A group of over ten people walked through the labyrinth of roots.
One individual among this group gathered more attention than the others: a woman, expressionless and cold. Her pale skin and almost white hair merged seamlessly, her nobility becoming evident with each step. She was Maya, the mage, a gold-rank adventurer.
They reached an open area that bore a huge tree with red flowers that had yet to bloom. Its wood was a lively brown, and its leaves a beautiful green.
Surrounding the tree, another group, twice hers in size, looked like they were protecting it. Another figure gathered the eyes of the onlookers, it was Rho. His black greatsword was impaled in the ground as he leaned against it. His hair blended with the sword's darkness, while his skin contrasted sharply.
As Maya's group approached, Rho's eyes slitted, glaring at them.
"What are you doing here?"
he asked rudely, not bothering to hide his enmity.
Maya's group stopped, while she herself took a few steps forward and locked eyes with Rho.
"We are here to proclaim the soul tree,"
she said coldly.
"There's another one in the labyrinth. Go take it instead,"
Rho replied, his hand gripping the sword's hilt, a clear threat.
"I'm afraid we can't. Young Noble Demon's group has already claimed it, and we have no reason to attack them."
Her words carried a weight only Rho could feel.
"Heh, so you are allied with him? Both of you together to eliminate me? How pitiful."
She lowered her head slightly, but her eyes never left his.
"Forgive me for that, Blade of the North, Rho. Your strength is fearsome. I worry we wouldn't be able to pass the fifth trial if you remain."
Rho remained silent, but his grip on the sword tightened.
Seeing his reaction, a cold glint appeared in Maya's eyes as she continued:
"I have a proposal that could satisfy both parties. Help me eliminate Young Noble Demon instead. I will take his soul tree, and you will lose an enemy."
The Blade of the North remained silent, but his mind was racing.
That girl thinks she can fool me. Either they were never allied to begin with, or she is trying to betray him now. Considering how... unpredictable that little demon is, the first option is probably the right one. But even if I let her use me, eliminating that guy would be really beneficial for both — more for me. I have to test her.
"If I help you take him down, I want one-fifth of the soul fruits that blossom from his soul tree. And..."
Rho started walking closer to her.
"My lady!"
someone from Maya's group cried out, but Maya raised her hand to silence them.
Rho leaned close and whispered in her ear:
"Eliminate half your group so the fruits can absorb their souls and grow quicker."
Maya did not react. She only nodded.
"I agree."
She turned around and fired wind disks at her own group. In an instant, half of them were dead. The moment their bodies hit the ground, several flowers on the tree began to blossom and bear fruits.
The rest of her group didn't react. They remained exactly as they were before.
Rho grinned, as he returned to his group and then shouted:
"Get ready, men. We will take down Young Noble Demon during this trial. We can't let him advance any further."
"But the soul tree..."
a masculine voice questioned.
"Me and five men will go. The rest stay here and guard the tree. There is no other group stronger than ours in numbers or skill."
Hearing that, people in Maya's group shuddered, their faces grim. They disliked the man, but he was right.
After the deal was made, Rho and five of his men joined Maya's group, aiming to take over Young Noble Demon's soul tree.
Hours later, they were still walking through the root labyrinth. Their feet stepped on fresh grass, and the cool air entered their noses. Eventually, they reached another open area where two more paths branched off. There was no soul tree in this place.
"Let's rest a little, shall we?"
Maya suggested, glancing at Rho and his men.
"...Alright,"
he complied.
They all sat on the grassy ground to wait. Maya and Rho remained composed, but the rest of the group was clearly growing tired.
Suddenly, Rho felt something strange as an eerie sensation creeping up his spine. He turned around abruptly, raising his greatsword, and blocked three arrows flying toward him.
"MEN, STAND UP AND FIGHT!"
he roared.
Rho and his group stood and prepared themselves.
They were surrounded. Maya's group had drawn their weapons, and from the other paths, another group emerged.
"Yuser... to think you really were allied with her,"
Rho said grimly.
It was a trap.
At first, he had assumed Maya was lying because of Yuser's personality. The Young Noble Demon was too aggressive, too unpredictable to ally with anyone—but he had.
How and why didn't matter now. What mattered was survival.
I was greedy. That was my mistake.
Humans are greedy by nature. They die for greed and live for it—greed for strength, treasures, love, or anything else. Greed is the downfall of man, yet it is also the staircase to greatness. Too much, and you climb high, only for the stairs to collapse beneath your weight. Too little, and you remain safe but stagnant.
The true challenge lies in finding equilibrium, building stairs that reach high yet stand firm.
Greed is the primal instinct of every existence, of every life. It is a necessary evil.
"Hehe, you were right, Maya. He truly is quite dumb. For the most experienced among the participants, he certainly didn't meet my expectations,"
Yuser mocked, stringing his bow.
"Don't underestimate him, Young Noble Demon. The Blade of the North is not known for his intelligence, after all,"
Maya replied, coldly.
Yuser scoffed, then nocked another arrow, his bloodlust shining in his eyes.
Rho stood firm among his men, weapons raised as the battle was about to erupt. They were at a disadvantage—one group against two, outnumbered.
The battle broke out. Rho charged toward Yuser's group, and with one sweep of his greatsword, he killed three enemies.
Yuser leapt back, firing arrows toward Rho, who defended himself with the help of his men.
They fought fiercely—Maya's group against Rho's, while she herself targeted him specifically. From above her hand, a hollow wind disk began to form.
Rho jumped back, defending himself from the arrows, but couldn't reach Yuser.
"You damn coward!"
he roared, violently cutting down enemies around him.
Yuser smiled, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his eyes glistening with excitement and bloodlust.
As Yuser attacked and Rho could only remain on the defensive, Rho unexpectedly smiled, and a layer of blue light began forming around his body.
Using aura now? It won't help you much, Yuser thought as he retreated, shooting arrows with amazing precision. Most of them were defended by the Blade of the North.
Rho smiled as he jumped forward, and suddenly the aura extended to his sword, covering it in blue light.
What? He has attained the second level already? Hahaha, that was unexpected, Blade of the North!
Yuser still smiled, but now a nervous glint appeared in his eyes.
Rho reached Yuser, but before he could land an attack, the air around them grew colder.
He looked behind and saw that the hollow disk above Maya's head had already turned into a spinning saw. She shot it, and it tore through his men as if they were made of butter.
Rho stabbed his sword into the ground and stood behind it, hoping it would be enough to defend him.
The disk struck multiple times against his sword, forcing it to cut through the ground and retreat backward.
The wind disk started to dissipate, but multiple wounds were appearing on Rho's body.
While he was still defending, he heard a sound and quickly looked behind. Three arrows were flying toward him.
He raised his arm to defend, and the arrows pierced slightly. His aura was protecting him.
Weirdly, even though the wounds were almost insufficient to draw blood, his arm started to go numb, followed by a slow, burning sensation.
"Poison!"
He saw the arrows that had fallen to the ground, their tips imbued with something.
As he looked up, the Young Noble Demon had already retreated far away and was shooting more arrows with a huge grin on his face. Rho defended them by using his own body as a shield, but the poison continued to spread.
"My situation is bad. If I don't leave, my grave will be here. My men are dead, and Maya's group still has great numbers… Damn it."
He kicked his sword, dislodging it from the earth and making dirt fly, finally dissipating Maya's attack.
He hurled himself toward Yuser, who activated his own aura but couldn't dodge efficiently. Rho's sword slashed across his abdomen, opening a huge wound, blood flowing uncontrollably. Yuser grabbed a red concoction from his pouch and drank it almost immediately as he retreated even farther.
Rho had no potions on him—he was from a warrior tribe, and potions were considered cowardly in his mind.
He still had another plan. He rushed toward Maya's group, noticing she was sweating heavily, apparently drained from her earlier attack. Her group was helping her stand as she drank a blue potion—a mana potion.
As he got closer, Rho used his fists, and with one punch transformed an enemy's head into a broken watermelon. He grabbed the sword the person had been holding and started cutting through her group.
If he was about to die, he would take them with him. That was his resolve as a warrior.
He approached Maya, but before he could strike, she extended her hands toward him, and green chains formed from the air, binding him in place. Her few left of her group carried her and began retreating. They had already caused enough damage. Now they would let Rho and Yuser kill each other.
Rho chose not to pursue them. Instead, he would kill Yuser.
He rushed toward him, but Yuser had already planned his escape—and so he did.
Rho grabbed his sword and went after him, but his speed was limited by the poison. The aura was helping to counterbalance the effects, allowing him to move.
He eventually caught up to Yuser, but the latter smiled as he threw a ball toward Rho's face.
Rho dodged, but the second it passed beside him, the ball detonated, releasing a purple fog.
His eyes started watering, and he couldn't breathe, but he kept moving toward Yuser, who now lost his smile and grew nervous instead.
"How can that savage still move? Is he immune to poison? Fuck it, I'm out. That bitch left me here. No way I'm fighting this guy alone."
Yuser's body although healing, was still wounded, and he had lost one of his trump card—the poison ball. He wouldn't risk more for a fight that didn't even mean much to him. He had a smaller part of his group waiting elsewhere; he would regroup and then decide what to do.
Because Rho's speed was restricted by the poison, his enemy successfully escaped.
Alone, Rho used his sword to support himself as he slowly walked back toward his group's former position, only hoping they would still be alive to help him.