After Rule One was cleared, the environment inside the Third Floor began to change.

  The entire floor fell into complete silence.

  Winay turned toward the slab and began reading again.

  Rule 2 – Don’t Get Defeated Yourself

  Know yourself.

  Overcome yourself.

  Survive yourself.

  Walk through the three gates and prove yourself.

  The moment Winay finished reading the slab—

  Three gates appeared across the floor.

  Each gate emitted a different aura.

  New words began appearing on the slab.

  Overcome the Three Gates

  Fear

  Doubt

  Arrogance

  Remember:

  To survive the real battlefield, you must first survive yourself.

  Winay observed the gates calmly.

  “So I need to pass through these gates…”

  “But what exactly is waiting inside them?”

  He stepped forward and entered the Gate of Fear.

  Gate of Fear

  The moment he entered—

  A figure appeared in front of him.

  It was another Winay.

  An identical copy.

  Winay paused.

  “A test against myself…”

  He recalled the rule again.

  The rule clearly stated:

  You cannot defeat them.

  If you kill them, you fail.

  “That means the key is not defeating the opponent.”

  “The rule only says… don’t get defeated yourself.”

  Winay thought carefully.

  I do not fear myself.

  And I do not fear my actions.

  Without reacting to the copy, Winay simply walked past it.

  He exited the gate.

  next..

  Gate of Doubt

  Winay entered the second gate.

  “This represents doubt.”

  Another identical copy appeared.

  Winay watched it quietly.

  “I cannot acknowledge something I don’t possess.”

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  “I do not doubt myself.”

  Once again, he ignored the copy and walked past it.

  The second gate disappeared.

  The final gate awaited him.

  Gate of Arrogance

  “This must represent arrogance.”

  A third copy appeared.

  Winay stared at it calmly.

  “I’m not arrogant.”

  “I’m confident.”

  His thoughts never wavered.

  He walked forward without hesitation.

  The moment he passed the gate—

  All three clones vanished.

  The gates disappeared completely.

  A voice echoed across the floor.

  “You have cleared Rule Two without taking action.”

  “This proves your unique mindset.”

  “Clearance record noted.”

  Winay looked around.

  “Again it says noted.”

  “So the ruins are recording results…”

  The voice spoke again.

  “Next: Rule Three.”

  “Let us see how confident you are.”

  “Please read the slab for further instructions.”

  Winay frowned slightly.

  “Why does that sound like it’s directed at me specifically…?”

  He shook his head.

  “Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

  He turned toward the slab again.

  Rule 3 – Defeat Me

  Winay blinked.

  “That’s it?”

  “No explanation this time?”

  He crossed his arms.

  “The ruins are called the Designer’s Ruins…”

  “So do I need to defeat the designer?”

  He shook his head.

  “No… that doesn’t make sense.”

  “Then what exactly am I supposed to defeat?”

  Winay activated Void Eye.

  He scanned the entire floor.

  “There’s nothing above.”

  “Nothing around me.”

  “And nothing on the surface of the floor.”

  He turned his gaze toward the slab again.

  “Wait…”

  “Is that an inscription?”

  Winay injected a small amount of Void energy into the slab.

  Nothing happened.

  “Why isn’t it reacting?”

  He began walking toward the center of the floor.

  Suddenly—

  He noticed something.

  A thin beam of energy connected the ceiling and the floor.

  “That looks suspicious…”

  Winay focused his Void Eye deeper.

  Then he saw it.

  “A core?”

  Hidden beneath the floor.

  “It looks like the power source of the third floor.”

  He thought carefully.

  “The rule says… defeat me.”

  “The rule is tied to the floor itself.”

  “That means…”

  “I need to defeat the floor mechanism.”

  “And the only way to do that…”

  “Is to destroy the core.”

  Winay considered the idea for two minutes.

  “There doesn’t seem to be any other option.”

  He raised his fist.

  “Alright.”

  Winay smashed the center of the floor with his bare hand.

  The ground cracked open.

  A hidden chamber appeared beneath the surface.

  “So the core is inside a chamber.”

  But the moment the floor opened—

  A sudden energy outburst exploded upward.

  Winay was thrown backward.

  “Huff—!”

  “What was that?”

  “That didn’t feel like a strong explosion… yet it still threw me away.”

  He analyzed the energy.

  “Just before the burst… I sensed Void energy.”

  “And also traces of fire and lightning energy.”

  Winay stood up again.

  “Let’s try again.”

  This time he covered his body completely with Void energy.

  He activated Erase.

  “I need to be careful.”

  Winay jumped into the chamber.

  Inside, the core floated in the center.

  But this time—

  The energy reaction was weaker.

  “Wait…”

  “This isn’t an outburst.”

  “It’s an energy clash.”

  Winay realized something.

  “When I broke the floor earlier, I destroyed a node connected to the core.”

  “That node released all its stored energy at once.”

  “That’s why it felt like an explosion.”

  He looked at the core again.

  “But even if I reach it…”

  “I can’t destroy this with physical force.”

  “And Void energy is mixed into the core.”

  “Normal techniques won’t work.”

  Winay sighed.

  “That means I only have one option.”

  “Singularity Crush.”

  He remembered the last time he used the technique.

  “It gave me a massive headache.”

  “But there’s no other choice.”

  He began condensing his spirit energy.

  Then separately condensed his soul energy.

  “Both energies must be combined carefully.”

  He noticed something interesting.

  “There’s a major Void node above the core.”

  Winay gathered several small nodes around the chamber.

  He pulled them toward the main node using condensed Void energy.

  The moment the nodes aligned—

  The major node became fully exposed.

  Winay raised his hand.

  “Now…”

  “Singularity Crush.”

  The gathered nodes were pulled violently toward the main node.

  Condensed Void energy exploded outward.

  Space itself cracked.

  The destructive burst shattered the core instantly.

  Because the major node absorbed the excess energy—

  The explosion remained contained.

  Winay had already stepped away from the chamber.

  He waited.

  The core had been destroyed.

  But the floor remained stable.

  “That’s strange…”

  “I thought destroying the core would collapse the entire floor.”

  Suddenly—

  A voice echoed again.

  “You became the unexpected.”

  “You created an unknown variable.”

  “And became one yourself.”

  “This is noted.”

  Winay frowned.

  “What does that even mean?”

  The voice continued.

  “Achievement evaluated.”

  “Reward granted for successfully clearing the floor.”

  “Void Resonance Stone.”

  “Please collect your reward.”

  Winay looked toward the shattered core.

  A black-purple stone floated above the remains.

  Its edges were sharp.

  Void energy pulsed from inside it.

  “So this is the reward…”

  He approached the stone.

  The moment he touched it—

  Void energy rushed into his body.

  Winay sat down immediately.

  He began absorbing the energy.

  “My soul energy is already recovering…”

  “What kind of stone is this?”

  Then—

  A strange itching sensation appeared in his eyes.

  Winay frowned.

  “This feeling again…”

  “It’s the same sensation I felt during the trial grounds.”

  But this time—

  The sensation was stronger.

  And it was centered in his right eye.

  recording something unusual about Winay.