Chapter 4 : The First Trial
1093 Words
The first sound was the sound of metal.
A thousand years of silence were broken as hundreds of ancient knights stepped forward.
Their stone armor cracked and fell away, revealing bodies made of a strange golden energy beneath. Their weapons dragged across the ground, creating sparks that illuminated the dark shrine.
The ten hunters stood together.
But for the first time since entering the dungeon...
Nobody felt confident.
These were not ordinary monsters.
They moved like soldiers.
They stood like warriors.
And every movement carried the weight of countless battles.
Victor tightened his grip on his sword.
"Formation!"
The hunters immediately moved.
Aaron stepped forward with his massive shield.
Lena stood behind the front line, preparing her healing magic.
Mira and Daniel moved to the back, ready to attack from a distance.
Ethan positioned himself in the middle.
The safest position.
The position meant for the weakest person.
But Ethan's eyes remained focused on the battlefield.
Something about these knights was different.
They weren't attacking randomly.
They were studying them.
Like they were testing them.
The first knight raised its sword.
Then it disappeared.
"Move!"
Victor shouted.
A powerful s***h passed through the air.
Aaron blocked it with his shield.
BOOM!
The impact broke his shield and sent him flying.
His arms trembled.
The force was unbelievable.
Aaron gritted his teeth.
"That was one attack..."
He looked at the knight.
"How strong are these things?"
There was no time to think.
More knights charged forward.
The battlefield erupted.
---
Victor moved like lightning.
His sword clashed against ancient weapons again and again.
Each collision created shockwaves that spread across the hall.
For a moment, the C-rank hunter looked like the leader everyone believed he was.
But even he could feel the difference.
These knights were too experienced.
Every movement they made was precise.
Every attack was calculated.
They weren't fighting with strength alone.
They were fighting with centuries of knowledge.
"Victor!"
Noah shouted.
A knight had broken through the formation.
Victor turned quickly and blocked the attack.
The impact pushed him to one knee.
"Ethan!"
Ethan understood immediately.
He activated his ability.
Energy Reinforcement.
His body strengthened.
He rushed forward and struck the knight from the side.
The attack did almost nothing.
But it created enough distance for Victor to escape.
Victor looked at Ethan in surprise.
"You saved me."
Ethan stepped back.
"Don't worry about it."
For a moment, Victor remembered all the rumors about Ethan.
The useless E-rank.
The weak hunter.
The burden.
But the person standing beside him now didn't look useless.
He looked like someone who refused to abandon others.
---
The battle continued.
And slowly...
The hunters began losing ground.
Their attacks were not enough.
Their teamwork was being overwhelmed.
The first person to fall was Lucas.
The trap specialist tried to slow down several knights using his equipment.
For a few moments, it worked.
The ancient warriors were trapped.
But more appeared behind him.
Lucas turned too late.
A knight struck him with the sharp side of its weapon,cutting off his arm and sending him crashing across the hall.
"LUCAS!"
The team rushed toward him.
He was still alive.
But he couldn't continue fighting.
Lena immediately moved to heal him.
"Stay awake!"
Lucas forced a weak smile.
"I guess... I wasn't as useful as I thought."
"Don't talk like that," Lena said.
But everyone understood.
The battlefield was not forgiving.
---
Then another hunter fell.
Daniel.
He had been supporting the team from a distance, but the knights began adapting.
They ignored the frontline and started targeting the weaker members.
A knight threw its weapon across the battlefield.
Daniel tried to dodge.
He wasn't fast enough.
Ethan saw it happen.
Without thinking, he rushed forward.
But he was too far away.
The sharp weapon sliced through Daniel's armour, killing him in an instant
The pressure grew heavier.
Ten hunters entered the trial.
Now only a few could still stand.
---
Mira's breathing became uneven.
Her mana was almost empty.
Aaron's shield had broken.
Victor's armor was damaged.
Ryan and Noah were struggling to keep up.
Even Ethan was exhausted.
His ability consumed too much energy.
Every activation made his body feel heavier.
But he kept moving.
Because every time someone fell...
The remaining hunters became more desperate.
And desperate people made mistakes.
A mistake in this place meant death.
---
Another knight approached.
This one was different.
Its armor was darker.
Its sword was larger.
And the pressure coming from it was far greater.
Victor's expression changed.
"Everyone move away."
The team looked at him.
"Victor?"
He stepped forward.
"I'll handle it."
Ethan immediately shook his head.
"You can't."
Victor glanced at him.
"What?"
Ethan looked at the knight.
"You're already injured."
Victor smiled slightly.
"And you're an E-rank hunter telling me that?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Because he knew Victor was right.
But he also knew something else.
Even strong people could fall.
The dark knight raised its sword.
Victor prepared himself.
The attack came down.
A powerful shockwave filled the shrine.
When the dust cleared...
Victor was still standing.
But barely.
His sword had broke.
His knees were shaking.
The knight raised its weapon again.
Ethan moved.
Not because he was stronger.
Not because he had a chance.
Because he couldn't watch another person fall.
He stood beside Victor.
The C-rank hunter looked at him.
"What are you doing?"
Ethan raised his sword.
"Helping."
Victor stared.
Then he laughed quietly.
"You really are strange."
Ethan smiled.
"I've heard that before."
---
The battle continued.
The trial timer slowly decreased.
15 minutes remaining.
Then:
10 minutes.
Then:
5 minutes.
The hunters were exhausted.
Some were unconscious.
Some were too injured to fight.
But they continued.
Because the only alternative was giving up.
And nobody wanted to die inside this forgotten shrine.
As the final minutes approached...
The ancient knights suddenly stopped.
The entire battlefield became silent.
The surviving hunters looked around in confusion.
Then the massive screen appeared again.
[FIRST TRIAL: COMPLETED]
For a moment, nobody moved.
They had survived.
But the cost was heavy.
Their team had entered with ten hunters.
Now...
Only a few could still stand.
Ethan looked around at his fallen teammates.
This dungeon was supposed to be E-rank.
A simple mission.
A simple raid.
But it had become something else entirely.
And deep within the shrine...
The king sitting on the throne watched silently.
Its terrifying smile remained.
Because the first trial was never meant to kill everyone.
It was only meant to weaken them.
The real test had not even started.
- Writer
