Trial of Ruel (2)
I am a rotten human being through and through, which is why I've memorized the maps of every single dungeon that appears in Soul Academy.
And naturally, I remember the location of every trap inside them, too.
The one I'm after is the teleport trap in Evans Dungeon.
You know how, in any RPG, there's always that trap that forcibly flings you down to a lower floor while you're exploring a dungeon?
Well, Evans has one of those too.
To be precise, it's a trap that sends you to a random spot on the lowest floor.
My plan is to use it to shake off Forsell and Ferbi.
Of course, those two are absurdly powerful monsters, so they'll carve through the floors in no time and come down after me.
Which means, from the moment I step on the trap, it becomes a race — will they find me first, or will I make it into the Trial of Ruel first?
For that, I'll need to bring Carl along.
If I got dropped onto the lowest floor alone, I'd probably end up fighting goblins and getting caught by Forsell before I could do anything.
Then Carl would be left behind once I enter the trial, but so what? I'll just let the poor fool come up with some excuse about how he was searching for his lady, won't I?
As it happens, the situation couldn't be better.
Forsell had handed me command from the very start again today.
Because I'd demonstrated near-flawless command all day yesterday, he trusts me now.
So much so that even when I give somewhat outlandish orders, he assumes there must be a method to my madness.
Normally, that kind of trust would feel like a burden — but not right now.
That trust was a tool I could exploit to the fullest.
While earning Forsell's confidence on the first floor, I didn't show a single mistake.
Thanks to that, when we entered the second floor and I chose a route that wasn't the correct one, he didn't scold me at all.
If anything, he almost seemed pleased by my error.
Perhaps he thought I finally had something to teach him.
Well. Whatever was going through his head, I managed to lead them all the way to the teleport trap on the second floor.
The moment we arrived in the vicinity of the trap, I issued my usual orders to the knights while discreetly studying their faces.
Does anyone among them know about the teleport trap?
If they did, they'd surely warn me. Unlike the other traps, a teleport trap activates the instant you step on it.
In other words, no matter how strong a knight may be, there's no countering a teleport trap.
From their perspective, me getting isolated by stepping on one would be the absolute worst-case scenario.
And yet, not a single one of them mentioned the trap.
Are they waiting to see if I notice it on my own?
As if.
If they were willing to leave me that much freedom, they never would have let me come down here with just Carl in the first place.
It was certain.
They didn't know about the trap.
That's why none of them had raised a warning, even though I was standing right beside it.
So the next order of business was clearing Forsell and Ferbi out of the way.
If those two got caught up in the trap along with me, I'd never be able to slip away to the Trial of Ruel in secret.
Fortunately, I had a way to get rid of them.
Because right now, I'm the commander, after all.
Ferbi. Forsell.
"Bald Knight. Idiot Forsell."
I sent Ferbi and Forsell forward under the pretext of monster clearing.
Waiting up ahead was a goblin horde of roughly ten or so.
Even for those two, taking them out would take about ten seconds.
The moment the two knights vacated their posts, Carl naturally drifted to my side.
Planning to guard me while they were gone, I supposed.
And with that, the stage was set.
The instant the fighting began, I stepped onto the teleport trap.
Fwoop.
The trap activated the instant I touched it, a pale light bleeding up from the floor.
Looking down, I could see a magic circle etched with intricate patterns materializing beneath my feet.
Even in the game, I'd thought the effects were pointlessly flashy — now that it was real, they were even worse.
As I was frowning at the spectacle, the light suddenly surged in intensity and detonated into a blinding flash.
Agh!
Ugh. My eyes.
It's just a lousy teleport trap — why is it flashing in my face?
"My lady! Are you all right?!"
It took several seconds of clutching my eyes before I could finally see again.
And there was Carl's face, shoved far closer than it needed to be.
Gah. What is he doing? So uncomfortable.
After pushing the aggravating face out of my way with a hand, I scanned my surroundings.
First, judging by the color of the walls, I'd definitely landed on the lowest floor.
The moss crusted into the ground, the corridor nearby, the shape of the walls...
I had a rough idea of where this was.
Lucky me.
From this position, the Trial of Ruel is right nearby.
"My lady?!"
I can hear you, Carl.
"Weakling. You don't have to shout — I can hear your annoying voice just fine."
"I apologize, my lady. But are you truly all right?"
I'm fine.
"Can't you tell by looking?"
Only after hearing my answer did Carl let out a sigh of relief, then spoke up again, his face conspicuously trying its hardest to look dependable.
"Do not worry, my lady. I don't know where this place is, but I, Carl, swear I will protect you!"
Hmm. It's probably about time I explained things to Carl.
Finding the place where the Trial of Ruel is hidden is one thing — but that's a trial I have to face alone.
If I suddenly vanished on him, he'd panic, so I should at least brief him on the situation beforehand.
I already had my excuse prepared.
I'd just blame it on a Blessing.
Since gods genuinely exist in this world, claiming I'd received a revelation solves just about everything!
A god appeared in my dream and told me about the Trial of Ruel — and that's that.
Whether Carl believed me or not didn't matter in the slightest.
Once I walked into the trial, he'd have no choice but to believe it anyway.
"First, where exactly is this—"
Carl.
"Hey. Weakling."
"Yes?"
Calm down. I stepped on that trap on purpose.
"I stepped on that trap on purpose, so quit fussing."
"...Oh. On purpose?"
When I roughly told Carl that I'd received a revelation through a Blessing and had to go undergo a trial, he nodded along far more readily than I'd expected.
"I see. A revelation, was it?"
Hang on — this is my plan, but... is it really okay for him to buy it this easily?
Gods and revelations and whatnot aren't exactly realistic, you know?
I figured he'd push back at least once.
You're actually believing me?
"You believe me?"
"How could I possibly deny a word my lady has spoken?"
The sheer gravity in Carl's voice made my brow twitch.
He probably thought the line was cool, but from where I stood, it was just a little gross.
Note to self — never bring up oaths of loyalty with this guy again.
Whether he read my expression or not, Carl added a follow-up, admitting the first part had been half in jest.
"Besides, if you received a divine revelation, my lady, then your uncanny knowledge of this dungeon makes perfect sense as well."
Ah. So that's how he interpreted that part.
Fair enough — I only cleared this place because I already knew everything about the dungeon, but from their perspective it must have looked bizarre.
But apparently, invoking a revelation smooths all of that over.
I was just doing my best as a seasoned veteran, and somehow it comes back around to this.
...I anticipated all of this! Probably!
"And judging by how you brought only me here, this must be something that can't be spoken of to anyone else."
Yes. Exactly.
"Quick on the uptake, for a weakling."
"Haha. I am my lady's knight, after all."
Thanks to Carl so obligingly filling in the blanks himself, I saved a great deal of explaining.
Even now, Forsell and Ferbi were no doubt charging down here like men possessed, so every minute counted.
I had to reach the Trial of Ruel, fast.
Carl. Let's move.
"Weakling. Let's go. No time to waste."
"Understood, my lady. Please lead the way."
Making our way through the lowest floor with Carl at my side, one thing became clear: bringing him along had been the right call.
Evans Dungeon is a small-to-medium dungeon, so there aren't that many branching paths.
Which also means there's precious little room to flee when monsters block your way.
If something's barring a corridor, your only option is to cut it down and push forward.
And Evans or not, the lowest floor is still the lowest floor.
The goblins down here didn't come in ones and twos — they came in hordes.
If I'd been dropped here alone, I would have been bogged down fighting goblins long before reaching the Trial of Ruel, and then Forsell and Ferbi would have come down and caught me.
But with Carl around, there was no need to worry about any of that.
It's quite convenient having a bus driver who clears the swarming goblins with a single sweep of his sword.
Thanks to him, I reached the location of the Trial of Ruel in a matter of minutes.
Standing there was a single statue in the shape of a knight.
Both hands, which should have held a weapon, were empty — the goblins must have stolen whatever it once carried.
The right arm had been broken so badly it was barely recognizable as an arm anymore.
The surface had faded to a grimy, murky black.
And cracks spider-webbed across the statue everywhere, making it look as though it would crumble into rubble at the slightest touch.
"So this is what you were looking for, my lady?"
You knew about it?
"What, weakling Carl. You knew about this place?"
"Yes. This is the statue of Saint Ruel, is it not?"
So the knights did know about this statue.
They've been in and out of this dungeon plenty of times — it would be stranger if they didn't.
"Is something hidden here?"
Yes. Watch.
"Fine. Watching. Not that a weakling like you could ever imagine what's hidden here."
I clasped my hands together in front of the statue.
In the game, you had to uncover the trigger and come to this statue before the choice even appeared — but not now.
This place isn't a game, and I'm not a character inside one.
I closed my eyes and recalled the line the game's protagonist used to recite.
I stand in this place carrying a single conviction. Ruel, I ask that you test my conviction.
At those words, the statue of Ruel groaned with a grinding creak and sank downward, revealing a staircase leading below.
Phew. Thank goodness I didn't have to actually say the line out loud.
If I'd had to speak it, the Mesugaki skill would have twisted it into something grotesque.
And then the statue never would have moved.
"So something like this was hidden here."
Carl exclaimed in admiration at the newly revealed staircase.
I suppose discovering something hidden in a place he thought he knew well must feel wondrous.
I shoved the curious Carl aside, my eyes on the stairs, and spoke.
Carl. Step away for a while, please.
"Weakling. Get lost somewhere else for a bit."
"...My lady? But that—"
Otherwise, they'll figure out that I went in to take the trial, won't they?
"Weakling. Can't you think? If you're standing there, everyone will know I went inside."
I want to take the test in secret and come back like nothing happened.
You bought the revelation story easily enough, but there are bound to be people who won't.
Rather than drawing suspicion from those people, it's far easier to claim I fell into the dungeon, wandered around lost, and stumbled into the trial by pure chance.
But if you're standing right here? Then it's obvious I entered the trial on purpose.
So please, kindly get lost somewhere else.
"You may be ambushed by monsters when you come back out later."
I doubt it. Because...
"Weakling. Think about it. By that point, that idiot Forsell will have blasted everything to smithereens — you really think a bunch of trash-tier goblins will still be breathing?"
And if any goblins do survive, whatever they are, they won't be shaped like goblins anymore.
Carl couldn't bring himself to argue. He must have thought the same thing.
After teaching Carl what excuse he should give, I set my foot on the staircase leading down to the trial.