A powerful cheat in the apocalypse

Endure... and become stronger.

The lightning finally stopped, revealing Rin kneeling on the ground, his body looking scorched.

He struggled to his feet as the voice continued.

[ Congratulations! You have passed the First Trial. As a reward, you have obtained Lightning Resistance and the Art of Lightning Manipulation. ]

[ Proceeding to Trial Two. ]

"..."

What the hell is this? Is this the boss of this level? No... it's a woman's voice. Then who is she?

Rin forced himself to remain standing before looking around.

"Where is this place? Lightning Resistance and Lightning Manipulation? What kind of nonsense is this?"

He looked at his hands, but before he could think any further, lightning struck him once again, making him scream with all his strength.

A few seconds later, the lightning disappeared. Rin collapsed onto the ground, his clothes charred and his body in terrible condition.

"Bitch! I thought I had Lightning Resistance! What the hell is all this?!"

[ Trial Two completed. ]

[ The potential host's Lightning Resistance has evolved and is now stronger. The host's Lightning Manipulation has also reached a higher level. ]

[ Trial Three will begin in five minutes. I hope you don't die before you manage to impress me. ]

"..."

Rin tried to stand but fell back onto the ground.

Then a gentle female voice echoed from his left.

"Well... I thought I was suffering, but you're suffering even more than I did. You're already in such terrible shape after only the second trial."

"Huh?"

Rin turned to his left and was stunned.

A woman was sitting on a nearby rock.

She had pure crimson hair and eyes, simple clothing, and her thighs were covered by a slightly transparent veil. She was breathtakingly beautiful and had a mature, curvy figure.

She was obviously much older than Rin.

"Who are you?" he asked in surprise.

"That's not a very smart question. Try surviving until Trial Four first. Then we'll think about how to get out of here."

You're trapped here too? Wait... but your body is...

Rin compared his burned body to hers and couldn't understand.

Do people regenerate after reaching a certain level? How the hell did I even end up here?

He wanted to cry, but no tears came out.

[ Trial Three begins. ]

"..."

The woman shivered as if remembering a terrible trauma before disappearing and instantly reappearing on a much larger rock farther away.

It's not even been five minutes. What the...

Before Rin could finish his thought, an enormous amount of lava rose from all around him and engulfed him at an unimaginable speed.

Rin screamed as his body burned alive.

The woman closed her eyes in fear.

The torture lasted five minutes.

Strangely, Rin was not reduced to ashes.

The lava slowly withdrew from his body, which had turned reddish, with visible cracks running across it like a crumbling wall.

For some unknown reason, only his pants remained intact.

The woman let out a sigh of relief upon seeing him still standing, though for an unknown reason.

[ More resilient than he appears, with excellent potential. Very well. Trial Three has been completed. Take a ten-minute break before Trial Four. ]

[ You have obtained Fire Resistance, followed by Fire Manipulation. ]

[ Good luck. Your chances of becoming worthy of the System that I am have increased. ]

"No thanks! I don't need you! Stop already! Besides, your rewards feel like one huge scam!"

Rin gritted his teeth and painfully sat down.

His entire body hurt, and he was certain he would die if this continued.

The woman appeared beside him and looked at him with pity.

"Have a nice suffering."

"..."

Are you making fun of me, ma'am?

Rin wanted to say it out loud but held himself back.

"How did you get here? And how do we escape this nightmare? Also... why am I not dying already? Or... am I already dead, and this is Hell?" Rin asked.

She chuckled softly.

"I don't know how I got here. And the reason you're not dying so quickly is simply because you're resilient."

Rin looked around while murmuring,

"Resilient..."

Then he looked at the countless corpses and forced a smile.

"They were here before me?"

"Yes. There used to be many of us here... They all died."

The woman sighed sadly.

Rin clenched his teeth before asking with a glimmer of hope,

"How do I get out of here? And who is that psychopath?"

The woman stood up before sighing and looking at the sky.

"At first, I wasn't sure. But the longer I endured, the more precise she became. I think she's trying to train us while seeing whether we're worthy of her."

She sighed again.

"But it's far too difficult."

Worthy of her? Train us? Why would she do that? Does she have something to do with Zenith?

"Did one of her rewards give you your teleportation ability?" he asked uncertainly.

The woman looked at the sky, which began to tremble slightly, then turned around and hurried away.

"No. I'm an Awakened, so that ability is mine. As for her rewards... don't let yourself be fooled too much. Or maybe they'll truly become yours once your suffering finally comes to an end."

"Oh, and Trial Four is about to begin."

With that, she teleported onto a distant mountain.

The crimson sky trembled as if something enormous was about to descend upon the world.

[ Trial Four begins. ]

What looked like a gigantic river poured down from the sky and rushed toward Rin.

The closer the river came, the more Rin's body—and everything around him—began to freeze despite the distance.

[ Survive the freezing, Candidate. ]