The Second Trial (1)

"Finally, I found it."

It was the fifth day of wandering outside the barrier to find the site of the trial. After many twists and turns, I had finally succeeded.

"That was seriously not easy."

I had expected it to take a long time since I had no information to go on, but I hadn't anticipated struggling this much. From chaos beasts to bandits, I felt like I had already undergone plenty of trials before the actual trial even began.

Still, I'm glad I found it.

Looking back, it was a miracle I even did. I had slipped and tumbled down a hill, and right at the bottom was the entrance. At the end of a tunnel that looked like an abandoned mine, a familiar space came into view.

Is it this lakeshore again?

A lake shrouded in a strange, thick fog. I couldn't be absolutely sure it was the exact same place as last time, but the air had completely changed, as if a small barrier was erected here. It was definitely isolated from the outside world. This had to be the site of the trial.

If I step into this lake...

I'll be pulled down beneath the surface. And then, the trial will begin.

Shall we go?

I wasn't taking this lightly. I had been thoroughly beaten during the last trial, so I knew firsthand how brutal they could be. But I had already steeled my resolve the moment I set out to find this place. All I needed now was a deep breath.

"Whew..."

Since I was going underwater, after all. I took a step into the lake. At first, my foot found solid ground. But the moment I took the next step, my feet slipped, plunging me into an endless abyss. Glub. In an instant, I sank past the surface, and my consciousness drifted down into the depths of the lake.

Huh?

I couldn't open my eyes. For some reason, I felt incredibly drowsy. It seemed I had already entered the trial, as there was no trace of water around me. All I felt was warm air, tranquility, and... A bed?

I forced my eyes open. My mind was hazy, as if I had just woken up from a deep sleep.

Where is this?

An unfamiliar ceiling. No, actually, it was a familiar one now. It was the all-too-familiar ceiling of the inn. Had I returned to the inn? ...I didn't let myself indulge in such foolish thoughts. I had already fallen for this once before. This place, too, was undoubtedly a space created for the trial.

What matters is my current situation. Just because the setting was an inn didn't mean I knew what would happen next. I sat up in bed and reached out. Inventory. I wanted to retrieve the Gravitus Replicant just in case. But when I reached into my inventory, my hand grasped nothing but air.

Huh?

I swept my hand around inside, but my inventory was literally empty. A restriction that confiscates all my items? This was a highly unwelcome constraint. Without a Holy Relic, it would be impossible to even step outside the barrier. Is securing a Holy Relic my first priority, then? Just as that thought crossed my mind, a strange sense of incongruity washed over me.

Isn't my line of sight a bit lower than usual?

I looked down. My body felt somewhat smaller. When I checked my palms, the thick calluses I had built up were completely gone. No, wait. Don't tell me... A terrible premonition began to creep up my spine. And as if to drive the final nail into the coffin of that dread, a voice called out.

"Alan! Alaaan!"

Oh, damn it.

"Just how long do you plan on sleeping, Alan?!"

At that moment, only one thought filled my mind: I'm screwed.

Damn it. Of all the times to return to...

Back when I first possessed Alan, I had struggled immensely to adapt to this world. Even with Alan's memories intact, overcoming the cognitive dissonance between here and Earth had been no easy feat. Fortunately, the current me possessed the memories of having already successfully adapted.

But that doesn't stop the PTSD from kicking in.

To put it in perspective, it was like having a recurring nightmare about being back in the military. I knew this was just a trial and that I hadn't actually regressed in time. Yet, thinking back to the mistakes I made during this period still made my chest ache. I won't make the same mistakes again. And right on cue, the event that marked my most representative blunder of that time triggered.

Right, this one. It was the quest in question.

"Are you going to run away again, using the excuse that you're fetching water?"

The village brats were grating on my nerves, just like before. Back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then, I had lost my temper and, underestimating the quest, followed them out. And honestly, even now, having returned to this moment, I personally wanted to go with them.

If I let them go alone, one of them will die.

And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looking back, learning Swordsmanship (B) had actually been a good choice. At the time, I had only disliked it from a gamer's perspective because it felt like a hasty, forced decision. But in the end, Swordsmanship (B) had paved the way for my relationship with Gwen.

"Of course coward Alan wouldn't dare follow us."

So why was I hesitating? There were two reasons. First, even if I didn't personally tag along, there were plenty of other ways to save the kids. I might miss out on the SP reward, but I could simply alert the village adults about the wolf instead. It wasn't a healthy, ferocious wolf, but one on the brink of death; any ordinary adult male could easily handle it.

And second, the current situation was different from back then. It wasn't just that I possessed memories of the future. There was another massive difference.

Absolute Obedience isn't working.

This was the greatest restriction of this trial. Neither the regression to the past nor the trauma was the real issue. For some reason, I couldn't use Absolute Obedience here. That was the biggest problem.

Ironically, this was something I had desperately wanted while training my swordsmanship—to temporarily deactivate Absolute Obedience during practice. But I hadn't wanted it to be completely locked away.

It was a trait I used to find quite handy, though.

Of course, its absence wouldn't be a fatal blow. In fact, I felt that the advantage of knowing the future would easily outweigh its loss.

For instance, I already know the wolf is on its last legs.

Knowing that meant there was no reason to be nervous. I don't know what the purpose of this trial is yet... but if I just do my best, things will work out. I just had to prove that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I could do perfectly fine even without Absolute Obedience.

"I'll go."

"What?"

"I said I'm going too. What, are you deaf?"

The wolf lunged. I channeled my strength into the iron bar and swung it sideways. I chose a lateral strike because I knew my current strength was too low to clash with it head-on. Although I was dealing with the rock-bottom strength of early-game Alan, the clean, weighted strike was enough to throw the wolf off balance. Of course, the fact that the wolf was already dying helped immensely.

There's no need to end it in a single blow.

I just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to keep it at bay and wear down its stamina. Alan's stamina was pitifully low, but the wolf's energy was depleting even faster. Using the bar, I kept my distance and fended off the beast's desperate lunges.

This should do it.

Its stamina was completely depleted. The wolf's movements had slowed down visibly, and it was panting heavily in exhaustion. I stepped in and swung the bar. The wolf's legs gave out, and it collapsed in a heap.

That was simple.

Dark blood dripped from the iron bar in my hand. Even my weapon was different from last time. Instead of the wooden stick the leader of the kids had dropped, I had prepared beforehand by putting an iron bar into my inventory.

Come to think of it...

I didn't freeze up at all when facing the wolf this time. It wasn't just because I knew it was dying.

Have I gotten used to this?

When I thought about it, it made perfect sense. I had slain chaos beasts, fought bandits, and even defeated a Demon King. Why on earth would I be scared of a mere wolf now? This wasn't about numerical stats.

Even a guy like Alan can grow.

Compared to the days when I froze in front of a single wolf, this was a dramatic evolution. And that wasn't all. I thought my swordsmanship would reset to zero too. The traits I had simply inherited, like Precocious and Authority of the Reim Royal Family, were gone. However, my Swordsmanship (A-) remained, even if its proficiency had dropped slightly to Swordsmanship (B+).

If I only had the Swordsmanship (B) I inherited from Gwen, it probably would have vanished.

But the Swordsmanship (A-) I possessed before entering the trial was something I had earned through grueling training with Libero, without relying on inheritance or Absolute Obedience. Because I had physically learned and engraved it into my mind, I could execute it even without the system's assistance. Thus, it manifested here as Swordsmanship (B+).

This is a much better starting point.

Best of all, I now possessed Libero's Swordsmanship (B+), which was far superior to Gwen's Swordsmanship (B)—and I didn't have to spend a single SP to get it. On top of that, unlike before, I hadn't sustained any injuries in the fight against the wolf. This would make building up my basic strength and stamina much easier.

Now, what's next?

The situation had definitely improved. However, a changed present would inevitably lead to a changed future. I needed to tread carefully.

First and foremost, Gwen.

I later found out that Gwen's initial interest in me was largely sparked by me using her own swordsmanship style. While it was still possible for me to learn her swordsmanship now, spending a massive amount of SP to do so was a dilemma I had to weigh carefully.

Do I play it safe, or do I gamble on an uncertain future?

If I followed the future I knew step-by-step, I would easily reach the same height as the me outside the trial. And it wasn't as if that height was disappointing. As far as I knew, there was no other route where Alan could obtain a Holy Relic right from the start, slay a Demon King, and reach Swordsmanship (A-). Since I already possessed Swordsmanship (A-) as my foundation, I might even be able to climb to an even higher peak.

But was that truly the best path? Now, I had the chance to forge an entirely new, superior route. Even if I didn't meet Gwen, even if I didn't follow the exact same path, couldn't I achieve an even better outcome? More than anything, what drew me toward the latter choice was the memory of my past mistakes.

The God of Regret had once said that humans are able to move forward precisely because they regret. I had no desire to walk the exact same path, repeating the exact same mistakes. This was a one-time trial. I knew I had to be cautious, but I doubted the trial's true purpose was for me to simply copy my past actions.

Passing the God of Regret's trial last time had taught me one thing: every trial has an underlying intention. For now, given the lack of information, it was best to keep my goal the same as before—becoming a Hero. But I couldn't afford to look at this too simplistically. What was this trial truly trying to test? I needed to keep pondering that question as I moved forward.