In the cold world where blood flowed for hundreds of metres, leaving a long trail, a large man was clearly tired of warming the man he carried on his back with his own body. As he walked, he left warm traces where his feet touched the ground. He swayed as if showing his fatigue. In this frozen world, this man was like a star. The large man was stunned to realise that the legless man he carried on his back was the same man he had once both respected and hated. That man didn't look so great. Covered in blood and unconscious.
"Did you see anything about the first test?" said a voice. Gomez turned his head abruptly and looked behind him at the two young men following him. He frowned. He was fed up with doing all the work here. He looked at the tense, black-haired boy, then back to the boy at the sword in his hand, and his eyes returned to the front.
This is a mid-level Sage weapon. Evra is currently at the peak of his realm in terms of attack power. Gomez was an experienced Core Specialist compared to these novices, but he didn't want to face that sword.
"No!" Gomez replied sharply. The air in this winter world was much colder than it appeared. The two tense young men behind him were shivering from the cold, trying to survive in this frigid world. Gomez's ability allowed him to adapt to harsh environments. It may be an unconventional talent, but it was undeniably a first-rate technique, despite its frequent lack of practical application. Let me be clear: this was not a fighting technique.
This enabled them to survive the cold season. Malehit rested on Gomez's back, leaving warm footprints behind him. This allowed the young men to endure for a long time. Gomez knew he had been summoned here from the capital for this reason, but he still felt uncomfortable.
"Maybe we passed the first test the moment we entered the inheritance. Maybe the first test was a limit cultivation. Could we have passed without even realizing it?"
"We couldn't have. Did you hear about us passing the test?"
Gomez could hear the voices of the two young people behind him. But he couldn't pay attention to them. He focused intently on what lay ahead and the weight behind him. He agreed with Evra on this point. The first test had to come from somewhere.
Gomez was tired. He had been carrying this load for a long time. He believed they were nearing the end of the second test because even a Sage would find it difficult to endure in this cold. They were only in the Core Realm.
"Carry your brother—"
Right then. Gomez was distracted as he began to speak and turned his head slightly back, and he didn't see the sharp spearhead coming straight for his head.
CRACK!!!
The ground shattered, and just as Evra's sword strike halted the attack with a gust of wind, it also sliced the bony beast wielding the spear into pieces. He'd done all this without even moving a step.
Gomez looked up and saw the bone fragments on the ground and was amazed. What had just attacked him wasn't really powerful enough to cause him serious harm, but Gomez had let his guard down because he hadn't seen any other living thing besides themselves in this cold world for quite some time.
"That was the first stage of the Core Realm," said Ulam. Then they felt like they'd been hit by a cold wind.
"The first test is to eliminate the spirits of the dead Core Experts who lost their lives in this test."
Some things were starting to fall into place. Ulam drew his weapon from its sheath. It was a core weapon that his grandfather had given him. It was, of course, not as strong as Evra's.
"Things would be so much easier if your damn brother wasn't on my back!" Gomez said, sounding pretty fed up. He had a small hammer in his hand, but it was a mid-level Core weapon with considerable combat power. Well, obviously, it's the privilege of serving a large clan.
Gomez was clearly the strongest out of them. He was pretty powerful, an expert at level 6, but Malehit was always on his shoulder. He knew that fighting alongside him would be tricky, and he couldn't carelessly throw him off his back. Obviously not because of his strong moral compass.
It's the same reason that broke the skeleton.
"They're coming."
Evra's mind wasn't fully there because of what had happened in the Red Road Forest and the cold world they'd entered afterwards. He was really tired. That's why he wasn't very attentive, but Ulam wasn't in the same situation. He was always looking at Gomez. He knew this guy was selfish and could stab them in the back at any moment. He was stronger than Ulam.
It was impossible for Ulam to fight a 6th-stage Core Expert, but similarly, Gomez's life was hanging by a thread from a single blow of Evra's sword. After all, this sword was a mid-stage Sage weapon and was enough to kill Gomez. Even in all this chaos, Evra must've known that killing Gomez would be the end for them. They might be able to last long enough to see the end of the test in the cold, but Malehit couldn't.
This showed that Ulam was the weakest of the group. At least in most ways.
Ulam had his own secrets, but they couldn't help him save his life here.
It was said there would be five tests at the third gate. This was much more than Ulam had expected, but they couldn't back out of the test now. There were so many tests that it was only a matter of time before someone died.
Evra might not have realised it yet, but Malehit was the weakest and he would probably be the first to die. Even so, Evra was the most dangerous because of the amazing fighting power unleashed by the Sage's weapon. He was in a very bad state of mind and would probably kill someone. In this situation, both Ulam and Gomez had to protect Malehit so that they could stay by Evra's side.
After all, no one knew what the other tests would show. They needed their lives and their fighting strength. They were just Core Experts.
"The first test has begun. We must fight," said Evra. These words made Ulam frown.
'Fight? We should run!'
Ulam had his own secrets, but they couldn't help him save his life here.
It was said there would be five tests at the third gate. This was much more than Ulam had expected, but they couldn't back out of the test now. There were so many tests that it was only a matter of time before someone died.
Evra might not have realised it yet, but Malehit was the weakest and he would probably be the first to die. Even so, Evra was the most dangerous because of the amazing fighting power unleashed by the Sage's weapon. He was in a very bad state of mind and would probably kill someone. In this situation, both Ulam and Gomez had to protect Malehit so that they could stay by Evra's side.
After all, no one knew what the other tests would show. They needed their lives and their fighting strength. They were just Core Experts.
"The first test has begun. We must fight," said Evra. These words made Ulam frown.
'Fight? We should run!'
No one knew how the battle would turn out. In his current state, Ulam would find it hard to survive even the next stage of the first test.
"I'm only a Core Expert in the first stage. Do you really think I can pass this test by fighting?" Ulam spat out. He had saved Evra's life. He had saved his brother's life. But now Evra was acting like a dog. He was putting Ulam at risk.
Evra looked at him. In the cold, he pulled his chin up to his chest as much as possible, his head was bowed, and his eyes, with their trembling pupils, showed how uncertain he was in his thinking.
"Then go ahead. I'll distract them, and Gomez will—"
"I'll go with Ulam. I can't fight your brother on my back."
He could fight. Ulam knew this, but the bony creatures had already started to come out and Gomez was running away. Evra had no other choice. He held his sword out in front of him and got into position to fight. Ulam turned to him.
"I'm sorry."
When Ulam started running too, Evra was left alone with the monsters forming in the first test. His hands were shaking. Was he scared? Yes, he was afraid, and he had only recently learned to be afraid.
So what did that mean? Just because he had survived then, could he survive now? Fear made Evra's eyes widen and he looked very scared. He had been left alone.
"Come!"
Monsters were coming up out of the ground. Even if he was scared, he had to keep going.
He had to fight!