Surviving the Dungeon with an EX-Rank Trait

Sacred Temple.

[Entering the Sanctuary of Adelaia.]

As soon as we stepped into the portal, what appeared before our eyes was…

Wham!

A pure white temple that made one instinctively utter words like sacred and divine.

One should be in awe before such a grand and magnificent temple, but right now, it was certainly not the situation for that.

Regaining my senses, I found we were standing on a magic circle.

‘What the heck is going on?’

The complex magic circle looked very peculiar at first glance.

To describe it as it appeared, it was formed with ancient letters and shapes filling a circular border.

I cautiously asked Lumia, the witch, if she might know something.

“Lumia, do you recognize any of these symbols?”

“I’ve seen various characters while learning dark magic at Magium, but… I’ve never seen something like this before. Sorry.”

She waved her hands in a hurry. I felt a bit guilty for putting pressure on her unnecessarily.

“No! There’s nothing to be sorry for. I just asked in case, so don’t worry about it.”

Veronica, who was closely observing the magic circle, chimed in.

“Such complex symbols are likely to be known only to archaeologists or those who study ancient texts.”

Ancient texts, huh?

If that old man Dyson, who had related traits, had entered this portal, things might have been different.

Anyway, it seemed pointless to investigate further since I couldn’t decipher it with the one language trait I had.

While bending down to look at the magic circle, I shook my head and stood up, only to be interrupted by Yeriell.

“By the way, that’s quite a divine power. What could possibly be inside for it to be this concentrated?”

I had no way to find out immediately, even if I was curious.

Thump.

“As expected, it’s blocked off ahead.”

As Veronica said, a massive dome-shaped barrier surrounded the inside of the magic circle.

‘What the hell. A complex ancient magic circle underneath my feet, and a barrier blocking the outside, preventing me from stepping out even an inch. What good is a temple in front of me? It’s completely inaccessible.’

There must be something special in there, but… this is a case of eye candy.

Do we just stand here? No matter if it’s a person or a monster, anything should just come out—

[The trial begins.]

I’m not sure if my thoughts became seeds or if the waiting time was just up, but…

Whoosh!

With the system message that the trial was starting, the giant magic circle began to glow.

“Wh-what’s happening?”

“I feel… weird.”

“Everyone, calm down. I think it’s best to hold on to the nearest friend to avoid scattering anywhere.”

“Right, everyone hold onto me!”

Grab.

They desperately grabbed my arms and torso.

[Each challenger is randomly assigned one of the seven trials.]

[Your assigned trial is ‘Trial of Pride’.]

Trial of Pride?

Yeah. I remember. There was a line on the third line of the parchment that said, ‘Do not be proud.’

As I felt when I read the parchment for the first time, ‘Pride’ among the seven trials definitely fits with the seven deadly sins.

Since I was somewhat familiar with subculture, I could easily recall the seven sins that might be unfamiliar to commoners: pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, avarice, and sloth, right?

I’m not sure if it’s exact, but it should be close.

While I was mulling over that and preparing for the unpredictable trial, my companions started to collapse one by one.

Thud.

As they fell unconscious, the hands that had clung to me let go, but I had no time to care.

[Chaos negates Pride.]

[Error. Trial conditions not met.]

[Chaos is…]

[Error. Trial…]

Beeep!

“…?”

Instead of collapsing like my companions, an incessant ringing buzzed in my ears, and the same system message kept popping up in front of my eyes.

[Chaos is flustered, sweating profusely.]

Seeing Yeriell, Lumia, and Veronica mumble different things and struggle, I realized.

‘It seems Chaos considered mental interference as an attack. Damn it. What should I do?’

While I panicked over the unexpected situation, the ringing in my ears and the system messages intensified.

[The owner of the Sanctuary detects the anomaly.]

[Adelaia questions the challenger’s repeated rejections.]

What?

[Adelaia declares that if the trial is not accepted, the challenger’s qualification will be revoked, and they will be considered a failure.]

“Damn!”

I closed my eyes and calmly repeated it in my head. This way was the only thing that came to mind.

‘It’s not an attack. It’s not a mental attack. It’s just something I have to accept. It’s not a threat at all. There’s no need to fend it off. Please!’

Desperate self-suggestion.

If I, the subject, regard it as not an attack, then Chaos might also conclude that there’s no need to fend it off.

I can’t get chased out of here. Who knows what might happen while I’m gone!

A few seconds, no, maybe nearly a minute passed.

Beeep…

As the ringing gradually subsided…

[Chaos partially accepts Pride.]

‘Did it work?!’

Just as I thought I barely resolved it, something very unusual occurred.

“I won’t tolerate shortcuts.”

[Pieces of Pride are withheld.]

I opened my eyes at the echoing voice.

Before I knew it, colorful rays emanating from the temple entrance connected with my fallen companions.

“The original answer for resisting trials is to be expelled quickly… But you. I’ll give you one proposal.”

[Adelaia proposes with an intriguing demeanor.]

As the ringing completely faded, the sweet voice of the transcendent filled that void.

“You can interfere with another challenger’s trials, but you must prove your worth by overcoming a challenge as difficult as combining the three trials. What do you say?”

“What happens if I refuse the proposal?”

“Hmmm. To refuse the proposal, well… Then I wouldn’t want to impose an incomplete trial on you… So, no difficulty, and no corresponding rewards.”

So, I could either just watch them roll on the ground in agony until the end or assist them, but it would mean I’d have to clear a hellish final trial after all three of theirs were completed?

‘There’s no need to think about this; it’s obviously the latter.’

“I accept. What do I need to do?”

“I’ll create a path leading to the trial before you. When you’re ready, open the door and step inside. Well then, good luck.”

Fwoosh!

As soon as those words ended, the voice of the transcendent Adelaia disappeared, and an elegant door appeared in the void.

Pip. Pip!

Before I could even grab the handle to open the door, a familiar cry echoed from somewhere.

Oh no! I completely forgot about that.

‘Oh dear. El isn’t a challenger but is perfectly fine.’

El was still poking Yeriell’s cheek, which had tears rolling down.

I quickly lifted her up and patted her to calm her down.

“El. I’m going to help, so don’t worry, stay here quietly, okay?”

Peeep!

She replied as enthusiastically as she could, but it was just too cute.

There’s no time to waste.

Click.

I grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

[Chaos wishes you luck.]

*

“—Ren. Aren.”

Gasp!

I opened my eyes.

As I barely regained my senses lying flat, I found Lumia’s beautiful eyes gazing at me closely.

We were so close, our breaths almost mingling.

As I contemplated what to say in the silence…

Splash.

Lumia’s face slowly approached, undeterred by the water nearby.

Lick.

“…!”

“Yeah. It’s really Aren. Are you awake? How did you get here?”

What the hell.

Seeing Lumia lick my neck with her rough tongue to verify if I was real left me dumbfounded.

‘The atmosphere feels different. Is it the effect of the trial?’

I stared at her.

────

[Lumia]

[Strength: E+] [Agility: D-] [Endurance: E]

[Health: D-] [Magic Power: C-] [Luck: E-]

[Traits] (Collapse)

Punishment of Darkness

Dark Magic Proficiency

Myo Clan’s Senses

Burning Will

Contagion of Fear

Balanced Steps

Challenger of Lust

────

What? Lust?

“Lumia, you.”

“I’m fine. I don’t know well, but I must suppress this rising lust, right?”

“Yeah. But…”

I quickly got up and looked around.

The ground was shallow with flowing water, and the starry night sky above.

Other than that, it was a battlefield of corpses. All around were dark, lifeless bodies.

And those bodies looked just like me.

“Aren.”

Lumia called me.

“As you can see, I held my ground.”

“Did you take all of them down yourself?”

Nodding, Lumia crossed her arms and continued speaking.

Come to think of it, her outfit has changed too.

Since my real body is lying down, could it be that I’m in some kind of spiritual or soul form? Either way, it’s a condition like that.

“Yes. My body suddenly heated up, and I didn’t know what to do, but those things that looked exactly like you approached me and whispered.”

“…what did they whisper?”

“They said they liked me. They loved me. They wanted to hold me, whispering sweet words.”

‘Damn it, this trial.’

“But those weren’t the real Aren. So, I tore them apart. I didn’t want to fall for the deceitful whispers of the fakes that looked the same. Thankfully, they were quite weak.”

A whirlwind of indescribable emotions surged through me at that moment—both the cruel trial and Lumia not falling for the temptation.

Lumia stepped closer and whispered softly.

“I have to keep holding on… But seeing you come this far makes it so hard to hold on.”

Hug.

“Just let me hold you for a moment. Until my body cools down again.”

Ten seconds turned into a minute, and a minute into ten.

In the end, she looked up at me with shimmering eyes.

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m dreaming. A dream so happy that I don’t want to wake up.”

“Dream?”

“Yeah. In this cursed life, someone who always believes in me and saves me suddenly appeared… It was hard to ever believe that. Because I no longer have my mom, dad, or Levia.”

Something was intertwined in her heated body and shiny eyes.

That sparkle trickled down her pure white cheeks.

“Ugh. When will my body return to normal? I’m feeling a bit strained.”

Could it be that it’s not just the curse of lust injected by the trial but something deeply suppressed within her heart bursting out?

I lifted my hand and brushed Lumia’s cheek.

“This isn’t a dream. Didn’t I tell you? I’d always be by your side. By the way, you seem to cry a lot, don’t you? You’re such a crybaby.”

“…Only you can see my true face.”

Sweep, sweep.

I tidied up her messy hair and gently stroked it.

“Ear. Touch my ears too. Gently.”

“As you command.”

I gently caressed her soft ears as she desired.

Haaah…

Even when I stopped, her breathing grew rougher. This isn’t good?

Splash!

With sudden strength from who knows where, Lumia pushed me away.

Looks like I’m weaker than I thought since I entered this spiritual state.

“Lumia, you have to hold on! You’ve worked hard until now! It will end soon!”

With an unexpected seductive spark in her eyes, Lumia approached me as I fell backward.

“It’s okay. Just for a moment, it’ll be all right.”

Wah!

Our faces collided.

The soft lips approached slowly.

The first sensation of their gentle touch vividly registered in me.

Lick.

The moment our lips finally met, Lumia, who hinted at it awkwardly by bumping our noses, tilted her head as if she realized something.

Lick. Slurp.

She seemed to want to engrave this moment, as if determined to remember every single detail of my appearance.

Her violet irises swept across my face, avidly examining every feature.

“Hah…”

Breathing heavily, with her upper and lower lips touching, Lumia exhaled warm breath through her nose.

As if she forgot all about the trial, she stuck out her rough tongue.

I was about to instinctively open my lips to respond to her passionately knocking with her tongue, but…

In that moment, my body flared with power returning. It seemed I’d soon transition into another trial.

Thanks to the restored strength, I barely managed to pull my face back.

“Hah. Hah.”

“Puhah— Huh. Hah.”

Still disoriented, Lumia and I were both breathing heavily.

Even as our lips completely separated, an unusual atmosphere lingered, but I couldn’t delay any longer.

“Lumia, you need to snap out of it. We’re in the middle of a trial. We have to think about our other struggling companions, okay?”

“Hey! Was it good?”

No matter what, Lumia stuck out her tongue and asked with a slack gesture.

I felt like tears would pour out if I didn’t respond, so I nodded alongside my words that it was nice.

“W-well then, that’s good. I’m sorry. I’ll really hold on until it ends.”

“Don’t apologize—”

Fwoosh!

Before I could finish telling her not to apologize, my glowing body surged violently.

“Ugh!”

Before I could even catch my stance, I fell through the air.

Thud.

I crashed down uneasily.

“Ugh. Where am I again?”

‘Whose trial is it this time? Yeriell? Veronica?’

Looking at the pristine buildings scattered around, it seemed like there should be people, but unlike before, neither a stranger nor a shadow of a challenger was in sight.

Then I’ll just have to figure it out from here.

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