Hunter Trials: Impenetrable Door

The group followed Sergeant Eisenhardt through the portal, a stranger feeling assailed them than what they were used to, but they held firm. A wash of cold brushed their skin and lungs as if in a cold bath.

'Freezing! Lunaris can you warm me up a..'

'Already on it. The new Mana cores are working more efficiently than expected. It will take some time for your mana channels to adjust to the output, and the constructed mana channels are nearly done making adjustments. This will increase our power exponentially, and growth could nearly be limitless.'

Alexander was happy about his discovery and the trek to the trial area gave him enough time to disscuss his options.

'However, you will be at a disadvantage until you increase your separate core capacity, which must be done simultaneously. If not, the imbalance within your body could create a cascade of destruction. With the vacancy of your central core, we have taken its place as a sudo core as the best place to congregate and deploy nanites for the utmost efficiency.'

Alexander reached his consciousness down and felt the nanite core pulse with mana, it was the perfect harmony with his cores.

'Let's just focus on the test, then we can devote ourselves to restructuring my mana cores. The information we got from the data banks are still decrypting, so let's send it to Max and see if he can do something. If we hadn't had our breakthrough, we could have given it sooner. '

Max received the data, and immediately decrypted it and sent it to everyone's device.

//Crypt of Death and Stone...

'This is what took you so long?' Max sneered through Line. 'You obviously need some more training in data analysis. The data has some concerning things for us, but its unavoidable. It's not a detailed report, but the entries state that no one has ever finished the last challenge.' Max informed. His brain worked at a thousand miles a second to come up with a plan but with the lack in information, he could spare nothing to chance.

'Follow my lead, and we'll finish this test at the top. There's no test I can't pass, and I'd bve damned if I fail anything.

The group soon arrived to a marvelous and terrifying sight. A wall separating them from a large castle like dungeon, made of stone with a frightening appearance. Every brick had sculpted upon its face a frightening face of otherworldy beings tormenting humanoid creature. Throughout the entire wall scenes of massacre was depicted as the group walked along its side towards the heavy wooden gate that made the entrance.

"I get goosebumps from this thing everytime we do this trial. Anyone else feel like they're being watched?" One of the hooded figures said as the came to the front of the gate. His words were a jest but Alexanders group all felt it as the stood infront of the gigantic gate. Its tall wooden doors were carved intricately with gold and silver eyes, having one key hole and two latches on either side.

//Alert! Hidden mission started. Find and defeat the enemy within the anomaly created by, Deaths enemy.

Rewards: 5 attribute points...

Failure will result in ???//

While everyone marveled at the door, Alexander contemplated this new task given to him by the mysterious system. 'Something else to interrupt my life. Just great! Wait if it's anything like the last enemy... No, I'm stronger now. I won't freak out, but the others might be in danger..' Alexander thought to himself before warning his team to be extra careful.

'I feel like one of the things I fought awhile back is near. Just be wary of any shadowy creatures nearby. It has this strange ability to siphonmor suck mana from your body.' He said over Line.

'Great, another obstacle. I'm sure the Association, and their budget cuts, haven't cleared this area out either. If anyone finds something strange give the signal and converge on them. With that said, has anyone got a clue about this door?' Max, the teams strategic mind pondered about. He scanned the door and walls for any anomaly before Alexander brought the threat of a hidden monster in the trial. The proctors, Sergeant Eisenhardt and his two assistant Wardens, had stepped back, allowing the Hunters to begin. The trial wasn't timed, but time was a factor in the score.

The group spread out around the door, searching for clues and anyway to open the door. The two latches seemed the only way to open the gate, but Max didn't not wish to use that method.

"I'm just getting bad readings from those latches. They seem to be connected to several mechanical traps, and why would there be a key hole here? Search around and I'll keep working of the traps and scanning for anything strange."

Alexander had his own scan he used and immediately saw the folly in using the latches. The iron bars had an invisible tracer coated on them, along with a hidden trap that realesded something big from the head hight iron covers on the door. The area around the door was a field with forested areas clear for 50 meters from the walls.

A few areas had overgrowth of vines over destitute homes, much like cottages from earth. Alexanders sense saw these houses as strange, pulses of mana radiated from them all except one house in the middle. Out of the six houses, that one stood out the most.

"I think we should go check the buildings out. If I was hiding a secret key, I'd hide it nearby." He said outright, so the proctors could hear.

The group agreed, but left Max to scan the door more. He sent them the approximate dimensions of the key, and watched over them from one of hus drones.

The small area of houses where close to the wall but felt like a different world. The overgrown vines covered most of the houses, except for the doors, and were resistant to fire. The inside of the houses they checked had a strange sight. Food and other amenities were in pristine condition, as if the families had just left. Food on the tables and the furniture were untouched by both time and degradation.

The only exception was the house Alexander sensed no mana from. The vines that grew around it were dried with no life but still held its resistance to fire. The door on thus house was covered and barred anyone from entering.

"We've checked every house except this one. If we're going to find anything, we need to figure out how to get in or risk whatever Max thinks the latched do." Kahawai proposed, they were running around in circles checking and rechecked around the six homes. Something had to change.

The group were equipped with their own armor, Kai and Fow, wore the combat armor from training, while Nakamura adorned his black kimono over light leather Armour so he could move freely. Kahawai and Kalani had on black leather armor from the Akamai anex.

Alexander chose to wear a simple light armor with metal shoulder, and a thick chest plate. He had a bow, and a short sword at his waist. They all wore a mask, to prevent any airboren materials from getting into them, and a single skintoned don't on their temples for line.

"The vines come from a source, we find it and then perhaps a way will open to us. Be it blade or magic, the vines resist our attempts, but every weed, is weakest at its roots." Nakamura proposed pointing towards the direction the vines seemed to be coming from. A line of them were blackened like the cottage home and seemd like the most logical way to proceed.

Alexander couldn't agree more, as even his attempts to use Crawlers to find a way into the home was futile. Every inch or crevice was blocked off by the vines and not even nanites could puncture them quickly. He left a few Crawlers to try and get inside, and watch out for anything.

The group left the village to go further north from the wall towards the wooden area. Leaving markers to find their way back as per the Association handbook. As Eisenhardt followed and wrote notes as he followed them, they must be doing something right.

'These kids these days are something else. The other groups all tried the door and immediately needed to be saved. That's why we never say anything about the village. Done atleaset a hundred of these and everytime they fall for the doors traps. Maybe I can finaly give a good grade on this thing.' Eisenhardt thought to himself.