Alex exhaled, stopping his healing breath as his injuries were all patched up. The enormous stone doors had sealed shut behind him, cutting off the furious gaze of the dying Dissolving Viper.

The air inside the trial palace was thick with the scent of damp stone and an eerie, lingering metallic tang—blood.

Before him was a long hallway, its walls carved with images that depicted ancient battles, fanged warriors, and twisted monstrous beasts that could make one’s skin crawl.

Dark crimson torches flickered with an unnatural light, casting elongated shadows that danced ominously across the grand expanse while also highlighting the dried blood on the walls, telling stories of those who had come before.

Alex took his first step forward, only to feel a strange resistance against his body. It was subtle but unmistakable—an invisible wave of magic passing over him.

He quickly stepped back.

“I was being scanned, wasn’t I?” He asked out loud.

[Yes,] and Sophie replied, [It was probably checking whether you have vampire blood.]

His gaze sharpened as he heard her words, glancing at his feet, only to see a strange marking right next to it.

It was a straight line—most probably the start line.

This place, as said before, was a trial ground for the vampires, completely different from what he had known from the plot. In Lilia’s plot, it was supposed to be a demon trial ground.

[It’s already clear that we are in a different ruin,] Sophie said as if reading his mind, and he just closed his eyes at that.

It was true. From all the information he had gathered, it was clear that the ruins were changed. This place, which was supposed to be a demon trial ground, had turned into a vampire trial ground; that is probably why Lilia brought along so many vampires.

Taking a deep breath, Alex opened his eyes, his gaze more determined than ever, and then he took a step into the invisible barrier that was supposed to scan him.

“That was annoying,” he scoffed as he passed through the barrier. It felt like his insides were being studied, and he didn’t like that.

But just as he took a step in…

Click.

A soft sound of something—likely a lock—being opened was heard, and Alex clicked his tongue.

“Of course,” sighing, Alex launched himself forward, the floor below him crumbling as he flipped mid-air.

Woosh!

The next instant, massive stone spikes shot upward from the pit below. The spikes gleamed with something viscous—poison, most likely.

Landing on the other side, Alex stared at those spikes, aware that even a second’s delay could’ve been dangerous for him.

But he barely had time to relax before the torches along the walls suddenly burst with new life, revealing hulking figures that had blended into the shadows.

Monsters.

Dozens of them. Their red eyes gleamed with malice, and their bodies radiated power—each at the peak of the Star Formation realm.

Some resembled vampiric knights, clad in dark armor and wielding grotesque weapons. Others were abominations—twisted masses of flesh, claws, and fangs.

Alex’s expression turned cold as he growled, “I don’t have time for this.”

The fight with the dissolving viper didn’t give him time to think of anything else, but now that he had time to think, the stakes became clear.

He didn’t have time to waste on these small fries. By now, the ones on the inside would probably be aware of his presence.

Even if they weren’t, it wouldn’t be long before they do. So, Alex needed to hurry.

The monsters, on the other hand, didn’t share Alex’s urgency; they just wanted to kill Alex, who had tried to intrude on the place they were supposed to guard.

The first wave charged. A knight swung a jagged halberd straight at Alex’s skull, but he easily ducked under it, his sword flashing in a counterattack.

Verathian, which had cracked when it took Dissolving Viper’s full-power attack, was now completely restored. It carved through the knight’s armor, reducing him to a pile of dissolving black mist.

The abominations lunged from all sides, their grotesque mouths opening unnaturally wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

“These beasts are poisonous,” Alex muttered as he pivoted, weaving through them like a phantom, his movements enhanced as he used weightlessness on himself.

Fireballs erupted from his palm, engulfing the creatures in scorching flames, thunderbolts raining down on the beasts far from him, while his sword cleaved through those who got too close.

One particularly large beast slammed a massive claw down, intending to crush him. Instead, Alex caught the strike with his bare hand, his lesser aura crackling as he crushed the beast’s limb in his grip before driving Verathian through its chest.

“GRAHH!!” It died with a last scream, its body falling to the ground with a loud thud.

But as they were endless, more and more of those came.

Spears flew toward him, but he twisted his body mid-air, letting them pass harmlessly before retaliating with thunderbolts.

“KIEKKK!!!”

Clang!

“RAAAAA!!!”

Baam!

“GROWL!!!”

Boom!

The corridor echoed with the sounds of battle, the clash of steel, the roar of flames, and the shrieks of dying monsters.

There were many of those monsters, yet despite their numbers and strength, none of them could so much as touch Alex.

His healing breath paired with breath control allowed him to recover any minor injuries immediately, and his movements remained precise and calculated.

He wasn’t just fighting—he was dissecting his enemies, breaking them down piece by piece in a dance of absolute dominance.

Minutes passed, and soon, silence returned to the grand hallway.

Alex stood amidst the carnage, his sword humming with residual energy. The last monster fell at his feet, dissolving into nothingness like all the others before it.

“There’s no more, right—?” He wondered out loud, his gaze scanning the surroundings, but his words were cut short by Sophie’s sharp reprimand.

[Don’t jinx it!]

Scratching the back of his head, Alex waved the sword, wiping off the disgusting mix of monsters’ blood.

With no more obstacles in sight, he resumed his path toward the end of the hallway.

The deeper he went, the grander the architecture became. The walls turned from carved stone to polished obsidian, reflecting his image as he strode forward. The torches flickered a darker shade of crimson, their light barely illuminating the path ahead.

Yes, there were some traps in the path, but Alex didn’t find anything challenging.

This place was a trial ground for the youngsters, and only youngsters would gain anything from this place, so the fact that this place had these kinds of challenges for mere young intruders was already too much.

Making it to the hallway was already impossible for them, much less surviving after somehow making it through the viper.

‘Not that it matters to me,’ Alex shrugged, shaking his head, his expression turning serious as he finally saw it.

It was the end of the hallway—he finally reached his destination.

With cautious steps, he stepped toward the light, his palm placed on Verathian, ready for any challenge that might await him until he saw it.

Before him stood a massive palace, stretching endlessly into the darkness above.

Blackened towers spiraled into nothingness, and looming statues of ancient vampires lined the entrance, their eyes seeming to watch him with eerie intelligence. The air buzzed with energy—old, powerful, and foreboding.

Alex’s eyes flashed as he muttered, “Where are you, Lilia?”

This was larger than he had expected.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep