Liana opened her eyes and saw a cracked ceiling. Cold air was coming in through the broken window.
A few metal beds were on both sides of the room. Some had no mattresses, and some were covered with thin, old blankets.
The smell of thin soup and moisture was in the air.
The orphanage.
Liana recognized it immediately, not because of a sign or specific mark, but because of the feeling that formed in her chest.
An old feeling of hunger, cold, and waiting for someone to call her name.
In the corner of the room, a small girl was sitting.
Her hair was messy, her clothes looked slightly too big for her body.
A child version of Liana, and next to her, a girl of the same age but with a slightly larger build was sitting.
Selina.
Selina divided her food bowl between herself and Liana.
She took a smaller portion for herself and, without saying anything, placed the larger portion in front of the younger girl.
"An illusion?" The current Liana watched from a distance. Memories appeared one after another.
"Even if it’s an illusion, what should I do? Just watch?" She didn’t understand what this trial wanted from her.
There was no explanation, and she had been thrown here without her consent. Was this trial stupid?
Anyway, since she couldn’t do anything else, she continued watching.
An older boy had taken Liana’s toy.
Selina stood in front of him and took it back.
Nights when thunder and lightning came and Liana would wake up from sleep.
Selina would sit on the bed next to her without mocking her.
Time passed like this.
One day, when one of the orphanage officials angrily asked about a broken dish, Liana smiled and distracted his attention with a joke.
The first time she succeeded, the man’s anger subsided.
That day, she understood something. A smile could be a weapon. A joke could change dangerous questions.
Playfulness could make others not ask how she really felt.
Years passed.
The childish smile turned into a seductive tone. Simple jokes turned into wordplay.
Liana learned to always have something to say, always keep the answer light, and always change the atmosphere before anyone could get close to her fear.
Not because nothing mattered to her.
But because if everything was a joke, no one could see how much she feared being alone.
The scene suddenly changed.
The warmth of the orphanage, however little and insufficient, disappeared.
Liana found herself in Glassthorn Forest, but the forest was darker, the trees were broken, and blood could be seen on the glass roots.
In the distance, Selina was lying on the ground.
Her adult version, her armor was torn, blood was flowing from her mouth.
A few monsters were approaching her from among the trees.
Upon seeing that scene, even though she knew it was an illusion, her heartbeat suddenly increased. She panicked and became scared, and Liana ran.
But with every step, the distance grew.
"Selina!"
Her voice echoed in the forest.
Selina raised her head. Her gaze was cold, not the gaze Liana knew.
"You always laugh."
"Just hold on a little!" Liana increased her speed.
"Even when others die because of you."
The words entered her chest like blades. Liana tried to smile.
"Well, if that’s going to be your last words, you could have chosen something better."
But the sound did not come from her throat. Her lips moved, but no sound was made.
As if she was only condemned to listen.
"Your summon died." Selina continued.
An image of Liana’s lost first Summon appeared on the ground.
"The rest will die too."
Shadow Wolf lay wounded at another distance.
"Then me."
The monsters came closer.
"And you will still laugh."
Liana’s smile disappeared. For the first time, she had no sentence to change the atmosphere.
No joke, no game... only fear remained, the fear she had hidden behind a smile her entire life.
"I laugh because..." Her voice broke.
The forest fell silent, even the monsters stopped. The girl took a deep breath.
She had never said this confession out loud. Perhaps she had never even fully expressed it to herself.
"Because if I don’t, I might ask everyone not to leave me alone." Tears gathered in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall.
She looked at the fake Selina.
"I might have to admit that I’m scared."
Selina said nothing.
Liana stepped forward. This time, the distance became shorter.
"But you are not Selina." The reflection’s face trembled for a moment.
"She would never use my fear against me."
The shadow beneath Liana’s feet expanded. Shadow Wolf came out of it.
Its body was not wounded. Its red eyes shone in the darkness. This time, Liana did not stand behind the Summon, but beside it.
She placed her hand on the shadowy wolf’s neck.
"Together."
Shadow Wolf leaped forward, and she moved with it.
The dark claws passed through Selina’s image. The reflection shattered like glass.
But before it completely collapsed, its cold face turned into the same calm smile of the real Selina.
Then it disappeared, and a panel appeared.
[First Trial Cleared.]
[Trial Boon Acquired: Familiar Soul Anchor]
[Your spiritual connection with contracted creatures has been stabilized.]
A warm flow moved through the contract toward Shadow Wolf.
Liana not only felt the Summon’s presence, but also its spiritual pulse.
Fear, loyalty, and its desire to protect her. A smile formed on her face.
But this time, it was not to hide.
...
At the same time... Seris appeared in the Pendragon clan’s hall.
The space was cold, massive, and flawless.
Black and silver flags hung from the walls. Ancestral swords were in glass cases, and the clan’s emblem was seen above the hall.
Pendragon members were standing on both sides of the path.
None of them moved. All their gazes were fixed on the end of the hall.
Seris first looked at them. With one look, she could tell that this trial had trapped her in an illusion.
But an illusion? Did this dungeon really think such a cliché thing would work on her?
She had no regrets, fears, or weaknesses that could be used against her.
Then she stared at the end of the hall, where everyone was staring.
Lian was standing there, wearing the Vorhelm clan’s formal attire, and the black insignia of the clan was on his chest.
"These Vorhelms never approach without a purpose." A voice said from among the Pendragon members.
"You simple girl! We told you not to trust a Vorhelm!"
"Vorhelms are all cunning foxes! They use everything for their own benefit!"
"Because of your simplicity, all our family’s secrets are now in the hands of the Vorhelms! This is the end of the Pendragon clan! You are a traitor!"
An image appeared in the air.
Lian asking about King’s Edge.
The second image.
He was examining Seris’s sword movements during training.
The third image.
A conversation about the Pendragon clan’s structure.
The fourth image.
Lian looking at the family insignia on her weapon.
The memories seemed real.
Every normal question looked like information gathering, every analytical look like target assessment.
The fake version of Lian stepped forward a few steps.
"Our families were enemies." His tone was calm, not villainous or exaggerated.
Exactly like the real Lian when explaining an unpleasant truth.
"Did you really think I became friends with you for no reason?"
Seris said nothing. Her hand was on her sword’s hilt.
"You were useful." The fake Lian continued.
The images around them changed.
Pendragon Skills.
The paths to enter the mansion, the clan’s important people.
"You had access to Pendragon Skills."
"To the clan’s information." Then he looked directly into her eyes.
"And most importantly, you trusted me."
For Seris, Seraphina and Liana did not matter much. She had just met them.
If their paths separated tomorrow, perhaps the only practical effect would be reducing the group’s number of fighters.
Even in her entire life, she had never truly connected with anyone... everyone, at best, had only been an instructor or a training target for her.
She had been raised as the family’s treasure from childhood, and her parents’ behavior with her was different and special, which had caused her to have no special feelings even toward them.
But Lian was different.
He was the only person Seris truly considered her friend.
Someone who knew her combat rhythm, someone who understood her decisions without long explanations.
Someone who had accepted her presence not because of her clan, power, or duty, but as an independent person. And Lian was the only person who had been able to defeat her... a goal she could pursue.
That is why this illusion was more dangerous than any physical enemy.
The enmity between the clans was real. Vorhelm and Pendragon had stood against each other many times in politics, resources, and influence.
It was possible that one day Lian would use his connection with Seris.
She knew that Lian had separated from the Vorhelms... but what if it was all just a plan to get close to her? It was not impossible, right?
Logically, it was not impossible.
Seris’s fingers tightened around the hilt.
"Finally, you understand." The fake Lian gave a short smile.
Seris did not attack immediately.
Instead of the face in front of her, she remembered Lian’s real actions. Times when he could have left her and didn’t.
Moments when he hadn’t hidden information from her, even when hiding it would have been easier.
And more importantly, her knowledge of his mind.
Seris drew her sword.
"So you understand?" Lian’s reflection said.
"Yeah."
"What?"
Seris held the blade beside her body.
"If Lian wanted to use me, he would have done it much better than this."
The fake version’s smile faded.
Seris took a step, and her sword moved only once. Lian’s image was split from the center.
The Pendragon hall also cracked with it.
But just before collapsing, Seris’s fingers were still slightly tighter around the hilt than usual.
The illusion was a lie.
But it had touched a real point.
Seris might not care about many people, but now she knew that losing Lian’s trust really mattered to her.
This was a truth she had never even thought about until now... but now she had realized it.
She didn’t want to lose her friendship with Lian.
[First Trial Cleared.]
[Trial Boon Acquired: Unclouded Edge]
[Mental interference will have less influence on your Sword Intent.]
Her sword’s Mana became clearer for a moment.
Every doubt that could have diverted the blade’s path was gone.
The hall shattered, and the darkness returned.
All four returned to the main hall almost simultaneously, and only a few seconds of real time had passed.
The first trial was over!