Morning sunlight hit the sandstone walls of the Sun Gate, baking the city in sweltering heat before the morning bells even rang.

Kai walked up to the towering entrance and handed his black envelope to a female guard wearing polished bronze plates.

She broke the wax seal with her thumb and looked him up and down, her eyes lingering on his broad shoulders with a mix of wary respect and hunger.

"Arms out, pretty boy," she commanded, stepping close to him.

Her hands roamed over his body with slow, deliberate, and highly invasive movements.

She squeezed his thighs, traced the hard lines of his chest, and let her fingers brush deliberately against his groin. She was clearly enjoying the search, breathing a little faster as she confiscated his standard iron throwing knives.

Kai didn’t flinch or pull away as he knew how to play their twisted game. He kept his voidglass dagger safely hidden, using a thin layer of his ice magic to freeze the blade perfectly flat against his forearm beneath his linen sleeve.

"You’re clean," the guard smirked, licking her bottom lip as she stepped back.

"Try not to die too quickly. It’d be a real waste of a perfect body."

Two attendants in revealing silk dresses led him past the gates and into the royal palace.

The interior was lavish but completely suffocating, filled with gilded statues and trailing velvet banners.

Chained male servants crawled on their hands and knees, polishing the marble floors or serving exotic fruits to armored noblewomen.

The female courtiers openly stared at Kai as he walked past them.

They whispered filthy promises to each other, their eyes tracking the confident sway of his hips.

’This palace is just a giant brothel built on blood,’ Kai thought, feeling a twisted sense of amusement.

’They think they’re completely in charge, but they don’t realize they just invited a wolf into their bedroom.’

The attendants guided him into a luxurious waiting chamber decorated with plush cushions and silver hookahs.

Ten other candidates were already sitting inside, looking absolutely terrified. Sweaty, trembling men clutched their knees and stared at the floor.

Some of them bore fresh slave brands, while others were captured gladiators hoping to win their freedom.

Kai claimed a corner cushion and stretched his legs out casually, remaining completely cold and detached from their panic.

Hours dragged by before a sadistic female overseer finally opened the gilded doors.

She wore tight leather straps that barely covered her chest and carried a barbed whip coiled loosely in her hand.

"It’s time to see what you’re actually made of," she purred, looking at the terrified men.

She marched them out into a vast, unshaded courtyard paved with white marble.

The midday desert sun beat down mercilessly, turning the stone floor into a literal oven. Elevated viewing pavilions surrounded the courtyard, filled to the brim with wealthy noblewomen sipping chilled wine.

"Welcome to the Trial of Endurance," the overseer announced, uncoiling her whip so it snapped loudly against the marble.

"You will stand perfectly still in the sun. If you move, you bleed. If you fall, you die. The Matriarch is watching, so I highly suggest you don’t embarrass yourselves."

Kai locked his boots into a comfortable stance and crossed his arms behind his back.

The oppressive heat hit him instantly, but he didn’t break a sweat. He quietly circulated his freezing mana through his veins, letting the ice magic cool his internal body temperature. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

It felt like drinking a glass of cold water while standing in a furnace.

Ten minutes passed, and the weaker men started to shake. Sweat poured down their faces, stinging their eyes and soaking their thin shirts.

The female overseers slowly prowled through the rows of candidates, trailing their leather whips across the men’s chests to test their resolve.

One of the overseers stopped right in front of Kai. She noticed his perfectly dry skin and the arrogant, calm expression on his face.

She stepped into his personal space, pressing her breasts lightly against his chest, and trailed the wooden handle of her whip down his stomach.

Kai didn’t blink or break eye contact. He just stared down at her with a cold, predatory gaze that made her breath hitch.

She flushed deeply, visibly turned on by his unyielding dominance, and practically stumbled backward to find an easier target.

Up in the shaded pavilions, the noblewomen watched the display with rapt attention.

They leaned over the stone railings, fanning their flushed faces as the brutal spectacle unfolded.

"Look at him, he doesn’t even flinch," a woman in green silk gasped, spilling wine on her dress.

"It’s like the heat doesn’t even touch him."

"The others are already shaking," her companion whispered, pressing a hand to her own chest.

"This one is different. He looks like he could fuck the entire royal guard and still ask for more."

"I bet the Matriarch will claim him for herself," another noblewoman complained bitterly. "She always takes the beautiful ones, and that boy is a god."

Kai heard every single word echoing down from the balconies.

He weaponized his own body, standing tall and projecting a raw, sexual energy that captivated the entire audience. He knew exactly what these cruel women wanted, and he was giving them a masterclass in stoic defiance.

A sharp crack echoed across the courtyard as an overseer lashed a slave who dared to wipe sweat from his brow.

Blood splattered across the white marble, followed by a miserable scream. The noblewomen cheered loudly, drinking more wine and touching themselves discreetly under their flowing skirts.

The trial continued for three grueling hours. The heat grew so intense that the air literally warped and shimmered above the stone floor.

Finally, a gladiator standing two rows ahead of Kai groaned loudly and collapsed face-first onto the marble. His body convulsed violently before going completely limp from severe heatstroke.

A loud brass bell rang out from the highest tower, signaling the end of the trial.

"You survived," the leather-clad overseer announced, looking at the nine remaining men. She pointed her whip at the dead gladiator.

"Clean that trash up."

Kai relaxed his stance and rolled his shoulders. He still hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat, and his breathing was perfectly even.

The female overseers looked at him like starving animals, their eyes tracking his every movement while they escorted the exhausted candidates back inside the cool palace walls.

They returned to the waiting chamber, where servants immediately offered the shaking men water and fresh towels.

Kai took a silver cup of water just to blend in, though his internal ice magic left him feeling completely refreshed.

The tall attendant in the gray robes walked into the room a few minutes later.

She bypassed all the other men and walked straight up to Kai. She didn’t speak a word, but she held out a silver tray containing a single, flawless crimson rose.

Kai picked up the flower and spun the stem between his fingers, pricking his thumb slightly on a sharp thorn.

He looked at the attendant and offered a dangerous, knowing smile.

[System: Trial of Endurance Mastered]

[Status: The Scarlet Matriarch’s Favor Gained]

[New Passive Activated: Palace Intrigue]