I felt Artemeni’s strong grip pull me back along with Blanche.

“Oi, wait!”

It was a second late when I noticed she wasn’t exactly pulling us back, she was throwing us back.

“Sorry, Champion.”

Before I grasped what was happening, I was flying in the air towards Thalia and Aurora. Air whipped past, and my stomach lurched; for a brief moment, the ground loomed, threatening a rough landing. Thankfully, neither of us fell to the ground since Aurora managed to catch us before we ate the ground. She slowly lowered us as Thalia started to heal our wounds.

“Ouch.”

I grabbed and pulled the arrows stuck in my body despite the protests of Thalia. It was faster that way. More painful too but something distracted me from my pain. These arrows weren’t invisible, like the previous ones. The invisible ones remained invisible even after hitting me but those ones I could see…

I looked at the ice wall Blanche erected to defend us. It had no cracks or holes. Did the arrows curve around it? I looked back at the wounds I received. No, the angle was wrong. If they curved around the wall the entry point wouldn’t be so straight. It was almost like they were intangible…

Hold up.

“Aurora. I need to brainstorm.”

Aurora’s brow furrowed, but she nodded, setting me down with a slight tilt of her head. “Brainstorm away.”

I held one of the arrows up, studying it closely. The shaft was cold to the touch, and although it seemed solid now, there was something unsettling about it. I glanced back at the ice wall Blanche had raised. Not a single scratch. My stomach twisted as a thought started to form.

“1- I can’t see the arrows but they are not like the invisible arrows. Those ones remained invisible after hitting us.”

“2- They don’t disturb the air or make noise while traveling.”

“3- They bypass any shield we use.”

Aurora’s eyes narrowed as she listened. Thalia glanced at me, her hands still aglow with healing light as she stitched up the remaining wounds. “So what’s your theory, Champion?” she asked an edge of worry in her voice.

I held up the arrow, twisting it under the light. “If they aren’t invisible and aren’t just curving around defenses, that means they’re likely… intangible. They’re ignoring physical barriers because they’re passing through them until they make contact with flesh.” I paused, the weight of the realization settling in. “These arrows don’t exist in a fully material form until they hit a target—almost as if they’re in a suspended state.”

Aurora’s eyes widened. “So… they phase through anything until they detect a body?”

“Exactly,” I said, feeling the pieces click together. “It’s why they’re undetectable until they hit us. They don’t create vibrations or air disturbance because they’re not technically moving through our plane until they touch flesh. They’re almost like… delayed materializations, only taking physical form once they’re certain they’re hitting something solid.”

Thalia’s brow furrowed in concentration, her hands momentarily pausing over my wounds. “If they can phase through barriers, then the usual shields are useless. And if we don’t know they’re coming…”

I glanced at Blanche and then back at the others. “We’ll need to think differently to counter them. One way would be stacking every defensive buff and tanking the hi-“

Thalia’s hands gripped me tighter and tighter.

“Of course, that would be our last option.”

She released her grip ever so slightly.. Aurora’s lips thinned as she stared at the arrow in my hand. "Could we create some kind of field or pulse to force them to materialize? If we can make them take shape earlier, it might expose their trajectory."

Blanche, who had been observing with a calculating gleam in her eye, nodded. "That could work but we do not know how its mechanism works.”

I stood up, my wounds sealed now.

“Blanche, can you move?”

Blanche gave me a nod, though her face was strained with effort. "I can move," she replied, determination flickering in her eyes.

“What will you do, Champion?”

Aurora quickly interjected, moving in front of me to stop me from moving without a plan.

“We will get to intangable arrow range together. After that, I will use Enhanced Senses and Enhanced Perception to detect and Shadow Melt the moment they materialize. I probably can do it one or two times. It should be enough. Thalia, buffs please.”

Thalia’s hands began to glow brighter, her lips murmuring incantations under her breath. My skin prickled as a surge of energy filled me—my senses sharpened, strength and reflexes heightened, while my muscles hummed with borrowed power. I caught Blanche’s eye and gave her a nod; whatever she had left in her reserves would need to be enough.

“Ready, Champion,” Thalia said, her voice low but steady. Her buffs settled over me like a mantle, reinforcing every nerve and muscle.

Blanche and I moved forward, advancing with careful steps towards the intangibility zone, that line where these arrows would begin to phase in. After understanding the gimmicks, it wasn’t that hard to dodge curving and invisible arrows.

“Fall back.”

I shouted as we arrived at the zone. I activated both of my skills and massive amounts of information slammed into my brain. The second my senses kicked in, the world around me exploded into sensation, every detail amplified a hundredfold. And there, I felt something brush into my skin. It was in my chest. I engaged Shadow Melt, vanishing into the shadows right before they could pierce my chest. The arrow passed through me harmlessly as I kept running forward.

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One more stung my shoulder. Once again, I melted into shadows to dodge.

“Almost there!”

I had 100 meters or so more. I could close it in around a second. But something was on the horizon. An arrow coated with light, a counter against my Shadow Melt.

“It won’t work!”

Fusing more mana into my gauntlet, I extended it to the side but I felt a stinging sensation at the same time. An arrow was about to materialize and pierce the same hand I was using to slap away the light-coated arrow.

“Shit.”

I had to make a split-second choice. I either Shadow Melt to dodge materializing but take the light-infused one or vice versa.

I gritted my teeth and took the materializing arrow through my arm. The pain was immediate and searing, like fire coursing through my veins, but it wasn’t enough to stop me. I forced myself to keep moving, my feet digging to the ground. “Keep going, Champion!” Aurora urged her voice a beacon of encouragement.

With a final burst of speed, I surged forward, aiming to touch the statue and end the trial. The world narrowed to just me, the pain, and the goal ahead.

Then I reached out, fingers brushing against the cold stone of the statue.

(Enhanced Perception ranked up to D rank. Your senses sharpen notably, providing you with a greater depth of awareness in both sight and sound.)

(You completed Trial of the Arrow Storm.)

(Rating party’s performance…)

(B-)

The air around us settled, the furious onslaught of arrows finally ceasing. I was left panting, my body aching from the trials’ relentless assault.

(Returning back to the altar in 60 seconds.)

I lifted the key item in my hand. It was an arrow reminiscent of a lightning bolt.

“Champion! Champion!”

I turned around to others, blood dripping out of my nose. At the same time just like a TV being turned off, my consciousness faded.

“Champion!”

Aurora’s voice sounded distant as I sank into the darkness, the world a dull blur around me. I barely registered the key still clutched in my hand, cold and jagged, the weight a sharp reminder of the ordeal we'd just endured. Darkness wrapped around my mind like a heavy shroud, and I felt myself slip deeper, the fatigue finally overtaking me.

…

When I came to my senses, my head was on something warm and soft. I blinked repeatedly but my vision was blurry and the light hurt them. I put my hand on my pillow, feeling it since my sight was messed up. Did we bring a pillow like this?

“Champion… It is not like I am against it but is this the right time?”

The soft, smooth surface beneath my hand registered more and more as my vision sharpened, and a familiar voice reached my ears. Blinking through the haze, I found myself staring up at Thalia, who wore a bemused smile as she cradled my head on her lap. Her face was close, her expression caught somewhere between amusement and embarrassment, but a subtle warmth in her gaze made the whole situation a lot less painful.

I cleared my throat and sat up, blinking to clear the last bits of blurriness. “How long was I out?”

“Not long,” Thalia said, handing me a canteen. I drank, cool water washing away the lingering fog in my head. My head hurt like hell. Using both Enhanced Senses and Perception at the same time was too much. “The key?”

“Right here.” Blanche held it up, her fingers brushing over the jagged lightning-bolt shape, sparks flickering along its edges.

“3 out of 5 is completed. How long do we have?”

I asked while putting the key into its respective altar.

“11 hours.”

Aurora answered. Damn. Have we been going for it for 13 hours?

“Alright, let’s check the rewards and go into the next one.”

1- Essence of the Arrow Storm, a swirling silver-blue potion contained in a crystal vial that temporarily increases Agility and Perception by 20% for an hour, enhancing reaction speed and spatial awareness. Given to Blanche.

2- War Paint of the Hawk-Eye, a single-use war paint that grants users a heightened perception and sharpens vision temporarily, allowing them to spot distant or concealed targets with ease and track projectiles more accurately. Given to Artemeni.

3- Amulet of Stamina, A simple, leather-bound amulet that improves stamina regeneration over time and decreases fatigue accumulation. Given to Thalia.

4- A skill book containing the skill Fleeting Mirage. Learned by Aurora.

5- Stone of Resonant Recall, a small, smooth stone with intricate carvings. By infusing mana into it one could repeat the trial in a limited fashion. I kept it to myself for later training.

6- Lastly, an armor for Gökbörü. I found it weird that this trial gave Gökbörü a reward since he didn’t participate in this trial besides letting me borrow his skill. It was called Frostwind Pelt Armor which had the ability to change size. The vest is contoured to his form, allowing full mobility, and reinforced with flexible plating around his vital areas—chest, back, and shoulders—to provide excellent protection without limiting agility. It had two options besides size change one, Blizzard Step: Boosted Gökbörü’s Agility by 10 percent and increased his speed in cold environments. Arrow’s Blessing: This option provided a slight increase to Gökbörü’s resistance against piercing attacks, reducing incoming arrow-based and projectile damage by 15%.

And many specialized arrows. It was pretty good. I took a deep breath, savoring the temporary respite as we checked out our hard-earned rewards. Each item seemed perfectly tailored to enhance our chances in the upcoming trials, and seeing the boost to the team lifted my spirits. I patted the Frostwind Pelt Armor, now adjusted snugly to Gökbörü, who looked up at me with pride gleaming in his blue eyes.

I put my hand on the altar of Two Paths.

“Let’s go.”