Razeal had a storm of thoughts swirling in his mind, but outwardly, he remained composed, still as the bark he leaned against. No twitch, no breath. Right now, the only thing he could afford to do was not get caught. If he did, well... he'd deal with that disaster when it came. For now, he hadn't.
Down below, a calm yet curious voice rang out.
"If I am not mistaken, that is Draconic language, right?" Selena's golden eyes were fixed on the raised platform of smooth, shining white marble. At its center stood a towering tablet, carved with mysterious glowing runes that spiraled up a pole like ancient declarations frozen in light.
"Yes, that is correct, Lady Selena," Aeron replied, his gaze mirroring hers. His crimson eyes narrowed, analyzing the strange glyphs. The aura around him shifted focused, sharpened.
A sharp voice broke the moment.
"Your Holiness, this place looks... alarmingly suspicious." A woman in a pristine white cleric's robe stepped forward. Her pink-framed glasses shimmered in the sunlight as she adjusted them nervously. "I studied every inch of the official terrain map, including the routes provided personally by the Platinum Knight himself. There was nothing about a platform like this mentioned."
She paused, bowing respectfully. "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I suspect this is either a trap or an anomalous phenomenon of the trial gates. I advise we avoid it."
Selena turned to her with a warm, serene smile. "Nyla, there's no need for constant apologies. Giving advice is part of your duty as my personal holy attendant."
"Yes, Your Grace." Nyla bowed lower, her expression still tense.
Selena, meanwhile, was already examining the tablet again. "It is fascinating. Even I have no record of this structure existing inside the trial grounds. The inscription, too... there's something odd about it."
Aeron turned to her, brow slightly raised. "You can read Draconic, milady?"
"A little. I studied the basics in the Holy Library," she replied modestly.
"Just two words," she added modestly.
Aeron chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Just two words, huh? You're far too humble. Only someone who's studied obsessively could decipher even a fragment of Draconic without a drop of dragon blood."
He wasn't wrong. For those born with dragon heritage, the language came almost instinctively. But for a human, learning it from scratch was nearly impossible. Yet Selena had done it.
She tilted her head slightly and read aloud, amusement dancing in her voice, "One thousand cores… to reach the place where the Dragon Heart resides?" Selena repeated, reading aloud. "To be claimed only by one deemed worthy…"
She glanced sideways at Areon, a faint smirk curling her lips. "Sounds like something that's been prepared for you, doesn't it?"
Areon's brows drew together as his expression turned contemplative.
"It's impossible for any candidate to bring foreign items into the trial gates. The Gates of Worth would have purged them," he finally spoke, voice thoughtful. "Which means this isn't external. It must be part of the trial itself."
He reached forward, tracing the glowing symbols with his eyes.
"The inscription… was written by someone at least of King Rank powerhouse," he said quietly. "Possibly even Saint Rank powerhouse. The craftsmanship, the mana etched into each word this isn't a fake. It feels real."
Selena gave a soft hum in agreement. "There's a teleportation array embedded within the base," she noted, squinting. "It's subtle, cloaked... but active. It likely leads to the next phase of this trial."
Aeron's fingers curled slightly. The runes pulsed under his gaze.
Suddenly, his heart began pounding. It wasn't just anticipation. It was... fate. That voice. That instinct. Since childhood, this pull had always guided him an invisible whisper, a divine certainty.
Every time he followed it, he found fortune.
And this time… it was different.
The feeling inside Areon's chest this inexplicable pull wasn't just familiar.
It was the strongest he'd ever felt in his life.
His heart thundered in his chest, each beat like a war drum echoing through his bones. The world seemed to narrow, the murmurs around him fading as the tablet's inscription glowed faintly, calling to something deep within his soul.
Without hesitation, he turned.
"Lyold," Areon said, voice firm and unwavering, "take out a thousand elemental cores. We're going."
There was no second thought. No logic. No strategy.
Only instinct and faith in it.
But beside him, the red-haired Lyold looked as though he had just been stabbed through the heart.
"A thousand?!" he choked, eyes widening in disbelief. "C-Can't a hundred do the job? How about I pay the rest in installments? I'll give fifty every month, I swear. Interest free…"
He clasped his hands like a merchant begging for mercy from the heavens, but one glance from Areon just one sharp, no-nonsense glare and he deflated completely.
With a deep, defeated groan, he extended the heavy sack with both hands. His expression? Devastated. As if he'd just handed over his soul instead of currency.
"Damn it all…" Lyold muttered under his breath, eyes glossy with unshed tears. "I was saving that for my retirement... or maybe to buy a girlfriend someday..."
Areon ignored the melodrama and turned toward the saintess.
"Lady Selena," he said with a respectful nod, "please excuse us. I'll be heading in."
"I will join you," Selena replied, her voice calm but laced with a spark of curiosity. "It intrigues me."
Areon blinked. "You… will?"
He hesitated.
"But… it might be dangerous. We still don't know if it's a trap," he said carefully, the edge of concern in his voice betraying the thoughts racing through his mind.
He didn't dare say it out loud, but he didn't need to. It was too obvious.
If she got hurt even the slightest scratch the Church, those fanatics, might very well tear down the entire Gate of Worth stone by stone just to avenge her.
If it was just danger? She could handle it. No doubt.
In fact, if she so much as cracked one of the protective amulets she must be wearing, it was almost certain that within seconds, eight no, maybe even nine Platinum-ranked knights would crash through the gates with divine fury.
No exaggeration she was, by far, the most protected person here.
No, "protected" wasn't the word. She was practically worshipped.
Pampered.
But Selena just smiled. That serene, radiant smile of hers that could silence storms.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you all," she said softly, golden eyes glimmering, her hair catching the breeze like sunlight woven into silk.
That wasn't what I meant… Areon wanted to say, but bit back the words.
Of course, the moment her words reached her entourage priests, knights, and attendants everyone froze for a heartbeat.
Then, as if a silent command had passed through the air, they all looked at one another and nodded.
No one dared object.
She was the Saintess.
If she wanted to go, then she would go. Their role was not to question but to shield.
Even from the wind.
Even from shadows.
Even from gods, if needed.
Their lives were nothing compared to her safety.
Nyla, standing to the side, pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply, already anticipating the chaos.
"If even a scratch appears on the Saintess's body…" she muttered, turning around and raising her voice, "...then every single one of us will suffer the Holy Punishment of Agony. Remember that."
Her voice echoed through the clearing like a divine decree.
The non-Church members Areon's team and others visibly paled.
One archer audibly gulped, whispering under his breath, "Holy… punishment of agony?"
But the Saintess's followers? Their response was chilling.
"That punishment is too light," they declared in unison, fire burning in their eyes. "If a scratch dares touch the Saintess… we should all be executed instead."
Areon simply sighed, massaging his temple.
He had long stopped trying to understand these lunatics.
It was like they would sacrifice their own families if someone so much as joked about the gods in their presence. And when it came to Selena?
Their fanaticism was on another level entirely.
High above, hidden within the dense canopy of twisted branches and dew-laced leaves, Razeal crouched with every muscle in his body taut.
Pressure clawed at his chest. His lungs burned slightly from holding his breath for so long. Sweat slid down his temples despite the cold breeze.
Now. I'll get caught now. No, now. Or... now? The thought repeated like a curse.
But luck sweet, fragile luck had not betrayed him yet.
Down below, the platform gleamed like sacred marble bathed in morning light. The air buzzed with mana, its current almost seductive. He knew what it meant. He could read the scene like a book.
Tch. Greedy bastard, Razeal thought, narrowing his eyes at Areon, who was standing confidently with that ever self-righteous look of his.
Of course the protagonist would jump at the bait like a starving dog. A shiny platform with glowing runes? His sense of 'destiny' must be tingling.
People have spider scense but this bastard have Goblin sense's.
He watched Areon closely. That face. That calm composure. That holy glow in his goddamn eyes.
This motherfucker was born to steal. Robbing fate, stealing lives, calling it 'opportunity' like it's divine will. I hate him. I swear, I hate him with every cell in my body, Razeal mentally cursed. But then again
How much can one head curse?
Let them go, he thought bitterly. Let them get teleported to whatever bullshit dragon trial this is. All he needed was for them to step on that damn platform so he could finally breathe.
Seven whole minutes.
He'd held his position for seven excruciating minutes.
Even though he could hold his breath for ten, he wasn't confident in staying unnoticed for much longer. His limbs were beginning to tingle, and his heartbeat echoed in his ears.
Finally, he saw it the group was moving.
Areon placed the thousand elemental cores on the separate raised altar. The magic responded instantly, humming with a low, rhythmic pulse.
Razeal released a shaky breath of relief.
But… his brow furrowed.
Why didn't she notice me?
The Saintess.
Selena.
He knew... knew with absolute certainty that she was sensitive to mana. To life force. She once detected a poisoned squirrel two meters underground. She once sensed the heartbeat of a dying sparrow in the middle of a bathing which was three hundred meters away from her.
So how…?
Is it my luck? Is it finally returning?
The thought made his throat tighten. If it wasn't for the risk of betraying his position, he might've actually cried. His luck had betrayed him for so long… the idea of it coming back now felt too good to be true.
But then
The platform lit up.
The glowing emerald circle burst to life on the marble floor. Symbols danced, runes aligned. Mana surged.
They're leaving. They're actually leaving.
A grin ghosted over Razeal's lips. Victory.
And then
Selena.
Her head slowly tilted upward.
Her golden eyes locked onto his.
Just for a moment. A second. Barely enough to call it a glance.
But it happened.
There eyes met.
Did she see me?
Razeal's breath shattered, involuntarily sucked in between clenched teeth. His chest tightened with alarm.
Our eyes met. I saw it. I know I did.
Yet she turned away. Smiling gently. As if admiring the leaves. As if nothing had happened.
No. No. That wasn't random.
Our eyes met. I know they did. I'm not imagining it.
Panic slithered up his spine.
Then...
"Hey! There's someone up in the tree!" Nyla suddenly shouted, her voice sharp as steel. Her finger shot up, pointing directly at Razeal's perch. Mana trembled in the air, disturbed by the sudden breath he'd released.
Heads turned.
Areon's eyes snapped to where she pointed.
Unlike the others, he didn't need to squint. His eyes, superior in clarity, pierced through the leaves.
His gaze sharpened.
That… is that the shame of House Virelan? Purple potato?
His hand instinctively fell to the hilt of his sword.
A pit opened in his stomach.
Was this a trap? He glanced down at the glowing emerald array beneath his feet.
Tension coiled in his chest.
He didn't know why, but whenever he saw that face, that presence, that cursed existence something buried inside him would boil.
Hate. Pure, guttural hate.
"Guys, this is a tra~" he began to shout.
SWISH!
A flash of emerald light exploded.
And just like that… they vanished.
All of them.
Gone.
Razeal blinked. Then leaned back against the rough bark behind him, body trembling with the aftershock.
Holy shit. I almost got caught.
His heart pounded like a war drum in his ears.
But then the dread came creeping in.
No. She definitely saw me. I'm sure of it.
His expression darkened.
Wait… did she know I was here from the beginning?
Razeal clenched his teeth.
"That crazy, disgusting, vile, backstabbing~"
He stopped mid-thought, unable to come up with enough insults.
but what the fuck is she planning now
as of she just being nice?
Whoever said that Razeal swears to put three no four sharp daggers in there ass
that women is the one of the people he hates passionately
that women accused him of trying to rape her
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Yooo guys your all handsome nice sweet lovely and all intelligent author here to begg for powerstones and golden tickets.
Reward this poor guy with rewards.