Chapter 47: 47:Deadly Welcome

As the Kael entered the ancient castle, Gare hesitated before stepping forward. He turned to Ramos, his eyes sharp with suspicion.

"Why are the knights entering?"

"For the test?"Ramos spoke nonchalantly.

Behind Kael, a few knights entered that drew Gare focus.

"Something’s not right."

Baret frowned and tried to stop him. "What are you talking about?"

But Gare shook him off and faced Ramos directly. "This whole thing is suspicious. There’s never been a trial like this for knights. Trials like these are only for noble heirs, not for regular warriors." He narrowed his eyes. "So why are knights being forced to take this test? What are you hiding?"

Instead of getting angry, Ramos laughed.

"Hahaha! My dear nephew..."

His voice trailed off as he turned to watch the knights disappear inside the castle.

Ramos remembered Kael from past ago—a boy with slumped shoulders, weak sword skills, and no mana to speak of. He had been the family’s embarrassment, someone barely acknowledged.

But Ramos never believed in pity.

"Being born into a noble house isn’t the blessing people think it is," he said, his voice calm but firm. "It’s a curse."

He looked at Gare and Baret. "If you’re weak, that curse follows you for life. The only way to break free is to become stronger—to crush everything in your path."

A silence fell over the group. Everyone understood what he meant. Those who couldn’t break the curse lived a life worse than death.

But then Ramos smiled. "Kael, though... he’s different now."

The boy who had once been a disappointment had changed. Ramos had seen it when Kael fought that D-rank warrior. His posture, his presence—it was like looking at a different person. Even his body seemed stronger.

"What happened to him?" Ramos wondered.

The Duke wanted to know. Everyone wanted to know.

But in the end, it didn’t matter. The outcome was set.

Kael needed to prove himself. And if he was too weak? Then he would die.

Ramos’ eyes flickered deep blue. "This whole thing is a trap."

A test to see if Kael was strong enough to step beyond this place. And if he wasn’t? No one was going to save him.

Ramos turned back to Gare and Baret. "Aren’t you worried? There’s a 99% chance he won’t survive."

The two men exchanged a glance, then smirked.

"Young Master is the last person we’d ever worry about," Gare said.

Baret crossed his arms. "I’d be more worried about his enemies. Not everyone is lucky enough to survive a fight with him."

Ramos stared at them for a moment before letting out a low chuckle. "Hah... You two have too much faith in that brat."

Gare crossed his arms. "It’s not about faith. It’s about knowing the kind of monster he is becoming."

Baret nodded. "He’s not the same Kael from before."

Ramos glanced back at the massive doors that had swallowed Kael and the others. His deep blue eyes gleamed with a cold, knowing look.

"We’ll see."

........

Inside the Palace of Qualification

Kael took slow, deliberate steps forward as the green flame flickered ahead. The cloaked figure watching him had an eerie presence, its voice distorted and layered, as if multiple entities spoke at once.

"Your awakening is not a gift. It is a trial of worth."

Kael smirked. "Yeah, yeah, spare me the theatrics. Just tell me what I need to kill."

Kael climbed the stairs, step by step, until the ground finally leveled off.

Then—

Shhhh—

A strange noise echoed around him.

It sounded like rats, thousands of them, gnawing and scratching like they were trying to tear apart whatever was in their way.

Kael’s eyes darted around.

No, not rats.

Insects.

Hundreds of thousands of them, swarming toward him from all directions, forming a massive wave of writhing bodies.

The ground they passed over was torn apart, exposing raw earth beneath.

Kael squinted.

Carnivorous bugs.

If they touched him, they’d burrow into his flesh, eating him alive.

"Ah, great. Just what I needed. A fucking bug buffet, and I’m the goddamn main course."

This was obviously a test. That cold-eyed old bastard set this up.

"Seriously? This is the qualification exam? More like a goddamn execution. Whatever, I’ll just break this bullshit."

Kael cracked his neck and stepped forward.

As he moved, a strange light shimmered around him. It wasn’t mana exactly, but something similar.

Slurp—

The air itself seemed to shift, like a blade slicing through water.

Kael unsheathed his sword, feeling the energy around him stir.

"A star is a self-contained universe..." he muttered, grinning. "Yeah, yeah, that sounds fancy. Whatever. Let’s see if I can make this work."

He raised his sword.

Not having mana didn’t mean he couldn’t use it.

"Sword Sea!"

SWOOSH!

A massive wave of sword energy exploded outward.

Chiiiiiik!

The insects disintegrated on impact and shredded instantly.

Kael smirked.

"Pathetic little shits."

The path was cleared. He walked forward, reaching the end of the level.

Creak!

A stairway appeared, leading to the next floor.

Kael could imagine the faces of the people who might watch him right now.

"Heh, I bet they’re shitting themselves," he chuckled before heading up.

—

When he reached the next floor, he was greeted by something unexpected.

A maze.

An impossibly huge one, stretching so far that the end wasn’t visible. At the walls of the maze, many ancient statues of knights stood.

Kael scratched his head.

"You gotta be kidding me. Who the hell designed this place? A psychopath?"

"A maze in the test...Is this a joke?"

Finding a way through the maze wasn’t exactly his fort.

Just as he was about to move—

THWAAAANG!

A massive greatsword, over three meters long, came crashing down at him from behind.

Kael twisted his body, barely dodging as the sword smashed into the maze walls, reducing them to rubble.

He turned to look at the attacker.

A knight.

No, not a normal knight.

A Death Knight.

Fully clad in black armor, red eyes glowing with eerie death magic.

An undead warrior, doomed to chase after the glory it failed to achieve in life.

Kael blinked, then burst out laughing.

"What the fuck? A Death Knight? Oh, come the hell on! This is a goddamn scam!"

He clenched his fists.

"That old bastard... I swear, if I survive this, I’m punching his wrinkly ass face."

The Death Knight let out a blood-curdling roar and charged at him again.

Kael’s grin widened.

"Alright, zombie bitch, let’s dance!"

He sidestepped just as the greatsword whooshed past. The sheer force of it made his hair whip around.

"Damn, that was close. I almost lost my beautiful head. That would’ve sucked."

Then, darkness surged from his hand.

[Devour]

A wave of black energy spread around him, absorbing the death mana in the air.

"Sweet. Free energy. Thanks, dumbass!"

Kael clenched his fist, ready to punch the Death Knight’s skull in.

But—

Szzzzk!

Silver light rained down from all directions, slashing through Kael over a dozen times.

His body was cut into pieces—

Or so it seemed.

Swoosh.

Darkness swirled, and Kael reappeared a few steps away, completely unharmed.Apparently who was cut just now was his after image.

"Nice try, asshole," he snickered.

Then, he noticed something.

Three more Death Knights had appeared, standing beside the first.

Kael let out a low whistle.

"Ohhh, so y’all wanna gang up on me, huh? I see how it is."

His smile widened.

"You know, if you guys wanted my attention, you could’ve just asked nicely. No need for all this dramatic bullshit."

The Death Knights roared in unison and charged.

Kael rolled his shoulders.

"Four of you now? Damn, they really want me dead. That’s cute."

The Death Knights swung their greatswords, aiming for his throat and heart.

But just as Kael prepared himself to fuggr.

BOOM!

Darkness exploded from Kael’s feet.

A swirling storm of black energy erupted, swallowing everything—Kael, the Death Knights, and the entire space around them.

"What!"Kael was startled a bit as this wasn’t his doing however he liked the surprise.

As the world darkened, Kael’s laughter echoed.

"Let’s see who survives this little death party!"