Second Trial

[Chapter 55 Comment]

[Adam_Balch_7324: It is sometimes easy to overlook things when too close and instead one must take a step back]

…

"This is called in-motion," the orb explained, leaving Avalon quite shocked. It was exactly what he needed to become stronger.

As the orb pointed out, Avalon had been somewhat inflexible in his approach to combat, relying heavily on swordsmanship alone. While being a skilled swordsman was important for a knight, if he wanted to achieve the highest honor of a Dragon Knight, he needed to learn to use his essence as well.

Though Avalon had been diligently training his essence control, his reliance on swordsmanship was still evident. He recalled his battle against Maya, where he had to directly engage her and attack her exoskeleton head-on. With the newfound technique from the orb, he could have defeated her more efficiently without her even leaving the exoskeleton.

Feeling that there was much more potential for growth, Avalon took a deep breath and focused on the remaining insects, prepared to intercept them.

However, Haruka had another plan in mind. The orb asked her, "If you can't trust your eyes and everything around you, where will you place your trust?" She fell silent for a moment, watching Avalon as he attacked seemingly invisible enemies that might only be an illusion. The illusion had changed her voice and actions, preventing her from warning him, which prompted the orb's question.

Haruka pondered for a moment and then took out a talisman, placing it on the ground and clasping her hands. The talisman emitted a bright light that gradually illuminated the room, overwhelming the blue fire's glow. Avalon also noticed the sudden brightness.

With a flick of her hand, Haruka activated another talisman, which released water in all directions, startling Avalon. She used yet another talisman to create a stone wall to protect herself and used her essence to extinguish the flame behind her.

Completely shocked by Haruka's actions, Avalon quickly raised his shield, forming a triangle-shaped barrier that locked him in a corner. The water hit both barriers, but they remained intact, keeping Haruka and Avalon dry. However, all unprotected flames were extinguished.

Haruka then demonstrated her plan to Avalon, making him realize that they were falling into illusions because they couldn't defeat the continuous illusions unless they extinguished the source, the blue flames surrounding them.

Amazed by Haruka's quick thinking, Avalon approached her and asked, "How did you figure it out?"

Haruka pointed to the ground and replied, "Have you forgotten that you struck the ground with your essence?"

Avalon fell silent, recalling that he had struck not only the ground but also the ceiling and walls. Surprisingly, there wasn't even a scratch on the rock's surface, which further supported Haruka's deduction.

"The reason should be obvious. We were either under an illusion or the material was simply too strong. Either way, we couldn't do anything we wanted to destroy the obstacles. So, when I wondered about the obstacle, I looked at you, who was releasing your essence like crazy. I noticed that you were under another illusion that potentially harmed your life. But since I couldn't see the obstacle, there was only one obstacle left in this room."

"Which was the fire?" Avalon nodded in understanding, finally seeing through the entire plan hidden on the first floor.

However, one question still lingered in his mind. Now that everything had become clear, he could finally take a good look around, yet he couldn't find a single clue about the second floor or Theo.

"Say… Do you happen to find Teacher?" Avalon asked.

"Teacher is…" Haruka also couldn't find him, but she believed that the orb should be somehow related to Theo. While there was a chance that the orb came from the tower, it understood them perfectly, as if it had been with them the whole time. There was only one person who could do that. However, lacking solid proof, she couldn't answer Avalon's question yet. "I'm not sure. But Teacher Theo is more adept than us in regard to illusions. I don't think we should worry about him since the illusion should have defeated us earlier."

"Fair point." Avalon nodded in approval. "In that case, all that is left for us to do is…"

"Yeah." Haruka agreed, looking around the entire room. "We have to find the clue to the second floor. By the way, do you see anything around you? Something like an orb?"

Avalon pointed to the side and said, "I have one next to me."

He was pointing at an empty space, but Haruka understood since she couldn't see the one next to her either.

"I think I found a new way to use my essence. I'll protect you." Avalon raised his weapons and suggested, "How about having me in front and you in the back to support me?"

Haruka shook her head without hesitation. "Did you forget what Teacher told us? We have to go together, side by side."

"Well," Avalon couldn't refute her after that, but he asked another question. "How about the second clue? Are we in a picnic or something?"

"I don't think so. I might be wrong about this, but if we follow Teacher's instructions literally, I might have to get along with your zombie form."

"Ah!" Avalon came to a realization. If he was going to have fun, there was no way he would be afraid of the ape. No matter how intimidating the ape was, he would just smile and walk together. It seemed that Theo had predicted this.

"I see. In that case, we can't disappoint him more than this." Avalon let out a sigh of defeat and pointed at the room. "Let's search for the clue first."

"Yeah."

Haruka and Avalon immediately split up to look for clues to the entrance of the second floor. They pushed the walls, stomped the ground, and tapped the ceiling, trying to find a spot that could be a clue.

However, they were a bit confused because they couldn't see anything.

"Wait a minute…" Haruka suddenly felt something was wrong and immediately went to the light talisman and ripped it off.

As a result, the room turned dark again, but this time, they could hear a rumbling sound coming from the left side of the room. After it stopped moving, Haruka took out another light talisman and turned it on, illuminating the room again. This time, they saw a gap in the left wall.

Avalon, who was in the middle of the room, could see a staircase behind it. "We've found it. Shall we go?"

"Yeah. I don't know how many talismans I'm going to use this time, but thankfully, Li Wei has lent me his Space Ring. I have prepared a lot of talismans for this mission." Haruka felt relieved and regrouped with Avalon before heading to the second floor.

The staircases weren't that long. After about twenty steps, they found a turnaround and saw a gap that would probably lead them to the second trial.

"Get ready. We don't know what's going to hit us," Haruka warned as both of them stood next to each other, approaching the second floor carefully.

Suddenly, the orbs on their side spoke again, asking the same question. "What is the most ridiculous thing in the world?"

"Huh?" Both of them fell into deep thought.

Haruka couldn't help but ask, "Avalon, what's the most ridiculous thing to you?"

"Ehm…" Avalon scratched the back of his head. "I don't know my answer when I'm suddenly asked like this. It seems that we've got the same question."

Avalon and Haruka had a hard time finding the answer. At the same time, they were one step away from the second floor.

"Are we going to face the most ridiculous thing in the world?" Haruka couldn't help but ask while pointing to the room before them.

"I think yes. Should we wait and think about it? Maybe we can somehow predict it? What if all of a sudden, a giant alien is attacking us?" Avalon asked.

"You know aliens?" Haruka looked at Avalon, surprised. The Knight Realm wasn't technologically advanced, so it was quite astonishing that Avalon mentioned aliens.

"How rude." Avalon harrumphed and asked, "Then, what do you think we will face?"

"A giant monster is kind of predictable, and it's not ridiculous enough. Maybe something that can destroy the world?" Haruka thought for a moment. "If we wait here for a long time, would we be in trouble?"

"What do you mean?"

"Considering we're on a mission and have no way to return, I think we should complete all trials as quickly as possible. We might be able to last for days without supplies, but our bodies will be quite weakened."

"That's also a problem." Avalon agreed with Haruka's opinion and pointed to the front, gesturing to move forward.

Both of them finally decided to step forward and enter the room. Surprisingly, nothing happened yet. They couldn't help but look at the room, which happened to be completely empty, just like the first one after the fire was extinguished. But the rumbling sound echoed again as the sign of the door closing. And that was the start of their new trial.

All of a sudden, a giant circle appeared on the floor, enveloping them. "Huh?!" Their hearts skipped a beat, but before they could react, a bright light engulfed them as a giant explosion occurred, destroying the whole tower and sending them into the sky.

They couldn't help but drop their jaws, thinking the same thing. "The tower is destroyed?"