Chương 109: The Shape of the Trial

After Natalie led her to a resting spot, Susanne took a comfortable five-hour sleep inside the hole. It was a small, tunnel-like space. Clearly, it was not man-made, but rather a path used by animals to travel. Once she had taken enough rest, Natalie told her to crawl through the tunnel, stating that this was the path to reach the Shrine. Unlike the previous tunnel, which had moss light and allowed them to walk easily, this place was completely dark.

The space was so confined that Susanne could not walk even if she bent her back; she had to crawl continuously on all fours. Guessing by the distance of the Shrine's location, they needed to travel at least five miles. However, Natalie promised this was the safest route where they would not get detected by anyone. Moreover, it led directly to the Main Hall of the Shrine. Hearing this caused Susanne's energy to double. She guessed that most of the rituals were done in the Main Hall.

If they could directly emerge in the Main Hall through this rabbit hole, then it was worth all the crawling. Since walking on her hands was hard and not fun, Susanne took regular rests. Natalie also did not rush her. After crossing half the distance, they sat in the dark tunnel to take a long rest before they pushed through the remaining distance.

"Natalie," Susanne called out.

"Listening," Natalie replied.

"Why are you helping me in this dangerous endeavor? What is your goal? I seriously doubt you are doing this for the sake of helping me." Susanne knew that Natalie was the person who guided the Trial takers, but she could not neglect the truth. Natalie herself had come to this Concentric Trial as a candidate. Therefore, the Trial must have assigned a Trial for her as well, even though she had been in a deep sleep. Furthermore, she did not think simply guiding the Trial takers would be her true Trial.

This thought came directly to her when she realized that Natalie did not remember anything, not even her own name. The consciousness of Natalie and the consciousness of the rat must have collided with each other. This collision created a new mix of consciousness where they actively guided the Trial takers, but underneath it all, they must have a hidden agenda.

"Of course I have my own thing to do. Do you think I was helping you out of boredom?" Natalie said. Her voice echoed in the dark tunnel; Susanne did not even know where she was sitting.

"Could you reveal what your own thing is? That way, we can work together to achieve both of our tasks," Susanne suggested.

"No, I am good. Our partnership will last until we reach the Shrine. After that, you go on your own, and I will do what I want to do," Natalie announced, declaring the end of their partnership.

"Well, that is not a very nice thing to do after all the struggle we faced together." Susanne had half-expected this answer from Natalie. Her grandmother had only mentioned that the Deep Sleep people would help with the terrain, not in the Trial itself. She had just asked for the sake of asking, just in case her grandmother had missed these details.

"Do I need to expect any enemy at the Main Hall of the Shrine?" Susanne asked, trying to get as many details as possible.

"I do not know," Natalie replied.

"Do you know anything about this Deity? Who was it, and what kind of power does she hold?" Susanne asked. Since Natalie was also going into the Shrine, she could have some knowledge about the Deity. Sharing these details would help to defeat the common enemy.

"I do not know anything about the Deity," Natalie said in a cut-throat manner. Hearing this, Susanne did not ask anything else. With enough rest, they started to move before the sun set. After continuously crawling, they both reached the end of the tunnel. They were now directly under the Main Hall of the Shrine. Natalie had already given instructions on what to do once they reached the end; Susanne needed to push open the marble floor stone. Susanne's heart was pounding under her ribs.

She did not know what to expect on the other side. She crouched in the hole, readying herself to push the stone up and enter the Hall.

"Hurry up," a whisper came from her ear. Hearing this, Susanne pushed with her legs and stood up with great effort. Putting in all her strength, the marble stone lifted on one side, and light suddenly entered her vision. Finding success, she pushed hard and lifted. However, when the path was opened to the size a small object could enter, Natalie jumped from Susanne's shoulder and dashed into the Hall. Startled by this, Susanne panicked. The plan was to silently open the marble stone and exit the tunnel quietly.

Now, seeing the rat running away, she was shocked. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She quickly pushed the marble stone and emerged from the hole, her eyes rapidly scanning the surroundings for any potential enemies. She could neither see anyone nor spot the rat, Natalie. Indeed, it was a hall constructed entirely of white marble stone. Currently, it was completely empty; there was no one here, not even a chair or a table.

She did not know where Natalie had gone too, so she quickly looked for another path leading to other rooms. Previously, she had half-expected to obtain the [Chaos] Ritualistic Item in the Main Hall and easily confront the Deity. However, now that the hall was entirely empty, she quickly sealed the path with the marble stone. Without making any noise, she quickly trotted toward the only door in the hall. However, the door was tightly closed and refused to budge.

She quickly looked around to see where that damn rat went, searching for any rat holes in the corners. The rat must have known a hidden path in the hall to escape. She rapidly considered her options. Should she blast the door open? Would doing so alert the Deity? While she was confused about what to do, she suddenly heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door. Did they detect me already? Susanne took a few steps away from the door.

She intended to blast it open and try to escape before these people could arrive and lock her inside the hall. However, before she could activate her Ability, she heard a whisper.

"This way." Turning around, she saw Natalie signaling her to hurry. Abandoning her attack, Susanne quickly ran toward a magic door that had appeared out of nowhere on the stone wall. Both of them passed through the door and entered a hallway.

"I thought you abandoned me," Susanne said.

"I am. This is where we part ways. You are on your own from now on," Natalie stated. After saying so, she rushed toward the right side of the hallway. Dumbfounded by this sudden decision to part ways, Susanne looked around for a short moment before she ran toward the left side of the hallway.

"Cecil, why do some people directly go into a Deep Sleep once they arrive at this Trial? Are they not strong enough to take on this Trial?"

"No, Sire. This is a Concentric Trial, which falls under the [Deep] Rank. Therefore, everyone entering the Trial is strong enough to take it. Furthermore, those Deep Sleep candidates are considered to possess the strongest Souls."

"Oh? The strongest Souls? What does that mean, Cecil?"

"The Concentric Trial has two types of participants. The first type is the [Active Participant], which includes those who arrive and sustain their consciousness. The second type is the [Dormant Participant]. Because these Dormant Participants possess strong Souls, they could easily complete their Main Trial. To make the Trial fair for everyone, the Trial itself puts them into a dormant state, splits their Souls, and sends them into the Trial's environmental beings."

"So the Dormant Participants' Souls split in two and are sent into two different Trials?"

"Actually, Sire, the Souls could be split into more than two. The stronger a person's Soul is, the more it splits. This puts them in a condition where they are the people who gain more rewards than any of the Active Participants."

"How? Does each split Soul get 49 Trials? Does that give them more rewards?"

"No, Sire. Even though their Souls split into multiple parts, everyone has to face the same Trial; no more, no less. However, these Dormant Participants have a guaranteed reward for their guidance of the Active Participants. If they successfully guide the Active Participant to their destination, they receive a reward. Furthermore, if they happen to break their consciousness free from the Trial's environmental beings, they get additional rewards, once again displaying their strong Soul power.

Therefore, they have the potential to gain double the rewards for each Trial."

"Wow, having a strong Soul has its own advantages."

"Yes, Sire. I believe you possess a strong Soul as well."

"Is it?. Thanks, Cecil. But what are these Trial Environmental Beings?"

"Trial environmental beings could be anything, such as a stone, a tree, a leaf, a horse, a rat, a bird, or a person. They could be anything, but they are closely connected to the Active Participant's Trial."

"So, the Souls of these people are trapped inside any of these beings that are closely related to the Trial assigned to the Active Participant?"

"Yes, Sire. That is correct."

"Then, wouldn't the Trial become easy for the Active Participant while the person is helping them?"

"They do not actively help them; they only show them terrain-oriented knowledge."

"But why make the Trial so complicated? Why not design the Trial to accommodate people with strong Souls?"

"No, Sire. We cannot underestimate the power of the Soul. Although I lack the knowledge of why the Trial was designed this way, as far as I can tell, the Soul is considered the highest order of existence within these realms. It is a currency of raw cosmic weight that even the Trial must balance meticulously. If a being with a monstrously dense Soul were allowed to run rampant through a standard Trial, they would shatter the delicate equilibrium of the construct. Splitting them is not a punishment, Sire.

It is a necessary containment."

"Wow, that is big news for me. Did you not say I possess a strong Soul?"

"Yes, Sire, I did."

"So, when does this Trial begin?"

"I am not sure, Sire. The Trial will let us know through a signal."

"Mhm, could seeing a countdown in the sky be considered a signal?"

"Yes, that could be considered a signal."

"Oh, okay. Then has the Trial already begun?"

"I am not sure, Sire. Did the countdown appear in the sky before I was summoned?"

"Yes, it appeared in the sky."

"Then. Did the countdown hit zero?"

"I am not sure about that. I was unconscious or dead at that time. However, I guess it must have, since the countdown had disappeared when I woke up again."

"Sire, Dead?"

"Yes, that is a big story. I will tell you about it later. For now, tell me, did the Trial already begin?"

"Yes, Sire. If the countdown hit zero, that indicates the Trial has begun. Therefore, you should have been sent to the Trial. Did you appear in this place from where you first arrived at the Trial?"

"No, I was not sent anywhere. I was teleported to this place, and I am still in the same place. The terrain did not change."

"Very strange. I do not have any knowledge about this phenomenon. Please give me a moment..."