The sun had set. Cold night crept in, and the test was about to begin.

  Max and Arika had already arrived, both standing, both silent. One looked ready. The other was pretending.

  Lucien stood before them.

  Lucien: “Arika. You said you could find my brother, right?”

  Arika: “Yes, my lord.”

  Lucien: “And how would you do it?”

  Arika: “I’m from a navigator bloodline within my clan. We specialize in tracking and navigation. As we grow, we develop abilities linked to finding paths, people, or objects. One of those abilities allows us to locate the presence or traces of a person, animal, or item… if certain conditions are fulfilled.”

  She continued: “The condition is simple—we need to see something that belongs to the person. The more it's been used, or the older the connection, the better. If we’re tracking an object instead, we need someone connected to it, ideally the owner, or something else tied to its use. It works better the closer we are. But even at its worst, it provides at least a directional trace.”

  Lucien: “Inside this place, there’s a sword I placed, it is used by me.”

  He tossed her a different blade.

  Lucien: “This one is also used by me, find the other sword.”

  Arika caught it cleanly.

  Arika: “Yes, my lord.”

  Lucien: “Your second test is the one you’re probably more eager for. You and Max will enter the property. Max will protect you from any threat, but he’s not allowed to kill anything. Not monsters. Not guards. Nothing. You’re to eliminate everyone tied to this place’s operations or security. There are sixty-seven individuals inside who can be considered our enemies. If max has to kill anyone of them to save you, test end as a failure.”

  Lucien paused, looking at her.

  Max raised a hand, visibly annoyed.

  Max: “What is this treatment I’m getting? So not fair. I feel like a sidekick.”

  Arika stayed quiet for a moment. Then closed her eyes, took a slow breath, and looked at Lucien.

  Arika: “I’ll make sure not to disappoint you, my lord.”

  As Arika spoke, she slung the sword across her back, drew her two daggers, and ran straight at the wall.

  She leapt, stabbed one blade into the stone for grip, pushed up, stabbed again, climbed, reached the top, then dropped cleanly on the other side. No hesitation. No wasted movement.

  She disappeared into the compound.

  Max followed right after, hands in his pockets like always. Lucien stayed behind, watching.

  Max: “So, what’s the plan, leader?”

  Arika kept moving, her mind already racing.

  Master Lucien’s two tasks might seem unrelated—but they’re not. On the surface, he’s testing whether I can find his brother. But in truth, he wants to see my resolve. To see how far I’ll go. If I’ll do bloodshed the same way they do. If I’ll act without flinching.

  He wouldn’t have hidden his sword somewhere easy. I know that much. Wherever it is, I’ll have to kill to get there. He’s forcing my hand.

  I already showed weakness once. I’m not making that mistake again. This is my chance to prove my worth.

  She answered, calm and focused:

  Arika: “We’ll take down all the enemies first, find the sword next, and deal with the rest afterward.”

  Max: “Good idea. But how are you gonna do that—wait for them here, or go full solo like my brother did, huh?”

  Arika: “Neither. I’ll fight in the way that suits me best.”

  They kept walking. A sudden noise cut the air, a loud, guttural scream. Painful. Sharp. From just ahead.

  They ran toward it.

  A group of armed men lay ahead. All stabbed. Some bleeding out. Others already cut in half. The screaming hadn’t stopped—but it wasn’t theirs anymore.

  A shadow loomed.

  The screech of the Bird—a monstrous beast, something between a mutated hawk and a nightmare version of a sloth with three feet long claws, its bladed arms tore flesh as if it was butter. Its beak crunched bones of it prey while feasting on them while they are alive. The thing had already massacred everyone in sight in its frenzy.

  Max grinned as he casually counted the bodies.

  Max: “Hey, look at that. Now you only need to kill, what... fifty-nine more?”

  Arika didn’t answer. Her eyes narrowed.

  Arika: “That’s a Scythe Bird. What the hell is it doing here?”

  Max: “what?”

  Arika: “A type of monster that lives deep inside Stellar Mountain. It shouldn’t be here. They almost never leave their territory.”

  Max shrugged. “But it is here. And we don’t know why.”

  Arika stayed silent, confused for a moment. But she pulled herself back together quickly.

  Arika: “We don’t need to know. Focus on the job.”

  The Scythe Bird turned, letting out a feral shriek, wings folding as it prepared to pounce.

  Max grabbed Arika without warning and jumped, evading the beast’s strike by inches and landing near the open door of the warehouse.

  They slipped inside.

  As they stepped inside, seven guards were already waiting. Each carried a blade, a bow, or poison-coated daggers.

  All of them charged at once.

  Max dissolved into water, his body vanishing through the gaps between their attacks. He slipped past them entirely, leaving Arika alone.

  Arika didn’t hesitate.

  Arika: “Veil of Night.”

  The moment the words left her lips, she vanished from sight. In the same breath, she reappeared behind the attackers, jumped again, disappeared midair, then struck.

  She reappeared behind one of the archers, slashing through the fingers on his bow hand, disabling him.

  Then she struck the temple of another, knocking him unconscious. One by one, she appeared, disappeared, and swept through their legs. All of them dropped.

  She appeared again a few meters away, sweating and breathing heavily.

  This isn’t good. I’m already using my only trump card. Veil of Night eats through stamina and mana like wildfire. I can’t keep this up, not for long. And it only works on fodder.

  She looked at the men lying on the ground.

  Arika: “Before anyone else shows up, I need to finish this.”

  She knelt beside the first unconscious man and pressed her dagger to his throat.

  Her hand hesitated.

  She forced it.

  With raw determination, she drove the blade into his neck.

  One down.

  She moved to the next. Then the next. One by one, her hesitation faded. Her hand moved faster, her face colder, her eyes duller with each kill.

  By the last one, she no longer blinked.

  Just as the dagger pierced the final guard, a volley of arrows flew toward her.

  They never reached.

  Water surged through the air like a wall, crushing the arrows mid-flight. Max reappeared, solid again, grabbing Arika in one arm and leaping to the upper floor. His water beam followed, blasting through the lower level and collapsing it entirely.

  He set her down and turned, surprisingly serious.

  Max: “You shouldn't take that long. Seriously. You should’ve just stabbed them in the temple and moved on. Why waste time knocking them out first?”

  Arika, voice low, eyes down: “I’m sorry. I… I just wanted to give them a graceful death.”

  Max: “I’m in your squad. You can command me, remember? So use me properly. You know what I can do. I can extract just enough water from their bodies to keep them alive, but weak. You finish them. Clean, efficient, by the book. We don’t break the rules that way either its perfect plan what you say.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Arika: “No. This is my trial. I’ll do it my way.”

  Max sighed. “Oh, come on…”

  Arika, conflicted but firm: “Take me back down. I’ll finish them before I lose the chance.”

  Max: “No need. They’ll die on their own.”

  Arika: “That’s against the rules. You’re not allowed to kill.”

  Max: “I didn’t. I launched a defensive attack to protect you. If the floor broke and crushed them, that’s just coincidence.”

  Arika stepped forward. More enemies were coming. She could hear them running down the hall.

  She activated Veil of Night again, vanished, and reappeared behind them.

  She did the same as before, disabling them, preparing to finish the job, when one of the men dropped his weapon, hands shaking.

  Man: “Please, please don’t kill me. I have a family. Let me go.”

  His voice cracked. His face was pale. Terrified.

  Arika froze.

  Her dagger hovered in the air.

  Her hand trembled.

  I can’t. I can’t do this. But I have to. I need to. I…

  She was breaking.

  Max’s voice came from behind.

  Max: “Oh hey, don’t start that now. Didn’t you have a great time earning fat coin with all the weapons and drugs you made in this hellhole?”

  He walked toward the man.

  Max: “I’m pretty damn sure you did some vile shit here. And you liked it.”

  Man: “Please. I won’t do anything like that again. Please.” He was crying.

  Arika couldn’t hold it. She stepped back. She let the man crawl away.

  Max narrowed his eyes.

  Max: “This is what ‘ready to become a monster for revenge’ looks like? What a joke.”

  Arika said nothing. They walked together in silence.

  What’s the point? What am I doing? Is this what revenge means, killing anyone who gets in the way, even if they’re unrelated? Is this what I signed up for? I just wanted justice for my family. I just wanted to save my people. Not become this.

  Her thoughts spiraled. Doubt pulled at her chest like chains. She almost collapsed.

  But then she remembered.

  She remembered how her people were treated. How they were violated. Beaten. Broken.

  That rage boiled in her again, but now it clashed against everything else. Her morals. Her logic. What she believes in.

  The two sides collided in her chest, leaving only silence and confusion.

  Max: “So? You are giving up?”

  Before she could answer, someone pounded on a nearby door.

  Arika didn’t move.

  Max walked up and kicked the door open with one blow.

  A child ran out.

  She stopped the moment she saw Max and flinched. Then her eyes moved to Arika, and paused.

  The girl looked at Arika’s tribal patterns.

  Girl: “Are you from the village?”

  Arika nodded. “Yes. Are you too? Where is everyone? Are they safe?”

  The girl burst into tears. “They’re keeping Mommy and Papa in the dark place underground. With many others.”

  Max: “What were you doing up here?”

  The girl didn’t answer. She just clung to Arika. Arika knelt and held her tight, trying to steady her breath.

  Max turned and walked ahead.

  He had entered a grand hallway, much larger than anything before. Thick steel doors. Security locks. Reinforced walls.

  Four massive chambers, all separated by long distances, each marked with its name

  Lab. Harvest. Testing. Leisure.

  He stopped. Then he broke open all the gates to check inside.

  The Lab Chamber was filled with monster flesh, skeletal remains, and strange plants that looked useful for drug production. Among them were traces of repeated experiments attempts at some kind of genetic mutation using monsters, likely meant to create weapons. He found a log report buried under scattered papers.

  He read the latest entry quietly. “Batch one to seven has been shipped,” he muttered.

  He moved toward the next chamber.

  Harvest was filled with the sharp scent of medicine. Every kind of drug seemed to be there, overflowing in abundance. Some were plant-based, others made from venom, shells, or organs. The list seemed endless.

  The Testing Chamber held no ordinary weapons. There were swords and bows, yes, but not like any he’d seen before. These were forged from monster materials, enchanted with the souls or traits of wild beasts. Each weapon carried a unique attribute, drawn from the creature it was made from.

  Max spoke quietly to himself. “I should make sure we take all of this. I don’t know much, but it seems important.”

  Then he entered the Leisure Chamber.

  It was just as filthy and vile as he had predicted. Women of all kinds and ages were kept inside, most too broken to react. Their eyes were empty, filled with nothing but silence and defeat.

  He opened the door, saw all of it, then stepped back.

  He could have unshackled them, but he didn’t. A part of him thought they might be safer here, considering the war raging outside.

  And with that thought, he walked away

  Just as Max returned, he saw something different.

  Arika had changed.

  The scared chick he walked in with was gone. What stood now was something sharper. Bloodier. A tigress who had already painted the walls with the lives of at least a dozen soldiers who had followed them in.

  She stood among bodies, her face unreadable. The child was still crying behind her.

  Arika turned to the girl and spoke gently.

  Arika: “Wait inside, please. I promise I’ll come back to get you. And everyone else.”

  Max raised an eyebrow, stepping closer.

  Max: “Did something happen while I was gone?”

  Arika, without blinking: “Yeah. I made my choice. And this time, it’s clear.”

  She bent down, cleaned her dagger, then sheathed it. She reached for the sword Lucien had given her and took it in both hands.

  Arika: “From this point on, I won’t show that same weakness again.”

  Max smiled faintly. “Let’s go, then.”

  Arika nodded. “Use that ability of yours. Just make sure it doesn’t touch the captives.”

  Max stretched his arms. “As you wish. It’s a little harder to avoid a specific group, but not impossible. I’ll make sure no unnecessary casualties happen.”

  He stepped. Both hands forward. Water condensed into spheres between his palms, then burst splitting into countless microscopic beads that scattered into the air.

  Within seconds, they spread through every hallway, every vent, every crack. The warehouse was soaked in invisible, pressurized mist.

  Then the carnage began.

  Bodies began to dry from the inside out. Blood drained. Skin cracked. They gasped, fell, screamed. They clung to life barely.

  Max: “Now. Finish them before they die on their own.”

  Arika moved without a word.

  She ran. Jumped. Searched. Killed.

  the cycle repeated.

  Strike. Clean. Move on.

  Again.

  Again.

  Again.

  Until finally, the last body dropped, and the first task was done.

  Arika stopped to breathe, wiping blood from her cheek.

  Max approached.

  Now it was time for the second objective.

  Arika turned to him, pulling out the blade Lucien had given her.

  Arika: “Hold the sword for me.”

  Max took it, holding it steady in both hands.

  Arika knelt in the middle of the cleared space, just beside the bodies. She didn’t speak. Placing both hands flat on the floor, she centered herself.

  Max watched in silence.

  She bit her thumb, drawing a small line of blood. With it, she drew a circle on the ground, marked with tribal symbols. Then she looked at Max.

  "Place the sword in the center," she said.

  He did. She touched the circle with her bloodied thumb. Mana began to surge, first from her, then from the markings.

  The moment her skin made contact with the metal, a soft hum passed through her body.

  Suddenly, a white light, narrow like a ribbon, traced a glowing path away from the circle.

  She exhaled.

  Arika said, "Let’s follow the path. It won’t last long."

  Max raised a brow. "Huh. Not bad."

  "Are you sure?" he asked.

  "Yes," she replied.

  Max nodded. "Then let’s go get it."

  Arika tightened her grip on the weapon and moved forward.

  As they stepped outside, the air felt heavier.

  The sky was darker now, but the tree was visible ahead—the same one from earlier.

  And the Scythe Bird was still there.

  It hadn’t calmed.

  It was worse now.

  The creature’s feathers were ragged, its giant claw tearing at the dirt. Blood still dripped from its beak. Its eyes locked on Arika and Max the second they stepped out.

  Then it screamed.

  A vicious, guttural screech that shook the ground—and launched itself forward, wild and fast.

  Max reacted instantly, grabbing Arika by the shoulder and pulling her back as the claws ripped across the dirt where they stood.

  Max: “Still frenzied. Guess it’s not done yet.”

  Arika: “It’s drawn to the sword. We have to get past it.”

  Max: “I can’t kill it. So I will just hold him for a while, you get that sword and end this stupid trial.”

  Arika: “Got it.”

  Max surged forward, water twisting around his arms. He ducked low, dodged a wild claw swing, then leapt toward the beast, aiming to lock it down.

  The Scythe Bird shrieked again and swung both of its talons. One caught Max across the arm, nearly tearing into him, but he didn’t stop.

  He shot multiple high pressure beam at the bird which it dodged with grace but was also not able to do anything else it screamed tried to cut the beam, but its claw got cut in half by the water it dodged like a monkey jumping from trees.

  That’s when it happened.

  arika activated veil of night appeared near the tree she saw the sword plugged in the earth she put her hand on it almost took it out but,

  Another Scythe Bird burst from above the tree, roaring straight at her.

  Too fast.

  Too close.

  But arika successfully claimed the sword and just than

  Max saw it. He launched a pressured blast of water, slicing off both the head of these birds and tree itself

  Arika: “Veil of Night.”

  She vanished and appeared near the max

  Lucien approached them and spoke as he walked, “It seems you have successfully completed the quest, even though it required heavy involvement from Max. But I suppose this much is good enough for now.”

  Arika looked at Lucien. Hearing those words, something in her heart settled.

  I did it. I took a major step toward my goal.

  She exhaled slowly, a breath of quiet relief. Even this small success felt fair to her. All she wanted was the right to her vengeance, and for that, the Sinclair's were essential. This marked her first true victory toward that end. Just this much was enough.

  But what came next shocked her.

  Lucien said, “Arika since you have passed, I choose you as my first student. I will be training you for the next two months. For now, go do your job here like you did in the mining camp. Once we return, I will give you the details.”

  Arika froze. The words hit harder than anything she had prepared for.

  Trained by Lucien Sinclair. This monster of a man, choosing me? Why me? Still… this is an incredible opportunity. I can’t refuse it. He is on another level entirely.

  She lowered her head in a respectful bow. “Yes, master,” she said, then turned and went to retrieve the captives.

  As she walked away, Max glanced at his brother.

  “Why did you go easy on her?”

  Lucien looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  Max replied, “You already killed everyone who could have truly challenged her. The higher-ups, the strong mages, the real monsters. All you left were leftovers, and then called it a grand test. Was it just to get her hands bloody?”

  Lucien gave a slight smile. “Look at you.You don’t usually go for serious questions—but here we are. I simply found a piece which could stay useful for a very long time. If I want her to grow, she has to sharpen her resolve. Words won’t do it. Right now, she’s wavering between different kind of emotions. Giving her a taste of reality might help clear that confusion.”

  Max stared at him for a moment. “You are planning to use her as your proxy for whatever you are planning to do in the future, aren't you.”

  Lucien smiled calmly looking at him

  Max gave a shrug. “Well, whatever.”