An Interim Reward
"You said this was a virtual space, right?" Elsie asked once the dust had settled and she had officially joined my party. I felt a brief flash of anxiety at her words, but fortunately, she didn't do anything too outrageous. She was simply eating her fill of Vasilium's local delicacies.
"A place where I can eat as much as I want... How wonderful." Elsie walked beside me, her hands full of skewers she'd bought from a street vendor. The only problem was that this wasn't her first meal. Starting from the restaurant where we had first met, to all the other eateries she'd always wanted to visit—she was devouring an amount of food that defied human biology.
Well, it is a virtual space, so I suppose it doesn't matter. No matter how much she ate, it didn't cost any real-world money. She also seemed thrilled by the fact that she didn't have to worry about gaining weight, meaning she could gorge herself to her heart's content. Even so, she was taking it a bit too far.
Just how bottomless is her stomach? For the record, the Trial Space could only be manipulated to some extent by someone like me, who had a direct contract with the god. Everything else was simulated to be exactly like reality. This meant that the amount Elsie was eating now was the exact same amount she was capable of consuming in the real world.
"What should we try next?" She still had room for more? At this point, it was bordering on terrifying.
"But I think we've already eaten almost every kind of food in this city...?" I, too, had been forced to eat quite a bit while tagging along with her. This was already the fifth time I had to ask the god to empty my stomach. At first, I felt a bit guilty calling upon a deity for something so trivial, but by the third time, I realized the sheer gravity of the situation.
"Vasilium really isn't that big of a city after all. It felt so massive two years ago." No, Vasilium was definitely a massive city. It was one of humanity's five major metropolises. It was just that Elsie's stomach was abnormally large. Still, thinking about how she acted on the outside recently, it did feel a bit strange. Far from eating a lot, she usually ate even less than Yoo Seora. I had wondered if her appetite had completely changed, but seeing her today, that clearly wasn't the case.
"If you love food this much, why were you holding back so much on the outside?" Elsie froze in her tracks. She averted her gaze and mumbled, "That's... a bit embarrassing to talk about." After asking, I wondered if I had been a bit rude. It would probably be better to ask Gwen the next time I saw her.
"Anyway, it would be nice if we could eat as much as we wanted from the academy cafeteria like this too." "Let's try that next time we get the chance." I felt too self-conscious to ask the god to change the background back to the academy right now. My contract with him was to help me hide my identity. Trivial requests like this fell far outside that scope.
"Really? We can eat as much of that delicious food as we want?" It seemed she had accumulated a lot of pent-up desire from holding back for so long. Of course, I agreed that the academy's food was quite delicious. However... Though Mr. Weiss's cooking is still the best. Just as I was wondering if the god could replicate Mr. Weiss's dishes—
"Who were you just thinking about?" "Oh, no one. It's nothing." I didn't know why, but my instincts suddenly screamed danger. I did my best to force an awkward smile. Elsie tossed her empty skewers onto the side of the road. If this were reality, I would have scolded her, but since it wasn't, I let it slide.
"Is that so? Well, I think I'm finally full... but my legs are a bit sore. Maybe because we walked around so much." We certainly had covered a lot of ground, but I highly doubted her legs actually hurt. Elsie's stamina stat was already far beyond that of an ordinary human. But then again, I suppose it's possible. Normally it wouldn't be, but we had just finished a fierce battle. The physical toll might still be lingering.
It feels a bit much to ask the god to heal her just for this... Come to think of it, Elsie's main goal in this space seemed to be eating her fill. In that case, our business here was practically finished. Her mood seemed to have brightened considerably as well.
"Well then, maybe we should rest somewhere—" "Shall we head out of the Trial now?" "Pardon?" Elsie's expression instantly stiffened at my casual suggestion. Did she still have more she wanted to eat? I was starting to feel genuinely terrified.
"Um, Alan? You don't look very well." "I think I ate too much. My stomach feels a bit upset." "Ah, then I suppose we have no choice." Elsie smacked her lips in disappointment but ultimately gave up. Thank goodness. "We'll have to aim for next time, then." "Right, next time..." It was at that moment. The scenery of the Trial began to crumble. I haven't even asked him to let us out yet? And then, what appeared before my eyes was the giant tree.
"What is the meaning of this?" I asked the god, having been abruptly transported in front of the giant tree. Soon after, his voice echoed in my mind.
- I apologize for the sudden relocation. However, I simply could not bear to watch any longer...
"You couldn't bear to watch?"
- There is one thing I must ask you. Do you, by any chance, prefer men? As romantic partners, I mean.
It was a completely random question. But it wasn't a particularly difficult one to answer. "No, I normally prefer women." The memories of Sung Yu-rang in my head said the same. He was a heterosexual man who had romantic experiences with the opposite sex. Why on earth was the god suddenly asking this?
- Your physical functions are perfectly fine as well, so why on earth...?
I was the one who had no idea what he was talking about. "Is there some kind of problem?"
- Of course there is... No, there is no problem in particular. I have simply realized once again that there are still humans in this world whom I cannot comprehend.
An incomprehensible human. Having personally witnessed Elsie's appetite, I could understand where he was coming from. If even fellow humans felt that way about each other, how much more so for a god? "I understand."
- Just when I was about to calm down, you say something like... Well, whatever. I summoned you here because I have other business with you.
Business? Only one thing came to mind. "Has the God of Chains returned?" I had previously asked him to let me know when the God of Chains came back. If he really had returned, it would be quite early. But the answer was negative.
- No, the God of Chains is still resting. It seems his rest period will not differ much from what I told you last time.
Then what was this about?
- I summoned you because there is something I wish to inform you of. It concerns my Trial.
"The Trial?" My expression hardened. While it was true that the Trial's assistance had allowed me to be here, I didn't personally hold very fond memories of it.
Besides, I didn't think this place still functioned as a Trial. Since the contract with the Magic Towers, this place had primarily served as a training ground for the Hero Academy cadets. I had never once heard of a cadet conversing with a god here, meaning it had essentially lost its function as a Trial. So why was he suddenly bringing up a Trial to me?
- You do not need to be so tense. It is a trivial Trial. In fact, my Trial has already been underway without your knowledge.
"It was already underway?"
- Yes, my Trial is naturally woven into the curriculum of the Hero Academy. That was the nature of the contract I signed with the Magic Towers.
This was news to me. But the fact that he was revealing this to me now meant... "Have I passed the Trial?"
- Passed... Not quite, but it is true that you have achieved some results. I summoned you today to grant you an interim reward.
"An interim reward?"
While it was a bit disappointing that I hadn't fully passed, the existence of an interim reward—something I'd never heard of before—sounded quite promising.
- Yes, I shall bestow it upon you immediately.
At his words, I looked up at the giant tree to see if a fruit would fall. Sure enough, a single fruit was tumbling down. Blue? It was the same grade as the Awakening Pill I had obtained from the second Trial. Still, considering this was just an interim reward, it wasn't bad at all. I used my Wind Authority to catch it safely.
I wonder what's inside this time. Judging by the rattling sound, it was definitely a physical object. However, it felt quite light. I slipped my fingers into the seam of the fruit and pried it open. What is this? Once again, it was filled with things that looked like pills. The only difference from last time was that these were individually packaged. No, rather than pills, they looked more like vitamins... Vitamins? In that instant, I realized what they actually were.
"Are you serious?"
If I had to argue whether they were useful or not, well, they weren't completely useless. But as for whether this had anything to do with combat power...
- Of course it does. Pregnancy leads to a temporary loss of combat power, after all.
Well, he wasn't wrong. But still...
Are you my dad or something? I pressed a hand to my forehead and stared at the giant tree. The god spoke up, sounding defensive.
- Do not look at me like that. I only have the authority to distribute the rewards; choosing them was not my doing. However...
At that moment, I thought I heard a faint snicker. The god continued.
- Personally, I believe this is the item you need most. Whether it be by your own will, or the will of others.
"Wait a minute, what do you mean by—"
- Then, I wish you safety. For you still have Trials left to overcome.
In the next instant, I found myself back outside the Lake.
"Alan?" Elsie looked at me with a puzzled expression. "What is that you're holding so much of in your hands?"
"Just some ordinary pills."
There was no way in the world these were ordinary pills. Still, I slipped them into my inventory as naturally as possible.
"Well, let's head back to the dormitory." I offered my sleeve to Elsie once again. But just as I was about to retrieve Amyah from my inventory, I felt a sudden warmth on my hand.
"Elsie?"
For some reason, she was holding my hand.
"What's the big deal? Comrades can hold hands."
Well, she was right. It would be weirder of me to harbor strange feelings over something like this. I tried my best to ignore the sensation of her hand in mine as I pulled out Amyah.
Still, he said there are Trials left... Since it was a Trial linked to the Hero Academy, there shouldn't be any major risks. But if I could obtain rewards from it, it was certainly something to look forward to. I added "uncovering the nature of the third Trial" to my mental to-do list.