Chapter 176 First Trial [6]

"Should we start moving?"

"Will you be okay with that? It would take a few more hours for your injury to heal, wouldn't it?"

"I'll be fine after I gain more stats on the next floor!"

Henry laughed out aloud while swinging his sword.

His injuries were almost healed thanks to the healing potion and resting for 5 hours.

It should heal swiftly when he increases his regeneration on the next floor.

Packing our stuff, we stood up and got ready to leave for Floor 4.

Katrina also followed behind quietly.

We descended.

The mood of the group was... not very bright, to say the least.

No one was speaking while we were going down the stairs.

"That reminds me, why did the illusions vanish when I used [Invincible Pillar]?"

Henry opened his mouth, trying to dissolve the awkward mood.

"The boss was manipulating light to create illusions. When you went Super Sayian, the bright light caused by you interfered with the surroundings and temporarily stopped the boss' ability to create illusions."

These types of illusions were counted as low-level illusions, where a minor change in the environment can disrupt the illusion.

The boss was using black mist to make sure no extra light enters the area, however, it didn't know we had a human lighthouse with us.

"Huh? Did I tell you what kind of illusions did the boss use?"

"Yeah, you did."

He didn't. I only knew this thanks to the knowledge of the novel that I've written down in the diary.

​ Monsters, although weak, aren't something one can ignore. I didn't come unprepared.

I used the library to get access to public information about the dungeon, and also went through the diary I wrote to brush up on my memory of Dungeon of Trials.

Besides, these I had emergency rations for up to 6 months, tons of elixir, dozens of weapons, and a few equipments one might need in certain situations.

[You have reached Floor 4]

[Restrictions will be lifted]

[You have reached Lvl.4]

[You have 5Sp/Lvl Talent. Extra stats have been given]

We were suddenly out of the staircase and standing inside a swamp forest.

This floor was worse than the previous ones. Unlike the ones before, this one was covered completely with water. There was barely any space to walk around.

"Should we rest?"

"I'm sorry for this, but I'll need a few hours."

Henry repeatedly apologized.

His injury would take a few hours to heal.

In the meantime, I sat on the ground and mediated. However; I was looking at Katrina from the corner of my eye.

She was sitting beside me with her head bowed down.

I don't know why, but I felt like I should talk to her...

"Kat, are you alright?"

"Yes... I am..."

"If you want to sleep, go ahead. I won't mind."

She nodded and closed her eyes.

But I could see her eyes moving non-stop behind her thin eyelids. She was probably having a nightmare.

I wanted to help her, but I didn't know what to do. So I just stayed silent.

After some time, she started talking to herself.

"Why... Why did you lie?..."

Her voice trailed off into silence.

Was she crying? Or maybe she was still having a nightmare.

Henry had left the area earlier to scout ahead. At this moment, only Katrina and I were present here.

Looking at her haggard expression, I didn't know what to do.

"Haah..."

With my back against the rocks, I scanned the area.

'Eth, can you find that shadow we saw before?'

(No)

"Haaaaah..."

I couldn't help but sigh again.

Back when Henry used [Invincible Pillar] and illuminated the surroundings, I saw a dark shadow covering half of the treant for a moment.

The shadow disappeared instantaneously, but I was certain I saw it.

Given how the monster was a lot stronger and more intelligent than it was supposed to be, it was clear that the shadow was the cause behind it. The shadow was probably also why the monster didn't kill Katrina and captured her.

'What the hell is that shadow?'

I didn't know about it.

Whatever it was, I couldn't take a risk at this moment. Thus I told Henry to attack, in a hurry, when I noticed that Katrina was awakening her stigma.

Thankfully, we were able to save her before she fully awakened.

If I wasn't wrong, the shadow was after me...

The people who might be coming after me were: X, Y, Goliaths, Umbra, or some other organization locating Mr. Pepe.

If the shadow belonged to any of the latter three, I couldn't let them discover Katrina's stigma.

...or she would again walk down the path of tragedy.

Katrina suffered endlessly from everyone's greed in the novel. It would be the same again if they discover her.

I wasn't a saint by any means. Heck, I wanted Katrina's help myself.

But... I won't let those guys take her.

I recalled Katrina's fate in the novel.

Leon's absence had created a large hole in Earth's defense, humanity needed something to fill the gap.

What did these bastards do?

Pushed the responsibility to someone who couldn't even live without Leon's emotional support.

At least the main cast could die, but Katrina? She became an eternal puppet.

No, she was forced to become a puppet.

Why?

Why do someone else get to decide her fate?

Because they were suffering? Because it was necessary?

To hell with that!

If those higher being, or whatever, bastard want to do something then do it yourself!

Sacrifice yourself!

Who do you think you are to use others in the name of greater good!

"..should move"

Suddenly, Henry's voice entered my ears.

I rubbed my eyes and realized that I had fallen asleep beside Katrina.

"What were you saying?"

Washing my face with the cold water, I stood up.

'Greater good, my ass'

At least the villains like Urek, Tristan, Merlin, never used lies like them, saying they wanted greater good and sacrificed the minority.

Listening to Henry, I came to know that an hour passed since he went on scouting.

He asked if we should move again, to which Katrina and I agreed.

As the floor number was increasing, so were the monsters and floor size, but we weren't slowing down. Rather, we began cutting through Floor 4 at fearsome speed.

With every stat we regained, our combat ability returned, and we could feel the restrictions being lifted.

It was becoming easier to use our bodies in combat as our bodies were returning to how we remembered them to be.

[Congratulations, you have killed Lv.8 Butterfly Frog. You have gained 400 exp.]

[The Floor 4 boss has been defeated]

[Passageway to Floor 5 will be opened for 6 hours]

Henry's skill burned the oversized frog's wing, and it fell from the sky, falling to its death.

The floor boss died swiftly, and we moved to the 5th floor.

On the staircase, I noticed Katrina looking at Henry's shadow.

'Is it there?'

If the shadow was tailing us, it had to be coming down with us, too.

[You have reached Floor 5]

[Restrictions will be lifted]

[You have reached Lvl.5]

[You have 5Sp/Lvl Talent. Extra stats have been given]

Again, we were suddenly standing on the next floor.

A low sigh escaped Katrina's lips, and she looked visibly relieved.

'Did that shadow leave?'

The three of us rested for an hour and began moving.

This time, too, Henry was the one dealing with the majority of the brunt of monsters while I was dealing with the ones that ran past him and attacked Katrina and me.

During our whole endeavor to the Floor 5 boss, not once did Katrina try to defend herself.

I felt a pang in my heart.

This was happening because of me.

Had I not brought her with me, she wouldn't have been like this.

I wanted to share ether with her, or at least give her reassurance that everything was alright, but knowing that the shadow might be watching from somewhere, I could not do anything like that.

The shadow and the people behind it would go after Katrina if they realize I was protecting her.

I had no choice but to leave her be.

'Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!'

'If you are bringing her under you, then take responsibility, you asshole. Do you want to repeat what happened to Miller?'

Why can't I even let those who put their trust in me live peacefully?

"Is something the matter?... You don't look good."

"It's nothing"

I dismissed Henry's concern curtly.

[Congratulations, you have killed Lv.9 White Hippo. You have gained 500 exp.]

[The Floor 5 boss has been defeated]

[Passageway to Floor 6 will be opened for 6 hours]

It took us only a few minutes to defeat the floor boss.

I also assisted Henry in the fight. The boss had tough skin and Henry needed someone to distract the boss while Henry activated his skill. I used my swords to aggro the boss, and we defeated it together.

The three of us took a quick rest before descending.

"Nathan..."

"Yes?"

Henry appeared quite concerned as we began. Before we reach the next floor we would be going to individual Trials. Henry's expression made me think he wanted to speak about it.

"What difficulty will you choose?"

"Normal? Why are you asking this?"

His complexion visibly brightened.

"I thought you might do something like before"

"Before?"

"Yeah, when you challenged Susan at the beginning of the semester"

Ah!

I was being called a dumbass after my duel with Susan. The reason was self-explanatory. I challenged Rank 1 without anything to back myself.

Henry was worried that I might like that again and choose a harder option.

It would be a problem for him if the person he was escorting failed at the trial. After all, unlike the floors, he can't help me in clearing the trial.

Slowly my mind became hazy and without realizing I was now floating in an empty space.

[You have entered the First Trial]

[Please Choose a difficulty]

[Normal] [Hard] [Expert] [Singularity]

My fingers moved.

I had long ago decided what I needed to choose.

[You have chosen [Singularity] ]

[Good luck ■■■■■■■■■■■]