An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
As soon as it did, Malakai stood up and jumped down from the podium.
'That should be enough time.'
He expected that by now the duo would have faced whatever the path had to offer. But this wasn't some foolproof plan, there were different ways it could also backfire on him.
'I could be forced to face every challenge they faced.'
The trial was meant to test all of them; it was unlikely that it would leave such an obvious loophole to be exploited.
Regardless, his hand tightly held his scythe, his dominant hand low near the base and the other guiding the shaft just beneath the blade's curve. The blade was angled slightly behind, ready to arc forward at any moment.
This was the most optimal way to hold a scythe, one that would guarantee a fast combat response.
'Be alert,' Malakai told himself.
He had spent the past one hour going through different battle scenarios, preparing for the inevitable time where he would face his teammates.
Malakai had gotten the subtle hint the instructions had contained.
'Free of external obstacles.'
It was too obvious to not have noticed. If they had chosen the right door, the path would be free of any outside forces, but other teammates were still considered threats.
Malakai cleared his mind and walked through the open door after staring at it for a while.
A cloud of darkness enveloped his vision, making him unable to see for a brief moment before a new scene revealed itself.
'Another cave…'
Malakai noted, his eyes narrowing. But this one was different. Though it had the familiar features of a cave, the walls and ceiling glowed faintly with a low green light, casting an eerie luminance over the surroundings.
Malakai scanned the area. 'No immediate danger.'
Still, he moved forward. Each of his steps was cautious and careful.
His eyes darted from left to right, his body tense and vigilant. He had no idea where a threat might come from, but his instinct kept him on edge.
Minutes passed and he saw nothing.
'Was this the right path?' Just when the thought started creeping in, his doubt quickly vanished as his sharpened gaze caught sight of something on the ground, lifeless bodies.
'Darkness creatures.'
His grip tightened around his scythe, his guard rising instantly.
'But they're just gradeless enhancers…'
Even a single gradeless was capable of wreaking havoc among ordinary humans. But to an evolved human, the threat they posed was significantly diminished. Still, Malakai didn't underestimate them.
He had fought and killed multiple gradeless during the battle at Black Reach, but it was an outcome that he had been able to achieve because of the years of training and experience.
It hadn't been easy then, and it wouldn't be now… especially with what he was seeing.
'That's a lot.'
The further he walked, the more corpses he saw, strewn across the ground in grotesque piles. Soon, the earth beneath his feet vanished entirely, replaced by layers of mangled flesh and brutalized forms. He was walking on corpses now.
'They're dangerous.'
If he had faced this swarm alone, he would've been overwhelmed. The fact that the duo had handled all of this on their own sent a wave of unease through him.
Their threat level just skyrocketed…
'I need to start making plans.'
Malakai's steps eventually brought him to a wide, open space in the cave, far more crowded with corpses than anything he'd seen so far. And in the center, a conversation was being held.
"I told you to be more careful," Jerom said, sitting on a slab of rock while bandaging Kendal's arm, a deep gash running across it.
He felt frustrated, as though he had repeated himself too many times.
"You might be stronger than them, but you still need to fight smarter."
"You worry too much," Kendal replied, waving him off. "It's just a scratch."
Jerom pressed down hard on the wound without warning.
"Argh! Stop, stop—!" Kendal squirmed, trying to jerk his arm away.
Jerom finally let go, raising a brow. "Yeah. Just a scratch."
Kendal glared at him with his eyes narrowed like daggers. He huffed, then cleared his throat and muttered, "You've always been such a pussy, Jerom."
Jerom scoffed. "Where's the respect? I'm a direct descendant of a grand family, you know."
"Come on, bro," Kendal said, chuckling. "We're way past that."
But his words trailed off mid-sentence as he noticed Jerom had suddenly turned his head toward a direction, his expression shifting.
Kendal followed his gaze and saw a lone figure emerging from the shadows of the cave, approaching them with silent steps.
Malakai.
Kendal's expression twisted. "Hell no," he muttered, rising to his feet. "You're not just gonna stroll in here after we did all the work and reap the gains."
He walked toward Malakai, his footsteps heavy, but a firm grip seized his arm from behind.
"I just told you to start being smarter and you want to go be stupid again?" Jerom's voice was sharp.
Kendal gritted his teeth. "But—"
"Don't," Jerom cut him off. His eyes were still on Malakai, who was now halfway to pulling his gun. Cold eyes locked onto them, calm, observing.
Jerom suddenly raised an arm slightly, his palm open to show peace. He regarded Malakai for a moment. "I see you decided to join us. Couldn't find another way?"
"No,"
Jerom gave a small smile. "Looks like you were right. This was the wrong path."
Malakai didn't respond.
Jerom sighed and gently pulled Kendal back before stepping closer to Malakai. "I was wrong. And there's nothing we can do to change that. Would you mind joining us? All three of us moving together will make things easier."
"You've got to be kidding me," Kendal muttered from behind, still fuming.
But Jerom ignored him and extended his hand.
Malakai stared at it for a few seconds before giving a curt nod and accepting the handshake.
Jerom nodded back and began to explain.
"So far, all the darkness creatures we've encountered have been gradeless… but their numbers are overwhelming, as you've seen. I assume the path forward is beyond that cluster, though I'm not sure how long it stretches. We're trying to get some rest before pushing forward."