Alen walked past his own earlier footprints in the sand, having traveled for several hours straight westward, heading exactly back the way he had come.

He walked continuously through the quiet desert, where not even the sound of a passing breeze could be heard.

As Alen continued walking, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

*SHATTER!*

He side-stepped sharply. A massive iceberg suddenly crashed down onto the exact spot where he had just been standing. The block of ice shattered into heavy pieces, lightly grazing Alen’s skin as it exploded outward.

The fragments of ice instantly started to melt, turning into hissing steam under the immense heat of the desert sun.

Alen looked everywhere, frantically searching for the target who had just fired a spell at him, but he couldn’t see anyone.

Suddenly, his intuition warned him again. He side-stepped a second time as another massive iceberg slammed into the sand right beside him.

"F*ck! Who the hell is out there? Show yourself!" Alen shouted, drawing his weapon.

When no one came forward, he closed his eyes and pushed his hearing senses to their absolute limit.

Suddenly, he detected a faint movement in the distance. He didn’t wait. He channeled every ounce of mana in his body into his fist.

[Maximum Concentration - Overload Punch!]

His figure blurred. He moved with immense, explosive speed toward the place where he sensed the enemy.

The space in front of him looked like nothing but thin air, but his highly Sensitive ears could clearly hear the movement of someone movement.

Just as he was about to unleash his punch into the empty air, the space rippled. An illusion faded away, and a figure materialized right in front of him.

"Hey, wait, wait! Don’t attack me, I’m not an enemy!"

Hearing the desperate, panicked voice, Alen suddenly halted his fist. The highly concentrated mana swirling around his arm slowly evaporated into the air.

Alen looked down at a young girl who seemed to be right around his age. She had light blue hair and striking silver eyes, and she looked incredibly beautiful.

"Who are you?" Alen asked coldly. "State your business, and tell me why you just attacked me."

The girl looked at him awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Umm... the thing is, when I saw you, I thought you were an enemy illusion. In my last trial, I went through so many mirages and illusions that I completely forgot how to differentiate between fake monsters and reality..."

She coughed, suddenly shifting her personality from incredibly awkward to bright and cheerful in the blink of an eye.

"Umm... sorry about that! By the way, I am Serene! Who are you? Where are you from? You seem really strong and cool..."

Alen sighed heavily after hearing the girl’s excuse. He supposed he couldn’t entirely blame her if her last trial had messed with her mind. But still, he wasn’t going to let her off the hook easily just because she apologized.

"I’m Alen," he replied flatly.

"And even if you were confused, did you really need to attack me with a massive, lethal spell just to check if I was real?"

"Ughh... I know, I know..." Serene pouted. "But! Sigh... The thing is, I got separated from my companion right after entering the dimensional gate. He probably got sent to a completely different trial, and I was feeling frustrated and lonely... Ughhh, just forget it!"

Alen stared at her blankly. He could barely comprehend half of what this girl was babbling about.

Checking his trial timing, he realized he had less than three hours left to complete the trial. He immediately ignored the girl, turned his back, and started walking westward again.

"Hey! Wait a minute, let me come too!"

The girl started jogging quickly, trying to match his long strides with her petite legs.

"I didn’t invite you to come with me," Alen said flatly. He had already resolved not to associate with anyone during these trials, yet this girl had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attached herself to him.

"Ughh! Don’t act so cold and indifferent!" Serene complained, walking right beside him.

"I’m a very strong mage! Even my parents told me that one day I will become the strongest mage in the entire world! Hehe... So you should treat me with respect!"

Alen stopped walking. He looked down at the girl’s petite, pouting face. If she were his younger sister, he would have definitely scolded her and taught her a lesson about bothering strangers. But unfortunately, the morals his parents had instilled in him didn’t allow him to hit a girl just because she was being incredibly annoying.

He resumed walking, actively trying to ignore her.

"Hey... by the way, my friend Zane is about the same height as you," Serene continued babbling cheerfully.

"And he’s almost as handsome as you are, too! Ughh... I wonder what he’s doing right now. Sigh... I hope he’s okay."

Alen kept walking in silence.

"So, what should we do now?" Serene asked, skipping slightly.

"Oh, shoot! I completely forgot we have a trial to complete! Since we’re here together, that means we must have the exact same trial objective. Let’s team up!"

"Not interested."

"Ughh... Don’t be a scumbag! Let’s go! Let me team up with you, pleeease!"

She suddenly grabbed his hand. For someone with such a petite body, she had a surprisingly heavy grip. Alen tried to pull his arm away, but she clung to him perfectly.

"Hey, let me come with you!" she whined, dragging her feet in the sand.

Alen sighed, finally giving up on fighting with the energetic airhead.

"Fine... Let’s team up," Alen grumbled. "But you have to do exactly as I say."

"Yep! Okay! Let’s go, hehe!" Serene beamed, her silver eyes shining brightly. "This is going to be so much fun! A brand new trial with a stone-faced cool guy! Hehe..."

Alen sighed again, shaking his head. He continued walking while the petite girl followed him like a loyal puppy. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, looking at this deadly trial as if it were a fun new adventure rather than a dangerous struggle for survival.

’Is she a psycho? Ugh! Whatever... I guess I’m stuck with her now,’ Alen cursed under his breath.

Together, the unlikely duo continued walking toward the west, heading straight toward the setting sun in search of the lost Solar Sigil.