Steel sang as the adventurers drew their weapons.
The sound echoed sharply through the chamber—clean, deliberate, dangerous.
Very different from the guardian.
This wasn't some ancient test.
This was real.
The scarred man stepped forward, rolling his shoulder slightly as if loosening up. "Last chance," he said calmly. "Drop whatever you took… and maybe I'll let you walk out alive."
Ren didn't lower his hand.
The faint glow of mana flickered around his fingers—unstable, but present.
"…Not happening."
The man sighed.
"Shame."
He moved.
Fast.
Ren barely reacted in time, throwing himself backward as a blade flashed where his throat had been a split second earlier.
Too fast.
Way faster than the guardian.
"Ren!" Lira shouted.
"I'm fine!" he snapped, though his heart was already racing.
This is different.
The guardian had power.
But this—
This was skill.
The second attacker came from the side.
A dagger aimed straight for his ribs.
Ren twisted—
Too slow.
The blade grazed him, slicing through his side.
"Ghh—!"
Warm blood spread instantly.
"Focus!" the third one barked from behind, not moving—watching. "He's not dead yet."
Ren staggered back, breathing hard.
Three of them.
One fast.
One precise.
One waiting.
"…Great," he muttered.
The scarred man smiled slightly. "You're not bad. Most people would already be dead."
"Yeah?" Ren wiped blood from his side. "You talk too much for someone trying to kill me."
The man chuckled.
Then vanished again.
Ren's eyes sharpened.
Left.
He moved.
The blade missed him by inches.
"—!"
The man's eyes widened slightly.
Ren didn't stop.
He stepped in—
And swung.
His fist slammed into the man's chest, mana flickering wildly around it.
A dull impact.
The man slid back a step.
Not hurt.
But surprised.
"…So you can fight," he said, tone shifting.
Ren clenched his jaw.
Not enough.
The dagger-user came again.
Faster this time.
More aggressive.
Ren raised his hand—
Mana gathered—
Pain exploded through his chest.
"GHH—!"
The glow flickered violently.
Unstable.
The dagger pierced his shoulder.
"REN!" Lira screamed.
Ren's body jerked from the impact, his vision flashing white.
"Too slow," the attacker whispered coldly.
No…
Ren's fingers tightened.
Not again.
The pain.
The weakness.
That helpless feeling—
"I'm not…" he growled.
Mana surged.
Wild.
Violent.
"…losing again!"
The energy burst outward.
The attacker was thrown back, crashing into the stone floor.
Ren ripped the dagger out of his shoulder with a grunt, blood dripping down his arm.
The chamber fell still for a moment.
Even the scarred man stopped smiling.
"…Interesting," he said quietly.
Ren stood there, breathing heavily, his entire body trembling.
Mana flickered around him in unstable waves.
His control—
Slipping.
"Ren…" Lira whispered. "You're pushing too far…"
"I know…" he rasped.
"But I don't have a choice."
The third man finally stepped forward.
Calm.
Measured.
Dangerous.
"…Boss," he said quietly, eyes fixed on Ren. "That's not normal."
"Yeah," the scarred man replied, his gaze sharpening. "I can see that."
He looked at Ren again.
This time—
With interest.
"…You're not just some unlucky kid with a broken core, are you?"
Ren didn't answer.
The man smiled again.
But this time—
It wasn't friendly.
"Good," he said. "That makes this worth it."
All three moved at once.
Ren's eyes widened.
Too fast.
Too many.
He stepped back—
Slipped—
His body finally giving in.
No—
The first blade came.
He barely blocked.
The second—
Cut across his arm.
The third—
Straight for his chest.
Ren's heart pounded.
This is it.
Then—
A shout.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
A flash of movement.
Lira.
She swung a broken piece of stone with everything she had.
It hit.
Not hard enough to injure—
But enough to interrupt.
"Run!" she shouted.
Ren froze for half a second.
"…You idiot…" he whispered.
But she was right.
He couldn't win like this.
Not yet.
Ren grabbed her hand.
"Don't let go!"
They ran.
Mana flared weakly beneath his feet as he forced his body forward, pushing past the pain.
Behind them—
Shouts.
Footsteps.
"They're getting away!"
"After them!"
Ren's vision blurred.
His breathing broke.
But he didn't stop.
Not this time.
They burst through a narrow crack in the chamber wall—one Ren barely noticed before.
And collapsed on the other side.
Silence.
No footsteps.
No pursuit.
For now.
Lira gasped for air beside him. "We… we made it…"
Ren stared at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling unevenly.
"…No," he said weakly.
His hand tightened slightly.
Mana flickered once.
"…We survived."
But his eyes darkened.
"They'll come for us again."