"LUMIN!"
I blinked my eyes open.
’Huh?’
Confused, I looked around.
The darkness vanished.
The grey sky, the snowy ridge, the distant dome, all snapped back into place.
I was standing exactly where I had been.
"Lumin?" Uru’en was looking at me, her head tilted, her expression a mix of confusion and concern. "You just... spaced out for a second. You okay? Your face is hella pale."
"O-Oh, is it?" I muttered in ’surprise’, while my heart was pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs.
I lifted a hand and rubbed my face, forcing a weak chuckle.
"Guess I’m not used to the cold yet," I said lightly. "Must’ve hit me all at once."
That was a weak excuse.
Uru’en obviously didn’t look convinced. Her gaze lingered on me suspiciously for a few moments.
"...Well, if you say so," she turned away.
I smiled faintly, thanking inwardly for her understanding.
"Should we go back then?" She added, already taking a step up the path.
"Yeah," I quickly followed after her.
If I stayed here a little longer, I feared that thing would come out from its nest and drag me inside.
’That saying about curiosity killing the cat might end up as real.’
"Don’t say anything to the chief," Uru’en said as we passed by the watchguards again.
They nodded, their gazes lingering on me before turning back to their tasks.
"Let’s hunt on the way back," I suggested as we entered the forest area. "But this time, let’s do it my way."
"Oh? Now I’m interested." Uru’en’s voice was instantly brighter, the earlier tension broken by the promise of a thrilling hunt. "Let’s see what your way is."
"It’s nothing special." I chuckled, already taking out my bow and arrows. It was just about being patient, precise, and silent.
We spent the next 30 minutes searching and hunting, stopping once the loot reached the required amount.
I only fired 3 shots and managed to hit the targets cleanly, surprising her.
The journey back to Salom went with her praising me, and I asking more about everything.
After we reached and handed the loot, I stretched my hands wide, faking exhaustion.
"I think I’ll head in and rest until dinner. Is it ok?"
"Of course," Uru’en smirked, "in fact, you did well today. Get some rest, cutie~"
I didn’t say anything as I was already used to her teasing.
Waving a hand, I returned to my room.
After a quick scan, I sat on the furs and took out the Monster Hunter’s Encyclopedia.
The familiar, weighty tome materialized in my hands.
I flipped past entries on Frostbears and Vorash Striders, my mind focused on one thing: the purple eyes.
The pages rustled, then stopped. The left page was blank. The right page held an illustration.
’This...’
My breath caught.
’This is definitely it!’
It was a silhouette of pure shadow, featureless except for two points of glowing violet light where eyes would be. It was the exact shape I’d seen earlier.
My eyes snapped to the header.
━━━◇◆◇━━━
THE NIGHTMARE BEAST (Night Devourer)
"It does not hunt. It consumes. It does not sleep. It waits."
Habitat: ???
Threat Level: ★★★★★★ (It’s a miracle you managed to escape with your life.)
Rank: Peak Overlord
Strengths:
- Reality-Negation Field (Black Dome)
- Psychic Assimilation
- Immaterial Form (Physical attacks ineffective)
- Aura Suppression
....
Weaknesses:
- Sustained, Purifying Light of Mythic or Higher Tier
- ???
- ???
Bondable: Unknown
NOTE:
"Engaging it is not a battle. It is a guaranteed erasure. It is recommended that you not be noticed by it any further."
━━━◇◆◇━━━
I stared at the page, the words searing themselves into my mind.
"Gulp..."
A cold knot tightened in my stomach.
’Was it really a good idea to travel alone like this?’
The thought crept in uninvited, cold and poisonous, crawling straight up my spine.
’Then again, it’s a miracle that I am still breathing.’
I let out a slow breath through my nose and shook my head.
No. Regret was useless.
I was alive. That alone mattered more than anything.
’Two more days,’ I told myself firmly. ’Just two more days, and I’ll be out of this place.’
Still... my eyes drifted back to the page.
I reread the entry. Then again. And again.
Each line sank deeper, especially the parts left unfinished — the unknown weaknesses, the unanswered questions. The worst possibilities were always the ones not written down.
Ambiguity itself felt like a death sentence.
Finally, I snapped the tome shut and stored it back into my inventory.
’Now, onto the next matter...’
I leaned back slightly, closing my eyes, and activated a familiar sensation deep within my consciousness.
[Narrative Glimpse]
[Ding!]
Immediately, titles appeared in my vision, hovering like translucent script carved into the air.
Four of them.
━━━◆◇◆━━━
[1] Scenario: «The Second Trial»
[2] Scenario: «The Spring Festival»
[3] Scenario: «A Sweetheart’s Final Wish»
[4] Scenario: «The Sun’s Awakening»
━━━◆◇◆━━━
My brows lifted despite myself.
’Already...?’
It seemed like others were moving on even without me. Well, considering my role as a ’background character’, it was understandable.
’Then again, Level 4 skill is really something else,’ I thought wryly. ’Giving access to storylines I’m already involved in... even from afar and not participating in the events any longer.’
I exhaled slowly.
No point jumping around blindly.
My gaze settled on the most obvious title, the one I had already stepped onto, whether I liked it or not.
’The Second Trial...’
I focused on it.
’Let’s see how badly things are going over there.’
The script for [Scenario: «The Second Trial»] shimmered and expanded, filling my vision with a new, detailed panel.
━━━◆◇◆━━━
Scenario: The Second Trial
Linked Storyline: A Crown of Ashes
Summary:
The crown does not belong to the strongest hand, nor the bravest heart alone.
After the Trial of a Heart has judged resolve and conviction, the second trial, The Trial of a Mind, turns inward.
This trial measures clarity under pressure, judgment under uncertainty, and identity when stripped of comfort.
The contenders have been plunged into the Voras’s Labyrinth, a shifting psychic construct woven from memory and deception.
This is no test of strength, but of intellect, perception, and mental fortitude.
Here, allies can be illusions, truths are poison, and every reflection holds a lie.
False paths will appear reasonable.
True answers will feel wrong.
Strength, aura, and authority offer no advantage here.
Only consistency of thought, awareness of self, and the ability to question one’s own conclusions will determine survival.
Those who cling too tightly to emotion will lose direction.
Those who reject emotion entirely will lose meaning.
At the center of the Trial, a single truth awaits recognition.
Failure does not come through death—
but through the surrender of the mind.
➤ Scenario Progress: Early Phase
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