The ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE SYSTEM-Chapter 39: THE FIRST TRIAL

The sound of reality ripping apart thundered in my ears.

The world fractured—colors twisted violently, space warped like a folding mirror, and time stretched into something alien.

Then—

Darkness.

A suffocating void. No light. No sky. No ground. Just endless black, swallowing everything.

And then—

THUD.

I slammed into solid stone, rough and cold beneath my palms. I staggered to my feet, the air damp and heavy around me. The silence that followed was unnatural. Not the quiet of peace—

but the silence before death.

My eyes adjusted slowly.

I wasn’t in the city anymore. I’d been transported—into the Trial Zone.

Alone.

No people. No screaming. Just the chilling stillness of an unfamiliar world.

Then it came.

A screen flickered to life before me—translucent, glowing.

Not my personal system.

No—this was the common system.

The one given to everyone.

[COMMON SYSTEM MESSAGE – TRIAL ZONE STAGE 1]

Select an appropriate weapon.

Objective: Eliminate 10 Goblins .

Failure to comply will result in death.

Nine weapons manifested in front of me, hovering midair like divine choices awaiting judgment:

SwordSpearBowGauntletHammerAxeKnifeGunStaff

A familiar sight.

In my past life, this was the only system I had. I remember panicking, scrambling for the sword, and somehow surviving the trial by sheer desperation.

But this time...

I narrowed my eyes as another interface quietly overlapped the first one:

[Ultimate Experience System: Active]

Adaptive combat proficiency enabled.

All weapon types supported. Personal performance boost: 300%.

This system... it belonged to me alone.

Still, the common system trial couldn’t be skipped. Not without consequences. Everyone above the age of eighteen was here—thrown into the same nightmare.

Most of them wouldn’t live through this.

I looked at the floating weapons.

In my past life, I avoided the gun. Too risky. Too limited. One magazine. Slow reload.

But now...?

A grin tugged at my lips.

"Let’s flip the script."

I stepped forward and reached out, my hand closing around the gun.

Sleek. Metallic black. Surprisingly light. It felt like it was made for me.

As I gripped it, a notification flickered into view:

[Weapon Selected: Handgun]

Ammo: 12 rounds (Stage-Limited)

I narrowed my eyes and whispered to the system in my mind.

"Grant me the experience of a hundred years with a handgun."

The Ultimate Experience System responded instantly, its voice smooth and mechanical.

[Request Accepted – Simulating 100 Years of Firearm Combat Mastery...]

Firearms Mastery: MAX

Combat Intuition: Activated

Recoil Compensation, Reflex Acceleration, Critical Hit Prediction – Enabled

I blinked once—and in that moment, it all came rushing in.

The feel of recoil. The rhythm of reloads. The instinct to shoot between breaths. I knew this weapon now... like it was a part of me.

I raised the gun, letting its weight settle in my grip like an old friend returned.

That’s when I heard it.

A low growl—feral, guttural—crawled out from the shadows.

I turned my head sharply.

There it was.

A goblin, twisted and vile. Hunched over, eyes glowing with primal rage. Its skin was the color of rot, and its claws scraped the ground as it charged forward with a bloodthirsty screech.

In my past life, I’d trembled before this thing.

But not now.

Now... it was just a moving target.

I took a slow breath, letting the chaos fall away.

"Let’s see if you’re faster than a bullet," I muttered.

I squeezed the trigger.

BANG!

The shot rang out—clean, precise, merciless.

The goblin’s head snapped back. It hit the ground without even screaming.

Silence.

I lowered the gun, smoke curling from the barrel.

A smirk touched my lips.

"The first trial’s begun. Let’s clean this stage."

Another flash of light.

Two goblins spawned.

No warning. No time to breathe.

One of them snarled and lunged at me with a rusty sword, feet pounding against the stone floor.

I didn’t panic.

My body moved on instinct—quick step back, slight lean.

Whoosh! The blade missed by inches.

I pulled the trigger.

BANG!

His skull burst open mid-air. The first was down.

I turned quickly—only to realize the second goblin had disappeared.

"Tch... where did it—"

A sudden chill prickled my neck.

I twisted my body just in time.

Too late.

The goblin’s blade grazed my arm. A shallow cut, but it stung like fire.

I clenched my teeth, grabbed my bleeding arm with one hand—and slammed the gun into the goblin’s skull with the other. It stumbled, dazed.

BANG!

I finished it with a shot to the head.

[Enemies Remaining: 7]

I exhaled, eyes narrowing.

"Seven more... let’s see if I can end this without another scratch."

I called out in my mind:

"System, give me 200 years of professional agility training."

[Request accepted – Transmitting Experience...]

A wave of sensation crashed through me.

My limbs felt lighter. My balance—perfect. My reflexes—sharper than ever.

I took a deep breath, feeling the power course through my veins.

"I can move like the wind now..."

Suddenly—

Seven goblins spawned at once.

Blades. Claws. Screeches.

They surged toward me as one.

I smirked.

"Oh? Ganging up on me?"

I holstered the gun slowly, cracking my neck.

"Let’s see who’s faster."

And then—I vanished.

A blur. A phantom.

The chamber echoed with the rush of air, goblins snarling in confusion.

Five seconds later—

BOOM.

Dust exploded in every direction.

When it settled, I stood still in the center of the platform.

Gun lowered. Breathing calm.

All around me—seven goblin corpses, sprawled and lifeless.

Not a scratch on me.

I looked up, blood dripping from the muzzle of my gun, and whispered with a cold grin:

"Next."