〈 Chapter 48 〉 The Second Trial (1)

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Due to a setting error, I have re-uploaded this.

For those who read Chapter 43 before the fix, I would appreciate it if you could start from the 60% point.

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“I finally found it.”

It was the fifth day of wandering outside the barrier to find the location of the trial.

After all the twists and turns, I was finally able to locate the trial site.

“This really wasn’t easy.”

I had expected it to take a long time due to the lack of information, but I didn’t think it would be this hard.

Chaos Beasts and bandits included. I already felt like I had faced plenty of trials even before the actual trial began.

‘But I’m glad I found it.’

Even now, I wonder how I managed to do it.

Thanks to misstepping, I was able to slip down a hill and discover the entrance.

At the end of what seemed to be an old mining tunnel, I could see the same space I had encountered last time.

‘Is this the lake again?’

A lake enveloped in a strange, thick fog.

I can’t be completely sure it’s the same space, but considering that a small barrier seems to be formed, it looked like a different space compared to the outside.

This should certainly be the trial location.

‘If I dip my feet in this lake…’

I would be sucked below the surface, and then the trial would begin.

‘Well, let’s go!’

I wasn’t underestimating the trial.

I had been caught off guard in the last one, and because of that, I knew the trials were anything but easy.

But I had already made up my mind to brace myself for the challenge when I set off to find the trial.

All I needed now was a deep breath.

“Hmm…”

Since I would be entering the water.

I stepped into the lake.

The ground was still solid beneath my feet.

And the moment I took another step, my foot slipped endlessly downward.

Gulp.

In an instant, I passed through the surface, my consciousness heading below the lake.

*

‘Huh?’

I couldn’t open my eyes. For some reason, I felt extremely sleepy.

It seemed I was already inside the trial, as I felt no moisture around.

What I could feel was warm air, tranquility, and…

‘A bed?’

I managed to open my eyes somehow.

It felt like I just woke up from a deep sleep, and my mind was hazy.

‘Where is this?’

An unfamiliar ceiling.

Well, to be fair, it was now a familiar ceiling.

It was the ceiling of the inn I was too accustomed to.

Did I come back to the inn?

…Let’s not entertain such foolish thoughts.

I had already been tricked once before.

This place was likely another space where a trial took place.

‘What matters now is the current situation.’

It only looked like an inn; I had no idea what was about to happen.

I got up from the bed and reached out my hand.

‘Inventory.’

Just to check if I had the Relic Gravitas Replicant on me.

But nothing was in my hand when I searched my inventory.

‘Huh?’

I waved my hand around in the empty inventory, but it was completely void.

‘Is this some kind of restriction that confiscates all my items?’

Not a pleasant restriction at all.

Without my relic, leaving the barrier would be impossible.

‘So I guess getting my relic back is the priority?’

Just as I was thinking this, I felt an odd sensation.

‘Isn’t my height a little shorter than usual?’

I looked down.

My body felt slightly smaller.

And when I checked my palm, all the calluses I had accumulated were gone.

‘No, wait a second. Could it be…’

A bad premonition began to rise.

And just to confirm that unsettling feeling, I heard a voice.

“Allen! Alleeeen!”

Oh crap.

“When the heck are you planning to keep sleeping, Allen!”

At that moment, I had a single thought.

I’m screwed.

*

‘Damn it. Of all times to come back…’

In the early days of being possessed by Allen, I struggled immensely to adapt to this world.

Even though Allen’s memories remained, overcoming the disparity with Earth was not easy.

Fortunately, I now possessed the memory of successfully adapting.

‘However, getting PTSD is unavoidable.’

It was similar to having recurring dreams about military service.

I know this place is just a trial and not that I’ve actually gone back in time.

But thinking about the mistakes I made back then still sends shivers down my spine.

‘I must not make the same mistakes again.’

And now the most representative mistake happened to be unfolding.

[Protect the Village Friends.]

A hungry wolf attacks the friends who ventured near the barrier outside the village.

Defeat the wolf and save the friends.

Danger Level: D

Reward: 10 sp

‘Yeah, this quest…’

It was the very problem quest.

“Are you planning to make excuses about fetching water and run away again?”

Those brats still got on my nerves.

Back then, I lost my cool and underestimated the quest, which is why I followed the kids.

And now, oddly enough, I still wanted to chase after them.

‘If I let those kids go, one of them is going to die.’

Plus, learning [Swordsmanship(B)] turned out to be a good choice in hindsight.

At that time, I hastily learned it, and as a gamer, I wasn’t fond of that decision.

However, [Swordsmanship(B)] ultimately benefited my relationship with Gwen.

“Of course, coward Allen wouldn’t follow.”

But why am I hesitating?

There were two reasons for this.

First, even if I didn’t tag along, there were plenty of ways to save the kids.

I wouldn’t earn the sp reward, but I could just inform the village adults about the wolf.

It wasn’t a healthy wolf and practically on its last legs, so an average adult male should be able to handle it with ease.

And the second reason was that the situation was different from before.

It didn’t just mean I had future knowledge.

There was also one significant difference.

‘Absolute Obedience doesn’t work here.’

That was the biggest limitation of this trial.

Going back in time, and the trauma weren’t the problems.

The fact that, for some reason, I couldn’t use Absolute Obedience was the key issue.

Maybe that’s what I had actually wanted while training swordsmanship.

Temporarily deactivating Absolute Obedience while training swordplay.

But I hadn’t wished to have it completely disabled.

‘I had been using it quite conveniently, you know.’

Of course, I didn’t think it would create a huge issue.

In fact, I even thought the advantage of knowing the future might be greater.

‘For example, I know the wolf is on the brink of death.’

Knowing that takes all the pressure off.

‘The purpose of the trial is unclear, but…’

If I just give it my best, something good should happen.

I merely need to prove that I can do well even without Absolute Obedience.

“I’m going.”

“What?”

“I’m going too. What? Are you deaf?”

*

The wolf lunged at me.

I put power into the stick and swung it sideways.

I deemed that attacking head-on would be beyond my strength.

Despite being in the early days with Allen’s weak strength, I still managed to unbalance the wolf due to my proper momentum.

Of course, the wolf was nearly dead, which helped.

‘I don’t need to end this in one blow.’

I wouldn’t let the wolf attack me and just needed to wear it down.

Allen’s strength was certainly weak, but the wolf’s stamina depletion would happen faster.

So I desperately kept the charging wolf at bay with my stick.

‘Is this enough?’

The wolf’s stamina decreased significantly.

Its movements noticeably slowed down, and it was panting heavily.

I moved closer and swung the stick at the wolf.

With that, the wolf’s legs buckled, and it crumpled to the ground.

‘That was easy.’

Blood dripped from the iron stick I held.

This time, I had a proper weapon, unlike the wooden stick that the brat dropped before.

Instead, I had brought a steel rod with me from my inventory.

‘Now that I think about it…’

I didn’t freeze at all when I faced the wolf this time.

It wasn’t just because I knew the wolf was on the brink of death.

‘Have I grown used to it?’

I guess that could be expected.

I had defeated Chaos Beasts, fought against bandits, and even faced a Demon King.

There was no way I would be scared of a wolf now.

It doesn’t mean I grew stronger.

‘Even Allen seems to have grown a bit.’

To think how dramatically I improved compared to the time I used to freeze at the sight of such a wolf.

That wasn’t the end of it.

‘Swordsmanship also didn’t regress like I thought.’

The traits I acquired through inheritance, [Precocious] and [Authority of the Leim Royal Family], had vanished.

However, [Swordsmanship(A­)] remained, albeit with a slight reduction to [Swordsmanship(B+)].

‘If I had only the [Swordsmanship(B)] I inherited from Gwen, then that would be gone too.’

But since I acquired [Swordsmanship(A­)] before entering the trial, it was obtained through training with Libero rather than inheritance or Absolute Obedience.

Therefore, I could implement the swordsmanship I had directly learned in my mind without being dependent on the skill system, and that’s why its level turned into [Swordsmanship(B+)].

‘Things have gotten much better.’

The best part was that I possessed Libero’s [Swordsmanship(B+)] that was far superior to Gwen’s [Swordsmanship(B)] without consuming any SP.

Additionally, unlike before, I didn’t get hurt in combat with the wolf. That would likely also aid in building my basic stamina and strength.

‘So what’s next?’

Definitely, the situation improved.

But with the changed circumstances, the future may also shift.

I needed to pay attention to such things.

‘First and foremost is Gwen.’

Although I learned this later, it was essential that my use of her swordsmanship played a significant role in her interest in me.

Of course, it was still possible to learn her swordsmanship, but I would need to be cautious about the large SP cost involved.

‘Should I pursue a stable approach or challenge the uncertain future…’

If I just follow the future I know, I could easily reach the point I attained outside the trial without any trouble at all.

And if that place isn’t bad, then it’s not like Allen had any path to acquire relics and defeat the Demon King from the beginning, nor did he attain [Swordsmanship(A­)].

Having already possessed [Swordsmanship(A­)], I might even achieve a level higher than that.

But is that really the best path?

Perhaps I can create a better new route this time.

Even without meeting Gwen, could I not achieve better results by following different paths?

What drew me more toward the latter option was the mistakes I had made in the past.

The God of Regret said that humans can move forward because they feel regret.

I don’t want to walk the same past path riddled with the same mistakes.

This trial happens only once.

I know I should be cautious.

But it doesn’t seem like the intention of the trial was to walk the exact same road as before.

After successfully passing the God of Regret’s trial, I realized something.

Every trial has a purpose behind it.

Considering lack of information right now, I guess the best goal would be to become a hero just like I did before.

However, it’s not a matter to be treated so simply.

What is the true intention behind this trial?

I needed to keep contemplating this as I moved forward.

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