Boooooooooooring! Why did she decide to agree to this quest? On the bulletin board of Ifasstin, the guild quest mentioned three young boys in need of a fourth party member for a quick dungeon. Money for equipment repair were offered, plus the split of the final loot. With the famous Summer Festival three days away, she agreed to the mission. Truth be told, the kids were more than capable - maybe not as strong as her, but good enough to deal with most foes. They only needed a fourth to activate four switches deep in the dungeon simultaneously and the anti-magic barriers around them ruled out any trickery. She was yawning most of the time, watching as two of the boys were sprinting and rushing forward with more flashy than effective combos. The third guy, the shy one, stood behind, a little frightened, holding his gnarled staff from a distance, enchanting the rest of the team with defensive spells. Not that she needed them, she really could not even get to the mobs in time with her heavy armor! The woman was named Leonora, but quickly renamed Leo by the kids, and was obviously bigger, taller than them. Stoic and serious, she was a paladin, proud member of the House of Ymone, the Goddess the festival was celebrating. White armor, thick shield, heavy sword that she was certain the boys could not even lift. Full equipment, white and pure, clashing hard with what the others were wearing. The boys had seen her face rarely until this point: violet fur framed a stern feline muzzle, a dark purple tail ringed with black stripes swaying behind her, the rest hidden beneath that shining armor. The boys, by contrast, looked like cosplayers at best: the team leader, Andrew, the confident one, wore no real armor at all, just something resembling a magician's tunic, counting on agility to survive and on his two short blades that he was enchanting with various offensive spells. She pegged him for a young grey wolf: white tail, oversized ears, just a tuft of white fur between them, and the kind of eager grin that screamed the he could overcome everything. Annoying. Jeff, if she remembered right, was in leather: same acrobatic style as Andrew, but sneakier. Venom on his knives, constant movement, loud when nervous. Yellow-furred with bright blue hair and long, floppy rabbit ears that made him look more mascot than assassin. Then there was the backliner; Shane? Shad? Something shy. Always panting, out of mana, clinging to a gnarled staff that looked too big for him. Brown fur, floppy canine ears, a thick tail curled up behind him - another pup, clearly. Younger than the other two, with the kind of scared expression you’d expect from someone tossed into a real fight for the first time. What level were they, anyway? The shy kid looked inexperienced, probably very underleveled compared to the other two, but the fact that she was not in their guild or friendlist she could not really tell. The quest required level 6 so they were probably just that. At level 9, she was confident she outmatched them all. If only they allowed her to reach the enemies and show them what an adult is capable of... She was bored, unfocused, to the point she did not listen to the kids when they alerted her of an obvious trap. That pressure plate could be spotted even without the spy-eyes perks that Jeff had, yet she realised her noob mistake only when it was too late. Hers and the kids' immediate reaction was to freeze when they heard deep clanking noises from the distance. They crouched a little when those noises got louder and closer, ready to dodge and dash away. They stood frozen in silence, only the cleric shuddered and gasped as the dungeon's dim light shifted to a deep red. Then, calmness again and soon the ethreal shape of an arched door appeared on the wall next to the paladin. "Uh." Was the woman's first reaction as she took off the heavy helm to be able to study the... thing. "That's not in my map" was instead Jeff's reaction. "Maybe- maybe we should skip this...?" Shane held his staff tightly against the chest, his big tail between the legs, trembling a little too. Natural reaction, from what she could have seen until now, but the hesitation of the other two kids was new. She was doubly intrigued now, taking a step closer to the wall and provoking yet another gasp from the whimsy cleric. "This must be high level stuff, Leo. Even I did not see it..." Jeff warned her, standing away from her, but her hand was already reaching out to touch the wall. Or at least that's what she'd expect, instead her fingers disappeared inside the wall, only to be still there as she retreated the hand. "Illusory magic? Here? That's odd..." Now it was Andrew's turn to be concerned. The next attempt to pierce through the illusion wall with the whole hand was stopped cold: a heavy wooden door materialized, slotting perfectly into the fading ethereal lines of the wall. A black emblem was in the middle of the wall, standing up from the wood, used as handles to open the door. Etched on the center was the same stylized tree that marked her armor and shield, emblem of her sacred Order. Maybe only members of her Order could find it? Must have been the reason the kids could not notice it! She pulled the handles, opened the heavy door with ease: the force of sunlight blinded all four adventurers. The kids averted their eyes, covered them with their paws, but when they got used to the sudden change of light they'd find the woman had already stepped inside. The door closed behind her with a dull thoom, sealing the blinding light back into its frame. The boys stood frozen before it, three pairs of eyes squinting into the shimmer left behind. "...She really went in," Jeffy muttered, his voice low and tense. "She didn't even wait," Shane added, holding his staff close, his ears twitching nervously. "W-What if it closes behind her? What if it's... sealed now?" "It didn't shut. I can feel its magic emanating still." Andrew took a step forward, paw up in the air with a faint glow pulsing from the palm, then stopped. "But it's not on the map. And it's too bright. That's not right for an intermediate dungeon." Jeffy frowned. "You think she triggered a divine event? Look at the emblem on the door. Did you notice the mark on her chest?" "Heh, of course you were checking her chest" Andrew grinned back at him. It was just a chuckle before the gravity of the situation took over again and they just stared at the glowing doorway, jaw tight. The red lighting in the corridor flickered once, then dimmed further as if whatever power had awakened was pulling magic inward, fading and dying, urging them to make a quick decision. Shane's voice was barely a whisper now. "We don't have to go in. We could- uhm... wait for her. She's strong." "Yeah," Jeffy said, but his ears were low. "She's also reckless. And if she gets cursed or snared or warped-" "She's alone," Andrew finished. He looked back at the others, eyes narrowed, then back at the light. "We're a party. We don't leave someone behind." The three of them stepped forward together. They did not need to open the door, just touch it. The moment their paws met the wood golden light exploded around them, warm and blinding. A moment of heat, energy ran through their bodies and a moment later the cold dungeon air had vanished, replaced by something. Their paws touched down not on dirt and stone, but marble polished so perfectly it mirrored their stunned expressions back at them. They were no longer in a dungeon: what surrounded them now was an impossible cathedral! Aisles of towering columns stretched in every direction, seemingly endless, bathed in sunlight pouring through stained-glass windows that shouldn't exist underground. Each window depicted stylized scenes—warriors kneeling, shields lowered, blades abandoned. Many bore the symbol of the stylized tree etched into Leonora's armor... though some now appeared twisted, half-melted, as if memory itself had warped the glass. The space was unnaturally quiet. No wind, no echo. Even their footsteps were muffled. "W-We're not supposed to be here," Shane whispered. "This isn't dungeon content. This is..." "...something personal." Andrew finished, scanning the far end of the chamber. "Look." At the center of the cathedral, atop a gentle rise, stood Leonora. Her back to them, bathed in divine light, hand reaching toward a golden object suspended above an altar. Jeffy squinted at the glowing walls, then at the stained glass, then at the holy golden haze that made his fur prickle. He groaned. "Why is it that every time there's some weird cursed divine nonsense, it's always with you two?" Andrew’s hand landed flat on Jeffy’s head with a deaf smack that surprisingly did not echo in the empty hall. "Because you’re around us twenty-four seven, genius." Jeffy grumbled something incoherent, flicked his nose and rubbed his ears. Shane snorted, trying not to laugh, ears perked a little for the first time since they entered. The tension didn’t vanish, but it softened just enough to let them breathe. "Ok let's leave her alone, we should not distu-" A sharp little cry escaped Shane's mouth and interrupted his words as soon as he turned around looking for the exit. "THE DOOR!" Behind them, there was the same endless amount of colonnaded isles. They didn’t even have time to grasp what it meant. The relic pulsed. And everything changed. Again. Everything was white. Everything was light. The boys could barely see each other through the radiance, disoriented. At its center stood Leonora, her palm pressed to the relic, unflinching. She felt magic run through her, powerful and overwhelming, scrutinising. It read her past. It read her present. It read her futures. The runes on the relic stirred to life, once etched in stone, now flowing and shifting like dark ink suspended in water. They twisted, shimmered, and re-formed endlessly across the surface of light.. It was dead, a lost language, but the woman could feel what they meant: "Prove your worth" The same words echoed in her head in that unfamiliar language. The shuffled around, mingled, formed a new word, now in her language: "pride". The word changed shape, becoming clearer, sharper, familiar. The font adapted to the same clean, formal stle as the classic quests appearing before her eyes. And then: Judgment detected: Pride. Initiating trial... please wait... The relic pulsed. Not a sound, not a quake-just force. Light rippled outward from Leonora in rings of raw magic, and the ancient runes followed. They circled her feet first, then her waist, then her chest and shoulders—swirling upward, widening like halos drawn by divine hands. The boys were finally able to see Leonora again, surrounded by the light and those swirling ominous black runes. They stumbled back, shielding their eyes as the luminous script spun faster and hotter, illuminating more than the radiance itself. They couldn’t see, couldn’t feel. Just white. Shane screamed, or tried to. His mouth opened wide, but no sound came. Then the runes moved up way over their heads before crashing down without a noise. The light faded, leaving space to the sun, to air, to an opened space that was even more impossible that the cathedral. The kids looked around in awe: each one of the runes had slammed into the ground to form a circle of small menhirs. Each stone had the same runes labeled over them, symbols that the kids could not read. "What... what is this..." The most restless one was Andrew, who felt the ancient, undomitable power of that magic. Ground underneath them, a mixture of dirt and grass, the slight breeze bringing the smell of dew to their noses. The place felt so peaceful and immaculate, with the noise of a river nearby and the wind blowing through the trees surrounding what was without a doubt an arena. Shane tripped and fell backwards, then they all looked at the paladin. Floating text appeared before each of them. Bright. Imposing. Inevitable. Divine Emergency Quest Accepted. Trial of Pride - Phase One Objective: Subdue the challenger before the timer runs out. Remove the challenger's armor and bind her with the Mark of Humilty. Time limit: 15 minutes. Conditions: No lethal damage. No condition inflicted is permanent. Divine protection is active on the hallowed ground. Reward: Exit unlocked. Failure: Divine judgement. "D-divine judgment?!" Shane almost fainted reading it, but was helped up on his feet by the friends. Andrew's UI flickered again with a new blessing: "Party commander privilege unlocked. Every spell or attack used by your teammates is boosted if suggested by you. Every spell or attack used by your teammates is halved if they don't follow you." He gritted his teeth, looked up at Leonora... "We... we need to follow my lead, ok? She looks..." "Possessed?" "Crazy?" Both boys tried to finish the phrase of the friend. "... boosted." he continued, studying her new appearance. Leonora was standing still at the center of the arena, back straight, eyes closed as the last of the lights swirled gently around her form. Her shining armor looked almost dusty compared to the intense radiance glowing around her. "Boosted?! She has a fucking flame aura! This is cheating!" Jeff responded, naturally taking half a step forward to place himself between the threat and his friend Shane, shoulder to shoulder with Andrew. Golden seals glowed over her wrists and then fused with the hands and the sword when she unsheathed it and assumed a fighting position. The shield? Forgotten, dropped and left to sink into the soft earth. She did not need it. The radiance pulsed a few times, then remained as a faint aura of holy might around her and her equipment. Her voice was calm, confident, prideful. "Is this really a test?" The glyphs over the menhirs glowed in a faint red light, pulsing faster and faster. In the air over their heads, the timer appeared signing the fifteen minutes that the quest mentioned. "Fifteen minutes? They won't even manage to scratch me in thir- what?" The timer shifted immediately, doubling the time limit. She snapped her tongue in irritation. The sound of a bell coming from all directions and all the glyphs locked in a deep red - danger. One toll and they shifted to amber fire. One more toll and they turned emerald. The last final toll extinguished their light. 29:59, 29:58... timer started ticking down. Leonora’s eyes snapped open the instant the final toll faded. They were not her usual green, but glowing in gold. No hesitation, no warning — just motion. The dirt under her boots exploded as she lunged foward. A trail of burned grass was left behind. She was on them in a second, faster than anyone in full armor had any right to be. "Move!" Andrew barked, grabbing Shane’s robes and diving to the side just in time as the paladin’s sword came down hard right on the exact spot they’d been standing. The sword dove in the earth like butter. Dust flew in the air, clogging the view of her blade. A shockwave of divine energy made her mantle and the robes of the kids flutter. "Holy crap!" Jeffy rolled to his feet, fur bristling. "Did she just try to cleave us?!" 29:35... "Eeep!" With his tail and staff between the legs, grabbed by the friend to avoid the first hit, Shane had just fallen on the ground a couple steps away from the radiant paladin. "She’s not holding back! Watch out!" Andrew was holding onto the friend's robe to try and help him up on his paws again, but Leonora did not hesitate to exploit that moment of weakness. She did not retreat the blade from the ground, she swung it right through the terrain with impossible might, aiming the next hit right on the cleric. The two kids could only close their eyes for the shining glow and flinch. A dull noise, no actual blow landed as a glowing golden barrier appeared around the scared kid to absorb the hit. Leonora shook, her whole body weak, hit with the same force of the blow she was going to land. Almost thrown off balance, she found her equipment impossibly heavy, forcing her down on one knee to regain her balance. They were all in silence. Above Leonora, a new line of text flickered across the air: Divine Protection: Fatal blow negated. Trial compliance enforced. Movement penalty: 60 seconds. Jeffy’s jaw dropped. Andrew blinked. Shane slowly opened one eye and found himself alive. "What the-?" Jeff started, while Andrew's mind was already working and processing. Leader mode: activated. He glanced between the friend, the paladin, the line of text. "Interesting..." Then his eyes went down to one of his blades. He moved without a warning. Shane gave a yelp as he was dropped again, just in time to see him lunge forward and aim for a quick hit on her helmet. He recoiled. His blade was ripped from his grip and flung in the air. His wrist hurt enough to leave him wincing before a new line of text appeared over him: Divine Protection: Aggression blocked. Force redirected. No penalty. In the remaining seconds of Leonora's debuff, the kids would be able to regain their composure and formation. Andrew and Jeff helped the cleric up and they all ran towards the spellblade to collect it again. Leonora could only follow them with the gaze, glaring at them. She then looked up, counting the countdown along with the timer until she'd feel a relief on her body. Strength was back, but her eyes returned to their normal coloration. She planted the sword in the ground to help herself up more quickly, then growled at the now green UI signaling the end of the punishment. Yet to be defeated by these arbitrary rules, she held the sword with both hands again and sprinted forward. She was just as quick as before, but there was no trail of burnt grass left behind this time. Her fists clenched hard around the hilt as she tried a new attack. A slash, harder than the first two, aimed to sweep all kids at once. Shane yelped again, dragged away by the quick reaction of Jeff. He was pulled so hard by the friend the robe almost tore! But Andrew... Another dull noise. Another explosion of dust made it hard to see the result of the blow but as it thinned out the boys could see that the friend did not move from his position. He did flinch, of course, he shut the eyes too, but his test resulted positive as the imposing figure of the woman was once again on her knees, her blade fallen next to her knee: Divine Protection: Repeated violation. Disarmed penalty: 90 seconds. Leonora was yet to be defeated, especially not so quickly! Yet she was gasping for air, to the point to lifted her -oh so heavy- arm to remove the helmet and breathe better. The piece of armor fell on the ground with a clang as she was unable to hold it anymore. It felt like she had used her last strength to do that simple motion. Beads of sweat were running down the fur of her muzzle, falling on the shining armor. The words above her pulsed in soft gold: Disarmed Penalty: 65 seconds... 64... 63... She didn't move. In front of her, Andrew was still standing there, looking down at her. She felt a flush of blood on her cheeks, silently ashamed with the young boy towering over her, yet her resolution was not broken. Her ears flicked. She bared her fangs slightly. "I’m not done!" "I know~" Andrew said quietly. "But let's see now..." His shadow casted over her, she reacted by lifting both her arms in an attempt to push him away, but was so weak, so slow. Then, calmly, he placed his hands on her shoulders and shoved gently. It wasn’t rough. Not even firm. Just a gentle press — and something gave out beneath it. Her balance. Her strength. Her pride. They all faded away and she collapsed backward with a soft grunt, armor clinking awkwardly as she hit the ground, flat on her back. Her gaze darted to the sky — and stayed there, stunned. The blow cut her breath, making her exhale in defeat a moment later. Jeffy let out a quiet "...oh." Shane smiled, actually. "... that's it? We passed?" Andrew just crouched beside her, resting his elbows on his knees. "You look cuter this way, you know?" The taunt hit her hard, yet she did not respond. Her lack of retort was immediately followed by a pulsing red UI appearing over her. Submission Threshold Nearing. Disarmed status: permanent. STR adjustment: -100% Leonora's arms limped at her sides. Her gulp was loud, resigned. A simple shove and her tenacity was toppled. Between the sweat, one might have notice a single tear getting quickly absorbed by her fur. A golden UI appeared in front of Andrew, inches away from the pulsing alert over Leonora. Divine Trial: Phase One Nearing Completion Challenger Status: Knocked down Would you like to apply the Mark of Humility? [Accept]  [Decline] Andrew looked away, checking on his friends. They both were staring at the same message that just appeared in front of them. They nodded at the same time and reached their hands to accept. Their right paws faintly glowed in the same golden light that once was covering Leonora. The UI changed, explaining the next steps of the challenge and reminding them of their task. Mark of Humilty: remove the opponent's armor and apply your mark on the body. You need to hold it for 15 seconds. Any interruption resets the counter. Failing to apply all three marks within one minute from one another invalidates the attempt and reset all counters. "A-another challenge?" Shane groaned but Jeff shoved him playfully, almost making him trip again. "You've done nothing until now!" The three friends laughed heartily after the commotion of the quick battle, brushing off the tension. They turned serious a few moments later when Shane and Jeff approached the leader and the defeated opponent. They were towering over her, but she recovered enough composure to growl and snap her tongue at them. A theatrically comic attempt then ensued, with the visibly weak and defenseless paladin watching as the kids played a quick game of rock paper scissors in front of her to decide who had to dare and remove the armor. It was Andrew in the end who groaned after yet another inconclusive round. "Let's just remove it together, we don't know if the effects are actually permanent!" But when all agreed and were to kneel down, the two older friends faked it and let the poor cleric be the first one to move down. "... I hate you guys" They laughed it off but held their breath when Shane tried his best and eventually removed one of her boots, freeing a feline paw. They soon followed the friend and the woman would have her limbs free from that heavy armor. Toned muscles on thighs and forearms, strong but useless in that occasion, since every attempt she made to push them away resulted in nothing more than a tickle. "Mew guys are so dead!" She threatened. "Oh? Did you just say mew?~" Andrew blinked, then pulled out that grin she had hated since the first time she saw it in the dungeon. Shane let out a cute gasp, hands on cheeks: "That was adorable!" Her tail bristled, she huffed through her nose and... "I did nyot!" "... you totally did." Jeff chimed in. She bit her tongue, while her ears twitched in protest. That aura of menace and almighty power? Completely gone. By the time the breastplate was removed, she was in her underarmor, which consisted in linen clothing clad tightly around her forms. It was white, pure, meant to be worn under the armor to avoid the direct contact with the fur and skin. Breathless, cheeks still burning, she made her move: one desperate lunge while the boys were busy with the heavy plates. Her knees let out a protest as she sprinted away, gaining a few steps of advantage from the group. Andrew gave a stern look at Jeff. After all, he was the ranger, he was supposed to apply controls and snares on the opponents! The friend shrugged in return with a clueless expression. A groan from both and they started chasing, while Shane was left with a way too heavy plate that made him trip. Again. He huffed. They were used to agile movements, so the chase was not going to last long, but her constant changes of directions made it a little harder, wasting precious minutes of time. Timer was down to 20:00 now. Damned her pride, if she did not brag so much, she'd need only another five minutes of resistance! The two eventually cornered the liger, tackling her at the height of the waist. They all fell together on the hard ground, but again a golden protection eased the blow. Over them, another UI. Divine protection: ribcage protected. The three were all breathless and panting, while Shane was slowly reaching them. The armor was far away, just like the sword and shield. A pressure of knees on her arms was preventing any further movement. "Think you can snare her this time, instead of doing absolutely nothing?!" Andrew barked at his friend, who grumbled and started using some ropes to bind her and prevent any more escape. "W-wait..." Shane interrupted shily. "We could... uhm... keep her muzzle free? Just in case she- you know... she mewls again?" She bared her fangs and growled once more. "Fair point. But if she bites, I'm taking your part of the dungeon loot." Jeff said, proceeding to avoid binding her mouth. Leonora's ears twitched violently as she did not thank him, actually snapped her teeth in the air, just close enough to make the boy retreat the hand instinctively. "See?!" "Ok, fifteen seconds it says. Let's try together?" And the boys all pressed their glowing paws on the paladin's body, on the only revealed part of the body around the belly button. Leonora tensed beneath them, breath hitching as the contact triggered a radiant surge. Her fur shimmered in golden light, and a soft ticking countdown floated into view above her. Fifteen seconds. Long. Eternal. None of the kids dared to breathe, their focus absolute, paws steady even as the glow pulsed like a heartbeat. Leonora remained still beneath them, either too weak or too stunned to resist. A new UI, emerald borders, notification of success. Divine Trial: Phase One completed. Challenger Status: Subdued. Bonus challenge: Subdue within the original time limit - Completed. Bonus reward: New items unlocked. The golden sheen gradually faded from Leonora’s belly but the pawprints remained, embedded in her fur like glowing tattoos. One for each of them. She blinked at the symbols in stunned silence, as if hoping they'd vanish with enough willpower. They didn't. Another UI, sapphire in color, with an exclamation mark in the corner: Divine Trial: Phase Two ready to start. Equip the reward item to continue. New items will be unlocked as the phases progress. The boys looked around. "Reward item...?" They checked their inventory, any bag they had - And Jeff tons of bags! - until before their eyes started materialising something. It floated in the air, surrounded by golden light. Definitely the reward: a strap of pink leather, with fluffy sews to make it even more adorable; definitely not what anyone would've expected. A little bell decorated it. Andrew inspected it and the name and attributes of the item appeared underneath it: Collar of proximity Type: Accessory Slot: Necklace Stats: xxxxx Effect: - Cannot be unequipped by the wearer - The wearer can't stray more than 10 steps away from the designated ally - Gives the wearer the active ability Soothing Purring - The bell starts ringing if the wearer exceeds the range or tells a lie "We are dead when she recovers, aren't we?" Shane chuckled nervously, gripping on his staff like a lifeline. "Yeah, I'm not getting near her muzzle again." Jeff shook his head and took a step back. "Guys... come on... it's not like this will be permanent or anything..." Andrew sighed and reached out his hand to collect the item. As he touched it, it vanished with a soft click. A moment later, the collar appeared around Leonora's neck, perfectly fastened, the bell giving one gentle innocent chime.