Entering the Ruin

[Chapter 53 Comment]

[Adam_Balch_7324: Well it seems inscription is rather interesting seeming to use essence in the environment instead of one's own so if properly used can create a much stronger effect than you can achieve alone]

…

The next morning, Theo was staring at the two students who hung their heads low.

"Teacher…" Haruka walked to him and confessed her sins. "I'm very sorry. I have touched the button… twice."

Theo looked at her with a poker face as if it didn't really matter. On the other hand, Avalon looked a bit adamant, considering it was a knight's shame. However, he knew that not admitting his mistake would be breaking his chivalry code. Ultimately, Avalon also confessed. "I apologize, Sir. I have pressed the button once because I was curious."

"So, what happened?" Theo asked, but his tone became colder.

"…" Haruka paused for a moment before saying, "I was curious about it, so I tried to press it, wondering what would happen to me. I kept searching for the clue, but I couldn't find it. So, I tried it once more, albeit finding nothing again."

"I… did press it." Avalon glanced at Haruka at first, remembering that Haruka was asking him to press the button to see what would happen because she couldn't find anything different. After some persuasion, he decided to do it.

There was no way that he could admit that Haruka was the one tempting him since Haruka would definitely get a big punishment from Theo. So, to avoid the worst-case scenario, he decided to sacrifice himself as well.

"That was my mistake, Teacher. Please punish—" Before Avalon could finish his words, his forehead got flicked by Theo as he heard, "Of course, it was your mistake."

Avalon was dumbfounded, never expecting that he would be punished like this. On the other hand, Haruka wasn't hit by him. Filled with disappointment, Theo let out a long sigh. "Do you know why I gave you the red buttons?"

Avalon and Haruka exchanged looks before shaking their heads.

"Our mission this time is to explore an ancient ruin that is the slumbering place of a great illusionist that can affect reality with his power. With such a powerful person controlling the illusion inside, there is a chance that your heart will be swayed."

"Ah!" Haruka and Avalon instantly understood why he used this method.

Haruka's curiosity led her to do something that Theo had forbidden. Inside the ruin, there might be temptation that would lead her astray. And Theo wanted to prevent it by giving the red button.

In other words, if she actually followed Theo and restrained herself from pressing the button, it meant that the illusion wouldn't work because Theo's order was absolute. At the same time, Theo wasn't angry at her because he knew that the illusion might actually create his body to order Haruka, which instructed her to do something bad.

On the other hand, Avalon thought that her friend might actually persuade him to do something he shouldn't. Despite having the absolute order, he actually betrayed him because of the request.

What if Haruka appeared and told him to go to that side? It might cause problems for the group.

Unlike Haruka, Theo flicked his forehead because the problem was different.

Haruka took action because of her own curiosity. In other words, if the others actually imitated Theo or someone else, she would take that action because she thought that was the right thing to do. Meanwhile, Avalon did it due to someone else's request, which made him extremely vulnerable.

"This is the wonder of illusion. It doesn't have a form but can be shaped into anything. Do you learn your lessons?"

"Yes." Both of them answered at the same time. However, Haruka added, "But… shouldn't we create a secret code? This way, we could ask the code and understand the other party is just an illusion."

"What if the illusion comes directly from your mind, meaning it uses your memory as the basis?"

Haruka couldn't reply back, clearly knowing their effort was futile.

"So, how do you evade illusions, Teacher?" Avalon was more straightforward and asked directly about the solution.

"I have shown you the way during the game. It's up to you whether you can discover it or not," Theo explained.

"That's…" Both of them looked at each other, wondering about the answer. They couldn't help but think Theo was just giving them unnecessary puzzles. He should have told them directly so that they could break free from the illusion easily. Unbeknownst to them, there was a reason why Theo chose not to tell them, but he remained silent as if he didn't care about their worries.

"Anyway, let's go. We'll be entering the ruin." Theo turned around, leading the students to the entrance of the ruin.

While walking, Theo took a look at the comment.

"Yeah. The inscription is extremely useful. I can use them to create an illusion while I'm not there directly. However, I am planning to use it in a different way, so look forward to it," Theo answered in a low voice. It seemed that he wanted to implement something in his class.

As soon as they reached the entrance, Baold had been waiting for them.

"Have you got a good rest?" Baold asked with a smile.

"Yes, thanks to you." Theo nodded while glancing at the entrance that had been opened for him. The interior seemed to be dark, but he could see from the limited sunlight that entered the building that it had a huge hall inside. He didn't know how far, but the darkness that stretched to the corner made it look eerie.

"Should I come in with you?" Baold asked. "I'm strong enough to protect the two students, you know."

"No, it's fine." Theo shook his head. "Bringing more people will just cause unnecessary problems. And what if you are the one making the mistake? Won't you suddenly attack all of us?"

"That's…" Baold couldn't refute that claim. While he certainly couldn't attack Theo, what if his impulse changed after the illusion and caused him to attack the students? It would be catastrophic. "Understood. If you need anything, then feel free to tell me. I'll definitely prepare them. If you deem it too dangerous, it's fine to retreat."

"I know." Theo pointed at the entrance and asked, "What did you see inside?"

"Hmm?" Haruka and Avalon were confused, but they still followed his instruction and tried to see what was inside.

Avalon shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, Teacher. I couldn't see anything. It's pitch-black inside."

"I…" Haruka fell silent. She couldn't answer the question immediately, confusing Avalon and Baold.

"What's wrong?" Baold asked.

"I'm not sure… I think I can see someone's soul in that darkness. It's blurry, so I can't be very sure." Haruka rubbed her eyebrows and tried to look at it again, albeit it had disappeared.

Thump!

Her answer caused an eerie silence. It seemed that Haruka's eyes were one of the biggest factors why Theo brought her here.

"Who is that soul?" Baold asked another question.

"I'm not sure. A tall man… probably around forty to fifty years old. His body is shrouded by darkness, so I can't tell you anything about the body. That's all I can see." Haruka explained while taking a deep breath as if she was tired.

Theo turned around and raised two fingers. "Alright. I'll give you two instructions, so please remember these two no matter what."

Avalon and Haruka made a serious expression as if telling him that they would follow it unlike what they did with the red buttons.

"First, we're going to enter together and go back together."

"…" They were perplexed since that should be an obvious statement. They didn't even know why Theo gave such an obvious instruction. But the second instruction was even more ridiculous.

"And I want you guys to have fun inside. Remember that and you should be fine." Theo made a gentle smile as though he was assuring them that everything would be alright.

Although they didn't fully understand what Theo was talking about, they kept those two instructions in their mind.

"Alright. Let's go." Theo turned around and began walking toward the entrance.

"May fortune bless you with its presence. I will wait at the entrance, so that you can easily go out in case something happens." Baold couldn't say anything other than wishing him luck since he was also defeated in this ruin.

Once they entered, they couldn't see anything inside due to the darkness.

"What are we going to face?" Haruka muttered in a low voice, feeling a bit nervous.

Avalon didn't pull out his sword because he might injure the others in this darkness.

All of a sudden, they heard a rumbling sound from the back.

Rumble!

Rumble!

"Huh?" Avalon and Haruka looked back and saw the entrance was closing. They remembered that Baold had told them he would remain at the entrance and let it remain open so that they could go out immediately.

So, Avalon and Haruka hurriedly went to the gap and saw Baold's shocked face as he was trying to stop the entrance from closing. It seemed that he was also unaware of the sudden change in the situation.

"What is this?" Avalon gasped.

"We're trapped?" Haruka looked around, but everything was pitch black. The only thing she could hear was other people's voices.

"Teacher? Haruka? Where are you?" Avalon shouted while moving his hands around to find them.

"Avalon? Is it you?" Haruka heard Avalon's voice and slowly moved toward his voice. Just like Avalon, she also extended her hand to find Avalon.

Suddenly, she felt a touch. It soon became apparent that it was a hand.

"Avalon. I got you!" Haruka said while firmly holding his arm and pulling him to her side.

But in that instant, a blue flame appeared at the corner of the room, brightening the room. The blue flame spread right in front of the wall to all corners to the point she could dimly see everything around her.

Unfortunately for her, that was the exact time that she found the arm she was holding.

When the light illuminated the area in front of her, she finally saw a rotten arm.

Haruka traced it back to the one who had this rotten arm and found a rotten face that was right in front of her. The face was blue and smelled awful. Its eyes almost fell from their sockets, and the teeth were yellow.

"A zom…" Before she finished her words, the so-called zombie suddenly opened its mouth and tried to bite her. The zombie let out a scream, and its breath sounded so loud that it was almost deafening to her.

In that instant, she became so scared that her reflex kicked in. Her right foot kicked the zombie's stomach while she was screaming, "NOOOOOOOO!"

Meanwhile, Avalon was experiencing the same thing.

He could hold this arm, thinking it was Haruka. But the blue light seemed to appear a bit later than in Haruka's vision.

"Gah!" As a result, he got kicked in the stomach and fell three meters away.

The blue light finally appeared and illuminated the room, letting him see the real culprit.

It turned out the one that attacked him earlier was actually a pink ape.

"ROOOO!" The ape let out a roar to scare Avalon, forcing him to stand back up and reach for his blade. He was ready to fight the ape.