The darkness was rising.

  Not metaphorically. Not emotionally. Literally, darkness was flooding the dome, swallowing the edges of the basin. I felt it pressing against my skin, cold and ancient, as if the Gate itself were testing my spirit for cracks.

  Twelve shadow-born horrors encircled us, twitching, waiting. Limbs too long. Teeth too sharp. Eyes, none to be seen. Just smooth masks of void. I had tried to concentrate and use my Identify Talent on one of them. But all he got back was…

  The obelisk behind us pulsed once, a final heartbeat. Then silence. My grip tightened around Ashbourne. The blade shimmered with latent energy, hungry for release.

  I looked at Balt. “I’m going all out off the start, or we will run out of time.” Balt’s staff glowed faintly. “Then that makes two of us.”

  I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to.

  Limit Breaker was already active. I had activated it as soon as I saw the creatures. I had only 28 seconds left. No more wasting time.

  The ground crunched beneath my boots. Brittle, smooth rock that broke at the slightest pressure. My eyes locked onto the nearest creature. Then I moved. Flash Step activated, I found myself right next to the shadow spawn closest to the portal.

  The creature tried to turn, but I just called out, “Limit Breaker Slash.” The creature tried to backpedal, limbs jerking in unnatural spasms, arms raised in a crude defense. But the silver flames would not be denied.

  Ashbourne cleaved downward in a diagonal arc, igniting the air with a shriek of burning silver light. The blade didn’t just cut. It erased. Engulfing the area in silver flames. I felt the power pour out of me.

  The shadowspawn that received the brunt of the attack exploded into a cloud of dark shadowy mist, its scream swallowed by the roar of my fire. No blood. No corpse. Just absence.

  26 seconds left.

  I pivoted mid?stride, Flash Step and Limit Breaker Slash still thrumming in my muscles like aftershocks.

  The second creature lunged, jagged claws flashing, faster than the first. But silver fire still burned across the ground, licking up its legs, slowing it just enough. The heat shimmered in the air between us.

  It was still quick. But with Limit Break surging through me, I was quicker. I dropped under its right slash, the wind of its claws raking past my ear. My hips turned with the motion, every muscle coiled, and I brought Ashbourne around in a brutal, baseball?style arc.

  The blade bit deep. A jolt ran up my arms as steel met bone, then cleaved clean through its spine. The creature froze mid?lunge, its form unraveling into black smoke that scattered on the wind before it even hit the ground.

  24 seconds.

  The third was smarter. It leapt backward and had a dark sword raised. It was a hooked blade dripping with shadow. It snarled at me, a sound like grinding stone. I acted like I was about to swing, and the creature raised its sword to parry, its attention completely focused on me.

  Boom! Two Force Jolts hit the creature in the back, knocking it to the ground and sliding it forward right at my feet. I plunged the tip of the blade through the back of the shadow spawn’s head.

  21 seconds. Three down.

  Balt’s voice rang out behind him. “Keep pushing! I’ll cover your flank!”

  I didn’t answer. My focus had already locked onto the next target. The silver flames guttered on the ground, their light fading to embers. The creatures sensed it was dying out. It's hesitation now gone.

  Six of the nine broke into a dead sprint toward me, claws flashing in the dim light, while three peeled off toward Balt.

  They were coming for both of us at once. I shifted my stance and began to backpedal, boots grinding over scorched stone, drawing my six pursuers farther from Balt and his attackers. Heat from the dying flames licked at my legs, the air thick with the stench of burnt fur and ash.

  Every step widened the gap between us, buying Balt room to work and giving me space to carve through the pack head?on.

  Balt didn’t hesitate. He slammed his staff into the ground with a grunt of effort. “Force Wave!” A ripple of translucent energy burst outward in all directions, like a shockwave through water.

  The three shadowspawn surrounding him were caught mid-lunge, then hurled backward as if struck by a giant’s fist. They skidded across the obsidian ground, limbs flailing, weapons clattering.

  I changed my plan and was already moving. Flash Stepping to the one closest to me, Balt had just downed.

  15 seconds left.

  I surged forward out of the ether, silver fire trailing behind my sword like a comet’s tail. The nearest spawn was still recovering; its body twisted awkwardly from the impact. It tried to rise.

  I didn’t let it. “Limit Slash!”

  Ashbourne came down like a guillotine, silver flames coalescing into a single, brutal arc. The impact cracked the ground beneath the creature, sending a shockwave of heat and force outward. The spawn didn’t scream. It didn’t have time. It was crushed beneath the weight of my attack before any sound could escape it. The spawn turned to smoke and disappeared like the others into the sky.

  13 seconds.

  The second spawn Balt had knocked over scrambled to its feet, claws raised, but I was already there. A horizontal slash took its arm. A follow-up thrust through its chest ended it.

  The third tried to join the six that were converging on us again, but Balt's Force Bolt pelted it until it too turned into smoke.

  10 seconds.

  Balt exhaled, lowering his staff. “You’re making me feel young again, kid.”

  I didn’t smile. My eyes were already scanning the battlefield. “Only 10 seconds left, Balt, on my boosting Talent, we've got to go.”

  Six left. The darkness was still rising, and the dome was becoming darker. The six were on top of us and I raised my sword ready to fight it out, but Balt had reactivated his force field and pushed the shadowspawn back, protecting them both.

  The six remaining spawn moved like a pack, coordinated. Their claws scraped against Balt’s force field, sending sparks and ripples through the barrier.

  “Flash Step!” I blurred forward, body screaming in protest. Muscles burned. Lungs clawed for air.

  7 seconds.

  I appeared behind the nearest enemy, blade already swinging. It turned, familiar with my technique now, but Limit Break was too powerful for the shadow to survive. My blade carved through its back, severing its shadow body. The creature collapsed into smoke.

  6 seconds.

  The others reacted instantly, two peeling off to flank me, one leaping straight at my chest. The other two were pounding on the shield trying to get to the Pathfinder.

  I activated Limit Breaker Armor, tanking the strike from the one that had leapt at my chest head-on. Black ichor sprayed across my face as the creature spat and clawed at me.

  5 seconds.

  A burst of golden energy shot from the tip of Balt’s staff, slamming into the two Shadowspawn trying to flank me, sending them sprawling. The force field Balt was using flickered. He was running low on mana.

  I took the opening. Grabbing the shadow spawn by the throat with my armor-covered hand. I slammed it into the ground and plunged Ashbourne through where I thought the creature’s heart was. Not waiting to see the creature disappear.

  I Flash Stepped again, right onto the downed creatures. Ashbourne came down with a brutal overhead slash, splitting its skull.

  3 seconds.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The last one Balt had thrown back was now on its feet, and we eyed one another, both are weapons raised. Ashbourne glowing faintly in my hands.

  Two dark daggers held in reverse grips in the creatures. My silver tree was indicating I was about to run out of mana, so I dismissed my armor before the dizziness affected me.

  That was the moment the creature must have been waiting for, and one of the daggers launched from its hands. My advanced reflexes helped me move my sword. I attempted to parry the incoming projectile.

  My aim was off. Pain lanced through my left arm as the dagger buried itself deep in my bicep. My breath hitched.

  I staggered back; eyes locked on the shadow spawn. It was already moving, closing the gap between us, and the second dagger it carried was reversed in its grip, ready to finish the job.

  My left arm was useless. Blood ran freely, hot and sticky, down my arm. My mana reserves were nearly gone. The Silver Tree pulsed dimly in my vision, warning me of my situation.

  But I wasn’t done yet. I gritted my teeth. “You want my life? Come and try to take it!”

  The spawn lunged. I didn’t block. I stepped into the attack instead. Dismissing Ashbourne as I did.

  The dagger sliced across my ribs, but I was already inside the creature’s guard. With a burst of strength, I pushed the creature with my injured arm. I angled my good hand and re-summoned Ashbourne one-handed and pushed my right arm forward, driving the weapon upward, under the spawn’s chin.

  The spawn convulsed, limbs jerking wildly, then went limp. Its body crumbled to smoke around the blade.

  0 seconds.

  I dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. I yanked the dagger from my arm with a grunt, blood spurting. My vision blurred, but I stayed conscious. Two left. Balt was still holding them back. His staff raised, but his shield was flickering rapidly now.

  My arm throbbed, blood soaking my sleeve. The silver glow of Ashbourne dimmed to a faint shimmer. I have to help him.

  The two remaining shadow creatures, seeing the shield flickering, redoubled their effort’s beating on it.

  I forced myself upright, swaying. “Balt,” I rasped. “One last time.”

  Balt’s eyes hardened. “Force Wave.”

  He slammed his staff into the ground, unleashing a pulse, not just of mana, but raw kinetic force. The ground buckled. Dust exploded upward in a blinding cloud. I knew from the sheer force of that attack that Balt had given it his all.

  I Flash Stepped. Surging forward through the haze. One spawn was slashing its claws blindly as it tumbled through the air. I used my weapon's reach advantage and drove Ashbourne into its gut. No flare this time. Just steel and fury.

  The second spawn recovered quickly and turned back toward Balt. The old man was clinging upright to his staff. I attempted to use my movement Talent, but even though it was off cooldown, my stamina was shot, and it failed to activate.

  I pulled the dagger from my arm and hurled it at the last shadow spawn trying to buy Balt some time. It worked, and the creature hesitated, taking a step back, avoiding the dagger throw.

  Dismissing Ashbourne, I yelled out, gesturing with my one good arm, beckoning the creature my way, middle finger raised. “Come on, you shadow bastard. Come at me. I am the one who killed most of your crew, not the old man.”

  The taunt somehow worked, and the creature pivoted to him.

  I gave a tired crooked smile. “Let’s fucking go.”

  The dome above me was nearly dark now, with only some light rays spilling through now. I charged.

  My boots scraped across the brittle obsidian, each step a defiance of gravity and the pain running through my body. The last Shadowspawn raised its claws, ready to meet me head-on.

  Just before impact, I activated my armor.

  Silver plates shimmered into existence, wrapping around me. The collision was brutal. I slammed into the creature. But to my frustration. It didn’t go down.

  Without my enhanced speed and senses, I could barely follow the creature.

  It leaped midair, landing on me. We both crashed to the ground, but the creature had maneuvered itself to have the mount position, beginning to hammer down on me with its fists.

  My armor flared once, twice, then shattered like glass. The third blow struck flesh. My forearms flared white-hot with pain. I gasped, my vision swimming. The spawn raised its claws for the kill.

  Then—CRACK!

  A staff slammed across its face with bone-snapping force. Knocking it off of me.

  The creature reeled, black ichor spraying from its jaw. Balt stood over me, staff already swinging again.

  “Get off him,” he snarled.

  The second strike hit the spawn’s temple. Balt didn’t stop, he drove the head of the staff into its chest, pinning it to the ground, then launched a Force Jolt through the shadow spawn’s chest. The creature went up in smoke.

  I groaned out a “Nice.”

  Balt exhaled, stepping back. “That’s all of them.”

  I lay there, armor gone, bloodied and broken but still alive. I gave a weak laugh. “Let’s fucking go.”

  System energy swept through my body, healing my wounds and strengthening me. The dark energy from the obelisk had stopped shooting out of the top, and the portal of light the Shadowspawn had come out of earlier had turned from light to dark. Balt had leveled up as well, and we were now both sitting back-to-back, resting now. “Hell of a fight,” Balt proclaimed.

  I chuckled, voice hoarse. “If that was the test just to get into this tutorial dungeon, I’m not sure what to expect from beyond that portal.”

  Balt tapped his staff lightly against the ground. “We held our own against 12 level 15’s, that’s not a bad day’s work.”

  They sat in silence for a moment, the dome above them slowly clearing. Rays of light pierced through the gloom, casting long shadows across the battlefield.

  Balt shifted, glancing at the portal. “You feel that?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. It’s calling us.”

  The portal pulsed again, dark, steady, patient.

  Balt stood first, brushing dust from his robes. “Well, we didn’t come this far to nap on broken glass.”

  I rose beside him. “Let’s see what the dungeon has to offer.”

  Together, we stepped toward the portal. It swallowed us in silence.

  The darkness of the portal clung to me like oil, thick, silent, endless.

  Then, without warning, I was standing in a wide, circular chamber. Smooth obsidian floors reflected pale blue light from floating glyphs overhead. The air smelled faintly of lavender.

  A man stood nearby, arms crossed, dressed in a sleeveless tunic with bronze trim. His hair was buzzed short, and a jagged scar ran from his temple to his jaw.

  A glowing interface hovered beside him, flickering with lines of data and replay footage. “My name’s Lawson. Stand over there,” he said without looking up. “I’ll be right with you.”

  Balt blinked. “Did we… die?” I glanced around. “If this is the afterlife, it’s got good lighting.”

  The man, Lawson, according to what he had just told us, tapped the interface. A holographic replay of their fight shimmered into view. I watched myself dodge a Shadow Spawn’s claw, counter with a Limit Slash, and then collapse beside Balt.

  Lawson nodded to himself. “Decent footwork. Overextension on pretty much every swing though, Riven."

  Balt, you hesitated way too much waiting on Riven to make the first move.”

  Balt squinted. “How do you know that?”

  Lawson finally turned to face them. “You used a Gate Key. That gives me access to your combat logs. I’m your combat trainer for this Dungeon Tutorial." He gestured around the room. "Welcome to the Evaluation Chamber.”

  I frowned. “What the hell is this?”

  Lawson smirked. “It’s a reward for completing the Gate Trials. If you didn’t know that much, why in the System did you partake in said Gate Trial? Now stand still. I’m logging your metrics.” A soft hum filled the room as the glyphs overhead began to rotate.

  “Well, we thought we were going to the Tutorial Dungeon. So, when we put the key in the obelisk, the fighting just kind of happened.”

  Lawson raised an eyebrow, fingers still dancing across the interface. “Half right.” He flicked a glyph, and a new screen appeared, an overview of the obelisk. The Gate Key does get you to the Tutorial Dungeon.

  “Normally you would enter the Tutorial Dungeon and never see me,” he said, voice clipped. “But Gate Trials are special. Anyone from a world who completes the trial is judged by the system, and top performers of said trials make it here.

  Balt scratched his beard. “So… we were top performers?” I gave Balt a fist bump.

  Lawson snorted. “Technically."

  “Hell yeah, we were! Said Balt, pumping his fist high. “Don’t get too excited; you were also the only performance." I figured it would be something like that from the way the man’s face was twitching while reviewing their fight. I had seen many smart-ass cadres in my time in the Army. “Well, damn,” muttered Balt.

  Lawson was smiling now. “The System flagged your performance and assigned me to assist... that is all. I’ll be monitoring your progress through these tutorial dungeon floors, offering feedback, training, and if you’re lucky and perform well, rewards will follow.”

  I folded my arms. “So, you’re like a coach?”

  “I’m like a scalpel,” Lawson snapped. “Precise, necessary, and occasionally painful.”

  The glyphs overhead pulsed again, casting a soft glow across the chamber. A new portal shimmered into view, this one smaller, rimmed in silver. Lawson gestured toward it. “Floor One awaits. Expect environmental hazards, stat disparity challenges, and enemy variants. I’ll be watching.”

  Balt glanced at me. “This guy’s got the bedside manner of a cactus.”

  Lawson didn’t look up. “One of you is an Outlier. Which means your world has failed to complete its Dungeon. If you two want the foundation to be the ones to help do it. Step forward.” I needed answers and strength, and Lawson seemed to have both.

  I looked at Balt and we nodded in agreement to one another. We stepped toward the portal, the Evaluation Chamber fading behind them.