đźź Chapter 23 :
We kept moving deeper into the forest. One question kept nagging at me: how much time is left?
I didn't have a watch or anything to check. Maybe Haizen had one? I decided to ask him.
"Haizen, do you have a watch so we can see how much time we've got left?"
"Nope. I don't."
"Then how are we supposed to return on time?"
"Looks like you don't know. When the time runs out, you'll hear a whistle."
"A whistle?"
"Yeah. The supervisors blow it and you can hear it anywhere in the forest. You really didn't know? What kind of participant doesn't check the details?"
How was I supposed to know any of this when I only found out yesterday that this test takes place in a forest?
We kept walking, not expecting that our last obstacle in this forest would actually be… another participant.
A voice called out ahead of us.
"Well, well, what do we have here? Two more participants walking right into me."
Haizen and I looked toward the sound.
"Who's talking? That tiny tree?"
"I'm not a tree, you idiot!"
The voice belonged to a guy with green hair and brown clothes. Honestly, anyone seeing him for the first time would think he was a tree — the resemblance was insane.
"At least wear a different color so people won't mistake you for one."
"I like these clothes. My mom gave them to me as a gift fifteen years ago."
"You've been wearing the same outfit for fifteen years? Wow, that's impressive."
"Shut up. My name's Dintro. I've stolen about a hundred monster hearts since this test began. I never killed or fought a single monster myself — I just take the spoils from other participants. And now… it's your turn."
Haizen looked at him with a mix of boredom and disbelief.
"Feeling frustrated that you can't hunt monsters yourself? I could donate you a heart. In return, you just get out of our way."
"Handsome idiot swordsman, you don't believe me, huh? Fine. I'll show you."
He went behind a bush and came back with a massive bag full of hearts.
He wasn't lying.
"Wow, this tree stole all of those? Guess I underestimated it."
Even baldhead here still mocked the guy. This was bad. Could we even handle this "tree participant"?
"Now, be polite and hand over the hearts you've hunted. Then I'll let you leave."
After Dintro said that, Haizen drew his sword, challenging him.
"How about you try taking them from us? As you can see, we've got twenty-eight hearts. Twenty-six are mine, and two belong to the guy with me."
Did he really have to say that out loud?
We had all those hearts stuffed in Haizen's giant bag.
Sure, his sword skills were incredible, but we had no clue what this guy could do.
I just hoped he wouldn't be annoying.
Haizen charged straight at Dintro and — sliced him cleanly in half.
Yes, in half.
Even Haizen was surprised.
"I just meant to hit him, but… I didn't expect this to happen."
"You killed him?! Are you seriously so clueless you kill opponents without realizing it?"
Haizen snapped at me.
"Shut up. It's not my fault his body was like paper."
What a disaster. I'd never seen someone cut clean through in front of me. It was shocking.
But something was off — this guy said he'd been stealing monster hearts; how could he go down so easily?
Haizen was a skilled swordsman, but still…
Then, a clapping sound came from above.
"Bravo, bravo. Beautiful slice. You did that with such precision."
It was Dintro.
Apparently, what Haizen had cut was just a copy. It faded instantly.
"Tch. Cheap clone user."
"Clone? That's not exactly what it is…"
Haizen didn't give him time to explain and jumped at him again — but only slashed a tree.
Dintro vanished completely and reappeared right behind me.
"What about your buddy, swordsman? He's not going to do anything? Must be useless."
I tried punching him but it was pathetic; he dodged easily.
"What's this? Is that all you've got, kid?"
Haizen lunged at Dintro with a punch, but this time Dintro blocked it — and with a move too fast for me to follow, he threw Haizen straight into me.
"I can't believe it… this tree is stronger than I thought!"
"If that's how it is, let's end this with the strongest and fastest strike. This time, I'll really cut him."
Haizen grabbed his sword, stood up, and assumed a stance.
It was the same stance he'd used when he killed that monster that tried to avenge its child.
Dark aura began flowing into the blade.
And faster than a blink, Haizen sliced Dintro completely in half.
"Annoying opponent… but that's the end of it."
"Is that what you think?"
That voice again.
Impossible.
It was Dintro's voice.
He appeared right in front of us again.
"No way… was that another copy of you?"
We had completely underestimated this guy.
Even Haizen couldn't process what was happening.
He got into his stance again, but — in an instant, Dintro grabbed Haizen's head and slammed it straight into the ground.
Haizen stood up, glaring.
"What are you now? A stronger copy? Why do you keep getting tougher every time?"
Dintro smiled like we were just toys in his hands.
"I told you before: it's not what it looks like. I'm not a clone user. I'm an illusion user."
"Illusion? What are you talking about? We never saw you do anything."
"And you think you're supposed to? Besides, once you're caught in the illusion, you forget how it happened anyway."
He had a point… but was he bluffing or telling the truth?
"You think we're just going to believe that? Nothing proves your claim."
"You want proof? Fine. Here's proof."
Dintro pulled a dagger from his pocket and drove it straight into his neck — but nothing happened.
He looked completely normal with a blade in his throat.
"Is that enough for you to believe me?"
"Since when did you do that?"
"From the moment you arrived, I activated my skill. It's range-based. You were already inside my zone, so I pulled you into the illusion. Beating me here is impossible. This is my playground. I can do whatever I want. Each time you 'kill' me, I come back stronger and faster than before. The only way out of the illusion is for you to be injured — but that's not going to happen. I'll end it myself when the test is over. By then, I'll be long gone."
This was bad. Really bad.
How could we deal with this?
Even Haizen couldn't handle this thing.
[I think you're in trouble.]
"No, I'm not in trouble. I'm just… playing. Isn't that obvious? We're in an illusion and you're just talking… Wait. You can talk to me here too?"
[Of course. This illusion skill won't work on me. I'm not a living being, so it has no effect.]
"Your screen doesn't even show up for the illusion guy?"
[Right. Since I'm outside his effect, he can't see my interface.]
Haizen stared at me strangely.
The system screen was only visible to me.
"Are you okay? Are you losing your mind or what?"
"I think I'm starting to hallucinate…"
The system continued.
[User, I have something to tell you.]
"What is it?"
[I think I have a way to get you out of this illusion.]