Chapter 27 - The Lion's Trial

The forest had gone silent.

Kael stood beneath the ancient trees, one hand resting against his injured shoulder.

The Shadow Lion was gone.

But its presence remained.

Not as a sound.

Not as a shadow.

As pressure.

Something had changed after its appearance.

The System window still floated before Kael.

[Bloodline Progress: 11%]
[Current Level: 20]
[Objective: Reach Level 30]
[Secondary Objective Updated.]
[Beast Inheritance Resonance: 1/3]

Kael stared at the final line.

“Beast Inheritance…”

He remembered the Shadow Lion's words.

When you reach the place where your father died…

Do not trust the person waiting there.

Kael's expression hardened.

“My father died years ago.”

He looked toward the deeper forest.

“So who could possibly be waiting there?”

The System offered no answer.

Instead—

[Warning.]
[Legendary Beast resonance detected.]
[A temporary inheritance trial has been activated.]

The ground beneath Kael's feet suddenly cracked.

Black energy erupted from the earth.

Kael immediately summoned his katana.

“Arsenal Domain.”

Metal fragments appeared around him.

His weapons floated into position.

AR-02.

SR-01.

MP-01.

GL-02.

All four weapons rotated around him like a metallic halo.

Then the forest disappeared.

Kael found himself standing on an endless black plain.

Above him was no sky.

Only darkness.

A massive crimson moon hung in the distance.

The System appeared.

[Trial of the Shadow Beast.]
[Objective: Survive.]
[Time Limit: 30 Minutes.]
[Victory Condition: Demonstrate compatibility.]
[Defeat is not required.]

Kael frowned.

“Again with survival trials?”

A low growl answered him.

The darkness behind him moved.

Two crimson eyes opened.

Then the Shadow Lion stepped forward.

Even weakened, its body was enormous.

Its black fur seemed to absorb the surrounding darkness.

Crimson energy crawled across its body like burning veins.

Kael immediately raised the AR-02.

“Let's see what you've got.”

The lion vanished.

Kael's eyes widened.

BOOM!

He crossed his katana in front of his body.

The impact sent him sliding backward across the black ground.

His boots carved two long trails.

His arms trembled.

“That speed…”

The lion appeared above him.

Kael immediately released his weapons.

“Metal Control!”

The AR-02 and MP-01 flew upward.

A storm of metal fragments formed between them.

The lion's claws struck.

CLANG!

The entire metallic barrier shattered.

Kael rolled away.

He fired the AR-02.

The bullets struck the lion's body.

But instead of penetrating—

they disappeared into its shadow.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“Shadow absorption.”

The lion disappeared again.

Kael didn't wait.

“SR-01!”

The sniper rifle appeared in his hands.

He didn't aim at the lion.

He aimed at the ground.

BOOM!

The impact shattered the black surface.

The lion emerged from the destroyed shadow beneath Kael's feet.

Exactly where he expected.

Kael swung his katana.

CLANG!

The blade struck the lion's claw.

For one brief moment—

Kael saw it.

A crimson glow beneath the lion's chest.

Its Shadow Core.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“There.”

The lion immediately pushed him away.

Kael flew several meters.

He landed hard.

His shoulder screamed.

But he smiled.

“I found your weakness.”

The lion stared at him.

Then—

something unexpected happened.

It smiled.

Not like a human.

Like a predator recognizing another predator.

[Shadow Lion has acknowledged your observation.]

[Trial difficulty increased.]

Kael's smile vanished.

“You've got to be kidding me.”

The entire battlefield darkened.

Hundreds of crimson eyes appeared around him.

Not one lion.

Dozens.

Illusions.

Kael raised his weapons.

“Fine.”

His Metal Control expanded.

Every weapon around him split into dozens of metallic fragments.

The fragments formed a rotating sphere.

Arsenal Domain — Expanded.

The lions attacked.

Kael moved.

One claw.

Two.

Three.

He blocked one.

Dodged another.

A third tore across his side.

Pain flashed through him.

He fired the MP-01 point-blank at an illusion.

It vanished.

Another lion appeared behind him.

Kael used Metal Control to pull himself sideways.

The attack missed by centimeters.

He countered with the katana.

Another illusion disappeared.

“Only one is real!”

Kael stopped trying to attack everything.

Instead—

he watched.

The illusions moved perfectly.

But the real Shadow Lion's shadow behaved differently.

Kael noticed it.

Every time the real lion moved—

the shadow beneath it flickered for an instant.

“There!”

Kael raised the GL-02.

BOOM!

The blast struck the ground beneath the lion.

The creature was thrown upward.

Kael immediately used Metal Control.

Every metallic fragment around him launched toward the same point.

The lion's Shadow Core became visible for half a second.

Kael fired.

The shot struck near the core.

The Shadow Lion roared.

The entire trial shook.

Kael was thrown backward.

His vision blurred.

[Critical resonance detected.]

[Shadow Core instability: increasing.]

Kael slowly stood.

The lion stared at him.

Then its enormous head lowered.

A strange crimson light appeared between its jaws.

Kael raised his katana.

The System flashed.

[Warning.]
[Incoming attack exceeds current defensive capability.]

Kael's expression became serious.

“Then I won't defend.”

He recalled every weapon.

The AR-02.

The MP-01.

The SR-01.

The GL-02.

They all disappeared into his body through Weapon Manifestation.

His Metal Control concentrated around his katana.

The blade became surrounded by black metallic energy.

Kael charged.

The lion charged too.

The two collided.

Silence.

Kael opened his eyes.

He was back in the forest.

His weapons lay around him.

The Shadow Lion was gone.

But something was floating before him.

A tiny black crystal.

[Trial Complete.]

[Compatibility confirmed.]

[Shadow Beast Inheritance Fragment obtained.]

[Darven Forge has evolved.]

[New Function unlocked: Weapon Evolution.]

Kael stared.

[Weapon Evolution]
Allows existing Darven weapons to evolve using compatible materials, monster cores, magical energy, and inheritance fragments.

Kael slowly smiled.

“So that's what you were testing.”

He picked up the crystal.

The moment he touched it—

another message appeared.

[Shadow Lion has granted temporary permission.]

Kael froze.

“Granted?”

A distant roar echoed through the forest.

Then came a final message.

[The first Legendary Beast has acknowledged you.]

[Two remain.]

Kael looked toward the horizon.

His grip tightened around the katana.

“Then I'll meet them.”

Far above the forest—

two enormous presences stirred.

One carried the aura of an ancient serpent.

The other carried the cold silence of death.

And somewhere deep beneath the earth—

someone was watching Kael.

A voice whispered:

“Twenty levels…”

“He is already moving faster than the First Darven.”

A second voice answered.

“Then we cannot wait until Level Thirty.”

Silence.

Then—

“Release the Serpent Gate.”

The forest trembled.

And Kael's System suddenly flashed red.

[EMERGENCY EVENT DETECTED.]

[VERDANT SERPENT TERRITORY HAS OPENED.]

[WARNING.]

[TARGET: LEGENDARY BEAST.]

[RECOMMENDED LEVEL: UNKNOWN.]

Kael looked toward the distant mountains.

For the first time—

he felt something far stronger than the Shadow Lion's presence.

His smile disappeared.

“Already?”

The System gave one final message.

[The second gatekeeper is awake.]