System: Daily login!!, jackpot on the first day!!!

In a vast chamber, dozens of monitor screens glowed, each showing fragments of the Trial. Every prospective student, whether fighting alone or with companions was under scrutiny.

Instructors leaned forward in their seats, taking notes, marking names. Potential mattered here, and talent was currency.

Alice sat among them, her gaze sharp and unreadable. Though her siblings' signals were scattered across the monitors, she showed no outward worry. She knew their strength better than anyone. Instead, her eyes roved across the room itself, scanning not the screens but the faces of the instructors, searching for even a flicker of unusual intent.

So far, nothing.

Then, one of the central monitors pulsed, flashing red before expanding to dominate the wall.

"…One prospective student has engaged a Level 3 beast," reported the operator, adjusting the view.

The room stirred. Murmurs rose.

"Level 3? Already? That early into the Trial? That's absurdly unlucky," one instructor muttered. "Who's the candidate?"

The operator glanced at his chart. "…Litani D'Archy Hidayat, Saranjana Kingdom"

Silence.

The murmuring ceased instantly. The instructor who had spoken clamped his mouth shut, eyes sliding toward Alice. But Alice had already turned her gaze back to the monitor, her expression flat and unbothered.

The man exhaled slowly, relieved.

In this new era, there was an unspoken truth that carried across nations: You could do anything you wanted… but never provoke Saranjana's bloodline.

Miss Ember, standing beside Alice, leaned in. "You sure your sister can handle that, Alice?"

Alice gave no reply. She didn't need to.

For on the screen, Litani crushed the Level 3 beast with brutal ease.

But before relief could settle in, the battlefield shifted again, drawn perhaps by the clash, a horde of beasts poured in, circling Litani.

"Uhh~ are you sure she's fine, Ali-" Miss Ember didn't finish. Her words cut short as, in the blink of an eye, the entire horde was cleaved apart. Bodies fell in synchronized lines, sliced cleanly as though the air itself had been weaponized.

And then, a young man emerged from the carnage, striding toward Litani.

Alice finally spoke, her voice low, measured. "I don't think they need your worry, Miss Ember." She rose, dusted off her cloak, and added, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend"

She left the monitoring chamber without another word.

---

- Outside

Once clear of the room, Alice pressed her palm against the Family Crest over her chest.

"Erelythe. Shasha"

*Buzzt* "Yes, Young Miss?" Shasha's voice answered.

"Latina was attacked by a horde of beasts the moment the trial began," Alice said, her tone clipped. "That is no coincidence. What of your end? Anything suspicious?"

"Hm… so far there-" Shasha's voice cut short.

*Buzzt* Erelythe's deeper voice replaced it. "I see a group. Cloaked in invisible magic. Approaching the Gate. The guards haven't noticed. Do you want them eliminated?"

Alice's eyes narrowed, her fingers tapping the crest in thought. "…How many exactly?"

"More than ten"

She hummed softly, calculating. "…No. Let them through. If we cut them down now, the one pulling the strings will scatter like smoke. Better to let the serpent slither into the garden… then crush its head"

"…So be it," Erelythe replied, her tone flat, almost eager.

"They won't move right away, not with every instructor and Eldrin's eyes glued to the monitors," Alice said at last, her voice final. "We wait until nightfall"

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- Back to the Artificial Dimension

By the river's edge, beneath the soft shimmer of the trial's conjured sky, a young man lay sprawled on the grass. Anggana looked as though he hadn't a care in the world, one arm tucked beneath his head, chest rising and falling in the steady rhythm of sleep.

Yet the serenity was a lie.

Around him, a semicircular dome of invisible force shimmered faintly against the light. Within its protection, he rested untouched. Beyond it, the ground was chaos.

Beasts lay scattered in grotesque poses, tangled in roots that writhed with faint pulses of life. Their hides clung tight to bone, eyes sunken, bodies emaciated, drained, as if every drop of blood and marrow had been sucked out. A faint, sickly stench of iron and rot hung in the air.

The roots twitched once, then went still, retreating back into the soil as though they had feasted enough.

The river, calm until then, rippled.

At first, it was only a subtle shift, the current trembling against the banks. Then came the distortion, mana folding in on itself, the water darkening, deepening. A shadow writhed beneath the surface, long and serpentine.

Something was rising.

The grass around Anggana swayed as the air thickened, heavy with killing intent. A scaled shape broke the surface, its movement silent, patient.

But Anggana only exhaled softly in his sleep, lips curving faintly at the corner. The dome around him shivered once, faint green veins of mana crawling across it, almost as if his dreams alone stirred the barrier.

The river hissed.

Then, with a violent surge, the thing beneath tore free. Water erupted skyward as a colossal serpent burst from the depths. Its body was covered in black-green scales slick with venom, each plate glistening with a sickly sheen. Its head alone was larger than a wagon, eyes burning with feral hunger, fangs dripping poison that sizzled wherever it fell.

The Snake Beast coiled above the river, its immense body winding around broken trees and jagged rocks, crushing them like twigs. The air filled with its guttural hiss, a sound that rattled the bones of lesser creatures hiding in the forest.

It fixed its gaze on the sleeping boy.

Anggana didn't stir. His dome of mana pulsed faintly, green veins rippling across its surface as though acknowledging the predator's presence.

The Snake Beast reared back, venom gathering at the tip of its fangs, a corrosive glow pooling like liquid fire. The ground trembled beneath its coiled weight, the river frothing with its movement.

Then-

The roots twitched again. The same roots that had drained the other beasts clawed their way out of the soil, writhing hungrily. They slithered up the serpent's body, wrapping around its scales, seeking flesh to pierce.

The serpent roared, thrashing, its colossal body whipping through the air, snapping trees like kindling. But the roots tightened, some sinking into its flesh, drawing dark ichor that sprayed across the grass.

Anggana let out a small sigh in his sleep, rolling lazily onto his side. The dome flickered, then flared with a faint pulse of mana, like a heartbeat.

The roots responded instantly, surging faster, thicker, burrowing deeper into the Snake Beast. Its roars grew frantic, then pained, as the life within it was siphoned away. Venom turned to smoke before it could be spat, scales dulled, eyes dimmed.

The mighty serpent writhed in agony, then finally collapsed with a thunderous crash, half its body sinking back into the river, the other half limp on the bank.

The roots withdrew just as quickly, dragging their stolen feast back underground, leaving only a hollow husk behind.

Anggana snored.

The trial raged across the dimension. Beasts fought, candidates struggled, and blood spilled. But here, by the riverside, one boy slept soundly, untouched, while even a serpent king of the waters could not approach him.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

The sound cut through the quiet riverside.

Anggana stirred, eyes cracking open, his expression one of annoyance rather than fear. His dome of mana dissolved into the air as if dismissing the need for protection.

"…As expected of the D'Archy," came a voice, male, amused, steady.

Anggana didn't bother to sit up. He kept his head resting against the grass, lids half-closed, his breathing calm. Even without looking, he could read the intruders, the weight of their footsteps pressing against the grass, the subtle shift of the air when they broke the wind's flow, the way leaves rustled differently depending on size. Two people. One young man, confident. One young girl, hesitant.

"What do you want?" Anggana asked flatly. "Nothing? Then don't bother me"

"How cold~" The man chuckled. "At least let me introdu-"

"Not interested"

The reply was a knife.

Undeterred, the man smiled. "I'm Mukhlis, from the Dai-Yak Tribe"

At that, Anggana finally turned his head. His face remained blank, but his eyes opened just enough to reveal faint sparks of recognition.

"…The Dai-Yak Tribe. You know Uncle Rijal?"

Mukhlis' grin widened. "Of course. We know exactly who he is. He's our Chief"

"Oh." Anggana blinked once, as if realizing he had almost forgotten something trivial. "Right. My bad. I always forget who he was." He let the words trail with casual disinterest before his gaze shifted. X…So, you. The woman. Who are you?"

"Aha~ she's my sister-"

"I didn't ask you"

The interruption was sharp, cutting Mukhlis off. Anggana's eyes never left the girl, steady and piercing. "I asked her. So… who are you?"

The young woman flinched under his gaze, instinctively hiding behind Mukhlis. Her lips parted, trembling. "I-I…" But her voice faltered, the rest swallowed by silence.

Mukhlis gave an apologetic bow of his head. "Forgive her, your highness. My sister is… a bit shy"

"Shy?" Anggana finally pushed himself up to his feet, stretching lazily, his joints cracking in the still air. His stare returned to the girl, deeper, unblinking. "…No. That's not it"

The silence thickened. The girl froze, her breath caught in her throat.

Anggana stepped closer, not menacingly, but with the detached precision of someone stating an undeniable truth. His voice dropped lower, calm yet edged.

"…It's not shyness. It's fear. So…"

He tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing.

"…what exactly are you afraid of?"

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