Chapter 241
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: Kukuru Island and Special Training Survival (8)
Day 18 on Kukuru Island.
Three days remained until we were to leave.
Perhaps they were spurred on by me finally overcoming the Moonlit Mirror's trial.
Alice and David also succeeded in maintaining their consciousness while touching the mirror.
Which meant they had both safely overcome the trial.
They had succeeded around this time in the original story, so it wasn't surprising… but they truly went through a lot.
“You’ve worked hard, Lady Alice, Sir David. You’ve finally succeeded.”
“...!”
“Ahaha, I’m just sorry it took us so long….”
“It’s all thanks to you believing in us.”
“Good work, you two. I was worried since time was running short… but I knew you could do it.”
“Wh-what’s with that? It's embarrassing…. Thank you, Jin.”
“Hmph, thank you.”
Alice and David seemed quite pleased by the praise from the peanut gallery.
They were already on a high from finally conquering the trial that had tormented them for days.
With Raven fanning the flames with his open compliments, they couldn't possibly hide their emotions.
I checked the time. It was still broad daylight, so perhaps because we had plenty of time left.
We decided to take a short break in a nearby field of purple flowers.
Raven, Jellin, and I had just arrived, so it wouldn't have mattered if we kept moving.
But those two must have been exhausted from completing the trial. It was a gesture of consideration in many ways.
Oh, by the way, we had already agreed to leave the Moonlit Mirror at the bottom of Baraya Lake.
We couldn't very well take an object that dangerously altered its surroundings off the island. It was a natural conclusion.
‘I wanted to talk to it a little more… But if I can’t hear its voice even when I touch it again, I guess there’s no helping it.’
I’ll come visit again someday if I get the chance.
I thought quietly to myself, glancing at the Moonlit Mirror floating in the air.
While I was briefly distracted by the mirror, had Alice and David caught their breath?
They began to generously share their experiences from within the trial.
There was another person here who had cleared the trial, of course.
But unfortunately, I couldn't speak. Raven and Jellin looked quite intrigued.
‘Alice was sixteen, and David was twelve, I think…’
First, the past Alice had been dropped into was from around the time she failed to get into the academy.
It was a period when she despaired, thinking she could never become the family heir because she couldn't use magic.
In terms of years, it was only a year and a half ago.
Compared to me and David, who were sent back several years… it was relatively recent, I suppose.
Anyway, Alice, trapped in her hometown in Japan, heard a legend about a certain Oni.
It was a story about a woman who, in the distant past of another world where Oni lived together in a village, prevented their extinction.
‘The village hero who defeated thousands of monsters single-handedly. That nameless Oni was immortalized in a song that has been passed down as a children's rhyme to this day.’
Just hearing this much, anyone who likes shonen manga could probably guess the flow of the story.
That's right. The target Alice had to defeat was none other than that nameless Oni, her distant ancestor.
The only problem was… as if to prove she wasn't just a legend, that ancestor was ridiculously strong.
Truly a hero who had defeated thousands of monsters. She was a formidable enemy that even the current Alice couldn't guarantee victory against.
All the more so, for the Alice from before she came to Nighthaven, the chances of victory were zero.
There was a reason she had been failing the trial for the past few days. Honestly, it was a bit much.
‘I guess that's why they call it a trial—because it's difficult.’
In any case, faced with such a formidable trial, Alice had to somehow awaken her potential.
Fighting her ancestor while pushing past her limits, she eventually broke through her walls and was able to inherit her ancestor’s legacy.
That's what clearing the trial meant.
Raven, who had been listening intently, looked at the triumphant Alice and asked.
“So, what did you get out of it?”
“Heehee…. Are you curious, Jin?”
“Well, yeah, I am.”
Her face brimming with confidence, she shot up from her spot.
Then, she walked over to an empty space to avoid causing any damage.
She clasped her hands together, raising only her index fingers and thumbs, and slowly closed her eyes.
It was a posture like an incantation, like some kind of ritual.
“Don’t be surprised. Here I go!”
*Rumble!*
As Alice stood with her eyes closed and hands clasped, a wind whipped up around her.
Even though we were indoors, her hair swayed mysteriously, a clear sign of her presence.
She supposedly had no magic, yet it was as if she were casting a spell.
But the truly surprising thing happened right after.
A change occurred in Alice, who stood at the center of the fierce wind.
It was none other than pink tattoos that appeared all over her body.
Rather than looking messy, they harmonized beautifully with her aura, like decorations on her body.
Perhaps feeling a slight strain, Alice gently furrowed her brow.
But soon after, her eyes flew open, and she shouted powerfully, as if releasing the wind coiled around her.
“Haaaaah! Factor Awakening!”
“F-Factor…”
“Awakening?!”
“...!”
Raven and Jellin, who were watching Alice’s transformation from a distance, raised their voices in surprise.
It was likely because the sight of her with tattoos etched like pictures on her exposed skin was anything but ordinary.
I, too, naturally joined in, hopping on the spot.
It was the debut of Alice's first awakening skill, after all. I couldn't just nod knowingly as if I'd expected it.
Soon, Alice seemed to have stabilized her Factor Awakening.
Slowly unclasping her hands, she looked at Raven with sharp eyes and said.
“Hoo, hoo…. This is my first time using it outside the trial…. What do you think, Jin? This is the new power I gained from the trial, Factor Awakening.”
“Hmm, something’s… different. Your aura, too…”
“Yes. This is the first time I’ve done it with my real body, but… it seems to amplify my physical abilities across the board. I also feel a little… calmer than usual.”
Alice, with pink tattoos covering her body, including her face, exuded an aura different from her usual self.
Her eyes, always wide and gentle like a deer's, were now piercingly sharp, as if ready to cut down anyone.
Her lips, usually full of a relaxed smile, were now as cold as if they had been touched by ice.
If the old Alice was like a kind older sister sharing bread with a child…
The current Alice was like a knight on a battlefield, emotionlessly slaughtering enemies.
It was the same face, but the person inside seemed to have changed—a sudden transformation.
Even Raven, who rarely lost his composure, was visibly flustered by the stark contrast.
‘Factor Awakening. A body enhancement technique that only Oni born without horns can use… I think.’
I looked at Alice, whose aura was somehow different from usual, and quietly recalled my knowledge from the original story.
If my memory served me right, what she had done was a body enhancement art developed by the ancestor who protected the Oni village.
The reason Oni without horns couldn't wield magic was because the factor within their bodies hadn't been activated.
Therefore, this technique forcibly awakened the dormant factor in the body, temporarily multiplying one's physical abilities.
You could say it was an ability she could use precisely because she was born without horns.
It could also be seen as the fruition of her blood-spitting efforts in physical training to overcome her weakness of not being able to use magic.
However, the strain of Factor Awakening on her body seemed much greater than expected. Alice suddenly dropped to her knees and sat on the ground, deactivating it and panting heavily.
“…But, haaah…. For some reason, it's much harder than when I used it in the trial…. I didn't use it for long, but I feel so… fatigued.”
“Hmm, I can't be certain, but from what you've said, the trial was just a manufactured illusion. It’s possible the stamina consumption wasn’t properly reflected.”
“W-What?! Th-Then that means… I can’t use this in a real fight!”
Alice looked up at Jellin with a tearful face, as if it were unbelievable.
Just maintaining the awakened state without doing anything was already a struggle.
She probably thought it was impossible to fight someone while maintaining this state.
Raven, who was observing her condition from the side, also seemed to be deep in thought, but…
It appeared he had no immediate solution. There was nothing he could do if it was hard to maintain.
However, perhaps because I knew the hidden conditions of Factor Awakening from the original story…
I walked over to the discouraged girl without much worry and patted her on the shoulder.
“Yuriaaa…”
“Chana.”
“Sniff, you’re the only one who comforts me, Yuria…!”
A little dejected, Alice pulled me into an embrace and whimpered sadly.
Of course, being strong-willed, she would try to adapt somehow.
But I was glad if I could offer some comfort right now. She had worked so hard.
However, Raven seemed to be at a loss as to how to console her.
He averted his gaze slightly and asked David, who wore a rather serious expression.
“Ahem, David. Did you… get anything?”
“I was waiting for that very question. Yes, I did. I, too, have awakened something incredible. It seems my mentor who taught me magic anticipated the eventual emergence of Arcane Engineering…. I was able to receive an introduction to the principles of Programming Magic, a reconstruction of simplified magic!”
“Uh… right. So you got something good, then?”
Raven was quite smart, but perhaps because he lacked deep knowledge of computers…
He nodded at David’s words with a bewildered expression, as if to say, that’s great.
*I have no idea what you’re talking about, but seeing as you’re happy, it must be something to celebrate.*
It was written all over his face.
‘Alice and David both… I’m looking forward to their futures.’
Alice, who had obtained a secret art to increase her physical abilities, and David, who had surpassed the limits of magic.
The thought that they had both gained the potential to stand alongside Raven made me smile for no reason.
They had always been the ones unilaterally protected by Raven.
The fact that they could now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him was something that couldn't help but make me happy.
Anyway, after Alice and David safely completed the Moonlit Mirror's trial…
We returned to base camp and decided to train the new powers we had each obtained.
We only had three days left.
It was a tight schedule even just to get used to our new powers.
“Man, I’m bored. Yuria. Got anything fun?”
“…Bleh.”
However, perhaps because Raven hadn't challenged the trial…
He suddenly came over to me as I sat on the bed concentrating and grumbled.
I gave him a look as if to say, *I’m not a child, are you really going to whine about something like that?*
He just shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn't help it and replied.
“Well, there’s no TV or anything here. The others look a little too busy to bother…. And besides, you’re free other than maintaining that thing, right?”
“…”
It seemed he had already adapted to the island's environment. He had finished maintaining all his weapons.
And since he was already at his growth limit with no need to train, he was likely quite bored with the remaining time.
Plus, Alice, who was forgoing sleep to focus on adapting to Factor Awakening, and David, who was frantically typing on his computer, probably looked too busy to approach.
And Jellin seemed to be avoiding Raven for some reason. So, I was the only one he could talk to.
‘I’m not just playing around, though…’
Contrary to his misunderstanding, I was definitely not just playing around right now.
Like Alice and David, I too had awakened a new ability through the Moonlit Mirror’s trial.
Of course, it was the technique to create a fissure that I had received from Ren.
Should I call it… Crevice, in the sense of pulling at the seams of space with psychokinesis?
Unlike the others, this wasn't directly helpful in combat, but…
It was a skill with perhaps even greater utility. A revolution in sustainability, so to speak.
‘The objects’ energy can only be received from the fissure. It was what I needed most of all.’
The Tesseract, Echo, and Crescent always consumed energy when their abilities were used.
And coincidentally, that energy had to be replenished from a fissure.
But in a situation that was bound to become a long-term battle, I couldn't always crawl into a closet.
So Crevice, the ability to create a fissure at will, was a skill I was tearfully grateful for.
‘And I can create it anywhere just by concentrating hard. I’m not bound by location. I can create and destroy it at will…. The Moonlit Mirror really helped me out.’
I'll consider this repayment for the grudge I held for it killing me ten times.
Honestly, at this point, it was worth it. I let go of my resentment toward the Moonlit Mirror.
And just like that, three days passed. Day 21 on Kukuru Island.
The day of our departure had finally arrived.