Everyone quietly stepped back when they saw the green-haired boy's head fly off with just one slap. Their faces turned pale and some even trembled. The deadly silence was broken only by the sound of hard gulps as they all swallowed nervously.
But at the same time, a strange kind of relief washed over them.
"He's not really dead, right? He's just kicked out of the trial… right?" someone whispered.
Others nodded, trying to convince themselves the same.
Still, the fear lingered. No one wanted to end up like that. So, the students started coming up with plans.
Soon, groups began forming. This time, they were more organized. Everyone agreed that the person with the highest strength and endurance should go first. That way, they could handle the slap without dying, and when it was their turn to slap, they could finish it with one hit.
Dozens of teams were formed quickly, and one by one, they started taking on the challenge.
But it wasn't easy.
In just a few minutes, over three hundred students had tried… and failed. Now, only about thirty remained. That meant almost 90% were already out of the trial. The foggy land was now much quieter, filled with the heavy air of tension and failure.
Ethan had already made his team. He had chosen Princess Ravenna, Emma, Violet, and Sylvania. Many others still wanted to join him, hoping for safety in numbers, but Ethan shook his head.
"We can't take more," he said. "Only a limited number can pass through the gate at once."
His team stood close behind him, each one looking nervous but ready. Violet clutched her fingers together, Sylvania stared forward with sharp eyes, and Emma quietly took a deep breath.
"Let's go," Ethan said, his voice steady but serious.
Just as they were about to move, a voice called out from behind.
"Can I join you too?"
Everyone turned around.
A girl with long, curly blonde hair walked up to them confidently. It was Marquess Claus Clandestine. Her clothes were clean and neat, and she walked with elegance, but her eyes had a fierce spark in them.
"I'm very fast," Claus said quickly. "The moment the gate opens, I can rush in and take one person with me. That way, you don't have to worry about squeezing in too many at once. It'll make it easier for all of you."
She paused for a second and looked at Violet.
"I'll take Violet with me. How about that?" she added with a sly smile.
Violet's eyes twitched slightly, but she said nothing.
Ethan clenched his jaw slightly. He rubbed his molars, clearly thinking hard. He wasn't sure if he could trust Claus, but what she said made sense.
After a moment of silence, he nodded.
"Fine," he said. "But you'll take Princess Ravenna instead. As royalty, she has to complete every stage without failure. It's important for her image."
Claus raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Ravenna, who had been silently listening, gave Ethan a curious glance but didn't speak either. Even though they weren't friends, and barely even spoke to each other, Ethan understood the weight that came with her title. A princess couldn't afford to lose. Her performance had to be perfect—flawless—just like her position in the kingdom.
With that decision made, the group prepared to step forward.
------------
"Let's go, we've wasted enough time already," Esdeath said in a sharp voice as she began to descend toward the ground.
Maruti followed closely behind her. "Let me handle him! You're way too light, you'll go flying in one hit!" she said, half joking half serious.
But Esdeath didn't even glance back. "No need," she replied coldly, her tone firm and confident.
As they landed, Esdeath walked toward one of the three tall golden doors that were still closed. Four had already been opened, and it looked like the trial was almost over. The air was heavy with tension.
As Esdeath stepped closer, the giant sumo monster in front of the door suddenly moved. He stomped the ground with a massive foot, shaking everything around them with a loud thud.
"Three…" the monster growled in a rough, echoing voice.
"Two…" he raised his thick arm higher, preparing to play.
Maruti stayed just behind Esdeath, watching carefully. Esdeath had a smug look on her face—calm, confident, and a little too relaxed. It was almost like she had a trick up her sleeve that guaranteed her victory.
"Three!" the monster shouted and extended his hand forward.
At the same moment, Esdeath raised her hand too.
Maruti's eyes quickly darted between both hands. The monster had shown paper.
But when she saw Esdeath's move, her mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"Wait… is that even allowed?" she muttered, eyes wide in shock.
Instead of showing stone, paper, or scissors, Esdeath had made the shape of a gun with her hand—index finger pointed forward, thumb up, and the rest of her fingers curled back.
A sly grin spread across Esdeath's face. "My gun beats stone, paper, and scissors… all at once," she said with a cocky tone.
Suddenly, her body surged with strength—she felt her power triple. At the same time, the sumo monster's strength dropped by three times. But instead of slapping him like the rules said, Esdeath kept her "gun" pointed at him.
"Bang," she whispered.
A wave of invisible force, filled with black death aura, shot forward like a bullet. It hit the monster with a terrifying boom, completely destroying him. His body vanished, and with a loud creaaak, the golden door slowly opened.
Maruti blinked, completely stunned.
Only then did Esdeath turn around and look at her. Her eyes were sharp, and her voice serious.
"You should know this better than anyone," she said. "As long as someone follows rules, morals, and other people's beliefs… they're nothing but a puppet, Being controlled by environment, Controlled by the world around them. By society. By emotions. By guilt."
She let her words hang in the air for a moment.
"Forget humans… Why should we follow the rules made by monsters? All we need to do is meet the conditions to win the inheritance. That's all that matters."
Maruti stood there, her face blank.
"Why are you telling me this?" she said slowly, sounding tired. "Who said I was planning to follow the rules? I would've slapped him until he died. That's better than losing and becoming weaker."
Esdeath sighed and slapped her own forehead. "That's exactly why you're always second place, and I'm number one," she said. "Do you really think I came here for the rewards? The academy already took the real prize. Whatever's left is probably cheap trash."
She paused, then looked straight into Maruti's eyes.
"I only came here for you. To make sure you experience this trial properly. You got Xing Liang's inheritance without doing anything, so I brought you here for some experience!",
Maruti's eyes softened, and her usual playful smirk faded just a little.
"Is that so? Well, it's not like it's too hard. We're just wandering around," she said casually.
Esdeath didn't reply to her words. Instead, she looked ahead and spoke firmly,
"Let's go."
Maruti nodded and followed her.
As they stepped through the golden door, the world around them changed completely.
It was no longer the endless foggy place they were used to.
They now stood in front of a massive, beautiful library.
The door behind them had disappeared, and in front of them stood tall, decorated walls filled with rows and rows of bookshelves. Warm light came from inside the library, glowing softly like it was inviting them in.
The entrance was wide open, and although they were still standing just outside the door, they could clearly see inside.
There was a neat wooden sign posted beside the entrance with only one sentence written on it:
You should be quiet when in the library.
Even someone with no brains would get the message.
"So… we have to stay quiet once we go inside?" Maruti guessed aloud, rubbing her chin.
"Yeah. The monsters inside can only hear— they can't see," Esdeath answered, confirming her guess.
Maruti let out a small laugh. "Where are we now, the backrooms?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood.
But before she could say anything more, Esdeath grabbed her wrist.
"I've got a clean heart for this trial, so let's not waste time," Esdeath said with a smirk, and before Maruti could react, Esdeath dashed inside, dragging her along.
The moment they entered, the peaceful library atmosphere changed into something terrifying.
There were many monsters moving around quietly between the bookshelves.
Their bodies were tall and thin like long sticks, and their skin was covered in blue-purple veins.
Instead of a head, they had big sirens with spinning lights, but no eyes or mouth.
They looked creepy and unnatural — like they didn't belong in this world.
The sound of Esdeath's footsteps on the floor echoed through the silence.
And at once, all the monsters turned toward them.
Even though they didn't have eyes, they could feel her presence.
Their long, thin legs started moving fast. Even with those stick-like limbs, they were surprisingly quick.
Then came the sounds—
Howwwl… Screaaaach! Skreeeeee…!!
Horrible, high-pitched noises echoed everywhere, sharp enough to make anyone's head hurt and skin crawl.
But before they could reach her—
< Skill : Veteran Shooter Activated: Time will slow down for 18 seconds>
Suddenly, everything around them slowed down.
The world turned quiet and heavy, like someone pressed a slow-motion button.
The spinning lights on the monsters' heads moved sluggishly, and their fast steps became slow thuds.
Esdeath narrowed her eyes. "It's even slower than before… maybe it's because, The skill ranked up," she thought.
She quickly tightened her grip on Maruti's hand and sprinted forward.
Esdeath already knew the path. She dashed through the library with perfect control, turning left and right with sharp speed, her footsteps silent under the slow-time effect.
As they moved, Esdeath glanced around—but couldn't spot Alice or Sasha anywhere.
"They must have already gone ahead… or maybe they failed," Esdeath guessed.
Ahead of her was a huge red hole in the floor, like a tunnel entrance glowing faintly from within. It was wide and deep, almost like a portal leading downward into the unknown.
Without wasting a second, Esdeath jumped in, dragging Maruti with her.
And at that exact moment—
Time returned to normal.
The monsters in the library suddenly stopped. Their heads turned in all directions, confused, like they had no idea what just happened.
But Esdeath and Maruti were already gone.
Inside the red hole was a long slide, twisting down like a spiral.
"Woooohooo," Maruti shouted with excitement as they slid down, her hair flying in the wind behind her.
Even Esdeath couldn't hide her small smile as they descended.
After a few minutes of fast sliding, the slide ended.
They were thrown into the air from the bottom of the slide — but both of them flipped mid-air like gymnasts and landed perfectly on their feet.
"Hah… That was fun," Maruti chuckled as she stretched her arms.
They looked around and saw that they had entered a new area—
A long, dark tunnel stretched out in front of them.
Some parts were completely dark, while others were dimly lit with torches fixed far apart on the walls.
Maruti blinked and looked ahead. "A tunnel?" she asked in surprise.
Esdeath didn't say anything at first. She lowered her gaze to the ground and saw faint footprints.
"So… they made it here after all," she thought to herself, imagining Sasha and Alice.
Then, to answer Maruti's curiosity, Esdeath finally spoke in a calm voice.
"This is the last stage—
The Tunnel of Evil."
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[author]
The cannon even has come, My college is starting from next week. 🫡🫡
[/author]