Zael stepped forward, the crushed leaves whispering under his boots.
The three figures blocking the ravine path didn't move.
One stood in front—tall, wrapped in dark-gold armor etched with glowing sigils.
Behind him, two others spread out, one to each flank, their auras sharp and aggressive.
The ranking panel shimmered between the trees.
[Lily — Rank 1 | Points: 43,850]
[Zael — Rank 7 | Points: 35,950]
The leader smiled faintly.
"So this is the pair shaking the board."
Mana rolled off him in dense waves.
Legendary-grade.
The two behind him were no weaker—both already inside the top ten, their presences honed and predatory.
"Take the girl," the leader said calmly. "The boy is mine."
Lily's grip tightened on her spear.
Zael exhaled once.
"…Try not to make this loud."
---
The moment the squad moved, Zael activated his field.
> Blade Domain — Activated
An invisible pressure spread around him, the air subtly warping. His blade felt lighter. Sharper.
The legendary awakener vanished in a blur, reappearing mid-strike with a downward cleave that split stone.
Zael didn't block.
> Void Step
Space folded.
He reappeared behind the strike, cloak snapping as the blade missed him by a breath.
The enemy pivoted instantly, golden arcs forming around his arms.
> Skill — Radiant Breaker
A shockwave tore through the ravine.
Zael slid back, boots carving trenches in the dirt.
Behind him, Lily was already engaged.
One of the top-rankers unleashed a storm of crimson blades.
> Skill — Blood Arc Barrage
Lily spun.
> Spear Art — Crescent Drive
Her spear traced a glowing arc that tore through the incoming blades and kept going, ripping into her opponent's shoulder and hurling him into the rock wall.
The second flanker struck from above, shadow folding around his body.
> Skill — Dark Dive
Zael didn't look back.
> Strategic Marking — Active
Golden seams lit up along the legendary awakener's torso.
The man lunged again.
Zael met him head-on.
Steel clashed with radiant mana.
> Combat Scholar Precision
Zael's strike slid into a joint seam, bypassing the armor's outer reinforcement.
The legendary awakener snarled and retaliated with a point-blank blast.
> Skill — Solar Pulse
Zael crossed his arms.
> Resonance Strike
The force slammed into him—then rebounded.
The counter-shockwave detonated outward, blasting the ravine walls apart and sending the legendary awakener skidding backward.
Trees snapped.
Dust roared upward.
---
On the left, Lily twisted her spear and drove it clean through her opponent's core.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 2,150
Lily Total: 46,000
She didn't stop.
The shadow-type awakener appeared behind her, blades flashing.
Lily vanished.
Space rippled.
She reappeared above him.
Her spear fell like judgment.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 2,150
Lily Total: 48,150
---
Zael and the legendary awakener were alone now.
The man's aura flared brighter.
"So… you were the real threat."
Zael didn't answer.
> Phantom Split — Activated
Three afterimages peeled off his movement, each swinging with identical force.
The legendary awakener cut through two—but the third was real.
Zael stepped inside the guard.
> Night Sever
The blade passed through armor.
Not cutting metal—
But what lay beneath it.
The legendary awakener's breath hitched.
He roared and tried to grab Zael.
Zael twisted, drove a palm into his chest, and released everything he had stored.
> Resonance Strike — Full Release
The impact thundered through the ravine.
The legendary awakener was hurled backward like a broken doll, crashing through stone and sliding across the forest floor.
A final shimmer.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 11,200
Zael Total: 47,150
---
Silence returned.
The dust settled.
The ranking panel pulsed and updated.
[Lily — Rank 1 | Points: 48,150]
[Zael — Rank 5 | Points: 47,150]
Zael exhaled slowly and deactivated Blade Domain.
Lily approached, eyes fixed on him.
"…You fought a rank-three like it was routine."
Zael wiped his blade on his cloak.
"Routine is a strong word."
"…You're still hiding."
"Also a strong word."
She stared at him.
"You could be first."
Zael glanced at the ranking panel, then away.
"…Someone has to be second."
Her brows knit together.
"That's not an answer."
He smiled faintly.
"It's the only one I'm giving."
Far above the forest canopy, the dungeon system chimed again.
[Remaining Contestants: 102]
The final cut was close.
And now, everyone watching knew one thing:
Zael was no longer prey.
He was part of the hunt.
The forest ahead erupted in light.
Not the scattered flashes of small skirmishes—but a sustained blaze of mana that bent the trees outward and carved glowing lines into the ground.
Zael slowed.
Lily froze beside him.
"…That's not normal combat," she whispered.
They crept closer, staying within the shadow of shattered trunks.
Then they saw him.
Zane stood at the center of a broken clearing, cloak fluttering in the rising heat of his own aura. Around him lay ten contestants—some already dissolving into teleport light, others mid-collapse as the system extracted them.
One tried to rise, dragging a spear through the dirt.
Zane didn't even look at him.
> Skill Activated — Blade Domain
The air folded.
A single step.
A single line of silver light.
The contestant vanished in a burst of teleport glow.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 1,800
Zane Total: …
The number blurred too fast to follow.
Two more charged together, desperation overriding fear.
> Skill Activated — Phantom Split
Zane's movement fractured into layered afterimages. Their attacks passed through empty space.
A heartbeat later, both were struck at the same time.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 1,750
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 1,820
Lily's breath caught.
"…He's not even slowing down."
The last three hesitated.
Zane raised his blade.
> Skill Activated — Night Sever
The strike didn't flash.
It simply… happened.
Three teleport lights ignited almost simultaneously.
Silence fell over the clearing.
Zane stood alone among cracked stone and drifting motes of mana.
His aura slowly receded.
Then—
He turned.
His gaze passed over Lily first.
Sharp. Measuring.
Then it landed on Zael.
The air seemed to tighten.
Lily's grip on her spear went white.
"…Zael," she whispered. "…That's him. If he fights us now—"
Zael didn't move.
Zane took a step forward.
Then another.
For a moment, Lily was certain the forest itself was holding its breath.
Zane stopped.
His eyes narrowed slightly… not in hostility, but in something closer to curiosity.
Recognition.
He looked at Zael for a long second.
Then he sheathed his blade.
Without a word, Zane turned away and walked past them, boots crunching softly over shattered stone.
No challenge.
No threat.
No attack.
Just departure.
When his presence finally faded, Lily realized she'd been holding her breath.
"…He left," she said quietly. "…He could've taken us."
Zael shrugged. "Maybe he had better things to do."
She stared at him.
"…You know how strong he is."
"Mm."
"…And I only reached first because you kept feeding me kills."
Zael glanced at the rankings flickering faintly in the air.
[Lily — Rank 2 | Points: 48,150]
[Zael — Rank 5 | Points: 47,150]
"It dropped",Zael mused.
"Guess he took back his spot",Lily said with a sigh.
"…That doesn't change what you did," he said.
She hesitated.
Then asked the question that had been building in her chest.
"…If you fought him… who would win?"
Zael stopped walking.
He looked back at the direction Zane had gone.
Then at Lily.
And smiled.
The kind of smile that didn't answer anything at all.
"Let's hope we don't have to find out."
They turned down a different path, disappearing into the thinning forest as the final hours of the trial ticked closer to its end.
As they walked a small smile appeared on Zael's face as he wondered what she'd think if she found out that Zane was just his clone, not that he was gonna tell her.
Meanwhile a small smile also appeared on Zane's face.
"So he's met someone, and it's her nonetheless.... Well thus is gonna be fun", he muttered as he walked away.