Trial of Illusions – Part 06

Hikaru had indeed struck the temple of the monster trying to attack Selyse with a stone. Through the thick mist, his Mana Detection revealed the malevolent presence stagger, then fall. He almost sighed in relief, but he knew better than to let his guard down. Someone who appeared to be Selyse, wielding a magic sword, looked as though she had been struck and fell to her knees.

But Hikaru’s concerns were short-lived.

Selyse rose to her feet and infused her sword with mana. A red light blazed upward, and with a powerful strike, the sword cleaved through the mist, cutting the monster in half. The shockwave dispersed the fog, reaching even the spot where Hikaru stood, rippling his cloak.

A dry laugh escaped Hikaru. What kind of power was that? No matter how well he could use Stealth, if someone had the ability to cut through an entire area, there was no escaping it.

Hikaru realized, then, that he shouldn’t anger Selyse.

“Wh-What the hell was that?!” Waffa shrieked.

Waffa probably thought Selyse and the Four Eastern Stars would fall to the monsters. Hikaru believed they’d get through any crisis, but there had to be some kind of trap laid for them, one that could take down even Rank B adventurers.

Waffa was the one who suggested they undergo the so-called Trial of Illusions.

This girl needs to be taught a lesson, Hikaru thought.

“What’s the point if Lady Selyse kills them?!”

Hm? He must have misheard.

“My perfect plan to rush in and save Lady Selyse from trouble is ruined!”

Hmm?

“Hold on a sec. I thought you were trying to kill Selyse and the Four Eastern Stars?”

“Of course not! Why would I harm someone I admire?”

“So you love Selyse so much that you suggested the trial just to get her attention?”

“Yup. Wait, who’s there?!”

“It’s me.”

“Youuu!” Waffa quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. “Did you hear what I said just now?”

Hikaru sighed. “I didn’t want to, but I did. Lady Selyse, huh. What is that about?”

Waffa’s face turned bright red. “Hyaaaah!”

“Whoa.”

She lunged at Hikaru, but he easily dodged. He was unarmed, which made him quicker. A right punch, a left punch, then a roundhouse kick. Hikaru jumped backward to avoid them all. It was dark, and the ground was littered with loose stones, making it the worst possible environment. But the fog contained magical energy. With Mana Detection, Hikaru could sense that the spots without mana were where the stones lay, allowing him to move as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

“Tch, damn lucky guy!” Waffa hissed, misunderstanding Hikaru’s precise movements as luck. “But since you heard everything I said, I can’t let you leave.”

“What? You were blabbering on your own.”

“Shut up! I’m not letting you off!”

Waffa’s aura changed. It wasn’t magical power—she couldn’t use magic—but her muscles tensed, and her presence seemed to grow. When Hikaru switched to Life Detection, Waffa’s body glowed like a fireball.

“Ah, shit.”

A powerful strike was coming.

“You’re not… getting away. I will teach you… to worship Lady Selyse!”

Yikes. That’s terrifying.

The ground beneath Waffa exploded. Just her charging forward produced tremendous force.

Hikaru found Waffa just inches from him. He had to move quickly. There was no time to waste. He tried to roll to the side.

“Too slow.”

Waffa’s fist slammed into his left shoulder, sending him flying. He crashed onto a slope and rolled further down.

“Ugh… gah!”

Rolling over sharp stones would usually leave someone as scratched up as cheese on a grater, but despite the sharp pain, Hikaru was unscathed. The credit went to his thin, lightweight cloak. He had only considered it light and warm when he found it in the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas, but its durability exceeded his expectations.

“Phew.”

He stood up and dusted himself off. His body ached, but his left shoulder wasn’t broken. If this was also thanks to the cloak, then it was a great find.

Waffa trudged toward him. She was so physically capable that she landed a hit on Hikaru, who had survived countless life-or-death situations.

“I should be far enough now.”

But that was all.

With the space between them, Hikaru could activate Stealth without a problem. In the darkness, nothing could interfere with it. Even a Rank A adventurer would lose track of him.

Stealth was an overpowered skill. A rule-breaking ability. He couldn’t blame himself much for failing to predict Waffa’s trump card, but he bitterly regretted getting hit.

If she’d had poisoned daggers or if he didn’t have the cloak, he might’ve been dealing with a fatal wound.

“So what if you’re far enough?”

“Nothing, really.”

There was no point in revealing his cards or continuing the conversation. The only thing left was to take her down.

“I’m just saying this fight’s over.”

“Hikaru!”

Selyse came running. She didn’t have Mana Detection, but she managed to keep herself steady, stepping only on stable rocks.

Waffa yelped. She hadn’t expected Selyse to come here.

“Selyse—ah?”

There was a reason for Waffa’s confused grunt. She had been standing on an unstable rock. When she took a small step back, she missed her footing.

“Aaaaah!”

Waffa fell off the rock and tumbled down the slope, rolling for quite a distance.

Selyse stared blankly at Hikaru.

What is this ending? Hikaru suddenly felt embarrassed for trying to act cool earlier with his this fight’s over line.

“Uh… did you take her down?”

Of course not.

“No, she fell. She dug her own grave. She’s not moving, so she might be dead, but I think we should have Sophie check on her anyway.”

“Y-You’re right.”

Selyse and Sophie went down the slope to check on Waffa.

“What a crazy night.”

I just got covered in dirt.

---

The summit was free of mist.

The rugged terrain remained unchanged, but the absence of fog made it far more bearable. Looking back, the path they had climbed was veiled in a faint, white haze. None of the other mountains shared this feature. It was unique to the Mountain of Illusions.

“So, you were tailing us?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am,” Waffa, sitting on her soles, responded with teary eyes, her voice trembling like a scolded puppy. If Hikaru were here, he would’ve said something about her polite tone.

Selyse and Sophie sat on two nearby rocks, studying Waffa. The Dwarf’s clothes were torn and stained with blood. To an outsider, it might have seemed like she’d been tortured, but in reality, she’d been unconscious, covered in wounds, and Sophie had treated her.

“What a headache. We’re fairly well-known adventurers in Ponsonia, and we do have our share of overzealous fans, but none of them had ever put us in this much danger before.”

“Y-You’ve got it all wrong! The Trial of Illusions I took as a kid was much tamer. It was just people yelling to scare us. I swear it’s true! Please believe me!”

Selyse and Sophie exchanged glances.

“May I ask you something?” Sophie said.

“Huh? I’m only talking to Lady Selyse—”

“Waffa.” Selyse managed a smile and glare at once.

Waffa broke into a cold sweat and straightened up. “Y-Yes! You can ask me anything!”

Her admiration wasn’t directed at the Four Eastern Stars as a whole but at Selyse in particular.

“This is a bit awkward, but it’s necessary,” Sophie began. “When was the last time someone cleared the Trial of Illusions? And was it the same kind of trial you went through?”

“Hmm… it’s been a while, I think. I’ve been away for some time, so I’m not completely sure, but based on what the clan told me yesterday, after I cleared it as a kid, maybe one or two others managed it. But no one’s succeeded in recent years.”

“But isn’t the spring water at this mountain’s summit still needed as an offering?”

“Ah, it used to be, but not anymore. They found water of the same quality near the Progenitor’s Forge. Since then, hardly anyone comes here now.”

“So, in the years this place has been neglected, monsters moved in. There are entities called Ghosts that love scaring children. They might’ve been the ones behind the Trial of Illusions.”

“Yeah, something like that. Once you know the trial’s just about getting spooked, it’s not scary at all. That’s why those of us who cleared it were told to keep the details secret. Still, you figured it out with just that little bit of info?”

“Sophie’s pretty sharp. Make sure you don’t act so cocky toward her from now on,” Selyse said with authority.

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” Waffa prostrated herself on the ground.

“One more question, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course, Sophie, ma’am! Ask away!”

Sophie shot a glare at Selyse, clearly annoyed by the unnecessary ma’am. Selyse looked away.

“How do you know about Selyse? This is our first time in Ironforge, and we operate out of Ponsonia.”

“Ah, that’s easy. The Ruler’s Rumble! I was blown away by Lady Selyse’s moves. Even when monsters crashed the event, she kept them away from the audience so skillfully!”

I see, Sophie thought.

At the time, Gerhardt had collapsed from poison, and Kouga—the former Half Dragon chief turned fearsome Undead—had appeared. Jillarte, Hikaru, and Lavia ultimately killed him. Most people would’ve focused on the magic spell, but this girl had been captivated by Selyse’s actions instead.

“That’s when I thought. This is what adventurers should be like. And that women are strong!”

Sophie wasn’t sure how that last part tied into anything, but back then, Selyse was fighting Jillarte, showcasing impressive swordsmanship.

“That’s why I kicked the men out of my party and kept only women.”

“That’s… a pretty extreme choice. This is your fault, Selyse.”

“What? Me?” Selyse pointed to herself.

Waffa nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling.

“For now,” Selyse continued, “we’ve confirmed you didn’t mean any harm. Just make sure you apologize to Hikaru, and we’ll call it even.”

“Apologize to him? No way in hell!”

“Hikaru is stronger than I am.”

“That scrawny dude? That’s impossible.”

“He beat you twice.”

“He didn’t beat me! If I had my battle axe, he’d be split in two by now.”

“You really don’t get it,” Selyse sighed.

“Wh-What? Am I wrong?”

“If you had your weapon, Hikaru would’ve dodged without breaking a sweat. Maybe it’s a Dwarf thing, but you’re using a weapon that doesn’t suit your size. You landed a hit on him because you were unarmed.”

“B-But as a Dwarf warrior—”

“With a weapon, you wouldn’t have stood a chance. You wouldn’t have even grazed him.”

“Ugh.”

“And Hikaru is a nice person. You attacked him twice—and you were serious—and he still told me to heal you. Are you really not going to acknowledge that?”

“B-But he’s a man.”

“I’m disappointed in you.”

“I’ll apologize to him right away!” Waffa sprang to her feet and bowed deeply.

“Knowing Hikaru,” Sophie said, “he would say he doesn’t need an apology. He would just ask you to stay away from him in the future.”

“But that wouldn’t sit right to me.”

Selyse was actually quite angry at Waffa’s disrespectful behavior toward Hikaru, someone she respected—correction, worshiped.

“Hey, we’re back! Got the spring water from the summit.”

Sara and Serika returned with a leather pouch full of water.

“If I may be so bold, there’s not much to this mountain,” Serika said bluntly. “The spring is the only interesting thing about it!”

Either way, they had completed their objective.

“Waffa,” Selyse called.

“Y-Yes!”

“This proves our innocence, right? And you’ll vouch for us?”

“Of course! No one knows your integrity better than me!”

Selyse stared blankly at her. And yet you still put us through the Trial of Illusions.

“Anyway, it looks like we’re done here,” Selyse said. “Let’s head back to camp.” She froze mid-step. “Did the ground just shake?”

She could’ve sworn she felt a tremor beneath her feet.

“Hm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“What are you talking about?”

Her companions didn’t seem to have noticed anything unusual.

“Just my imagination, I guess. Going down should be faster, so let’s hurry.”

And with that, the Four Eastern Stars began their descent. Fortunately, a shortcut cut their travel time in half.