SSS-Rank Awakening: My Talent Multiplies Everything novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24: The Hunger Forrest.

The moment Kael confirmed moving to the next trial, the start room vanished around him once again.

The familiar brick walls dissolved into fragments of light before an entirely new environment began forming around him.

A soft breeze brushed against his skin.

Then the world stabilized.

Kael slowly looked around.

For a brief moment, he genuinely thought he had arrived in some kind of paradise.

Massive trees stretched endlessly across the landscape, their leaves lush and vibrantly green. Colorful flowers bloomed everywhere beneath them, filling the forest with life and beauty.

Hanging from nearly every branch were fruits of all kinds.

Some looked familiar.

Others completely foreign.

But all of them looked perfectly ripe and unbelievably fresh.

Red fruits glistened beneath the soft light overhead. Golden ones hung heavily from branches while others carried strange colors Kael had never seen before.

The sweet fragrance filling the forest was intoxicating.

The combined scent of flowers and fruits created an atmosphere so pleasant it almost felt unreal.

And that was exactly why Kael immediately felt danger.

A faint chill crept down his spine.

This place was too perfect.

Far too perfect.

And the notification screen that appeared next only confirmed his suspicion.

[FLOOR 3 — HELL DIFFICULTY]

[Mission: Survival]

[Objective: Endure the Hunger Forest.]

[Warning: The gnawing hunger will corrode your mind. Some fruits may provide temporary relief. Choose carefully.]

[Duration: 2 Hours]

Kael stared at the screen with narrowed eyes.

"This trial is dangerous..."

No monsters.

No combat.

But somehow, this felt even worse.

A mental attack.

The warning itself already explained enough.

The hunger would slowly corrode his mind.

As for the fruits...

Some could apparently help alleviate the effect temporarily.

But the problem was obvious.

How was he supposed to figure out which fruits were safe?

Kael had a feeling eating the wrong one would end up very badly for him.

Almost immediately after the notification disappeared, Kael felt it.

Hunger.

A faint gnawing sensation began spreading through his stomach.

His expression instantly darkened.

"...Fuck."

He had literally eaten before entering the Tower.

And yet right now, it felt as though he had not eaten in an entire day.

Worse still, the sensation was rapidly growing stronger.

Kael immediately activated the Spectre X bracelet.

The AI system responded instantly.

Without hesitation, he began scanning the nearest fruits hanging from the tree closest to him.

A few seconds later, the result appeared.

Normal. No toxins. No detectable harmful substances.

Kael frowned slightly before moving toward another tree and scanning again.

Same result.

Then another tree.

And another.

And another.

By the time he stopped, he had already scanned fruits from five different trees.

Every single result came back identical.

Completely normal.

Kael’s brows furrowed deeply.

There was no way it was that simple.

Either the AI simply could not detect whatever abnormality existed within the fruits...

Or the fruits genuinely were normal, and the Tower mechanism itself was what determined the effect after consumption.

Either possibility was bad.

And neither eased his worries.

Seeing that the scans were useless, Kael quickly shifted his approach.

If there were truly fruits capable of helping him, then the trial itself should logically contain some kind of clue or loophole that allowed challengers to identify them.

There had to be something.

A pattern.

A hidden sign.

Anything.

But as Kael looked around, all he saw was an endless forest overflowing with beautiful trees and tempting fruits.

No markings.

No monuments.

Nothing obvious at all.

Meanwhile, the hunger continued growing worse.

Minute by minute, the gnawing sensation intensified.

Kael could feel it slowly affecting his thoughts already.

Without wasting any more time, he began moving through the forest.

He searched carefully while trying to identify anything unusual.

Anything at all.

But no matter how far he walked, the scenery remained the same.

Endless trees.

Endless fruits.

Endless sweet fragrance.

And the hunger only continued worsening.

Soon, Kael suddenly stopped walking.

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