“This damned place.” Kvran cursed
and punched the stone wall.
The dungeon ensured that none of
Kvran’s attacks reached
Stark; each strike stopped abruptly before making contact. The knight
truly couldn’t harm Stark, which brought some relief to the boy.
Yet, he wasn’t fully convinced he was safe.
<i>There
must be loopholes. I need to stay alert, </i>he
thought.
He scanned the surroundings. There was
nothing but a long stone pathway lit by flickering fire lamps.
The real problem? He had to work with
the knight who had just tried to kill him. Shackled together, Stark
had no choice but to rely on Kvran’s
cooperation to find the red-eyed Raven and complete the trial.
“What are you staring at, you
bastard?” Kvran barked, kicking the stone wall.
Stark frowned at the knight’s
attitude. “You thick-skulled oaf. You really think we’re getting
out of here without working together? ”
Kvran turned to Stark with a serious
look. “I will just kill you.”
“You can’t, you filthy boot
licker.” Stark smirked. “Even if you did manage to kill me, do
you really think you could finish the trial alone?”
“There must be a reason for this
condition set by the dungeon. Go ahead, try to kill me—see how long
you stay trapped here.” Stark sounded confident.
Kvran paused for a moment. Stark’s
theory made sense.
<i>It
seems like an ancient dungeon</i>,
Kvran thought. <i>The
longer a dungeon remains unexplored, the more dangerous it becomes</i>.
The knight clicked his tongue. He had
no choice but to cooperate with Stark—at least until he found more
clues about the dungeon.
“Let’s go, then.” Stark sighed
deeply.
Even as they moved forward, he
remained on alert. He needed to find a way to get rid of Kvran while
clearing the trial—otherwise, he would die.
They ventured deeper into the stone
pathway.
“This is an odd dungeon,” Kvran
muttered, running his fingers over the wall. “No traps?”
“Why is that odd?” Stark raised a
brow.
“Mph.” Kvran grimaced and looked
away.
<i>This
bastard,</i> Stark
thought.
It was his first time inside a
dungeon, but he noticed that Kvran seemed to have some understanding
of them—almost as if he had explored a fair number before. Stark
decided to study his actions as they walked.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly, yet
they never reached anything. The pathway extended forward, seemingly
infinite.
Kvran sighed. “We’ve
been walking in circles.”
“What do you mean?” Stark frowned.
Kvran paused for a moment, thinking
before he spoke.
“We’re trapped—probably in an
isolation space.” He pointed at a small carving on the stone wall.
“I made this at the beginning, and we’ve passed it three times
already.”
“So there must be a clue to escape.”
Kvran nodded thoughtfully.
Stark ran his palm over the stone
walls as they walked. He studied the lamps, the damp stone path, and
the occasional breeze that passed through the corridor.
<i>Breeze?
In a closed pathway?</i>
Stark thought.
He quickly noticed that the breeze
didn’t pass through
randomly—it came at precise, regular intervals.
During each gust, he kept his eyes
sharp, scanning his surroundings. To his surprise, all but one lamp
extinguished when the breeze passed, only to relight immediately
after.
It was odd. And it kept happening.
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Kvran clicked his tongue in
frustration. “The hell is
this dungeon? Fuck! Where are the beasts and monsters?”
They passed the carving for the fifth
time now.
Stark had an idea.
As the next breeze rolled through,
extinguishing the lamps, he quickly reached out and grabbed one from
its placeholder.
“What are you doing, you runt?”
Kvran scowled.
“Just do as I did.” Stark’s
voice was firm.
“Like hell I’ll follow your
orders.” Kvran spat.
The next breeze came. Stark grabbed
another lamp.
Again.
And again.
By the time the next gust passed, he
had four lamps in his hands. Then, as another wave of air rushed
through and another lamp flickered out, Stark lunged forward and
seized it before it could relight.
At that moment, the pathway shook
violently. Dust cascaded from the ceiling. The walls beside Stark
trembled, then groaned as they slid apart, revealing a spiraling
staircase leading downward.
Stark cast a mocking smirk at Kvran.
Kvran’s
jaw clenched, his fury evident, but he said nothing.
They descended the spiral staircase in
silence, neither speaking a word.
Kvran was still taken aback by how
Stark had solved the isolation space puzzle. <i>I
have to be careful,</i>
he thought, walking behind him.
The duo soon reached a massive
chamber—wide, almost like a training arena. Fire lamps illuminated
the space, and four large pits of light burned in each corner.
“What is this?” Kvran scoffed. “A
training arena?”
As soon as they stepped forward,
glowing letters materialized in the air.
[Defeat
the Twin Guardians in a duel to proceed.]
“Twin Guardians?” Stark murmured,
scratching his chin.
“Hmph. Whatever. I’ll just kill
them.” Kvran confidently strode into the arena.
Another set of letters appeared.
[Duel
Rules: Two members must participate.
The duel will end when one
is unable to fight.]
“Hey, wait up—”
“What? Are you scared?” Kvran
sneered.
“No…” Stark said, squaring his
shoulders. “Let’s do it.”
Kvran yanked the chain linking them
together, dragging Stark forward.
As they reached the center of the
training ground, the pits of light in the corners began to glow, in
an instant they were enclosed in an cubical isolation barrier.
Then, two figures emerged—Armored
Undead.
One wielded a sword, the other a
spear.
Both were shackled together, almost as if mirroring Stark and Kvran.
Stark felt a jolt of unease as he took
in their rotting
faces, hollow
eyes staring back at him..
The undead lunged at them the moment
the duel began.
The
sword-wielding one aimed for Stark’s
head—a killing blow. He barely dodged, the blade whistling past his
ear.
Kvran
deflected the spear with a flick of his wrist, cursing under his
breath as he kicked the undead back.
But
the spear-wielding undead turned sharply—this time, targeting
Stark.
He
tried to sidestep, but the shackle yanked him back.
Off
balance, he crashed to the floor.
An
instant later, his vision blurred.
He
was outside the training arena.
Staring
at the ceiling, Stark blinked in confusion. They lost.
The
undead had impaled his heart, yet he felt no pain. His body was whole
again—instantly healed.
Kvran
scoffed beside him.
Above
them, glowing letters materialized.
[You
have used One out of Five attempts. Failure to complete the trial in
five attempts will result in the death of both members.]
“What
the fuck?!” Kvran roared. “This isn’t real! FUCK!” He turned
to Stark, seething. “You expect me to win with this dead weight
holding me back?”
“It
was your fault too!” Stark snapped, exhaling sharply. “You didn’t
move!”
Kvran’s
glare darkened. “Do you expect me to read your mind, you little
bitch?”
<i>Seems
like we can injure each other in indirect ways. </i>Stark
quickly noted.
“We
need to figure this out. We have to predict each other’s
movements,” he said, frowning as he stood up.
Kvran
exhaled deeply.
“Those
undead... they’re mimicking us,” Stark continued.
“I
can tell that much,” Kvran growled.
“I
want to test something.”
Kvran
raised a brow, reluctant but slightly intrigued. “What?”
“Teach
me something. I want to see if the undead copies me.”
Kvran
let out a sharp laugh. “You
want me? Your enemy, to teach you?”
“Or
we rot here forever.” Stark shrugged.
Kvran
grunted. “Fine!
I’ll teach you an intermediate sword technique. Come here.”
“You
know swordplay?”
“All
knights master advanced sword arts, along with their preferred weapon
styles.” Kvran smirked arrogantly.
“I’ll
demonstrate the form—you just have to mimic it.”
<i>Meh!
Like a novice who barely knows the basics could even attempt this.</i>
Kvran scoffed inwardly.
With
precise, flowing movements, Kvran demonstrated the form. Each slash
and stab was controlled, strong—like a sword dance. The technique
flowed like water, smooth yet powerful.
Stark’s
eager eyes drank in every motion.
“There.
That’s the weakest intermediate sword technique,” Kvran smirked.
“Think you can copy it?”
Stark’s
eyes sparkled. “I’ll try.”
Kvran
was taken aback by the enthusiasm but crossed his arms to watch.
<i>Let</i><i>’s
see.</i>
Stark
took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing completely. He
visualized Kvran’s
movements—the way the blade moved, the weight shifts, the momentum.
Then,
his body moved on its own.
Each
strike flowed naturally, as if he had practiced it a hundred times.
He could feel the energy concentrate at the blade’s
edge with every motion.
Kvran’s
eyes widened.
<i>What
the hell?</i>
The
boy replicated the technique flawlessly. Not just the stance, but the
precision, force, and seamless execution.
Even
Kvran had to admit—the kid was talented.
<i>This...
in just one glance? Some knights would kill for a disciple like this.</i>
“Was
that good?” Stark asked.
Kvran
sighed. “It
wasn’t the best, but… it’s passable.” He crossed his arms.
“Now, let’s try it.”
Stark
took a deep breath, gripping his sword.
He
was ready for the next duel.
They
both stepped into the training arena to face the two undead once
again.
And
a few moments later.
Stark
was facing the ceiling once again. Kvran sitting beside him with a
frown.
[Two
out of 5 attempts have been used]
They
lost once again in a similar manner to the last fight.
Stark
let out an awkward laugh and got up quickly.
“The
undead mimicked me the moment I entered the room. They can’t copy
my growth.”