đźź Chapter 24 :
The system has a way to get us out of the illusion? How is that possible—what could an industrial-skill system possibly do? I decided to ask.
"Okay… how are you going to do that?"
[If you allow me to use your body.]
"You can control my body?!"
[Well, I'm your skill system after all. If the skill owner doesn't object to me using the body, then I can move using it.]
Every time I learn something new about this system.
"Fine. If you can save us, I don't mind."
[Very well. I'll do it.]
This is excellent. As long as the system can do this, we can escape this illusion. At the moment this opportunity came, Haizen was desperately fighting Dintro again, but this time the situation had changed. Even Haizen's skill so fast I normally can't see it was no longer hitting Dintro. This version doesn't seem like one we can defeat.
[User, it's done. I am now controlling your body.]
Good. Things were finally going my way, and Dintro didn't know it.
"So, what do you see, system? Where is Dintro?"
[He's rummaging through your things. Looks like he doesn't just steal monster hearts—he steals your money too.]
"That thief—did he steal my money?"
[He didn't steal anything from you. He's taking from the bald swordsman. Don't overestimate yourself, user-you'd barely survive a week with your own cash.]
"Not the time for your nonsense. Watch carefully and don't reveal yourself."
[User, your bald companion's pockets are stuffed with gold-who would've thought? Oh, and the thief knocked off your companion's wig.]
"That's bad. I hope he doesn't go berserk like last time."
[Now he's laughing hard at the bald swordsman. Wait—he's heading toward you. He found something interesting about you; he's grabbing your hand.]
"What is he going to do with my hand? Watch him and don't react so he won't notice."
[Oh no… he's putting your finger in his nose to wipe his boogers.]
"Ugh—get your hand away! Pull it off, pull it off!"
[If you react he'll discover us. He stopped… now he's wiping your finger on your clothes. He's lying down under the tree and taking out his watch. He says there's little time left in the test.]
Little time! The time inside this illusion must be different from reality.
"Okay, system, tell me—can you do anything else?"
[Wow, user, I can actually fart. What an interesting sensation.]
"Stop it, you idiot! If you go on, you'll do something worse-do something actually useful instead!."
[Alright, alright. User, he's not looking at us. I can exploit this.]
Perfect. This was the ideal chance for the system to cause a small wound to Haizen so he'd wake up and land the finishing blow. I just had to tell him.
He was still fighting Dintro desperately. This illusion felt like a pre-scripted simulation, so Dintro probably wasn't paying real attention. This was only my guess—I hoped I wasn't wrong.
I had to quietly alert Haizen so he wouldn't make a sound while being injured. He was completely exhausted and unable to continue. Dintro's illusion-copy wasn't paying much attention to what was happening, so I stepped closer and spoke to Haizen in a low voice to ensure Dintro couldn't hear us.
"Haizen, listen. I found a way to wake you from this illusion. I want you to be ready to endure the pain that will wake you—don't make a sound."
"Huh? What are you talking about? How can you find a way, and what pain will wake me?"
"Just trust me. I know what I'm doing. Even if I'm wrong, trying is better than doing nothing."
"Alright—just don't be crazy."
Good. Now it was the system's turn.
"All right, system—can you inflict a small wound that will wake Haizen?"
[Acknowledged.]
Moments later Haizen vanished from in front of me. His waking made him exit the illusion. The Dintro copy noticed but didn't move toward me-he just closed his eyes
"System, hurry—wake me up, too!"
[Acknowledged.]
Suddenly everything in front of me started to disappear. When I opened my mouth to cry out in pain, Haizen had his hand over it.
[I told him to do that when you wake up. He would've shouted despite your warning, so I also covered his mouth.]
After waking, Haizen looked at me in surprise.
"I don't know how you did that, but well done."
I'd only just learned the method myself. I'd tell him more later. Dintro was relatively far away and hadn't noticed us; maybe he was asleep.
"Hey—where's my money? And my hair? That thief—I'll deal with him."
Oh—he noticed.
"Okay we have to move carefully. One strike from you and we'll take him down. We don't need a sword , I don't think he's as strong as he seemed in the illusion."
"One strike, then. Takeru, stay here. I'll handle this."
"Be careful. If he realizes, he could trap us back in his illusion."
Haizen began advancing slowly toward Dintro, while I hid among the trees and moved forward as well I wasn't going to stand idly by, of course. We were in a circular clearing ringed with trees; Dintro lay at the front. I went to the rear and started creeping along the edge of the clearing, concealed between trunks, while Haizen pressed straight ahead.
Haizen drew closer, and I quickened my pace to keep up. Each of us was approaching Dintro from our own side; one powerful strike from either of us would be enough to knock him out... but-
"Did you really think you could trick me? I don't know how you did it, but it's useless."
Just as we got close, Dintro discovered us. Haizen lunged, but it was useless—we slipped back into the illusion. Although he struck Dintro, that copy vanished and another appeared, and we were trapped in the illusion all over again.
"You thought I wouldn't notice? How foolish. I'm linked to this illusion; even if I don't see you outside it, I can sense who leaves it. You're still within my range. But I didn't expect the bald one to be able to wake up from the illusion."
Haizen didn't care about Dintro's words accusing him of causing our wake-up—he focused on mocking the bald swordsman, and that meant… heh heh heh…
[This thief fell for the bait. Even in reality he's taunting the swordsman and ignoring you.]
Perfect. Everything went as planned. I deliberately woke Haizen so Dintro would think Haizen caused our exit from the illusion, not me. While moving between the trees, I told the system to find something heavy to knock Dintro unconscious. I can pull objects within a ten-meter range, like I did with Haizen's sword earlier, and I found a sturdy log strong enough to drop him. I also instructed the system that if we fell out of the illusion and Dintro didn't notice me, it could control my body.
[All right. It's my turn now since he's busy with the bald swordsman. Step by step: a strong strike to the head—thud—and a fall.]
"Are you trying to voice-act that?"
I waited for confirmation while hiding among the trees inside the illusion and watching Haizen struggle against a Dintro copy. Then the system's voice and screen popped up.
[One strike was enough. He's knocked out cold.]
The illusion started to vanish. The copy Dintro had been fighting disappeared from Haizen's sight—everything faded. We woke up again on the real ground, collapsed. Haizen looked extremely confused.
"What happened? Did we wake up? The tree-man's out cold—did you hit him?"
He didn't understand what had happened, but he assumed I was responsible. Dintro was indeed down, and the log lay in front of him—his head was red from the blow.
"It's amazing he didn't notice you."
[No, he actually noticed me. I struck while he was distracted; his reaction speed was normal.]
"I see."
He had been a truly annoying opponent, but the system had just shown me one of its features I hadn't known. Haizen glowered at Dintro after everything.
"I want to crush that thieving tree's skull. But since it ended peacefully, I'll let it slide this time."
Good—he didn't give in to rage. We collected our things—well, Haizen's things that Dintro had stolen—and recovered the monster hearts. Within minutes we heard a whistle in the distance: the test had ended.