Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: The Soul Stone Trial
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Eventually, we arrived in front of a certain cave.
Even from a distance, a unique type of mana could be felt emanating from inside the cave.
"This is the place where you'll undergo the trial of the Soul Stone."
Eun Hye-su said in a calm voice.
"The trial of the Soul Stone gnaws away at a person's mental strength and drives them mad. Even most S-rank sorcerers struggle to endure it."
Eun Hye-su took a small pill from her pocket and held it out to us.
"That's why I prepared this separately. Take it before using the Soul Stone."
"It's a pill that boosts resistance to the family's magic. I made it specially for you two. It'll definitely be a huge help in overcoming the Soul Stone trial."
"Thank you. Should I just swallow it?"
"Yes."
I tossed the pill into my mouth.
I didn't know what it was made of, but there was a slight bitter taste.
As soon as I swallowed the pill, a special energy rose up within my body.
It was the energy of protective magic.
A 20% illusion resistance was a significant effect. The ingredients must have been expensive and rare.
"Ugh. It's a bit bitter."
Lee Seo-jun grimaced.
Eun Hye-su looked at me and Lee Seo-jun alternately with satisfaction, then led us into the cave.
The cave was in the shape of an ordinary cave.
It didn't feel like a dungeon at all—just a plain old cave.
The only differences were the magic circles covering the walls.
"This place is used for special rituals. The family head succession ceremony is held here too."
Eun Hye-su said as she walked through the cave.
Every time she advanced, the candles installed in the cave lit up one by one, illuminating the surroundings.
"The magic circles on these walls are designed to react to the Soul Stone and the Eunwol family head's mana."
How long had we walked?
Eun Hye-su stopped in her tracks.
"This is the spot where you'll spend three days learning the Eunwol Illusion Cycle using the Soul Stone."
There was a massive magic circle beneath Eun Hye-su's feet.
At the same time, Outsider's Boon activated, and information about the magic circle flowed into my mind.
It was a space magic circle that reacted with the Soul Stone to create a new virtual realm.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Yes. We're ready."
As Lee Seo-jun answered, Eun Hye-su nodded and looked at me.
"I'm ready too."
"Alright, then. Let's begin."
Eun Hye-su released her mana.
The Soul Stone in her hand gradually absorbed her mana and floated into the air.
Whoooosh—
A blue energy began to seep out from the Soul Stone.
At the same time, the blue energy engulfed me and Lee Seo-jun.
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: The Mystery's Voice
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When I came to, I was standing alone in a dark space.
I slowly looked around.
Countless stars illuminating the darkness.
A brilliant galaxy shining beautifully.
It felt like I was floating in outer space.
I was getting a bit swept up in the sudden dreamy atmosphere when a message appeared before my eyes.
This seemed to be the place for the Soul Stone's trial.
I could tell because it matched the description from the original story.
I had even gone through enemy response training in a similar environment last week.
To learn the Eunwol Family's protective magic, the Eunwol Illusion Cycle, I probably had to endure three days in this place.
Knowing how grueling that process was made me tense up automatically.
I wandered aimlessly through the weightless space.
Though the trial had begun, nothing had changed except the shift in space.
Just as boredom started to set in, I felt a special energy from somewhere.
The space of the universe began to warp.
The distortion spread like a contagion, reaching the spot where I stood.
I stepped back to evade the spatial distortion.
But this was a virtual space created by mystical power.
Escaping was impossible.
In the end, the warped space gripped my arms and legs tightly, binding me in place.
Swoosh—
At that moment, the sound of wind being torn came from somewhere.
A spear infused with lightning shot toward me.
Of course, with my arms and legs bound, dodging the spear was impossible.
Puk!
"Kuh!"
The spear pierced straight through my chest, soaking my clothes in blood.
Pain surged through me.
It was fake pain created by illusion, not reality.
But the pain I felt now was no different from the real thing.
Fortunately, whether thanks to the pill or the illusion resistance trait I'd gained from last training, it was bearable.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
However, the illusory attacks targeting me showed no signs of stopping.
Spears, arrows, swords, orbs.
Various weapons flew toward me.
Bound by the distorted space, unable to move my arms or legs, I gritted my teeth and took every attack with my body.
"Grk!"
It had been tolerable at first, but with multiple attacks coming at once, the pain multiplied.
"Huff! Huff!"
...To endure a place like this for three days. It was torture, no matter what you called it.
Even thinking about it again, this was insane.
"Fine. Bring it on."
I pulled myself together and glared ahead.
...I had no idea how much time had passed.
True to its name, the trial brought grueling stretches of time that were truly hard to endure.
My body was now pierced with countless weapons, too many to count.
The silver lining was acquiring various additional abilities through the trial.
On top of that, combined with the effects of Eun Hye-su's pill, the pain had reached a level where I felt almost none.
This virtual space attacked me with various illusions as if it had a will of its own.
But now, they no longer worked on me.
"Hoo."
More time passed.
At some point, the illusory attacks using weapons stopped appearing.
And the countless weapons embedded in my body vanished like a mirage.
"...Is it over?"
Just as a sense of relief that the trial was finally ending washed over me.
Something completely unexpected happened.
A mysterious voice echoed in this mystical space that even Eun Hye-su couldn't intervene in.
The peculiar thing was that the voice hadn't entered through my ears—it resonated directly in my mind.
In other words, this wasn't a voice but someone's 'will.'
"...What?"
A mysterious voice during the trial.
This was a part not covered in the original story.
Who the hell was it?
The voice said in a weary tone.
From those words, I vaguely realized the identity of the voice.
This space was created by the mystical artifact, the 'Soul Stone.'
There was only one being capable of conveying its will to me.
"...The Mystery?"
As expected.
The identity of this voice was the Mystery.
More precisely, the 'self of the mystery' hidden within the Soul Stone.
At that moment, a black silhouette in human form walked toward me from the edge of the darkness.
Only a mouth was visible on its face, giving it a grotesque feeling.
"What do you mean, identity?"
'Mental corruption' was the term for the intermittent phenomenon that occurred when exposed to mental magic like illusions.
Severe mental corruption had various symptoms, and in the worst cases, people went insane and lived like vegetables for the rest of their lives.
The Mystery kept muttering in amazement.
I continued to feel puzzled by this unexpected situation.
I had no idea why the Mystery had appeared before me.
As I stayed silent, the Mystery chuckled.
What?
I thought at least two days had gone by, but only one day?
The Mystery swung its hand through the air.
At the same time, a blue orb rose above its hand and shot toward my body, seeping into me.
A bunch of unusual messages popped up before my eyes.
The 'Illusion Resistance' I'd gained from evolution and enemy response training had been absorbed into the newly acquired 'Eunwol Illusion Cycle.'
I immediately checked the skill's effects.
The effects were better than expected.
Especially the active effect, Phantom Severance.
It was an outstanding ability that granted immunity to mental magic for a period.
"Nice."
With this, the goal was achieved. It was an anticlimactic end, more than I'd imagined.
I never thought the trial would end in just one day.
I looked at the Mystery in front of me.
"Hey. Mystery."
"Now that the trial's over, you're sending me out?"
The Mystery shook its head.
"What? So I have to stay here for the remaining time?"
The Mystery grinned and plopped down on the floor.
Then it stared at me intently.
"What do you mean?"
This was something I knew to some extent.
In the original story, during the first semester finals, the 'Will of the Tower' had instantly seen through Lee Seo-jun and Jin Cheon-woo's relationship, and it was already known that Mysteries could enchant humans.
"You mean Jin Cheon-woo?"
I listened quietly to the Mystery's words.
I had no clue what it was trying to say.
"What are you talking about?"
I furrowed my brow.
It had been spouting incomprehensible nonsense for a while now.
"...Explain it so I can understand."
At my words, the Mystery giggled.