Chapter 68: 65

[……That last skill was unnecessary.]

 

Thereupon, Rex, who fell just short of completing the <Final Trial>, said somewhat refreshed.

 

[I forgot that unlike Arts, there’s this stiffness after the activation of Skills.]

 

Sitting on the ground where he had been teleported, he said, “I knew it would be a bad idea to swerve away from the walkthrough chart on a whim”, and chuckled.

His attitude with the earlier events though, acting as if nothing had happened, made my heart falter for some reason.

 

[……Aren’t you frustrated?]

 

When I reflexively asked him that, Rex looked at me with a face that seemed to say I asked him something unexpected.

I couldn’t help being irritated with him playing dumb with what I meant.

 

[If it’s ability, you definitely should have enough of that! And yet, the way it ended, aren’t you frustrated, Old man!?]

 

After Rex’s eyes widened at my words, he opened his mouth to say something…… but in the end, he swallowed his words and shook his head.

 

[Even I would like to try again if I could.]

[In that case……!]

 

Bracing myself for his next words, Rex just shook his head once again.

 

[But unfortunately, I have a meeting with the Guild. That’s why, regardless of what I think, time’s up for me.]

[No way……]

 

“You can just leave that aside and try again”…… were words that I couldn’t say here.

 

Unlike me, Rex is an important person for the Guild.

If Rex’s knowledge is widely spread among Adventurers, the world will drastically change.

That change his knowledge brings is probably more important than his personal activities as an Adventurer.

 

Even I know that much.

I know that but……!

 

[And so, I’m going back to the town, but what about you two?]

[I’m going back, of course. I don’t think I need the <Treasure Hunter> Class.]

 

After Resilia answered without a pause, a silent question pierced through me.

 

[I will……]

 

If it’s this trial, it’s not that I need to stay for it today. I can do it anytime, tomorrow or even the day after that.

There’s no point in being stubborn here.

However……

 

[……Then, how about you stay here for a while, Radd?]

[Eh?]

 

When I hesitated to answer, Rex suggested so.

I was shaken because he had seen through me, but Rex’s eyes just gently looked at me.

 

[If you’re bothered about something, don’t hesitate to do it until you’re satisfied. I’d be happy if you complete the <Final Trial> for me.]

[Something Old man can’t do, I will……]

 

I never looked at it that way.

However……

 

As soon as I heard that suggestion, I subconsciously clenched my fists.

 

[……It seems like you got your answer.]

 

I think Rex knew what was going through my mind.

However, that didn’t feel bad at all.

 

Looking at me as if he were looking at something bright, Rex suddenly gave a wry smile.

And then, after Resilia and he quickly finished getting ready to go back……

 

[Don’t forget to take a break and do your best without overdoing it. Other than that…… Let’s see……]

 

As we were about to part ways, seemingly as if he just remembered something before he left the temple, he looked at me and spoke.

 

[If————–]

 

 

 

 

 

※　※　※

 

 

 

 

 

[D*mn it!]

 

I don’t know how many times I’ve failed.

I’m on the floor, staring hatefully at the ceiling and swearing for what felt like the umpteenth time.

 

[Why!? Why can’t I escape from that thing!?]

 

Since I had learned to use <Barrier Ring> after watching Rex’s playthrough, I no longer failed in the first and second trials.

But even after dozens of attempts, I still couldn’t reach the pedestal at the back of the room, having lost against that last stone statue knight.

 

[No matter how you look at it, this is just too difficult.]

 

The foothold was so narrow that it was impossible to evade or even step forward to attack.

And yet, even though that special stone statue knight is similar to the knights in the previous trials in terms of attack patterns, it’s more skillful and stronger.

 

[With that thing around, clearing through this thing is……]

 

“—-impossible”, is what I’d like to say, but I just bit my lips close, holding myself back from saying it.

When I say that word out loud, it would really make me feel like it’s all over.

 

(……Did Master know this was going to happen to me from the beginning?)

 

Rex’s final words just before we parted ways came back to my mind.

 

 

<If you ever find yourself at a loss for the solution, remember it.>

 

 

I had not yet clearly realized how difficult it would be to overcome this trial, in which even Rex had failed, so I listened to his words absentmindedly.

With a wry smile on his face, Rex said this.

 

 

<————The reason why you came here for.>

 

 

[Even if you asked me what I came here for……]

 

I was just following Rex’s lead.

 

If I had to say one, it would be that “it was because it was hard to train back in the town”.

Or perhaps, if it’s a more direct goal, it would be “to gain the <Treasure Hunter> Class”.

 

[Hmmm?]

 

For some reason, those answers don’t really seem to fit.

 

(Shouldn’t the answer be simpler?)

 

If I think about this without all the unnecessary details and other people’s intentions, then what is it that I’m here for?

The answer came easily when I stripped away all the unnecessary thoughts.

 

 

[……It’s for me to become stronger.]

 

 

I was shocked by the words that I myself had spoken.

Springing up my feet, I raised my body up.

 

This certainly is the case.

How could I have forgotten?

 

I came here to become strong.

And yet, what is it that I’ve been doing all this time?

 

In the <First Trial>, I avoided fighting with the strong enemies, the stone statue knights, just to clear the trial.

In the <Second Trial>, I gave up even trying to be creative, and just left it to luck and hope that I would pass the trial.

 

What about these last few runs?

I just copied Rex’s strategy, took the easy way out, and then complained and whined when I failed only a dozen times.

 

[This isn’t right! All of this just isn’t right!]

 

When did I become such a soft and rotten person?

 

Now I understand.

The reason why I felt so frustrated when I saw Rex not being disappointed in his failures was that I wanted him to always be the cool guy I admired, the guy who never gave up until he overcame all obstacles.

 

[What the heck. I’m demanding other people to be like this when I’m like this…….]

 

I didn’t want to be someone who just admired the Hero.

I wanted to be the Hero myself……!

 

I stood up and slapped my cheeks, psyching myself up.

The intense pain helped to clear my head a little.

 

[Not yet, this isn’t the end! I’m just getting started!]

 

I can regret as much as I want later.

For now, I just needed to keep pushing forward.

 

And the path for my advance forward had already been shown to me way earlier.

 

(Rex…… Master really knows everything……)

 

Pushed by the passion gushing up from my back, I retrieved the magatama and firmly holding my sword and shield, I stepped into the <First Trial>.

 

 

 

 

 

※　※　※

 

 

 

 

 

(One, two, three…… One, two, three……)

 

Counting the beats, I danced with the stone statue knights.

It’s a dance in the midst of a dangerous battle, responding to my partner’s halberd with my sword and shield.

 

(I’m finally getting the hang of it!)

 

I have lost hundreds of times since I took off the <Barrier Ring> and stopped running away from the stone statues.

When I took off the ring which allowed me to easily pass through the <Second Trial>, let alone reach it, I couldn’t even escape from the first stone statue of the <First Trial>, and my magatama was broken over and over again.

 

I felt so pathetic.

I felt so miserable and frustrated many times.

However, I never ran away.

 

That is my true ability right at this moment.

I realized that this was the “right path” that Rex had shown me.

 

I understand now.

The true intentions of this trial and Rex’s reason for bringing me here.

 

(These stone statues are “teaching aids” to beat that knight in the last trial.)

 

The final knight was so strong that I couldn’t even fight it properly.

However, after being dropped into the abyss again and again, I realized something.

 

 

—————–That knight certainly is strong, but its strength is “just an extension of the stone statue knights in the previous trials”.

 

 

I became spoiled, and when I was confronted by that stone statue knight in the final trial, I just sulked and complained, saying “I can’t win if I suddenly needed to fight a guy like that”.

 

However, it was the opposite.

It was I myself who had made that trial unattainable by failing to prepare to fight against it.

 

The knight was certainly a formidable opponent, and I felt I was no match for him.

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However, imagine this.

What if Rex hadn’t rushed into the fight at that moment, but had followed the Dragon’s Path and confronted the knight near the central scaffold?

 

It may be a meaningless question to ask now.

But if that had happened, Rex would definitely not have lost even to that knight.

 

Looking back, Rex had “stopped” to fight with the knights of the <First Trial> for a long time.

He only moved forward to close the distance when he blew away his opponent, but he didn’t move his feet during the entire exchange of blows.

 

The sign by the gate of the <Final Trial> said it. “Show your Courage, Offer to me the Perfect Key”.

I had been mistaken about this from the start.

 

 

—————–This wasn’t a trial to “escape from the knight”.

—————–It was a trial to hone my strength and “defeat the knight”!

 

 

After realizing this, I carefully faced the trials in order, starting with the <First Trial>.

 

What I kept in mind wasn’t to rely on luck or flukes.

Rather than trying to break through, I should put more emphasis on developing my ability.

 

Strangely enough, as soon as I made such a decision and began to fight, I began to understand, albeit somewhat, how to fight the knights, which I had thought to be hopeless.

 

The important thing isn’t to stick to a pattern.

It’s to connect my actions to the next without pause.

No matter how unsightly I might end up, I should just keep on fighting.

 

I had already lost all sense of time, and since the light from outside didn’t reach inside the temple, I couldn’t even tell what time it was now.

Still, after following Rex’s advice to take breaks, eat and spend all other time fighting the knights, I was finally able to apply my techniques against a single knight.

 

Of course, I’m still not in Rex’s realm.

Fighting two knights is far from having God-like techniques, and I was still too caught up in dealing with just one knight.

 

The Arts I use to offset the enemy attacks are clumsy and awkward, with no regard for the power of the technique. The only techniques I can use to blow them away are <Piercing Shockwave> which I had learned beforehand and one other technique I  learned to use by imitation.

I still haven’t studied under the Class <Brawler>, so I naturally couldn’t use the <Thunderclap Palm Strike> that Rex used as a decisive move.

""

 

But even so……

I feel like I have finally reached the starting line.

 

[————–<Piercing Shockwave>!]

 

With a scream filled with my determination, the knight in front of me was blown away.

Looking at the stone statue that was thrown out of the trial area and stopped moving, I slightly nodded.

 

[……Time to advance.]

 

This is the beginning of the true trials.

And it’s time for my revenge against that knight!

 

 

 

 

 

※　※　※

 

 

 

 

 

After that, in what felt like a really, really long time……

While I was so focused that my sense of time had faded, and I no longer knew how many times had passed since then……

 

As I looked at the spear wielded by the large knight in front of me, I knew clearly that now was the moment of truth.

Stamping my feet on the Dragon’s Path, which I couldn’t even walk on, I used the Arts expecting my defeat.

 

[<V-Sla——– <Lightning C——– Kuh!]

 

I can’t even activate my Arts to the very end.

If I were to foolishly continue my techniques activation to the end, I wouldn’t be able to prevent its next attacks.

I had to cut off the trajectory of my technique in the middle of activating it, and then immediately move on to the next technique.

 

[Don’t underestimate me! <Tri———- <Flash>!!!]

 

While it felt like my nerves were being grinded, the battle continued.

If I lower my guard for even a moment, I will lose this battle, but I could feel my sword driving the opponent back little by little.

 

And then……

 

(————-It’s here!!!)

 

The stone statue knight’s spear glowed an ominous red.

 

The red aura is a sign of the use of a powerful technique.

 

The enemy’s powerful techniques aren’t abilities that can be offset even by Arts.

It’s either you thwart them before they attack or avoid it somehow.

 

However, I’m currently in the Dragon’s Path.

Evasion is impossible for my current situation, so the only way out is to move forward.

 

[Uwoooooooooh!!!]

 

On an unstable foothold, in a situation where I would fall if I failed, I stepped my right foot forward!

 

If I couldn’t beat it, it would be the end of the run anyway!

In that case, I have no choice but to take this chance!

 

 

[————–<Piercing Shockwave>!]

 

 

Just before the knight’s technique was about to go off, I stepped forward and delivered the strike I had been holding in reserve for this moment, driving it right into its chest……

 

[Ah……]

 

The knight’s legs finally lose their footing and its huge body is sucked into the abyss!

 

Thereupon, the knight’s figure quickly disappeared from sight.

In the suddenly quiet room, I just stood there, stunned.

 

After a few seconds, I finally came to my senses.

 

(Not yet. It’s still not time to cheer. I still haven’t reached the goal yet!)

 

I had eliminated what I thought was the biggest obstacle of the trial.

However, I wouldn’t know if there were still traps from here on out.

 

Curbing the enthusiasm welling up from within me, I cautiously continued down the Dragon’s Path.

 

However, despite my vigilance……

I was able to walk right up to the pedestal without incident.

 

[Ha…… Hahaha. I…… did it.]

 

With trembling hands, I picked up the magatama that was hanging around my neck.

 

The feeling of accomplishment that surged through me was incomparable to what I felt when I first cleared the <First Trial> and <Second Trial>.

Thinking of all the hard work I had expected up to this point, my eyes were burning with excitement.

 

Firmly clasping the magatama in my right hand, I spoke to the Hero whose name I didn’t know.

 

[……I don’t know anything about you. However, I, we will inherit your power and will. So, rest easy and go to sleep.]

 

Then, in the end……

 

As if to pray to someone……

Feeling reluctant to part with the long battle I had……

With all my heart, I put the magatama in my right hand to the pedestal.

 

Thereupon, the magatama that dwells two flames within it glittered under the light of the temple……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[……Eh?]

 

Even after seconds, dozens of seconds pass, nothing happened.

 

[What does this mean?]

 

I showed my courage by defeating the knight, and arriving in the deepest part of the Dragon’s Path, I offered the perfected magatama.

 

I did nothing wrong in the procedures.

I shouldn’t have done anything wrong……

 

And yet, no matter whether I moved the magatama around, attached it to the dragon sculpture on the pedestal, or hit it against the pedestal, there was no reaction.

 

(……Why is this happening?)

 

This happening is strange, right?

If the pattern were the same as before, I could just hold the magatama over the pedestal at the far end of the trial and……

 

 

(————No, wait. What the heck is this?)

 

 

At that moment, my heart froze as a bad premonition crept into my mind, as if a chilly hand grasped the back of my neck.

There, I finally realized.

 

The pedestal that I had thought was the goal……

I had subconsciously thought this would also be this trial’s goal, but it had a different shape from the one in the central room and the ones in the first and second trials.

 

First of all, the size of this pedestal is different.

The pedestals used for the earlier goals weren’t this wide.

 

The decoration was also different.

The base used for the goal had a more elaborate pattern.

 

Even the materials used are different.

It was so different that I’m now finding it difficult to find how exactly this thing is similar to the previous pedestals. However, that brings up a new question.

 

 

This pedestal is completely different from the pedestals that had been used as goals of the previous trials.

Even though it’s so different……

 

 

—————–How could I have thought that this pedestal was “familiar”?

 

 

My thoughts felt like they’re sinking into a bottomless swamp.

But then, as if to cut off those thoughts in an instant……

 

 

 

—————–Dodon!!!

 

 

 

Behind me, a heavy sound resounded.

 

[Eh……?]

 

My mind went black.

 

I have to turn around right now.

My reason was telling me that, but my body won’t move.

 

[How did this……]

 

I don’t know what’s going on anymore.

 

What did I do wrong?

Where did I go wrong?

 

My heart filled with a plea to get me out of this situation, I slowly turned around.

And there, the last thing I saw was a large stone statue of a knight standing still, posed as if it just threw a projectile.

 

[……Ah.]

 

And a huge stone spear, drawing near my face.

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