The golden sunset sun stretched shadows along the ground beneath the trees where Arin and Stella strolled in the hushed woods. Leaves rustled gently overhead, but there was something strange in the air. Not quite a chill… but a stillness, like the woods were holding their breath.
Stella went first, the grinding of her boots into fallen branches sounding out around them. She looked back constantly over her shoulder—not at Arin, but at the path behind them.
"Are you sure that we are close?" Arin asked, brushing a hanging branch away from his forehead.
Stella continued walking, but nodded. "We are...It is just up ahead, beyond the ridge."
"You have been behaving strangely since leaving the farm," he observed, accompanying her. "You are not the sort to remain so taciturn."
She slowed a little. "Because it's… weird. The place, I mean. When I found it, I was chasing a rabbit. Thought I saw it dart under a tree, but then I tripped over something. Stone… covered in moss. I thought it was just an old foundation. But then I looked closer. The air was colder. Everything was too quiet. It gave me goosebumps."
Arin's eyebrow went up. "You? Afraid of some rocks?"
She gave him a momentary glare of irritation. "Not that alone. You'll see."
They spoke little to each other afterward.
The path grew narrower, the trees here more gnarled and ancient. Even the birds fell silent. Arin's steps grew cautious. He felt something. Not the sense of fear, but tension. A subtle pull, as if strings he couldn't see pulled at his chest.
Then—he saw it.
Half-buried in the ground and vines, nestled among the tangled roots of a weathered oak, a stone arch protruded from the ground. Broken columns stood around it like the toothy grin of a deceased deity, their surfaces etched with worn runes.
She stopped just before the door. "There," she spoke softly, almost as if she did not dare to speak loudly. "That is what I found."
Arin approached, sweeping some of the leaves aside. He studied the weathered carvings. He had no knowledge of the language—but there was something in the language that felt almost familiar, some long-lost memory.
He smiled afterwards.
"Well," he complained to himself, "apparently I don't have to go very far to look for monsters."
Stella blinked. "What?"
He waved his hand. "Nothing. This. may have some risks to it. You'd best remain here. Just in case."
She scowled. "You are not going inside alone."
"I am," Arin said simply. "If anything happens to you in there, I'd never hear the end of it. Especially from your brother."
She opened her mouth to protest, but then paused. The shadows beneath the ruins seemed to stretch out, wrapping around her legs like water. She shivered.
"…Fine. But if you die, I'm stealing your room and your good boots."
Arin grinned. "Deal."
***********************************************
The moment Arin stepped past the archway, the air shifted.
It wasn't just colder—it was older. Stagnant, like no one had breathed it in centuries.
Then the voice of the system echoed in his mind:
[ALERT: HOST HAS ENTERED THE RUIN OF TRIALS — DESTRAND.]
[DIFFICULTY: F]
[RECOMMENDED LEVEL: 1 - 10]
[MAXIMUM PARTICIPANTS: 1/5]
[FLOORS: 10]
"Destrand…" Arin repeated softly. "Where have I heard that before?"
His feet crunched over loose stone and patches of dead moss as he moved deeper inside. The space was a long, ruined hallway—pillars crumbled on either side, and the ceiling was mostly collapsed. The faintest glimmer of blue light leaked from the cracks above.
Then—
[HOST HAS MET HIDDEN CONDITIONS. INITIATING RUIN UPGRADE…]
[RUIN UPGRADE COMPLETE.]
DIFFICULTY: F → S
REQUIREMENT: LEVEL 1
MAXIMUM PARTICIPANTS: 1
FLOORS: 10 → 100
Arin stopped walking.
"…Upgraded?"
Abruptly, the ruin groaned—a low, grating sound of moving stone. A slab at the far end of the hall was beginning to move. Gradually. Painfully slowly. Clouds of dust in the air burst up around it as it slid apart, showing a spiraling stair plunging deep into the earth.
Darkness swelled up from the ground.
A cold gale ruffled across the face.
".Okay," Arin whispered. "Now this is starting to feel like a trial."
***********************************************
As he descended deep Into the Ruins, each step up the stairs took more effort than the last.
The tunnel spiraled tighter, the light at the entrance soon engulfed by darkness. Unfamiliar runes swirled weakly along the walls, softly radiating light as he passed—they almost seemed to respond to him.
The air smelled of old dust, dry blood, and something else.
A rot.
There lay bones upon the stairs. Not fresh, nor even ancient, but dry bones of now-extinct adventurers. Some held rusty swords in skeletal hands. Some had been torn apart—jaw bones pulled to the sides, their ribs splintered inward.
Arin stood stockstill.
He also did not smile.
[WARNING: TRIAL 1 INITIATING… PREPARE YOURSELF.]
He slowly exhaled.
"I knew this was not going to be a piece of cake," he grumbled. "But this is a more serious place than court."
The staircase ended in a wide hall—wider than was necessary, a cathedral to one side. A vaulted ceiling soared high overhead, most of it swallowed in the darkness. Unfamiliar murals along the walls depicted creatures Arin could not identify—wings, horns, eyes.
One depicted a man dressed in black, encircled by kneeling horned figures, with shattered chains.
The corridor opened onto a circular room.
He came in the wake of a spectral ring of flames that a dozen blue torches produced, lighting themselves along the walls. There was an altar at the center of the room—smooth black stone rimmed with broken runes—and upon that altar, a large coffin.
Chains coiled tightly around the sarcophagus. Runes pulsed faintly across its surface.
It was too pristine.
Too deliberate.
Too… alive.
Arin took a cautious step forward. His eyes never left the coffin.
Then—
A voice.
Soft, like a whisper just beside his ear.
"My heir… so you have come."
Arin jerked his head around. No one. Nothing. Just him and the blue flames.
But the voice had felt real.
Then the system returned:
[TRIAL 1 BEGINS]
Danger Level: F-Rank
Warning: The monster ahead is stronger than the host. Proceed with caution.
Objective: Eliminate all demon soldiers in this floor.
Arin opened his mouth to speak—but the coffin trembled.
Chains tightened… then snapped.
CRACK.
The first shackle shattered like glass. Then the next. Then the next.
The entire chamber began to quake. Dust fell from the ceiling, and several torches flickered violently.
Arin took a step back.
From beneath the altar, a low rumble built like the growl of a slumbering beast.
Then—
"Awaken… my wrath."
The lid of the coffin began to slide open, slowly, painfully, grinding against stone.
Cold air burst from within—so cold it stung Arin's skin.
Then—
Black mist exploded from the coffin, swirling like smoke across the altar, thick and heavy and alive.
And from within the fog… came movement.
Something was waking up.
To be continued...