Is this… really a trial meant for people?
Watching Seth the Skull-Splitter butcher the entire party as easily as slaughtering chickens, Kael stood frozen.
But there was no time to curse the absurd, hellish difficulty—his Eternal Sacred Seal had already triggered. Within ten breaths, he had to make a choice.
It was his first time activating the "Undying" effect, though he hadn't expected it to appear in this form.
Unlike the others, who were immediately ejected from the trial upon death, a pair of glowing options floated before his eyes:
[Respawn in Place]
[Sanctuary Respawn (Safe Zone)]
Kael instantly dismissed the first. At that moment, Seth still stood amidst a heap of corpses, licking the blood from his blade. Respawning right there would only mean dying again.
"I choose… safe zone respawn."
[Exit the Trial?]
Kael blinked, then understood—
The so-called "safest place" was outside the trial. But that would count as a failure, and cost him one of his precious Trial Lives.
As long as he stayed inside the trial, no matter how many times he died, if he survived until dawn, it wouldn't count against his real-life total.
"…No."
The scene shifted, and in the next moment, he found himself inside a dimly lit woodshed somewhere within Calvin Castle.
Hide… and win.
If the system had placed him here upon resurrection, then for now, this spot was safe. Wandering around would only risk running straight into the darkborne lord who was hunting through the castle.
Kael glanced at his status panel:
Strength: 22.6 | Agility: 21.6 | Constitution: 22.6 | Mind: 21.6 —
Several times stronger than when he'd first awakened.
Half an hour later—
"Heh… clever little rat. You're good at hiding."
The familiar whisper came from just beyond the woodshed door.
A heartbeat later, the wooden door exploded into splinters. A blur of blood-red light shot inside, and a longsword drove clean through the pile of firewood where Kael had been hiding.
Death.
Second respawn—a perfumed bedchamber draped with lace curtains and scented sachets.
Twenty-five minutes later, the bedframe shattered beneath him, and a blade punched through his heart.
Third respawn—behind a rockery in the courtyard. Twenty minutes later, he was cut clean in half.
…
Seventh respawn—he found himself back in the original audience hall. The bodies of the young man with glasses and the other four lay scattered across the floor.
A temporary safe point… makes sense, Kael thought.
After multiple deaths, he had pieced together several key facts:
The castle's garrison was entirely wiped out—there was no hope of joining forces with NPC defenders.
Seth had indeed been weakened when first encountered, but the more he hunted, the more his strength returned.
The time it took for Seth to find him was shrinking—from thirty minutes to fifteen.
Seth could locate targets by the faintest heartbeat or breath. Worse still—Kael himself was growing stronger, his life signature more distinct with each respawn.
At this moment, his stats were nearly five times that of a normal human:
Strength: 48 | Agility: 47 | Constitution: 48 | Mind: 47
He could now track Seth's movements with his eyes—but still couldn't survive even a single exchange.
Five times isn't enough… then I'll make it ten.
Kael's gaze turned cold as steel.
He stopped running.
If his passive growth only made him easier to find, then he would turn the tables—circling with the boss, draining Seth's stamina and mana through sheer persistence.
Five minutes later, they met head-on in a narrow corridor.
"Oh? You… look familiar." Seth frowned. "What are you, twins?"
Clearly, the darkborne lord had no concept of resurrection.
"Forget it." His grin turned feral. The greatsword flashed, lunging straight for Kael's throat—
Death, again.
Eighth time. Ninth time…
By now, Kael had memorized every corridor, blind spot, and shortcut in the castle, able to weave through them with precision and avoid Seth's hunting routes entirely.
Fortunately, the boss's strength plateaued after three hours—if Seth had been able to grow endlessly as well, this dungeon would have been beyond hell difficulty.
By the fifteenth respawn, Kael could last a full forty minutes after being spotted.
His stats now stood at:
Strength: 80 | Agility: 79 | Constitution: 80 | Mind: 79
At full sprint, Seth could no longer catch him without using movement skills. And since Kael respawned at full condition every time, he never tired—meaning the longer the fight dragged on, the stronger he became, while Seth only grew weaker.
When they clashed again, Seth was panting heavily, sweat streaming down his scarred face.
"You again! You again!" he roared. "How many of you are there?! Damn humans—how can you breed so many?!"
Kael's expression was calm.
"Darkborne filth. You butchered the castle's defenders… killed six of my brothers. I'm here to send you to the abyss."
By now, Kael's four attributes completely overwhelmed Seth's. He still lagged in swordsmanship, but each vicious strike from the Skull-Splitter glanced harmlessly off his ironclad body, his immense Constitution soaking the blows.
Moments later—Kael died once more.
An hour later, with his stats breaking past 90, Kael looked upon the near-broken figure of Seth and smiled pleasantly.
"Killed me so many times… felt good, didn't it? Want to feel it again?"
Seth said nothing. He turned and bolted.
But to Kael, his movements were as slow as if he were wading through water.
Boom!
Kael closed the gap in an instant, fist drawing back.
"Where I come from—friend or foe—you always ask one thing first: Have you eaten?"
"If not—then eat three punches!"
First punch—the greatsword shattered into splinters.
Second punch—his ribcage caved in.
Third punch—his skull exploded under the blow, blood and brain matter spattering across the cracked stone floor.
[Congratulations. You have cleared the Realm of Trials: Blood Battle of Calvin Castle. Rewards obtained—]