Chapter: 24
What’s going on? Am I the only one here?
As I lifted my eyelids again, I saw a translucent veil appear before me.
I know this effect.
The Protector’s Brooch.
That reward I got from catching the golem is protecting me.
Ha ha, so what?
I’m about to die anyway.
While I was lamenting my fate, watching the Minotaur raise its arms again, it suddenly halted its movements.
What’s happening? Why is it doing that?
Before long, I figured out the reason.
The Minotaur’s body was slowly disappearing from the bottom up.
The time limit for the Protector’s trial was over.
“The trial has ended. You have proven your heart of a Protector, and thus you shall be granted the right to face the next trial.”
Just as the old man’s voice finished, I heard a creaking sound as a door opened far away.
‘You… bastard…’
“You’re worse than a dog… you hybrid old man.”
No answer came.
That lousy old man.
If he isn’t saying anything, maybe he’s feeling guilty, huh?
What a petty and trashy old geezer.
Just wait and see.
Once I get into the academy, I’ll spread rumors about what kind of person Knight Ruel is.
Feel free to look forward to it.
You might not know, but I’m a transmigrator, you know.
Whipping up some plausible bad reputation for others isn’t a big deal!
Just wait until the day your honor hits rock bottom!
I’ll do whatever it takes to drag you down from your hero’s pedestal!
Once the Minotaur vanished, my skills began to perform their roles again.
An unyielding will forced my body to move.
Overcoming fear chased away the dread of pain that I would feel ahead.
Thanks to that, I managed to force myself to rise.
The first thing I did after getting up was to vomit.
Something was rising from my stomach, and I just couldn’t bear it.
Did something inside me get damaged when I was hit by the Minotaur?
When I regurgitated, blood mixed with whatever was in my stomach came pouring out.
At this rate, when I meet Posell after finishing the trial, I’ll surely get an earful.
Actually, no. My condition is so severe that they’ll probably just rush me to a doctor without even nagging.
Imagining Posell, who’s carrying me and sprinting full speed, made me chuckle.
I wonder how fast he can run?
I don’t know for sure, but it should be faster than a horse, right?
…But wait, isn’t it a bit unfair for Kal to get punished? Like he didn’t protect me properly.
If that happens, I’ll have to defend him by saying you guys did the same, you know.
Anyway, he’s the one involved with me.
That guy shouldn’t get in trouble.
After some recovery, I took a deep breath and lifted my head again.
I wonder where my shield and mace are.
I probably won’t need them in the upcoming trials, but since I’ve grown fond of them, I’d like to take them with me.
As I was turning my head to find my weapons, I discovered a potion bottle sitting in front of me.
Inside, the liquid glimmered with a faint red hue, and it swayed like starlight while glimmering.
Is this what I think it is?
There’s only one liquid that looks similar to this in the Soul Academy game.
A potion of miraculous healing.
This potion is far from ordinary HP potions.
It cures all debuffs and restores 50% of lost health—a god-tier item, indeed.
But why is it here?
Did the old man give this to me?
After almost calling the Minotaur to kill me, he hands me this to heal?
What a crazy bastard.
This isn’t like giving a pill after a beating.
I almost really died just now.
If I hadn’t accidentally gotten the Protector’s Brooch yesterday, I’d have ended up a bloody mess from the Minotaur’s fist.
And he wants to settle it with just this potion?
Where’s your conscience, holy knight?
Did you sacrifice your conscience when you devoted your body to the divine? You bastard?
In a fit of rage, I almost kicked the potion away, but I stopped myself.
Sure, that old man is awful, but the potion is innocent.
Drinking this should help a bit.
I don’t know how the recovery works, but it should at least be better than my current state.
Thinking that, I reached to open the potion but froze.
What if the old man set a trap in this too?
Such events didn’t occur in the game, so I couldn’t be sure.
Considering that he sent the Minotaur out of spite, he definitely seems like a petty human.
There’s no guarantee he didn’t do something weird here.
Unfortunately, I suppose I should postpone drinking the potion for now.
I won’t have to exert myself during the upcoming trials anyway.
So, as long as I can move my arms and legs until the trial ends, that’s enough.
Recovery can wait until I go outside.
Though I won’t be able to enter the dungeon while getting treated, I won’t level up anymore.
Ugh. My plan to hit level 10 will go down the drain.
But it couldn’t be helped.
It’s better to be safe than dead.
I don’t want to tempt fate in a reality where there’s no save point.
After putting the potion in my pocket, I set off in search of my shield and mace.
I managed to find both of them without much trouble.
The shield was dented, with a hollowed center now.
That crumpled shield was no longer functional.
The same went for the mace.
It had split in two at the handle and head, rendering it a mere hunk of junk.
Either way, trying to carry them would only weigh me down.
Both weapons had grown dear to me over the past few weeks, but now I should let them go.
I couldn’t carry around these with my already weakened frame.
Goodbye, friends. Come back in the next life as legendary items made from rare materials.
Leaving the two behind, I limped toward the opened door.
It was time for the next trial.
The chamber beyond the door wasn’t much different from before.
There was one difference.
Instead of a statue in the center, there was a stone tablet.
“This trial is the trial of the sacred. It aims to test the faith residing within you…”
I tuned out the old man rambling as I walked toward the stone tablet.
The text inscribed there was a tale of Armadi, the god of creation and lord of many deities.
Here’s the content.
While Armadi was enjoying a feast with the gods under him, the wine ran out.
He commanded a servant to fetch water, and when the servant brought the water jug, Armadi dipped his hand into it.
Slowly, the water turned a reddish hue and transformed into wine.
If you recognize it, it’s one of the tales from the Bible.
And beneath that tale, there was a text reading,
‘Summarize this tale in one sentence.’
So that’s the problem.
This question is among the more unique ones in the trial of the sacred.
The answer to the question can be found in the game, but you can also find it outside the game.
This problem is based on a tale from the French poet Byron.
Naturally, the answer to the question is the same as Byron’s response to this tale.
“…Think carefully before you answer.”
‘The water blushed upon meeting its master.’
“An ordinary water meets its master and blushes accordingly.”
That’s a lame response.
Can’t you just say it plainly?
Hah. At least it’s similar to the content, so I suppose that’s something.
As I suddenly blurted out the answer, the old man fell silent.
Old man, that’s the correct answer, right?
I have memorized all the questions that come up in this trial, so there’s no way he’s trying to cheat me here.
Admit the answer gracefully and let’s move on.
Try saying it’s wrong.
Then I’ll press you for the right answer.
While I was glaring in the direction of the voice, clearing my throat, the voice continued.
“That is correct.”
With that utterance, the door leading to the next room opened.
If only it had been like this from the start.
Let’s swiftly wrap up the next trial too.
I could feel myself getting worse and worse.
Thanks to my unbreakable will, I was standing barely, and it wouldn’t be odd for me to collapse any moment.
My body had reached its limits.
While I was holding on with sheer will, that phase wouldn’t last long.
At the very least, I needed to collapse once the trial was over and outside.
That way, Posell or Kal might find me.
Hobbling toward the next room, I was greeted by an intact shrine.
Majestic murals adorned the walls and ceiling.
Chandeliers hung above, with rows of chairs like a chapel.
As I walked down the center path, the statue of the goddess welcomed me.
“The final trial is the trial of patience. From now on, you will confront the nightmares buried deepest within you.”
‘Can we just get on with it already?’
“Old man, shut up and hurry?”
As I urged, the old man sealed his lips.
Is he sulking?
What of it?
What else can you do now?
Even during the trial of patience, why not summon a Minotaur as you did before?
After all, this is a mental trial, and there’s nothing you can do about it, right?
So skip the explanation. I feel like I’m about to collapse any minute now.
“Understood. I’ll start the trial.”
As the old man spoke, my vision went dark.
When I regained consciousness, I found myself standing in the middle of a splendid banquet hall.
Where is this?
It resembled a party for nobles in a fantasy world.
The people in the banquet hall were grouped together, wearing pristine suits and extravagant dresses.
Everyone was smiling and chatting while I stood there all alone.
What’s happening?
This wasn’t at all what I imagined the trial of patience to be.
What I’d seen in the game was supposed to be a much darker, grotesque, and chaotic nightmare.
Did the old man pull another weird trick?
Goodness gracious, he really is a narrow-minded human.
Amidst my grumbling, I caught snippets of voices near my ears.
“Is that the girl? The disgrace of the Arln family?”
“Haha, calling her a disgrace. How could you use such a lowly term?”
“But it perfectly fits that girl, doesn’t it?”
“There’s a better term than that. The shame of the Arln family.”
“Shame? Isn’t that just worse?”
The endless tirade of condemnation from those nearby could surely fill up a massive aquarium.
As I observed this scene bluntly, I realized this wasn’t my nightmare at all.
If it were my nightmare, a banquet hall wouldn’t have appeared.
If it were my nightmare, it would show a reality where Soul Academy 2 was announced as a trash game.
Or show me re-enlisting in the military.
Or perhaps illustrate the time I aimlessly wandered after leaving the orphanage.
It was clear.
This was Lucy’s nightmare.
I was witnessing what Lucy feared the most in her heart.
Was this a time she had faced in the past?
I didn’t feel any pity at all. After all, this might just be the consequences of the karma she’s built up.
But the concern I had while watching this scene was something else.
If this was truly something Lucy had experienced…
How low was her reputation?
If she was being slandered in such a public social setting, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to consider her a public enemy.
Is this… the makings of being bullied?
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