"Content Warning: This chapter includes detailed combat, blood, and violence. Not recommended for sensitive readers."
In an instant, the world changed. Towering walls of black obsidian shot up on every side, their surfaces glass-smooth and utterly lightless. They swallowed the blood-red glow of the sky, trapping the students in a claustrophobic arena that felt equal parts vast amphitheater and slaughterhouse cage.
Above them, the sky burned crimson, as if the heavens themselves were alight. Beneath their feet, dark stone tiles stretched in perfect alignment to the horizon. Each slab rang hollow underfoot, as though something unseen crouched beneath, waiting for a misstep.
Eight yawning corridors punctured the walls. Three gaped ahead, three yawned behind, one beckoned to the right, another to the left. Each passage was thirty feet wide, identical and silent, like tombs daring the students to enter.
A metallic tang rose in the air. Weapons were drawn in a roar of steel, and breaths hitched in the tense silence. Then Heuk Ryeong's calm voice cut through the panic.
"Let your Second Trial begin."
He snapped his fingers.
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
Objective: Escape the maze
Time Limit: 15 minutes
14:59… 14:58…
The countdown thundered in every mind. Panic erupted.
Students snapped into their preassigned formations, drilled into them by the council.
"We split up," the council leader barked, eyes scanning the corridors. "There are too many openings—and too many groups. If we all take the wrong path together, we die."
"How do you know there's a wrong path?" someone challenged, voice trembling.
Kisame stepped forward, calm in contrast. "This is a death trial. With this many routes, some paths are guaranteed to kill us."
Silence swallowed the hallway.
"…Alright," the council leader said, exhaling. "Move. No more time."
Kisame turned to Ali. "Be careful."
Ali nodded once, determination sharpening his features. "You too."
Groups dispersed instantly. The council moved straight ahead. Ali's group veered right. Kisame led twenty followers into the left passage, while the remaining groups drifted toward the rear openings.
Kisame positioned his strongest fighters at the front, forming a tight protective line; weaker students clustered in the center. He activated Hunter's Awareness.
Information flooded his mind: twenty meters forward, twenty meters back. Beyond that, the obsidian walls blocked everything. No immediate danger.
They pressed on. Soon, the corridor split again—three identical branches sprawled ahead. Kisame halted. Another surge of Awareness sharpened his expression.
"The left path ends in a dead hall," he said. "The center drops into a spike pit."He stared at the right fork. "The right… pressure tiles. I can't pinpoint the mechanism—but it's a trap."
Retreat would waste precious time. Advancing meant courting death.
"We go right," he decided. Stepping inches from the first tile, he ordered, "Follow my every movement. Step where I step. Do not hesitate."
Twenty pairs of eyes mirrored his steps. Every movement was precise, deliberate—ghostlike. They crossed the trap flawlessly.
Then—a misstep.
A teacher, slipped from the safe path.
"Are you serious?" Kisame snapped. "Stay sharp!"
The students immediately assumed defensive positions. The ground trembled. The left wall groaned and slid aside like a massive door. From the yawning darkness lunged five armored goblins, eyes glowing with malice.
"Formation!" Kisame barked. "Summon Beast!"
Black aura erupted from the magic circles. From one emerged an Umbra Wolf, sinewy and shadow-cloaked, jaws dripping in darkness. From the other, a Nightwraith Bat shrieked to life, leathery wings slicing the air.
Kisame vanished—Flash Step—and struck a goblin's flank. His blade clanged against armor, sparks flying. Behind him, frontline fighters met the charge with steel and magic. The Nightwraith Bat spat corrosive acid; the Umbra Wolf lunged and tore.
Heuk Ryeong stood at the edge, arms folded, lips curling in cruel amusement, watching. Rage flared in Kisame's chest, but he tamped it down. Awareness guided him. Flash Step carried him through chaos. Within moments, the goblins lay broken, screaming or impaled.
Silence settled. Kisame exhaled.
Then a teacher's voice rang out, sharp with accusation."Are you connected to Heuk Ryeong? Your summoned beasts… they resemble those from the first trial."
Kisame's eyes hardened. "They saved you once. Think what you will—but if you question me again, I move forward alone. Only with those who trust me."
The teacher clenched fists but said nothing. The group pressed on, uneasy but alive.
They navigated twists, avoided collapsing floors, and sidestepped razor-edged walls. Finally, Hunter's Awareness revealed the distant exit. Relief flickered—then fear tightened its grip.
Above them hung massive iron spikes, suspended by thick ropes. No visible triggers.
02:30… 02:29…
Unease coiled in Kisame's spine. Weapons raised, they advanced cautiously.
"Are you sure this is safe?" someone whispered.
"I told you—trust me," Kisame said firmly.
Then—three figures broke formation, sprinting ahead. Kisame shouted, "Wait!"
They reached the exit. Nothing happened. For a fleeting second, Kisame allowed himself relief.
Then realization struck: the intruders were teachers who got beaten by Kisame in the canteen.
"Activate the trap!" one screamed.
Flames roared up the ropes, burning through the fibers.
"RUN!" Kisame bellowed. "Use every speed skill!"
The spikes fell. Screams tore through the corridor. Flash Step carried Kisame forward in a blur, narrowly avoiding jagged iron and crushed bodies. Blood slicked the stone tiles.
He burst through the exit, spinning to survey the scene. Silence fell. Only mangled bodies remained. The severed head of the old teacher lay among them, eyes glassy and accusing.
"No—!" Kisame screamed into the void.