Rotell stood straight with a look of determination on her tired face. She hummed, seemingly lost in thought as she looked into the distance. Exhaustion was still weighing heavily on her shoulders, but with Qucell, Cirsen, Mellia, and Old Man Roe standing beside her, it suddenly felt far less unbearable.
Her mood had improved, almost forgetting the events of the past few days.
Her gaze returned to the distant Trial Pillar. "So, we're all going together then?"
"Why not?" Qucell asked, carefully watching her expression. "There have been plenty of groups that have already tried, so there shouldn't be any danger." She added with a slightly teasing smile
Rotell nodded to that.
She had the same feeling.
Old Man Roe looked over, then spoke in an old and almost empty voice, "Some people believe that the contents of the trial change depending on the number of participants. A single person may face something completely different from a group."
Rotell glanced at him. It was that feeling again—he was unusually talkative today. She wondered what had happened over the last few days to make him like this. She wanted to ask, but she knew it would be a bit rude. For a reclusive old fellow like him, whatever happened must have been quite the change. Still, she quickly looked away in the end.
"So nobody has succeeded then?" Rotell mused. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense, or we wouldn't be here right now…"
"Mm, that's right," Mellia replied from beside Cirsen. "I haven't seen a single person even reach past the halfway point on the mountain so far."
Rotell paused again.
She looked over, then nodded. Mellia would normally be clinging close to Qucell by now, but instead, she remained strangely close to Cirsen's side. It was that strange feeling again. She really wanted to ask what had happened between them, but she once again decided not to ask.
"Then maybe I should recover first…" she muttered.
"No!"
The response came from several mouths almost simultaneously.
Rotell blinked.
Huh?
She looked back to see Cirsen frowning as she stared toward the Pillar with an almost reluctant expression. "We've already waited long enough. If we're going to do it, we might as well go together. There's no point in waiting any longer, and if it's really some kind of illusion, your injuries shouldn't matter too much."
"They're right," Qucell added.
Rotell hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "Fine. Let's go."
In a way, they were right. At the current time, it was impossible to know whether only one person or group could pass the trial, or if they would all be collectively allowed to enter the core area if someone had passed. Without knowing for sure, it was better not to risk being excluded from the final reward.
The four companions exchanged another brief glance.
Together, the five of them turned and slowly approached the enormous hill. Their approach drew a few scattered glances from the surrounding camps, but just as many people looked away without any particular emotion.
"Another group?" a voice drifted over.
"They'll be back soon," another added with a long sigh.
After hundreds of failed attempts, nobody seemed particularly interested. A few participants still offered some casual encouragement as they passed, but it was clear that these people didn't hold much hope. Perhaps Rotell's group didn't look like much in their eyes, or perhaps the recurring phenomenon of weaker trial-takers advancing further had caused a shift in the crowd's expectations. Regardless, it was clear that none of them had particularly high hopes for Rotell's group of five.
"Good luck!" a slightly more energetic voice called from behind. This voice came from a young girl in the attire of an adventurer, clearly someone who had just arrived recently.
At the same time, an irritable voice rang out, "Try to remember something useful when you come out!"
After that, another more aggressive voice followed, "If you figure it out, tell us afterward! Many of us will pay! Remember, it's for the best!"
Someone nearby burst out laughing. "As if they'll remember!"
Rotell heard a series of clicking tongues, but she ignored them and raised her head.
She looked at the distant Trial Pillar that towered above.
Beside her, Cirsen grinned, Qucell gave her a reassuring smile, and Mellia appeared almost bored.
"Remain focused," Old Man Roe calmly reminded them. They all slightly straightened their backs.
"Let's go." Rotell nodded.
With that, the five stepped onto the hill.
Hum!
Although subtle, the world around them seemed to quietly change…
-
At first, the climb felt relatively normal, at least as normal as a common climb in any secret realm could feel. The five figures steadily walked up the grassy hill, their footsteps brushing through the long grass. A gentle wind swept across the slope, carrying the faint scent of earth and vegetation, while the enormous Trial Pillar remained directly ahead.
As time passed, nothing happened…
There was no sudden ambush, no mysterious voice or temptation, and no terrifying illusion. Everything was just too calm, as if they had simply stepped onto any ordinary hill for what must have been the hundredth time since entering this strange place.
In fact, this feeling of ordinariness seemed even more distinct.
After several minutes, Rotell couldn't help but look back—
"…Hm?"
—It was also then that her footsteps stopped.
Everyone below was gone!
They hadn't disappeared into the distance, no, they were just gone!
"This is… an illusion? No, that's not right…"
The camps, the scattered participants, and even the vast forest surrounding the hill had vanished like smoke. In its place was an endless sea of white clouds continuously stretching toward the horizon. In their world, only this high hill remained.
Rotell shivered.
Cirsen frowned. "When did this happen?"
"Does it matter?" Qucell asked, her eyes completely indifferent.
Rotell turned ahead again, then shook her head. "It seems like my prediction was a bit wrong…"
She narrowed her eyes. Looking toward the Trial Pillar, it still remained ahead.
Nothing seemed to be wrong, but…
They continued climbing.
—Ten minutes passed…
—Then an hour…
Perhaps several hours had passed in a blink, but Rotell realized that her sense of time seemed to have been distorted. She frowned. It was impossible to tell in her current state. She understood that something was deeply wrong, but she just couldn't put her finger on what.
Her eyes swept over her four companions, then toward the sky. The sun never moved, and the wind never changed its intensity, feeling a little like a mechanical fan. It felt even more artificial than the wind in the secret realm originally had been, but this was obviously not the sole cause of her sense of wrongness. She looked down; even the slope beneath their feet remained exactly the same, almost like a repeated section of terrain that was constantly copied and pasted.
More importantly, the Pillar hadn't gotten any closer…
Rotell's breathing gradually grew heavier.
She looked back. Again, there was nothing. Then she looked ahead; it was still the same. "This isn't physical distance…" she eventually muttered.
Something was messing with space…
Qucell glanced toward her. "You noticed too?"
Rotell nodded.
The five had been walking for what felt like hours, yet the hill seemed completely endless. Like this, if distance no longer mattered, then there had to be another condition for reaching the top.
Her eyes slowly moved across her companions. These four people. Still together, still climbing, but none of them had spoken up until now. As the person with the lowest level of cultivation here, could these people have truly not realized it until now?
It should be impossible, right? Why didn't they speak up?
Rotell narrowed her eyes.
Perhaps that was the point. No, the Trial wasn't asking how quickly they could reach the Pillar; it was asking whether all five of them could reach it together. Her mind turned, inwardly questioning if they had been asked a question but the trial had somehow made her miss or forget it? Perhaps she was already having problems with her memory?
She frowned, then checked her body to see if she had left any markings. If she was truly having problems with her memory, then she would undoubtedly have left some kind of sign on her equipment. After finding nothing, she could only dismiss this idea temporarily. It was possible that the trial could also erase these marks, but it was also possible that there were no marks to begin with.
It was a passing thought, but she still had to consider it at least once.
Crack!
The ground beneath them split open.
Her eyes snapped down, a look of clear confusion on her face.
Crack!
Without warning, the hillside split apart.
A massive fissure tore through the grass, and before anyone could react, the ground beneath Qucell suddenly collapsed.
"Ah!"
"Qucell!" Rotell cried, her feet moving before her brain could even react, and she threw herself forward!
Grab!
Her hand caught Qucell's wrist just before she could disappear into the endless darkness, but it was at that exact moment that Rotell's expression changed.
Heavy!
She was so heavy! Why? Something was definitely wrong! It felt less like she was holding a petite woman and more like Cirsen's massive, muscular body was hanging from her arm. As she cursed, Rotell's boots immediately began sliding forward, dragging her toward the abyss.
"Damn it!"
Even with her strength as a Golden Core Cultivator, she still couldn't pull her back?
What the hell!
Grab!
Grab-grab!
Cirsen caught Rotell around the waist, and Mellia immediately scurried over to grab Cirsen by her ankles. In the back, Old Man Roe planted his feet behind them, becoming the final anchor. Roots and rocks rose and fell like a wave under his command, reaching out to support the slipping Qucell. Yet, the moment his earth magic reached out to help, the old man's face changed. Just like Rotell, it was clear he realized there was something fundamentally wrong with her weight!
Regardless—they all pulled!
After several painfully long minutes, the abyss still seemed determined to drag them all down. Any one of them could have let go, but nobody did, despite the increasing weight being applied to Qucell's body. For some reason, Rotell felt as if Qucell weighed the exact amount that would make it mathematically impossible for them to pull her back.
Understanding this…
"Pull!" Rotell roared, her eyes turning faintly red as she exerted her full force.
With one final desperate effort, Qucell was dragged over the edge, flung into the air, and spun down to the ground. She rolled for a bit before eventually collapsing into an exhausted heap, cold sweat rolling down her forehead.
Only she could feel how terrifying that dark abyss truly was!
The moment her body touched solid ground—
Hum!
The abyss slowly vanished, and the broken hillside returned to normal.
For a long time, nobody spoke. Rotell slowly looked toward the others, and they all understood the truth. The Trial was already watching them. Because of this, they all realized, or at least suspected, that the trial wanted to turn them against each other!
After taking a short rest, the five eventually stood and decided it was time to begin moving again.
Rotell took one step, then another. "…Damn it," she cursed as a sharp pain suddenly tore through her injured foot. Her leg buckled, and she barely caught herself before collapsing.
She should have known! While helping Qucell earlier, Cirsen had grabbed Rotell by the waist, but she had also unconsciously applied her full body weight onto her legs in the process, crushing them. This must have aggravated her already relatively bad injuries, causing them to flare up and swell. It was a complete coincidence, but…
"Rotell?" Old Man Roe asked.
"I-I'm fine," she muttered, her voice slightly shaky.
But she really wasn't…
The strange pressure surrounding the hill seemed to be completely suppressing her recovery. Every attempt to circulate her spiritual energy only caused the pain to worsen.
After several more steps—
Thud!
Her injured leg finally completely gave out, causing Rotell to grit her teeth in frustration.
"You guys try to continue. I'll catch up in a moment—" She had no idea why she said this; it was an almost unconscious action. The instant she realized what she had said, it was already too late, but the instant she realized that, she had already forgotten.
—You guys try to continue. I'll catch up in a moment
She said this, but nobody moved…
At least that was a good sign.
Cirsen stepped forward. "I'll carry you."
"What? No, that's okay. I can walk." Rotell insisted, but Cirsen just shook her head, clearly seeing right through the nonsense this stubborn First Princess was spitting.
"You obviously can't," she pointed out with a chuckle.
Cirsen crouched down to let her climb up, but before she could lift her, Qucell suddenly stepped between them. "I'll do it," she said with a light, almost airy tone.
Cirsen frowned.
The two of them looked at each other for a long moment, then…
Rotell hesitated. She reluctantly climbed onto Qucell's back instead of Cirsen's. In her eyes, Cirsen needed to keep her hands free for combat, at least more than Qucell did.
"…Fine," Cirsen acquiesced, albeit slightly reluctantly.
Soon, the group continued climbing.
Rotell buried her red face into Qucell's shoulder. This was a bit humiliating, especially for someone of her status. Even if she was more active and tomboyish than a typical royal, it was incredibly rare for her to experience this level of physical contact, even if it was just with another woman.
Because her face was hidden, she didn't see that behind them, Cirsen's frown only deepened.
They advanced forward…