From above, the Matriarch rose from her seat and approached the edge of her balcony.
Her gaze locked onto him, sprawled on the ground. Dylan, out of breath, simply returned her stare, waiting to see what she would decide.
She gave a cryptic smile, snapped her fingers, and a servant appeared at her side immediately. The Matriarch whispered something to her, and the servant bowed before disappearing swiftly.
Dylan, still kneeling on the dusty ground, let the scorching sunlight consume his skin. He didn't care; he was focused on catching his breath as the Matriarch's voice rose above the tumult of the crowd.
"Remarkable," she declared, her authoritative tone silencing the crowd's roar into a murmur.
"Isn't it remarkable? Our dear stranger has successfully passed the first trial."
She placed her hands on the edge of the balcony, her piercing gaze returning to Dylan, as still as a statue. She slowly licked her lips in a provocative gesture before shifting her attention back to the crowd below.
Dylan felt her gaze pierce through him like an electric jolt, suppressing the urge to shiver.
His first objective was complete: he had managed to capture the Matriarch's attention. But her behavior left him uneasy. Was he treading on dangerous ground?
In the crowd, voices rose, full of hatred and contempt. At first, they seemed distant, as if his mind refused to register them. But gradually, their words became clear and sharp.
"Take their anima gems, you walking skeleton!"
"Drain their mana residue, you bastard!"
Dylan, still dazed, forced himself to stand slowly and looked around. His gaze fell on the corpses of the creatures lying nearby. Something about them seemed off.
He squinted. A kind of warmth appeared to rise from their bodies, a subtle, invisible vapor that wasn't smoke or fire. Curious, he approached and reached out to touch one of the corpses.
The body was cold, with no flame or smoke escaping it. He shook his head, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him.
But suddenly, an odd sensation overwhelmed him. A tingling coursed through his hand, like thousands of tiny insects crawling beneath his skin. It wasn't painful. In fact, he felt... invigorated. A new energy flowed through him, erasing the exhaustion and injuries he had endured earlier.
"Take its anima gem, idiot!"
This time, Basaros's hoarse voice rang out from a balcony below the Matriarch's.
"It's in its chest! Open it up and take it!"
Dylan raised his eyes toward Basaros, whose rough voice still echoed in his ears. The thought of plunging his hand into the creature's chest deeply repulsed him, but he had no luxury to hesitate. The crowd's screams and insults continued to rain down, their impatience palpable.
His gaze returned to the corpse before him. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and, with a swift motion, drove his fingers into the creature's chest. Its skin, softer than he had imagined, yielded under his hand, revealing a warm, viscous texture that churned his stomach. Grimacing, he pressed on, ignoring the nausea rising within him.
After a few moments of frantic searching, his fingers finally brushed against something solid. Without further thought, he gripped it and yanked it out. A faint suction sound accompanied the motion, intensifying his revulsion.
In his hand rested a luminous stone, shifting between golden and purple hues. The gem pulsed faintly, as if containing an echo of life. Silence fell over the arena before the crowd erupted into wild cheers, transforming the space into a cacophony of discordant sounds.
Fascinated, Dylan lifted the gem to examine it more closely. Its warmth and glow almost hypnotized his exhausted mind. But before he could comprehend what he was holding, a sharp pain shot through his skull, like a needle piercing deep into his mind.
"Absorb it."
Basaros's voice echoed again, this time more insistent, almost commanding. Dylan hesitated, glancing questioningly at the man.
"What?" he murmured, his voice hoarse, barely audible after his earlier exertion.
"Break the gem, fool! Absorb its energy, or you'll die in the next fight."
Dylan didn't fully understand what he was supposed to do, but the urgency in Basaros's tone left no room for doubt. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, clenched the gem in his hand, and used the metallic bracelet he wore to shatter it with a sharp blow.
As the stone fractured, a fiery energy flowed into him, like a searing wave coursing through every fiber of his being.
He let out a muffled cry as his legs buckled under the intensity of the sudden power. The sensation was both painful and euphoric. His muscles seemed to regenerate, his breathing steadied, and the fatigue that had weighed on him moments ago vanished almost instantly.
The remaining fragments of the gem lost their glow, becoming dull and lifeless.
Above him, the Matriarch applauded softly, a satisfied smile gracing her lips.
"Magnificent, Stranger," she murmured, her voice carrying through the arena. "I suppose this means you're ready for the second trial."
Dylan raised his eyes to her, wiping the blood and sweat from his face. He had crossed a critical threshold, but he felt the path he had chosen offered no way back.
A gong sounded, shattering the silence that had settled. Slowly, the grand doors of the arena opened, revealing an ominous darkness.
"No rest for you, Stranger," the Matriarch declared, retreating into the shadows. "Otherwise, the trials of the Inverted Pyramid would lose all their essence."
As he rushed to recover the gem from another corpse, a violent blow struck him, sending him flying.
His body rolled several times across the ground before slamming hard into the arena wall. Pain radiated through his back, but Dylan immediately tried to stand, disoriented. He couldn't understand how he had been hit with such force or how he was still unscathed after such an impact.
Blinking to regain his bearings, he glanced toward the spot where he had been moments earlier. What he saw seemed strange and bewildering.
Three creatures stood before him. They resembled chimpanzees, but their skin was a sickly green, and their large ears protruded from their skulls. Two of them appeared to be fighting ferociously over the corpse he had been about to loot, while the third advanced toward him, its eyes glowing with a menacing light.
"Shit!" Dylan cursed, quickly rising, his muscles taut with adrenaline. "I guess the second trial has already begun."