Thereupon, Rex, who fell just short of completing the <Final Trial>, said somewhat refreshed.
[I forgot that unlike Arts, thereās this stiffness after the activation of Skills.]
Sitting on the ground where he had been teleported, he said, āI knew it would be a bad idea to swerve away from the walkthrough chart on a whimā, and chuckled.
His attitude with the earlier events though, acting as if nothing had happened, made my heart falter for some reason.
[ā¦ā¦Arenāt 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 couldnāt help being irritated with him playing dumb with what I meant.
[If itās ability, you definitely should have enough of that! And yet, the way it ended, arenāt you frustrated, Old man!?]
After Rexās eyes widened at my words, he opened his mouth to say somethingā¦ā¦ but in the end, he swallowed his words and shook his head.
[Even I would like to try again if I could.]
[In that caseā¦ā¦!]
Bracing myself for his next words, Rex just shook his head once again.
[But unfortunately, I have a meeting with the Guild. Thatās why, regardless of what I think, timeās up for me.]
[No wayā¦ā¦]
āYou can just leave that aside and try againāā¦ā¦ were words that I couldnāt say here.
Unlike me, Rex is an important person for the Guild.
If Rexās 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 butā¦ā¦!
[And so, Iām going back to the town, but what about you two?]
[Iām going back, of course. I donāt think I need the <Treasure Hunter> Class.]
After Resilia answered without a pause, a silent question pierced through me.
[I willā¦ā¦]
If itās this trial, itās not that I need to stay for it today. I can do it anytime, tomorrow or even the day after that.
Thereās no point in being stubborn here.
Howeverā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦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 Rexās eyes just gently looked at me.
[If youāre bothered about something, donāt hesitate to do it until youāre satisfied. Iād be happy if you complete the <Final Trial> for me.]
[Something Old man canāt do, I willā¦ā¦]
I never looked at it that way.
Howeverā¦ā¦
As soon as I heard that suggestion, I subconsciously clenched my fists.
[ā¦ā¦It seems like you got your answer.]
I think Rex knew what was going through my mind.
However, that didnāt 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 backā¦ā¦
[Donāt forget to take a break and do your best without overdoing it. Other than thatā¦ā¦ Letās seeā¦ā¦]
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.
[Ifāāāāā]
ā»ćā»ćā»
[D*mn it!]
I donāt know how many times Iāve failed.
Iām on the floor, staring hatefully at the ceiling and swearing for what felt like the umpteenth time.
[Why!? Why canāt I escape from that thing!?]
Since I had learned to use <Barrier Ring> after watching Rexās playthrough, I no longer failed in the first and second trials.
But even after dozens of attempts, I still couldnāt 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, itās more skillful and stronger.
[With that thing around, clearing through this thing isā¦ā¦]
āā-impossibleā, is what Iād 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 itās all over.
(ā¦ā¦Did Master know this was going to happen to me from the beginning?)
Rexās 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.
<āāāāThe reason why you came here for.>
[Even if you asked me what I came here forā¦ā¦]
I was just following Rexās lead.
If I had to say one, it would be that āit was because it was hard to train back in the townā.
Or perhaps, if itās a more direct goal, it would be āto gain the <Treasure Hunter> Classā.
[Hmmm?]
For some reason, those answers donāt really seem to fit.
(Shouldnāt the answer be simpler?)
If I think about this without all the unnecessary details and other peopleās intentions, then what is it that Iām here for?
The answer came easily when I stripped away all the unnecessary thoughts.
[ā¦ā¦Itās 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 Iāve 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 Rexās strategy, took the easy way out, and then complained and whined when I failed only a dozen times.
[This isnāt right! All of this just isnāt 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. Iām demanding other people to be like this when Iām like thisā¦ā¦.]
I didnāt want to be someone who just admired the Hero.
I wanted to be the Hero myselfā¦ā¦!
I stood up and slapped my cheeks, psyching myself up.
The intense pain helped to clear my head a little.
[Not yet, this isnāt the end! Iām 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.
(Rexā¦ā¦ Master really knows everythingā¦ā¦)
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>.
ā»ćā»ćā»
(One, two, threeā¦ā¦ One, two, threeā¦ā¦)
Counting the beats, I danced with the stone statue knights.
Itās a dance in the midst of a dangerous battle, responding to my partnerās halberd with my sword and shield.
(Iām 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 couldnāt 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 āright pathā that Rex had shown me.
I understand now.
The true intentions of this trial and Rexās reason for bringing me here.
(These stone statues are āteaching aidsā to beat that knight in the last trial.)
The final knight was so strong that I couldnāt even fight it properly.
However, after being dropped into the abyss again and again, I realized something.
āāāāāāThat knight certainly is strong, but its strength is ājust an extension of the stone statue knights in the previous trialsā.
I became spoiled, and when I was confronted by that stone statue knight in the final trial, I just sulked and complained, saying āI canāt win if I suddenly needed to fight a guy like thatā.
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.
However, imagine this.
What if Rex hadnāt rushed into the fight at that moment, but had followed the Dragonās 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 āstoppedā 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 didnāt move his feet during the entire exchange of blows.
The sign by the gate of the <Final Trial> said it. āShow your Courage, Offer to me the Perfect Keyā.
I had been mistaken about this from the start.
āāāāāāThis wasnāt a trial to āescape from the knightā.
āāāāāāIt was a trial to hone my strength and ādefeat the knightā!
After realizing this, I carefully faced the trials in order, starting with the <First Trial>.
What I kept in mind wasnāt 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 isnāt to stick to a pattern.
Itās 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 didnāt reach inside the temple, I couldnāt even tell what time it was now.
Still, after following Rexās 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, Iām still not in Rexās 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 IĀ learned to use by imitation.
I still havenāt studied under the Class <Brawler>, so I naturally couldnāt use the <Thunderclap Palm Strike> that Rex used as a decisive move.
""
But even soā¦ā¦
I feel like I have finally reached the starting line.
[āāāāā<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.
[ā¦ā¦Time to advance.]
This is the beginning of the true trials.
And itās time for my revenge against that knight!
ā»ćā»ćā»
After that, in what felt like a really, really long timeā¦ā¦
While I was so focused that my sense of time had faded, and I no longer knew how many times had passed since thenā¦ā¦
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 Dragonās Path, which I couldnāt even walk on, I used the Arts expecting my defeat.
[<V-Slaāāā <Lightning Cāāā Kuh!]
I canāt even activate my Arts to the very end.
If I were to foolishly continue my techniques activation to the end, I wouldnāt 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.
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 thenā¦ā¦
(āāāā-Itās here!!!)
The stone statue knightās spear glowed an ominous red.
The red aura is a sign of the use of a powerful technique.
The enemyās powerful techniques arenāt abilities that can be offset even by Arts.
Itās either you thwart them before they attack or avoid it somehow.
However, Iām currently in the Dragonās 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 couldnāt beat it, it would be the end of the run anyway!
In that case, I have no choice but to take this chance!
[āāāāā<Piercing Shockwave>!]
Just before the knightās 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 chestā¦ā¦
[Ahā¦ā¦]
The knightās legs finally lose their footing and its huge body is sucked into the abyss!
Thereupon, the knightās 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. Itās still not time to cheer. I still havenāt reached the goal yet!)
I had eliminated what I thought was the biggest obstacle of the trial.
However, I wouldnāt know if there were still traps from here on out.
Curbing the enthusiasm welling up from within me, I cautiously continued down the Dragonās Path.
However, despite my vigilanceā¦ā¦
I was able to walk right up to the pedestal without incident.
[Haā¦ā¦ Hahaha. Iā¦ā¦ 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 didnāt know.
[ā¦ā¦I donāt know anything about you. However, I, we will inherit your power and will. So, rest easy and go to sleep.]
Then, in the endā¦ā¦
As if to pray to someoneā¦ā¦
Feeling reluctant to part with the long battle I hadā¦ā¦
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 templeā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦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 Dragonās Path, I offered the perfected magatama.
I did nothing wrong in the procedures.
I shouldnāt have done anything wrongā¦ā¦
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.
(ā¦ā¦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 andā¦ā¦
(āāāāNo, 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 goalā¦ā¦
I had subconsciously thought this would also be this trialās 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 werenāt 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 Iām 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 itās so differentā¦ā¦
āāāāāāHow could I have thought that this pedestal was āfamiliarā?
My thoughts felt like theyāre sinking into a bottomless swamp.
But then, as if to cut off those thoughts in an instantā¦ā¦
āāāāāāDodon!!!
Behind me, a heavy sound resounded.
[Ehā¦ā¦?]
My mind went black.
I have to turn around right now.
My reason was telling me that, but my body wonāt move.
[How did thisā¦ā¦]
I donāt know whatās 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.