( Kaelith in Ember Wastes — "Ashwalkers' Trial")
The Ember Wastes were unforgiving.
For the last three hours, Kaelith's team had trekked through an endless, heat-scorched valley riddled with mana cracks and sulfur geysers. Every few hundred meters, the ground pulsed unnaturally — as if the land itself had a heartbeat.
Kaelith moved in silence, leading them through the uneven terrain with natural grace. His hazelnut-colored hair was tousled by the dry winds, golden eyes sharp and unreadable. Every step he took was deliberate — a warrior's rhythm built on instinct.
Behind him:
Rehn, the wind-affinity boy, agile and cocky, had taken to scanning the skies for flying beasts.
Elaine, the healer, moved quietly beside Kaelith, violet hair glowing subtly under her soft healing aura, eyes flicking between Kaelith's back and their surroundings.
"Mana density's rising…" Elaine muttered after a while, placing a hand on the scorched soil.
Kaelith nodded. "We're getting close to something."
Just then — the ground trembled.
From the cracked basalt cliffs ahead, eight monsters erupted — ash-cloaked centipedes, their shells like obsidian armor, each over two meters long.
Their party froze.
"Split formation," Kaelith ordered calmly. "I'll take the three nearest. You two handle the rest — stall if you must."
Before either could object, Kaelith vanished in a flash of golden light.
---
Kaelith's Duel: 3 vs 1
The first centipede lunged.
Kaelith ducked low, sliding across gravel as flames danced across its mandibles. With one motion, he unsheathed his sword — a crescent of golden light cutting through the monster's neck in a clean, perfect arc.
> CRACK—!
The first dropped, spasming, its head split clean.
The second came from behind — but Kaelith didn't even turn. He twisted slightly, raised two fingers, and conjured a glowing sigil mid-air. Golden mana surged as a light-constructed dagger formed — then blasted backward, impaling the second monster through the eye.
THUMP....
Two down.
The third was faster — it dove underground and struck from below.
Kaelith jumped just in time, flipping mid-air.
He threw his blade upward — where it spun once, glowing — then descended with him. He caught it in mid-air, landed on the monster's back, and drove the blade straight down through its spine.
SKRREEEEE—!!
It writhed, then stilled.
He stepped off, boots crunching on ash, golden eyes unmoved.
---
Meanwhile – Rehn & Elaine vs 5 Monsters
"Five?! He left us with five?!" Rehn shouted, slashing with compressed wind blades.
Elaine planted her staff. "Barrier—!"
A healing dome flared around them, just as two centipedes tried to flank. Her breathing was steady despite the pressure.
"On your left!" she called.
Rehn dodged mid-air using a wind burst and cut through one of the centipedes' legs. He spun, narrowly avoiding a burning lunge. "They're tougher than D-ranks!"
Elaine reinforced his speed with mana infusion. "You focus on damage. I'll keep you alive."
Three monsters remained. She glanced toward Kaelith's side — already clear.
Elaine whispered under her breath. "He's something else…"
---
Aftermath
All eight monsters lay dead or twitching.
Rehn flopped onto a rock. "Okay, new rule: next time we let Kaelith take all of them."
Elaine smiled slightly, panting. "We're alive, aren't we?"
Kaelith walked over, wiping his blade clean with a charred cloth.
"You did well," he said simply.
Elaine blinked. "You mean that?"
Kaelith nodded once. "For a wind user and healer combo… you coordinated better than expected."
Rehn grinned. "That's the nicest thing I've heard from him all day."
Elaine, however, looked quietly pleased — a tiny blush hidden by the soot on her cheeks.
---
They kept walking.
The terrain grew darker. In the distance, massive black gates half-buried in lava loomed.
Above it: flaming runes marked the entrance of a tomb.
[Location: Tomb of the Forgotten Flame – Danger Level: C]
Before they could take another step, a ping echoed in their devices.
> [Participants Remaining: 2,000]
Kaelith paused. He glanced at the numbers, then back at the tomb.
"Let's see how many more drop before we're done."
____________________________________
Location: Iron Ruins — "Shattered Core District"
Cracked iron towers loomed like skeletons of a fallen civilization, rusted and jagged. The air was thick with metallic dust and static mana — the kind that made your skin crawl.
Lucas was running ahead, scanning the perimeter with sharp blue eyes, his black hair slicked with sweat. "Marcus, up there. High mana signatures — six of them."
Marcus, calm and cold, eyes shimmering faintly purple, followed with hands in pockets. "Ambush."
"They think they can take us out before the boss."
Lucas grinned. "Let's prove them wrong."
---
Ambush Encounter — 6 vs 2
As they entered the ruined plaza, six examinees dropped from broken platforms, forming a half-circle around them. Each one bore a weapon already drawn — spears, shortblades, even a mage.
"We don't want to hurt you," said one — tall, buzzcut, with knuckle dusters. "But we need points. Walk away."
Lucas tilted his head. "You're picking a fight with a Dragonborne and a Corvax. Bad idea."
Marcus whispered, "You talk too much."
The air shifted.
BOOM—!
Lucas was already moving — his weapon, a morphing black-metal staff, shifted into a serrated glaive as he surged forward with a burst of speed.
The first attacker swung — but Lucas twisted mid-air, redirected the blow with the back of the glaive, and slammed the flat end into his chest.
CRACK—!
The guy flew back into a crumbling wall.
Another came at him with dual daggers — fast. Lucas's glaive shrunk mid-motion, forming twin tonfa, catching the blades. He spun inside the guard and swept the enemy's legs, planting a punch into his gut as his weapon became knuckle guards.
"Adapt to the fight," he muttered, grinning.
---
Marcus Unleashed
Meanwhile, two opponents rushed Marcus — a short-range brute and a flame-casting mage.
Marcus raised a hand lazily, and shadows leaked from his fingertips like ink.
"Obey."
The shadows extended, slithered underfoot, and spiked upward — impaling the brute's leg. He screamed as black tendrils wrapped his limbs.
The mage fired a blast of flame.
Marcus didn't flinch. The fire hit — but vanished mid-air as a dark membrane swallowed it whole.
"Pathetic."
He stepped forward, eyes glowing, and the shadow surged — forming a spear of pure darkness. He launched it without hesitation — it pierced the mage's chest and exploded in a burst of withering energy.
BOOM.
---
Tactical Teamwork
Lucas regrouped beside him, flipping back and forming a bo staff from his weapon.
"Three down. Let's mop up."
The final three tried to escape.
Lucas slammed his weapon into the ground — and it expanded into spiked chains, snaking toward them like vipers. One got caught and dragged back, screaming.
Marcus moved like a ghost — blink-stepping behind another, grabbing their neck and channeling a surge of fear directly into their mind.
They collapsed, eyes wide with terror, unmoving.
The final one froze, looking at both of them — one glowing with dark mana, the other with a shifting living weapon.
"I surrender!"
Lucas relaxed. "Wise."
Marcus stepped forward. "Now leave."
---
Aftermath
As the group limped away, Lucas wiped sweat from his brow. His weapon collapsed back into a small orb, attaching magnetically to his back.
"Not bad for a warmup."
Marcus looked at him sideways. "You're reckless."
Lucas smirked. "You're too cold."
They walked on — deeper into the Iron Ruins, toward the boss lair that rumbled in the distance.
"Let's go end this."
DING—!
A sharp chime echoed inside their minds.
> [System Notification: Current Participant Count – 1800 Remaining.]
The golden text hovered in the air before fading.
Lucas blinked. "Already? We dropped 1200 in under an hour."
Marcus replied flatly, "Weaklings were never meant to advance."
Lucas looked around — six downed examinees, some still conscious but too broken to move. He frowned. "That could've been us… if we didn't know how to work as a unit."
Marcus didn't respond.
Boom...
Boom...
A low rumble shook the ground — faint tremors from the distance.
Lucas's head snapped in that direction.
"The boss… it's awake."
He cracked his neck, eyes gleaming.
"Time to wrap this up."
Marcus simply turned toward the source of the tremor, eyes glowing faint purple in the rising mana pressure.