Ch.182182. The Second Trial (4)

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“…Let’s see.”

I need to organize the situation first.

While everyone else is sound asleep, I alone am awake, poking at the dying embers of the campfire while clutching my throbbing head.

I have quite a lot to think about.

‘…First, situation assessment.’

Since we’re at the beginning of the second trial, organizing information about the situation isn’t difficult.

My current location is the Beast Forest near the Crucible of Struggle. The immediate objective is to survive here for 3 days.

Given that I’ve already ground down even the rulers of the demon realm from around here, honestly I don’t think there’s much that could pose a serious threat.

But that’s only if the trial proceeds “normally.”

“…”

I furrow my brow while stirring the fire with a stick, continuing my train of thought.

The Hero Selection wouldn’t proceed so easily. Considering that the event focuses on “ranking” participants, it’s even more certain that it won’t take place in such a soft environment.

‘In the first place…’

The objective “survive for 3 days” is just an empty phrase.

More accurately, I should interpret it as “hold out as long as possible.”

The statement that the difficulty will increase dramatically starting tomorrow means they’re aiming to eliminate everyone participating from the beginning. The focus of the trial is how long you can endure.

‘I’m not the main character here.’

That’s what I need to remember.

In this trial, my position should be limited to being Elia Krisanax’s supporter. Unlike before, I shouldn’t stand out the most.

The first trial was fine as long as I just scored high points, but the second trial, which serves as a bridgehead before the final trial, is when they start seriously evaluating whether someone can properly wield the Holy Sword.

It’s not simply about doing well, but “how” you do well that becomes more important at this point.

Therefore, in this trial, it’s Elia’s capabilities that should be verified, not mine.

This means I need to strengthen my previous course of action.

Deliberately exposing myself to danger to enhance his abilities.

I can do that. It’s not particularly difficult.

The problem is, to do that in the current situation, there’s a high probability that Elia and I will need to separate.

If that happens, Elia and Faynol Leiphec will be alone together without me as a mediator.

“…”

On the surface, there shouldn’t be any problem.

Faynol is arguably the most rational among the Demonic Vessels, and Elia isn’t the type to pick fights with others without reason.

But.

The problem is that Elia has one very big reason to fight with her.

“…What do you think, Calivan?”

I ask in a husky voice to Calivan, who seems to have regained consciousness.

[About what?]

“The probability that Elia will maintain his sanity when he encounters the Red Demon.”

[…]

After a long silence, Calivan finally responds with a bitter smile.

[…None. How could he?]

“That’s what I thought too, right?”

A wry smile crosses my face as well. It’s not just anything—it’s his family’s nemesis.

Even this person firmly refused to join hands with her when they first met, treating it as a non-negotiable matter.

“…You seem to have softened your attitude quite a bit lately, though.”

I don’t know why, but recently he seems to have become less rigid in his attitude toward Faynol.

Of course, even before he tolerated cooperating with Faynol after hearing me out, but lately he seems to grumble less frequently about getting involved with her.

[No.]

Calivan responds in a calm voice.

[She seems to have some kind of story.]

“…”

[That’s the feeling I get after watching her for a while.]

“What kind of feeling?”

[She doesn’t seem like someone who would carelessly harm others out of intoxication with power. She doesn’t seem like a bad person either.]

“…”

[The way she sings about wanting to die quickly after awakening all her emotions, the way she urges us to hurry up because the Red Demon’s power will be released if we don’t do it properly. In many ways, she seems rather averse to that side of herself.]

As he thinks, Calivan continues with a slight smile.

[If anything, isn’t she someone with strong self-loathing?]

“…”

That’s an accurate analysis.

Faynol’s psychological mechanism is fundamentally built on the belief that someone like her should quickly disappear from this world.

Even though I declared I would make her happy, it’s highly likely that such fundamental thinking hasn’t changed much.

“…She has some circumstances in her past.”

I say this while looking at Faynol sleeping peacefully.

While none of the Demonic Vessels have had it easy, Faynol’s past stands out as particularly bleak among them.

“…”

I recall a few keywords. Some background settings I saw in the game flash through my mind.

A village maiden. A mage from the Demonic Spire. An inquisitor from the Heresy Inquisition.

Among all the Demonic Vessels, Faynol has the most diverse background.

And behind that lies the unspeakable fact that everything around her was completely devastated.

She probably thinks that everyone around her suffers “because of her.”

So she believes someone like her should quickly disappear from this world.

[She does seem that way. Come to think of it, it makes sense.]

“Pardon?”

[When I encountered her during the Red Night incident, I never exchanged even a single word with her. When I cut off her head, she was in a state of lost reason.]

“…”

It’s the first time this person has directly talked about his past like this.

Especially mentioning Faynol directly.

He must have significantly lowered his psychological resistance to Faynol, which is evidence of that.

[Come to think of it, I’ve never heard a word about ‘how’ the Red Demon inside her went berserk.]

“…”

[Looking at the Vessels around you, it’s not something that easily bursts out, is it? Without you as a variable, quite a few people might have lived without even knowing they had such a thing, right?]

Calivan continues in a calm voice.

[So naturally, I can assume she didn’t cause the Red Night incident because her demon went berserk for no reason.]

“…”

[Of course, I still hate the Red Demon. It must certainly pay for the innocent people who died back then. Still, we should distinguish what needs to be distinguished.]

Still, his voice remains even.

It’s almost ridiculous how noble the sentiment contained in his words is.

[The demon is the villain. Not that young lady Faynol.]

I continue to stare at the Soul Linker with surprised eyes.

It’s a statement that makes me doubt my ears.

For an ordinary person, this would be impossible.

This isn’t an evaluation one could give to someone who killed them and caused a disaster that engulfed their family.

No matter how much they understood the other person’s circumstances, how many people could utter such words without being swayed by emotion?

“…You really are a true Guardian, Calivan.”

The symbols of nobility and justice.

The epitome of the ideal “knight.”

[…Then how have you been seeing me all this time?]

“Well, like the neighborhood idiot brother?”

[…]

“Or maybe a clown?”

[Shut up.]

As I snicker at Calivan’s reaction, a window suddenly appears before me.

< System Message >

[ You have caused a mental change in the soul residing in the ‘Soul Linker’. ]

[ ‘Synchronization’ with the target soul increases! ]

[ ‘Second Memory’ is now open! You can view it by synchronizing with the soul whenever you wish! ]

[ When the final ‘Third Memory’ is opened, a special event will occur! ]

I slightly furrow my brow at the sight.

This is… definitely that.

Calivan’s memory that I briefly glimpsed when strengthening the Soul Linker before.

“…”

A special event, huh.

I’m not entirely sure, but I strongly feel this might be the key to this main quest. You could call it Sera veteran’s intuition.

Previously, I had the feeling that many things related to this person would be opening up in this main quest.

Thinking that, I silently look at Faynol’s sleeping face.

She’s sleeping right next to Elia, pressed close together. Looking from the outside, one might even mistake them for having a good relationship.

“…I wish Elia could think that way too.”

Probably, with high probability, a situation will arise where those two are left alone.

I need to wander around drawing aggro alone to increase the chances of Elia standing out.

My only hope is that no emergency situation breaks out then.

[You always have a loose tongue, you know that?]

“…”

[Has there ever been a time when something you hoped for didn’t blow up?]

“…”

Don’t cowardly hit me with facts.

I sigh and scratch my head.

‘Still…’

At least with Faynol there, “incidents” like being ambushed by Yuria Greyhaunter as in the first trial can be prevented in advance.

I’ll probably be able to focus entirely on the main quest.

“…Well, it’s fortunate that we should be able to get through the trial itself relatively comfortably.”

Just as I say that thinking such thoughts.

-!!

-!!!!

“…”

One thing is certain.

My tongue really is loose.

‘Cruelly on cue.’

Yes, they definitely said the difficulty would increase “from today,” but.

I didn’t expect them to ambush us with such malice at dawn rather than releasing them during the day when people could properly function.

Have they forgotten that most participants are students, despite this being the Hero Selection?

“Pack… They’re using troublesome ones. Do the trial administrators all have sadistic tendencies?”

They’re specialized in hunting and tracking, even among large magical beasts.

Thinking that, I stand up.

“…”

Suddenly, something strange catches my eye.

A blue “curtain” descending from the sky.

“…”

At first I thought I was seeing things.

But looking again, it’s certain.

It’s definitely “that.”

“…Shit.”

As soon as I see it.

The composure completely disappears from my face.

Following that, I immediately let out a resounding scream.

“Wake up-!”

“Wh-what, what is it, teacher?!”

“…Brother?”

“Darwood…?”

The guys who were sleeping soundly all woke up simultaneously, startled by my shout.

“Get up right now and grab your equipment! If you’re even a little late, you’ll die!”

Sensing the urgency in my voice, they grabbed their weapons and equipment despite their confusion.

Considering the situation, it could be called an extremely agile response, but even so, my insides were burning up watching them.

[What’s going on, why are you suddenly like this? What is that?]

‘…It’s a nullification field.’

An ultra-high-level spell that users called a force field.

It’s a crazy technique that completely nullifies all “abilities” inside it.

[…What?]

Calivan uttered in disbelief.

[How is such a thing possible?!]

In the Sera worldview, the source of all power comes from abilities.

In the material world, even the powers of non-standard beings like demons and angels are bound by abilities, and that nullification field “erases” all of it.

Originally, it’s a gimmick that appears occasionally in hell-difficulty challenge content, not something that should suddenly pop up in Chapter 4.

“…”

My teeth grind.

Releasing large magical beasts in a situation where no abilities can be used literally means nothing more or less than “die.”

[So why are they suddenly unleashing such a thing?! This is a Hero Selection trial, not an execution site!]

‘I don’t know either.’

As far as I know, there’s only one human who can artificially implement that.

The Emperor of the Empire. The Sword Saint by his side.

Which means.

The current ruler of the Empire is proactively doing such a crazy thing.

‘…I’ll think about it later.’

We can figure out why the Emperor is doing this later.

Right now, the large magical beasts that have been released are likely already moving to find nearby humans.

For now, we need to move.

Only then can we save everyone’s lives here.

“T-teacher, what’s going on?!”

“Just listen carefully without panicking.”

I say, firmly gripping the shoulders of Elia, who is visibly panicking.

“Not everyone here is going to survive.”

“…”

“So I’ll die once.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve done it many times.”

Unfortunately, there was no sign of his panic subsiding.

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