But among the mid-tier ones, this Torong stood out. It was so familiar that I was shocked it had taken me this long to notice.
“Low-tier Torong…”
Though I was now part of the Hero’s party, I used to see this low-tier Torong more often than my friend Malri ever did back in the day. I could recognize it with certainty.
“Hey, how about we kill that low-tier Torong over there?”
My club, now broken beyond use, was in no condition to be of any help, so I suggested someone else take the lead.
Immediately, a mocking chuckle came from Hans’ group.
It was an unmistakable laugh of ridicule.
When I turned to look at them, I saw Hans trying to put on a somewhat awkward expression.
“Excuse me, miss… what was your name again?”
“…Aine Kruger.”
Had it really been that little time since we introduced ourselves that he already forgot?
Hans continued speaking without any sign of embarrassment. He simply carried on with what he wanted to say.
“Ah, yes. Lady Kruger. First, allow me to clarify that my comrades meant no ill intent by laughing. It’s just that… didn’t Lady Seiris already attempt to wipe out all the Torongs in one go? And yet, you’re suggesting we simply kill another one, as if that would somehow help.”
That was true.
But the low-tier Torong was much smaller.
It could have slipped past Seiris’ overwhelming magic.
Even now, it was still bouncing around between the mid-tier Torongs, squeaking away.
Keeping my eyes on it, worried it might disappear, I responded to Hans.
“Still, it seems to be the only low-tier Torong here. There’s no harm in at least trying to kill it, right?”
“You’re quite persistent. May I ask what level you are, Lady Kruger?”
“Why are you suddenly asking about my level…?”
“Judging by your equipment, I’d say you’re not even level 20. Am I correct?”
“…I’m over 20.”
“That’s surprising. But I doubt you’re over 30.”
“…….”
He wasn’t wrong.
I was level 27.
Hans, noticing my silence as confirmation, shook his head in disbelief.
“I’m level 48. The others here are all over 40. And the Hero’s party? Well, there’s no need to even compare. Do you really think you noticed something that all of us somehow missed? Besides, all the monsters here are mid-tier Torongs. Where exactly is this ‘low-tier’ one you claim to see?”
His gaze turned sharp.
“I don’t know why the Hero travels with someone like you, but…”
As I silently endured Hans’ obnoxious mix of self-praise and veiled insults, Kelian suddenly swung his sword.
“You should at least refrain from being a hindrance—huh?!”
Hans, who had been standing close to the trajectory of the swing, yelped and stumbled backward, falling flat on his back.
But the sword wasn’t aimed at him.
It was aimed at the low-tier Torong I had pointed out.
The creature was neatly sliced in half before it could even let out a final kyuak, vanishing instantly.
“W-What the hell just—?!”
“Aine.”
Ignoring Hans completely, Kelian addressed me in a calm, unaffected tone.
“Is there anything else you’d like me to get rid of?”
He was obviously talking about monsters.
And yet… why did it sound like he meant something else?
Hans must have sensed it too, because despite looking ready to spout more nonsense, he shut his mouth and stood up.
Though he harshly brushed off the hands of his comrades who tried to help him.
“No… nothing else.”
I didn’t see any more low-tier Torongs.
Hearing my response, Kelian calmly sheathed his sword.
But he still gazed down at Hans with an unreadable expression.
There was something unsettling about it.
Acting purely on instinct, I reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his coat.
Kelian’s eyes flickered down to my hand.
“I… think I’m feeling a little tired.”
It was an excuse.
Of course, I was exhausted—after all, I had fought hard enough to break my weapon.
But it wasn’t to the point where I needed to put on such a blatant act.
Even I felt how unconvincing my words were.
And yet—
Kelian, who had been watching my condition so carefully all along, accepted it without hesitation.
“Pardon me.”
“Ah!”
Suddenly, my body was lifted into the air, startling me.
Kelian had effortlessly scooped me up, one arm supporting my back and the other under my knees.
He looked almost relieved—as if he had wanted to do this from the start.
“K-Kelian, you really don’t have to—”
In my flustered state, I accidentally called his name directly.
But that wasn’t the biggest issue.
The real problem was the people watching us.
Especially Dain, whose mouth was hanging open in sheer disbelief.
“T-Those bastards…!”
Before he could say anything more, Jenin clapped a hand over his mouth.
“What’s the big deal? They’re dating. If they like each other, this is normal.”
Her voice was so casual—so matter-of-fact—that even I almost believed it for a second.
Even though it wasn’t true.
“Jenin. We’re not— I mean, I’m not dating Kelian.”
I hurried to correct her.
None of them knew what had happened between us.
They didn’t know we had been together once.
They didn’t know we had kissed—several times.
But that didn’t mean I had become his anything.
Just to be sure Kelian wasn’t under the same misunderstanding, I looked up at him—only to be met with a slightly crestfallen gaze.
Wait… why do you look disappointed…?
“You’re not dating?”
Jenin seemed genuinely surprised by my response.
Meanwhile, Dain had already worked himself into a frenzy.
“I knew it! She only got close to us because she was after Kelian!”
With absolute certainty in his voice, he jabbed a finger at me.
But before I could even react—
A faint vibration rumbled through Kelian’s body.
At first, I thought it came from him.
But the tremors grew stronger, and I quickly realized—
It wasn’t Kelian shaking.
It was the ground.
Everyone—including Dain, Hans, and the rest—abruptly stopped what they were doing, shifting their focus to the trembling earth beneath us.
“What the—”
One of Hans’ party members lost their balance—
And in an instant, the ground beneath them cracked open as if cleanly sliced by a blade—
And they plummeted into the darkness below.
“Ben!”
Hans’ party rushed toward the newly-formed pit, but their comrade was already gone—swallowed by the darkness below without even a scream.
They peered desperately into the hole, but their expressions quickly turned to helpless despair.
“Is this… some kind of man-eating ground?”
Whether he had decided to put his suspicions about me and Kelian aside for now or was simply too focused on the situation, Dain casually prodded the ground with his foot.
The earth rumbled in response, vibrating even more violently.
“The Torongs are gone.”
Ah.
Hearing Jenin’s remark, I glanced around—
The mid-tier Torongs that had endlessly emerged from the air were now completely gone.
“The first trial is over. Now the second one begins.”
Dain’s sharp gaze flicked toward me.
It was a look that said: If this weren’t happening, you wouldn’t get away with this.
“So killing that low-tier Torong was the answer. It’s all thanks to Aine.”
Jenin, unbothered by Dain’s glare, continued praising me without hesitation.
But before I could respond, another commotion erupted.
“Anna!”
Another of Hans’ party members had fallen into the earth.
Now two gaping pits scarred the ground, and Hans’ group stood between them, visibly shaken.
“Damn it! What the hell is this?!”
“Don’t fall! If you fall, you’ll get swallowed up!”
“Everyone, grab hands! If someone starts to fall, pull them back!”
Having lost two of their comrades, they no longer hesitated.
They quickly locked hands, forming a human chain to stabilize each other against the quaking ground.
It seemed to help—they no longer struggled as much to maintain their balance.
“This is boring.”
Dain scoffed, unimpressed.
The only ones struggling were Hans’ party.
Barkrud, clearly unimpressed, let out a rare complaint.
“If this is supposed to be a trial, where are the damn monsters? All we’re getting is some shaking ground.”
The rest of our party was just as unfazed.
Seiris had used some unknown magic—her body remained completely unaffected by the tremors.
Jenin bounced playfully in place as if testing the ground.
Dain coolly observed his surroundings with a sharp, unreadable gaze.
And then there was Kelian—still holding me effortlessly despite the shaking.
“Kelian, I think you should put me down now.”
I worried I might make it harder for him to keep his balance.
But the cold-faced man showed no intention of doing so.
Instead, his arms tightened around me.
“It’s still dangerous.”
Far from struggling to maintain his balance, he seemed even more stable than the others.
If Kelian wasn’t having a hard time, then honestly…
I felt safer being in his arms.
After all, if a level 40+ adventurer from Hans’ group had fallen, how could I expect to hold out on my own?
And now, the tremors were only growing stronger.
“Aaaaaah!”
Another scream.
Another victim.
A man from Hans’ party—the one positioned at the very end of their human chain—had suddenly lost his footing.
The teammate holding his hand tried to pull him up—
But when they nearly fell as well, they let go.
“No, don’t let go! Don’t—!”
The man’s desperate scream was cut off as he vanished into the ground.
His cry lingered in the air, a haunting echo that sent chills down my spine.
I bit down hard on my lower lip.
“Why the hell did you let go?! You traitor!”
“I-I almost died too!”
“You betrayed us, so you deserve to die too!”
“P-Please, don’t! I was wrong!”
Even from a distance, I could feel the sheer panic, fear, and growing distrust within Hans’ party.
The Hero’s party had long surpassed the limits of ordinary people—this trial hardly fazed them.
But for normal adventurers like Hans and his group, this was a brutal ordeal.
“Hero! Are you really just going to stand there?! Seiris Lyn, please help us!”
Sensing death creeping closer, Hans desperately shouted for aid.
Kelian and Seiris turned to him, their expressions blank—like they were looking at furniture rather than a person.
“If anything happens to me, the Brave Hawk Guild won’t stand for it! Not even you can—ugh! Hold me properly, damn it!”
Hans, too preoccupied with threatening the Hero’s party, nearly fell when his teammate failed to support him.
Instead of fear, his reaction was pure rage—he immediately lashed out at his comrade.
“He’s really loud.”
Dain muttered, eyeing Hans with a dangerously unreadable gaze.
He idly tapped the shaking ground with his staff, as if contemplating something… unsettling.
Even Jenin—who usually kept him in check—nodded in agreement.
“I didn’t like him from the moment he started picking on Aine.”
“…That’s what bothered you?”
“Yeah. Aine, should we just… send him off?”
Jenin’s voice was impossibly sweet—completely different from when she spoke about Hans.
Send him off…?
I had a very bad feeling about what that meant.
Quickly, I shook my head.
“Umm… no, that’s okay.”
Jenin let out a soft, disappointed sound.
I wasn’t fond of Hans either, but having him die because of me was an entirely different matter.
Not that Jenin even needed to act—Hans was already struggling against the relentless assault of the crumbling ground.
“Aaaaahhh!”
The tremors intensified, making it impossible to hold formation.
Their human chain collapsed.
The hands that had been gripping each other for support vanished one by one, and the weaker ones were the first to be swallowed by the earth.
The more experienced members managed to survive—some, despite falling, stabbed their weapons into the wall of the pit and clawed their way back up.
Hans, who had been the target of our scorn, did the same.
“Draw your daggers! If you fall, climb back up!”
Their battle against the ground grew more desperate by the second.
Now, even standing still wasn’t safe—
The earth beneath their feet was collapsing on its own.
Even the spot where Kelian stood with me in his arms began to crack.
But without the slightest hesitation, he simply leaped to stable ground.
His movement was so effortless that it barely seemed like he was taking this seriously.
“This whole place is going to collapse.”
Dain had moved beside us, watching with narrowed eyes.
And he was right—every piece of land people stood on was crumbling beneath them.
Below us was nothing but an endless void of blackness.
I couldn’t see what was down there.
I didn’t want to see.
If I had been alone, I would have fallen long before Hans’ party did.
I must have gone pale, because Kelian leaned in slightly and murmured,
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“It’s just… scary.”
Kelian went silent for a moment, as if contemplating something.
Then, in a low voice, he muttered,
“Then we’ll have to end this quickly.”
I hoped that was possible, but—
Did he have a plan?
Still holding me, Kelian dodged the collapsing terrain with ease, weaving through the destruction.
Then, suddenly—
He jumped.
The force of it sent my hair whipping through the air, and I instinctively clung to his neck.
When we landed, we were at the very edge of the clearing—
Standing before the massive gray wall that enclosed this entire space.
It stretched so high I couldn’t see where it ended.
For a moment, it felt less like a dungeon and more like we were trapped inside the hollow core of an enormous tower.
Kelian, still holding me, raised his sword in one hand and slammed it—scabbard and all—into the wall.
At first, I thought he had just struck at random.
But the moment I heard a scream from within the wall, I realized otherwise.
—H-How…?
Emerging from thin air, clutching his abdomen where the scabbard had hit, was none other than Sen.
His form shimmered into visibility, revealing that he had been using magic to conceal himself.
—How did you know I was here?
At the same time Sen muttered in disbelief—
The earthquake stopped.
The collapsing ground ceased its destruction.
Hans’ group, having watched for an opening, immediately collapsed onto what little stable ground remained, utterly exhausted.
The clearing, now in ruins, looked less like a battlefield and more like the remnants of a disaster.
“This was the only place the ground didn’t shake,” Kelian stated plainly.
—Y-You could tell just from that…?
Sen sounded horrified.
“Is there anything left?”
Ignoring further conversation, Kelian immediately pressed for the next trial.
Sen hesitated in silence before finally speaking.
—There is… one final trial.
Straightening his back, Sen quickly recovered from his previous wound.
“There’s more?”
Hans’ remaining party members—only three of them now, including Hans himself—shuddered in fear.
But their panic wouldn’t delay what was coming next.
“Ugh!”
The ground collapsed once more.
Hans’ party scrambled in terror, barely managing to reposition themselves.
Even Kelian’s footing gave way, forcing him to leap high into the air again.
Using the crumbling debris as stepping stones, he landed near the rest of our party—only to find that they, too, had been shifting to avoid the collapse.
By the time the chaos settled, we were split into two groups.
On one side stood me, Kelian, Seiris, and Jenin.
On the other, Hans’ group, Dain, and Barkrud.
Between us was a vast, bottomless black abyss.
One misstep, and anyone could fall to their death.
A tense silence filled the space.
“What the hell? Why am I over here?”
Dain was the first to break the quiet, his voice dripping with irritation.
He had clearly been moving on instinct to avoid the collapsing terrain, only to end up stuck with Hans’ party.
Judging by his scowl, he hated the arrangement.
“We’ll just jump back.”
Unbothered, Barkrud made a simple decision and attempted to leap across.
But—
Thud.
As if repelled by an invisible force, he bounced back mid-air and landed in the exact spot he had started from.
“…It’s blocked.”
“What?!”
Dain swung his staff experimentally, striking at the empty space between us—
Only for the motion to be halted mid-air.
There was something there.
An invisible wall dividing our two groups.
And then, Sen’s voice echoed through the air.
—Defeat the opponents before you. Make them fall. Anyone who falls will surely die.
Hans’ party visibly paled.
Having already lost multiple members to the abyss, they knew there was no surviving a fall.
Without hesitation, they huddled toward the center of their platform, keeping as far away from the edges as possible.
“They’re really dead, huh… Damn it… Anna…”
The remaining two members of Hans’ group looked haunted as they muttered to themselves, unable to hide their grief.
Hans, however, clenched his jaw and barked harshly,
“Of course they’re dead. You think they survived that?!”
“But still…”
“Stop spouting nonsense and get a grip. Unless you want to die too. Damn it, we should never have come here.”
I could feel Hans’ anger slowly turning toward me. If he wasn’t glaring at Kelian, then that piercing gaze was meant solely for me.
“It’s all because you started the trial…”
Then the others joined in, unleashing their misplaced hatred.
“Yeah. Our party members all died because of that woman!”
“She tricked the mage Sen into starting the dungeon—it’s all her fault!”
It was absurd. If they hadn’t planned on clearing the dungeon, why had they even entered? This wasn’t the kind of place one could simply leave by doing nothing—the dungeon had to be started.
I doubted that those higher-leveled than me didn’t understand that… But in their grief, rage, and fear of losing their comrades, they had found the easiest scapegoat to blame.
And sure enough, I was the easiest target here. Even though I understood what was happening, having strangers direct nothing but murderous hostility toward me was not something I could easily endure.
As my shoulders flinched at the loud noise from the opposite side, Kelian gently ran his hand over my back as if to reassure me. A wave of relief washed over me, as if by magic.
“I won’t let you—ugh!”
Kelian’s sword, glowing with a blue light, slashed horizontally, sending a sharp wave of energy flying forward. At the terrifying sight, Hans let out an involuntary scream and collapsed on the spot, but fortunately, the energy was blocked by an invisible wall and dissipated.
“Hey, Hero. Did it ever cross your mind that if you fire that thing this way, not just them but we could also be in danger?”
Dain, who had been just as startled as Hans’ group, jumped up from the other side in protest.
“Sorry.”
Kelian apologized in a tone that was anything but sincere. Naturally, hearing that only made Dain flare up even more.
The one who stepped in to mediate between them was Jenin.
“Calm down, Dain. The sword energy didn’t even reach them anyway. But then, how are we supposed to attack and knock them off?”
Any attempt to attack the other side was rendered useless by an invisible wall, making it impossible to push them off. The mage Sen, who might have explained further, simply kept his mouth shut.
Rumble— The ground, which had seemed to stop shaking, began to tremble again.
Everyone on both sides fell silent, focusing entirely on what was happening.
“No way, again…?”
“Wasn’t the shaking over? Is the ground collapsing again?”
“There’s barely any ground left to collapse!”
I agreed with that sentiment, but the trial was merciless. It had no intention of listening to the complaints of challengers who had willingly crawled into this rare dungeon.
The intensifying tremors made Hans’ group sway dangerously. I saw Dain irritably shove away the bodies that leaned against him for support.
Hans bit his lower lip hard before his eyes suddenly gleamed with an idea. He whispered something to one of his comrades, who nodded and pulled out a staff, aiming it in our direction.
Hadn’t attacks been useless? I watched in confusion, but to my surprise, a fireball shot from his staff and crossed over to our side without any obstruction.
Seiris quickly conjured a wind barrier to shield Jenin from the incoming flames.
“What the—? It works?”
As Hans’ group launched their attack, Dain idly commented from the sidelines.
The tremors soon subsided, and just as everyone was catching their breath, Jenin casually pulled a dagger from her inventory and hurled it toward the other side in response.
Unlike the fireball that had just flown past, the dagger hit the invisible barrier and fell into the darkness below.
“Damn, my dagger.”
Despite the confident throw, Jenin seemed genuinely disappointed as she peered down at her lost weapon.
“It got blocked again.”
Barkrud tilted his head in curiosity and retrieved a small doll from his inventory, tossing it toward Hans’ group. But just like the dagger, it was stopped midair and dropped straight down.
“Is it only fire-based magic that works?”
Since the fireball from Hans’ group had made it through, the theory made sense. Jenin muttered to herself and naturally glanced at Seiris, but she remained utterly indifferent.
“Tell Dain to try it.”
“…Then we’ll get hit, won’t we?”
“I’ll block it for you.”
She could do it but just didn’t feel like it. It seemed Seiris preferred wind magic over fire spells.
Meanwhile, the ground trembled once more. Another fireball came flying from Hans’ group. The mage who had cast it looked completely exhausted, panting heavily, but Hans caught him before he could collapse.
“This one made it through too.”
Despite seeing the fireball easily pass through the invisible barrier, everyone on our side remained calm.
Jenin stepped forward and signaled for Seiris to lower her staff, indicating that she would handle it herself.
In an instant, she swung her slender sword multiple times, slicing through the air. The fierce fireball, which had been rushing toward us with terrifying momentum, dissipated into nothingness.
“Wow, Jenin, that was amazing.”
“Really?”
I murmured unconsciously, mesmerized as I gazed at Jenin’s back. She turned around suddenly, smiling sheepishly as if embarrassed.
“…….”
“…….”
That was the moment when both Kelian, who was holding me, and Seiris, standing beside us, started acting strangely. They didn’t look alike, but their cold and indifferent auras were eerily similar. Yet now, they had suddenly grown aggressive, preparing to attack Hans’ group.
“Attacks seem to land better when the ground is shaking rather than relying on magic attributes.”
“Then I’ll take the next attack.”
“I want to do it.”
“No, I should go first…”
Jenin and I blinked in confusion, unable to understand their sudden change, while Dain looked at us with utter disappointment from the other side.
Then, the ground started shaking again. Hans and his group, panicked, hurriedly hid behind Dain and Barkrud. Dain seemed thoroughly annoyed by this, but with the rumbling noise, I couldn’t catch exactly what he was saying.
Seiris and Kelian, both insisting on attacking, finally compromised—they would strike at the same time. Seiris unleashed a wind spell, while Kelian slashed out a wave of sword energy. The sheer force of their attacks was terrifying, powerful enough to kill on contact.
Had the invisible wall blocked them again, it would have further supported the theory that only fire-based magic could pass through. But this time, the attacks went through without resistance, crossing directly to the other side. The theory was wrong—it was true that attacks worked when the ground was shaking.
“Isn’t it a bit much for both of you to attack at the same time?”
Dain grumbled but quickly got serious as he blocked the incoming attacks. Kelian’s sword wave rebounded off the barrier Dain had conjured with his staff and came flying back toward us. The blue energy slash returned with such overwhelming force that I couldn’t help but be impressed by Dain’s skill in deflecting it.
Kelian swiftly intercepted his own returning attack, cutting it down with his sword before it could harm us.
While Dain had successfully blocked their assault, Hans’ group had not been as fortunate. A panicked voice called out:
“Lidor!”
As the tremors briefly ceased, Hans and another survivor peered down into the abyss, searching for their fallen comrade. But the depths below were pitch black, and once someone fell, there was no coming back.
“You knew defensive magic, yet you didn’t protect Lidor?! That’s too much!”
This time, it wasn’t Hans who was shouting but one of his own allies, furious and shaking. Since Kelian’s sword energy had rebounded, that meant Seiris’ wind magic had been the attack that knocked Lidor down.
“Wow, the audacity. Why would I protect any of you? And by the way, the only reason you two are still standing is because I blocked that sword wave for you.”
“You… you could’ve saved all three of us, so why did you let Lidor die?!”
“He fell because he was weak. Why blame me?”
“Ugh… Hans! Say something!”
Hans’ comrade pleaded for his support, but instead of joining in the outrage, Hans quietly took a step back.
“Well… I mean, it’s not wrong. We’re still alive, after all.”
His comrade looked genuinely shocked at his indifference, but Dain, standing in the middle of their brewing conflict, merely scoffed and turned away.
“So… in the end, are we just fighting among ourselves now?”
Jenin, speaking in an infuriatingly casual tone, didn’t seem to mind the prospect at all.
“Let’s have a duel.”
Barkrud’s eyes gleamed as he stepped forward, but Dain, unsurprisingly, was quick to correct him.
