The air around the lake was unnaturally still. Far too still. It felt as though the location itself was watching the four individuals standing upon its bank.
Iris. The slender youth. The golden-eyed youth. And Kim.
No one spoke, yet four minds were working at a frantic pace. Two of them, in particular.
Kim. And the golden youth.
The golden youth finally smiled, then offered a slight bow. A simple gesture, yet it caught everyone off guard.
> "Leonhart."
> "A pleasure to meet you."
>
No one expected a noble to introduce himself to a commoner in such a manner. Even Iris frowned. As for Kim… he understood the message instantly.
Leonhart was not offering respect. He was casting a bait. He wanted to observe the reaction.
Kim replied calmly:
> "Kim."
>
Just his name. Nothing more.
The corner of Leonhart's mouth twitched upward.
> "Concise."
> "I like that."
>
The slender youth, meanwhile, observed the exchange in silence. He was beginning to sense something bizarre—as if the dialogue between the two carried a secondary layer of meaning that remained invisible to the others.
Suddenly, Iris spoke up:
> "Are you two finished?"
>
She pointed toward the lake.
> "The reason we gathered here is far more important."
>
Everyone turned their gaze toward the water. And there, Kim noticed it.
In the dead center of the lake floated an anomaly.
A black flower. A solitary blossom drifting upon the water.
But the dilemma? The mana enveloping it was terrifyingly dense. Even the surrounding air appeared visibly distorted around its petals.
The slender youth whispered:
> "The Black Moon Flower..."
>
Iris's eyes widened in disbelief.
> "Impossible."
>
Leonhart let out a soft laugh.
> "So, you recognize it."
>
The slender youth replied, swallowing hard:
> "Any student who has studied magical alchemy would know it."
> "This plant is worth an absolute fortune."
>
Silence fell.
*Fortune.* A single word, yet its effect on humanity is always fascinating. Kim observed how everyone's gaze shifted toward the flower. Even the slender youth. Even Iris.
Leonhart, however, was merely smiling—as though he were anticipating this exact reaction.
> "So..."
>
He raised his hand toward the lake.
> "Who will claim it?"
>
The silence deepened, for everyone grasped the problem immediately. If a single person took it, they would secure the highest points of the trial and rank among the absolute top. But the rest? They would lose.
Kim smiled internally. Finally… the entertaining part had arrived.
**Greed.** The most beautiful weapon in the world.
Suddenly—Leonhart moved. Just a single step.
But in the very next instant, the surface of the lake erupted.
*BOOOOOOM!*
A colossal pillar of water surged into the air, and a massive entity emerged from the depths. A serpent. No… a creature closer to a dragon. Two immense blue eyes, with pitch-black scales armor-plating its entire form. As for its sheer size, it was grander than any monster they had encountered thus far.
The earth trembled. Everyone's eyes widened in sheer horror.
> "A Guardian!"
>
Iris whispered.
> "It was guarding the flower!"
>
Leonhart took a step back, then smiled—the smile of a man who had just confirmed his suspicions.
> "Just as I anticipated."
>
At that exact moment, Kim understood everything.
Leonhart never desired the flower. He knew of the Guardian's existence all along, and he had deliberately engineered a scenario to gather everyone here. To test them. To test their reactions. To test their capabilities. To test their minds.
Precisely what Kim would do.
For the very first time, Kim felt something akin to excitement. Not because of the monster, but because of Leonhart. Because he had finally found someone who didn't just look at the chessboard, but was actively trying to move the pieces as well.
In the next heartbeat, the colossal serpent hoisted its head.
Then… it looked directly at Kim.
Out of everyone present. Kim alone.
Its massive blue eyes froze for a fractured second. As for Kim, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Because he felt something strange.
That monster… was terrified.
> *"Sometimes… the most dangerous sign of a monster's presence… is when the other monsters begin to fear."*
>