READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 16
Trials.
A type of test imposed by the Transcendents in the Maze upon the mortals.
If a mortal passes this test, the Transcendents or the Maze must reward them accordingly, and since the cost of failing a trial is their life, the reward is beyond anything a mortal could imagine.
After all, it contains the power of a Transcendent.
However…
“A trial? A trial, really? This place is only 5 floors down!”
Trials usually don’t happen in the upper zones, specifically within the 20th floor.
The gods didn’t want adventurers in their growing stages to die in heaps due to trials, which is why they pushed the Transcendents capable of enforcing trials down to the lower regions of the Maze and limited their escape routes.
Moreover, trials imposed by the Maze itself can only be seen in the lower regions, making the occurrence of a trial in the upper section, especially the top 10th floor, almost non-existent.
But a trial, huh?
Yet, the blue spear in front of me stood as a definite sign that a trial had been imposed.
In other words, the orc before my eyes was indeed possessed by a Demon.
“What on earth…?”
“Hey, Hugo. What are we going to do?”
While Hugo was confused, Chrome cautiously watched the orc in front of us with his axe raised.
Transcendents in the Maze cannot interfere with mortals unless they have already imposed a trial. This holds true even for monsters like the orc.
If they were to refuse the trial and flee, the Demon has no proper means to touch them.
Hugo said,
“…For now, since this is an unusual situation, let’s refuse the trial and retreat…”
[Ah, but wait. Mortal beings, do you know there’s a group of orcs not far from here?]
At that moment, the Demon, Enkeos, spoke with a sly grin on his face.
[Of course, the Transcendents trapped in the Maze cannot touch mortals without imposing a trial. But bringing a group of orcs, that’s another matter.]
“What…?”
[Well, you could refuse it. Those wretched gods have bestowed a blessing upon you. But are you thinking of using that blessing to escape?]
“……”
Hugo pondered. Even if it were true that there was a group of orcs a little away…
The very idea of mid-level monsters like orcs roaming around in just the 5th floor should make heads turn under normal circumstances. But the Demon has come this far, could there possibly be no group of orcs?
More importantly, a Demon of that caliber could easily create a group of orcs at will. After all, the monsters in the Maze are creations borne from the residual energy of the Transcendents locked away in here.
This made that statement potentially true. Even if it wasn’t true, a Demon of that nature could likely turn it into reality.
This meant if they refused the trial, they would have to face off against a swarm of orcs… A swarm. There was no way their current power could handle mid-level monsters like orcs all at once.
Fleeing would be the smart move, but… they would need to use the emergency escape blessing to get away from the orc swarm.
But…
“If we fail this quest, the impact will be significant.”
“……”
It was a request for leading the academy students.
If they activated the emergency escape blessing, this quest would inevitably end in failure.
It was a request that came with substantial benefits and was relatively easy, but failing it would come with a heavy cost.
They would be branded as a party that couldn’t even lead the students to the 5th floor and their reputation would nosedive, almost guaranteeing that requests would dry up.
Hugo closed his eyes for a moment and continued to ponder.
He then looked at his original party members, Chrome and Mirien.
“……”
“……”
Chrome grinned while Mirien hesitated for a moment before nodding her head.
Hugo nodded back and called out the names of the four members.
“Eri, Sia, Hans, and Yujin, please step back.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Are you going to accept the trial?”
The named people looked stunned, and Yujin calmly asked.
Hugo chuckled softly.
“There’s no helping it. I’m the party leader. And failing this quest would leave a huge impact on our party. So, we have no choice but to brave the adventure.”
“Aren’t you going to ask for help?”
“Eri and Sia are the students we are meant to lead, and Hans is our porter. As for Yujin, you’re just caught up in this by chance. I can’t ask for help from you.”
“…I understand.”
With those words, Yujin stepped back. As the others hesitated and also began to step back, Hugo nodded again.
“I will accept the trial.”
“I accept.”
“I accept.”
[Kahahaha! Good!]
<Initiating the trial.>
It all began with the orc, or rather Enkeos.
He swung a massive wooden club towards Hugo.
Whoosh!
With a ferocious cutting sound, the club soared towards Hugo.
Hugo swiftly dodged back.
“Mirien!”
At Hugo’s cry, Mirien aimed her bow and fired at Enkeos.
Thwack!
[Kahaha!]
An arrow pierced the orc’s body, but Enkeos didn’t flinch.
It wasn’t his actual body anyway. However, regardless of that, the party had one firm belief.
‘This Demon is currently only a bit stronger than a regular orc!’
And indeed, the party’s assumption was spot on.
The cost of climbing up to the 5th floor that’s not even the mid-layers, and the form of ‘manifestation’ they were forced to encounter due to the trial.
All of this meant that Enkeos, who was originally a low-ranking Demon, couldn’t exert his full power. The only thing he could do with the magic housed within him was strengthen this body ever so slightly.
But Enkeos didn’t care.
Whoosh!
He pulled out the arrows.
As he did so, the holes where the arrows had been were healing up.
The expressions of the party stiffened at that sight.
‘Regeneration ability?!’
A rare regenerative ability. They hadn’t even seen such rapid regeneration, not even from a monster as notoriously regenerative as a troll.
The party’s faces once again turned tense.
[Kahaha! Come forth, mortals!]
BOOM!!
A dark magic oozed from the orc’s body. As the vile magic filled the air, the party’s expressions turned grim.
“That Demon!”
Chrome charged towards Enkeos. Enkeos, however, grinned and swung his club.
Whoosh!
But Chrome leaped off the ground to evade the club and, maintaining his airborne position, raised both of his axes…
WHAM!
And struck downward towards the orc’s head!
[Ugh…!]
As the two axes lodged into its head, the orc’s body trembled violently, then went limp.
“Hah…”
No matter how powerful the regeneration was, the head still remained a vital point. Once it’s crushed, even the troll chief wouldn’t survive.
Thus, Chrome was caught off guard.
CRACK!
“Gah!”
Suddenly, the orc’s claw caught him and gripped him tightly.
[Kheheh… What a delightful sight. That look of shock on your face after thinking you had slain me, truly priceless.]
Even with the axes stuck in its head, the orc grinned and hoisted Chrome up as if squeezing him.
GRRRRR!
“Gahhh!”
“Chrome!”
Seeing this, Hugo dashed forward. Enkeos, grinning, swung his club again.
WHOOSH!
With a grunt, Hugo deflected the incoming club with his shield while lunging into the orc’s grip. Simultaneously, he slashed with his sword.
SWISH!
He sliced cleanly through the orc’s wrist that held Chrome!
With the orc’s hand severed, Chrome dropped down. Hugo quickly scooped him up and got away.
“Are you okay, Chrome?!”
“Ugh… Sorry, Hugo. I got careless.”
He was coughing up blood—it seemed his insides were damaged. Seeing this, Hugo made a defeated expression.
“Hugo.”
“…Mirien.”
Mirien had come beside him without him noticing and called out to him. When Hugo turned to face her, she showed a determined look before saying,
“Buy me some time. Just 10… no, 6 seconds.”
“What?”
“If it can’t die from head trauma, then we have to find a way to kill it with firepower. So…”
“Wait, what are you talking about…”
“No time! Trust me and step forward!”
With those words, Mirien swept her hood back.
“…! Mirien, you…!”
Her shimmering blonde hair revealed her striking blue eyes, piercing through Hugo. But what captivated his attention more than her beauty was the pair of long ears peeking out from under her hair.
“Please.”
“……”
For a moment, Hugo stared at her blankly, but soon adopted a determined expression and stepped forward.
“I trust you.”
“…Okay.”
Meanwhile, Enkeos regenerated his severed wrist and pulled out the axes lodged in his head.
His head had already regenerated, and he was now moving towards Hugo’s party.
[Kheheh, if our chat is done, then prepare to die.]
“Come!”
[ROOAARRR!!!]
The orc, a swirling mass of demonic energy, charged forward swinging its club. The club was now wreathed in the demon’s magic like a sword.
Even though it appeared incapable of using demonic powers much less typical dark magic, it was still menacing.
Hugo watched this unfold, then charged forward with his shield raised.
[You seem eager to die!]
“Yah!”
Lowering his body, Hugo swiftly slid beneath the orc, skirting past its form.
[Foolish tricks!]
The orc pivoted, swinging its club, but Hugo was faster and cut at its ankle.
[Huh?!]
The orc lost its balance and fell over. Simultaneously, the shout from Mirien reached his ears.
“Hugo! Step back!”
A scarlet halo was shining brightly around her.
Hugo quickly leaped back, and she shouted.
“Spirits!”
Wooosh!
As she spoke those words, the radiant light shot towards the fallen orc in the form of a gigantic fireball.
BOOM!!
[KAAAAHHH!!!]
The orc’s body ignited in flames.
Hugo let out a sigh of relief. At a glance, it was quickly turning to ash…!
BOOM!
“Gah!”
Suddenly, a flaming club struck Hugo hard. His body flew away before rolling across the ground.
“Hugo!”
[Khehehe… Were you surprised?]
The orc, now rising with its body engulfed in flames, slowly approached Mirien.
It was an image that truly resembled a Demon, grinning even while ablaze.
“Oh no…”
[Ahhh… that expression, I truly love it. This is exactly what I desired from the upper floors!]
The Demon laughed delightedly, exclaiming,
[Despair, fear, sorrow…! How sweet it is! How joyful, oh, how joyous!]
“H-How come…”
[Ah, yes. You must be wondering how I remain so intact, right? Allow me to enlighten you.]
The Demon appeared intoxicated by the sense of victory, grinning menacingly.
[You mortals must have presumed that the regeneration ability resides within this body? Wrong! What I’ve bestowed upon this body during this trial is conditional immortality! Without fulfilling specific conditions, attacks will surely regenerate.]
“That…!”
[Kekeke, isn’t it foolish? You lot have no clue about those conditions. But still, let me kindly share that information with you.]
The Demon grinned widely and cut his body down the center from head to toe.
[Your attacks must split this body in half. Or else, you must completely obliterate it without leaving a trace. What I mean is, either of those options is obviously beyond your capabilities…]
“I see. Thank you for sharing.”
[Huh?]
Suddenly, a gentle voice cut between them, and the orc’s body split vertically.
[Huh?]
The Demon’s bewildered exclamation echoed as the orc was cleaved in two. And then…
Thud! Thud!
A man stood behind the split orc, his index and middle fingers pinched together like he was about to strike.
“Ah, how kind of you! Or do you perhaps have a binding from some manga? To think you’d reveal your weakness so easily.”
The man, Yujin, stated with a refreshing smile.
<Congratulations on passing the trial!>
And with that, a message confirming the passing of the trial alongside the blue spear was displayed.