"Get down!"
With a low shout, Linn turned without a second thought. He shoved the head of Ais—who was closest to him—downward, pinning her low to the ground while simultaneously dropping into a crouch himself.
Tione reacted with lightning speed, lunging to tackle the dazed Tiona and Lefiya to the floor.
BOOM—!
A violent explosion rocked the entire corridor, leaving their ears ringing. A wave of searing heat, mixed with jagged shards of wooden barrels, erupted like a roaring beast, instantly engulfing the space where they had stood just moments ago. The scorching gust even singed the tips of Lefiya's hair, filling the air with the smell of burnt protein.
As the flames subsided, the floor and walls were left charred and blackened.
"Cough, cough... That was way too close..." Tiona scrambled up, covered in soot, her heart pounding with lingering fear. If it hadn't been for Tione's quick reflexes, they would have been—if not killed outright—horribly maimed by the blast.
"How devious! These monsters actually use traps!" Lefiya stomped her foot in a fit of rage.
"Welcome to the Lands Between," Linn remarked, standing up and brushing the dust off his clothes.
He looked up at the small enemy on the crossbeam, which was currently disoriented from the blast and trying to climb down. With a flick of his wrist—shing!—a throwing knife appeared from nowhere and buried itself deep between the hollow's eyes. The creature didn't even have time to shriek before it fell stiffly to the ground.
This display of precision made Tione's pupils contract. This man was far too familiar with this environment and its enemies. He was so familiar, in fact, that it was as if he had returned to his own home.
"Let's go. There should be more 'surprises' ahead," Linn said, looking away and continuing forward.
After the encounter with the explosive trap, everyone was on high alert, their steps becoming increasingly cautious. However, danger always arrives when it is least expected.
As they crossed a long gallery and entered a slightly more open square hall, the heavy grinding of metal echoed through the room. Iron portcullises slammed shut on both sides of the hall, sealing their retreat.
Immediately following this, a figure over two meters tall, encased in heavy black plate armor and wielding a halberd, emerged slowly from the shadows at the far end of the hall. Eerie blue ghost-light flickered within the slits of its helmet. With every step it took, the ground seemed to tremble slightly. An aura of pressure, far exceeding any enemy they had encountered so far, bore down on them.
"A Banished Knight..." Linn's gaze finally turned serious. "This guy is on a completely different level from the fodder we just fought."
"Attack together!" Tione made a split-second decision. She exchanged a look with Ais, and the two of them lunged forward in a pincer maneuver.
CLANG!
Ais's rapier was like a bolt of lightning, aiming for the knight's flank, only to be met by a massive heater shield. Sparks showered the floor. On the other side, Tione's kukri was swatted aside by the knight's halberd; the sheer force behind the strike left her webbing numb and forced her back several steps.
"Such immense strength!" Tione's face was grim.
"O Wind!"
Lefiya, positioned in the rear, finally found an opening to cast. With a short incantation, a blade of wind whistled toward the Banished Knight's back. However, it was as if the knight had eyes in the back of its head. The moment before the wind blade struck, it performed a heavy side-step, perfectly evading the magical attack.
"What?!" Lefiya gasped. Her magic had been dodged!
The knight's combat skill and reaction speed weren't those of a monster; it fought like a battle-hardened, elite warrior.
While the group struggled in a bitter stalemate, Linn's silhouette moved like a ghost, hovering just outside the knight's reach. He moved as if he knew every single one of the knight's attack patterns, using mere footwork to perfectly weave through the swings of the heavy halberd.
"Mr. Linn!" Tione shouted urgently. "What are you doing?!"
"Looking for the opening."
Finally, he maneuvered directly behind the knight. Linn's eyes narrowed as he raised a dagger.
Backstab!
The dagger plunged precisely into a gap in the armor, skewering the knight's heart. The massive knight stiffened, the blue flames in its helmet flickering violently before slowly fading out. The heavy body slumped to its knees and dissolved into motes of light.
For a moment, the only sound in the hall was the heavy breathing of the party.
"Is... is it over?" Tiona swallowed hard. The final exchange had happened so fast she had barely seen it.
Ais's golden eyes shimmered with an intense light. She stared fixedly at Linn, as if trying to engrave his exquisite positioning into her memory.
"Phew..." Lefiya let out a long breath, her tense nerves finally beginning to relax.
Though she hadn't liked this man before, she now felt that as long as she stayed behind him, there was nothing to fear.
However, the moment that thought surfaced, a bone-chilling coldness surged from behind her! Just as she turned a corner and her line of sight was blocked by a wall, a gaunt, icy hand reached out silently from the darkness and clamped over her mouth. Another hand held a dagger coated in a sickly green glow, pressing it against the small of her back!
"Mmph!!"
Lefiya's pupils dilated to their limit. Terror flooded her consciousness like a tidal wave. An ambush!
She wanted to scream, but no sound came out. She wanted to cast, but her body was pinned, and her mana—disrupted by the surge of panic—refused to coalesce. The icy tip of the blade had already pierced her mage robes, sending a sharp sting through her skin.
The shadow of death had never loomed so clearly over her. This was a mage's nightmare: to be closed in on, restrained, and left as a helpless lamb for the slaughter.
It's over... I'm going to die here...
Just as Lefiya fell into despair, a dark blur flashed past her eyes, moving faster than the assassin!
"Tsk. I knew you rats loved this trick."
Linn's slightly annoyed voice sounded like heavenly music in her ears. In the next second, Lefiya felt the hand over her mouth loosen, and the pressure of the dagger disappeared.
Shaking, she looked back to see a small hollow creature holding a dagger. Linn's own blade was now buried deep in its throat. The creature stared with wide, disbelieving eyes before slowly collapsing and turning to ash.
Linn wiped the blood from his blade and glanced at the pale, trembling Lefiya, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Hey, Elf. In a place like this, never let your back face a dark corner."
His tone held no comfort—only the raw, unadulterated experience bought through countless deaths.
"That's the first lesson of the trial."
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