As more undead flooded toward him after hearing the loud sound, Alen stopped dodging and switched into full battle mode.

[Body Strengthening!]

[Mana Flow: Concentration]

He let the mana flow around his hands freely as the undead surrounded him. But he didn’t just throw normal punches this time. He would lose a massive amount of mana if he kept fighting like that. Instead of just channeling it into his fists, he concentrated all of the mana internally, reinforcing his entire body.

It was risky. He might explode if he lost even a little bit of control.

His body became like a walking bomb as he started punching them.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

The effect was devastating. His body had become vastly more powerful than before. The undead’s ribs shattered into tiny pieces upon impact. Dozens of undead were dragged down and obliterated with every swing.

[Ding! Your skill ’Body Strengthening’ has reached Level 2!]

Suddenly, Alen’s body felt even lighter than it already was. Previously, hitting the monsters felt like striking solid metal, but now it felt like hitting frail wood.

The effect was immense.

[Body Strengthening!]

He punched the incoming dozens of undead. The sheer power of the punch completely shattered their bones, killing them in one go.

"Hehehe... it seems the skill requires even less mana now."

"Come on, you bastards. Let’s see who wins."

[Body Strengthening!]

[Mana Flow: Concentration]

As the remaining undead gathered in front of him, he imbued 90% of his remaining mana into a single attack. He launched himself toward them like a missile and threw a devastating punch.

*BOOOOOOMMM!*

The whole mansion shook from the sheer pressure of the attack. Even the stone pillars beside him started to crack, and debris began to fall from the ceiling.

As the dust cleared, Alen stood at the center of the destruction. Scattered all around him were the fragmented bones of the horde.

He dropped to his knees, gasping for air.

*Haah...* *Haah...* *Haah...*

Alen sat there for a moment with his hands resting on the floor. He looked at the fragments of the former humans who had been turned into undead. He stood up and bowed his head respectfully in front of the scattered remains.

"I hope your souls will reach heaven."

Alen stood there for a while. He didn’t know what he should do now. Even after killing hundreds of them, no exit door had opened. That meant the trial was still in progress.

’What exactly is the trial? And how the f*ck will I find the door?’

As Alen felt deeply worried about his situation, he suddenly felt that same unknown sense of pull from earlier. He couldn’t quite comprehend what it was, but it was the exact same feeling he had experienced right before he entered the mansion.

He started to walk in that direction. He crossed the ruined hall and walked straight toward the far wall.

He stopped in front of it. It was a dead end, but to Alen, it felt like something was definitely behind the wall, attracting him.

"But how the hell am I going to cross the wall? It’s practically impossible to break it, and I’ve already lost so much of my mana. I barely have anything left."

*Sigh...*

He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Damn it! How should I cross it? Fuck!..."

Out of frustration, he slammed his fist lightly against the wall.

*SHATTER!*

Suddenly, the wall behind him broke into several pieces, crumbling as easily as if it were made of dry clay.

’Oh, I see. So now even the mansion is playing games with me. Huh, let’s go find out what is inside there.’

Alen saw a long staircase behind the broken wall, leading down into an underground basement. He started to walk down.

*Tap...* *Tap...*

The sound of his footsteps echoed down the staircase. The passage was pitch black, without any candles illuminating the walls. As Alen’s eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he was able to see that the stairs were terribly long, seemingly without end.

He dismissed any unnecessary thoughts and just kept walking.

Several hours passed in a blur. Finally, Alen sat down on a step.

"Is this another illusion spell? What the heck do I do now? I can’t even go back, because if it is an illusion, I’ll just be walking through empty air and end up back at my original position."

Feeling incredibly frustrated, Alen sat cross-legged. There was only one method he had left to try.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. As nature’s ambient mana flowed inside his body, he focused purely on absorbing it. After a few hours passed, his mana pool became completely full again.

He didn’t break away from his meditation. Instead, he focused all the mana inside his body to expand his senses.

As his senses expanded, he tried to detect the flow of mana in the air around him. Soon, Alen sense the vast nature’s mana in the surrounding, he saw the flow the flow of the mana and he able to detect the exact coordinates of the mana flowing from the walls.

He stood up, keeping his eyes completely closed. He rested one hand on the wall to maintain his physical connection and track the detection of the mana flow. Then, he started walking slowly.

He continued to walk. Hours passed.

Eventually, he sensed the mana flow expanding downward and outward, indicating that the space were expanding downward. That meant there was a real entrance up ahead.

He walked steadily. As he reached the bottom, a bright light attracted his attention.

He slowly opened his eyes. A large chamber was present on the opposite side. The bright light emitting from the center was so dense that it almost blinded him.

Alen closed his eyes and just peeked through one slightly open eyelid.

He saw a beautiful platinum grail lying in the center of a magic circle, floating gently in the air.

Alen’s eyes widened.

"A treasure..."