Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Doll's Dream
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The hidden piece of the second trial had opened.
The waterfall that had been flowing outward split the cliff and began pouring down into the center.
Not only that, but as water filled the cave interior, a hidden temple concealed beneath the dungeon revealed itself.
"What the hell is that?"
The adventurers gathered in front of the cliff buzzed with excitement.
"I've never heard of anything like this?!"
"Wasn't that little kid messing around with the mirror what caused this? Hey, you bastard! What the hell did you just do?!"
A hunter wearing a chengmo hat aimed his gun at me. Before anyone else could react, Rox leaped forward and slammed the man's head into the ground.
Bam!
"Don't talk nonsense. Next time, it won't end with a warning."
Step, step, step.
No sooner had Rox finished speaking than a being radiating intense energy emerged from the temple.
A tattered purple cloak draped over silver armor covered in countless scars.
Through the gaps in the helmet, a face reduced to nothing but bones revealed its identity without a doubt: the Deadlord, known as the king of the forest.
"Everyone, get behind me."
At my command, Rox's party and Cynthia's party instantly moved to my back.
The other adventurers, sensing the danger, hurriedly put distance between themselves and the Deadlord.
There was no way they could win if they fought it.
They were all skilled enough to reach this point. They could gauge the difference in power to some extent, so their instincts kicked in.
"D-Deadlord?!"
One of the adventurers recognized it.
"N-No way, I heard it almost never appears in person?!"
"Right, right! As long as you don't touch the dolls inside the dungeon, it opens the path..."
"Shut up and run!"
As soon as he shouted the apostle's name, the adventurers gathered in front of the temple freaked out and began fleeing.
Thud thud thud thud.
There was no battle.
They had merely learned the apostle's name. Yet not a single one could overcome their fear and stayed behind.
"Idiots."
Rox clicked his tongue as he watched them go.
I replied in a low voice as I looked at the fleeing adventurers.
"They're not idiots. They're wise."
"Guys who run away scared without even fighting?"
"Knowing the difference between you and the enemy and choosing to leave is one way to survive on the battlefield."
"......"
"And fighting recklessly against an unbeatable foe isn't courage—it's ignorance."
"Saying it like that makes me sound like a fool."
"Maybe you are."
"What?!"
In truth, Rox wasn't entirely wrong.
From here on, climbing higher required not just courage, but the resolve to fight to the death.
No matter what they had faced before, the trials ahead would bring even stronger enemies and greater dangers.
Step, step, step.
The Deadlord walked right up to the edge of the chessboard engraved on the floor. It counted the number of gargoyle statues on its side, then looked at me and asked.
"Will you accept the trial?"
Just those simple words made Alfredo collapse to the ground, overwhelmed by its presence.
Cynthia gritted her teeth and endured the pressure.
'...That guy's acting skills are impressive up close.'
Right beside her, Judah was sweating profusely and pretending to struggle.
'In terms of skill, he's one of the top five among the apostles.'
I met the Deadlord's gaze and stepped forward to the chessboard.
"Give the trial to all five of us here."
The Deadlord placed its palm on the ground. Its razor-sharp aura spread across the entire forest in an instant, causing the chessboard to flash with light as the gargoyle statues began to move.
Kikik, kikik, kikikik.
'Just like back then.'
The way they positioned themselves.
It was exactly like a chess game. Their forms, transformed by aura, matched king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, and pawn perfectly...
"The rules of the trial I give you are simple. The pieces on this chessboard take turns, one at a time."
The Deadlord nodded, and a pawn moved forward one square with a roar.
Kurururung.
"Unlike chess, they always move exactly one square. And when a piece reaches an enemy on its turn, it can attack."
I pointed at the pawn with my index finger.
"Does getting attacked mean death?"
"No, if you withstand the attack, you survive as many turns as needed."
The rules were the same as before.
"How do you win?"
"Kill all the enemies on the board."
"Understood. But we're five, and you're sixteen. No penalties?"
The Deadlord's lip twitched.
"None."
"Then we'll have to take down all sixteen with five."
"Yes. Or gather more party members if you don't like it."
"No. I just wanted to know the rules. Let's proceed like this."
I stepped onto the chessboard with Rox. Cynthia and her party members followed us.
"Apostle, before we start the game, may I make one proposal?"
"Proposal?"
"Fighting those weak gargoyles seems boring for me."
The Deadlord looked at me with interest.
"Let's hear it."
"You join the game."
"Me?"
"You'll become one of the pieces yourself and face us. Except for one of those gargoyles."
It tilted its head.
"You think that will let you win? I have power incomparable to those gargoyles."
"I think we can win."
"No regrets?"
"None."
The Deadlord chuckled and stepped onto the chessboard. It grabbed the head of the gargoyle in the king's position and smashed it.
Bam!
It smiled at me.
"Then let's begin the game."
Tower floor 20.
Atop a tree about a kilometer from the center where the trial was beginning.
A black-haired old man in a black silk robe scratched his head with a troubled expression.
"What the hell is going on here?"
He couldn't grasp the situation.
He had successfully climbed to floor 20, the forest trial, but he'd never seen a scene like this.
'...Should I help?'
"No, that kid seems like someone even I couldn't beat."
Beating an apostle with human strength was impossible. That's why they climbed the tower by passing the trials the apostles offered.
Following the will of the tower's master, called a god.
'That Strange family kid, is he really going to fight an apostle?'
No matter what trial it was, a head-on fight with an apostle meant no chance of survival.
Hoo—
He didn't want to lose such an entertaining toy here.
"Maybe I can buy them enough time to escape?"
The black-haired old man jumped down from the tree and drew a massive brush from his back.
"Come forth, Spirit of the Earth."
Swipe, swipe, sweeesh.
As he waved the brush in the air, black aura gathered at the tip and began forming a picture.
Soon, the completed drawing glowed.
Shiiiik—
Pop!
A black rat in dark gambison armor appeared.
"You called?"
"Yes. No time, so I'll explain briefly. When the battle starts soon, I'll lead the adventurers there away."
"Understood."
"Then you stay and buy as much time as possible against the enemy leader."
"Simple. So I just fight the enemy army?"
"Not just fight—stall them. That's your mission."
The black rat nodded.
"Leave it to me. You know my abilities, Master."
"That's why I called you."
They thumbs-upped each other and sprinted down the path at full speed.
Thud thud thud thud.
"Master, is the enemy strong?"
"Yes."
"How strong?"
"Stronger than me."
"S-Stronger than you, Master?!"
"The one we're facing this time is one of the tower's 'apostles.' Not comparable to someone like me."
"Ah...?!"
The black rat swallowed hard.
He asked no more, extending his claws long in preparation for battle.
Crack.
As they drew nearer the temple, a powerful aura enveloped them. The black-haired old man, called Master, slowed unconsciously from the tension.
One wrong move, and he could die too. He had to approach carefully to rescue them.
With that thought, he pushed through the underbrush.
'...Huh?'
The black-haired old man crouched low and halted.
The black rat hid behind him, suppressing its presence.
The scene at the temple was different from what they'd expected.
The Deadlord was kneeling before Berddin.
No—more precisely, the long blue-haired woman, one of Berddin's subordinates, had subdued the apostle.
The black-haired old man couldn't believe his eyes.
'What the hell happened?'
"Master, is that blue-haired woman the apostle?"
"No."
"Then the knight in the purple cloak and feathered helmet?"
"Yes."
"Got it. Just give the order, and I'll charge right—"
"Wait."
"Pardon?"
"Hold position for now. Something I didn't expect is happening."
"What do you...?"
The old man, called Master, was quite flustered and couldn't decide what to do.
'The apostle lost?'
He'd never heard of such a thing.
Just surviving an encounter with an apostle was a great blessing, so how could anyone think to fight one?
Even Gregory, who handled the trial on floor 10, was untouchable in that realm.
"Cynthia, finish it."
Berddin's resounding voice echoed. The dignity of high nobility was evident in his commanding tone.
'Did the Deadlord really lose?'
The black-haired old man watched silently, suppressing his presence.
A few seconds later, Cynthia's blade sliced through the air and severed the Deadlord's neck.
Splurt!
His eyes widened, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
"...We're pulling back."
"Pardon?"
"We can't get involved in this fight."
"Master, we've come this far. Wouldn't it be a shame to leave without at least testing that apostle with my claws—"
"You'll die."
"...Die?"
"Yes, both of us. I don't know how they made the Deadlord kneel, but I can't do it."
The black rat glanced around and took a step back.
"Understood."
"This turned out boring. If something fun comes up next time, I'll call you again."
"Yes, Master."
Pop! The black rat vanished. The black-haired old man straightened his robe, turned, and muttered softly as he left, inaudible to others.
"A new era has come."
Before the chess game began.
The Deadlord warned us.
"Once the game starts, you can't leave the arena."
I stood in the king's position and replied.
"That's what I wanted. You can't leave the arena either, right?"
"Correct."
It opened its mouth confidently, exhaling white smoke. It was the same ability as the one that sent us to the dream world in the first trial.
'Right... just as I thought.'
The tower's master would let us know why this guy was assigned to this trial.
'The answer to how we win is hidden in the apostle's dream.'
I closed my eyes and accepted the smoke from the apostle. Rox and the other party members didn't resist either.
Thus, we vanished into the smoke filling the arena.
When I came to, I opened my eyes inside a small cabin.
"Mother, soon I will become the greatest knight on this continent."