Oskar moved cautiously.The Kelembai was a Monster of the Legend Tier, far stronger than ordinary creatures.
With a single swing of its staff, it could turn anything into stone.
If the creature detected his presence, he would be dead in an instant. He needed to divert its attention.
The Kelembai's slow movements gave him a small advantage. It was the only chance he had to reach the menhir.
He pulled a bone arrow from his quiver and aimed toward a bush some distance away.
Twap!
The arrow flew. The Kelembai immediately reacted, slamming its staff into the ground.
Boom!
The ground shook violently. Waves of sharp stone erupted, tearing apart the bush and everything around it.
The creature was slow to process what had happened. For Oskar, that was all the time he needed.
He sprinted toward the menhir and reached out his hand.
Bumm!
The Kelembai slammed its staff again. Sharp stones burst from the earth, chasing Oskar like deadly spears.
But the menhir reacted first. A light wrapped around him. In an instant, he vanished and entered the Hidden Trial.
The Kelembai roared in rage. Each stomp made the earth quake violently.
"Phew… almost turned to stone." Oskar exhaled heavily. "I thought about fighting it, but I am not the kind of protagonist with cheat powers."
He looked around. The place resembled an ancient ritual site, surrounded by floating stones slowly orbiting the area.
He stood on a round altar etched with ancient runes. Each floating stone bore a different symbol, radiating a strange energy.
"Ancient runes? I do not know much about these… I just hope this Hidden Trial is not insane."
His eyes moved to the carvings on the altar floor. They seemed to tell a story.
A figure carried a square stone to the peak of a mountain. The stone was shattered into several pieces and scattered across the world.
Four carvings showed the guardians of the pieces.
One was a winged creature with long ears.
One was a fur-covered being with curved horns.
One was a human with the lower body of a fish.
And one was a figure wrapped entirely in cloth, standing in the center surrounded by the other three guardians.
"This is.....creepy."
Oskar began to suspect that the stone must be incredibly important to require four guardians. This was something never mentioned in the original plot.
The floating stones suddenly began to spin faster. Lightning crackled around them.
Oskar tightened his grip on his weapon. "This Trial… even the protagonist never set foot in here."
The carving in the center of the altar faded. Slowly, a stone throne rose from beneath the floor, thunder rumbling above. The surrounding stones spun so fast they blurred.
When the throne finally stopped rising, it was empty except for a glowing stone hovering above it.
The floating stones slowed down.
"That is it? Too easy." Oskar remained on guard.
He stepped forward and reached for the glowing stone.
The instant his fingers touched it, an overwhelming pressure slammed into his body. His knees buckled. A searing pain stabbed through his skull. Blood trickled from his ears.
Unfamiliar whispers stabbed directly into his mind.
Flashes assaulted his vision. Gods and goddesses locked in battle. Prophets screaming prophecies. The sun swallowed by darkness. Everything moved too fast.
It was as if the apocalypse itself was being forced into his mind.
"AHHHH!!"
He smashed his head against the throne again and again. Blood ran down his forehead.
"Stop it! Stop!!"
He drew his bone knife, aiming for his own chest, but the floating stone whirled violently, knocking the blade from his hands.
Oskar clawed at the floor, screaming in agony. The whispers did not stop. The mental pressure crushed him as if his body was being torn apart, shattered, and reassembled over and over.
He kept slamming his head against the stone until his consciousness began to fade.
His body slowly emerged from beneath the ground.The Kelembai, Guardian of the Forest, stared at him with cold, unblinking eyes.
With a swing of its staff, stone lifted Oskar's body and carried him away.
The creature vanished into the mist.The forest fell silent once more, as if nothing had ever happened.