A dangerous beauty

( 20 hours later )

Bruised and battered, the best rankers staggered through the dimly lit corridors of the dungeon, finally reaching the guardian rooms.

Their armor were scuffed, weapons dulled, and weariness from the long journey was etched into their faces.

They were the first to arrive at the end of the road, however, since they were the fastest to travel their path, they arrived at their destination much earlier than the rest of the pack.

A majority of the countless rankers still struggled somewhere behind them, and this made their early arrival somewhat useless, as the looming sign at the end of the road declared : [ At least 100 rankers are required to open this door ].

Upon reading the sign, those who had reached this point had no choice but to wait, their progress stalled until enough others arrived to unlock the next phase of the trial.