A strange-shaped tree spread its branches wide out in front of Arthur. At first glance, it might have looked like an ordinary big oak, but when you approached it closely, you could see one mystical feature.

The entire bark of the tree was covered with beautiful patterns, forming countless lines. These lines evoked an eerie atmosphere as they moved as if they were alive.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, little boy?"

Next to Arthur stood an elderly man in a black robe. He was missing a tooth in his upper jaw, so he always made a hissing sound when he spoke.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Arthur's determined attitude elicited an approving nod from the old man.

"Good. Good. Since you came here, you probably already know about this sacred tree..."

The old man had a strange casket in his hand, which he held with both hands.

"I don't forbid anyone to go through this ordeal. But you should know I have lived in this village for seventy years. I have seen many brave men like you... they came with burning eyes and a strong spirit...but no one has ever come back from the other side."

Arthur responded by rolling his eyes and waving his hand as if to say, "Come on, hurry up".

"What a determination." - the old man chuckled.

The old man opened a small chest and tilted it toward Arthur to reveal its contents.

"Put your hand on it and you can start the trial."

"Wait a second."

The old man was surprised to notice the actions of the young man in front of him. He took a large bag off his shoulders and began pulling out bottles of colorful liquid one by one.

'Potions? Doesn't he know that he can't use magic on the other side? And he can't sneak objects in either?' thought the old man in the black robe.

"These are body-strengthening potions, that's all. Just in case," Arthur said as if he could read the old man's thoughts.

'There are also Night Vision potion, a regeneration potion, and Flame of Love,' he added mentally.

After a few minutes, a small pile of empty bottles formed on the ground. Arthur drank so much that he could barely contain his vomiting. He knew he couldn't sneak the items into the trial. But who forbade drinking them beforehand?

When he had finished drinking, without even looking at the dumbfounded old man who was still holding the casket, he did not hesitate to put his hand inside. Immediately he gritted his teeth in pain. Something extremely sharp had pierced his hand. He examined his palm and, wiping the blood from it, discovered a seemingly ordinary triangle on it.

[Ding! Gained new skill: The Path of Fear (temporary)]

However, this seemingly ordinary triangle began to glow brightly when Arthur brought his hand to the strange oak tree. Touching the bark he felt how what should have been a hard surface now felt like soft plasticine. His hand plunged deeper and deeper inside, eventually pulling his entire body with it.

An immense pressure immediately came over Arthur, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut. He remembered that he'd been through something like this before in the guild. The time he had passed through the portal that separated the Hunting Ground from the rest of the world.

His head was spinning, and another reason for nausea had been added to the overdrinking.

When he opened his eyes, instead of an old abandoned manor house with a lone frightening tree in the garden, Arthur now found himself in an empty white space.

"Greetings, seeker, who has chosen to walk the path of fear." The noble voice, which, with its power, sent shivers down the spine of anyone who heard it, suddenly echoed in Arthur's ears. He thought it was coming from behind him, but when he turned around there was nothing but endless emptiness behind him.

"People think of fear as a curse, people think of it as an evil worth getting rid of. But fear is the greatest weapon..."

A stream of pathos poured over Arthur, making him shiver with irritation.

'God, I've read this nonsense before. Can I skip this part? I don't have much time.'

"The Flame of Love" Arthur took was a slow poison, his body temperature rising with each passing minute. So before the degree of heat went beyond acceptable limits, he had to hurry.

"Seeker, the seal on your hand is both the key and the reward. Take care of it, and then it will take care of you."

Arthur opened his palm and looked at the bloody mark. It didn't look any special at all.

This trial was different from many others in one particular way. The reward for passing gave not at the end of the trial, but at the beginning. And the mission of the challenger was to use the artifact (not an object in this case but a skill) to overcome all obstacles and thus confirm that he could use it correctly.

"Only those who prove themselves worthy of the Seal of the Way of Fear will be able to leave this place. The first stage begins right now."

The endless void before his eyes began to change rapidly. Like a set in a theater, Arthur watched with interest as walls, floors, and ceilings appeared out of nowhere before his eyes. They surrounded him, thus creating an enclosed space.

"Trial One. Find the way out of the labyrinth. Fear will show you the way," - the otherworldly voice said, and immediately fell silent.

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"Thanks for the great explanation! So detailed. If I hadn't read the novel, I would have died here for sure." - Arthur exclaimed sarcastically.

The area he now found himself in looked like a dungeon. He looked around him and realized that he was standing in a circular small hall with stone walls. The area around him was not at all strikingly visible, only the green stones dimly illuminating the darkness.

"Status."

[Status.]

Name: Arno Mann.

Overall Rank: G-

Experience: 450/870

Mana Core: -

Bloodline Grade: -

Strength: 4.2 (+2)

Agility: 3.1 (+2)

Stamina: 3.8 (+2)

Perception: 3.7 (+2)

Luck: 0.5

Charisma: 0.1

Skills:

[Manipulation of Mana]: Advanced. (passive)

[Path of Fear]: Beginner. (active)

"I chose this artifact also because it requires no mana to activate. [Path of Fear]" - said the blond boy and the seal on his palm began to glow a faint golden color. He had just activated his first skill.

Arthur frowned grudgingly as he felt unpleasant energy emanating from his hand and spreading throughout his body like a tidal wave.

It was the effect of the Path of Fear. It allowed a person to sense murderous intent coming from both living and non-living beings.

When the skill was activated, a person began to feel fear if someone's bloodlust was directed at him or her. The initial level only gave a faint sense that someone was targeting you now, but without any ability to determine the direction where the threat was coming from.

This skill had become essential to Arthur after he'd been banned from the hunters' guild. He knew that in the place he was about to go next, he certainly couldn't survive without it.

So Arthur went to extreme measures. Purchased a bunch of potions and even a very dangerous poison. For the sake of this artifact, he was forced to sell half of Arno's workshop, including even Selina One.

From the circular hall, in the center of which Arthur appeared, dark tunnels emanated in different directions. But only one of them had to be chosen.

"I must follow the path of fear, just as the unknown voice had said," - muttered the boy, peering into the depths of each of the tunnels.

Those cryptic words had a very simple meaning. Arthur, using the seal of the Path of Fear, had to choose exactly the direction from which he sensed the threat emanating.

Arthur knew that he would inevitably have to fight the monsters lurking in his path. But he couldn't do it empty-handed. In the book, one of the key "villains" who got the artifact demanded a weapon from the dungeon itself.

"I want to choose a weapon," - Arthur uttered somewhere into the emptiness of the hall.

"What weapon do you choose?"

"The sword."

Suddenly red particles swirled before him in a chaotic vortex. After a couple of seconds, it dissipated, leaving a plain steel sword hanging in the air.

Arthur took it and didn't hesitate to go immediately to check each of the tunnels. From the book's description, he had a rough idea of how his new skill worked.

After circling the hall for a while, he suddenly felt an icy cold piercing his hand, which still had the seal activated. He didn't need to explain what that meant.

"Yes... I found it. This is the right tunnel."

Cautiously, observing utmost silence, he made his way down to a passageway leading somewhere deep inside. The good thing was that thanks to the Night Vision potion he had no trouble moving, everything was clear as day.

And indeed, after walking no more than ten paces down the tunnel, he could clearly see a poorly camouflaged scorpion lying under one of the rocks. It was about the size of a large dog, and, remarkably, had two tails.

"As far as I remember in this trial, monsters are equal in strength to the challenger. This scorpion is only rank G? Seriously?" - Arthur shook his head dejectedly and raised his sword in a stance.

Sneaking up was useless, as the scorpion had already turned in his direction having obviously already spotted him.

Taking a deep breath, Arthur gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and ducked and ran toward the dungeon monster. The two-tailed scorpion jabbed its long sting in the boy's direction. But it seemed to be slow for his perception, Arthur calmly deflected the blow with the tip of his blade.

"Is that my speed? It clearly wasn't potions, more like steroids. God, I'm so tired of this useless body already, what a joy it is to be able to feel yourself strong." - He rejoiced and threw himself into the fight with even more enthusiasm.

Arthur stepped forward in a glancing motion and struck a swift blow with his blade at the scorpion's head, aiming straight for one of its large eyes. The scorpion's shell looked incredibly hard, and the guy didn't dare test the penetration of his weapon.

The first blood was spilled in this battle. The two-tailed monster let out a terrifying screech, enraged by the wound it had received. It attacked the vile man again, this time with its claw.

But the loss of proper vision and the sensation of pain was enough for the scorpion to lose proper focus, giving Arthur a chance to duck in time and avoid being hit.

The monster, however, was not about to lose to a weak man. The second stinger flew toward the guy, putting all the available power and energy into the blow.

Sensing the approaching danger, Arthur jumped as hard as he could to the side. The wall behind him exploded as if it had been shot out of a cannon. A crack appeared in the wall, and the sting of the scorpion lodged inside.

'This is my chance,' Arthur thought, and a crazed smile appeared on his face.

The boy rolled over the ground and stood at the side of the monster. Then with one powerful push, he pushed himself off the surface and landed right on top of the scorpion's shell.

"Give me your other eye," Arthur roared, and with both hands he brought his sword down on his opponent's remaining eye, successfully piercing his brain at the same time.

When he was done with the scorpion, he wiped the sword away and jumped up and down happily. Arthur was overexcited by the battle that had taken place, adrenaline was still overwhelming his body, and his hands were shaking with the desire to continue this kind of entertainment.

"It's a shame that I don't get experience points for killing monsters in the trial... But at least I can practice" - a mad laugh spread across the long tunnel.

The rest of his journey followed the standard scenario. Each tunnel led him into a circular hall, like the one in which he had originally appeared. And he used the [Path of Fear] to determine the right direction of travel.

True, he couldn't keep this skill active all the time. Its side effect was that the longer you used it, the stronger the feeling of fear became. Eventually, it could even turn into uncontrollable panic. And on the battlefield, that was tantamount to death.

So he only activated the skill for a few seconds, chose a direction, and went to cut down the monsters. Arthur didn't know how many corpses he left on the way, but when he finally found the exit from the labyrinth, it was covered in the blood of different colors.

And the blood did not make him uncomfortable. On the contrary, when in the last tunnel he encountered two bipedal rat-like creatures at once, all Arthur could think about was:

"Give me more blood."

And the two big rats completely lived up to his expectations. So when the fight was over, Arthur was covered in green blood from head to toe.

"I didn't know killing monsters was so much fun... I want more." - He shouted.

If he had the chance, he would have stayed in the dungeon longer and continued killing all sorts of monsters, but he was already starting to feel a strong burning sensation in his body.

The rise in temperature from the Flame of Love had almost reached a critical point. He had to hurry to the second stage of the test or he could die from the poison here.

Arthur entered the last hall, which differed from the others in that the glowing stones on the walls changed the tone of the room to red.

In the center of the hall stood a small pedestal. On it, as on a strange portal tree, were innumerable moving patterns.

At the top of the pedestal was a handprint, apparently for the challenger's convenience.

"Should I just put my hand?" - Arthur frowned.

When he did, the same sharp pain pierced his palm. But this time, the guy didn't notice it, as he was still reeling from the ecstasy of battle.

"Congratulations, seeker. You have passed the first stage. You can be proud of yourself, most of those who come here have fallen in this labyrinth." - A mighty extraterrestrial voice echoed.

[Ding! Skill The Path of Fear has been leveled up!]