Chapter 45: Battle Maniac of the North (1/2)

The time was when the sun was at its highest point.

The place was the heart of the treacherous northern mountain range, towering as if to pierce the sky.

The number of participants: ten.

The signal to begin—

“Prove your ability and worth.”

A deep, weighty voice belonging to Theodor Lionheart.

At the sound of the patriarch’s words, the boys and girls nodded with tense expressions.

As the Northern Trial finally began, Atar looked around.

Under a sky shrouded in gray clouds, colossal pillars, half-covered in ice and snow, stood alongside crumbling ruins.

A place called a “ruin” elsewhere was, in the North, known as a warrior’s grave.

And at its entrance—

“Now then, do your best, all of you.”

The man who had taken it upon himself to be Atar’s mentor for the past few months.

He had a real name, but he was most commonly called “the Sage.”

The familiar voice reached Atar a moment later.

“Atar, you know I can’t give you any direct help here, right?”

Asher’s role today was merely that of a supervisor ensuring the trial’s safety.

The actual test belonged entirely to the challengers.

Thus, Atar responded flatly.

“I know.”

He already understood the reality of the situation.

Hoping for his mentor’s help in the Northern Trial would mean he was unqualified from the start.

Besides, Asher wasn’t the only trial supervisor.

‘If they catch even the slightest excuse, they’ll disqualify me immediately.’

Among the countless supervisors and observers, the only person remotely on Atar’s side was Asher.

But even that made him wonder—’was Asher really on his side?’

If anything, it simply meant that aside from Asher, no one wanted him to pass this trial.

That was why Atar never expected Asher’s help.

If Asher so much as hinted at favoritism, the others would seize on it without hesitation.

To be acknowledged as the rightful successor of the North, Atar had to pass this trial alone.

And so, he finally took his first step forward.

—Step.

—Step.

Atar and the other challengers drew their weapons and stepped into the ruins.

They looked different, carried different weapons, and had different fighting styles, but they all had one thing in common—

Each had come to prove themselves worthy of ruling the North.

The moment the colossal stone gate of the ruins opened, a maze of shattered marble pillars and frozen crystals was revealed.

A chilling air wrapped around them.

“It’s inefficient for all of us to move together. It’s better to split up and explore separately.”

The boy in the red armor, who had been leading, suggested this.

He was distantly related to Atar—a very distant cousin—but he had been acting like the leader from the start.

“There are advantages to staying together,” Atar countered.

He still knew very little about this trial.

And in battle, reducing one’s available “resources” was not an option.

Yet all he received in return was mockery.

“Advantages? For whom?”

The red-armored boy was clearly looking down on Atar.

Though he was dismissive of everyone, he especially believed himself superior to Atar in terms of judgment, if not combat strength.

“Stick together, and we’ll just die together. Besides, I’d rather not get bitten running around with a mad dog.”

With that, the boy veered off toward the left passage alone.

***

The remaining challengers also split off, each choosing their own path.

Atar hesitated briefly before choosing the central passage.

And then—

Five steps forward.

Ten steps forward.

Twenty steps forward.

‘…Too quiet.’

Just as he began to sense that an unnerving amount of time had passed without any sign of movement—

—Rumble.

The ground suddenly trembled.

‘A trap!’

Atar threw himself backward into a roll just as the floor collapsed beneath him.

He narrowly avoided plummeting into the abyss.

At that moment, an unexpected voice called out.

“A-Are you okay?”

A girl who had taken a different path from him.

She must have wandered through the ruins until she stumbled upon him.

She didn’t look particularly determined.

In fact, she seemed more nervous than anything.

‘How can I use her to my advantage?’

Atar fell silent, contemplating his options.

‘Could she serve as bait for the traps ahead?’

‘Or a distraction for the monsters lurking in the ruins?’

But his silence seemed to mean something entirely different to the girl.

She mistook it as him ignoring her and quickly pleaded.

“I-I can’t get through this maze alone. I’ve already triggered two traps!”

Atar paused.

The girl’s name was Rina.

She was from the southern part of the North and bore a faint trace of the White Lion family’s bloodline.

However, it was clear she hadn’t entered the trial by choice—she had been forced into it.

She was likely more concerned with her own survival than with passing the trial.

Which meant…

She wasn’t a competitor, but a convenient tool.

“Fine. Let’s go together.”

Atar deliberately acted as if he were doing her a favor.

Rina, visibly relieved, nodded quickly.

As they cautiously moved forward, the ice walls reflected the dim light, casting eerie shadows around them.

A faint tremor rippled through the ground.

How long had they been walking?

—Shiver.

“Stop!”

The chilling sensation struck him first, and Atar shouted just in time.

At the same moment, ice spikes rained down.

—Swish!

—Thud!

Atar swiftly drew his axe, slicing through the falling icicles.

Some grazed his arms, tearing his clothing, but the injuries weren’t serious.

However—

“Atar, behind you!”

With Rina’s shout, the ice wall split open.

And from within emerged a massive, translucent Ice Golem.

Atar instinctively looked up at its towering form.

For a moment, he recalled his battle against the Ice Dragon.

The way it lunged at him, the brutal struggle, the hard-fought victory.

Drawing a deep breath, Atar dashed forward.

The Golem would always target the weaker one first.

Survival of the fittest—an instinct ingrained in all beings of the North.

Even if the Golem lacked intelligence, that rule wouldn’t change.

Thus—

—Boom!

Another battle to protect a “burden” began.

The target: the Golem’s core.

“If you don’t want to die, run.”

Atar ordered coldly.

Technically, he was being attacked as well, but the Golem would prioritize Rina as the weaker target.

Atar planned to exploit that opening.

Gripping his axe tightly, he charged.

A storm of relentless strikes.

—Whirl!

—Crash!

Predicting the Golem’s movements, Atar drove his axe into its joints, shattering them.

Like the fierce snowstorms of the North, his strikes came with unyielding force.

Watching Atar’s merciless assault, Rina could do nothing but run.

Right now, she had no other choice.

Again and again, shards of ice scattered through the air.

Finally, Atar’s axe cracked the Golem’s core.

And with that, the massive creature collapsed.

“Haa… Haa…”

Panting, Rina stared at the fallen Golem.

But the problem was—

This scenario kept repeating.

“It’s coming. Run.”

“W-Why is it always me?!”

“Because you’re weaker than me. Unless you’d rather split up?”

Whether it was a trap or a monster that appeared, Rina was almost always the one running away.

Atar, with his ever-unwavering, indifferent expression, was the one breaking through the obstacles in their path.

By the time they finally reached the center of the ruins, she looked absolutely miserable.

Rina herself was amazed that she had even survived this far.

But the northern trials were only just beginning.

***

“We’re moving out.”

“W-Wait! I’m coming too!”

Desperately, she chased after Atar, who had once again started walking toward the unknown.

She didn’t even hope to pass the trial—she just wanted to stay alive until it ended.

Not long after, they were faced with yet another massive passageway.

And in front of it, a shimmering portal.

“…Why is everyone gathered here?”

Other challengers were clustered around the portal.

Since it was common knowledge that one had to enter the portal to take the northern ‘test,’ Rina found their hesitation strange.

Atar felt the same way.

While Atar intended to assess the situation first, Rina opted to ask directly.

“Uh, hey! What are you all doing over there?”

Before Atar could say anything, Rina was already heading toward the challengers.

Left with no choice, Atar followed after her.

But as soon as he got closer, he, too, couldn’t help but be shocked.

And for good reason—hovering in the air was the White Lion’s Ring, an item only granted to those who had passed the trial.

“…What the hell? Why is that here?”

This was nothing like what Atar had known.

The ring was supposed to be handed down by the spirits of past generations only after someone had completely overcome the northern trials.

At this stage, they shouldn’t even be able to catch a glimpse of it.

And yet, floating right before them was undeniably the northern ring.

Most of the challengers, Atar included, found themselves looking up at the ceiling rather than the portal.

‘Is this… another test?’

Just as they were trying to figure out what was going on—

—Sssk…

A swirling black energy emerged, wrapping itself around the ring.

Then came a pair of glowing blue eyes.

[Those who seek to become the ruler of the North… step forward.]

This was something no one, including Atar, had ever seen before.

More than anything, the chilling weight of that gaze—

“…This isn’t one of the ancestors.”

It was enough to make the challengers instinctively recognize the being before them as an enemy.

Weapons were drawn, one by one.

Whatever that strange entity was, it undeniably possessed the northern ring.

Which meant that if they could just defeat it, the ring would be theirs.

“Out of the way, you nobodies.”

The boy in red armor, the same one who had mocked Atar earlier, was among the first to launch himself toward the hovering ring.

And at that moment—

—Crack.

From the empty air itself, a tear split open.

“…I figured as much.”