I am sure the system bestowed these players signature skills I know nothing about.' Liam noticed the other creatures eyeing him up, sizing him up as an easy target since he wasn't paying much attention.

He could almost hear their thoughts – that he was either too dumb to realize the predicament he was in, or too weak to have a will of fighting back. But they were in for a surprise as Liam activated his Brawler Mode, which also activated his signature skill given to him by the system – the Ash Phoenix Flame. The Ash Phoenix Flame emitted black fire on Liam's feet that highly resembled the Eternal Black Flame, which was the strongest fire affinity in the Tower. There were six known fire affinities in the Tower, ranging from the weakest to the strongest, they were Basic Fire Application, Igniting Blast, Scorching Heat, Hell Blaze, Holy Fire, and Eternal Black Flame.

Suddenly, Liam was no longer an easy target but a big challenge. Most of the creatures, taken aback by Liam's sudden transformation, became extra cautious around him, averting their plan of targeting him first. Liam smiled, knowing they had no idea what hit them, and his instincts told him that he needed to head towards the forest instead of climbing the mountain. He checked the Floor Map and realized the risk of fighting against players who has skills he knew nothing about. Instead, he could find weaker non-player monsters at the back of the wide forest, where he could find a Yellow Zone.

Liam had always loved the forest. It was his refuge, his sanctuary, his escape from the pressures of the world. He would spend hours upon hours wandering, exploring, discovering new secrets of the woods that surrounded his home.

Today was no different. As he made his way down the familiar dirt path, the sunlight filtering through the leaves in a dappled pattern, he felt a sense of peace and contentment wash over him. He was alone, surrounded by the beauty of nature and the quiet hum of the forest's creatures.

But all of that changed when he heard a shout nearby.

Liam paused, listening intently. There it was again - a desperate cry for help, from someone in trouble. He was in a survival game and he shouldn't worry about the others. But the shouts were so familiar. He was certain, it was a desperate shout of a human. He knew he couldn't ignore it, despite the danger that may come with getting involved, he was curious to find out if his suspicions were correct.

He took off in the direction of the sound, his heart racing with great curiosity and adrenaline. As he drew closer, he saw them - a Troll, green and ugly and huge, and a Gnoll, a humanoid big creature with a hyena-like head.

And then he saw the human boy, thin and scared and trying to outrun his pursuers. Liam could barely see the boy's face, but the suspicion he had earlier was correct. The boy is definitely a human, a dark-skinned young man.

Liam hesitated only for a moment before he knew what he had to do. He charged forward, his footsteps thundering on the forest floor, and kicked the Troll in the face with his feet that was emitting blackish flames due to his Ash Phoenix Flame skill.

The creature stumbled backwards, clearly taken aback by Liam's unexpected attack. But then it snarled and lunged forward, intent on revenge.

Liam didn't back down. He kept moving, grabbing the teenager and pulling him towards safety as quickly as he could. They were almost free -

- but then Liam saw the Gnoll.

It was grinning at him in pure, twisted pleasure.

Liam wasn't sure whether he had enough time to react before the Gnoll struck. All he could see was the giant spiky mace -

- and then everything went black.

"Liam! Liam! Wake up!"

When Liam woke up, he was lying on the ground, his head pounding with pain. He couldn't remember what had happened, or how he'd gotten there. It took him a few moments to realize that he was still alive.

And then he remembered the Troll and the Gnoll and the teenager.

He struggled to sit up, wincing as his head throbbed but the teenager aided him. Liam forced himself to stand, slowly, carefully. This was the reason he avoided fighting against players. They were dangerous and were far from easy to kill.

But what confused him was how he was still alive. He knew that if that was on Earth, a hit like that to the head would have ended his life. He looked at his feet, his Health Points, which is the feature inidicating his life here in Nullvard, was still green and barely full.

Liam looked around. He had to find a way to escape, and make sure to bring the kid that clearly has no experience in this situation from his observations. He couldn't let himself fail at this stage. He, who always annihilated everything in his path on Earth? He couldn't be easily defeated like this.