Dagger girl's feet didn't have a chance to hit the ground before the LunLufu warrior struck. Her speed ripped through my rope, the edge of her spear pinning dagger girl's throat to the marble floor.
The surrounding air vibrated as streaks of pink flew by.
One. Then another.
Laef fired an arrow... finally.
The second one struck the warrior's shoulder.
From across the room, screams erupted. My attention diverted to see a circle of flames engulf Scrubs girl's squad.
The the flames vanished as floating totems engulfed the fire.
No blood leaked from our demi-human's shoulder.
Just a splinter of light, like glass cracking. Or a glitch in code. She turned, her fluffy wolf ears tilting as her golden eyes burned. In a blink of an eye, she dashed toward him.
Laef barely had time to curse, let alone evade.
Melissa shouted, "Eli! now!"
I moved. I didn't think. Just shoved my body between them, rope expanded across the floor like a whip.
What kind of tank doesn't have a shield??
Her spear slammed into my shield... the one I didn't know I had until it formed from my rope.
The impact sent me skidding back, knees burning as my legs wobbled. My shield rope unraveled.
[Item Skill Activated: Rope Manipulation: Shield Variant]
Not very durable...
She yelled. A mix of a scream and roar...
Then charged again.
I braced myself, forcing the rope to my chest as my limbs burned.
"SHIELD!!!!" I shouted frantically.
Nothing...
Anything!! Please.
It responded. Hardened. I could see it this time, lines of faint copper light etched across the rope, stitching into a wide kite-shaped shield.
Her spear and entire weight crashed into it.
*CRACK!*
The force lifted me off my feet. I hit the wall, five feet away, air bursting from my lungs.
But, I was still alive.
Barely, conscious. But alive.
"Now Laef!" Melissa shouted.
From behind, I felt it. A rubbling through the stone walls.
Laef managed to his feet. A bow of pink light manifested in his hands as he drew another arrow.
"Aim for the glitch!" I yelled.
He didn't hesitate.
Another arrow soared, piercing the exact crack in her shoulder. The myth howled and fell to a knee, her wild black hair disheveled. Her movements slowing.
Then... she looked at me. Her eyes glossing.
Was she pleading?
Before I could move.
Melissa's class icon glowed faintly, a broken blade etched with runes. Melissa shouted, her hands pressed against a painting of a warrior.
Suddenly, she raised her hands, fingers glowing with vibrant green light. Not fire. Not wind. Something else.
Broken shapes of a sword manifested in the air, floating above her palms. Fragments of the sword from the picture, each manifestation pulsing, rotating.
She whispered a word I didn't catch.
Then launched them forward.
The shards spiraled like meteors, curved and wild. The demi-human turned, reacting too late—two of them struck her leg, staggering her sideways.
That was enough.
Dagger girl rolled, coughing, and kicked the spear from her gasp.
Her lips moved. I read it without sound:
"Run."
But the emperor didn't give her the chance.
A pulse of blue light rippled across the mural. The myth began to destabilize, her image breaking apart like shattered glass.
"Enough," the emperor's voice echoed. "If you can kill them your ready for the real trial."
I looked around.
The other two groups finished with the old mage. Some members were spiraled across the floor, covered in soot. Others looked dead. Face first across the marble they're chest's barely heaving.
The only one standing was Linebacker, holding a rusted shield.
His breathing was shallow, eyes narrowed, as steam curled off his shoulders. His uniform was torn across one arm, revealing burn marks that lined his forearm. He stared at the emperor his gaze challenging.
The emperor looked at him. Taunting.
Then at us.
"You survived. Barely," the emperor said, voice low.
Isaac collapsed to one knee beside me. I forgot he was here. Water trickled from his sleeves as he began mumbling something, probably a prayer or a spell. I couldn't tell anymore.
Melissa leaned against the cracked mural, panting, the green light from her hands dimming. Her eyes flicked to me briefly.
No words. Just a nod.
Laef sat cross-legged, clutching his bow that sparked like electricity that might vanish at any moment.
Then snapping echoed from the entrance. Loud. Menacingly rhythmic.
A new figure walked across the throne room, bowing before the emperor. He was cloaked in teal robes, holding a curled staff with a gemstone eye in their hand.
He didn't speak. Just waited for the emperor's nod then raised his staff and began tracing lines through the air, the tip glowing faintly.
The emperor stepped down from the throne's platform.
"Three squads remain. Barely. Choose easier ones."
"Understood," whispered the cloaked mage.
Then... the emperor's eyes locked on me.
"You," he said flatly.
My stomach dropped. My heart raced as everyone's eyes turned towards me.
Why me...
"You are the Vanguard."
I forced myself upright, swaying slightly.
"Yeah."
"You took damage. Shielding others. Even when your skill refused."
I stayed quiet. Isn't that my role? Didn't everyone take damage?
The emperor turned slightly, gaze trailing across the cracked marble where dagger girl still sat recuperating.
"But, you hesitated," he said pointing at Melissa. "Waited to be told to move."
"I moved in the end..." I said quickly, "We all..."
"No." His voice silenced the room. "They helped. But your role turned the tide after your fear vanished."
A faint smile curled on his lips. Not friendly. Just… observant.
"Tell me, Vanguard," he continued. "How long until they decide your fear is what's dragging them down?"
The words hit harder than I expected. I opened my mouth, but he spoke over me.
"A rope. That's your weapon." He looked past me, to the others. "And yet he took more hits, drew more attention, and held that thing longer than any of you."
A tense silence.
Laef looked away. Melissa didn't.
Is he on my side? Or against me?
He insulted me... I think.
Then complimented... I think.
The emperor smiled wider. Almost cruel. Like he manipulated something into bursting before him. Something about to explode.
The robed man beside him abruptly stopped waving his staff, glowing sigils pulsed around the air.
"It is done, your majesty," he whispered darkly.
"Do it..." ordered the emperor, his gaze returning to us;
"Good Luck, Summoned. You'll need it."
One by one, paintings behind us began to shimmer. New ones. Four in total.
Each one showed a different landscape:
A burning village in the mountains. A frozen lake lined with corpses. A forest of what looked like glass trees. And… an empty throne at the end of the world.
"Four tasks," the emperor stated. "One for each squad. Chosen not by merit... but flaws."
The mage spoke, his voice dry and distant, "The paintings will pull you in. Each challenge tests what you cannot fake... who you really are."
A hand went up. Melissa's.
"There's only three squads. Who's the fourth for?"
The emperor chuckled, an unsettling cackle that echoed across the walls.
"Your replacement squad," he said smoothly. "Bring them in!"
The double doors creaked open.
Heavy boots clapped in unison against the stone. Confident.
They didn't enter like us. Not the staggered, hesitant steps of frightened students or first time isekai'd heroes.
Four figures. Each stood out. Each looked deadly in their own way.
The first was tall, had a shaved head with broad shoulders that were draped in worn leather armor reinforced with metal. A scar travelled down his neck like someone once tried to take his voice. He looked like the most confident, their leader I presume.
Beside him, a slender woman in dark violet robes walked with her arms crossed, one gloved hand twitching like she was preparing a spell on instinct. Arcane runes pulsed faintly along her sleeves.
Behind them, a younger silver-haired guy spun a dagger between his fingers nonchalantly. His composure was infuriating.
Their eyes didn't scan the room, they measured it and scoffed at what they saw.
And last, a girl with uneven footing and glowing gold eyes. There was a limp in her step, but it wasn't a weakness. The way she moved made you realize; she didn't dodge attacks. She tanked them.
None of them wore our summoning crests.
But they each bore something else, thin metallic medallions shaped like cracked arrows. Adventurer brands. Real ones.
Not recruits. Not summoned. Not scared.
Adventurers.
The emperor gestured lazily. "They've been… reassigned. Normally they operate beyond the kingdom. Consider this a stress test."
Melissa muttered, "This is rigged."
I swallowed. So this was what a real squad looked like. Our group didn't even have real armor, or names we trusted.
And they were being sent through the same trails we were?
The adventurers said nothing. They didn't need to. The girl glanced at us, then turned toward the murals, as if we weren't even worth remembering.
Laef mumbled under his breath, "Showoffs."
"They're more than that," dagger girl rasped, still catching her breath. "They've done this before. Fought things we're only now realizing are real."
"So what happens now?" Melissa asked, looking toward the mage.
"Now," the robed man said, raising his staff, "your truth begins."
The murals sigils ignited. One after another, they erupted with blinding light, pulling with them an invisible force... like gravity, but inward.
My feet shifted. The marble beneath me seemed to tilt. The air turned heavier.
Just as I lost my footing, I heard the emperor's voice again.... low, cruel, and amused.
"Don't disappoint me, Vanguard."