The rain began softly, a whisper against the leaves, before turning into a downpour that swallowed the forest in its relentless rhythm. Everyone else had long gone to sleep, the house wrapped in silence except for the patter of water on its roof.
Rena sat near the window, her blade resting against the wall beside her. Her reflection in the glass was tired, but not from battle — it was the exhaustion that came from feeling left behind. Shadow's aura had grown deeper and steadier since his inheritance; Lena had gained confidence and raw strength that shook the training ground whenever she swung her greatsword. Even Ryn had sharpened her instincts, her arrows finding their mark with effortless grace.
And then there was her — still level thirty-nine, still waiting.
She clenched her hands into fists, her mana flickering faintly like a candle in the wind. It wasn't that she resented them. She was proud of her team, proud of their progress. But the silence of stagnation was suffocating. Every day she trained, and every night she waited for the feeling of a breakthrough that never came.
When the rain grew heavier, she stood.
Maybe she needed space — a moment to breathe. Without waking anyone, she wrapped herself in her cloak and stepped out into the storm.
The forest was alive in the rain, silver streaks glinting through the moonlight that managed to break past the clouds. Mud clung to her boots, and the chill crept through her armor, but she kept walking. Deeper into the trees, where the sound of her thoughts couldn't reach her.
She didn't know how long she walked. The rain blurred everything into a gray haze. When the thunder rumbled and lightning split the sky, she found a hollow space beneath a large stone outcrop and crouched there for shelter.
Her breath came in clouds. "Some guardian of the team I am," she muttered. "Can't even break through one wall…"
Her hand brushed against the ground, seeking a dry patch of earth — and stopped. Something smooth and cold hid beneath the mud.
She leaned closer, brushing away the dirt with her fingers. A faint pattern appeared beneath the grime — a symbol carved deep into the rock, glowing faintly through the rainwater pooling over it.
Her heart skipped a beat. The shape was familiar. She had seen it once before — etched into a mural shown in her Breakthrough Quest.
Lightning flashed again, and she could see it clearly now — the emblem of a winged figure holding a sword and shield entwined by runes of balance.
Her pulse quickened.
It couldn't be coincidence.
She whispered to herself, recalling the strange phrase that appeared at the end of her breakthrough clue. The words had echoed in her dreams but never made sense — until now. She took a deep breath, her lips trembling as she spoke them aloud.
"...By heart unyielding, awaken the covenant of the Valkyrie."
The air stilled.
The rain froze mid-fall, droplets suspended like shards of glass in the air. A pulse of blinding light surged from the carved symbol, wrapping around her body in spiraling threads of arcane energy. Her cloak lifted, the mud dissolving from her skin as if the world itself was rewriting her existence.
The forest faded away.
When she opened her eyes, the storm was gone.
She stood in a vast, cathedral-like expanse under a sky filled with aurora lights. Crystalline pillars lined the marble floor, each etched with runes that shimmered in gold and silver. The air was serene yet heavy, like a realm untouched by time.
Rena looked down — her clothes were clean, almost glowing faintly as the remnants of the summoning light vanished. Her boots echoed softly as she stepped forward, awe mixing with unease.
Then she saw them.
Six towering statues stood in a crescent around a central platform — each carved in the image of a Valkyrie. One bore a blazing spear, another a twin-bladed sword; one held a staff, her eyes serene as if watching over the others. Each radiated a different presence — wrath, grace, wisdom, mercy, purity, and arcana.
Her gaze stopped on the last one — a Valkyrie whose wings shimmered faintly between light and starlit energy. There was a strange warmth in her chest, a pull like she was being watched.
The silence of the hall pressed in around her, yet it wasn't empty. It felt alive.
She took a hesitant step forward.
And as the air trembled, faint runes began to stir along the base of the central statue — the one whose eyes seemed to glimmer faintly in recognition.
Rena's heart pounded. She didn't know where she was, but deep down, she understood one thing.
Her trial had just begun.