The bell had already tolled.
The shifting walls of the maze slowed, runes fading into silence. One by one, battered students carried their prizes toward the obsidian gate, eyes glowing with exhaustion and triumph.
But before they could step out, the air changed.
A crushing weight descended, thick as iron chains. Students gasped, clutching their chests. Even the proud heirs of Demi-God clans staggered back, faces pale.
From the shadows of the maze, a figure emerged.
He wore black from head to toe, a hood drawn low, his face hidden behind a mask of bone. His steps were slow, deliberate, each one echoing like thunder in the confined corridors.
His aura burned like a black sun — Tier 3.
The students trembled. Some even fell to their knees.
"Impossible…" whispered Daelith, his usual arrogance stripped away. "A… Tier 3 is here?"
The cloaked man said nothing. In his left hand he carried a box. But unlike the others — plain wood with faint glow — this one pulsed, alive, carved with ancient runes that shimmered faintly as though breathing.
The moment Kael saw it, his chest tightened.
Origin…
A burning resonance shot through him, deep into his very core. His blood boiled, his aura roared in answer. That box was calling him, drawing him like a lodestone.
The man's masked gaze seemed to settle on him.
"Do you want this?" His voice was low, distorted, like gravel dragged across stone.
Kael's fists clenched. "Yes."
The man tilted his head. "Then take it… if you can survive."
---
The Arena of Shadows
The instructors had already rushed forward to intercept, blades drawn — but the man's aura flared once and they were thrown back like ragdolls, slamming into walls, coughing blood.
The Academy Master's voice cut through the chaos from beyond the gate.
"Do not interfere. This one… is Kael's test."
Gasps spread among the students.
"What?!"
"He'll be killed!"
"A Tier 4 against Tier 3—this is suicide!"
But none dared question Arathor further.
"Thirty minutes more," the Academy Master declared, his voice like iron. "Win, and the box is yours. Lose, and the maze itself will decide your fate."
The other students staggered back, forming a wide circle. None dared stand near.
The intruder raised the box, runes shimmering faintly in the dim light. "Come, boy. Show me your worth."
---
Clash of Tiers
Kael moved first.
His aura erupted, golden qi surging like a storm. He dashed forward, fist glowing with the brilliance of his aura-farming technique. Every ounce of killing intent harvested from battles past roared to life.
The masked man simply raised a hand.
The clash rang like a gong. The impact sent shockwaves ripping through the chamber, stone cracking, torches snuffing out. Kael was hurled back, feet gouging trenches into the floor — but he did not fall.
Gasps filled the air.
"He… withstood it?!"
The man's hidden eyes narrowed behind the mask. "Interesting. You're stronger than the rest of these worms."
Kael spat blood, wiped his mouth, and stepped forward again. "I'm not them. I'm Kael of the Veynar Clan. And that box—belongs to me."
The man's laughter was dark, echoing. "Then take it, farmer boy."
---
Aura vs. Shadow
The battle ignited.
Kael's fists blurred, golden arcs tearing the air. His aura-farming technique devoured the man's oppressive killing intent, weaving it into his strikes.
But the man's power was monstrous. His black aura condensed into blades of shadow, each swing heavy enough to split stone like paper.
Kael ducked one, countered another, his fists slamming into the man's ribs. The sound of impact thundered, but the man barely flinched before backhanding Kael across the chamber.
Kael slammed into a wall, coughing blood, vision swimming. But he forced himself to rise. His chest burned — not from pain, but from that strange resonance with the box.
He had to claim it.
Step by step, he advanced again.
The masked man tilted his head, intrigued. "Most Tier Fours would be ash under my aura. Yet you rise."
Kael smirked through bloodied lips. "I don't rise… I harvest."
His aura flared brighter. The golden light wrapped his fists, his strikes sharper now, faster, fueled by the opponent's killing intent.
Every clash was like hammer against anvil. Stone shattered. Dust filled the air. Students shielded their eyes as shockwaves tore through the chamber.
Kael was battered, bloodied, but every strike grew heavier. Every blow drew more from the intruder's own aura.
---
The Resonance
Finally, their fists collided once more, the ground cracking beneath their feet. For a split second, the box pulsed brighter in the man's hand.
Kael's chest roared in response, golden veins of light streaking across his body.
The man staggered back, eyes narrowing. "That… reaction… You…"
Kael clenched his fists, aura blazing. "That box doesn't belong to you. It belongs to me. And I'll prove it!"
The man chuckled darkly. "Very well. Let's see how far you can climb before I crush you."
They clashed again, the battle far from over.