A tall wall with rocky holds that were just begging to be climbed appeared in Kiernan's path.
It was a very tall wall, so high that the top wasn't quite visible.
'The first challenge is a climb?'
Kiernan gritted his teeth. He didn't hesitate because hesitation would cost time. He sprang off the ground, grabbed one of the holds, placed his feet, and started ascending the wall.
He started quickly and easily started to make his way up. The bottom holds were very easy to grip, but as he reached higher, the holds became smaller and further apart.
When he was about twenty meters up, he glanced down just for a brief moment and realized what would happen if he fell.
He could actually die.
'No one has fallen before? It doesn't matter how special this place is—if this place causes deaths, it would've been closed, no?'
Kiernan reached his hand up to one of the holds, grabbed it tight, and pushed himself up. The lungs were on fire, his arms ached, and his heart was pounding in his chest.
He wanted to go faster as every hold cost him more time, but he was afraid that he might actually fall down to his death.
'Fuck. How long has it been already? One minute? Two minutes?'
He wondered as he kept climbing, but he didn't bother to look up, so he couldn't tell how far he was from the top.
At that moment, he tried to reach for the holds above him, but his eyes widened in surprise as he noticed that the next holds were so high that he couldn't grab them.
He had to jump to reach them.
Kiernan risked it all, bent his knees down, and then launched himself off the wall. He reached his hand up, but his fingertips barely brushed against the next hold.
'I didn't jump high enough!'
He started to fall, but he quickly grabbed onto the ledge under him just in time—he barely fell as a result of that.
Kiernan howled in anger, began climbing up again, and when he was at the jump spot, he roared and just launched him up, using the power of his explosive leg muscles.
He grabbed hard on the hold and pulled himself up. Instead of stopping in that. He kept climbing up faster and faster, but then, he grabbed the top ledge, and as he pulled himself up, he saw a smooth path ahead.
He made it to the top of the first climb!
'Finally!' Kiernan breathed heavily. 'How long did that shit take?'
It was very exhausting for him already.
His hands looked red with raw skin, and his muscles ached. It also didn't help that his lungs felt like they were burning from the effort.
"Kiernan, you lazy fuck, keep going!"
Kiernan yelled at himself and forced himself to start running. It only took a moment for him to run at his maximum pace.
It made his body burn in a way that it felt like it was being consumed by flames.
'Is this next challenge just running or what?' Kiernan wondered as he looked ahead.
It was only a straight path, quite wide, but it seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance. It was quite dark, making it hard to see the actual ending.
It was like these challenges were made to seem never-ending to make the challengers become more discouraged to continue.
However, then the ceiling started to shake as if there were giants dancing on top of it. The ceiling then crumbled apart, forcing Kiernan to stop running, and through the debris, silver-eyed stone golems emerged, blocking his path.
The stone golems were large, broad-shouldered, and had fists the size of boulders.
'What the hell is this? Do I have to go through them, or do I have to defeat them? I don't see how defeating them is possible as I am Unranked!'
Kiernan gritted his teeth hard.
He thought inside his mind to check out his system, but shockingly enough, his system interface didn't appear in front of him.
'This place even stops me from using the system? What the hell is this place?!'
The stone golem brought his fist down, and Kiernan put his arms up to shield himself, but the fist threw him off his feet, and he crashed into the wall next to him.
The wall dented from the impact.
Kiernan coughed out blood and collapsed on his knees.
'All right, what the hell? How did that Zeus guy beat this challenge in six minutes? This is insanity, and how come no one has died here before?!'
The stone golem brought his fist down again.
Kiernan sprang off his feet and smashed his fist at the boulder-sized fist.
The stone fist cracked!
Kiernan's fingers bruised upon the impact, and he quickly retreated back with a jump.
'The strength of my body is now weaker. The strength and durability of my Martial Champion physique are gone. I can use even fewer techniques than before.
The stone golem raised its fist and hammered it down.
Kiernan leaped off the ground and whipped his leg through the stone fist. The stone fist exploded, but the stone golem looked unfazed and slammed its other fist into Kiernan's abdomen, knocking the wind out of him.
The punch sent him back, and he rolled onto the ground, gasping for air.
He breathed heavily, and then, he lifted his head to look straight into the stone golem's silver eyes and kicked himself off the ground.
The right hand of his started to spin around like a drill.
Kiernan's hand touched the stone golem's face. The rock-made neck twisted around, and its head turned around backwards with a sickening crack.
The stone golem collapsed on its knees—the light in its silver eyes faded off.
The word "Iron" vanished from one of his fingers.
However, before he could catch his breath, shadows fell over him like blankets of darkness, enveloping him in a suffocating embrace.
He raised his head and saw three more golems standing in front of his path, staring down at him as if he were just an insect.
"Angry that I killed a brother of yours?" Kiernan showed his clenched fist. "What will you do about it?"
The stone golems remained silent, their stone faces unmoved by Kiernan's taunts. However, their fists started to fall down on him like comets falling from the sky.