Demarion's Trial (2)
"..."
Strawberry Latte stared blankly around the room.
The antique interior of the magic academy's special ward came into view all at once.
With its high ceiling, golden chandelier, velvet wallpaper, and embroidered carpet, the room looked just like a nobleman's drawing room.
It was a sight he had rarely encountered, at least not in the environment he had grown up in.
'This is driving me crazy.'
A dry chuckle escaped him.
He couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Strawberry Latte still found it hard to believe that he had been possessed into a game.
To think he would personally experience something that only happened in novels or webtoons.
'But he's already been dealing with this for a month.'
Middle Finger.
The player who went by the name 'Gaon' in this world.
It had been six months since he went off the grid in the real world.
Which meant there was at least a six-fold time difference between reality and this place.
And in that time, Gaon had achieved truly ridiculous feats.
Strawberry Latte clenched and unclenched his hands.
His physical condition was incomparably better than when he had first woken up in this body.
It wasn't just a matter of recovering his condition.
It felt as though his fundamental constitution had been completely reconstructed.
His body had evolved to a higher level, all thanks to the Transgressor's attempt to possess him.
"..."
Suddenly, the conversation he had shared with Gaon a few hours ago came to mind.
"When the Transgressor briefly possessed your body, your physical form 'synchronized' with it."
"...Synchronized?"
"Yeah. It was restructured to absorb and utilize mana much more efficiently, and your muscle and bone density were enhanced to the highest grade..."
"..."
"Simply put, you can think of it as obtaining the mage version of a Dragon Body."
According to Gaon's explanation, if there was a 'vessel' with sufficient talent, an event where the Transgressor attempted possession would trigger.
Normally, players were supposed to prevent that event, but Gaon had somehow exploited it instead.
That was also why Gaon had pried so deeply into his character's stats via private messages immediately after his reincarnation.
He wanted to see if Strawberry Latte had met the conditions to trigger the event.
'I had absolutely no idea such an event existed.'
At the same time, a question arose.
He had built characters with similar stats multiple times in the past.
So why hadn't this event triggered back then?
To this, Gaon had given the following answer:
"It's an event that normally doesn't happen during the tutorial phase."
"...?"
"But since a month has passed since the original start date, the trigger for the event was unlocked."
It wasn't even surprising.
Lost Elder was infamous for its brutal difficulty, where a single minor discrepancy could derail everything.
It was not strange at all for the Transgressor's behavioral patterns to shift after just one month.
But still...
'How on earth does he know all this?'
The butterfly effect brought about by minor changes.
And even the methods to counter them.
It was downright terrifying how Gaon saw through everything.
Strawberry Latte chuckled.
On the other hand, he found Gaon's behavior somewhat absurd.
Did he really keep such crucial information to himself just because he didn't want to lose the top spot in a game that was over ten years old?
'Well, it's not like I have room to talk.'
Strawberry Latte was in no position to blame Gaon.
He, too, had kept several secret strategies to himself to protect his second-place rank.
Of course, now that rankings meant absolutely nothing, he had ended up spilling all his secrets to Gaon anyway...
"I know."
"Huh?"
"The method to fast-track the True Name Awakening of the Feather Sword. I already know it."
...Surprisingly, Gaon already knew everything.
"Th-then, what about the fastest way to contact the officers of the Ruins Investigation Team...?"
"I know that too."
"..."
'Seriously, he's an incredible guy.'
Knowing all that information was one thing, but actually executing it was even more impressive.
He had always known Gaon was someone to learn from, but he hadn't expected him to possess such an ironclad mentality.
In that sense, the next plan Gaon was currently cooking up was even more mind-blowing.
'Archmage Demarion.'
If they could meet that NPC at this point in time...
Reaching the true ending might not be such a pipe dream after all.
"..."
Step, step.
Following behind Selena, I fell deep into thought.
A few hours ago.
When I explained my plan to Strawberry Latte, he had expressed some concern.
Setting aside whether we could actually meet Archmage Demarion, he was worried that encountering him at this stage would alter too many things.
"As you know, the butterfly effect in Lost Elder is massive. If we meet Demarion now..."
"You're worried the main scenario will spiral out of control?"
"...Yes. Exactly."
I could understand Strawberry Latte's concern.
However, this wasn't something to worry about.
As I had said many times, I had memorized both the fixed and variable futures.
This meant that, at least within the flow of the game, no variable could pose a threat to me.
'However... the real problem lies with the other possessed players.'
They were unpredictable variables that didn't exist in the original game.
If they were cooperative like Strawberry Latte, it would be fine, but if someone uncontrollable entered, it would become a massive headache.
I recalled the message that had popped up when Strawberry Latte first possessed his body.
[Strawberry Latte has started their 200th playthrough.]
[The second player is entering the world.]
Yes.
Just as I had suspected, there was a specific trigger for the possession.
It was none other than a player starting their 200th playthrough.
"Right now, you are the only one, but in the future, the number of pl???a?????y????e???rs will gradually increase..."
I recalled the warning the Saintess had given me.
Just as she had prophesied, the number of players would continue to grow.
And when that happened, countless uncontrollable variables would emerge.
It would be impossible to handle all of them alone. That was why stabilizing the major factions was absolutely crucial.
If the major factions were under my control, I could react much faster to any unexpected variables.
'Personal growth is important, but building a solid network of allies is something I cannot afford to neglect.'
What if I had focused solely on boosting my stats until now?
I would never have achieved this much in just a single month.
It was because I recruited allies and progressed the story based on my achievements that I could exert my influence as a Sword Master.
In that sense, meeting Archmage Demarion was currently my top priority.
After all, he was the one who held the key to completely seizing control of the major factions.
'And above all...'
Archmage Demarion was not simply the founder of the magic academy.
He was a sage who held the secrets of the world.
An NPC who had reached a realm I had never personally attained.
If I could win him over to my side, I would be able to extract an immense amount of information.
"We are here."
I came to a halt.
Just as I was lost in thought, our group finally reached the top floor.
After climbing the steep, endless spiral staircase, we arrived in a cramped, suffocating space.
It had a low ceiling, a narrow corridor, and ancient stone walls without a single window. The air was thick with choking dust and a musty odor.
Only a faint light barely managed to push back the darkness.
At the end of the corridor stood a massive door made of black walnut wood. The sturdy door, showing the passage of time, bore no decorations or nameplates.
Stopping in front of it, Selena began to explain.
"That is Archmage Demarion's room. However, for hundreds of years, no one has been able to open this door..."
"No need for explanations."
I cut Selena off.
There was no need to hear any more details.
All I had to do was open the door and walk in.
"Step back for a moment."
At my command, Selena and Adelia stepped back in unison.
They watched me with eyes filled with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
Inhale, exhale.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly closed my eyes.
'Demarion's Trial.'
It was a trial that had to be passed to enter the top floor of the magic tower.
However, most people didn't even realize this trial existed.
This applied not only to average experts but even to Selena, a 9th-circle mage.
And for good reason—the entire top floor was under a powerful spell that blurred and distorted human perception.
[Mental Strength 'MAX' resists the cognitive distortion.]
...Of course, this didn't apply to me at all, protected as I was by the blessing of the Soul of the Sword Master.
Slowly, I reached my hand out toward the door.
It looked like an ordinary wooden door, but just before my hand touched it, I felt a faint resistance.
An ordinary person would have unconsciously stopped their hand at this moment, thinking, 'The door won't open.'
That was the core of the cognitive distortion illusion.
But having resisted the distortion, I pushed my hand in deeper.
Squelch!
It felt like pushing through thick jelly.
The wooden door visible on the surface was nothing but a substance-less illusion.
My hand had already passed through the illusion and gone deep inside.
As I reached further into the invisible space, my fingers brushed against a cold metal handle.
'Now.'
You have used the authority skill: Ritardando Jin.
Tick, tick, tick!
The sound of a ticking clock echoed from all directions.
At the same time, all movement began to slow down, as if the world had been submerged in water.
A flood of sensations brushed against my fingertips.
Even though I had bypassed the cognitive distortion and touched the 'real door' inside, the various barriers and magical formulas prepared by Archmage Demarion desperately tried to prevent me from opening it.
The obstructive mechanisms shifted rapidly, changing by the millisecond.
Under normal flow of time, one wouldn't even be able to react properly and would have been forced to let go of the handle.
However...
'I can see it.'
Within the infinitely slowed time, I was able to decipher the true nature of the barrier.
Normally, magical barriers exist in a fixed form.
But the barrier here was different.
It was a multi-layered structure consisting of twelve overlapping layers. Each layer rotated at a different speed and direction.
Like the orbits of stars and planets, the stacked barriers revolved in different cycles.
'There's a pattern.'
When playing the game, it was difficult to track the changes of this barrier unless one was at an exceptionally high level.
But now, thanks to Ritardando, I could capture its flow.
Like a solar eclipse or planetary alignment, there was a moment when all twelve layers of the barrier aligned in a single line.
In that split second, a weak point would form across all the barriers.
"..."
I waited for that exact timing.
And then...
You have used the active skill: Barrier Breaker.
Clang!
The twelve-layered barrier shattered like glass.
As one broke, the next followed, collapsing in a chain reaction.
The fragments of the shattered barrier scattered like dancing shards of light, and the door hidden by the illusion slowly revealed its true form.
It was a massive door made of pure white marble, not black walnut.
Its surface was engraved with intricate patterns depicting constellations and the movements of celestial bodies.
"Th-this is...!"
Selena's startled voice echoed from behind. She was witnessing the real door for the first time in her life.
Creak...
Right on cue, the marble door slowly began to swing open.
The room of the Archmage, which had remained closed for hundreds of years, finally revealed itself.
[You have passed Archmage Demarion's trial.]