Chapter 140
“Huff, huff!”
“Huff—kheuk, kehek!”
In the space where the arrows had abruptly stopped, ragged breaths and gasping breaths overlapped.
Even though the room was large enough for seven people, the air felt heated like a sauna.
“Is it over? Is it over? Huff, huff!”
“…It says we’re transitioning to Stage 3. How many stages are there?”
There wasn’t a single person who wasn’t drenched in sweat.
Steam practically rose off everyone’s heads.
Everyone swayed, dizzy.
“My legs… I can’t put strength in my legs.”
“I’ve had cramps for two hours already.”
“Then how…?”
“Fuck, I forced it out. It’s not like I can get hit by an arrow just because I cramped up. Huff, huff!”
It wasn’t only one person suffering.
Everyone was suffering like they were dying.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
My heart wouldn’t stop either.
‘Still, everyone…’
They were incredible.
If they wanted to quit, they could have.
Since it was a game where only one person needed to pass, they could have handed it off to the strongest.
To Zhang Wei, or to me.
‘But.’
Not one person gave up.
Even when they wanted to go limp, someone else still endured while crying.
‘They all know.’
Victory isn’t what matters. Training is.
Becoming a Ranker matters, but what kind of Ranker you become matters too.
Or—
maybe they just didn’t want to look pathetic in front of each other.
Because giving up without even trying is just lame.
“Phew.”
I ignored the insane pounding of my heart and exhaled a short breath.
And at that moment—
“Everyone, below!”
Capu shouted.
“Damn it! Watch your feet!”
“Below?”
There wasn’t even time to ask what he meant.
Kwarururuk!
The white floor cracked into a chessboard pattern and began to move in grotesque ways.
“What—what is this?!”
Some tiles spun a full 360 degrees. Others jolted up and down.
And in the gaps beneath them—
“Fuck…”
Vladimir cursed, sounding dumbfounded.
“This is really getting ridiculous. That’s lava, isn’t it?”
It was so hot that rock had melted into a sticky liquid flow.
In places, blazing jets erupted like solar flares.
“No wonder it’s been so hot. It wasn’t just our heat—it was the lava?”
Strictly speaking, it was both.
Either way—
“Move!”
The moment I shouted—
Sliiiice!
Arrows fired again from the side walls.
But the speed—
was on a completely different level from Stage 2.
At least double.
No, it felt closer to two and a half times faster.
“…This is insane.”
Even Zhang Wei clicked his tongue.
That said enough.
“Hoon.”
Capu blinked as he dodged in place.
I looked at him.
“Sorry. I think this is my limit.”
“Capu?”
The moment his footing slipped—
Puhk!
An arrow stabbed into his heart.
His body fell toward the lava zone about thirty meters below, then vanished with a soft sssst.
[One team member has made contact with an ‘arrow’.]
[That team member has been eliminated.]
“Damn it!”
The moment Stage 3 began, we lost a teammate.
That showed exactly how brutal this stage was.
[Skill, ‘Legacy of Ten Thousand Arts’ (S-rank) activated.]
[20 Energy consumed.]
[‘Master of Ten Thousand Arts’ has appeared.]
Twenty-four hours had passed.
I summoned the Elder immediately.
‘Elder.’
– Yes.
‘What do I… do about this…?’
Kwaruruk! Sliiiice!
The difficulty spiked.
Dodging arrows was already madness, and now I had to watch my footing too.
More things to track.
– Hah.
The Elder let out a dry laugh.
– Looking at the speed and the environment… this is close to one hundred percent of your limit, isn’t it?
‘One hundred percent…?’
Then—this moment, right now, was exactly my limit?
‘Well.’
It did feel that way.
Because I didn’t know any way to move faster or more efficiently than this.
– Look around, you brat. Compared to what the others are getting, yours looks like an arrow storm. Heh, impressive. That means your limit is the highest among them.
Grit.
I ground my teeth.
“Hup!”
I twisted my upper body to dodge an arrow and jumped to a jolting tile.
Sliiiice!
Another arrow barely grazed past behind me.
‘Fine. Either way.’
If it was one hundred percent—that meant there was still a way to dodge, as long as I focused, right?
– Brat. This trial doesn’t seem like a contest of techniques.
The Elder muttered as he watched me.
– Of course. Even a genius can’t master footwork or evasion arts in a matter of days.
Countless arrows poured down.
My heartbeat climbed to another level.
Thumpthumpthumpthump!
It pounded like it was going to burst.
“Kh—khup!”
Even as I kept moving, I forced out shaky breaths.
This…
was the kind of trial where spacing out for even an instant meant elimination.
– Brat. I have no advice for this. This is not a fight of technique—it’s a fight of will. A fight of how long you can endure at the edge of your limit, with it driving you without end.
“Khaaa!”
I roared.
It hurt.
If the pain before had been bones crushing and blood vessels bursting—
this was different.
A pain where my heart begged endlessly for oxygen.
A pain where my whole body stayed tensed, demanding rest.
– Brat, is it hard?
Yes. It’s hard.
It’s so hard I feel like I’m going to die.
– It has to be hard. Because you can quit at any time. Because quitting would make it easier.
“Ugh… ngh.”
– Hoo. It’s brutally stupid, and brutally effective. One chance only, and it drives you this hard. And by putting lava beneath the floor, it forces you to feel your physical limit faster. Impressive.
Elder.
That’s not help. Give me something useful.
Sliiiice!
I dodged an arrow that skimmed within a centimeter of my cheek and looked around.
“Kyaaa!”
Myoi Hana had already slipped, falling into the lava.
[One team member has made contact with ‘lava’.]
[That team member has been eliminated.]
“Hoon, damn it! Hang in there! I’ll cheer for you, even if it’s from far away!”
Olena collapsed—
Pusuk!
An arrow stabbed into her thigh.
At the same time, she vanished with a sssst.
[One team member has made contact with an ‘arrow’.]
[That team member has been eliminated.]
Now four remained.
Me, Zhang Wei, Vladimir, and Maximilian.
‘No.’
My eyes widened.
‘This can’t be testing willpower alone.’
Capu. Myoi Hana. Olena.
They didn’t drop first because their willpower was weaker than ours.
‘The floor.’
I watched the tiles.
Without physical ability and bodily sense, you couldn’t endure this structure no matter how strong your will was.
‘This isn’t willpower. It’s technique.’
I had to win with technique.
– Hmm?
The Elder chuckled, amused.
– Even now, you’re still using my ‘Unrivaled Supreme Footwork.’ It’s rough, but your application is impressive. It won’t be easy to apply it in an environment like this.
Even in a harsh environment,
I applied what the Elder taught.
Adapting it to the situation, my body developed on its own.
– Heh, indeed… the Supreme Azure Mind Method is working. I can’t speak for your head, but your body is clearly climbing into the realm of genius.
Elder.
I’m dying here.
Stop enjoying the show and help—
“Hup?!”
Sliiiice!
Another arrow grazed past.
That one was genuinely dangerous.
If my focus had slipped even slightly, I would’ve been finished.
– Endure, brat. I won’t speak more. Even if a god of education came, they couldn’t advise you here. Just endure. Like you always have.
Maybe he realized how tight this was.
The Elder went quiet, arms crossed, and simply watched my ordeal.
It was hard.
Sliiiice! Sliiiice!
Unbearably hard.
Sliiiice! Rrrrk!
As the Elder vanished and time passed,
I refused to break concentration.
I immersed myself in evasion like when I forged that S-rank weapon.
One hour. Two hours. Three hours.
And then, the fourth hour—
“I’ll go now. This is… too much.”
Maximilian, the middle-aged man, was eliminated.
[One team member has made contact with ‘lava’.]
[That team member has been eliminated.]
“Fuuuck.”
Vladimir shouted.
“So it’s just the three of us now? Huff—kheuk!”
“I’m near my limit too, Vladi.”
Zhang Wei muttered, eyes wide, spear already thrown aside.
“My limit was here from the start. Khup! Hey! Team leader!”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t this enough? Huff, huff! Honestly, we’ve held out a long time, haven’t we?!”
I shook my head.
The fact he could still speak out loud—
meant he still had more left.
He was being pushed to his limit, not beyond it.
“Hah… what a… stubborn bastard.”
Time kept passing.
“…!”
Even Vladimir’s mouth, which had kept cracking jokes, no longer moved. (T/N: Im pretty impressed with Vladimir’s stamina considering he is a mage type.)
Zhang Wei’s face was red, drool spilling as he breathed.
I wasn’t any better.
‘Shouldn’t this be ending by now?’
By feel—by rhythm—by sheer instinct, it seemed like twenty-four hours had long since passed, but it didn’t end.
As I let out a dry laugh—
“Team leader, I’ve endured enough—kugh!”
“My friend, endure. Kugh… you truly are impressive. I tried to beat you, but I can’t anymore.”
Vladimir and Zhang Wei took arrows to the chest.
With a sssst, they vanished.
And even then—
all I could do was keep moving.
‘Ah.’
My mind was hazy.
I could feel consciousness slipping.
I couldn’t even tell if I was dodging the arrows, or if the arrows were dodging me.
Slip!
My muscle twitched and I tumbled—
“Hraaah!”
I forced myself up and stepped again.
Dozens of arrows streaked past my side.
‘The only good thing is—’
the arrows had slowed down a lot compared to before.
That must mean my current movement limit had dropped to match that speed.
“Fuuuck.”
That made it worse.
It was disgusting.
Like this space was testing me. Measuring me.
“Then keep going, you bastards!”
Spite flared.
The arrows and the trembling floor felt like they were mocking me.
Isn’t this the hardest you’ve ever had it?
Isn’t this too much to endure?
‘Bullshit.’
I burned my body dozens of times fighting Sunny.
I endured Toxin Mist until my whole body melted.
I even housed the Essence of Fire inside me, even if only for a moment.
‘And now—’
now you think you can measure my limit with arrows?
Try it.
Try harder.
I’ll crush the nose of whatever thinks it can test me.
Ptoo.
I spat down into the lava.
Hot breath leaked out with it.
Heat poured into my lungs.
My heart had been pounding so long it had gone numb.
My brain must’ve realized it.
That sending pain signals wouldn’t matter, because the owner of this body wouldn’t listen.
I widened my eyes.
I kept moving my feet and hips.
Minutes passed like that.
“Khaak—haaak! Haaak!”
[24 hours have passed.]
Finally.
I endured Stage 3 to the very end.
And then—
[Transitioning to Stage 4.]
Of course.
That wasn’t the end.