Location: Unknown Dungeon Beneath Renga
Kazuki landed with a splat.
The stone floor below was warm—worryingly so—and lightly pulsing with veins of glowing purple mana.
"Okay, okay…" Kazuki muttered, sitting up and brushing muffin crumbs from his tunic. "New record: I've fallen into three mysterious dungeons this month. Four, if you count the public bathhouse basement. Which I do not."
He glanced around.
The chamber shimmered with ancient architecture—spiraling columns, floating glyphs, and doorways made of mana threads. But half of them flickered, like the dungeon itself was unfinished.
A distorted mechanical voice echoed:
"W-welcome… t-t-to the Ech—o Spiral D-Dungeon. Warning. Quest parameters… compromised. Please do not attempt to eat the environment."
Kazuki blinked. "Why does it know me so well?"
Suddenly, a chime rang out, and a huge stone door slid open ahead, revealing—
A massive room labeled in glowing kanji:
"LEVEL 1: THE TRIAL OF PERFECT Balance (oops)"
Inside stood a towering seesaw platform balanced over lava, a chorus of floating chairs, and what appeared to be… five kazuki-shaped training dummies?
Smile's voice echoed in his head.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this."
Meanwhile: Renga Forest, Far North Edge
Aurelis stepped into the dense, sun-dappled woods. The air was thick with mana—but not wild or chaotic. It pulsed with ancient intent.
In her hand, the scroll still glowed faintly. Its message had changed.
"Burn not in rage, but in purpose. The Ember Fang slumbers beneath the ash-rooted tree."
She moved deeper into the forest.
And then she heard it again.
That voice—not with words, but something older. Emotional memory.
Pain.
Loyalty.
Warrior's pride.
Flame.
A clearing opened before her, revealing a massive tree with ash-colored bark and leaves that shimmered red when touched by light. Beneath it… bones. Cracked stone. And a half-buried sword with a hilt shaped like a dragon's fang.
Aurelis approached, breath held.
Her mana core burned hotter than ever.
"You seek strength," came a whisper from the tree. "But would you command me… or fight beside me?"
Aurelis dropped to a knee, pressing her palm to the hilt.
"I don't need a weapon. I need an ally."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—a heartbeat.
From beneath the roots, ancient fire bloomed.
Something moved beneath the earth.
The trial had begun.
Back in the Glitched Dungeon: Kazuki's Accidental Genius
Kazuki stood atop the seesaw, now wildly tilting between lava and floating chairs that tried to slap him in the face every five seconds.
"This is fine," he said, ducking under a chair and hopping over a falling training dummy. "I've trained for this. I have reflexes. I have… balance! I've watched circus raccoons on the internet!"
He tripped.
But when he fell, he twisted midair, bounced off two chairs, accidentally punched a rune orb in the air, and landed on the correct pressure plate—activating the trial's completion sequence.
Alarms blared.
"Congratulations! You have… accidentally cleared Level 1. Proceeding to… Level 2: Trial of The Reflective Self. Good luck. You will need it."
Kazuki scratched his head. "Reflective? Like… emotionally?"
A mirror formed before him.
In it, he saw not his face—but all his companions.
Flare. Kiba. Yoru. Smile.
And then—Aurelis.
She wasn't looking at him.
She was walking into fire.