The knight captain accorded little significance to Li Ang's Awakening to the Law's power. Each year, a number of commoners Awakened—not precisely phoenix feathers or qilin horns in their rarity—insufficient to command his earnest regard. Unless one numbered among those possessing a supreme innate skill, yet such a possibility was exceedingly slender. By contrast, it was Li Ang's discernment, judgment, and desperate courage in the perilous moment that drew his approbation. Under such circumstances, scarcely one in ten commoners would retain their composure and ultimately survive. Those emerging entirely unscathed were fewer still.
Having reflected thus, the knight captain addressed Li Ang. "You have singly slain a newfound evil, averting a wider incident. By the Church's decree, this merits a third-class merit. Your reward: I now present two choices. First, a Silver-grade skill crystal. Second, the opportunity to undertake the Abyssal Trials, granting direct entry into the Abyssal Knights upon success."
"I choose the second!" Li Ang replied without the slightest hesitation. "I will become an Abyssal Knight."
"Ambition in youth is commendable," said the knight bearing the recurve bow, he whom Li Ang had warned, a glint of interest in his eyes. "But know this: the Abyssal Trials are profoundly cruel."
Li Ang responded with resolve. "I aspire to a lifetime of salted fish indolence. I beseech you, Sir Knight, grant me this chance."
The knight captain spoke. "So be it. Bid your family farewell, then accompany us."
"I have no family." Li Ang shook his head directly. In this hazardous world, orphans were plentiful; the youth whose form he inhabited was merely one among many, unburdened and possessing nothing but the dilapidated hut behind him. The knight captain gave a slight nod and said no more.
With a turn of his hand, a glimmering ice crystal materialized upon his palm. Placing it upon the ground, it expanded before all eyes into an icy coffin, which enveloped the Strigoi's corpse! The coffin then contracted, reverting to a crystal that vanished back into the captain's grasp. Finally, the tall, lean knight directed his lance, from which a gout of gold-red flame erupted, incinerating the remaining worms and viscous filth to ash.
Li Ang watched, enthralled—this world was far more wondrous than he had imagined. "Let us depart." The knight with the recurve bow mounted his steed and extended a hand. Li Ang grasped it, feeling a firm power lift him onto the horse before the rider. A sharp wind struck his face as the four iron-clad knights galloped down the broad street.
The fundamental unit of the Abyssal Knights was a five-member squad, each with its name. The one currently coursing through the streets was named "Abyss-Cleaver." Though five in number, one member was absent on other business. Comrades who entrusted their lives to one another, they were nearly inseparable in battle and life, forging thus an unspoken deep understanding. Their city residence was a walled estate spanning nearly five hundred square meters, replete with gardens, chambers, a study, an armory, and a training yard. A multitude of servants attended; Li Ang passed over a dozen between the gate and his quarters. All, from the venerable steward to the youthful maids, bowed in deferential greeting.
"Sir Han Feng, does every Abyssal Knight receive such treatment?" Li Ang inquired, his tone mingling awe and envy, having learned the knights' names en route. "Certainly not," replied Han Feng, now helmetless, revealing a man in his late twenties. "Knight squads are ranked Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. Treatment varies by rank. Our Abyss-Cleaver has only recently ascended to Gold, hence this provision." In this world, strength equated to wealth, authority, status, and all else.
"For the next thirty days, you will undergo basic combat training here. Upon conclusion, you will face the Abyssal Trials," Han Feng stated, departing after showing Li Ang to his chamber. Li Ang later learned the trials were exceedingly stringent, typically requiring a sponsoring knight squad for eligibility. Success meant becoming a reserve member of that squad, poised to fill vacancies left by departure or death. Thus, Captain Edward Pu's offer implied recognition of Li Ang's potential as a future comrade.
Thirty days were brief; for Li Ang, each was invaluable. There was no intention of granting him respite. At three o'clock the next morning, as an exhausted Li Ang slept deeply, a shadowy figure slipped into his room and doused him with a bucket of cold water. "What are you doing?" Li Ang cried, startled awake, initial fury yielding to recognition of his plight, and he recoiled. "Insolence! Is that how you address a Knight?" a voice, cold and sharp, rang out. To Li Ang's astonishment, it belonged to a woman. "Your training commenced the moment you entered these grounds. To become an Abyssal Knight, you can no longer sleep as you did. Were this the Abyssal World, you would be dead many times over!" The words jolted Li Ang to full awareness. This was the fifth member of Abyss-Cleaver, delivering a deliberate lesson. He promptly apologized; for unequivocal errors, he admitted fault without prevarication.
"Recite your attributes and innate skill data," commanded the female knight from the shadows. Li Ang complied, though he concealed his guardian's capacity to learn skills. 'The prominent tree attracts the wind'—prudence dictated reserve until he discerned the squad's dispositions. "Intelligence is actually nine points!" She showed little interest in the skill itself—with its hidden potential obscured, True Summoning seemed merely mediocre. Her surprise was at Li Ang's unexpectedly high Intelligence. A newly Awakened individual's core attributes—Strength, Agility, Intelligence—averaged five. Li Ang's nine points were nearly double, a true rarity. Unaware of this norm, Li Ang nonetheless sensed from her tone that his Intelligence was notable.
Without explanation, she led him into the courtyard. The night was deep and cold. In the moonlight, a man knelt at the center, hands bound, hair disheveled, mouth gagged. "Kill him," she said, drawing a cold-gleaming longsword and proffering it. "Spilling blood is the first threshold of knighthood. Unstained hands cannot forge an iron-strong heart." Li Ang accepted the blade, meeting the bound man's pleading gaze. "I have killed before, just yesterday..." "That was under threat. You acted without thought. Now, in safety, can you still strike?" Li Ang fell silent. At core, he remained Li Ang from 21st-century Earth; there, he could not slaughter a chicken. Taking life differed fundamentally from eating meat, especially witnessing desperate pleas. Decades of ingrained morality could not be overturned instantly.
"May I know his capital crime?" Li Ang asked, watching the man struggle. "In truth, he is not human, but a Grimm masquerading as man," the knight replied meaningfully. A Grimm? Li Ang recalled from lore its kind possessed potent mimicry, lurking among humans to prey. Such a fiend deserved death. Misinterpreting his silence as hesitation, she shook her head. "It seems the Captain misjudged. You are unfit to be an Abyssal Knight. Return whence you came at dawn." Disappointment was stark. Abyssal Knights need not be peerless warriors, but each must execute orders absolutely; hesitation was the gravest flaw.
Li Ang's heart sank. Despite his system, the Church was the continent's sole paramount power. Remaining outside a knightly order meant being a mere irregular... Thereafter, encountering Abyssal Knights, he would yield the way and salute. If encountering fiends concurrently, he could be conscripted to assist, even as potential cannon fodder. Briefly, danger first, scraps last. Without a knightly order, there was no future. Drawing a deep breath, Li Ang gripped the sword and thrust decisively... A sickening crunch followed as the cold steel pierced the heart, blood spraying as the man fell lifeless. "You misunderstand, my lady. I merely required a moment to... acclimatize." Li Ang's left hand trembled slightly as he wiped blood from his cheek, his right clutching the sword tightly, resembling in the gloom a freshly risen vengeful spirit. The crucial distinction: the Grimm was evil—spare it, and it would kill you. Thus resolved, Li Ang felt no guilt, only a faint, grim thrill. He recalled an adage: within every heart lies a slumbering beast. Once unleashed, a person can change in ways they scarcely credit. And killing is the surest key to its cage.
System Notification: Host has slain a Lv5 Law Entity [Grimm-Coyote]. Gained 100 Awakening Points. Awakening Level increased to Lv2. Gained 1 Law Source Light.
As the system chimed, the corpse began to shift—muzzle elongating, spotted fur sprouting—transforming into a giant coyote. "Grimms possess human and bestial forms. Inherently cruel, they infiltrate humanity, ambushing Church forces, inflicting heavy casualties," the knight nodded, satisfied. "Thus, though not the strongest, their mimicry makes them insidious, especially perilous to recruits like you. A fortnight past, in this very yard, a gifted girl, during her evaluation, softened her heart. Deceived and ambushed by a Grimm, she nearly had her heart torn out..." Her tone remained flat. "Though I saved her, she lost forever the qualification to become a Church knight." Li Ang drew a sharp breath, understanding the night's lesson: to recognize himself as a warrior, to shed his civilian mindset and embrace the role.
"Having slain this fiend, you should have reached Level 2. One Law Source Light can sublime your constitution, increasing one core attribute by two points. I advise Intelligence. Surpassing ten points triggers a Law Baptism, granting additional sublimation." With that, the female knight departed, leaving Li Ang to ponder the night's grim harvest.