The one who had killed us had no interest in finishing the trial or claiming the relic… this… was never about the trial.
It is clear now. The trial required a team of five to retrieve and protect the relic. That meant they weren't after the prize… they were after the team or certain members of the team.
The real targets were just me and Adam… we were being hunted.
The nobles, unable to openly execute us or issue a direct command in the trial floors, had sent assassins to infiltrate as climbers.
It was all a setup.
Our deaths would be labeled as accidents or casualties of violence.
He looked at Vespera, still hovering with a dagger in her hand. "Who sent you?" he asked, his voice tight with disdain.
Vespera's smirk was cold, and her eyes were full of hatred. "You traitors, enemies of order, still have the gall to ask for who's hostile to you? The entire Pillar is. Orvathis wants you dead, and I am its instrument."
"Ah, Hell no," Noah muttered, his patience finally snapping. "I've always hated these speeches from guys like you."
In the split second that he spoke, Vespera's hand twitched toward her belt, and Noah's instincts flared. He saw her eyes narrow, and before he could fully process, she struck swiftly.
But Noah was faster. He jumped, a surge of adrenaline propelling him forward. His foot collided with Vespera's face with a sickening crack, sending her stumbling backward, the force of the blow throwing her into the bushes.
He landed lightly on his feet, adrenaline coursing through him. He wasn't in the clear yet. Vespera was quick, and she wasn't down for long.
Barely a moment passed before Vespera's form shimmered out of view, vanishing from sight.
Noah tensed, his senses tingling as the winds around him shifted. He couldn't see her, but he could feel the subtle currents of air, the whispers of movement surrounding him.
His heart pounded in his chest as he focused, eyes darting between shadows.
She's somewhere nearby. She's waiting for an opening.
Then, in a blur of motion, he heard a faint rustling—too quick to track.
Without thinking, Noah launched himself toward where he sensed the faintest trace of her presence, aiming for her belt where the knives hung.
In a fluid motion, he unsheathed one of the poisoned daggers.
But just as he brought the knife up to strike, a boot collided with his outstretched arm.
Pain flared as the dagger was knocked from his hand, spinning away into the grass. Noah staggered back, his eyes widened.
He had only a moment to react before Vespera reappeared before him, as a twisted grin curled in her lips.
"You thought I'd fall for that?" she taunted, her voice low and filled with mockery. "You're slower than I thought."
Noah barely had a second to react as the knife was sent flying from his grip. But instead of hesitating, he picked the belt from the ground, looping it around his right arm.
With two fingers, he yanked another poisoned dagger free just as Vespera disappeared into the darkness once more.
The jungle was silent. Not a whisper, not a breath. Just the wind brushing through the leaves and the pounding of his own heartbeat.
He tightened his grip on the dagger. He couldn't see her, but she was there, circling him like a phantom, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Noah braced himself.
Then—movement. A faint shift in the air.
She is close.
His instincts flared, screaming at him to act.
Without thinking, he twisted his body and drove the blade forward, aiming blind into the dark.
A sharp gasp split the silence.
Vespera reappeared, staggering as she clutched her thigh, her eyes widened with shock.
The poisoned dagger was buried deep in her flesh. Her leg trembled before giving out, sending her collapsing onto one knee. Paralysis spread rapidly, locking her muscles in place.
It wasn't luck. It wasn't a coincidence.
Gae Bulg.
Vespera looked up at him, with a mixture of anger and disbelief in her face.
Noah stepped forward and planted his boot against her chest, shoving her onto her back with a force that crushed the air from her lungs.
She struggled, her body was completely at his mercy.
He had won.
But as he loomed over her, something gnawed at him.
This was just one assassin. If the nobles had sent her, then stronger ones would follow. If this was the level of killers they were sending now, what would come later?
He clenched his jaw. I need to get stronger.
Vespera coughed, forcing a breath through her constricted throat, then smirked up at him. "If you kill me," she rasped, "you'll fail the trial."
Her smirk widened. "You know, don't you? The rules are absolute. failing a trial means being sent to a neutral floor."
Noah's eyes darkened.
"A neutral floor where you and your brother will be arrested and executed like the traitors you are," she whispered, her voice was amused unexpectedly. "That's the fate you deserve."
Is she a… masochist?
Noah exhaled slowly, his foot still pressing down on her chest. He tilted his head slightly.
"Yeah, I'll end up on the neutral floors eventually," he admitted. "But not today."
Vespera's expression hardened, her paralyzed limbs trembling as she struggled against the poison locking her muscles.
He leaned in just slightly, watching the way her pupils dilated, drinking in her barely concealed panic.
Silence.
Noah grinned. "Oh, about killing another team member?" He tapped his temple. "I checked with the administrator beforehand. He found the question interesting, so I promised to show him something fun."
Realization dawned on her face.
Noah smiled or something like that.
Then he drove his boot forward, slamming it into the side of her head with a sickening crack.
Her neck twisted unnaturally, snapping just as easily as it had when she killed him in the last run. Her body twitched once, twice—then fell still.
Noah exhaled, stepping back, watching the lifeless corpse at his feet.
Noah pushed his damp hair back, his fingers trembling slightly as he exhaled, his breath ragged.
His chest rose and fell in uneven bursts, his body drenched in sweat—not from exertion, but from something deeper, something clawing at his insides.
This was the first time he had killed a person.
He had torn through monsters in the tutorial, felt the rush of victory, the satisfaction of survival. But this… this was different. There was no thrill. No sense of accomplishment. Just emptiness.
Regret seeped in almost instantly, gnawing at the edges of his thoughts.
It wasn't guilt… Vespera had tried to kill them.
She would have, if he hadn't stopped her. But that didn't change the weight pressing against his ribs, the uneasy churn in his stomach.
He crouched beside the corpse, running a hand down his face before letting out a long, slow sigh.
How much more would I have to change to survive in this world?
How far would he have to go before he became something unrecognizable?
Swallowing down the heaviness in his chest, Noah grabbed Vespera's body and dragged it into the thick underbrush,
concealing it beneath the dense foliage. The others were still ahead.
Straightening, he steeled himself and moved forward, stepping back into the role he had to play.
…
"I'm really glad you at least survived," Cedric said, his voice heavy with relief as he patted Noah on the shoulder. "You could have left, and your brother would have been alone in this place… He would have suffered a lot."
Noah kept his head down, his expression carefully composed. His hands were still trembling, though he masked it well.
Cedric let out a somber sigh. "It's tragic. She had a brother too, right? The one she got separated from… He'll never find her again." He shook his head. "Such are the tragedies in Orvathis."
Noah swallowed, nodding slowly. "Yeah... she fought to the end." His voice was steady, but each word felt like a stone in his throat.
The scenario he had woven played out perfectly.
He had told them they had been ambushed.
Vespera was attacked first, and in her final moments, she had used her ability to turn him invisible, hiding him from the attackers until they left.
He had watched her die, powerless to do anything. In her last breaths, she had murmured about her brother, as if she could see him standing before her.
Noah had buried her himself.
Elara sniffled, wiping at her eyes. Even Cedric, usually composed, looked down, sad. They believed every word. They consoled him, offering him sympathy, kindness.
But Adam…
Adam wasn't speaking.
He sat across from Noah, arms crossed, his gaze was sharp. His stare didn't waver, didn't soften with sympathy.
He was glaring.
Noah met his brother's eyes for a brief moment. And in that silent exchange, he knew—
Adam didn't believe a single word.