The butler and Aren stood on opposite sides of the room. The butler rested one hand behind his back, calm and composed, while Aren remained in a combat stance.
Aren activated Shadow Sense immediately, spreading it across the entire room. If he wanted to land even a single hit, he had to observe the butler’s every movement and react perfectly.
The butler slowly raised one hand and made a come here gesture, inviting Aren to begin.
Aren launched forward at full speed, his body cutting through the air like a bullet.
"Starting with close combat..." the butler muttered, mildly surprised. "I expected summons first."
Aren leaped into the air and swung a roundhouse kick straight toward the butler’s head.
Just before it connected, the butler tilted his head aside with flawless precision. Not a single motion was wasted as Aren’s leg passed harmlessly by. The butler extended his hand, caught Aren’s leg, and used the kick’s momentum to spin him around, slamming him into the floor.
Aren bounced off the hard ground and landed on one knee. He looked up.
The butler was still standing in the same spot.
"If you wish to survive the next stage of the trial," the butler said calmly, "you must be willing to give everything. Even your own life."
He stretched his hand out again, repeating the come here gesture.
’Give my own life... to survive?’’ Aren thought.
The words didn’t make sense. How could someone give their life and survive at the same time?
The butler sensed his confusion and smiled. "When the time comes, you will understand what it means to give your own life in order to live."
Aren clenched his teeth, stood up, and unleashed a Claw Strike.
The butler dodged effortlessly and dashed forward.
No—stepped.
A single step covered the entire distance between them.
His palm struck Aren’s chest.
Aren couldn’t even react.
The impact bypassed his armor entirely, the force slamming directly into his body as if the defense didn’t exist at all. He was sent flying.
BOOM.
Aren crashed into the ground, rolled several meters, and came to a stop. He coughed up blood and forced himself back to his feet.
The butler stood there again, one hand behind his back.
"In the next stage," he said, "you will learn the true essence of the trials. You will learn what every stage so far has been preparing you for."
He stepped forward.
"These trials revolve around decisions. Your ability to choose. Paths are laid before you, easy or difficult, right or wrong. Everything that has happened until now was not the doing of Lady Elton, nor the trials themselves."
His gaze sharpened.
"It was the result of your choices. Your decisions sculpted the situation you now stand in."
He vanished and appeared in front of Aren in a single step again. This time, Aren pushed his Shadow Sense to its limit, seeing the attack before it landed.
He raised his arm and blocked.
The palm struck his hand, sending him skidding back several meters, but this time, no serious damage.
The butler smiled.
"You learn from mistakes," he said. "Your body adapts. Your mind adapts. You begin to make every movement meaningful. That is good."
He continued, "But you must go further. Do not make mistakes at all. People say mistakes are how you learn, but some mistakes are irreversible."
His voice grew heavier.
"In the next stage, you will understand this clearly. One mistake, and everything collapses. So rather than fixing mistakes, do not allow them to happen."
Aren lunged forward again.
A Claw Strike at close range, dodged.
A low sweep at full speed,
The butler simply lifted his feet.
The attack passed beneath him.
He landed lightly and kicked Aren while he was still low.
Aren crossed his arms and blocked, tumbling backward before regaining his footing.
Realizing brute force wouldn’t work, Aren channeled the lightning power of his lightning wolf into one hand, while the other was in wolf guard.
He attacked again with a claw strike.
The butler dodged, but lightning followed.
Bolts tore through the air, fast and violent.
The butler’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. He twisted away, spun, and landed a kick directly into Aren’s side.
Aren bent in pain, but grabbed the butler’s leg.
"If I can’t learn from a mistake," Aren said, teeth clenched, "I’ll turn the mistake into a success."
He spun and hurled the butler.
But instead of crashing, the butler flipped midair, landed on one hand, flipped again, and came down perfectly on his feet like a gymnast.
He smiled.
"I could count that as a hit," the butler said lightly. "And give you the hint."
Aren shook his head. "That wasn’t a hit. I caught you and threw you."
He took another stance.
"I can tell how much you’re holding back," Aren continued. "I know you could obliterate me if you wanted to."
He inhaled slowly.
"And that scares me. It scares me knowing I’m standing in front of a being that could end me instantly."
His eyes burned with resolve.
"But it also makes me happy. Because I’ve come a long way."
He straightened.
"Before the trials, I couldn’t even fight off a street dog. During the start trials, I was looked down on. And now, I can stand in front of someone leagues above me and still show something."
He clenched his fists.
"And that tells me I still have room to grow. So I’ll keep going. No matter what. I’ll keep growing stronger until nobody can stand against me."
That was his resolve.
The butler studied him for a long moment.
Then he placed his hand behind his back.
"You are either very ambitious," he said, "or very stupid."
He smiled faintly. "But you are not a fool. There must be a reason you crave power so deeply."
He turned away.
"That is enough. What you did counts as a hit, whether you accept it or not. I have seen enough."
Aren frowned. "What? But I haven’t shown you everything."
"I’ve seen it all before," the butler replied calmly. "But you are yet to learn anything about my fighting, so remember this, if it ever comes to fighting me, I am far more lethal at long range than at close range."
He began walking toward the door.
"Wait!" Aren called. "What about the hint for the next stage?"
The butler stopped and turned back, smiling.
"I already gave it to you."
He opened the door.
"I said it some time during our interaction, in fact, multiple hints."
And then he walked out.
"Come," his voice echoed. "There is more for you to see."
Aren stood there, confused.
’He already gave me the hint?’
When?’