Something flickered at the edge of Kaelen’s vision. Shadows. His chest tightened, muscles tensing like a drawn bowstring.His expression hardened. The easy rhythm of his stride vanished, replaced by a hunter’s wary prowl. Out here, in the Valley of Death, when shapes appeared where none should be, there was only one answer that came to mind—monsters.And monsters were everywhere. Undead that clawed from graves. Demons that whispered in the dark. Beasts, elementals, giants, even dragons. Worst of all? Humanoids.Beasts fought with claws and fangs. Humanoids fought with weapons. That single difference made them infinitely more dangerous.So when Kaelen spotted figures shifting in the camp, the thought of allies didn’t even occur to him. Their movements were too deliberate, too sharp. Monsters, he thought. They had to be.It wasn’t just paranoia. He had reasons. The Valley of Death wasn’t open to the public. Only Substitute Professionals chosen for the Trial could enter—unless something

When Elena first saw Kaelen standing there, alive and whole, she didn’t even think about how he had survived those wounds. That detail slipped right past her. All she felt was relief. Her shield was back.Gallon, though—he wasn’t so quick to overlook it. He stepped closer, eyes steady, and asked outright.“I… can’t really remember,” Kaelen said, scratching at his temple like he was just as lost as they were. “All I know is, when I came to, the wounds were gone.” He hesitated, then added with a faint shrug, “Honestly, I’ve always healed faster than most. Maybe it’s just something weird about my constitution.”Gallon gave a slow nod. It made sense. Strange bloodlines weren’t exactly unheard of in a world crawling with monsters. Plenty of people who failed to awaken their true talents went out hunting creatures, draining their blood, hoping for some miracle.And some went further. Fusing that blood into their own veins. Dangerous, reckless, but not rare. A few even gained new abilities f

Kaelen standing alone against the Trial Boss while Elena and Gallon slipped away? Yeah, no chance. That wasn’t him. He wasn’t the self-sacrificing type, never had been. If you were looking for a hero ready to lay down his life for others, you’d better look elsewhere.And if things really went south—say the Trial Boss went berserk and they couldn’t hold the line—Kaelen already knew how it would play out. He’d be gone first. No hesitation. The truth was, dragging Elena and Gallon along had nothing to do with noble intentions. He wanted backup, sure, but more than that, he wanted someone else for the Boss to focus on.At least he had confidence in his own legs. He was fast—fast enough to match Gallon and Elena, maybe faster. If they ended up running for their lives, he wasn’t convinced he’d be the one caught.“Kaelen, don’t say things like that,” Gallon cut in quickly. His tone was sharp, but his eyes… they flickered with something else. Something calculating. “We’d never abandon you.”K

Kaelen spat, fury boiling up as he watched Elena and Gallon vanish into the shadows.So that was it. No loyalty. No honor. The second he squared off against the Trial Boss, they bolted—no hesitation, no looking back. Just pure, selfish survival.They had planned this. He could see it now, and that truth cut deeper than any blade. His whole plan, gone in an instant.He wasn’t stupid; he’d known they couldn’t be trusted. He’d even braced himself for betrayal. But he’d pictured them holding the line for a while at least—swinging their blades, pretending to fight—before slipping away once things got ugly. That, he could’ve worked with.Instead, the moment he drew the Boss’s attention, they were already ghosts. Their escape was clean. His situation is anything but.Now he stood alone against the Trial Boss of Death Canyon—the strongest monster this cursed place could throw at him. Kaelen was powerful, yes, but no stronger than Gallon’s whole team had been when they fought together. With El

Kaelen lay flat on the ground, dirt in his mouth, one hand locked tight around the skeletal warhorse’s leg. Forget the idea of him tossing the thing into the air like some legendary hero—that was never going to happen. Not in this life.Raw strength just wasn’t enough. Even with the Crimson Glove boosting his left hand, he only had a single point of power over the Trial Boss. One point. That was nothing. A mosquito bite, not an advantage.And sure, the horse was just bones, no muscle, no flesh. But let’s not kid ourselves—it still carried a rider wrapped head-to-toe in heavy armor. The thought of Kaelen ripping it apart by brute force alone? Ridiculous.Worse, he wasn’t even using the Glove right now. His right hand had the horse’s leg pinned, and that side was weaker. Two points weaker, to be exact.But he hadn’t grabbed the thing to show off. His plan was simpler: keep it pinned. Stop the beast from bolting mid-fight and make sure his blows had a chance to land.Because let’s be rea