Chapter 231
I swung my sword like a madman.
I felt like letting go of my sanity was the key to surviving this madness.
—Kreeeek!
Monsters that weren’t just magical beasts, nor Altife, but actual abominations.
I’d grown somewhat accustomed to the ghastly noises they made.
Who knows how many times I had thrust and slashed by now? Thousands, perhaps.
Without the ability to use magic, I swung my sword using pure physical strength. Of course, I couldn’t use any aura or any fancy power.
Breaking through those monsters’ tough hides relied on my muscles.
Carving through their flesh was done with my blood.
In this trial world, death didn’t actually exist.
Even if my body got sliced in half, my head chopped off, or every drop of blood was drained from me.
It was like my game character had unlimited life points.
My body had been resurrected countless times, and on my 78th comeback while gripping the sword, I managed to wipe out an army of 60,000 that looked like a swarm of black ants.
And then…
As if acknowledging that I had defeated all the foes, the sword in my hand turned to ashes and scattered in the wind.
Looks like even in a world like this, there’s a flow of air.
I shook off the black ashes left on my palm and finally let out a sigh.
“Turns out not being able to use magic was pretty lethal. If I could, just five fingers worth of death would have sufficed.”
That was my honest feeling after clearing this stage.
No matter how much of a trial it was, not letting a magician use magic? Seriously?
Thanks to that, I swung my sword until my arm muscles nearly burst, barely managing to get through the stage.
Oh, when I say ‘stage,’ that’s just me trying to label things because this trial world wasn’t kind enough to provide any directions.
For reference, the stage I just cleared was the 24th.
“Phew…”
I slowly exhaled, trying to calm my thumping heart that felt like it would burst out of my chest.
Thanks to my heart supplying way more oxygen than needed, I risked hyperventilation.
Then I tore off the clothes covered in thick, sticky blood and threw them aside.
Fortunately (?) if my clothes or sword got damaged, they magically restored to a clean state.
The sword I’d been given wasn’t a legendary blade or relic, just an ordinary iron sword, so after a few stabs or swings, the edge would dull.
In fact, it got smeared with the monsters’ blood and oil, making it far less effective, so breaking it intentionally in spots was actually better.
Nevertheless, even though my body could resurrect, the pain and fatigue remained.
It lingered as it was.
Should I consider myself fortunate that my wounds have somewhat healed?
I’m neither a swordsman like Arterion nor a swordmage like Alicia, yet I can’t quite understand why I had to madly dance with my sword.
…Well, what can I do about it?
This is the trial I chose, the unique spell I decided on.
All I can do is tough it out.
Whining and collapsing is a waste of life.
Besides, it’s not like there’s no reward at all.
‘I’ll be able to retain all the suffering and combat I experience here as memories. In a way, it’s similar to the magic Alicia used to overcome her trauma.’
When I finally finish all the trials, I don’t know if my body will remember everything, but there have been similar cases with Alicia and Finn proving that it’s helpful.
I should have some expectations.
“Oops….”
I managed to regain my balance just in time, almost tipping over.
I felt dizzy like I had been hit on the head.
It was just a temporary phenomenon, but fatigue had certainly built up.
Well, it’s understandable considering I’m repeating this crazy stunt for the 25th time.
I firmly planted my legs against the ceiling and sharpened my senses to respond to any sudden situations.
…Hmm? Why am I referring to the ‘ceiling’ and not the ‘floor’?
That’s simply how the structure of this 25th stage is.
After defeating monstrous armies, the world transformed, and I found myself in a large cave.
This place is an inverted world where up and down are switched. I stand upright like a bat next to enormous stalagmites.
Still, since the enemies aren’t rushing in like a tide, I can take a breather.
No… Saying I can ‘breathe’ might not be accurate.
It seems the constraints of this stage are ‘floor and ceiling, breath’ as my airways gradually started to get blocked.
‘So, what should I do now?’
The final lunar trial that governs all senses wasn’t just about becoming numb.
It’s not about becoming unseen or unheard; it’s more like being placed in an entirely different world.
That’s why I find myself in this incomprehensible place.
‘I said I was thoroughly prepared for Erica…’
In reality, I have absolutely no countermeasures.
Why, you ask?
Because it was impossible to prepare.
It’s nonsensical to predict the variety of trial spaces that appear randomly.
Like trying to predict what might emerge when painting on a blank white canvas with no plan.
‘Ultimately, what’s needed now is flexibility in action. The ability to quickly assess the situation and respond.’
Additionally, I must hold on tightly to prevent my mind from collapsing.
Other than that, there’s no progress to be made.
“Ha….”
Until a moment ago, I was regulating my breath to prevent hyperventilation, but now I’ve reached a point where I need to force air into my lungs to breathe.
It’s suffocating.
Like my airways are completely clogged.
At first, I thought this stage would provide a little respite, but as time passes, it’s only getting worse.
I moved my mana within my body to convert it into oxygen.
I was lucky that the mana restrictions from the previous stage had lifted.
“Ha— Ha—.”
This is as much room as I have to think of anything else.
Afterwards, I have to focus solely on breathing to barely supply myself with oxygen.
I had to focus; I could barely supply my own oxygen.
I could see beads of sweat forming on my forehead and my skin turning pale, indicating how much my body craved air.
Even though I was actively using mana, it felt like someone was choking me.
I struggled desperately to survive.
If I died, I would wake up with accumulated fatigue that was even heavier.
Having already died over 200 times, it wasn’t strange for my body to collapse at any moment.
However, I couldn’t afford to lose consciousness; I had to stop that from happening.
—Kugugugung.
And just like that, the suffocating moment passed.
Before I knew it, this stage was complete, and the world began to change again.
My body, which had been upside down, returned to the floor, and the massive cave surrounding me distorted into a different appearance… Huh? It looks similar to the cave’s shape, doesn’t it?
—Clack.
As I was transported to a new stage, my limbs were surrounded by restraints.
Chains as thick as a child’s ankles held me down, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
‘Is this a prison…?’
The walls were made of a similar material to the cave I had just been in.
The difference was the temperature had dropped significantly, making my breath visible, and iron bars blocked my escape.
It seemed that the clear condition for this stage was to escape.
“Oppa… it’s cold…”
While scanning my surroundings, I heard a young girl’s voice from afar.
I sharpened my senses and focused on the direction of the sound.
In this trial, the only voices I had heard besides my own were those of various monsters.
No matter what human language they spoke, I couldn’t predict when they might attack again.
Thinking this, as I moved my mana to check, I saw a boy and a girl huddled together in the corner of the prison, trembling.
The temperature here was at least -20 degrees, and they were relying on each other’s body heat while wearing only a thin layer of rags.
“Just hold on a bit longer… We can’t lose consciousness. The ‘Magic Instructor’ will surely come rescue us.”
“Do you really think the Magic Instructor will come…?”
“Of course, the Magic Instructor is omnipotent. They will definitely rescue us and kill the bad monsters.”
They were siblings with distinctly different appearances.
They looked too different to be considered blood relatives.
The girl, seeming to have something on her mind, hesitated before speaking cautiously.
“But Oppa… didn’t you say that when Urna burned down, the Magic Instructor didn’t come?”
“That’s….”
The boy couldn’t respond and fell silent, lowering his head instead.
He tightened his embrace around the girl, trying to alleviate her anxiety.
‘Urna… are they talking about the Urna I saw in Seiman Dungeon?’
I thought, having overheard their conversation.
Thousands of years ago, when the Goddess Church didn’t exist yet.
A city that was attacked by Seiman, one of the Twelve Divine Beasts.
It was the name of the city shown to me by Anna, the dungeon’s master and a resident of that village.
In history, Urna was ultimately destroyed, even though Seiman was thwarted by me, Erica, and Bishop Han in the dungeon.
‘I need to gather information, it seems.’
Confirming that I could manipulate mana, I severed all the chains that restrained me.
Since they were pure iron that had not been processed with any magic, cutting them was a piece of cake.
It was a pure chunk of iron, so cutting it was simple.
“Is someone there?”
With a loud clatter of thick iron falling to the ground, the boy shouted.
Instead of answering, I slowly made my way towards them.
“It’s just like back in Urna. I don’t sense any mana from these kids.”
Mana is something a person should naturally have, like blood.
But that’s only a story for the point in the novel, and in ancient times, mana didn’t exist like this.
Even if it’s just an illusion of the dungeon, it was the same in the ancient city of Urna.
I don’t know why the trial is showing me this background, but maybe it’s necessary information for clearing it.
Having more information is better than having less.
As I approached with that thought, it seemed to come off as a threat to them.
Every time I took a step, the girl tried to burrow into the boy’s arms and shivered in sync with the sounds.
The boy, wanting to protect the girl, sharpened his teary eyes and glared at me.
“D-Don’t come any closer! If you do, I won’t just sit idly by either!”
The frightful boy said bravely.
What could a normal kid with no mana do? But first, to clear up the misunderstanding, I should let them know I’m not a bad person.
“Kid, I’m not deaf, so speak clearly. If you keep making noise and disturbing my nerves, I might just tie your limbs and hypnotize you to extract information.”
“O-Oh, no…! I’m scared!”
“D-Don’t worry…! I’m here. Just hide behind me, Zagan!”
With such a gentle tone, the children shrank back even more in fear.
It’s not like I said I’d cut off their limbs, so there’s no need to be that scared…
Wait, what did he just say?
That thought hit me right after I properly looked at the kids in front of me.
I’m seeing them for the first time. Naturally, these are kids I’ve never met before.
But those round eyes, the nose resembling a “sorabongi,” and the shape of the mouth…
It feels oddly familiar.
The hair color and skin tone are slightly different, but I definitely have a memory of them.
So, I furrowed my brow and asked.
“What did you just say?”
“D-Didn’t I say to not come closer…!”
“No, not that. What did you call the kid next to you?”
“W-What…?”
Just a simple coincidence?
After all, at the time when the original story is taking place, that name is seen as a target of flames, so it wouldn’t be used as a person’s name, but given that there’s no Goddess Church now, it could be possible.
However, it was too much of a resemblance to ignore.
I pointed to the girl and asked.
“Didn’t you just call this kid ‘Zagan’?”
The boy blinked his fear-stricken eyes, trembling his lips.
He seemed reluctant to speak, so I suddenly sat down and grabbed the boy’s hair.
Trying not to make a fuss, I stuffed a nearby stone into my mouth.
I slowly turned my face and examined it.
Then I asked the name I brought out to him.
“Is your name perhaps ‘Ami’?”
It belonged to the Archbishop who was killed by Helion in Dortmund.
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