The moment those lines appeared, everyone immediately understood how the cat man had suddenly died.Fighting was forbidden inside the Sanctuary.Many people relaxed slightly after realizing that, including Micheal.No killing meant they were safe for now.But then another line slowly appeared on the massive tablet.OUTSIDE THE SANCTUARY, ALL RESTRICTIONS DISAPPEAR.Silence fell once more.Everyone instantly understood the meaning behind those words.Even if someone obtained treasures fairly inside the Sanctuary, the moment they stepped outside…Others could simply kill them and take everything.Greed immediately returned to many eyes.The tablet continued glowing.THE SANCTUARY CONTAINS FIVE TRIAL GROUNDS.EACH TRIAL GRANTS DIFFERENT REWARDS.REWARDS ARE BASED ON PERFORMANCE.THE STRONG ARE NOT ALWAYS THE WORTHY.That final line caused many people to frown thoughtfully.“What does that mean?” Leo muttered.“No idea,” Alex answered carefully.“But it probably means brute force alone wo

Everyone immediately turned toward Max.Even several nearby Gold-rankers narrowed their eyes after hearing the bird speak.Max instantly noticed all the attention and puffed out his chest proudly.“Hmph. Finally realizing my greatness?”Micheal ignored the nonsense completely.“Do you know which path is real?”Max lazily clicked his beak.“All the paths are real.”The answer instantly confused everyone.“What?” Alex frowned.Max rolled his tiny eyes dramatically.“This is a Mirror Maze. Every door leads somewhere.”Then he glanced around arrogantly before continuing,“Or should I say… half of the doors here lead you nowhere.”His gaze shifted toward the shredded corpse nearby.“…And more than half of them lead to death.”The atmosphere instantly became heavier.“So how do we know the correct one?” Aina asked impatiently.Max grinned smugly.“You don’t.”Aina’s face darkened immediately.“I suddenly feel like roasting this bird.”“Violence against a legendary phoenix is forbidden,” Max

No one dared use wide-range attacks recklessly.One mistake meant everyone could fall into the abyss.Micheal exchanged several blows with the cat-man leader before his eyes suddenly narrowed.Something was wrong.The man was not truly trying to kill him.He was buying time.“Move!” Micheal suddenly shouted.But it was already too late.CRACK!The pillar beneath them shattered apart completely.Everyone’s expressions changed instantly.The cat men immediately leapt backward toward another stable pillar.Only then did Micheal realize it.They had intentionally been stalling, waiting for the pillar to weaken under the pressure of battle until it could no longer endure.And it had worked perfectly.Micheal’s entire group began falling into the endless abyss.“Shadow Steps!”“ASAAM!”Micheal shot rapidly through the air, instantly grabbing Alex, the closest person to him and throwing him toward another nearby pillar.“Gravity…” Maya muttered.Boom!Her domain instantly expanded outward.T

But that was not even the most shocking part.The monsters and cat men suddenly began openly targeting humans together.Their intentions were obvious.The faster the number of survivors dropped to five hundred, the faster the trial would end.What saved the humans was their overwhelming speed advantage.Most humans immediately abandoned direct confrontations and began focusing entirely on movement and evasion.Between the monsters, cat men, and the terrifying stone creatures pouring out from the gates, the battlefield became complete chaos.Ironically, the monsters and cat men sometimes suffered losses themselves while chasing humans, as the stone creatures attacked everything in sight.Several monsters were torn apart while trying to pursue fleeing humans.The trial was no longer simply about strength.It was about survival.And deliberately reducing the numbers.“Don’t separate!” Micheal warned immediately.BOOM!!!A massive pressure suddenly exploded from somewhere in the distance.

Soon, the number of remaining people became very small.Then finally, Micheal was chosen.He did not bother trying to avoid the chains.Everyone who had attempted that before had failed anyway.SWOOOSH!The chains wrapped tightly around his body before dragging him toward one of the Thrones.The moment he sat upon it, the chains bound him firmly in place.“You have one minute to gain approval.”The mechanical voice echoed before fading away.Micheal looked confused for a moment.Then suddenly, his surroundings changed completely.“Hello, young one.”A familiar voice sounded behind him.Micheal immediately turned around.And froze.Standing before him was a figure wearing black armor while holding a golden sword.But the most shocking part, It had Micheal’s exact face.Now Micheal finally understood why the voice sounded so familiar.It was his own voice.“How long can you survive against yourself?” the figure asked calmly while raising its sword toward Micheal.Slash!The doppelgange