"How did we lose" Matthew screamed as he realized his team was kicked out of the Dungeon.
"I don't know, brother, we were so far ahead, and the other team was at 0 points the whole time", Alex said, looking towards his father.
"Calm down", Erik walked towards the two, "Tell us clearly what happened",
The inheritance trial differed for different generations to not give some members an unfair advantage.
Matthew looked towards his father and told him about the events which followed after they cleared the first stage. They received hateful glares from the cousins they betrayed, but no one could do anything since the family head was present.
Matthew looked towards the two teammates that had run away, "We could have won if these two didn't run off",
By now, Erik and the remaining members had joined the bits of the story they had gotten from other candidates, and Martin was the first one to speak out,
"It was already impossible for your son to defeat everyone and proceed to the next stage, and now you want me to believe that he defeated a monster that gave him 1000 points? By himself?" several senior members of the family sided with Martin, as they didn't want Aldrich to gain more fame than he already did.
"You know that our Ancestor overlooks the Trial. Are you saying that Ancestor isn't doing his job well?" Erik coldly looked at Martin and his supporters, silencing them.
Erik knew it was a near-impossible feat for a warrior with no star to defeat an A-ranked monster, but right now, he could do nothing but wait for his son to return safely.
Kale, Erik's brother, then spoke out, "Silence, Martin; we know you are salty that both your kids lost to Aldrich, but we must believe in the tests set by the Elder", Kale said in a composed tone, believing that his son will triumph in the Trial.
Erik looked towards the Dungeon's entrance, knowing it would soon be over.
Meanwhile, Aldrich exited the Gate, still holding the two little wolf cubs in his arms.
The two cubs licked his face, rubbing their head against him.
"This should be the final Stage", According to how these trials were designed, 8 candidates were supposed to reach this stage, but due to Aldrich's intervention, only 5 survived.
Aldrich looked around; he was inside a vast temple. The temple gave off an ancient and. Majestic feeling.
Aldrich walked through the dimly lit corridors before arriving at the heart of the temple.
The centre of the room held a magnificent stone pedestal, atop which rested a glowing crystal, its luminous light casting an ethereal glow on everything around it.
Aldrich noticed four more entrances to this room as his cousins walked through them.
Carl and his team noticed each other but were astonished to find Aldrich coming out of a gate.
"How is Aldrich the sole survivor of the other team?" Carl started to think.
"I will answer all your questions", an ancient voice reverberated.
The candidates noticed a giant figure landing towards the stone pedestal.
"Ancestor Guardian", The candidates quickly acknowledged the entity before them, bowing to him.
"So he is the one who designed the tests" Aldrich looked at the tall figure. "He needs to answer some of my questions", he smirked.
Carl noticed Aldrich, who was standing still, and didn't pay respects to the Guardian. "Fool".
"You won't bow?", The Guardian looked at Aldrich, giving him a smirk.
"Never", Aldrich made himself clear, taking out his sword in case a fight broke out. "Most probable course of action will be to destroy the temple itself. It must be acting as a power source for the Guardian," Aldrich looked closely.
"HAHAHAHAHA", the Guardian's laughter roared throughout the temple.
"No need to take out your sword. I am not here to fight", the Guardian looked at Aldrich.
"And are you sure you can destroy the temple before I kill you?",
The Guardian and Aldrich locked eyes.
"haha," Aldrich put back his sword, knowing that the Guardian has some tricks up his sleeve.
"Anyway", the Guardian clapped his hands as two swords emerged from within the pedestal.
"The Founder's swords", Carl's eyes shined seeing the two swords here. "If I can get these, not even the family head can stop me from being the successor",
"Grr"
"Grr"
"hmm?" was the first time Aldrich had seen the two cubs react to something. "You want the swords?" he asked the two cubs.
"This is your final test", The Guardian rose into the air, "Our family is known to be the enemy of Dragons", he said, taking out a small scale inside his pocket.
Aldrich immediately recognized the scale. He took out his sword, realizing what the final test was.
The Guardian threw the scale on the ground, as an intense aura surrounding the environment.
"This is your final test. Show me your will when subjected to a Dragon's Aura",