At the center of the tform, the ancient, weathered stone patterns carved into the ground suddenly red to life, forming a circr array nearly 30 feet across.


    As the light pulsed, three stone figures rose slowly from within it. Each stood nearly ten feet tall, carved from dark yellow rock and gripping a massive battle axe.


    Red mes flickered within their hollow eye sockets. The spiritual pressure they emitted matched that of ate-stage Adept, and their burning gazes locked onto every living being on the tform.


    “It’s the guardian trial,” Grace said, her eyes narrowing. “Defeat them, and we may be allowed to proceed or at least earn the right to remain here.”


    The stone guardians let out a low, grinding roar. Their heavy steps shook the tform as they advanced, with their axes sweeping forward. The des had not yet struck, but the violent wind generated by their swings already cut against the skin.


    “Form rank and prepare to engage,” Grace shouted, drawing her sword and moving to intercept one of the guardians. She knew there was no turning back now. The only path forward was through the fight.


    Dustin stayed behind the front line, protected by the others. His eyes never left the battlefield as his mind raced. The three guardians appeared slow and bulky, yet their strikes carried overwhelming force. Their defenses were formidable, and they moved with surprising coordination.


    A drawn-out battle would quickly drain the team, especially after the chaos they had just endured and everyone was already injured.


    His gaze tracked the guardians’ movements, their footwork, the rhythm of their strides, and the faintly glowing stone patterns beneath their feet.


    Then, he noticed something. Whenever one of the guardians stepped down, its footnded precisely on a specific node within the glowing array and the red me in its eyes flickered.


    “Grace!” Dustin shouted. “Strike where their feet meet the pattern on the ground. Those are the energy nodes keeping them bnced!”


    Without hesitation, she changed her approach. Instead of shing directly with the stone guardians, she transformed her attacks into swift, cunning strikes aimed precisely at their ankles, where they met the ground.


    The others quickly followed her lead. Whenever their attacksnded cleanly on the shing nodes, the statues faltered. Their movements grew sluggish, and the stone ting across their bodies seemed to weaken.


    “It’s working!”


    Grace’s spirits lifted, and her sword moved faster than before. With the team pressing its advantage, one statue’s ankle node was repeatedly struck. It copsed to one knee, and momentster, its head was shattered under a concentrated barrage, crumbling into rubble. Using the same method, the remaining two statues fell in turn.


    When thest guardian crumbled, the pattern at the center of the tform red with brilliant light. Three soft halos rose into the air, each containing a vial of pills, a shimmering dagger, and a memory crystal inscribed with what appeared to be an earth-aspected defensive technique.


    “Basic guardian trial passed. Rewards granted. You may rest upon this tform for six hours. When the time ends, you must either proceed upward or ept a higher trial.”


    The grand voice resounded in everyone’s minds again. Simultaneously, a faint golden barrier rose along the edge of the tform, sealing it off from the outside world and granting them a rare moment of reprieve.


    The group exhaled in relief, and several men nearly copsed where they stood. Grace sheathed her sword and walked over to Dustin, holding out the pills and memory crystal.


    “We only made it through because you spotted their weakness. You should keep these items for protection.”


    He shook his head.


    “Everyone should share the pills. Healing injuries is more important. As for the memory crystal, it’s no use to me right now. Give it to someone who needs it. You keep the dagger.”


    Grace knew arguing would be pointless. She distributed the pills among the wounded and kept the dagger. Then, she walked to the edge of the tform and looked down.


    In the distance, shouts and bursts of spiritual light still flickered faintly below. She lifted her gaze toward the mountain path stretching upward, seemingly without end. Her expression grew grave.


    “This is only the beginning,” she muttered. “I wonder how Scarlet and Adam are faring. And the ordinary people who were sent to even more dangerous areas.”


    Dustin stood beside her. He said evenly, ”


    Right now, everyone has been pulled onto the same starting line. Or perhaps the same arena. Thew of the strong devouring the weak will be magnified here.


    All we can do is survive and keep climbing.”


    Grace nodded. She understood what he meant. Mount Aethermoor’s forced trial had be an inescapable, dragging everyone into it. Their original ns had been disrupted, and all semnce of order had copsed.


    Only strength, cunning, and luck would allow anyone to fight for survival on this suddenly crowded and blood-soaked path to the summit.


    Those who had once stood ahead of the rest or watched from behind the scenes Evander, Elowen, Anders, Zephyrin, and the Frost siblings-had all been dragged into a deeper and far more unpredictable current. The brutalpetition had finally begun.