The Trial's End

—First of all, congratulations. You passed the trial.

A voice suddenly echoed in my head. It was a youthful voice, so high-pitched that it was hard to tell if it belonged to a boy or a girl. But I had a pretty good idea of who it was. That "Restricted Caller" jerk.

"Why don't you start by telling me who you actually are?" I asked, even though I didn't know their exact identity.

—"You"? How rude. I am a god, you know.

"A god who pries into other people's pasts without permission? Right, sure."

—Ah, I'm sorry about that. But you agreed to it, didn't you?

"What?"

—Anyway, congratulations on passing the trial.

"Wait a minute, what did you mean by that just now?!"

—Hmm? Did I say something?

It seemed they had absolutely no intention of telling me. In that case, I had to ask something else.

"I passed the trial? But I didn't even reach the end of the desert." I hadn't even made it over the hill. I had simply been swept away by the rain and ended up here.

—Reaching the end of the desert ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was never the trial to begin with. Did you honestly think this was some kind of physical endurance test?

I actually did.

—Seriously? As if. Of course, your physical stats were garbage, but your mental state was even more trash.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?"

—Do you really think someone who tries to commit suicide the very day they return to their original world isn't trash?

I had no comeback. It was true; back then, I really had been trash. But one detail caught my attention.

"Wait, 'original world'? You know about Earth?"

—Earth? Ah, is that what they called the planet in that world? For the record, I know absolutely nothing about that place. I only read your memories.

"You read my memories?"

—Of course. I am the God of Regret, after all.

The God of Regret? It wasn't a name I was unfamiliar with. After all, it existed as one of the blessings in the game.

Of course, it was better than having no blessing at all, but for most characters, it wasn't highly efficient. Those brilliant, naturally gifted heroes rarely failed, after all.

But Alan was different. He failed over and over again. For someone like Alan, there was no better blessing than this. That was why I had chosen to activate this blessing for this playthrough as well.

"The Blessing of the God of Regret... Is that really your blessing?"

—Obviously. Who else would be the God of Regret but me? It's only because you have my blessing that I helped you out in the first place.

"Helped me?"

—Yeah. Normally, my trial requires challengers to find their own weaknesses through their regrets. But since you carry my blessing, I gave you a little nudge.

Still, forcing someone to replay their most embarrassing and painful memories was incredibly sadistic. He was a pretty twisted deity. Then again, I wasn't sure if I could have passed the trial without his intervention.

Just then, the God of Regret changed the subject.

—Well, now that you've passed the trial, you deserve a reward. Looking at your memories, it seems you came here expecting one anyway.

The reward. Finally, what I had been waiting for had arrived. Honestly, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the sole reason I came to this trial was for the reward. The trials here had a tendency to grant rewards that perfectly made up for a character's shortcomings.

—I wonder what it'll be...

"Aren't you the one giving me the reward?"

—I have the authority to bestow the reward, yes. But I'm not the one who chooses it.

It happened in an instant. A shadow suddenly loomed over my head, rapidly shrinking as it approached. I quickly threw myself backward. A split second later, a brown object slammed into the ground right where I had been standing. It was a fruit.

That was close!

Given the colossal size of the tree, there was no telling how high up it had fallen from. However, judging by the deep crater it left in the ground, it had clearly dropped from an immense height. That aside, the faint glow seeping through the cracks of the fruit caught my eye.

—Huh? Purple?

Even the self-proclaimed god sounded surprised. It made sense; as far as I knew, purple rewards rarely appeared in trials. Even after raising hundreds of characters, I could count the number of times I had received a purple reward on one hand.

I swallowed hard. What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could be inside? I carefully picked up the glowing purple fruit. It was surprisingly light.

What's in here? It can't just be empty air.

With that thought, I slipped my fingers into the crack of the fruit.

Crack. The fruit split open without much effort. Finally, the interior was revealed, and I couldn't help but freeze in sheer bewilderment.

Why is this actually happening?

Because there was literally nothing but empty air inside. I stared blankly up at the giant tree.

—Hmm? Why are you staring at me like that?

So he was going to play dumb, huh? "There's nothing inside."

A million thoughts raced through my mind. What if I had actually pulled a dud? Would they let me redraw? As if brushing away my anxieties, the God of Regret spoke up.

—Whoa, that's the Wind Authority!

The Wind Authority?

I immediately cast Appraisal on the empty space inside the fruit. Instantly, a status window materialized over the seemingly vacant void.

The Wind Authority? It was a skill I had never encountered during my countless playthroughs, nor had I ever seen it mentioned on any online community forums. Just reading the description didn't give me a clear grasp of its actual effects.

For now, it's best to learn it, right?

Since the authority was completely invisible, I felt an anxious urge that I might somehow lose it if I just left it there.

Learn skill... Is that how it works?

At my mental command, the information window vanished. I quickly pulled up my status window to check my skills.

The Wind Authority was indeed listed under my skills. However, I still had no idea how to actually use it. It felt entirely different from when I had acquired Swordsmanship (B).

While I was busy reviewing my status, the voice spoke again.

—To think it would bestow even a fraction of a god's authority. I suppose you really are the one chosen by the God of Chains.

Huh?

I felt like I had heard that name somewhere before. The God of Chains? My gaze drifted down past the skills section on my status window.

The catalyst that had granted me this trait, Absolute Obedience, was undoubtedly...

The God of Chains was definitely connected to how I had ended up possessing Alan. I was absolutely certain of it.

"Hey! Do you know something about the God of Chains?"

—Hmm? Well, of course. He is...

It was at that exact moment. Another voice suddenly echoed.

—You continue to do nothing but things you will regret, God of Regret.

The voice drifted down from high up in the giant tree. I raised my head and looked up.

"So close."

I felt like I had been right on the verge of finding something out. The God of Regret clearly knew something about the God of Chains. But the moment he was about to speak, I was forcibly ejected from the giant tree's domain.

Come to think of it...

I was back at the lakeside. Looking around, I realized that a certain someone was missing.

Is Gwen still undergoing her trial?

Well, since I was still weak, my trial had ended with simply fending off wolves in a desert. But for someone as powerful as Gwen, I couldn't even begin to guess what kind of trial she would face.

What were Gwen's stats again?

I tried my best to recall the status window of Gwen's that I had seen before.

Was it Stamina B-, Strength B, Agility A+, and Mana E-?

Her Mana was practically non-existent, but she wasn't the type of hero who relied on magic anyway, so that didn't matter. Her other stats were generally well-balanced. It was impossible to guess the nature of her trial based on raw stats alone. Considering my own trial had tested my mental fortitude, it was highly likely that her test would involve something beyond mere physical capabilities.

"She wouldn't have left without me, right?"

From her perspective, she had probably come here hoping to obtain a Holy Relic as a reward. However, her specific relic was an item that could absolutely never be obtained unless she went to a designated location. Even if her trial ended before mine, she wouldn't be able to leave without getting the information about its location from me.

When will she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be out?

While I was debating whether to wait here or go outside to hunt some easy Chaos Beasts, my vision suddenly blurred.

What's this? Another trial?

The trial was definitely over, so why? Then, it hit me. Although all the physical injuries and fatigue I had sustained during the trial had been completely healed, my mental exhaustion remained. The moment my tension snapped, a wave of profound weariness crashed over me.

Just... let me rest for a second.

I didn't feel capable of doing anything right now. I slid down, leaning my back against a large rock by the lakeside. My eyelids grew heavy, and I drifted off.

"...Hey."

A voice suddenly broke through the quiet.

"Hey."

Someone was calling me. I opened my eyes, but there was no one in front of me.

"To your side."

I turned my head. Only then did I see her sitting there. Gwen was leaning against the rock, looking completely drained. Panting heavily from sheer exhaustion, she spoke.

"Do you have any idea how much I rushed?"

I wondered how long I had been asleep. Judging by the lingering fatigue in my body, it couldn't have been very long. That meant Gwen had finished her trial much sooner than I had expected.

"You certainly got out earlier than I expected."

"Of course I did. I was so anxious that you might run off without honoring our deal. But when I got back, here you were, sleeping like a baby."

"Well, that would have been your own fault for not securing such an important deal properly, Gwen."

"That..."

A brief silence fell between us. Then, Gwen spoke up softly.

"Thank you."

"What's this for all of a sudden?"

"For waiting for me."

I had indeed intended to wait for her, though passing out from exhaustion had made it somewhat involuntary. Still, I didn't think I deserved her gratitude.

"I should be the one thanking you."

"Huh?"

"Thanks to you, I was able to pass my trial."

Gwen gave me a puzzled look. It was only natural, since she knew nothing about what my trial had entailed. But there was no denying that our deal had helped me overcome a major hurdle.

If not for that, I probably would have jumped straight into the Han River.

I turned to her and asked,

"So, did you manage to get a Holy Relic from the trial?"

Gwen shook her head.

"No. I survived for an entire week against an endless horde of Chaos Beasts... and all I got for it were two Elixirs of Mana."

That figured. Even from my perspective, Gwen had almost no weaknesses that needed correcting. Still, two elixirs weren't a bad reward at all.

"Aren't you going to ask me then? About where the Holy Relic is."

Gwen seemed to ponder for a moment. Finally, she spoke.

"The terms of our deal were that I could ask you one question of my choice, correct?"