## Chapter 22: Threshold of the Proving Grounds
The comforting aroma of bacon and the warm banter of breakfast felt like a lifetime ago. Kelvin walked through the bustling city park, the afternoon sun dappling through the leaves, children laughing on swings, couples picnicking. Normalcy. A world utterly separate from the one he now inhabited.
He found what he sought near the park's less-manicured edge: a dense thicket of rhododendrons, shielding a small, forgotten clearing from the main paths. The sounds of the park faded to a distant murmur. Here, he was alone.
Taking a deep breath, Kelvin focused inward. He visualized the **System** interface, the cold blue glow only he could perceive. In the designated 'Inventory' space, the **Shadowkey** pulsed. It wasn't physical, yet its presence was undeniable – a jagged shard of solidified void, radiating a profound chill and a low, subsonic hum that vibrated in his bones. He *willed* it into his hand.
The air before him shimmered, warping like heat haze off asphalt. A point of absolute darkness appeared, no larger than a coin. From his outstretched hand, tendrils of inky shadow, mirroring the Key's essence, flowed into that point. The darkness expanded rapidly, silently, swallowing the light. Within seconds, a perfectly circular portal, roughly six feet in diameter, hovered a foot above the ground. It wasn't an opening *to* somewhere; it was a tear *in* somewhere else. Through it, Kelvin saw not the park, but oppressive gloom, jagged obsidian rock formations, and an unnatural, deep violet haze that seemed to swallow sound itself. The air around the portal grew cold, and the scent of damp stone and ozone, reminiscent of the school breach but far more ancient and potent, washed over him.
**<< Shadowkey Activated! >>**
**<< Accessing: Proving Grounds of the Forsaken >>**
**<< Environment Syncing... Level 10 Threshold Detected... Forsaken Architect Class Recognized... >>**
**<< Warning: Dungeon Instance is Isolated. No external assistance possible. Death is permanent. >>**
**<< Objective: Survive. Adapt. Conquer. >>**
**<< Enter? [Y/N] >>**
Kelvin stared into the abyss. The warnings were stark. Permanent death. Isolation. The environment looked hostile, alien. Fear, cold and primal, coiled in his gut. This wasn't a controlled daily quest. This was the unknown.
*But what choice do I have?* The thought cut through the fear. Captain Renner's skeptical eyes, the immutable 'F-Rank' in the Association database, the lurking threat of Vincent and Evelyn, the terrifying vulnerability Elara faced in a world of Gates and breaches... He was an anomaly, exposed. Without power – real power, beyond lucky breaks and desperate surges – he was useless. Worse, he was a liability. He'd remain forever the crippled F-rank, watched, distrusted, unable to truly protect the one person who mattered. The Association's rigid system offered no path upwards. The **Architect** did.
This dungeon, the **Proving Grounds**, was that path. It was risk, but it was also potential. Levels. Skills. Strength honed away from prying eyes. The power to ensure no goblin, no betrayer, no Association Observer could ever threaten Elara again.
He thought of her on his back during push-ups, bragging to Sasha. *"He saved everyone... it was kind of the most amazing thing..."* He wanted to be worthy of that awe, that trust. Not just in moments of crisis, but always. He needed to be more than an F-rank anomaly. He needed to be strong.
The fear didn't vanish. It settled, a cold weight he accepted. This was the price. This was the path of the Forsaken Architect.
His jaw tightened. Resolve, cold and sharp as the obsidian beyond the portal, solidified within him. He took a final glance back at the sun-dappled park, the distant sound of laughter a poignant reminder of the world he was stepping away from, perhaps forever.
He focused on the pulsing **Y** in his vision.
**"Enter."**
He stepped forward, crossing the threshold from warm sunlight into the chilling violet gloom. The transition was instantaneous. The sounds of the park vanished, replaced by an eerie silence broken only by the drip of unseen water and the low, constant hum of the Key at his side, now a physical shard of cold void in his palm. The air was thick, heavy with latent mana and something older, darker. The jagged rocks loomed, casting long, distorted shadows in the unnatural light.
**<< Welcome, Forsaken Architect, to your Proving Grounds. >>**
**<< Let the Trial Begin. >>**
He had barely registered the message when movement flickered in the gloom to his right. A low, guttural snarl echoed off the rocks. Shapes detached themselves from the shadows – three figures, hunched and green-skinned, wielding crude, chipped blades. Lesser Goblins. D-Rank. Familiar, yet different. Their eyes glowed with a fiercer, more intelligent malice in this oppressive environment. They fanned out, blocking the only apparent path forward from the small entry cavern.
No time for hesitation. The **Blood War Chains** erupted from his wrists in twin torrents of shadow and crimson light, the hum loud in the unnatural silence, **Bloodlust** surging in response to the immediate threat and the spilled potential in the air (**Blood Resonance** tingling). The first goblin lunged.
Kelvin met it with a whip-crack of his right chain. **<< Target Eliminated: Lesser Goblin Scavenger (D-Rank) - +85 EXP >>**
The Proving Grounds had begun. There was no turning back. Only forward, through blood, shadow, and the relentless climb of levels. The F-rank Hunter was gone. Here, deep within a pocket dimension only he could access, the Forsaken Architect trained for the battles to come.