"I will give all of you one chance," Max said calmly as his gaze slowly swept across the six participants standing before the cave entrance, his expression remaining completely composed despite the tension in the atmosphere. "Leave this platform peacefully."

His tone was neither arrogant nor overbearing.

He did not shout those words loudly, nor did he release any killing intent while speaking.

Yet the calmness within his voice carried an invisible pressure that gradually caused the expressions of the six disciples to change subtly as the weight behind his words settled heavily upon them.

"Otherwise..." Max continued slowly while maintaining eye contact with them, "I will have no choice but to eliminate all of you."

The moment those words fell, silence instantly descended across the platform.

The six participants instinctively tightened their grips around their weapons while staring at Max with increasingly wary expressions. The confidence they carried earlier had clearly weakened, yet none of them spoke immediately as the atmosphere around the cave suddenly became incomparably heavy.

If those exact same words had come from someone else, they would have laughed mockingly without hesitation and attacked immediately.

However, the person currently standing before them was Max Morgan.

The same Max Morgan who had ranked first in the previous two trials.

The same Max Morgan whose name currently stood at Rank 3 within the Survival Trial rankings.

And inside this Survival Trial, rankings represented far more than simple fame or reputation.

They represented strength.

Real strength earned through countless eliminations and battles.

One of the participants subconsciously swallowed as his gaze flickered toward the floating ranking screen visible nearby.

[Rank 3: Max Morgan — 6,820 KP]

That number alone was enough to place enormous pressure upon every person standing there.

To accumulate such terrifying killing points in such a short amount of time, Max must have already eliminated a shocking number of participants within the tower.

And none of them believed those victories had been achieved through mere luck.

The six disciples quietly exchanged uneasy glances with one another.

On one hand, none of them wanted to abandon the cave before them.

The treasure hidden within a fifth-layer cave was undoubtedly extraordinary. Just the energy fluctuations leaking faintly from the cave entrance alone were enough to cause greed to burn within their hearts uncontrollably. The dense energy radiating from within clearly indicated that whatever treasure existed inside possessed immense value.

If they successfully obtained the treasure hidden there, their strength and future could improve tremendously.

However—

On the other hand—

None of them truly wanted to fight Max.

Not after hearing the increasingly terrifying rumors spreading throughout the Survival Trial.

Not after seeing his current ranking.

And certainly not after personally sensing the oppressive pressure radiating faintly from his body at this very moment.

One of the spear-wielding disciples frowned deeply as internal conflict appeared within his eyes.

"We’re six against one..." he muttered quietly, almost as though he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

"Yes..." another participant replied slowly while gripping his weapon tighter, but the confidence within his voice was noticeably lacking. "But this is still Max Morgan."

A heavy silence followed once more.

The hesitation on their faces became increasingly obvious as none of them seemed willing to make the first move.

Some participants unwillingly glanced toward the cave entrance while others continued staring at Max cautiously, their expressions revealing the fierce internal struggle occurring within their minds.

The treasure was extremely tempting.

But if they lost here—

Then everything would become meaningless.

Not only would they fail to obtain the treasure within the cave, but they would also be completely eliminated from the Survival Trial itself.

At that moment, one of the older-looking participants suddenly let out a long sigh that broke the silence.

The others immediately turned toward him.

He slowly lowered the weapon in his hand before shaking his head helplessly.

"This isn’t worth it," he said calmly.

His gaze shifted briefly toward the cave behind him before returning toward Max once more.

"A fifth-layer treasure is definitely valuable," he admitted honestly, "but it’s not valuable enough for me to risk elimination against someone like you."

A bitter laugh escaped his mouth afterward.

"If I get eliminated here, then I leave with absolutely nothing."

The participant slowly stepped backward while loosening his grip on his weapon.

"It’s better to let you have this cave than lose everything trying to fight over it."

After speaking those words, he directly turned around and left the platform without any hesitation.

The remaining participants fell silent once again.

However, his departure had clearly affected them heavily.

The hesitation within their expressions deepened further.

Soon afterward, another disciple sighed heavily.

"He’s right," she admitted unwillingly while lowering her guard slightly. "There are still other caves inside this tower."

Her expression became complicated as she looked toward Max.

"But there’s only one life in this trial."

After saying those words, she also stepped away from the platform and began retreating.

Seeing two people leave consecutively instantly weakened the resolve of the remaining participants completely.

One of the disciples clicked his tongue in frustration before lowering the sword in his hand unwillingly.

"Tch. Fine."

"I didn’t climb this far just to get eliminated fighting over a single cave."

Another participant nodded slowly in agreement.

"Fighting you now would simply be too risky."

One after another, the remaining participants gradually backed away from the cave platform while maintaining cautious gazes toward Max.

None of them looked happy about the situation.

The unwillingness within their expressions was extremely obvious.

Yet despite their frustration, none of them dared challenge Max directly.

After all, the man standing before them currently ranked third within the entire Survival Trial.

And nobody believed such a ranking could possibly be achieved without possessing terrifying strength.

Soon, all six participants had completely left the platform.

The previously tense and chaotic atmosphere instantly became silent.

Only Max remained standing calmly before the cave entrance while the heavy pressure of the tower continued descending from above like an invisible mountain.

The participants who retreated glanced back at him one final time before finally disappearing into the distance in search of other caves deeper within the tower.

Meanwhile, Max calmly watched them leave without making any move to stop them.

Then slowly—

His gaze shifted toward the cave behind him.

A faint smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Good choice," he murmured quietly.