The trio started heading in the direction of the signal. This time, Zane remained highly cautious, keeping his guard up so that Serene wouldn’t fall under another illusion.

Alen walked just behind them as he did not wanted to hear their bickering.

"Hmm... But I still don’t understand. Who took control of me?"

"And where is the monster or creature that put me in that illusion?"

"It should have been nearby to cast a spell on me..."

"And I’m not weak! There’s no way a low-level monster could trap me in an illusion and possess my body without me even noticing... Hmm... What could the reason be?"

Serene questioned the bizarre phenomenon happening behind everyone’s backs.

Even though Alen had been able to sense something was wrong earlier, he still hadn’t been able to pinpoint the exact being that possessed her body. He didn’t even know where it disappeared to after he hit her. He wasn’t sure if the entity was an invisible cursed soul or some kind of illusionary creature. He was completely oblivious to its true nature.

Even Zane, who was a Dark magic user himself, hadn’t been able to sense when Serene was affected, despite being right next to her. Even though he had been in a daze, his intuition as a Dark mage should have warned him that something was wrong. The intuition of Dark magic users was far sharper than that of normal Awakener.

It was a bizarre situation entirely out of their comprehension, making all of them much more cautious about the dungeon’s hidden dangers.

As they walked deeper into the dark tunnel, the surroundings began to change. Purple crystals jutted out everywhere along the walls and the floor. They sparkled with a violent, violet glow, illuminating the dark corridor.

Serene’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the crystals. They were terrifyingly beautiful. She had seen a lot of high-end jewelry in her life, but none of those stones could compare to this.

Alen and Zane also noticed the crystals, but they weren’t attracted to them because of their beautiful appearance. They were drawn to the dense, chaotic mana swirling inside them. They both felt genuinely surprised; how could these crystals remain perfectly stable when the mana inside them was so violently unstable?

Serene turned and walked closer to one of the large stones embedded in the wall.

She raised her hand to touch the crystal.

"Serene, wait—!" Zane yelled.

*BOOOOOM!*

The purple crystal suddenly exploded at the touch, blasting its chaotic purple energy outward. But before the shockwave could hit her, Zane’s shadow quickly surged forward, wrapping around her body and yanking her back.

Sharp debris began to fly everywhere. The concussive aftereffect of the first crystal triggered the nearby crystals. The entire thing happens in less than a second.

As the blast wave spread, any crystal that came into contact with the shockwave instantly detonated. A terrifying chain reaction of explosions ripped down the tunnel.

The trio didn’t even have time to brace themselves. They immediately turned and ran for their lives.

"Sera, let’s go! Fast!" Zane yelled, grabbing her hand and bursting forward with incredible speed.

"Sigh... What a pain,"

Alen grumbled.

Not wanting to be left behind, Alen dashed forward. But as he ran, he cast one last gaze at the exploding cavern, snatched a flying shard of the purple crystal out of the air, and immediately activated his skill.

[Phantom Step!]

His figure blurred, leaving behind a fading afterimage as the tunnel behind him was instantly consumed by the chain of explosions.

*BOOOOOM!*

But it was still incredibly difficult to outrun the sheer onslaught of the blasts expanding through the enclosed tunnel.

Alen quickly channeled mana into his hand.

[Nexus Elemental Art: Water Type - Hydro Shield!]

He touched the ground, and a massive wall of rushing water instantly rose in front of them. However, it was just a wall of liquid; because it wasn’t a solid substance, it wouldn’t be able to hold back the concussive force of the explosions for long.

Serene, who was running alongside them, paused and spun around.

[The Heaven’s Grace: Ice Type - Ice Touch!]

She aimed her hand toward the wall of water. The rushing water instantly began to crystallize, freezing over until it became a thick, solid ice defense capable of sustaining a heavy attack. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

As the blast caught up to them, it slammed into the back of the ice wall. The barrier shook violently, and deep cracks began to web across the surface under the immense pressure.

"It won’t last for long... Let’s go!"

They began to run again. Just a few seconds after they fled, the ice wall completely shattered, and the blast continued to spread down the tunnel behind them.

After what felt like hours of frantic running, they finally escaped the collapsing, exploding tunnel and spilled out into a massive opening.

"Haah... haah... haah... What was that?!"

Serene panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"It seems we’re definitely in some kind of cursed place..."

As she looked forward, her eyes widened in shock.

The opening of the tunnel led into a vast underground space. It was incredibly large, stretching for several kilometers in every direction. Even the ceiling was so dizzyingly high that it was hard to believe they were still underground.

They stared ahead in complete awe, not expecting such a colossal arena to suddenly open up right in front of them.

[Ding!]

[You have entered the designated location for the Trial completion...]

[Mission: Survive Three Waves...]

As they all looked at their system windows, they finally understood. This was the actual trial grounds. Everything they had faced earlier was just a maze designed to waste the Awakener’s time and resources before they even reached the real test.

It was so skillfully and maliciously designed that Alen knew whoever created the ’Ascension Realm’ was definitely a scumbag.

Standing at the edge of the vast, exposed field, they all straightened their backs. The real battle was about to begin.

Everyone’s faces turned serious. Even Serene, who usually wore an excited, bubbly expression, tightened her grip on her staff. She had already been defeated and possessed by an unknown entity once today. She was completely prepared to face whatever was coming next.

[Ding!]

[Wave 1: Start!]