Chapter 22
Crunch!!
The blood-red hammer crushed the skull of the last remaining creature.
“Huuu…….”
I let out a long sigh and looked around.
Piles of bones.
The broken, crushed, and shattered corpses of the Dragonfang Soldiers were scattered everywhere.
‘…Did I pour too much power into the very first stage of the Trial?’
Even so, I had no regrets.
<Player Information>
Name: Ruth Fried
Level: 24
Class: Blood Mage
Rank: 321/1000 (4 Stars)
The explosive increase in my <Rank> value made my chest swell with pride.
“I remember it was nowhere near 3 Stars the last time I checked…”
Of course, that “last time” was quite a while ago.
Specifically, I hadn’t opened my status window even once since I first awakened the <Authority of Growth>.
Since then, I had crossed countless lines between life and death.
Starting from the Night Fiend in the <Predator’s Labyrinth> all the way to the Poison Demon’s avatar.
Those battles had given me tremendous rewards, but they had also been desperate fights where my life hung by a thread.
But the battle against the Dragonfang Soldiers was different.
‘It wasn’t easy, but it was manageable.’
And the achievement I gained from something manageable was enormous.
Low risk, high return, you could say.
[You have defeated an enemy of a higher level than normal! Your Rank has increased significantly!]
[You have defeated an enemy of a higher level than normal…….]
[Your Rank has evolved from 3 Stars to 4 Stars!]
A mountain of message logs I hadn’t seen because I was fighting in a trance had piled up.
As expected.
‘So I rose from 3 Stars to 4 Stars thanks to this battle.’
Advancing to the next Star meant breaking through a wall.
I had transcended my limits and stepped into a new realm.
The fight against the Dragonfang Soldiers had brought me that achievement.
As proof, even after fighting dozens of enhanced Dragonfang Soldiers alone, I wasn’t exhausted — my body was still overflowing with energy.
‘I never imagined I’d be able to level up by farming inside the ‘Trial of Entur’.’
As I smiled at this unexpected stroke of luck,
I suddenly felt a sense of unease.
……I had wiped out all the Dragonfang Soldiers, so why wasn’t the message for advancing to the next stage appearing?
Ding!
The moment I questioned it, a system message appeared in the air.
However.
[The Ice Dragon Entur is showing interest in your existence!]
The content of the message was not about the Trial.
Entur’s lingering thoughts were directly conveying its will to me, a mere challenger.
‘Showing interest?’
When you break through to the latter stages of the Trial, a message appears saying you have been recognized by Entur.
But for Entur to show interest in a challenger from the very beginning… well……
In all six times I had played the Trial content in the game, this had never happened.
‘Moreover, the fact that it says “interest” rather than “recognition” is also strange.’
Did it sense something special about my very existence, rather than just my strength?
While I was pondering this,
[Entur tilts its head and withdraws its interest.]
‘What the hell is this guy trying to say?’
If anyone should be tilting their head, it was me.
Clatter!
As I stood there in confusion, the space began to collapse.
What was revealed next was a staircase made of bones stretching across a pitch-black void.
It was the passage leading to the next stage of the Trial.
‘Entur’s reaction is suspicious, but it’s probably not something I need to worry about right now.’
I decided to ignore the minor details and focus only on moving forward.
Before stepping onto the staircase, I briefly looked up at the black void.
Three hexagonal stone tablets were aligned there.
Hwaruk—.
On the middle tablet, a white flame was burning at one of the corners.
‘This is a bit unexpected. I spent quite a long time on the first stage farming Rank points.’
The number of flames represented progress.
Each time a stage was cleared, a new flame appeared at the corner of the tablet.
What was interesting was that I could also check the progress of the other challengers through the remaining tablets.
‘There are no flames on the other two tablets…’
That meant neither Edan nor Mirati had cleared the first stage yet.
That was good news for me.
‘When multiple people challenge the Trial, the one who finishes the fastest and achieves the highest results receives additional rewards.’
It was a kind of race.
Step.
There was no time to hesitate. I stepped onto the staircase to challenge the next stage.
***
I climbed the staircase of bones and passed through the gate made of light.
What greeted me was.
—I have come, challenger……
—I’ll kill you! I’ll freeze you solid and tear you apart with my claws!
It was a lesser dragon without wings — a Drake.
The one on the left had flames like blazing inferno rising over its stiff scales.
The one on the right was wrapped in the very essence of the frozen northern sea, scattering chilling cold air.
A Blaze Drake and a Frost Drake.
‘So this is why I boldly declared that this Trial wouldn’t be easy.’
Two Drakes, each one already difficult to face alone.
And these weren’t ordinary Drakes — they were attribute-specialized Drakes.
As expected of the mid-stages, the difficulty was insane.
It was then.
—I’ll burn you down to your very soul!
Kwaaaaaaaa—!!
The Drake roared and opened its maw wide, spitting out a breath of flames.
A straightforward linear trajectory. However, dodging was impossible.
The sheer size of the incoming flames was beyond imagination. Whether I rolled sideways or leaped upward, I would inevitably be hit.
Kurrrrung!!
The terrifying heat that could even melt the earth engulfed me in an instant.
—Ah, no! You damn bastard! I was going to freeze him and kill him myself… Eh? What?
The Frost Drake, who had been seething with rage, let out a dumbfounded sound.
It couldn’t be helped.
Step.
“How unexpected for a lesser dragon.”
A human walked out unscathed through the surging flames.
I casually brushed off the embers clinging to <Scorching> with my hand.
“As expected, a full-powered breath is still weaker than a 7-star spell.”
—H-How…?
Seeing me completely untouched, not even singed, the Blaze Drake staggered.
From the very beginning, due to compatibility, this creature could never defeat me.
Flame Armor: Creates a curtain of fire that completely blocks all fire-attribute attacks of 7-star or lower.
As long as I had ‘Flame Armor’, one of <Scorching>’s special abilities, that was true.
—Don’t get cocky! Do you think there’s only one way to kill you!
Whoooong!!
The enraged Drake spun its body and swung its long tail like a whip.
The terrifying speed created a massive pressure wave, but that was all.
The moment the Drake rotated its body, I had already kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.
Boom……!!
While the missed tail smashed into the innocent wall, I held a blood sword in one hand and the <All-Aspect Torch> in the other.
Crackle—.
As cold energy covered the blood sword, white frost bloomed across the blade like flower petals.
The Blaze Drake, realizing its attack had missed, lifted its head and met my eyes.
Inside its widened pupils, my figure — forging a sword of cold energy — was reflected.
And then.
[Frost Fang]
The incomplete form that had flashed in my mind merged with my explosive sword talent and completed itself.
[First Form]
[Dance of Snow Flowers]
A single flower bloomed on the blade, and the Drake’s head fell to the floor.
“Ah……”
But what filled me with endless ecstasy wasn’t the victory itself, but something else.
Hwaaaak—.
Ice flowers scattered before my eyes like fairies.
The severed neck of the Drake was cut so cleanly it was flawless, and steady breathing flowed from my mouth.
This was proof that I had perfectly executed a sword art I had only half-learned, using only my own power.
‘I achieved in a single real battle what normally requires hundreds of training sessions.’
As someone who pursued strength and growth, how could I not feel thrilled?
As I offered my gratitude toward the frost-covered Drake’s severed head,
—You… you dare kill my friend! I’ll kill you!
“……”
The Frost Drake, witnessing its comrade’s death, flew into a rage.
Still, using [Dance of Snow Flowers] against a cold-specialized lesser dragon would be foolish.
—You are a swordsman blessed by ice! That blessing will become a curse before me! You’ve chosen the wrong opponent!
“Chose the wrong opponent? Me?”
Crack—.
As freezing energy overflowed from the Frost Drake’s widely opened maw,
I dismissed <Blood Weapon> and extended my right hand forward.
“Let’s find out who really chose the wrong opponent.”
And then.
Kwaaaaa—!!
A fire dragon burst forth from my right hand, burning the air as it charged toward the Frost Drake.
—……?!
The creature looked momentarily flustered, but soon spat out a breath of ice with a confident expression.
The power was enough to fill the entire space with bone-chilling cold in an instant.
However.
Hwaruk—!!
The red fire dragon easily pushed back the breath the creature had unleashed with all its strength.
—Kuh, kuhk……
Even as it continued spitting out its breath, fear filled the Frost Drake’s eyes.
It had every reason to be afraid.
Normally, it should be impossible for ordinary flames to overpower a dragon’s breath.
‘Ordinary flames, that is.’
The fire dragon writhing from my hand was not made of ordinary fire.
Legacy of the Lava Tribe: Unleashes powerful flames forward.
The Lava tribe — the only race on the continent to receive the blessing of fire.
How could a mere lesser dragon possibly overcome the special flames wielded by that race?
—N-No……! I-I don’t want to die……!
With a final, ugly death cry unbefitting of dragonkind,
Kwaaaaaaaa—!!
The <Legacy of the Lava Tribe>, having completely pushed back the breath, reduced the Frost Drake to a handful of ashes.
With this, the ‘Leg’ stage of the Trial was also complete.
I was shaking off the embers from my right hand when it happened.
[Entur is now certain that its judgment was not wrong.]
“What the……”
Entur’s message appeared again.
But what did it mean by “its judgment was not wrong”?
It had been talking to itself this whole time, and it was starting to get on my nerves. I wish it would stop.
As I frowned, showing my discomfort,
Ding!
[Entur asserts that it faintly senses ‘divine power’ from you.]
[It asks if you are a Constellation disguised as a human.]
Suddenly, the creature began spouting nonsense.
***
Kwarurung!
Blue lightning bolts spread out in all directions like tree roots.
The fierce light that filled the space swept away the Dragonfang Soldiers launching their assault.
However, even after taking direct hits from the lightning, the creatures remained unscathed.
Even as lightning whips burned their limbs, they charged toward their prey without hesitation.
“Huu……!”
After quickly finishing his casting, Edan thrust both hands — engulfed in flames — forward.
Hwaruruk—!!
A wave of fire erupted from the ground and swallowed the Dragonfang Soldiers charging from all sides.
Only after pouring out consecutive attack spells did several of the creatures collapse into ash.
Just as Edan thought he could catch his breath,
Hwaruk—! Hwaruk—! Hwaruk—!
As if mocking him, pillars of fire rose from various spots, and new Dragonfang Soldiers appeared.
There were even more of them than before.
“……So that’s why the Trial is so infamous. To think the first stage alone could drain someone’s soul like this.”
He felt like crying.
If the first stage was already this difficult, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard the later stages would be.
Setting his worries aside, Edan formed new hand seals to prepare another spell.
Roughly one hour later.
Crackle—.
After defeating the fiercely charging Dragonfang Soldiers, the space began to collapse.
It was the moment he marked the end of the nightmarish first stage.
“Haa! Haa!”
However, Edan couldn’t even think about moving on to the next stage.
He had recklessly spammed magic and was severely depleted of mana. Mentally, he was completely exhausted.
The rising anxiety made it hard for him to even take a step forward.
‘No. I can’t. I can’t be this exhausted already.’
His father and older brothers had placed such high expectations on him.
At the very least, he needed to reach the ‘Neck’ stage to have any dignity when returning to his family.
Edan recovered some of his mana with a potion and stood up.
Just as he approached the staircase of bones,
“…Huh?”
He suddenly looked up at the stone tablets floating in the air and froze in shock.
On the middle tablet among the three, a white flame was already burning.
“Th-There’s already a challenger who cleared the first stage?”
He swallowed dryly in disbelief.
He had been proud of clearing the first stage fairly quickly, yet someone had already surpassed him by such a large margin.
‘If anyone could set such a record, it would only be Sir Ruth.’
The man who had displayed monstrous skill in his spar against Walter.
A boy with such brilliant potential that his father would have tried to recruit him into the family at all costs if he had seen him.
But even for Ruth, he never imagined he would pull ahead by this much.
As a competitor, it stung his pride a little.
‘No. Instead of standing here, I need to move. The Trial has only just begun. If I’m behind, I just have to work harder and catch up…….’
Hwaruk!
As he made his resolve, a new flame appeared.
Once again, it was on the central tablet.
The determined expression on Edan’s face was instantly replaced with shock.
“Good god……”