After the group defeated the three banalis, the fog vanished from the hall. An exit appeared on the side, while on top, the cursed weapon revealed itself.

Shackled by dark, semi-unbreakable chains bound to the ceiling, a black violin towered over the group. Himo gulped at the sight. He understood it instantly. The violin was surely of a higher grade than the scythe.

From the center of the hall, a spiral stair began to make its way above. A pillar spun as it rose, bearing the countless steps which gleamed due to their polished black material. Betraying its wealthy appearance was the rust covering the bent down railing. 

After a minute, it stopped. The violin stood just at its peak, waiting for the arrival of an aspirant banalis.

Himo and the other four exchanged glances. None of them had expected to see a violin chained to the ceiling, much less such a stair.

A few seconds later, the four nodded and walked up to the exit, making sure no one would come. Seeing that, Himo nodded in response and walked up to the staircase, a step at a time. To his surprise, the staircase was devoid of traps—as long as one could resist the pressure from the violin, even an average mortal could walk on them.

Proceeding carefully, he took half a minute to reach the top. His gaze lingered on the violin standing already in his hand’s reach. Aside from its pitch black color, the violin seemed no different than a normal violin.

On the surface, at least. 

Upon closer look, Himo noticed that its wood was incomparable to anything he had seen before. It seemed tough. Indestructible, perhaps. Even the scythe might be unable to scratch it.

System, can you give me the status of the violin?

[Negative. It’s first required to enter in contact with it.]

Himo rolled his eyes. That answer didn’t surprise him at all.

Left with no choice, he extended his hand and grabbed the violin. For some reason, a ‘tan tan tan taan!’ sound effect resounded in his mind, prompting him to raise the violin up the sky as a celebration for obtaining it. Even Himo was dumbfounded by that. But before he could do so, he found himself in a completely different place.

Below him was an ocean of water without a single ripple on its surface. He poked at it with a foot—it felt solid to the touch. As if its liquid appearance was but an illusion. It reminded him of what happened in the scythe, but unlike that time, everything around him was visible—both water and sky couldn't be clearer.

“Kekekeke.” A creepy laugh sounded from behind him. 

Himo turned back sharply, only for a shiver to slid down his back. There's no one?

“So, this time it’s a young child?” The voice resounded again, not less creepy than before. “Tell me, what’s your name?”

“I’m Shu Himo.”

“I see, I see…” Nodding, a figure appeared seemingly out of nothing. Wearing a red kimono covered by a white cape, an old man walked slowly toward Himo, his bald head and wrinkled face showing his age. His eyes, meanwhile, remained closed. An air of supremacy spread out from his body just by his presence.

Himo was stunned. Why is there an old man in every cursed weapon? Knowing that he was before an expert, he dared not to push his luck. Respect or death, respect or death. Taking a deep breath, he faced the old man. “Sir, may I ask what the test to control the violin is about?”

“Oh! Kekeke, nothing special, you don’t have to worry. You just have to prove yourself by surviving for a few minutes. Additionally, if you happen to win I will teach you how to use the violin as an extra.”

Hearing those words, Himo’s eyes lit up. He had found a generous elder.

“After all, I can’t have you use the violin like you used the scythe, it would be way too embarrassing.” While Himo’s moves had seemed grandiose to his peers, the elder had felt like puking just by the sight of the countless flaws present in them. Even just the way the child held the handle bothered him.

That was the reason?! Himo widened his eyes. No, wait, how does he know that… As soon as his thoughts entered that trail, his heart skipped a beat. If he can see what happens outside, could it be that the Dark King Dragon can do the same?

One thing was sure. He had to master how to use the scythe as soon as possible, or the next time he would meet the Dark King Dragon might be the last.

Just as Himo fell deeper in thought, a violin materialized over the hands of the old man. He began to play it. The music of the violin spread in the air, playing at a slow tempo. 

It reached quickly Himo’s ears.

The water vanished, replaced by an endless scorching land. Flames stood at all sides, covering his view. The smoke from the burned trees reached the sky, hindering the sunlight. Hot, dry air came in his lungs at each breath, his lips cracking the more and more.

He had been transported to another place.

Himo scratched his head. What’s going on? This is the test? It was uncomfortable, but the difficulty of surviving wasn't that high. As a cultivator, he could resist easily for days in such a place.

As soon as he thought that, the flames acquired 'life'. And a deep hatred for him, apparently. They all coalesced against him, trying to burn him to a crisp.

"What?!" Widening his eyes, he dashed backward. And yet, the flames kept chasing him relentlessly. They encircled him, flew, and some even passed underground. It was as if nothing could stop their pursuit.

Powerless against something he couldn't attack, Himo sprinted away from the flames. He left them behind easily. Even with all their determination, the flames could only bow before his speed.

But just as he took another step, the music of the violin sharpened into a quicker tempo.

The ground warped into countless grains of sand. A desert. Dunes stood everywhere, from smaller ones to some resembling a mountain.

He had been transported to yet another place.

What's going to happen this time? Himo narrowed his eyes. After being chased around by flames, he dared not to lower his guard. His gaze darted to the sand. Will it attack me too?

As if replying to his worry, the sand coalesced into a massive hand, trying to crush him. Thus, he jumped high to the sky, evading easily the attack. But something unexpected happened. 

His ascent didn’t stop. Gravity had reversed, and he kept “dropping” toward the sky.

"What is this?!" His eyes darted left and right in a panic. "Could it be that he can control freely the dimension inside the violin?" He frowned. If that’s true, this test is impossible! What 'nothing special'!

But he had no time to worry about that. Raising his eyes upward, he noticed that he wasn't falling toward the sky, but toward an ocean. An ocean that might kill him just from the impact.

A normal mortal would have no hope to survive, but his body resistance stood on par with that of thirty individuals—he still had a chance.

Even so, he had to solve a problem. His posture.

If he kept falling as he was, he would undoubtedly crash headfirst into the water. He had to reverse that—only by falling on his feet could he hope to survive. However, maneuvering in mid-air wasn't something that could be done with no training.

Luckily for him, he had something which could aid him with that.

His tail.

He first spread his arms and legs, slowing the fall ever so slightly. Then, moving his tail left and right, he used the air resistance to spin around, and—after many awkward attempts—turned feet down. Glancing at his worn down tail, he sighed. Never had he expected to use it as a rudder. Thinking that, he leaned his tail on his back, limiting to move it when losing balance. Thus, he braced himself for the impact.

And crashed on the ocean surface.

Breaking the water barrier with his feet, he shielded the rest of his body. The impact injured his soles, but the rest stood unscathed. 

When he sunk underwater, a chilling frost raged against him threatening to freeze every last bit of his bones. Goosebumps traveled through his body as several roars pierced his ears from the depths of the ocean. Complementing that was the tranquil play of the violin, echoing from all sides. Its source unbeknown to him.

His eyes shot open.

Down below, a pitch black shade concealed the depths from his sight. Upward, a blinding light shone from behind the surface, with no trace of falling deserts whatsoever. And forward, a banalis bared its sword at him.

"Oh." Himo blinked. "It's just a rank two."

Seeing it, many memories resurfaced in his mind.

How the banalis outside the violin had given him so many problems. How the flames had chased him. How he had just skydived from who knows how many kilometers. And how he had barely survived each time.

He clenched his fists. As if he had forgotten about cold, roars, and violin, he stared at the banalis as his lips curled up. If the opponent was just a rank two... it was revenge time! "You might be invulnerable to physical attacks, but I'm going to beat you up anyway!" With but a thought from him, an invisible platform appeared under his feet and thrust him to the monster.

Imagining himself delivering the strongest punch he had even thrown, he punched it. The fist connected to its cheek and, as if for magic, shot it to the distance—the monster vanished on the sky, reaching the outer space.

"Wait, what?"

His gaze fidgeted between his fist and the place where the monster vanished, disbelief written all over his face. But before he could ponder about what happened, numerous banalis rose from the darkness below. Himo smirked. 

"No matter how many you are, if you're just rank tw—" He froze. "Rank... five?"

His incredulous gaze wandered amongst the countless monsters. He felt as if he had accidentally fallen into the "disaster" level of difficulty during an otherwise peaceful run. Is this really just an S+ quest? Fighting those assassins was clearly easier than this!