[Orc King.]

[Level: Gold tier 1.]

Two simple lines of information appeared in the middle of the screen.

No skill descriptions.

No bloodline data.

No special warning of any kind.

But it was precisely that simplicity that plunged the entire main hall of Aurora Academy into silence.

The students who had still been discussing the overwhelming victory on the fourth floor all came to a halt at once. A few unconsciously sat up straight, their gazes staring fixedly at the darkness behind the black stone door.

"Gold tier 1?"

A student muttered in a low voice. The one sitting beside him swallowed dryly, his expression ugly: "The fifth floor already has a Gold monster? Is this still a Heaven’s Gate trial for someone who’s just opened a Blind Box?"

No one could answer.

Because even the instructors standing near the stage couldn’t hide their tension.

Up until now, the Abyss difficulty had existed almost only in theoretical documents. The number of people who actually chose it was already so few they could be counted on one hand. Of those, most died before getting past the fourth floor.

No one had expected the fifth floor to bring out a guardian reaching Gold.

In the VIP seating area, Rowan pressed his metal staff against the floor.

Clack.

The dry sound rang out, making the murmurs around him quiet down a little.

The old man looked at the screen, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. The wariness that had appeared after witnessing Laira easily destroy four Silver tier 10 Skeletons gradually vanished, replaced by the coldness of someone accustomed to looking down on low-tier Awakened.

"Finally, an opponent worth mentioning has appeared."

A student nearby hesitated slightly, then worked up the nerve to ask: "Elder Rowan, is Gold tier 1 really such a big difference? Laira just destroyed four Silver tier 10 Skeletons in less than three seconds."

Rowan didn’t answer right away. He looked at the screen for a brief moment, then slowly said: "Black Iron, Bronze, and Silver are all just stages of accumulation. Even though they’re far stronger than ordinary people, Awakened at those three tiers still haven’t truly crossed the most important boundary."

The old man lifted the staff in his hand slightly, the blue crystal at its tip giving off a faint light.

"Gold is the first milestone used to divide the tiers of power."

"Ordinary monsters, ordinary Awakened, or those with poor aptitude, even if they cultivate their whole lives, usually can only stop at Silver. To step into Gold, resources alone aren’t enough. It requires outstanding aptitude, requires energy control, and also requires a foundation solid enough for the body to endure the transformation."

Rowan looked at the two yellow pupils slowly advancing out of the darkness.

"After stepping into Gold, energy is no longer simply stored within the body. It can condense into a layer of protective armor on the outside, comprehensively enhancing strength, speed, and defense."

"More importantly, most monsters capable of stepping into Gold possess their own unique talents. Some even carry traces of an ancient bloodline."

The old man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"The Orc King isn’t a low-tier monster that a few fire arrows can casually incinerate."

Those words made the atmosphere in the main hall even heavier.

Lionel Hart, sitting not far from Rowan, also let out a cold laugh. The White Lion Guild Master was still looking at the screen, but his eyes had regained their original composure.

"Rowan isn’t wrong."

He leaned back against his seat, both hands clasped together.

"That Crimson Dragon really is stronger than expected. But don’t you forget that she’s sealed."

Lionel looked at the image of Laira standing beside Ethan in the arena.

"A moment ago she burst out power to Gold tier 1 to threaten us. Then she kept releasing flame to clear four floors. No matter how strong her bloodline is, power can’t appear out of nothing."

He curved the corner of his mouth slightly.

"To forcibly break through the limit of the seal, she must pay a price."

"I don’t believe she can keep bursting out power without suffering any effect at all."

A student sitting nearby asked in a low voice: "But what if she still manages to get past the Orc King?"

Lionel laughed.

"Then what about the next floor?"

He looked at the black stone door opening on the screen.

"Even if she barely manages to destroy the Orc King, her power will be severely drained. The Abyss trial doesn’t end at the fifth floor."

"The harder they try to push forward, the greater the price they pay."

"In the end, they’ll still die inside."

Lionel’s voice wasn’t loud, but enough for those around him to hear clearly.

Some students who had been astonished by Laira’s power immediately calmed down. The way they looked at the screen gradually gained a bit more doubt.

"He has a point."

"Laira is strong, but she’s sealed."

"Even if she can burst out to Gold, she surely can’t sustain it for too long."

"The fifth floor already brought out an Orc King."

"If there’s still a sixth floor or a seventh floor..."

One shook his head.

"Ethan was too greedy."

"He should have listened to Headmaster Cole and chosen the Trial difficulty."

"It’s too late to regret it now."

In the area reserved for the Ashford family, Ryan’s expression gradually improved a great deal.

A few minutes earlier, he hadn’t been able to find any reason to refute Laira’s overwhelming power. But upon seeing the information for the Gold tier 1 Orc King, the smile finally returned to his face.

"I told you so."

Ryan leaned back against his seat, trying to hide the delight in his eyes.

"So what if the Partner is strong?"

"Ethan is still just someone who doesn’t know his own limits."

"Did he think that opening a Crimson Dragon meant he could carelessly choose the Abyss difficulty?"

Ryan looked at Ethan on the screen, the corner of his mouth curling up even more.

"Getting past the first four floors just made him forget who he is."

Selene, sitting beside him, didn’t answer right away. But upon seeing the Orc King gradually stepping out of the darkness, the tension on her face also eased a little.

"Don’t be hasty."

She lowered her voice.

"Wait until it’s all over to speak."

Ryan nodded, but his eyes still couldn’t hide his anticipation.

Unlike Lionel and Rowan, Vanessa Crowe didn’t speak up.

The Blood Moon Guild Master only sat there quietly, her pale violet eyes resting on the screen.

Her intuition wasn’t like the other two’s.

Laira really was sealed.

Her aura wasn’t stable either.

But ever since entering the Abyss Tower, that Crimson Dragon had never actually fallen into a state of tension. Even when easily destroying four Silver tier 10 Skeletons, she had controlled her flame to an almost perfect degree of precision.

Not a single spark of energy was wasted.

Not a single excess attack.

More importantly, even though everyone looked down on him, Ethan had kept a surprising calm.

From beginning to end, he had never made a single thoughtless decision.

Vanessa narrowed her eyes slightly.

She didn’t know what Ethan was relying on.

But she didn’t think the outcome had been decided that quickly.

On the top floor of the main hall, the atmosphere in the control room had also turned extremely heavy.

Headmaster Cole looked at the information on the screen, his hand gripping the black wooden cane tightly.

"We still can’t intervene in the trial?"

A technician standing before the control panel hurriedly checked a whole series of readings. His fingers kept sliding across the screen, but his expression grew uglier by the moment.

"We can’t, Headmaster."

"The moment the Abyss trial began, the spatial mechanism completely locked down. We can’t forcibly open the transfer gate, nor can we lower the difficulty."

Headmaster Cole asked in a grave voice: "The system error can’t be fixed?"

The technician was silent for a brief moment, then shook his head.

"It can’t."

"At the very least, Aurora Academy’s equipment isn’t capable of intervening in the rules inside the Abyss Tower."

He looked at the Orc King gradually stepping out of the darkness.

"Right now, all we can do is pray."

No one in the control room said anything more.

A Mythic rank Partner.

Even if she was only a Partner, that rarity alone was enough to change the situation of the entire Safe Zone No. 7. If given sufficient resources and nurtured properly, Laira might even have the potential to become one of humanity’s new Saviors.

A being capable of holding the front line.

A powerhouse who could stand against monsters from the Void.

A hope that humanity might wait decades to encounter even once.

But right now, that hope was standing before a Gold tier 1 Orc King in a trial no one could intervene in.

The man in the military uniform stood before the glass and slowly let out a breath.

"What a terrible shame."

The gray-haired woman looked at the screen, her expression grave.

"All we can do is hope that Crimson Dragon still has enough power left."

Inside the Abyss Tower, the murmurs outside couldn’t reach Ethan’s ears at all.

He only looked at the black stone door before him.

A colossal figure slowly stepped out of the darkness.

Clack.

The first foot stamped down on the stone floor.

The arena trembled slightly.

Clack.

The second foot appeared.

The current of hot air poured out more strongly.

Finally, the Orc King fully stepped into the dim light of the arena.

It was nearly four meters tall, its body brawny to an almost absurd degree. Blocks of blue-gray muscle bulged beneath its rough skin. On its shoulders and chest were thick, heavy plates of black armor, their surfaces carved with old scratches. In its hand was a colossal battle-axe, the blade nearly half the size of Ethan’s body.

But the most noteworthy thing wasn’t the weapon.

It was the dark yellow halo slowly enveloping the Orc King’s body.

The energy condensed into layers of hazy armor, like a second shell clinging tightly to its flesh. Each time the Orc King breathed, the energy armor rippled in rhythm, giving off a heavy sensation that made even the surrounding air seem to be pressed down.

Laira frowned slightly.

For the first time since entering the Abyss Tower, she didn’t immediately charge in to attack.

Ethan looked at her.

"Are you confident?"

Laira was still looking at the Orc King. After a few seconds, the corner of her mouth curled up slightly.

"A little tricky."

She tilted her head, her amber-red eyes glinting with a hint of interest.

"But I can still win."

Ethan was silent.

He looked into Laira’s eyes, then turned to the Orc King gripping its battle-axe.

No panic.

No hesitation either.

Ethan slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, a faint white light flickered across his pupils.

The familiar pain immediately came.

But this time, Ethan paid no attention to the ordinary lines of information.

He only looked at the Orc King.

Looked at the Gold energy armor enveloping its entire body.

Looked at each breath.

Looked at the energy flowing beneath the rough layer of skin.

Then, amid the countless interweaving streams of light, Ethan saw a small red point slowly blinking.

Not an ordinary weak point.

But a place where landing even a single hit would be enough to end the battle.

A death point.