Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Three Hardships
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(3)
5.
First Hardship: Knowledge
Ullan stared straight ahead.
He'd initially thought they each chose their own hardships, but from the looks of things, they were assigned randomly.
'No helping it.'
The die had already been cast.
Ullan had only one task now.
To break through this trial using every bit of knowledge he possessed.
"Come at me."
He was confident he'd overcome it splendidly.
Even if it meant passing out from overloading his brain's capacity.
Ullan steeled his resolve.
A short while later.
Countless characters etched themselves into the empty air.
Characters that resembled wriggling worms.
Familiar ones. They were the ancient script from the desert kingdom that Silpi had been deciphering all along.
The problem was...
"What the hell does it say?"
He couldn't understand the content.
Unable to comprehend the script itself, no strain hit his brain.
As he kept tilting his head in confusion.
Crack! Grind!
Suddenly, characters began engraving into the floor.
Four options soon appeared.
As if telling him to pick one.
"At least that's a relief."
He let out a brief sigh of relief.
Then Ullan examined the choices again.
His eyes now sharp and cautious.
Moments later, he selected the first option.
Because it had the most characters.
Right after making his choice.
The floor suddenly turned crimson.
Hiss!
A diagonal line soon slashed across it. Even Ullan could read that much.
It meant the number one.
"Does that mean correct?"
If wrong, a zero would've appeared. But since the line formed, it meant he'd earned one point. With that judgment, Ullan muttered softly.
"Lucky."
Then a new problem appeared.
With the same set of options.
Ullan continued selecting.
Each time, the floor reddened, and diagonal lines slashed across.
After a not-insubstantial amount of time.
Once he'd solved them all.
Fwaaash!
This time, not just the floor—the entire space bathed in red light. Ullan let out a low exclamation.
"No way I got a perfect score."
His luck was absurdly good.
Had he finally received some blessing of fortune?
As trivial thoughts crossed his mind.
Thoom! Boom-boom-boom!
Drums echoed from all directions.
Like the war drums of a battlefield. Were they celebrating his perfect score? As he pondered that.
"Grrr! Kee-rik!"
"Kraaaah!"
Monsters poured in from every side.
Undying ones, plus grotesque beasts he'd never seen before. Watching the motley horde, Ullan realized and widened his eyes.
"I see. So this is the final hardship?"
Made sense. They wouldn't just let him go after solving puzzles.
Ullan's lips curled up.
"Problems like this? I'm confident."
He even knew the answer already.
Total annihilation. Ullan grinned wickedly.
As the monsters charged from all sides.
His crimson axe tore through the air.
6.
Meanwhile, at that moment.
Ivela stared at the characters floating before her.
Heretic script. And the same ones Silpi had pointed out before they arrived here.
Second Hardship: Combat
Undoubtedly the hardship Ullan should have faced.
That it was assigned to her meant their plan had gone awry.
'I don't mind...'
But she hoped Silpi and Ullan would get knowledge and talent hardships respectively. Ullan aside, Silpi had practically no combat ability.
It was a genuine worry.
At that moment.
Thud!
A heavy footstep suddenly echoed.
Ivela gripped her sword instantly. She'd sensed someone approaching.
'Doesn't matter who it is.'
Overcome the hardship. Rendezvous with Ullan.
With her goal set, Ivela composed herself with a blank expression. But when the foe appeared from afar, her composure cracked.
"...Himmel?"
The figure was a young man with brown hair.
Her half-brother, Himmel Deorg.
Himmel's abrupt appearance left her flustered. And in that instant, a sharp blade exploited the gap born of her surprise.
Whoosh! Clang!
She barely deflected it with her sword.
After several more exchanges of blows, she finally realized.
'No doubt.'
This was unmistakably Himmel's swordsmanship.
The Deorg Count family's style.
'Why is Himmel here?'
He'd left when Class 2 departed earlier.
As confusion and questions swirled, she noticed something. No breathing came from the Himmel before her.
His eyes were different too.
Not the usual contempt and disgust, but a blank, emotionless gaze. Like staring at a puppet without feelings.
Having observed this far, she understood.
This wasn't the real Himmel.
'Then what is it?'
Illusion? Monster?
A new dilemma arose, but it resolved quickly. Thanks to recalling Ullan's words.
'If you can't tell if it's human or monster, smash the head first.'
That would solve it.
Ullan had said exactly that. So Ivela decided to follow through.
Clang! Clang!
Blades clashed repeatedly.
The impact was intense, yet the rusted sword held without breaking. But Ivela couldn't keep up.
"Ngh!"
Her offense gradually faltered.
It had seemed even at first, but time revealed the skill gap.
The reason was simple.
'I'm weaker than Himmel.'
She couldn't match him.
Unlike Himmel, who'd honed his sword from birth with vast resources, she'd only held one for three years.
Their training time differed fundamentally.
Clang! Thump!
As swords met, Himmel's fist suddenly slammed into Ivela's abdomen.
"Guh!"
The pain was too much to stifle her cry.
A heavy ache settled in her gut, but no time to check. She rolled across the floor to evade, then gritted her teeth.
"Cough, cough!"
She steadied her breathing amid coughs.
Then he looked her way. His gaze felt mocking. At that moment, the fake Himmel spoke.
A cold, emotionless voice. Words from long ago, when Ivela first picked up a sword.
She remembered those too.
This fake Himmel seemed born from her memories.
Proof: dredging up the past she most wanted buried, and taunting her relentlessly.
Ivela clenched her teeth.
Then shook her head fiercely.
"...No."
Her voice came out weak, belying her surging emotions. Those words—no talent, dirty blood—echoed in her mind.
If she truly had sword talent, couldn't she beat this fake Himmel easily?
As gloomy thoughts swirled.
A massive roar erupted.
Ruuuumble!
The ground shook violently next.
An intense quake that made even the fake Himmel glance away. Ivela snapped from her reverie, eyes widening.
"This is..."
Ullan.
No evidence, but it felt right. He was the first who came to mind.
Boom! Ruuuumble! Kwang!
The vibrations continued relentlessly, as if asserting presence. The ceaseless shocks hammered away her dark memories.
Then a memory surfaced.
Ullan's encouragement from sometime before.
Eyes brimming with fierce belief.
A single, certain phrase.
Encouragement utterly opposing Himmel's words.
Recalling it, something shattered inside her.
The memories she'd buried deep. Childhood nightmares crumbled under Ullan's words. Moments later, Ivela bit her lip hard.
'...I won't lose here.'
Ullan believed in her.
Believed in her talent as a swordswoman.
To repay that faith, she had to defeat this fake Himmel. Lips bleeding, her calm returned.
Then.
Something reflected in her eyes.
Second Hardship: Combat
This was the combat hardship.
So what was combat?
Not flaunting sword skills or honor duels. Something simpler, clearer.
'Combat is fighting to win.'
Win by any means.
The moment she grasped it.
Ivela's eyes flashed coldly.
'Then...'
Decision made.
She half-filled her lungs. Then charged boldly at the fake Himmel.
Slash! Swish!
Fierce sword strikes returned, but she didn't dodge.
As long as vitals were safe, it didn't matter.
For victory, Ivela gladly offered flesh. Finally reaching point-blank.
She swung her sword.
The fake Himmel raised his sword at an angle.
A perfect guard against her strike. Her past self would've retreated or parried.
But now, understanding combat.
Her choice differed.
The fake Himmel's eyes widened.
Just before blades met, Ivela released her sword without hesitation.
As panic flickered on his face for the first time, her pale hand roughly seized his collar.
"Got you."
A triumphant smile.
She headbutted his face.
Crack!
Her skull rang, but who cared.
Grabbing the staggering Himmel's arm, she slammed him to the ground.
Straddling him, Ivela pinned his arms with her knees and laughed.
"Finally, my wish comes true."
She'd always wanted to punch that obnoxious face. Her fist crashed down with full force.
Thud! Thump! Crack!
Once, twice, thrice.
Fists laced with killing intent stopped only when the pinned figure was no longer Himmel.
"Sand?"
The body had abruptly turned to sand.
And in that instant, the surroundings shifted.
Back to where the three had been together. Nearby, a familiar face appeared.
"Ullan..."
As she murmured his name dazedly.
He turned toward her. Then approached with a faint smile.
"Looks like victory."
"...Why do you think that?"
"You're smiling."
Ivela startled.
Probably an unconscious smile from beating Himmel. She schooled her expression and approached Ullan.
"What about Silpi...?"
"Right here."
Ullan pointed by the campfire.
Silpi lay there curled up, unconscious.
"She's been like this since we found her."
Fortunately, no injuries. Pulse and breathing steady, so Ivela nodded.
She sat by the fire after.
Her teal eyes gazed at Ullan.
"Thanks, Ullan."
"What's that out of nowhere?"
"I won because of you."
Recalling his words.
Ivela had regained her confidence. Faced her hated past and claimed victory boldly.
So she wanted to say thanks.
Ullan shook his head.
"No, that was purely your talent."
In his past life, she'd proven it by reaching master's realm.
Ullan had witnessed it firsthand.
So he was certain.
Her talent was real.
"With your gift, the talent hardship would've been a breeze."
"Huh? Talent hardship?"
Meanwhile, Ivela blinked.
As if asking what he meant.
"I passed the combat one."
"Combat?"
"Yeah. But wasn't yours talent? I thought for sure..."
"Mine was knowledge."
His response left her speechless.
Ullan added reassuringly.
"No issues. Got a perfect score."
"For real? As expected of the top admittee."
Relief that he'd passed.
But it was short-lived.
"If I did combat and you did knowledge..."
Trailing off, she glanced at Silpi.
Meaning Silpi got talent.
Realizing this.
Ivela's face turned uneasy. She acknowledged Silpi's ancient script skills, but doubted everything else.
The worry didn't last.
Clang! Rumble!
The room's front wall collapsed with a racket. Moments later, a new passage appeared before them.
The path to the final trial.
Spotting it, Ullan and Ivela exchanged looks and smiled.
Silpi had overcome her hardship too.
7.
The door to the final trial.
Despite the straight path ahead, Ullan and Ivela had no intention of leaving the campfire.
Simple reason.
Silpi hadn't woken yet.
Plus exhaustion from prolonged combat. They planned a brief rest to regroup.
"Here."
Ullan pulled food and water from his pack and handed them to Ivela. Taking them reflexively, she eyed him in surprise.
"Didn't expect you to have food and water too. You're surprisingly prepared, Ullan."
"I didn't bring this."
"Huh? Then who...?"
"Noa."
"Noa?"
"The little one who's been with me. We were briefly in the same group."
With the explanation.
Ivela recalled who Noa was.
The girl with black hair and strikingly blue eyes, somehow mystical.
"So her name was Noa."
She'd shared a bed with Ivela in the infirmary.
"You two seemed close. Did you know her before enrollment?"
"Fellow disciples under the same master."
I see. Fellow disciples.
Ivela nodded.
Her heart oddly calmed.
But one question lingered. She broached it cautiously, slyly.
"So, the kingdom's princess you met earlier?"
Dilia Arpen.
Even indifferent Ivela knew her fame.
That a celebrity greeted him first implied closeness.
Curiosity piqued.
That was all.
"Met Dilia during the specialty exam."
"Huh? That's it?"
"That's it."
Ullan nodded.
What? Same as me?
Ivela relaxed.
Then tilted her head. Why had she relaxed?
But no time for dwelling.
"Ugh, ugh."
A low groan sounded.
Silpi. She writhed with pained sounds, then opened her eyes.
As Silpi regained senses, Ullan handed her water and rations while asking about the talent hardship. Curiosity over what happened.
But the answer surprised.
"You don't remember anything?"
"...Yeah, nothing comes to mind."
Didn't seem like a lie.
Her flickering, anxious eyes proved it. Losing all memory would be frightening.
"W-well, glad it worked out!"
Silpi forced a smile.
True enough.
More important than probing her trial.
The final remaining trial.
Gazing at the passage ahead, Ullan stood.
"Shall we?"
Rest and regroup complete.
The party pressed forward once more.
To see what lay at the trials' end and find the way out.