I stared blankly as the shield in front of me and the Minotaur dissipated.

 

The Guardian’s Brooch must have activated as well as hitting the time limit.

 

The voice of the grandfather was in the distance.

 

You didn’t say anything, so I guess you have a guilty conscience?

 

You petty, trashy old man.

 

Just wait and see.

 

I’ll go to the academy and spread rumours about what kind of person Paladin Ruel is.

 

You can look forward to it.

 

You may not know it, but I’m a possessor.

 

Spreading plausible rumours to other people is nothing!

 

Just wait for the day when your honour falls to the ground!

 

I’ll do whatever it takes to pull you down from your position as a hero!

 

After the Minotaur disappeared, my skills started working again.

 

My Unbreakable Will skill forced me to move my body.

 

Overcoming Fear drove away the fear of the pain I would feel in the future.

 

Thanks to that, I was able to force myself to get up.

 

The first thing I did after getting up was to vomit.

 

Something kept rising up from my throat, and I couldn’t bear it.

 

When I got hit by the Minotaur, I wondered where my internal organs were damaged.

 

When I vomited out my stomach, blood came out along with what was in my stomach.

 

If I finish this ordeal and meet Possell, I’ll get scolded.

 

No.

 

My condition is so serious that he’ll take me to the doctor before he can even scold me.

 

It would be fun to imagine Possell carrying me and running at full speed.

 

I wonder how fast he’ll be.

 

I don’t know for sure, but I think it’ll be faster than a horse.

 

…

 

Ah, but wouldn’t Karl be punished to death?

 

He didn’t protect me properly.

 

If that happens, I’ll have to defend him, saying that you guys wouldn’t be any different.

 

After all, he was the one who got caught up with me.

 

He shouldn’t get in trouble.

 

After calming down a bit, I took a deep breath and raised my head again.

 

I wandered over where my shield and mace were.

 

I won’t be using them in the upcoming ordeal, but I still wanted to take them because I’m attached to them.

 

As I turned my head to find my weapons, I found a potion in front of me.

 

The liquid inside was glowing a faint red, and starlight was embedded in the liquid, swaying and shining.

 

Is this the one I know?

 

There is only one liquid that looks similar in the Soul Academy game.

 

A potion containing the miracle of healing.

 

This potion is far from an ordinary HP potion.

 

It is a god item that removes all status abnormalities and restores 50% of lost health.

 

Why is this here?

 

Did the old man give it to me?

 

He summoned the Minotaur and almost killed me, and then gave me this to heal me?

 

You crazy bastard.

 

This isn’t like giving a disease and medicine.

 

I almost died just now.

 

If I hadn’t accidentally gotten the Guardian’s Brooch yesterday, the Minotaur’s fist would have made me a blood clot.

 

But you’re going to just let this go with a potion?

 

Unfortunately, I might not be able to use it in the future

 

If I get seriously injured, I wouldn’t be able to enter the dungeon while I was being treated normally, so I wouldn’t be able to level up anymore.

 

Ugh.

 

My plan to reach level 10 would be in vain.

 

But I had no choice.

 

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

 

I didn’t want to take risks in a reality where there were no save routes.

 

I put the potion in my pocket and searched for my shield and mace.

 

I could find them without much difficulty.

 

The shield was dented and had a dent in the middle.

 

The dented shield was already in a state where it couldn’t function properly.

 

The mace was the same.

 

The weapon, with its handle and head split in two, was nothing more than a burden.

 

Either way, it was clear that it would only be a burden if I took care of them.

 

Both things were equipment I had grown attached to over the past few weeks, but now I had to let them go.

 

I couldn’t carry them around when I had difficulty walking.

 

Goodbye, friends.

 

In your next life, be born as a legendary item made of precious materials.

 

I limped past the two and headed toward the open door.

 

It was my turn to face the next trial.

 

The room beyond the door was not much different from the previous one.

 

The only difference was that instead of a stone statue, there was a stone slab in the middle.

 

“This trial is a trial of divinity. It is to test the faith you hold within you…”

 

I listened to the old man’s ramblings and headed toward the stone slab.

 

The writing on it was an anecdote about Armadi, the Creator God and Lord of the Gods.

 

The content was as follows.

 

While Armadi was enjoying a banquet with the gods under his command, all the wine ran out.

 

Then Armadi ordered his servant to bring water, and when the servant brought a jug of water, Armadi dipped his hand into the jug.

 

Then the water slowly turned red and turned into wine.

 

As you can see, it was one of the anecdotes from the Bible.

 

And under the anecdote, the following text was written.

 

‘Summarize this anecdote in one sentence.

 

This was the question.

 

This question was unusual among the trials of divinity.

 

You can find the answer to the question in the game, but you can also find it outside the game.

 

This question is based on an anecdote by the French poet Byron.

 

Naturally, the answer to the question is the same as Byron’s answer to this anecdote.

 

“Think carefully before answering.”

 

‘The water met its Master, and blushed.’

 

“Clumsy water blushes in its sloppy way when it meets its master.”

 

That’s sloppy.

 

Clumsy.

 

Can’t I just say it normally?

 

Sigh.

 

At least I said something similar.

 

When I suddenly said the answer, the old man stopped talking.

 

Grandpa.

 

This is the correct answer.

 

I’ve memorized all the questions in this ordeal, so where are you trying to pull on threads (nit-picking)?

 

Just admit it and move on.

 

Just say no.

 

Then I’ll ask you what the correct answer is.

 

As I was staring at the direction of the voice with sharp eyes, the voice continued with a cough.

 

“That’s right.”

 

At the same time as that, the door leading to the next room opened.

 

How nice it would have been if this had been done earlier.

 

Let’s finish the next trial quickly.

 

I can feel my condition getting worse.

 

Even now, I can barely stand because of my Unwavering Will, so it wouldn’t be strange if I collapsed at any moment.

 

My body is already at its limit.

 

I’m holding on with my mind, but that time is running out.

 

At the very least, even if I collapse, I have to collapse outside after the trial ends.

 

That way, Possell or Karl will find me.

 

I limped into the next room, and this time, a temple in its entirety came into view.

 

The walls and ceiling were painted with magnificent murals.

 

Chandeliers hung overhead and chairs lined up like a chapel.

 

As I walked forward along the path in the middle, a stone statue of the goddess greeted me.

 

“The last trial is a trial of patience. From now on, you will face the nightmare that lies deep within you.”

 

‘Let’s hurry up!’

 

“Sloppy old man, shut up and hurry up.”

 

When I urged him, the old man shut his mouth.

 

Are you upset?

 

What do you want me to do?

 

What else are you going to do?

 

Why don’t you summon a Minotaur like in the Trial of Patience?

 

This is a trial in the spiritual world anyway, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

 

So, skip the explanation.

 

I feel like I’m going to collapse any moment now.

 

“Understood, let’s start the trial.”

 

As soon as the old man spoke, my vision went dark.

 

When I came to my senses again, I was standing in the middle of a fancy banquet hall.

 

Where am I?

 

It looked like a party of nobles in a fantasy world.

 

The people in the banquet hall were all gathered together in neat suits and fancy dresses.

 

Everyone was smiling and talking, but I was the only one left alone.

 

What is this?

 

This is so different from the Trial of Patience I know.

 

The one I saw in the game was a more cruel, disgusting, and dizzying nightmare.

 

What the hell did grandpa do again?

 

Anyway, I’m telling you, he’s a narrow-minded person.

 

While I was complaining and looking around, a voice came to my ear.

 

“Is that the woman? The spoiled brat of the Allen family?”

 

“Ahaha. The spoiled brat. How dare you use such a vulgar word.”

 

“But that word fits her perfectly.”

 

“There’s a better word than that. The disgrace of the Allen family.”

 

“Huh. Disgrace. Isn’t that worse?”

 

The criticism pouring out from those around me was endless.

 

It was to the point where I could feel that the manor was filled with nothing but criticism.

 

As I watched the scene indifferently, I realized that this wasn’t my nightmare.

 

If it was my nightmare, there would be no way this kind of banquet hall would appear.

 

If it was my nightmare, it would be that Soul Academy 2 was announced and it turned out to be a bad game.

 

Or it would show me re-enlisting in the military.

 

Or it would show me when I first got out of the orphanage and wandered around aimlessly.

 

I was sure of it.

 

This was Lucy’s nightmare.

 

I was now seeing with my own eyes what Lucy had feared the most.

 

Was this something Lucy had experienced in her past?

 

I didn’t feel any sympathy for her.

 

After all, this was probably the result of Lucy’s accumulated karma.

 

What bothered me as I watched this scene was something else.

 

If this was something Lucy had actually experienced.

 

How low was Lucy’s reputation?

 

If she was hearing such things in a public social setting, she was practically a public enemy.

 

Is this… bullying?