"Steel Cleave!"
Calder’s roar was lost in the screech of clashing metal. He moved in a blur of violence, twin longswords carving arcs of pressurized air through the canopy. Each swing sent shockwaves of wind whistling through the undergrowth, shearing leaves from branches like shrapnel.
Across from him stood a nightmare made of muscle and spite: a Minotaur.
Even a juvenile of the species stood nearly three meters tall, a towering wall of bovine fury. While common in the Labyrinth Instance, they were the ultimate "fail-state" for any novice player. The beast swung a massive poleaxe that dwarfed its own height, moving with a terrifying agility that rivaled Calder’s dual blades.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks erupted in the dim light. The sound of their collision was deafening, a rhythmic, bone-jarring symphony of war.
Perched on Calder’s shoulder, Kemi clung to the fabric of his tunic with white-knuckled terror. The Pygmari squeezed his eyes shut, certain that one slip would send him tumbling into the path of those whistling blades.
The fight was devoid of finesse. It was a brutal, stationary slugfest—an exchange of raw power where neither side yielded an inch. To Kemi, it was madness. He watched in awe as this man traded blows with a creature carrying the bloodline of a Greater Demon Beast.
Even more staggering was the pace. Calder hadn't stopped. For nearly twenty hours, he had been a machine of constant motion. He was either mid-swing or sprinting toward his next kill. The forest was littered with the evidence of his crusade—Owlbears, Carrion Beasts, Bogmaulers—all once-unbeatable predators now reduced to shriveled husks.
Is he truly human? Kemi wondered, his mind racing. Or is he a scion of The Eternal Race?
It was the only logical explanation. To slaughter Greater Demon Beasts with such efficiency was the hallmark of the Apex civilizations. Then there was the way Calder handled the corpses. The "Devour" process was eerily reminiscent of the Eternal Sanguine. Those Sanguine-kin thrived on the consumption of blood and essence to fuel their growth. While their young were typically bat-like, perhaps Calder was a hybrid or a rare humanoid descendant.
If Calder really carried the blood of The Eternal Dominion, Kemi’s fear began to shift into a desperate, feverish ambition. If he rode the coattails of an Eternal, he wouldn't just survive—he could reclaim his tribe, marry the chieftain’s daughter, and live in luxury.
CRACK!
The Ossein Sword collided with the Minotaur’s axe one last time. The recoil was massive, sending both combatants staggering back. Kemi was nearly vaulted into the brush, saved only by the vine-cord tethering him to Calder’s gear.
Calder didn't wait for his vision to clear. He adjusted his grip on the Ossein Sword and lunged back into the fray.
Thirty minutes of agonizing attrition followed. Finally, the Minotaur let out a rattling, guttural roar. Its knees buckled, and the massive frame crashed into the dirt.
Calder, covered in a map of fresh lacerations and grime, stared down at the carcass with cold, detached eyes. He drove his blade deep into the beast’s chest.
[Ding! Limb Blight Index has reached its limit. Internal Organ Blight Index: +5!]
As the Minotaur’s muscular frame shriveled into a desiccated ruin, the system notifications flooded Calder’s vision.
[Ding! Successfully slain Minotaur (Juvenile). 47 Kill Points awarded. Total Kill Points: 600.]
[Charm: 13]
[Block Rate: 27%]
[Current Recommended Class: Blade Ascendant (Affinity Score: 74). Spend all Kill Points to claim this class?]
[Mental Resistance: 14]
Calder’s eyes sharpened. The [Phantom Rogue] option that had sat stagnant in his peripheral vision all day was gone, replaced by something far more potent.
Blade Ascendant.
It was a top-tier martial path. Where [Phantom Rogue] was a solid S-Rank, the [Blade Ascendant] was a definitive SS-Rank. It possessed higher growth potential and a much stronger resonance with his current combat style.
A rare shadow of a smile touched Calder’s lips. "A full day of slaughter... finally paid off."
He hesitated, however. The Labyrinth Instance hadn't closed. The exit hadn't been forced. This meant the ceiling for Kill Points was still higher. If he could push past 500, could he find something even better than an 80% affinity SS-Rank class?
He looked at the surrounding woods. He had picked this area clean of Feral Beasts. Anything left was either a Level 100 apex predator far beyond his current reach or small fry not worth the energy. With the Novice Grace Period ending in twenty-four hours, time was his most precious currency.
"Anything else nearby?" Calder asked, glancing at his shoulder.
Kemi blinked, startled out of his fantasies. "I... I don't think so."
"Think again."
"No, really!" Kemi squeaked. "There’s nothing left in our weight class. If you want to hunt more, we’d have to go after things above Level 10."
Crossing the Level 10 threshold was a gamble. Monsters above that mark belonged to Tier 1, a completely different echelon of power. Calder had killed a Tier 1 Violet Grub earlier, but the Kill Point yield was pathetic compared to the effort required. He was at a crossroads: take the guaranteed SS-Rank class now, or risk everything for a perfection he couldn't yet see.
Suddenly, a sound like grinding stones and wet static echoed in his skull.
"Heh... heh... heh... Little thing. You’ve exceeded my expectations."
Calder stiffened. "You again."
Kemi looked around frantically, hearing nothing but the wind. "Me? I didn't say anything!"
The voice ignored the Pygmari, resonating deeper into Calder’s mind. "Do you hunger for more, little thing? Do you wish to see what lies beyond the reach of the common rabble?"
"Obviously," Calder replied.
"I do so love a glutton," the voice hissed. "Very well. We shall commence The Ordeal. Life or death—it matters not to me. I have higher paths than 'Blade Ascendant,' but they require a soul that can withstand the pressure. Show me yours."
The ground beneath Calder’s boots began to groan. A violent tremor ripped through the forest floor as The Proving Grounds—the massive, crystalline arena—tore its way out of the earth. It rose like a titan’s pedestal, lifting Calder high above the treeline. Below them, the geography of the forest warped; rivers changed course and ancient trees were uprooted as the arena ascended.
The sudden movement drew the attention of the jungle's true masters. Level 100 behemoths emerged from the shadows, letting out earth-shaking roars as they sprinted toward the rising platform.
"The Level 100s! They're coming for us!" Kemi shrieked, burying his face in Calder’s neck.
Calder ignored the screaming Pygmari. He dropped into a low crouch, bracing against the g-force of the rising platform, his eyes locked on the horizon. He didn't even glance at the monsters below.
As the beasts reached the hundred-meter perimeter of the arena, they slammed into an invisible, shimmering barrier. No matter how much they clawed or hammered with Tendril Lashes, they were locked out of the sacred space.
"They... they can't get in?" Kemi whispered, peeking through his fingers. "Did you do this?"
"No," Calder said shortly.
Kemi swallowed hard. He’s definitely an Eternal descendant. Even the Level 100s are beneath his notice.
His relief lasted exactly three seconds.
A pillar of blinding celestial light descended from the heavens, striking the center of The Proving Grounds. A Summoning Nexus materialized, its runes humming with a frequency that made Calder's teeth ache.
As the light faded, a new presence filled the arena.
Hiss...
Kemi’s eyes went wide. He began to count the swaying shadows. One. Three. Six...
"Nine..." Kemi’s voice broke into a pathetic whimper. "Gods... it’s a Hydra!"
The creature was a fortress of interlocking, steel-hard scales. Nine serpentine heads rose from a central mass, each one dripping venom and flickering a forked, crimson tongue. Their golden, slitted pupils locked onto Calder with ancient, predatory intelligence.
"Not just a Hydra," Kemi sobbed. "That's an Infernal Hydra. A Pureblooded member of The Eternal Race."
The Pygmari’s Threat Sense was screaming. In The Eternal Dominion, the word 'Eternal' wasn't a title—it was a biological fact of supremacy. Even the weakest member of an Eternal Race stood leagues above other civilizations.
Calder’s status screen flickered in his mind:
Strength — 74.7 (+97) | Agility: 64.6 (+92) | Constitution: 68.4 (+97) | Spirit: 73.3
Threat Level — 4 / 5
He was a god among novices, but this Hydra was an entirely different universe of power. An average Eternal’s physical stats started in the thousands. This beast likely possessed five or six times Calder’s strength and speed, and a spiritual pool that made his look like a puddle. It could kill a thousand ordinary players with a single sneeze.
The Hydra’s central head lowered, its voice vibrating through the air in a language Kemi could instinctively understand. "An ape? And a vermin? You are the ones who disturbed my slumber?"
Kemi gripped Calder’s sleeve. "We have to run. Please. That's an Eternal! We can't—"
Calder didn't move. He didn't blink. He watched the Hydra with the same cold intensity he had used on the Bogmaulers.
His arms blurred as he triggered an Aberrant Shift, his flesh and bone knitting into a pair of jagged Ossein Swords. He sank into a deep, predatory crouch.
He wasn't bowing. He was coiling like a spring.
The Hydra’s nine heads hissed in unison, the air growing hot with Infernal energy. "Ape... you truly seek death?"
Kemi began to weep silently. He wanted to jump off the platform, but the Level 100 monsters waiting below made that a suicidal choice. He was trapped between a nine-headed god and a forest full of demons, anchored to a man who was apparently too stubborn to realize he was outmatched.
Calder didn't answer with words. He tightened his grip on his blades, his heartbeat slowing to a steady, rhythmic thrum. The Ordeal had begun.