Dust drifts in the cone of Alodius Enorim's helmet light as he leads the way into the depths of Gishui Shrine. The air is dry and stale, the kind that coats the tongue like chalk.
Behind him, Juzor's voice rumbles. "You better be right about this, Alodius. If there's nothing here, you've wasted our last chance."
His flashlight cuts harsh beams over the wall carvings, flickering across the faces of long-dead warriors etched in relief.
"There'll be treasure," Alodius says, trying to keep his voice steady. "Enough for all of us. Enough for reawakening."
That word makes Juzor and the others fall silent for a moment.
In Tedral, life is carved by power. The first Awakening gives a person a spark, a trick, a sliver of strength. But if the spark is weak, you are nothing.
A weak awakened soldier earns the lowest pay, sent to die first in battles against beasts, discarded when their usefulness runs out.
The Second Awakening is the only way to claw free of that fate. But it costs a fortune, more than they could ever earn on the frontlines.
It's why they are here, the deepest part of an ancient Gishui Shrine, to look for that fortune. This shrine is supposed to change that.
"Enough for four?" Curhan laughs bitterly from the rear. "You're dreaming. We'll be lucky if we can buy half a tincture."
"Shut up, Curhan," Juzor says, his broad shoulders hunched under the weight of his bag. "He dragged us here, so let him prove it."
Alodius's jaw tightens, but he doesn't respond. He focuses on the tunnel ahead, on the thought of gold sealed behind stone for centuries.
Izora's voice cuts in, smooth and warm. "Don't be so harsh. Alodius wouldn't bring us here for nothing." Her smile glows faintly in the light as she glances at him. "I trust him."
The words burn through Alodius. He forces himself to look forward again, hiding the way her voice makes his chest ache. If he can bring back treasure, enough to reawaken all of them, maybe she'll see him the way he's always seen her.
***
At last, the tunnel widens into a vast chamber. Their lights sweep over towering pillars carved with serpent glyphs, murals of warriors and monsters locked in endless battle.
At the center lies a massive sarcophagus, its black stone veined faintly green, glowing under their beams.
Izora lets out a low whistle. "There. Told you he wasn't lying." She rushes forward, gloves scraping as he heaves at the lid.
A puff of dust rolls out, revealing a corpse clutching piles of gleaming coins and ornaments.
"Jackpot," she whispers. "Real Gishui gold."
Alodius stands a few paces away, more absorbed by the carvings on the walls than the treasure. He has seen fragments of these ruins before, partial reports, smuggled notes from defected scholars.
"As I thought," he murmurs, brushing his hand across the engraved text. "They hoarded their riches in death. Typical of old noble orders."
He pushes open the lid of a nearby sarcophagus. Inside lies a mummified corpse, its gaunt hands curled tightly around a pitch black sword. Unlike the others, there is no treasure here.
"Guess that's your share," Izora calls, laughing as she scoops coins into her sack. "Better luck next time."
"You think that pile is enough for a reawakening?" Curhan scoffs. "Let alone for us four?"
Juzor's gaze slowly drifts to Alodius, cold and deliberate. "Well… we can all agree he's the deadweight."
Alodius goes cold. "Please, don't. This isn't funny."
"You're the weakest Awakened in all of Tredal," Juzor says, almost apologetic. "If we have to kill someone… you're the safest bet."
"I… I brought you here," Alodius mutters, stepping back. "I studied the ruins. Translated the text. Without me, you'd have walked into a death trap."
"Well… it's ironic, isn't it?" Juzor says, drawing his sword.
Alodius seizes the black sword from the sarcophagus. But the instant his hand closes around the hilt, pain stabs his palm.
"Ahk!"
He drops it and the blade clatters to the floor. Two thin needles retract into the grip, slick with his blood.
Juzor slowly steps closer, his grip tightening on this sword hilt. Izora just watches in silent, her face flat.
Curhan, on the other hand, keeps scooping gold into his sack, seizing the chance while he still can.
But then…
Drrt!!!
The ground shudders, and everyone freezes.
"Curhan…? What the hell did you just do?" Juzor snaps.
"I… I don't know!" Curhan stammers.
They just start hauling the treasure while they still have the chance. But as the weight shifts, hidden gears grind into place.
Clack… drrrt… crak!
"Shit! It's a trap!" Curhan yells.
Above them, the ceiling groans and lowers. Beneath, ground shakes with skeletal hands claw upward, dragging ancient warriors from their graves. Their eye sockets glow faint green, bones creaking as they rise with rusted spears and swords.
"What in the hell's name are those?"
Alodius snatches the black sword again. The blade thrums in his grip as he slashes. Bones shatter, skulls breaking, but each one reassembles and rises again.
"Oh, no… get to the stairs!" Alodius shouts.
Well, the others are already running away, actually leaving him behind.
But in the chaos, Juzor's bulging sack smashes into Izora, sending her sprawling. She tumbles down the steps with a cry.
Yet she still scrambles for her fallen sack, fingers clawing at the spilled treasure.
"Juzor! Wait!" Izora screams.
"Leave it!" Alodius snarls, yanking her arm.
"No, my bag!"
"It's not worth it!"
Alodius rips her free, hauling her to her feet. Together, they lunge for the staircase, scrambling toward the only hope of escape.
Juzor turns and sees the skeletal warriors coming to them. His hesitation lasts only a heartbeat, and then his boot slams into Alodius' chest.
"What the…?!" Alodius gasps, flung backward.
"Sorry, dude!" Juzor smirks. "Why don't you hold them here?"
Juzor scrambles over the edge of the exit, dragging Izora with him, and the stone trapdoor slams shut with a thunderous Doooom!!!
"No, wait!!!"
Sadly for Alodius, he is one step too late.
"Shiiiit!!!"
Only the light on his helmet left now, cutting a harsh beam through the dark. Behind him, skeletal warriors close in, bone and steel rattling.
"I… I can die here."
Alodius' lips tremble, but he refuses to bow.
He swings again and again, each strike slower than the last. But shattered bones knit themselves back together and rise anew.
To make things worse, the mummified warrior, the one whose coffin he had robbed, rises with a dreadful authority. The skeletons become idle, unmoving.
"That's right," Alodius growls, desperate. "You're the boss. If I kill you, maybe the rest will stop."
He strains, muscles trembling. A sharp crackle fills the air as faint sparks dance across his arm. His unique gift, the only mark of his Awakening, flares to life.
Blue static hisses across his palm, crawling over the metal blade. With a desperate roar, he drives the weapon forward, the charge snapping against the mummy's chest.
But the effect is pitiful. The static fizzles almost instantly, no more than a sting against this ancient withered flesh.
The mummy barely flinches, its hand clamps onto his arm.
"No… let go!"
Alodius draws everything he has into his arm. But the shock is pathetic, too weak from the very start.
"Please… not like this…"
"Oh, God…"
"Is this how it ends?"
Despair floods him. Hatred for Juzor and the others burns in his chest. Even regret gnaws at him for ever helping Izora.
"Damn it…"
It's always like this. The government has always seen him just another expendable piece to throw away. Even the ones he thought shared his struggle, the so-called weaklings who should have understood, have betrayed him too.
"Why is it always me…? It isn't fair… I shouldn't have brought them. Should have taken all the treasure for myself."
But the mummy doesn't strike. Instead, it pulls him close, pressing its skull to his forehead.
A voice detonates inside his mind.
[Let's test your greed]
Alodius blinks. "What…?"
[System Initialization in Progress…]
[Install Sequence: 67%... 92%... 100%.]
[To start your trial, a portal will open.]
The mummy crumbles to dust. A blue portal whirls open above its remains. Alodius staggers back, sword tight in his hand, staring at the rift.
"A portal…?"
The skeletons raise their weapons again, advancing. With no other choice, Alodius leaps into the portal, hurling himself into the unknown.
Once he gets to the other side, his boots slam onto solid ground, and the portal disappears behind him.
Before his eyes, suspended in the air, a translucent window flickers into existence.
***
[Area Entry Detected]
Welcome, Apprentice.
You have entered: The Proving Grounds (Tier-1 Training Zone).
Objectives:
Grow stronger by slaying hostile entities within this area.
Defeat the Zone Warden to activate the exit portal.
Note: This zone is sealed. Retreat is impossible until objectives are complete.
***
Alodius stares at the hovering text, throat dry.
"...What the hell is this? Where am I?"