Zane stepped out of the Registration Room, the name Ur_Big_Daddy still echoing in his mind. A smirk tugged at his lips as he reached behind his back and unsheathed the broadsword from the leather strap. The blade glinted under the hallway lights, and he ran his fingers along its smooth surface, feeling a faint pulse from within—like a heartbeat waiting to awaken.
He took a few steps forward and began his practice.
Starting with offensive stances, he moved through a series of basic techniques: an uppercut slash, followed by an undercut, then a horizontal middle slash, a diagonal strike, and finally a precise thrust. From thrust, he cycled back to uppercut, maintaining rhythm and balance. He repeated the entire sequence four times, each movement more fluid than the last.
Without pause, he transitioned into defensive forms—upper parry, lower parry, side parry, and thrust deflection. He moved with focused precision, repeating the defense cycle three more times before halting.
Panting lightly, he lowered the blade and smiled.
"Good sword," he murmured. "Neither too heavy nor too light. Just the right balance for me."
A mechanical chime rang out, and a translucent screen flashed across his vision.
[New Quest Available!]
[Trial of Shadows and Assassination]
[Permission Required: Use the Special Key to Unlock the Hidden Pathway to the Hundred Trials and Tribulations of Awakening]
[Reward Preview: Clear the first five levels and gain permanent membership in the Temple of Assassin Faction—plus additional perks and exclusive upgrades.]
Zane didn’t hesitate.
"Do it." His voice was calm, resolute.
He had no intention of stopping here. Not when the path ahead promised the strength he needed. For Zane, this wasn’t about fame or glory—he didn’t crave the glamor of becoming a Super Hero.
His goal was personal. Sharp. Burning.
He wanted to prove he wasn’t just a shadow of his father.
He wanted to destroy that shadow—once and for all.
And now, with the revelation of his mother’s name—Jennifer Carter, an A-rank Super Hero, missing—his path had widened. Another mission had anchored itself in his heart: to find her.
If he wanted answers... if he wanted revenge... if he wanted to save her...
He needed only one thing.
Suddenly, a green key appeared before his eyes, glowing with faint digital sparks.
"Whoa..." Zane blinked. "It just... popped out? Is this from the System’s inventory? Cool."
Before he could reach out, the key floated forward on its own. The narrow corridor around him began to tremble, its stone walls humming in strange resonance. Then, with a click, a glowing keyhole materialized in the center of the wall ahead.
The key inserted itself and turned.
The wall shuddered and then disintegrated into fine dust. The corridor behind him vanished like smoke on the wind.
Zane found himself standing on barren, cracked earth beneath a grey, cloudless sky. Dust swirled at his boots. In front of him loomed a jagged cave mouth carved into a low rock face. A crooked signboard swayed gently beside it.
Welcome to the Secret Dungeon of the Temple of Assassins.
Here, every candidate must endure their Trials and Tribulations before earning the right to join our ranks.
Best of luck. Your better future is ahead of you. Strive!
Zane blinked at the sign, then tilted his head.
"Dungeon?!" Zane blurted out. "System, are you sure we’re in the right place? Or did I just stumble into some weird virtual RPG?"
No answer. Just the low, hollow wind rustling past the mouth of the cave.
Zane squinted into the shadows ahead. "Are you running out of juice or something? Want me to grab a charger?"
A chime echoed in his mind, and glowing text scrolled across his vision:
[No. This is a real location. Scan complete. You are currently on an island near Indonesia—designated as a forbidden zone. Entry is restricted exclusively to members of the Temple of Assassins with high-level clearance.]
Zane chuckled. "And here I am. Standing right in the middle of it."
[Correct. Normally, only registered individuals who achieve minimum benchmark requirements are granted access through a formal invitation by elite members of the Temple. This trial would then be unlocked.]
[However, your case is... different. You used a Special Key—bypassing the standard protocol.]
He narrowed his eyes, stepping forward slowly. "You seem to know a lot about this Temple of Assassins. Are you, like, a prototype nano Super-Super-Computer they accidentally installed in my brain?"
[I have history with the Temple. But no. Stop making silly speculations—it will hinder your growth.]
"Right..." Zane muttered, raising an eyebrow. He could tell there was more to the story, but the System clearly wasn’t ready to spill its secrets. He didn’t push further.
Instead, he asked the question that really mattered.
[Very much so. If you are not confident, you should forfeit. There’s no need to throw your life away. You can return to this trial later—at another temple, with another Special Key.]
"Forfeit?" he scoffed, already striding toward the cave entrance.
"Not in this lifetime."
And with that, he stepped into the shadows.