The moment Jae-won stepped into Floor 3, his lungs nearly seized.
The heat was alive.
Flames danced along the obsidian walls of the massive arena. Lava bubbled beneath iron grates. Above him, a sky of molten red burned with an oppressive sun that never moved. No shadows. No cover.
Only the pit. Only the fire.
And thousands of watching eyes.
---
[Welcome to Floor 3 – The Flameborn Arena]
Objective: Survive the Trials. Eliminate the Infernal Herald.
---
Then the voice of the System dropped like a bell across the battlefield:
> [The Constellations are watching.]
---
Jae-won blinked. And just for a moment, he could feel them.
Not physically. Not visibly.
But like being watched through a two-way mirror. Pressure. Attention. Judgment.
Then, messages began to flow:
> [Constellation: "The One-Eyed Lord of the Frozen Throne" scoffs at your injuries.]
> [Constellation: "The Wolf That Devours Suns" finds your form interesting.]
> [Constellation: "The Monkey Who Defied Heaven" leans forward with interest.]
He cracked his neck, stepping forward. The ground hissed under his feet.
> "Let them watch."
---
The trial began instantly.
Lava Hounds burst from the cracks—jaws snapping, skin glowing.
Jae-won moved before the heat caught up to him. A slide to the left. Bone-plated arms raised just in time to block a fireball. He ducked under a second hound, snapped its neck, then spun to crush a third with a heel drop.
Each step had to be planned.
Every second standing still meant taking heat damage.
---
[You have taken 8 fire damage.]
[Absolute stat is mitigating environmental effects.]
---
Cinder Wraiths came next.
Whispers. Floating embers with faces like melted masks.
They ignited the air around them. Everything they touched burst into flame. Jae-won had to time his strikes perfectly—hit too early and his arms would ignite, too late and they'd phase through.
He learned fast.
Flicked blood from a cracked knuckle.
> "Alright. Time for the real challenge."
---
Then came the Ash Knights.
Tall. Charred plate armor. Halberds that burned white-hot.
They didn't speak. They surrounded him.
Three at once.
He grinned.
> "Let's test how deep this Absolute stat really goes."
They lunged. Jae-won ducked under the first, caught its wrist, and shattered it with a rising elbow. Sparks flew. He used the momentum to drive a bone-plated knee into the second's gut—metal dented, flame burst. The third came from behind.
Jae-won let it hit him.
Just enough to close distance.
Then he spun, grabbing the halberd mid-swing, twisted, and used the Ash Knight as a shield, slamming it into the others in a molten heap.
He exhaled.
The crowd roared.
Not real people.
Constellations.
---
> [Constellation: "The Monkey Who Defied Heaven" is laughing wildly!]
> [Constellation: "The Singing Blade Beneath the Moon" tilts her head with curiosity.]
> [Constellation: "The Monkey Who Defied Heaven" wishes to offer you a skill.]
[Accept Skill: Heaven-Shaking Step?]
---
Jae-won paused.
> "Heaven-Shaking Step?"
He tapped "Yes."
---
[Skill Acquired: Heaven-Shaking Step (Active)]
Leap forward or upward with explosive power. Breaks terrain and knocks back nearby enemies. Damage scales with Absolute stat. 10 sec cooldown.]
---
> "Now we're talking."
A roar shook the pit.
The crowd quieted.
Across the arena, the floor split. From the lava rose a massive, obsidian figure.
Seven feet tall.
Two molten blades.
No face—only a molten mask of rage.
The Trial Champion.
It lunged at Jae-won like a cannon.
Jae-won activated Predator Eye—the world slowed. Sparks hung in the air like stars.
He met the Champion's charge with a sidestep, pivoted on his heel, and activated Heaven-Shaking Step.
BOOM.
The ground cracked.
He launched upward, over the Champion's head, twisting mid-air, then came down with a brutal axe kick to the back of its mask.
The arena quaked.
Flames erupted.
---
The Champion staggered.
But it wasn't done.
It mimicked him—copying his movements, adapting.
It lunged again.
Jae-won ducked, parried one blade, caught the second between his bone-plate forearms, twisted—and drove his elbow through the Champion's chest, cracking obsidian and spilling liquid fire.
---
[Trial Champion Defeated!]
[Level Up! +6 Stat Points Earned.]
---
He dropped to one knee, panting. Sweat poured from his body. The flames around the arena dimmed.
> "What's next?"
Then the sky turned black.
The ground trembled.
And a figure of flame and ash descended from above—crowned, ancient, burning from the inside out.
---
[FINAL CHALLENGER: THE INFERNAL HERALD]
---
> "Round two," Jae-won muttered, rising.
The Constellations were watching.
And he was ready to burn everything.
---
[SYSTEM INTERFACE – KIM JAE-WON]
Level: 8
Class: Apex Conductor
Core Stat – Absolute: 58
Stat Points: 0
Skills:
Adaptive Flow (Unique)
Predator Eye (Active)
Heaven-Shaking Step (Active)
Mutations:
Bone Plate (Passive)
Titles:
First Breaker
Bone-Fused
Arena Challenger
Constellation Affinity:
The Monkey Who Defied Heaven – Interested (Skill granted)
The One-Eyed Lord of the Frozen Throne – Hostile
The Wolf That Devours Suns – Watching
Status: Unbound
EXP to next level: 10/90
---