CHAPTER 184 - The Trial Ground 1.

Alex exhaled, stopping his healing breath as his injuries were all patched up. The enormous stone doors had sealed shut behind him, cutting off the furious gaze of the dying Dissolving Viper. 

The air inside the trial palace was thick with the scent of damp stone and an eerie, lingering metallic tang—blood.

Before him was a long hallway, its walls carved with images that depicted ancient battles, fanged warriors, and twisted monstrous beasts that could make one's skin crawl. 

Dark crimson torches flickered with an unnatural light, casting elongated shadows that danced ominously across the grand expanse while also highlighting the dried blood on the walls, telling stories of those who had come before.

Alex took his first step forward, only to feel a strange resistance against his body. It was subtle but unmistakable—an invisible wave of magic passing over him.

He quickly stepped back.

"I was being scanned, wasn't I?" He asked out loud.