Milo stood firmly, looking around the room with all his companions standing beside him, ready for the test.
The atmosphere was heavy, and silence filled the space as everyone waited in anticipation.
At that moment, Lyra appeared on the screen in front of them.
"Hello again, everyone!" she said calmly.
"I'm here to inform you of the rules of this test."
All the participants stood ready, their eyes fixed on her.
None of them truly understood the danger that awaited them. Most of them assumed this test would not be much different from the previous one.
Without delay, Lyra began explaining the second stage.
"The second test will focus on a very important aspect… endurance," she said calmly.
"You will be exposed to waves that will drain both your physical and mental energy, and also exhaust you."
"The goal is simple: survive and endure for as long as possible."
"As Mr. George mentioned earlier, the duration of this test is thirty minutes."
The tall, thin man stood among the participants, his strange, worn-out clothes stained and unkempt as always. The unusual earrings scattered across his forehead caught the light in an unsettling way, giving him a disturbing presence that stood out even in the crowded room.
He glanced around lazily, then let out a low chuckle.
"So this is the second test?" he said with a mocking tone.
His sharp eyes shifted toward the others, filled with arrogance.
"It's different from last year's exams… but honestly, it looks even easier."
He tilted his head slightly, smirking.
"If it's just about enduring some pressure… then this is nothing. I've survived worse than this during last year's trials."
Some of the participants seemed to agree with the tall man's words.
Solir stood silently for a moment, thinking about what had been said.
Then he turned his gaze toward Aurelius.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Aurelius remained quiet for a few seconds, as if carefully analyzing the situation. Then he answered calmly.
"Endurance… these kinds of tests aren't really my specialty," he said.
"But I don't think it will be too severe."
His tone was steady, neither confident nor worried just an objective judgment based on what he could see so far.
A few seconds later, Lyra bid them farewell. The screen immediately went dark, vanishing without a trace.
The room around them began to emit a faint white glow, soft and almost unnatural. It wasn't bright enough to illuminate everything clearly, yet it filled the space with an eerie sense of calm.
Above them, a large square screen suddenly appeared. On it, a countdown timer began to display.
Herax placed his hand on Milo's shoulder.
"What do you think about a challenge between us? Who will endure longer?"
Milo smiled faintly, a spark of challenge appearing in his eyes.
"Alright. I accept."
Around them, all the participants stood in their positions, each one waiting in silence. The confusion and questions that had filled their minds began to fade gradually as the timer started counting down, signaling the beginning of the test.
The second stage had officially begun
Light waves of energy began moving through the room, passing between them like invisible currents. None of them could see it.
Within seconds, Milo felt a slight heaviness in his body… a faint fatigue spreading through him.
"What a strange feeling…"
Beside him, Herax placed a hand on his chest.
"yeah this is weird"
Lilithia tried to lighten the mood.
"Come on, we just need to endure thirty minutes. This won't stop us!"
Milo smiled at her and gave a small nod in agreement.
Staying together gave them a sense of confidence… and a quiet warmth.
The first minute passed.
So far, everything seemed normal. Some had already begun to feel a slight fatigue, but nothing too alarming.
And yet,
Despite only a single minute passing,
The most confident among them, the one who had mocked the test, was the first to break.
His body suddenly staggered.
For a brief moment, he tried to steady himself, but his legs refused to respond.
His breathing grew heavy.
Unstable.
Then, he collapsed.
His knees hit the ground first, followed by the rest of his body as he fell forward, gasping for air as if it had been taken away from him.
His eyes widened, darting around in disbelief as he noticed the gazes fixed on him.
Some looked at him with pity.
Others, with silent mockery.
But what angered him the most
was Emi's gaze.
She was looking at him with concern, genuine concern, despite everything he had done before.
He couldn't accept it.
To him, it wasn't kindness.
It was humiliation.
His expression twisted with anger, his fingers digging into the ground as if trying to force himself back up.
For a moment, he wanted to shout, to curse them all.
But before a single word could leave his mouth,
His body flickered.
And then he vanished.
Just like that.
Without warning.
He was the first to fail this test.
Some of the participants began to grow uneasy after what had happened. Fear crept into their hearts, worried that they might suffer the same fate. The tension in the room increased, and a suffocating feeling spread through the space, despite how large it was.
Milo and his companions stayed close together, supporting one another, trying to ignore the growing discomfort that became harder to bear with each passing minute.
A few more minutes passed, and the number of participants began to decrease gradually.
Meanwhile, George observed those who had failed the test. They had been returned to the original room, their appearances filled with fear, exhaustion, and quiet despair.
George slowly approached one of them, his gaze fixed on him.
The young man looked at him, appearing completely indifferent.
George spoke to him, his voice loud enough to reach everyone in the room.
"This test… represents something adventurers often face."
"Imagine confronting a monster, or a person, and exhausting all your energy… only to find that your opponent is still not tired."
"How would you feel then?"
The young man thought for a moment, trying to understand what George meant… then he realized.
"Helplessness?"
George nodded slightly.
"Yes. Helplessness… and fear."
"We have lost many adventurers. And those who survived… some of them could no longer take a single step outside Novara, afraid of feeling that same thing again."
"And this test is designed to make you feel exactly that," George continued.
"It spreads fear into your heart and drains all your remaining energy, until you start losing the desire to continue."
"The moment you reach that point… the test ends immediately."
George stroked his beard slowly, then raised his gaze toward the participants.
"I wonder…" he murmured.
"Will anyone even be able to reach the thirtieth minute…?"
Back in the endurance chamber, Milo stood still among the others.
The faint white light above them remained steady, and the countdown continued ticking silently.
Milo looked toward his companions.
They were still holding on.
All of them… except Ryo, who was already breathing heavily, clearly exhausted.
The sixth minute passed.
A few seconds later, Emi suddenly dropped to her knees.
Tears streamed down her face as her body trembled under the pressure.
"Milo…!"
Milo immediately turned toward her, his expression shifting with concern as he stepped forward.
"Emi!"
The moment she raised her hand, Milo grabbed it, trying to help her stand.
But she had already lost her focus… her strength slipping away completely.
She looked at him one last time, then spoke softly through tears.
"I'm sorry…"
And then she vanished.
Eliminated from the test.
Milo stood still for a moment, frozen.
Then slowly, he straightened up.
His companions gathered around him shortly after.
Solir spoke quietly.
"She reached her limit… but she held on well, considering how exhausted she already looked from the beginning."
Milo looked down for a moment, clearly saddened and worried about Emi. But despite that, he kept going.
The test did not stop.
Time kept dragging forward.
When the eighth minute hit
Ryo suddenly dropped to the ground, clutching his throat as he struggled to breathe. His eyes shook as he looked at the others.
"Damn it… I just wanted to make friends… not go through annoying tests like this…"
He lay flat on the ground, his body giving in.
Even so, for a few seconds, something inside him resisted. A final flicker of willpower pushed him to endure just a little longer.
Then, he vanished as well.
Ryo's disappearance left a strange weight in the group.
At the beginning, they had all wanted to pass the test together.
The tenth minute struck.
For some, that moment felt like a nightmare, a sense of failure. It wasn't even halfway through the test, yet many already felt as if they were on the verge of collapsing at any second.
The pressure intensified.
The pain in their bodies and minds grew sharper, more persistent with every passing moment.
Sweat ran down Milo's forehead as he struggled to keep his breathing steady. His eyes scanned the room, noticing something unsettling.
Some participants showed no sign of exhaustion at all.
Korito Kuroka stood almost unchanged, unaffected by the growing pressure around him.
Another one fell.
It was Aurelius, who had remained silent throughout the entire test.
Solir quickly stepped closer to him.
"Are you alright?"
Aurelius slowly raised his gaze.
"You know… this type of test isn't my specialty," he said calmly.
"Leave the rest to you."
Only four remained now: Milo, Herax, Lilithia, and Solir.
Despite staying together, each of them had fallen into silence. Even speaking had become difficult under the pressure of the test.
Milo refused to give up. He wanted to reach the thirtieth minute.
But as time passed, his own body began to betray him.
This is… incredibly hard. The pain keeps increasing every second…
He closed his eyes for a moment, the exhaustion weighing down on him as his body slowly started to lean forward.
Then he heard a voice.
"Don't you dare!"
Milo opened his eyes and turned toward the sound.
Herax was beside him, also struggling under the same pressure, yet still standing.
"Don't you dare fall before me like this, Milo!"
It was just words from his friend, yet the feeling behind them spread through every part of Milo's body. He resisted the urge to close his eyes again, forcing himself to stay conscious.
Time continued to pass.
And finally, they reached the halfway point of the test.
Fifteen minutes.
At first, it felt like relief… even happiness, as if surviving this far meant they were closer to the end.
But at the same time, it was a signal.
The real hell was about to begin.
Suddenly, Lilithia collapsed to the ground.
"I'll see you later…"
And then she vanished.
Now only Milo, Herax, and Solir remained.
The number of participants had dropped drastically. Only a few were still standing in the chamber.
At this point, only the true fighters were left.