Vineta and Wain walked through the dim tunnel and occasionally talked about something. Wain was a rather taciturn and quiet man. Vineta tried to get some information from Wain, but he answered briefly and rudely, much to her annoyance.

In the end, the girl decided to give up, and they spent the last part of the way in silence.

...

"We're here." Said Wain looking at the huge bronze heart beating in the center of the room.

"Yes. By the way, can't we try to destroy the heart before it turns into a monster? There are no skeletons around at the moment." Vineta suggested.

"Not a bad idea."

The Ring of Damned glowed brightly, and Wain used the Distant Bullet. He loaded the sniper rifle with ammunition and pulled the trigger. Like a white flash, the bullet headed toward the bronze heart.

However, a glass barrier appeared around the heart at the last moment, and the bullet flew away.

"Damn, we didn't make it!" Vineta said grudgingly.

"Not really... The last time I tried to break through the glass barrier around the golden heart, I couldn't even leave a scratch on the barrier. However, this time there were a few cracks in the glass. We need to try again. Maybe the skeletons won't make it here in time." Mumbled Wain and used the Distant Bullet once more.

Vineta nodded. Then there were violent wind streams beside her, which turned into a massive sphere. She threw the orb at the bronze heart, and Wain fired a sniper rifle at the exact moment.

Two powerful attacks hit the protective barrier, and it began to crack in many places. Wain summoned the dark sword and threw the weapon at the barrier as a final attack.

However, at that moment, the bronze heart shone brightly, and the golden walls around it began to collapse.

Usually, the skeletons should have come running first and sacrificed themselves to create a monster from the heart, but Wain's and Vineta's actions made the situation critical.

"Fuck!"

"Looks like we've only made things worse..." Vineta muttered.

Whooooooosh.

The next moment the golden bricks headed for the bronze heart. The bronze threads intertwined with the gold and became a fearsome monster capable of tearing its enemies to shreds in the blink of an eye.historical

It was a bronze tiger with gold claws and eyes. It was not as formidable in appearance as the golden tiger. Also, the bronze tiger had only three tails instead of five.

"Hmm, I don't understand what happened, but it looks pretty weak. My opponent was stronger in times. We'll have no trouble dealing with him, and we won't spend much energy on it." Proclaimed Wain.

"Yes, let's make it quick." Said Vineta, and a lightning spear appeared in her hands.

Wain did not activate one of the forms, or Beyond, there was no point. The Bronze Tiger was weaker than its gold version, and now Wain was not fighting sole.

He preferred to act alone most of the time, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to fight as a team.

Whoooosh.

Wain and Vineta turned into blue lightning bolts and attacked the Bronze Tiger from two sides. Wain attacked the tail, as he considered it the most dangerous part of the monster, and Vineta decided to attack the tiger's head.

Roooooaaaaaaaaarrrrrr!

The monster roared furiously and swung its tail. The tiger wanted to dispose of Wain like a pesky fly, but he easily dodged it. Then Wain snapped his finger, and a dark sword appeared in his hand. He inflicted numerous cuts into the monster's tail and easily severed it.

The bronze tiger did not expect Wain to be able to inflict such a serious wound on it so easily. The monster roared in pain and tried to run away, but Vineta had no intention of letting it go.

She threw a lightning spear at the monster's head with all her might, and there was a deafening explosion. The monster's skull shattered into pieces, but the tiger did not die. They needed to make one last attack on the head.

The monster ran into the tunnel, but suddenly a smiling Wain appeared in front of it. He kicked the monster in the jaw with his foot from bottom to top and then used his sword to pierce the tiger's head.

As Wain made the final attack and contributed the most to the battle, the monster's soul headed toward him.

[Soul of Bronze Tiger (Destroyed)

Chronicle: First

Rating: Rare]

'Hmm, as I expected, this soul is weaker than that of the Golden Tiger.' Wain thought and crushed the soul.

[You have acquired the Soul Essence of Bronze Tiger level 21.]

"Good, we can go back. The others probably haven't finished yet. We need to help them." Said Vineta and headed for the exit of the room.

Wain followed her. He was pleased with how easily and quickly they dealt with the Bronze Tiger.

'Hmm, I should do less teamwork. It's too easy and efficient. Honestly, I like the idea of teaming up with Vineta, Zero, Gisle, Luar, or some other strong man. That way, all fights would be easier and safer. However, in that case, I'll start regressing, it can't let that happen.' Wain thought.

Wain liked being alone, which was one reason he rarely teamed up with anyone, though he didn't mind working in teams. However, this decision was also influenced by the fact that Wain believed that being in a team often could lead to weakness.

He didn't think people who always worked in teams were weak. That was the opinion of fools and resentful of other people.

Wain understood that many people were more comfortable and better off working in teams, and he didn't condemn them for it. Some people did much better as a team than they did alone.

But he believed most people who worked in teams did so not because they could achieve more, but because it was safer and easier.

It was much easier to kill a monster together with one or more partners than alone. Also, there was always someone who would cover a team member from danger in such a case.

Such people gradually became worse and weaker because they initially decided so for themselves. By joining a team, they have chosen an easy level of difficulty, and they did it consciously, accepting the fact that alone they were not capable of anything.

This was also influenced by the person's emotional state, as well as his strength of mind.

Of course, if a person had auxiliary or healing abilities, he could only reach his potential by fighting in a group. However, even in that case, the person had to work hard and try to become better and more skilled every day.

In most cases, only group leaders or the most active and courageous members became stronger in such conditions, not weaker than they would have been all the time alone.

Wain didn't like being a leader, nor was he one to lead the others. At least he didn't see himself in that position in the near future.

So the best option for him to become stronger and surpass his limits was to fight and travel most of the time alone.

Everyone was different, and everyone had a different path, but it had to be justified, not chosen, because that path was the easiest.

Of course, factors such as character, temperament, outlook, ideology, emotional state, and more also influenced this.

Step. Step. Step.

Venita was approaching the room's exit, and suddenly the walls began to turn into a viscous, dark substance.

She was shocked and immediately stepped back. Within seconds, the entire room was engulfed in ink, and toothy jaws and huge eyes emerged from them.

She felt that the ink gave off a terrible and immense aura. Vineta had never encountered anything like it before.

"What's going on...?!" With fear in her voice Venita said.

She turned back and saw that Wain was gone. He was suddenly disappeared, even though all the exits were blocked. Vineta thought he had been swallowed by the ink and eaten by the creepy jaws, so she quickly stood in the center of the room. It was safest there.

At this point, Wain watched her from the sidelines. He didn't expect something like this to happen suddenly, but he quickly realized the situation.

When the ink appeared, the ground beneath him disappeared, and Wain moved to another place outside the room.

"Amazing... this is the test of the World of Darkness. The first time I was in Dungeon, I also encountered this event. However, watching it from the outside... It's a unique experience." Wain muttered.

Since he had long ago passed the test of the World of Darkness and even held a certain status in the World of Darkness, Wain did not need to pass the test.

He was removed from the room so that he would not disturb Vineta. She had to handle her test on her own. There were no other ways to be recognized by the World of Darkness.

She had to prove that she was worthy of receiving the Seal.

'I passed the test when, in a fit of anger, I started on the walls myself and started devouring ink and jaws. Also, out of anger, I destroyed the ink door, after which I received the Seal of Darkness. I wonder what she will have to do, and will she pass the test?'

Vineta was confused. With each passing second, the ink was gradually coming closer to her. She prepared to attack and summoned the lightning spear.

Vineta threw the weapon into the toothy jaws, and there was a great explosion. She destroyed several of the jaws and smiled contentedly, but the next moment they recovered.

The girl began to panic and used all of her skills. She tried to do something to get out of the trap, but nothing worked. Gradually the ink completely engulfed her.

Wain thought it was the end and Vineta had failed the test, but then he realized something was wrong.

'Hmm, in my trial, the jaws tried to devour me, but I didn't hear any screams when dozens of jaws came close to her. Moreover, then there were no eyes on the walls, only jaws. Something's wrong...' Thought Wain as he continued to watch intently.

Whooooosh.

After a few seconds, the ink began to disperse to the side. Gradually the room grew larger until it was about ten times its original size. Wain was surprised, it was strikingly different from what had happened during his ordeal.

At one point, the ink stopped moving. Vineta was standing in the center of the room, but she wasn't moving or talking. Wain looked at her closely and saw that her eyes and ears were covered in darkness.

It was as if the world of Darkness had decided to fence her off from her surroundings for a while. Vineta was in a trance and did not understand what was happening around her.

Then Wain saw the ink on the ceiling suddenly begin to lighten. Gradually the ink turned into a blue sky with floating clouds and bright sun.

"What the fuck? What's going on here?" Shocked, Wain muttered.

He didn't know that ink could turn into anything. It was an unexpected and unique phenomenon to him.

"The World of Darkness manages to surprise me every time. This place is amazing and unbelievable..."

Then the ink beneath Vineta turned into earth covered with thick green grass. To her left was a narrow path leading somewhere in the distance.

Whoooosh.

To the left appeared a flower meadow, which was then divided in two by a massive river with bubbling water. Beyond the clearing appeared a precipice from a high slope where the river flowed into a waterfall.

On the right, tall trees appeared out of the ink. They were huge and numerous. A small pond appeared in the center of the forest and a musty house next to it. Then various flowers, bushes, and even animals were created from the ink.

Around this area appeared high mountain hills, through which a man could not pass without special abilities. In the distance, there was a dark tunnel going deep into the hill.

Crackling.

At that moment, Vineta regained consciousness. The darkness was lifted from her ears and eyes, and she looked around. However, the girl was not confused. On the contrary, her expression was casual, and she seemed to know the place well.

'Hm, the darkness seems to have brought her out of her trance however, she is partially under hypnosis. Vineta has no memory of what happened a few minutes ago and thinks all is normal.

How strange... The World of Darkness has prepared a special platform for her, as well as tweaked other factors such as her perception, feelings, and memory.'

Wain pondered what was happening. He felt like a scientist watching a subject during an unusual experiment.

Wain was also curious to know what else the ink was capable of and how much the test of the World of Darkness could vary from situation to situation.