As I stepped into the 11th Ordeal, the air thickened.
The grasslands faded behind me, swallowed by towering trees and tangled vines. The ground dampened beneath my boots, and the sky dimmed beneath the canopy.
A rainforest.
So, the next set of ordeals would be beast-type monsters.
The first to appear was a Dire King—an Alpha Direwolf. Its speed was said to vastly outmatch that of ordinary direwolves, though I doubted it could surpass the Goblin Warrior King. If that was the case, I could handle it… probably.
The beast emerged from the mist ahead, eyes glowing like twin moons. It didn't snarl—it simply vanished.
Instinct screamed.
I triggered [Dash], the world blurring sideways just as the ground where I'd stood erupted in a spray of dirt and claw marks.
So it had used [Accelerate]. Monsters with that kind of strength could manifest skills, though their use was limited by instinct, not logic. I hadn't expected it to open with that, but now it wouldn't be able to use it again for at least a minute.
Good. My turn.
I sprinted into a clearing, steel drawn. The Dire King noticed and lunged to meet me, a streak of fur and teeth. As it leapt, I activated [Dash] again, skirting its flank and slashing deep along its ribs.
It landed with a guttural howl that tore through the forest. If this weren't an Ordeal, I'd be surrounded already.
The cut wasn't as deep as I wanted.
This sword was reaching the end of its use—I needed better steel, or better strength.
The Dire King prowled forward, wounded but unfazed. With each step, its speed grew. By the time it leapt again, its jaws aimed for my neck. I twisted, sidestepped, and slashed again.
We traded blows like that for a while—its claws against my blade—until the blood loss drove it into a frenzy. Its eyes bled red, its breathing became ragged. All reasoning gone.
Most beasts entered a frenzy when critically wounded. The trade-off: immense power for the loss of control. Some even lost their primary senses.
Like this one.
The Dire King losses its sight and relies on smell to hunt—and I'd made sure to manipulate that.
[Target Exceeds Your Rank]
[Target's Sense of Smell Has Been Restricted]
The wolf stopped mid-charge, head jerking wildly as it sniffed the air in confusion. Perfect.
I dashed forward, boots cutting through damp soil. It snapped blindly in my direction, jaws clamping at empty air, its hearing was still intact.
I took a page from its own playbook—leapt—and drove my blade down through its skull. A sharp crunch, a wet squelch, then stillness.
[+120 Essence]
I didn't hesitate. "Predation."
[Corpse Devoured]
[+120 Essence]
The 12th Ordeal began almost immediately.
This time, the monster was a Shade Dire, a shadow-infused variant of the Dire King. It lacked Accelerate but possessed [Shadow Movement], allowing it to vanish and reappear through nearby darkness.
Its cooldown was short—dangerously so—but every leap left behind a faint ripple in the shadow it emerged from. A tell.
The ripple appeared beneath a nearby tree.
I pivoted, blade already swinging as the Shade Dire burst from the darkness.
[Bloodburst] ×2
The rush of energy burned through my veins, doubling my strength for a heartbeat. The strike landed clean.
Steel met flesh.
The beast fell in two.
[+140 Essence]
[Corpse Devoured]
[+140 Essence]
I checked my total. 835 Essence.
Time to level up.
200 Essence → Level 4
400 Essence → Level 5
Halfway there.
Most people would stop after facing the Goblin Warrior King. But if you failed the Ascent, the only thing you kept was your level.
So, I wasn't stopping here.
Two points—one to Strength, one to Agility.
9 in each.
The climb continued.