Temporary Respite

When I opened my eyes, I found myself on a cold, hard surface. My head was pounding and I felt exhausted despite having been asleep for at least a few hours. To be fair, I had been overstraining myself by trying to cast so many spells in a short period of time and fight an endless horde of skeletons while sustaining myself on stamina spells - which was clearly not the way to go. 

After moping around in self-pity for a while, I got up to check on our current situation. The teacher and another student were still asleep or unconscious, while one of the students was keeping watch while attempting to ward off his weariness. He had his back to me, but I could tell he was struggling to stay awake from how he would shake himself once in a while, as if trying to shake off his exhaustion.

Immediately, I felt terrible for having even pitied my circumstances. The poor guy was probably traumatized after watching his classmates and friends die and the overwhelming exhaustion wouldn't have helped either. On the other hand, I was at least slightly rested, and had no real emotional ties to the dead students - not that I really cared about death in general, considering how many lives I had taken. 

I walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around with a wild look in his eyes, staff held in both hands like a club. I barely dodged the swinging weapon. Once he realized it was me, he stopped and apologized for the attack - or he was trying to, but he kind of fell asleep halfway. I grabbed him before he could fall and lay him down beside the sleeping duo.

After ensuring he was asleep, I stood watch by their side, occasionally checking the perimeter to ensure nothing was attempting to sneak up on us. For once, my mind was empty and clear, devoid of the usual whirlwind of emotions that plagued my waking hours. 

As the dawn chased away the all-encompassing darkness and the stars retreated from the rays of the sun, I silently mused over the various states of thought that had consumed me since I entered the Trial of Endurance. Due to the endless problems that had presented themselves before me, I never really had a chance to consider what was truly important in this Trial: keeping myself sane. 

After the initial despair at my circumstances in the first illusion, I quickly reminded myself that everything here was false and of no true consequence. All I had to do was last until all the illusions were over. However, the brutality of the second illusion was a stark reminder that all the pain and trauma I went through would be experienced in full by myself. 

As such, I braced myself for the torture that I assumed would arrive in the third illusion. At first, I thought I would be correct: I had emerged into a battle immediately after arrival, but afterward I started forming friendships, valuable bonds with people that felt real. 

I hadn't been prepared for such a relaxing experience after the comparative briefness and brutality of the first two illusions. As such, I rapidly settled into it, subconsciously ignoring the fact that none of this was real. This led to me experiencing a lot of pain when I was abruptly sent into the future, left alone on a ship. After the initial disbelief, I quickly understood my circumstances, which left me a temporary state of disorientation where I ended up not really doing anything, just reminiscing about the 'people' I had bonded with. 

Once I recovered from my sorrow, I was left to experience boredom for weeks or months, having little to do but eat, sleep, drink and fight off the occasional monster or raid. Before I could get comfortable, the ship abruptly broke down and I was left grasping at straws, suddenly desperate to get it running again.

After a bit of time, I quickly found a chance for salvation in the form of the Useful Marble. I was even granted a moment of joy when the ship started working again… only to be immediately brought down to reality by the mana in the Useful Marble being immediately exhausted. 

In conclusion, the third illusion had been abusing my vulnerability for maximal emotional pain, which I hadn't been on guard against after the physical nature of the second illusion. 

So… what new form of torture would this illusion have for me?

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Only one chapter today. School's been rough, and I can't really upload much on Thursdays. Hopefully I'll be able to make up for the missing chapters on the weekends...