Entering the Mirage

"H-How..." Aurus couldn't believe it. The first method, and the only method that felt stupid to Aurus, was actually the method on getting out of the first world. Obviously, Aurus was still at a loss for words, only for him to realize that he was just using a more direct way of the second method.

"If I think about it, the first method and the second method aren't different at all. If you know the boundaries of the illusion, then you can escape the illusion once you got past it. Maybe I'm just too used to illusionists using mazes as their illusions, hence I close my sense of vision a lot," Aurus couldn't help but laugh at himself as he forgot such a basic rule.

Without caring for Aurus' wellbeing as usual, the disembodied voice resounded throughout the hall after Aurus escaped the first world.

"The first world, Void, has been escaped from in the time of 24 minutes and 32 seconds. Score grade: A."

"The passive skill [Illusion Resistance] has been given as a reward."

Ding!

"Hm?" Hearing the words that came from the disembodied voice, it was quite weird for the inheritance to give the one doing the trials, a resistance to the trial that the one was currently doing.

'The passive skill [Illusion Resistance] has been obtained.'

"Meh." Aurus didn't even bother looking at the details of the skill since someone with quick thinking would easily deduce the effects of the skill, which was of course, reducing the chances of the user falling into an illusion. Or perhaps, rather than reducing the chances of the user falling into an illusion, it would instead make the user's escape out of the illusion easier.

"Anyways, I wonder how this will be leveled up," Aurus said to himself. At this moment in time, another skill flashed in his mind, which he had since he was a measly C-grade Inanimate.

"Identify [Soul Perception I]," Aurus commanded the system, noticing the fact that the disembodied voice didn't say anything about the second world just yet.

Ding!

________

[Soul Perception I] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 9/10

A skill obtained by those who are gifted in the soul, this skill allows the user to sense everything in their surroundings within a set radius.

Current radius: 5 meters

________

At first glance, everything seemed normal, except for the fact that the experience needed to level the skill up was only a measly one experience point.

"Eh? How did I gain experience on this skill?" Aurus had a feeling that it might due to having his sense of vision activated at all times, but if that was the case, wouldn't his [Soul Perception I] be maxed out already or perhaps evolve to a higher grade?

Still wondering on how to level his [Soul Perception I] skill, the disembodied voice that resounded throughout the hall disrupted his thoughts.

"The second world, Mirage, has been casted."

"Transferring the inheritor to the illusion world."

Whoosh!

Without even a single moment of respite to prepare, Aurus disappeared from the hall in an instant, transported to an illusion world just like the first one, which who knows where it was.

...

XXXX Continent, Seraph Kingdom, Arcana Tower.

A few hours after calling Jihan about a piece of high quality wood that was inclined to the Wood element.

It was already night time in the Seraph Kingdom, nonetheless, the mages and magic-related classes within the Arcana Tower did not mind this all, continuing onwards with their day-to-day duties, whether it be created new magic spells, or enhancing their abilities in order to rank up to a higher class, everything went on as usual.

At these moments, Dane was still engrossed in his thoughts after steeling his mind to craft a new Wind elemental spell to infuse into the piece of wood before it becomes a weapon.

"At most, I can only make a Wind elemental spell of the 4th Circle, any higher than that and I won't be able to control it anymore," Dane muttered to himself as a rough idea of the parts of the magic incantation appeared in his mind.

As a Rank 4 High Mage of the Arcana Tower, Dane had lots of experience modifying multiple magic spells into enhanced versions, not to mention, creating a few original spells himself. While he was polishing the magic incantation in his mind, a voice resounded inside his mind, interrupting his focus.

"Sir Dane, the thing you want has been delivered." The voice that resounded inside his mind had a bit of an Eastern accent, letting Dane know who it was at the first syllable. Not minding the fact that he was interrupted while he was crafting the spell, Dane stood up and went towards the entrance of the 40th floor, where everyone who didn't get a permission from a Rank 4 High Mage or higher would stay at.

Casting a movement boosting spell on his feet to reduce the time needed to traverse the large floor, it took Dane only a couple of minutes to arrive at the doorway, coming face-to-face with a slightly scrawny man that had an effeminate face, making a lot of men mistake him as a girl.

Of course, only Dane was able to see this. For others, this face was covered by a black hood. "Hello, Sir Dane. I have the thing you requested." The man looked at Dane for a bit before handing a small box to him. This man was Jihan, the one Dane called about the replacement for the Spiritas.

"Thanks, how much does it cost?" Dane asked. He knew about Jihan accidentally back then when he was just a Rank 1 Lesser Acolyte, trying to find a cheap place to buy magic items. After this, he knew that Jihan sold legitimate items at a cheaper price, hence being the first person he would contact.

"3000 gold coins," Jihan replied without hesitation. Looking at Dane's face that had a neutral expression, he continued, "This wood is known as the Gale Dragon Wood. This type of wood is only found on the outskirts of the eastern part of the continent, showing great affinity with wind and wind magic. I also appraised this piece of wood before I came here, and it also showed faint signs of a soul forming!"

With his interest piqued by the last sentence, Dane didn't hesitate to use his mana to control a small satchel filled with gold coins under the desk in his room towards where he was, giving it to Jihan afterwards after counting the coins within it. "There you go, 3000 gold coins. I know you only give legitimate items so I won't doubt this piece of wood. Oh, and also if you find any hints regarding a Magic Crystal, please let me know. I'll buy the information from you at a good price, since we have a good relationship."

Weighing the satchel filled with gold coins with a smile on his face, Jihan nodded and replied, "Thanks for a good trade. Also, don't worry. I have a large network of connections around the continent so once any sign of it comes out, you'll be the first one I inform."

After that, Jihan slightly bowed in front of Dane before turning around and leaving the tower. As for Dane, he went back to the room on the current floor and sat down on a nearby chair before opening the box he received on a desk.

Looking at the wood that was slightly tinted green, Dane let out a soft smile and muttered, "Let's focus on making that spell then."

...

Whoosh!

"Agh..." Since he wasn't prepared to be teleported once more, Aurus had a splitting headache again, or should it be called a splitting soul ache? Either way, thanks to his newly obtained [Illusion Resistance], he was able to regain his rationality and logicality at a faster time when compared to before.

Looking around with his [Soul Perception I] skill, he was currently in the middle of a slightly large village, with the basic necessities of a village being met with a farm, a well, and a few huts being seen around him.

What was weird though was that there were no people inside this village, as if they left all of a sudden. The huts and the buildings weren't damaged in any way, which gave the current sight another layer of the creeps.

Nonetheless, Aurus did not mind this and decided to use the first method once more, activating [Gale Hover] and heading towards the boundary of the illusion.

Whoosh!

Within 10 minutes or so, Aurus arrived at the boundary of the illusion, only for the escape to not be there, instead bouncing Aurus back to the boundary of the illusion rather than letting him escape.

Seeing that the first method did not work this time, it meant that the second method would not work as well, unless he was insanely lucky.

"Guess I'll have to think out of the box this time." Aurus felt that the difficulty of the second world increased not just by a notch, but by multiple notches.

He decided to head back to the village where he first appeared and activated [Gale Hover] once more, seeing that the spell was now off cooldown.

Relying on his sense of vision, Aurus could see that the village was gradually getting bigger and bigger as he got nearer until...

Poof!

Just like magic, it disappeared without a trace, only leaving a plot of empty grassland in its place.

Landing on the ground, Aurus was perplexed at the current situation. With one of his leads gone, he had no idea on what to do next.

"Wait..." Aurus felt that he realized something was wrong. "What was the name of this world again?"

Recalling the name after a bit, Aurus finally remembered the name. "Ah, Mirage."

"I must probably be incredibly stupid to believe that with a world name like that, everything I see would be real."

"I think I have an idea on what to do next thanks to this."