On the second day, shortly after the forest’s faint light rose, they faced another threat.
Unfortunately, they realized that last night’s campsite was actually a monster’s lair, and apparently the owner was not happy that they had settled there.
A massive snake was moving inside the trunk of one of the transparent trees.
From the outside, its body was almost invisible because the color of its scales blended with the Mana inside the tree.
The monster had engaged with One, and after realizing it couldn’t match them, it wanted to escape.
Too bad that escape was not going to be possible.
"Right side." Lian said.
Seris drew her sword without asking.
King’s Edge appeared on the blade.
A precise strike hit the trunk. She did not completely cut the tree, only the outer shell and the snake’s body inside it.
The Crystalcoil Serpent fell out of the trunk with a sharp scream.
Lian activated Iron Fortress Charge. His shoulder hit the snake’s head and slammed it to the ground.
Before the creature could coil its body, Lian’s claw crushed under its neck.
Seraphina had not even completed her first Magic Circle and said with dissatisfaction.
"At least leave one for us."
"Too slow." Seris answered without looking at her.
The Magic Circle behind Seraphina went out. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Liana laughed quietly. The silent rivalry that had formed earlier intensified with that one word.
In the end, she snorted, and all four mounted One again and set off.
Today was finally the last day they were traveling, and they were going to arrive soon.
A few hours later, a tree-like creature rose from among the roots.
[Mirrorbark Sentinel]
[Level: 23]
[Rank: Normal]
Its body’s shell was made of Mana-reflecting plates.
Any direct Spell could be returned to the user.
Seraphina thought this time she should enter the field with her sword, but before she could move, Seris reached the Sentinel’s leg.
[King’s Breaker]
The strike collapsed the creature’s defensive structure on the leg. The reflective armor cracked from the center.
Lian placed his palm on the ground. Cataclysm Pulse entered the roots, and the Mana wave continued its path underground.
The explosion occurred from inside the Sentinel. The lights on its shell went out, and the giant creature fell to the ground in less than a few seconds.
"I guess our role is to be beautiful spectators." Liana looked at the corpse.
Lian preferred not to answer.
During the journey, each of them gained a new image of the others.
Seraphina now knew that Lian was no longer just a fighter who compensated for power gaps with intelligence and traps.
He now had enough raw power to execute any plan. His speed could compete with Assassins at the same level.
His body could withstand heavy blows, he had massive Mana, and his Skills did not follow any predictable path.
Practically an all-round warrior.
Liana already knew Lian was dangerous.
But the origin of One and the variety of his Skills, even with a Summoner’s knowledge, she could not explain.
The bond between the two was not natural, but it didn’t seem forced either.
One obeyed Lian but was not afraid of him.
Lian had also evaluated Seraphina more precisely. Her Dual Class truly deserved its rarity.
The ability to switch seamlessly between swordsmanship and magic made her a dangerous enemy at both close and long range.
If she had time to grow, she would probably become one of the strongest.
Liana’s value was not in direct power. She was a field controller.
Shadow Wolf could chase enemies, disrupt their focus, and attack from shadows that usually seemed safe.
But losing her first Summon had severely reduced her power.
If she found a chance to obtain a new summon in Emberroot, her abilities would multiply.
Seris showed almost no particular evaluation of the two.
Neither Seraphina’s power had impressed her, nor Liana’s control. As long as they didn’t slow them down, they didn’t matter.
And this indifference annoyed Seraphina more than any hostile behavior.
At the end of the second day, the map reacted for the first time. The black mark on its surface glowed with a faint light.
Lian stopped One and opened the map.
"We’re close."
They changed the path to the south. The further they went, the less dense the trees became.
The bell-like sound of the leaves gradually faded. The small creatures inside the trunks disappeared.
No insects or monsters could be seen on the path. Even the Mana inside the trees flowed more slowly.
As if the entire forest was distancing itself from the point they were approaching.
Of course, aside from that, they were slowly reaching the forest’s edge.
A few minutes later, the trees completely parted, and a circular clearing appeared before them.
All the surrounding trees were bent outward.
In the center of the circle, a dead tree stood. Unlike other Glassthorn trees, its trunk was completely black.
No blue or purple light moved inside it.
Its massive dry roots were wrapped around a stone structure. Among the roots, a door of black glass could be seen.
Its surface did not reflect light. Any light that reached the door disappeared into its darkness.
In the center of the door, the same symbol from the map was carved.
A shape between a closed eye and a broken star. Four hand-shaped indentations were on the four sides of the symbol.
One stopped at the clearing’s edge.
Through Hive Link, Lian felt its instinctive resistance.
The ant did not want to enter the circle.
Lian got down from its back.
Seris, Seraphina, and Liana also got on the ground.
The moment all four stepped into the clearing, silver lines lit up beneath their feet.
The lines moved from four directions and reached the black door.
A system panel appeared before everyone’s view.
[Hidden Dungeon Discovered.]
[Mirror Vault]
[Required Participants: 4]
[Participants Detected: 4/4]
[Entry Condition Satisfied.]
"This was the point on the map? A dungeon?" Seraphina looked at the notification.
"Yeah." Lian did not take his eyes off the black door.
"And coincidentally, it needs four people." Liana looked at the four hand indentations and then added.
"But I didn’t expect it to be a dungeon. A dungeon in the middle of nowhere gives a bad feeling."
"Dungeons are always in the middle of nowhere." Seraphina looked at her as if she was looking at an idiot.
"Don’t argue. For now, this dungeon is more important. Focus on it. We need to figure out exactly what it is." Lian said quietly but with a serious tone.
"So we open it?" Seris placed her hand on her sword’s hilt.
"I guess. We came all this way for this." He nodded. Besides, whatever was inside, his intuition was screaming that he had to go inside.
His intuition had not been wrong so far... so it was clear that this time too, he would trust his intuition.
Before any of them could get close to the door, a deep sound rose from underground.
The clearing’s soil trembled. The black roots of the dead tree began to move.
Years of dust fell from the door. The broken symbol in its center slowly lit up white.
Like an eye opening after centuries, a thin line appeared in the center of the black glass.
The door split into two sections. Cold, old air came out from the darkness behind it.
The smell of stone, metal, and a place that had been closed for a very long time spread through the clearing.
The final notification appeared before their view.
[The Trial of Reflections has recognized its challengers.]
The black glass door began to open for the first time in years.