“(Right, left, up, down, back, front, back, down, right.)” [Ryner]

Under the beautiful blue sky, a group of people was gathered in a verdant glade outside of Hossylei Nac.

“So let me get this straight! I need to show that I’m ‘worthy’ to enter the ruin by achieving great feats because you Elders, that really don’t look like elders by the way, said so!” [Ryner]

It was composed of over thirty amazons that wielded various weapons, a scantily-clad woman with light green skin, a depressed-looking elf, a carefree puppy and a sleepy human.

“(Up, left, duck, grab, throw, roll, jump, block, toss.)” [Ryner]

“Um, I was against it fro-!” [Itham]

“Moreover!!” [Ryner]

Ryner interrupted the meek High Elder whose mood went from anger to depression after his daughter’s recent kidnapping was rubbed in his face.

“(Crouch, kick, left, back, parry, dodge, punch, dislocate.)” [Ryner]

“You lot arranged for me to fight the amazons in their Blood Trial because if I succeed, it would be considered an achievement! But, in truth you just want me to get beaten up, right?!” [Ryner]

“No, no, no. Of course no-!” [Itham]

“After all!! The Blood Trial involves me fighting every warrior of the amazon tribe barehanded while they get to keep their weapons! Am I right so far?!” [Ryner]

“(Catch, jump, grab, dislocate, throw, punch, toss, right, duck, underwear, head-butt.)” [Ryner]

“Well…” [Itham]

“Yes! Also, during the trial, no one is allowed to use magic!” [Rosaminta]

This time, it was Rosaminta that interrupted Itham, causing him to hang his head and sulk while muttering “A High Elder can’t do everything, you know…” sadly.

“I can see that!” [Ryner]

“But, you’re doing really well against these odds! I’m honestly super surprised!” [Rosaminta]

“Meh, I’m used to taking on a bunch of people at once!” [Ryner]

“(Back, dodge, break, parry, jump, kick, kick.)” [Ryner]

“WOULD YOU STOP TALKING DURING THE TRIAL?!!” [Riteinia]

An enraged Riteinia screamed, mirroring the thoughts of all of the amazons present.

Since the start of the Blood Trial, the female warriors were all relentlessly attacking Ryner with the intent to kill. They held nothing back as they tried to beat him up, cut him up and smash him up. However, they haven’t even put a scratch on him yet. The man was alone, surrounded and barehanded, yet he took them on with a sleepy expression on his face while talking to the spectators in a relaxed manner.

“She’s right, boy! You should properly focus on the young ones pining for your attention!” [Rosaminta]

“Don’t call me ‘boy’, you pervert!” [Ryner]

“My, my, my, that’s a rude thing to say to a woman!” [Rosaminta]

Ryner casually exchanged words in a loud voice with Rosaminta while dodging every attack. The half-naked woman was currently on top of a giant leaf along with Itham and Mi. By her will, a green stalk rapidly grew out of the ground like a pole from the middle of the glade and reached eight meters in height. The light green-skinned woman, the elf and the puppy were all watching from up high, on the large leaf that served as a platform.

“Remember! No killing, okay?!” [Rosaminta]

“Yeah, yeah! You don’t want meaningless slaughter in your forest because you’re the forest’s guardian and yaddy-yaddy yadda! But, it’s weird to ban bloodshed during something called the Blood Trial!” [Ryner]

“Isn’t it fine?! So long as you listen to my request, I’ll do anything you want! A-ny-thing~!” [Rosaminta]

Rosaminta said rather suggestively to which Ryner promptly reacted and turned his gaze towards her in the midst of battle.

“You better keep your word! I mean it! Seriously, anything’s fine, right?! Otherwise I’ll start cry-!” [Ryner]

“RYNER! SHUT UP!!!” [Riteinia]

His act caused Riteinia’s fury to peak and she butted into their conversation.

“Gatekeeper!! Why ban killing!? This isn’t meaningless slaughter, but the Blood Trial!” [Riteinia]

Her voice contained annoyance and anger as she questioned the Gatekeeper’s intentions for the umpteenth time.

“Now, now, now, you and your girls are free to kill him if you can! Besides, he only needs to beat you to win, not take your lives!” [Rosaminta]

“Tch!” [Riteinia]

Riteinia clicked her tongue in frustration, but she wasn’t planning on defying the Gatekeeper to the end. That creature that had roses and vines growing out of her head was not someone she could take on. Turning her attention to the black-haired man, she rubbed her bruised cheek with the back of her hand as she watched her brethren throw themselves at him relentlessly from a distance.

When she heard Rosaminta request Ryner to not kill them, she was completely furious since it felt like she was being looked down on. Her pride as a warrior, as an amazon, couldn’t accept it, especially if it was during the Blood Trial, a rite of passage spoken in legends. It was the same with all of the amazons who felt like they being seen as toddlers. However, the one who made such an insulting demand was the Gatekeeper herself, a powerful being revered by the elves. No one could defy her. So, they did the next best thing and assaulted Ryner as if taking their rage out on him.

However, everyone’s minds quickly cooled down and they approached the human more cautiously the next moment when they saw a glimpse of what they were up against.

The Matriarch, the strongest of their tribe, was punched in the face and thrown like a ragdoll in the blink of an eye.

None of their weapons had managed to touch him.

Ryner was unscathed and yawning sleepily in the middle of their swirling bloodlust as if he was merely facing a bunch of barking puppies.

“FAAALLL!!!” [Amazon]

An amazon roared ferociously as she swung her two-handed sword downward, intending to split Ryner’s head open. The blade that should have cut through flesh deviated from its course by his hand that pushed its flat side. Almost simultaneously, his fist made contact with her stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs and leaving her helpless long enough for him to punch her chin which rattled her brain.

“Again! He countered a sword with his hands again!” [Amazon]

“That’s impossible! Such a feat can’t be done without magic!” [Amazon]

“How the hell can that man fight like that?!” [Amazon]

Ryner dealt with the relentless waves of enemies by accurately dodging, parrying and counterattacking without pause, much to the amazons’ shock. Whenever they saw how he pushed their weapons aside with his bare hands, they would question if he wasn’t secretly utilizing body strengthening. However, each time, the one person who could see through lies, Itham, confirmed that the human wasn’t invoking any magic.

“It’s just one man! Use our numbers! Overwhelm him!!” [Amazon]

“RAAAAAAAHH!!! Move!! I’ll smash his head in!!” [Amazon]

“Wait!!” [Amazon]

A fierce woman charged at him like a roaring lion with her mace held high. Ryner moved instantly and closed the distance between them, much to her surprise. Expecting him to step back, she couldn’t react in time and attacked too late. The sleepy-looking man was already in her face and stretched his hand out, grabbing onto the grip of her mace and stopping it before it gained any speed. When the amazon tried to punch him with her free hand, he did the same and swatted her fist away. Then, Ryner threw her over his shoulder, obstructing the other amazons who were approaching his back.

“Don’t attack alone! Surround him!” [Amazon]

“The man keeps running around!!” [Amazon]

Shouts and roars were exchanged as the amazons threw themselves at the challenger without pause.

“The man’s extremely dangerous even without magic! Approach him as, a-as you would fighting our Matriarch!!” [Amazon]

A black-haired and brown-skinned woman was giving orders and doing her best to control the situation in place of the Matriarch who was watching the fight absentmindedly.

“Group up in pairs! Strike after your partners! Form up! FORM UP!!” [Amazon]

Even when the golden-eyed women coordinated their attacks, their target would slip through their net. Whenever they completely surrounded him, Ryner would break through by charging at one of them and knocking her out, opening a hole in their formation and causing it to soon collapse as they gave chase.

“I can’t move my legs!” [Amazon]

“My arm’s broken…!” [Amazon]

“Careful!! He’s using strange techniques!!” [Amazon]

Three amazons charged at the man from the front. One had a spear while two wielded swords. Ryner sidestepped the first one by shifting to the right as he rotated to the left, dodging her spear’s tip. Keeping his momentum, he pushed her back as she passed him and spun around to face the other two that leapt at him, aiming to cut off his arms. Using his right hand, he diverted the downward swing of one sword and forcefully pushed it against the other’s blade. As the two weapons collided, Ryner avoided their simultaneous attacks and dove to the side to dodge a horizontal swing that came from his back. After rolling once, he used his hands as a pivot and spun around upside down, dolling out kicks to those that were crowding around him like a spinning top.

“Again barehanded!” [Amazon]

“Why!? Why can’t we cut his hands off!!?” [Amazon]

An amazon charged him with a spear. He stepped to the left and let the tip pass under his right armpit. Then, he grabbed the shaft with both hands and spun to the right, trapping the enemy in his movement since she wouldn’t let go. Lifting the woman’s weapon, he warded off a sword coming at his back during his rotation and knocked the spear wielder into his attacker.

“Tch! He’s goddamned slippery!” [Amazon]

“Don’t let up! Keep attacking and wear him out!!” [Amazon]

Dodging a series of attacks led Ryner straight to a roaring warrior hefting a large hammer. He ducked low to escape from the head-ripping swing, slipped to his foe’s side and stabbed her arm twice with his fingers before warding off more incoming amazons. Losing strength, the golden-eyed woman dropped her heavy weapon and couldn’t defend herself when the man, after dislocating an opponent’s wrist, delivered a roundhouse kick to her head.

“Four more warriors are down!!” [Amazon]

“Against just one male…!” [Amazon]

Ryner was like a wolf in the middle of an angry pack of lions that slipped through their fangs and claws over and over again. He agilely leapt from place to place, leading the amazons around the nose. To pull off such a feat, he wasn’t darting around haphazardly. Relying on all of his senses, he kept track of his opponents’ locations and predicted their next actions. Although he was continuously running about to prevent them from trapping him in a disadvantageous position, there was no unnecessary movement. Every action was controlled, tight and precise.

Even as the battle roared on violently and the amazons single-mindedly chased after their target, everyone stayed away from the giant plant in the middle of the glade, taking care not to cut down the tall stalk by mistake.

“Well, well, well, he’s certainly a peculiar human.” [Rosaminta]

Atop the stalk was a huge leaf from where three individuals watched the battle progress.

“You have quite the unbelievable guest, Itham.” [Rosaminta]

Rosaminta said, surprised and impressed by the human’s prowess in combat while lying on her stomach. One leg was bent and her toes were pointing upward. She looked like a girl that was lazily relaxing in her bedroom while watching television. However, despite her languid posture, her eyes were firmly set on the elves’ sleepy-looking guest.

“If the Elders saw this, they would definitely make a huge fuss.” [Itham]

Itham, sporting a serious expression as he carefully observed Ryner, was sitting next to the forest’s guardian while making sure that the red puppy wasn’t going to fall off the leaf. The atmosphere of a doting father was gone and the High Elder was now carefully analyzing the spectacle before him.

“I can imagine why. Haha, it’s my first time seeing someone bat away swords and spears using pure physical abilities.” [Rosaminta]

The half-naked creature that could control plants nodded in understanding. Once again, the human used the side of his hand to push a sword away before poking an amazon’s arms and legs, causing her to suddenly fall down powerlessly. From Rosaminta’s perch, the way he moved about and avoided deadly blows time and time again made it seem like he was gliding on the ground. All in all, his fighting style was a foreign sight to behold.

“The amazons’ Blood Trial is basically impossible to pass. Fighting the warriors of that race alone with no weapons or magic is suicide. An achievement that can’t be achieved and is only spoken of in their tribe’s legends.” [Itham]

“Then, did you want to let the boy die all along?” [Rosaminta]

“That may be what those Elders wished for when they requested Riteinia to let him take the Blood Trial. The whole condition of piling up achievements to enter the Forbidden Tomb is just an excuse to set this up. Since I’m supporting Ryner, they can’t harm or kick him out, so they’ll do it indirectly. I compromised and agreed to let Ryner fight in the amazons’ Blood Trial, but I never said I wouldn’t interfere.” [Itham]

“Mhhh~.” [Rosaminta]

Rosaminta cupped her face with one hand and smiled amusedly at the blonde-haired elf next to her. Sitting cross-legged, the High Elder was firmly holding Mi in his arms while gusts of wind were unnaturally blowing around him. His emerald green eyes were sharp and alert like an eagle. Since the start of the Trial, Itham was standing by, magic at the ready to help Ryner.

“Once he gets out of this alive, he can start accomplishing feats that are less dangerous. The Elders gave me their word, probably because they don’t think he’ll succeed, but that’s just perfect. It doesn’t matter what it is. If Ryner’s actions are good enough to be acknowledged as ‘achievements’, then they’ll let him in the Tomb. I’ll prepare some random ones for him once we’re done with this. Something related to the arts might be good.” [Itham]

“My, my, my. How shrewd of you, little Itham.” [Rosaminta]

Rosaminta giggled softly. Her sweet voice was enough to melt away a man’s reasoning, but Itham never looked at her lustfully. He spoke in a respectful manner, like one would when facing a personage of a much higher standing.

“Maybe so, but after two or three centuries, our kind tends to become as hard-headed as dwarves and their love for hammers. We’re too clingy to our old ways, too trapped by the past. The Council ignored my words, the Travelers’ pleas and Ryner’s selfless acts because of their never-changing fear and prejudice towards humans. I had to approach this differently.” [Itham]

“Those girls will be mad if you ruin their fun, though.” [Rosaminta]

The Gatekeeper said amusedly as she pointed at the golden-eyed women fighting ferociously below.

“Even the strongest Elder would be hard-pressed against the entire amazon tribe.” [Rosaminta]

“Then, please help me when that time comes.” [Itham]

“Fufufu, maybe I will~… But it doesn’t look like I’ll need to.” [Rosaminta]

“… Yes.” [Itham]

Itham nodded gravely at Rosaminta’s playful words as he watched Ryner’s performance. The man that saved his daughter was singlehandedly warding off attacks from five directions simultaneously. Despite the overwhelming odds, he was steadily incapacitating the amazon warriors. From the High Elder’s point of view, it looked as if the entire battle was choreographed because of how ridiculous the spectacle was.

“If he can do that with physical abilities alone, imagine when magic is involved. Do you know how big his mana pool is?” [Rosaminta]

“The Travelers couldn’t tell during their travel with him, but they said he wiped out a noble’s private force by himself in the town where they were kept as slaves. Also, he can summon objects out of thin air. Probably a unique skill.” [Itham]

“My, my, my. Really, a fascinating guest. It makes me hungry… Oh?” [Rosaminta]

Rosaminta’s attention went from Ryner to the light green-haired woman in the crowd of amazons. While curiously gazing at the person, she chuckled and waved her feet in the air alternatively.

“(That girl’s finally joining the fight again.)” [Rosaminta]

The Gatekeeper happily stared at Riteinia who was stalking towards Ryner as a feral, giddy smile hung on her lips.