…..
“What happened?”
“Those inscriptions were weaponised. Anyone who comes into contact with them will activate them, causing an explosion.” Zilan calmly explained.
Cold sweat dripped down Hendrek’s back as his imagination run wild. If not for his Master’s presence it would have been him to lose an arm and an eye and not Oiley. And the worst part would have been that he was willing to fight Oiley’s group for the scripture.
“I’ve never heard of traps like that in the Concealed Scripture Display.” Whispered Lorn.
“They’ve always been there. It’s just that only those who progress far enough and actually have a chance of acquiring Legendary Scriptures encountered them. What the Association is doing this year is placing danger everywhere since the rewards are similarly quite plentiful. Trust me, this is just the beginning.”
Andrete gulped, all the excitement from before had instantly vanished. The previously glittery mountain of fortune had now become a dangerous death trap in his eyes.
“Are you afraid?” asked Zilan.
Andrete hesitated but eventually shook his head. He would never forget the image he saw the day he was accepted as Zilan’s disciple and the rune entered his body. The tyrannical feeling that figure of Zilan naturally exuded was unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
Zilan smiled seeing this.
……………
Just like he had said, all across the mountain scenes of rookies facing trap after trap and put in precarious position after precarious position were being broadcast to the gigantic spectating audience that had turned out for the event. Those who were grumbling before because of the unfairness of it all had collectively lost their voices after witnessing what the rookies were going through.
Because the Alchemy Association valued Alchemists no one thought that such a trial by fire would ever see the light of day however, seeing was believing and the rate at which the inexperienced rookies were dropping out was shocking.
Yes, there were great rewards to be had in this years Concealed Scripture Display however, unlike past years where it was more like a slightly dangerous treasure hunt the stakes were much higher. One misstep was all it took for people to lose their lives.
No longer were they thinking of this as a buffet of treasures there for the taking. Now, most were thankful they didn’t have to go through this more Fire Guardian suited trial.
Zilan moved on gradually ascending the mountain. The laid-out path they were trekking on had ended quite a while back so it was up to them to travel in the direction they desired. Needless to say, Zilan was leading the way rather confidently in fact. The reason he was so sure of himself was because the feeling he got when he first laid eyes on the mountain was intensifying.
‘Something is waiting for me.’
The area around them without warning turned darker. It wasn’t to the point that all light had disappeared but from how it was literally a second ago, the change was felt.
“What’s going on now?” It was Misty’s turn to ask.
Zilan remained composed, casually surveying his surroundings.
“BOOM!” Loud explosions started going off left, right and centre. The ground started vigorously shaking, it was unlike any earthquake any of them had ever experienced as even the sky appeared to falling. Stinging winds of immeasurable speeds struck against their faces, leading everyone to wince. Well, everyone except Zilan.
“Hendrek, what do you suppose this is?” asked Zilan, still as calm as ever.
Seeing how his Master was so cool and collected, a light of understanding shone within his large eyes. “This is an illusion.”
“Be specific, what level of illusion is this?”
“Could this be [Attempted Reality]?” wondered Hendrek, amazed.
“Correct, this is the work of someone who understands Illusions to the point where they have broken through to the first level, [Attempted Reality]. Just like its name implies, the illusion has reached a point where it is attempting to mimic reality. This is the first of four levels that every true Master of Illusions will go through.”
Hendrek’s mouth opened wide. He was speechless, for he was but a beginner in the field of Illusions. In front of him were still the first six levels of Beginner Illusion-ry before he could get to the next four levels of Mastery.
“Did the Chairman make this? Does that mean his field is also in illusions?” Hendrek asked.
Zilan chose to avoid his question, “Why don’t you try to break this illusion? It’ll be a good learning experience for you.”
Hendrek didn’t even waste a second upon hearing his words, vanishing into the darkness.
“Remember to take out your ring.” Shouted Zilan. He then turned to the other six idiots that were jumping up and down due to the illusionary quake. “The same goes for you fools.”
The six almost wanted to slap themselves. Even after being reminded to put on their rings they had still forgotten and in the process embarrassed themselves as they hopped about and cried out. Nevertheless, they could not help but admire the power of the rings. As soon as they equipped them, everything changed, even the darkness disappeared. The only reason they were still at the same spot was because Hendrek was attempting to study and break the Illusion.
He looked like he was on steroids, running everywhere before rushing back to Zilan whenever he had a question to ask.
“Master, what does this inscription mean?”
“Master, what does this do? Master, is this what I think it is?”
“Master, just a little more time. I promise I’ll be able to break it.”
“Pfft. Yea, like in a couple thousand years.” Mocked Misty. The others laughed when they heard this.
Hendrek glared at her however, his fierce gaze was met with a sweet smile of innocence.
Two hours later,
“Okay, that’s enough Hendrek. We need to leave now.” Zilan then picked up a few nearby metallic fragments and flicked them towards various directions. It moved so fast that none of his disciples could see it.
The next moment a “Kacha” sound echoed throughout the environment and the influence the Illusion had over their location was dispelled.
His movements left Hendrek’s jaw on the ground and the others couldn’t help but laugh when they saw how simple the Illusion was to dispel. “Heh, you took two hours and failed to solve something that could be easily worked out with a couple of fragments?” Misty could not stop laughing.
Needless to say, Zilan’s actions were not as simple as her words made them out to be but since Zilan was also having fun, he did not say a word.
