Chapter 100

100. The Final Destination (2)

As soon as I entered the room of the fifth gate, I felt bewildered.

It was inevitable.

"Pass."

The moment I opened the door and stepped in, the old man sitting in the center of the room uttered these words.

Taken aback, I stared at the old man in his monk's robe for a moment before speaking.

"Pass... What do you mean by that...?"

"You have passed the fifth gate."

"...?"

"Move on to the sixth gate."

"No, why...?"

I was flabbergasted.

Even the first gate required me to focus on the trials set by the monk.

In all the subsequent gates, I had to prove myself physically in intense battles with the monk.

And now, after all those trials, I was told I had passed the moment I entered the gate of belief?

Unable to understand the current situation, I demanded an answer from the old monk.

The old monk looked at me indifferently before reluctantly explaining.

"In the fifth gate, I watched you from the first gate to here."

I wondered why I hadn't noticed his gaze.

"Do not ask why you didn't detect it. Consider it a divine power."

His words cut off my thoughts.

"Originally, the fifth gate begins with the contemplation of the mind."

"Why don't I have to do it?"

"Because you are in a realm where you don't need to contemplate the mind."

"...What?"

"Kairan told you that you are mad, consumed by the frenzy of martial arts."

"..."

"But that madness is not something that swallows you. It stems from your desire to grow, born from your humble past, and is driven by an endless ambition."

The old monk sighed as if annoyed.

"Isn't your goal to win, win, and win again, to grow infinitely and become the strongest?"

While I had never directly thought of becoming the strongest...

As the old monk said, I had repeatedly sought growth and yearned to become stronger.

It might seem like an exaggerated interpretation to say that I wished to grow infinitely and become the strongest.

"It's not an exaggeration, but the ultimate conclusion you will reach."

"...Can you read minds too?"

"To some extent. I have no connection to combat, but I have other powers because of that."

"Ah, I see..."

The monk possessed more surprising powers than I had expected.

"Anyway, if you want to kill me, do it quickly and move on."

Taken aback by the old monk's sudden words, I widened my eyes.

"I can sense your desire to kill this old man and become stronger from your subconscious."

"Wh-what...?"

"Whatever choice you make, it won't negatively affect your trials, so do as you please."

"..."

I hesitated for a moment but then shook my head and said,

"I won't do that."

"Why not?"

It was simple.

"Because it goes against my beliefs."

Killing someone without any reason is a realm of inhumanity.

If there's no will to fight, killing someone is just senseless murder.

I had always decided not to cross this line.

Allowing combat without malice is a different matter.

"Ooh... That's unexpected. I could have given you the trials of the fifth gate."

But the old monk didn't seem to have any intention of giving me trials.

"Go on, then. I wish you success in your trials."

I bowed silently in response to his indifferent farewell and walked to the next gate.

However, as I walked down the corridor to the sixth gate, I sensed something strange.

"..."

The further I walked, the darker the reflection in the corridor became.

I wondered if the material had changed from a mirror to black stone, but when I touched it, I was surprised to find that the black walls of this corridor were made of glass, like a mirror.

"..."

The changes that occurred as I moved to the next gate were not meaningless.

From nothing to a shattered mirror, and then to a complete mirror.

This must have been a way to express the progress of the trials or the growth of the one being tested.

But the sudden darkening of the mirror's reflection gave me an ominous feeling.

And soon, that unease grew stronger as I opened the door to the sixth gate.

"..."

In the ominous room where everything was reflected in black, I looked at the center.

"Hello."

There, I saw a black-haired beauty with a black blindfold over her eyes.

"You are the first to reach here without resting once from the first gate."

She smiled, looking at me as if she could see everything despite her blindfold.

"The sixth gate can start in the situation you desire."

"Can I start the sixth gate right away?"

"Really? Are you sure you don't need a rest? Even if your body isn't tired, your mind must be quite fatigued."

"It doesn't matter."

I was curious about what kind of trial the proof of belief would be.

My mind was tired, but a brief rest wouldn't help much.

So, as the saying goes, it's better to face the challenge quickly, and it was better to start the sixth gate right away.

"If that's your wish, I will do so."

The black-haired beauty smiled and continued.

"In the name of Eileen, the saint who serves the God of Proof, I declare the beginning of the sixth gate."

Her voice, which had been casual, became slightly more solemn.

And then,

"You must now face your own mind's image properly."

With those words, I lost all my senses and fell into endless darkness.

***

In an instant, I couldn't hide my bewilderment as I felt my hair turn white.

It was understandable.

I was falling alone in pitch-black darkness.

The black-haired saint, Eileen, who had just introduced herself, was nowhere to be seen.

I was in a state of falling into a void, as if I had lost my body, with no idea where I was going.

If this were reality, it would be the worst possible scenario. If it weren't, it would be extremely dangerous.

If I had fallen into a hallucination to the point where I couldn't feel my body, it would mean I was close to death.

I had no certainty that Eileen wouldn't attack me, and I didn't know how far I would fall while losing all my senses.

In a situation where I could die, I felt a paralyzing fear...

「By the power of 'Clear Mind (C-)', I maintain my composure, and the constraints of the mind's image weaken.」

Soon, I felt my sense of touch returning and began to feel my arms.

At that moment,

—Wow, you have incredible willpower. I didn't expect you to react by moving your body even in the realm of the mind.

The unpleasant sensation of words being directly etched into my mind made me flinch.

—Don't worry. You are in your own realm of the mind, and you are fine.

I realized this was a power Eileen possessed, similar to how the old monk could read my thoughts.

—Of course, I was also fine, even though I was almost killed by your sword.

Eileen almost died from my sword...

That's a relief.

Even in a state of unconsciousness, I instinctively resisted, and it seems Eileen almost died.

This means I can defend myself even in the realm of the subconscious.

It must be the result of the countless battles I've fought.

—No, don't just think it's a relief. Can't you worry about me a little?

More importantly, I quickly pondered what the realm of the mind meant.

Could it be that this space I'm in is not a simple illusion but a place where I see my mind as an illusion?

—Not exactly, but... yeah, that's close to the right answer.

From the way Eileen spoke, as if she had heard my thoughts, I realized she possessed the same power as the old monk.

—Old monk? Ah, you mean Hennir? That's also the right answer.

More importantly, can you explain how this relates to the proof of belief?

—Hmm... Your thoughts have changed. Did you realize you were talking to me?

I'll take that as a yes.

So, please explain how I should prove my belief.

—It's simple. The space you are in is your realm of the mind. You need to see your own realm of the mind. Then, the sixth gate will be over.

What does it mean to see the realm of the mind?

—A person's realm of the mind is greatly influenced by their beliefs. But no one can see it. Just like when you close your eyes and see only darkness, the realm of the mind is the same.

This black hallucination means I have entered the realm of the mind.

So, I need to see the essence in this empty realm of the mind, right?

—Ahaha, you understand well. While you are in there, your sense of time might be distorted. But don't worry. I will take care of your body outside.

No, that's what I'm worried about.

—Just kidding. Do you really think a saint who serves the god would harm you? That would be sad.

Considering how I was made to fight a monster like a pre-angel for the proof of the body, it's a possibility.

—Oh! That's true? If that happens, you would be a dead man, wouldn't you?

...Is this woman teasing me?

—Your rude thoughts were revealed for a moment. You seemed polite, but your thoughts are different.

I'm really sorry.

But if I provoke her, won't my body react even without consciousness?

—I know. I almost lost my head to your sword, so I won't provoke you. Don't worry.

That's a relief to hear.

I thought this while focusing on the sense of touch I had just regained and began to feel my body.

Soon, I regained my sense of touch and became aware of my body.

I couldn't see my hands, but I could feel them as I touched my body.

—...What? How can you already be aware of your body? In the realm of the mind, it usually takes time because you can hardly feel anything.

I'm not sure myself.

...Maybe it's because the constraints of the mind's image were weakened by the power of Clear Mind.

—Clear Mind? You have a divine power too? Wow, that's really surprising.

It's not a divine power, and it's not something to worry about. Please be quiet now.

—That's hard. You might go mad during this time. The power also distorts your sense of time, so it won't be hard to go mad.

...The power also distorts the sense of time?

—While you think in the realm of the mind, time in reality passes very quickly.

Do you mean that a day or more might have passed already?

—Not that much, but about two hours have definitely passed.

This is quite dangerous.

So far, I had spent at most a day breaking through the first five gates.

But in this sixth gate, I might use up most of the remaining seven days.

In the worst case, I might use up all the remaining time and die here.

I need to quickly see through the realm of the mind.

—Seven days? Remaining time? What's that?

I didn't answer Eileen's question and quickly thought.

The system still exists in this realm of the mind.

I confirmed this from the activation message of Clear Mind.

I can't hear the messages from the administrators, but the system messages haven't disappeared.

This means the system still exists in the realm of the mind.

—You use a lot of terms that only you understand. Are you using words like a code?

Status window.

—Status window?

Indeed, the status window didn't appear.

But I thought the skill activation might work.

I focused my mind and activated Instant Acceleration.

「The skill 'Instant Acceleration' is activated.」

It worked.

—What, what is this? How did you do that? Wow, you channeled mana in the realm of the mind?

With the skill activation message clearly appearing, the next important thing was what to do.

How can I use this system to do something and break through this situation?

—Whatever it is, you are more insane than I thought.

Before pondering that, I decided to solve the falling sensation first.

「The power 'Steel Wings' is activated.」

—...I have a question. Are you human? Why do steel wings grow from your back?

Fortunately, I could fly with the steel wings that immediately appeared in the realm of the mind.

As soon as I solved the falling sensation, I felt a solution flash through my mind.

If the power can be applied to the body in the realm of the mind, the same applies to skills.

Can I use a skill to fully perceive this realm of the mind?

Fortunately, I had a skill that could fully perceive this realm of the mind.

—...Already found the solution? No, what kind of skill is that?

Ignoring her, I immediately activated Dragon Eye.

「The skill 'Dragon Eye' is activated.」

As the darkness around me gradually lifted, I smiled.

I did it.

—...No way! What is this!? Why is the realm of the mind fully revealed!?

I felt satisfied with Eileen's shocked exclamation in my mind.

It seems I had successfully passed the sixth gate.