With a final glance at the aspirants, he raised his hand.
"Enter the portal. Survive the Expanse. Let your deeds speak louder than your name."
---
Ethan stood before the blue gate.
The hum of the portal was soft, but it gnawed at his bones—like something within the light called to the Abyss hiding under his skin.
Velina stepped beside him.
"Ready?"
He nodded.
"No skills this time," he whispered. "No system. Just us."
Velina looked at him, fierce and proud. "Did you say something" Ethan didn't respond, he was too focused. And with that, they stepped into the light.
-------
Heat.
That was the first thing Ethan felt as the blue light of the portal spat them out into the blinding glare of a twin-sunned sky. The wind here didn't howl, it hissed, dragging waves of sand across the broken terrain like a thousand whispering snakes.
The desert hissed.
A whispering breath of heat, like the exhale of a beast that never slept. The twin suns hung high above, one pale and cruel, the other red as blood. Their light scorched the cracked dunes, painting shadows that trembled like mirages.
Ethan stood still for a moment, eyes scanning the groups forming around him and Velina.
Dozens of aspirants were already banding together. Noble sons from the eastern provinces gathered in circles, sharing water, plotting routes. Knights' descendants stood shoulder to shoulder, their blades gleaming as they formed tight units of five or six. There was an unspoken understanding between them, the desert didn't favor the lone.
But Ethan?
He had no noble crest. No allies. No welcome. As the aspirants began their march toward the unknown, not a single hand reached out to him.
Except one. Velina.
"We move east," she said, pointing toward the distant shimmer of a rocky crest. "There may be cover there. And a vantage point."
He nodded.
The Trial Band on his wrist pulsed faintly.
[Objective: Reach Beacon Tower – Time Left: 71h 52m]
[Distance: Undisclosed]
The satchel on his back was tightly fastened. Inside, a rationed water flask, a compact blade sharpener which was handed by the knights. The satchel was standard issue, enchanted to stay light and stable in harsh terrain. But it didn't have what Ethan truly relied on.
That was tucked away in a hidden layer, invisible to all.
System Inventory: Active. Hidden. Watching.
He could feel it pulsing faintly in his mind like a predator waiting behind the curtain.
But for now, he ignored it.
No skills. No enhancements.
Just him and the blade.
He looked at Velina, who had adjusted her grip on her sword. Her braid was already soaked in sweat, the strands clinging to her neck, but her gaze remained sharp. Determined.
"Let's move," Ethan muttered.
Together, they stepped into the vast furnace.
---
The first hour was unrelenting.
The sand stuck to everything. It clung to his boots, his cloak, his skin. The wind didn't offer relief, it bit at them, pulling at their clothes like jealous hands. And beneath every dune, Ethan felt it: tension. Waiting. Watching.
The desert wasn't silent.
It whispered.
Voices of the damned.
They passed a cracked stone arch partially buried in the sand. Around it were claw marks—deep and erratic. Bloodstains dried black on the stones. A group of four aspirants from House Vael had passed by it earlier. Now, only one limped back across the dune, alone and pale.
"Stay sharp," Ethan said under his breath.
Velina's hand rested near her blade.
The first beast struck without a sound.
Sand exploded around them as a creature erupted from beneath, a Class I Desert Fang-Crawler. Its body was flat, wide like a stingray but armored in overlapping black plates. Its jaw was unhinged beneath, rows of needle-sharp teeth spinning like drills.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He sidestepped the initial leap, dug his heel into the sand for leverage, and swung upward. The creature twisted mid-air, its tail whipping toward him. Velina intercepted the strike with her forearm plate, sliding low beneath it and driving her blade into its gut.
It shrieked, thrashed, and collapsed. Ethan spun around, eyes scanning. More movement in the sand. Two more.
"Right flank!" Velina shouted.
"I see them."
The next beast tried to circle. Ethan waited, read the movement, then charged forward with raw instinct. No System. Just speed, angle, and pressure. He dropped low, sliding beneath the creature's swipe, and drove his blade into the soft underplate beneath its eye, wrenching it sideways. The creature spasmed violently before going still.
[DESERT FANG CRAWLER DEFEATED]
[+15EXP GAINED]
[CURRENT EXP: 368/400]
Velina handled hers with brutal grace. A clean side-step, a spin, and a precise stab through the throat joint.
Sand hissed as the third beast collapsed.
They panted. The heat made every breath feel like smoke. Ethan reached to his satchel, moved to the beast and stabbed it on the chest, extracting it's beast core. Then kept it in the satchel. Velina did same
They moved again.
---
The day dragged its weight across the dunes.
Ethan and Velina marched without speaking much. Their rhythm was forming naturally, he took front, reading terrain, while she watched the flanks. Occasionally they stopped behind large dunes to drink sparingly. The satchels were enchanted to keep water cool, but there wasn't much of it.
Midday came. The sun split the sky with an oppressive brightness. And more beasts came. Sand Reavers. Flame Snakes. Bone-Beaked Raptors. All Class I and some verging on Class II. But still… Ethan fought with instinct alone.
No claws. No lunges. Just sword, timing, and raw anger when it counted.
There was a moment when three Flame Snakes burst from a sinkhole simultaneously. Ethan leapt off a half-buried stone, twisted mid-air, and brought his blade downward in a vertical slash, cleaving the top of the snake's skull clean off. It collapsed in a heap of ash and blood.
Velina rolled sideways beneath another, piercing its underside before yanking her blade sideways to tear out its ribs.
Their movements were beginning to echo each other's. A dance of rage and rhythm. After every kill, Ethan harvested carefully, extracted the beast core and kept in his satchel
[×2 TARTARUS BEASTS DEFEATED]
[+20EXP GAINED]
[CURRENT EXP: 388/400]
He kept his pool around 35/35, knowing if things escalated, he'd need it. As dusk approached, the sky turned red and the air cooled slightly. But danger didn't fade, it evolved.