Chapter 210: The Walk of Kings
The blue light of the teleportation gate fractured, and the sterile, metallic scent of the Arena was instantly replaced by the thick, humid rot of a primeval jungle.
Heat pressed against us like a wet wool blanket. The air buzzed—literally—with the sound of insects the size of my fist.
Towering trees with bark like iron scales blocked out the simulated sky, leaving us in a perpetual, green-tinted twilight.
[Floor 11: The Forest of Trials.]
[Objective: Locate the Gatekeeper of the Grove.]
[Environmental Hazard: Dense Fog / Hidden Traps.]
My team materialized around me.
They were still reeling from the Floor 10 spectacle. Kaelen looked at me as if I might bite him.
Seraphina was staring at the back of my head, her expression a complicated knot of fear and fascination.
"Form up," I said. My voice was low, barely cutting through the jungle noise, but they snapped to attention instantly.
