𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟗𝟔
“You must do this.”
The next day, after getting enough rest, I summoned Seo-ah and told her about the goal that I had always been thinking about.
“Clear the remaining two mazes by myself. . . . . .”
“Verdi said that your qualifications are not yet perfect. However, she also said that if you can clear all the mazes, she will pass on all of her knowledge to you.”
It was definitely a difficult task, but it didn’t seem impossible for the current Seo-ah.
In addition, there was another important task.
“The order is the Ice Palace, then the Labyrinth of Guilt, and there is someone you need to meet in the Labyrinth of Guilt.”
“Someone I need to meet? Who is it?”
“The founder of Cheong-il Academy and the hero of the Cheon family, Cheon-il, will be sealed there.”
I had originally planned not to touch it because I didn’t want to disrupt the original history, but now I had changed my mind.
Polar Night, a Hell difficulty, was that terrifying, and I felt that if I couldn’t stop him, there would be no future.
“Can you completely clear the maze and get Cheon-il’s cooperation?”
“. . . To be honest, I feel a little overwhelmed, but I don’t think it’s time to complain. I’ll do my best.”
Nodding at her words, I handed her the Sun-Moon Stone that Verdi’s soul was infused with.
“She said she wouldn’t see you until you were fully qualified, but I think it’s better to take it with you.”
“Yes. I understand. Thank you, Oppa.”
Originally, I wanted to participate in clearing the maze as well, but I was running out of time.
Also, I had something else to focus on.
“Do you need my help?”
“Yes. You may have to take some time off.”
“Well, I don’t really mind. . . . . .”
After sending Han Seo-ah away, I summoned Cheong Juhwa and returned to the old lodgings with her to explain my purpose.
“I’m going to challenge the second trial of the Blue-White Soul Mirror.”
“If it’s the trial of the Blue-White Soul Mirror, then. . . . . . Oh, come to think of it, I have the Blue-White Sword now.”
As if she knew why I had called her just by saying a word, Cheong Juhwa nodded and readily agreed to my request.
“But why have you put it off until now? I heard that you passed the first trial without much difficulty.”
“. . . . . . .”
There is room for debate on whether the first trial was that easy, but regardless, the reason I hadn’t challenged the next trial was simple.
The truth is, the moment I learned about the contents of the trial, I reflexively gave up on the challenge deep down.
“. . . I didn’t think I could break through.”
“Do you think you can do it now?”
“No. I’ve grown since then, but I actually still think the same way.”
Even so, the reason I was challenging the trial that I was sure to fail was something that I couldn’t explain very clearly.
I felt like I couldn’t stay in this state, or that I wouldn’t be able to move forward from here if I couldn’t get past this, even though it wasn’t certain.
Also, perhaps I was feeling something as I watched those who believed in their own lives in the world of art.
But whatever the reason, what I had to do didn’t change.
I had to pass this second trial. Only then would I be able to show a result that wouldn’t be shameful when facing Polar Night with all my might.
“Do I just stab it?”
“Yes. And come back here in half a day.”
“Yes, I’ll just practice a little bit while I’m at it.”
Swish.
Whoooosh!
As she pushed the Blue-White Sword into the center of the frame of the Blue-White Soul Mirror that I had, a bright halo surrounded me and led me into the trial space, just like before.
In front of me was the familiar form of an arena where I had fought my past character, and in between, a blonde woman appeared as if she had been waiting for me.
“. . . Ciel.”
I tried to talk to her, but she didn’t answer. She just moved her finger to make a hand sign asking for a duel.
I smiled and made the same gesture with my hand.
“Yes. That’s how it was between us.”
A rival who always fought a duel whenever we met, laughed and cried over victory and defeat, and ran towards the top together.
It was a new story, but I felt a sense of camaraderie with them.
“The call sign is the same as always.”
Clang.
I took out a talisman from my arms, threw it into the sky with all my might, and drew spiritual power to prepare for battle.
And as it scattered in the wind and swept across the ground, the duel finally began.
It was a slightly nostalgic rematch after a very long time.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“Did you fail again?”
Mumbling.
Cheong Juhwa, who now had a blank expression, muttered as she put a skewer that she had found somewhere into her mouth.
I just nodded slightly. There was nothing to make excuses for, since I had actually lost to her again.
“This is really strange. . . . . . How many times has it been today?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Is the difficulty of the trial that hard? To be honest, I can’t even imagine it at this point. . . . . .”
It’s understandable. To be honest, even I, the person involved, didn’t know how to explain it.
I had faced and overcome countless crises here, but I had never failed so many times in a row like this.
「𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡. . . . . . .」
To be honest, before I took on the trial, I had a little hope that things would be a little different this time.
However, it wasn’t for nothing that my past self had felt a distant wall from her.
Rather, I could tell for sure now that I had grown a little bit.
She is an exalted being.
She was on a different level than any player who stayed in the single digits of the rankings.
So it was actually an accurate assessment that I had given up on challenging her after concluding that I couldn’t win.
「𝙈𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨. . . . . .𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚.」
Of course. That’s the fight I’m best at, and that’s how I’ve defeated strong enemies and made it this far.
Rather, I have significantly supplemented and improved on the shortcomings that I had before, so I can definitely say that my skills themselves are at a higher level.
「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚?」
What made me feel the most hopeless was that the way I fought with her, whether in the past or now, was exactly the same.
The details of the situation were different, but I always lost to her in a similar way after going through a similar process.
In other words, it was similar to saying that to her, there was no difference between my past self and my current self, who had grown.
“Maybe I should give you some advice? It seems to me that no matter how many times you repeat this, there won’t be much of a difference.”
“. . . . . . .”
I definitely had similar thoughts, so I honestly shared my thoughts and tried to figure out a way together.
“You have no weakness in close combat, and you don’t waste a single bit of your sorcery. You seem to be slightly ahead of me in terms of reading, but it doesn’t really matter because you can handle it anyway.”
“. . . Just what are you fighting with on the inside?”
“Just an incredibly strong exorcist.”
Cheong Juhwa, who had been contemplating for a while, frowned and gave me her opinion with difficulty.
“You prefer close combat?”
“For now, yes, but I honestly don’t know if my sorcery skills are any less than hers.”
“If I were you, I would try to dig a trap and lead her in while exchanging numbers, or try a thorough war of attrition. But even after twenty-four times. . . . . . You’re already saying that you’ve tried everything?”
That’s right.
I tried to dig a trap and tried to lead the battle into a war of attrition.
However, it didn’t work for her. Even though she didn’t change her tactics or anything, I was the one who ended up losing.
“. . . . . . .”
To be honest, at this point, I think that instead of being prepared, there was a difference in weight class that I couldn’t overcome in the first place.
I tried my best to face her, but I always lost to her in the end, unable to overcome the slightest difference.
So I guess the gap that I thought was a slight difference was actually her intentional consideration.
In fact, there might have been an overwhelming difference in level from the beginning.
「𝙔𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣. . . . . . 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜.」
Maybe the reason for what Hwa Baek had pointed out to me before was actually this.
I definitely overestimated the original main characters like Yoo Ha-on, and to some extent, I shifted the roles and responsibilities to them.
However, that was natural from my point of view.
I’m not the protagonist of the world. I had realized from the beginning that there was someone who truly deserved it.
It was through Ciel, who was an insurmountable wall.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧.」
That was the unconscious thought that had been deeply rooted in me from the beginning.
And now, I feel the same way again.
“Unfortunately, I have to give up.”
“. . . . . . .”
“I don’t have much time left, and anything more than this would just be my own personal attachment.”
I concluded and stood up as if I was feeling relieved, but my heart was more complicated than ever.
It was the same feeling I had when I confirmed the existence of the second trial last time and put it off.
To be honest, at that time, I was just running away from my past failure.
It wasn’t much different now. But I couldn’t help it. Weren’t there important things scattered everywhere that were more important than passing the trial?
As I was trying to shake off my attachment, Cheong Juhwa, who had been deeply contemplating, stopped me with a single word.
“Do you really think there’s such a big difference?”
“. . . What do you mean?”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about it while listening to you, but my feelings about you aren’t much different.”
Cheong Juhwa said.
You have no weakness in close combat, you don’t waste a single bit of your sorcery, and you’re good at reading and can handle any situation in your own way.
She said that I was the same.
“Wasn’t it against the purpose of the Blue-White Soul Mirror’s trial to say that there was an opponent that you could never overcome in the first place?”
That’s definitely true.
However, it was also true that I actually felt a high wall from Ciel.
“Rather, if you think about the purpose of the trial. . . . . . The Blue-White Soul Mirror might just want to convey something all the time.”
And Cheong Juhwa looked at me with unwavering eyes, taking on a serious attitude that I had never seen before.
“I think the difference between failure and success is really a slight difference. You just don’t recognize it.”
“. . . . . . .”
“And that’s probably. . . . . . .”
It’s a difference in mindset.
Those words, which were recited in a low voice, clearly pierced deep into my heart.
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