Chapter 58: Two Illusionists
[Chapter 57 Comment]
[amber_lazuli: what is he core of illusion I'm curious]
…
"Don't tell me. The core of this illusion is…" Haruka gasped while looking around her. There was one thing that connected all of them, and she believed it to be the core of the illusion.
She hurriedly took a deep breath and closed her eyes to concentrate. The moment she opened her eyes, her gaze looked empty, as if she didn't find anything. But within three seconds, the giant Marei started to flicker as though it was getting erased.
"!!!" Avalon gasped, noticing the change. He hurriedly turned around, wondering if Haruka did something. Her gaze told him that she was the culprit of this change, so he asked out loud, "Haruka. What did you do?"
"I will explain after this, but try to imagine the Marei is actually not real. You are simply standing on something that doesn't exist."
"Huh? Imagine?" Avalon didn't understand completely, but he tried to think that the Marei didn't exist and he was simply standing in the air. Surprisingly, the Marei actually flickered even stronger until at one point, it completely disappeared, causing Avalon to fall to the ground.
Avalon was shocked that it actually worked. He looked at Haruka with his jaw dropping, demanding an explanation.
Haruka felt a bit relieved and walked to him. "Do you remember the question that the golden orb asked us?"
"Yes. It asked us about the most ridiculous thing in the world." Avalon nodded.
"That's right. The most ridiculous thing in the world is…" Haruka pointed at her head.
"Huh? It's our mind?"
"Yes. Our brain is giving us the power of everything. It's the one moving our body. And it sometimes wanders around in the imaginary world. Yes, the illusion must come from our own imagination."
"Our own imagination?" Avalon gasped, remembering what he said about an alien coming to them.
"The test must be using our memory as the base, projecting the image into the world, and using our own mind as the core of the illusion to maintain it. In other words, we're being used by the illusion." Haruka sighed.
"But that means that if one can see through it, we can easily escape the illusion, right?"
"Yes. But this is only the second floor. I'm afraid that we'll face harder challenges ahead. In addition, we have been relying a lot on this golden orb." Haruka pointed at her own orb. She acknowledged that without the orb's help, she wouldn't be able to see through this illusion.
Even Avalon understood how precious the orb was. On the first floor, he learned about the in-motion that allowed him to perfect his style. On the second floor, it didn't provide a lot of help, but it definitely gave them a crucial clue.
Without the golden orb, Haruka would be experiencing excruciating pain that had yet to end from being impaled by spikes. Avalon would be swallowed by the swarm of insects alive. And the second floor would just completely overwhelm them.
Haruka also felt that she was on the verge of breaking through to another level. While it looked like she hadn't received an important lesson like Avalon's in-motion, the golden orb had actually invoked her talent in analyzing.
Her eyes were able to see souls. However, she hadn't utilized it to the ultimate degree. The fact that a ghost could actually remain by her side meant that she could actually get other ghosts. The one next to her was a normal female ghost, but what if she got a smart ghost like a scientist ghost, a veteran commander ghost, or even a martial artist ghost? She could probably be able to go through all kinds of hurdles with the right helper. With a lot of ghosts around her, she would have many brains to think of the situation and come up with another solution.
She was about to find this conclusion when she was distracted by the fact that they were on the second floor. Haruka believed that she could get that breakthrough within the next three floors, so she planned to continue.
"In any case, it's time to restore the tower. You should have the memory about the tower, right?"
"Yes." Avalon nodded.
"Let's stand inside the tower and reconstruct the tower with our mind. Remember, reconstruct the tower first before the room on the second floor."
"Got it."
Avalon and Haruka proceeded with their plan and stepped inside the ruined tower. After that, they began to imagine the appearance of the tower.
As a result, they could hear the rumbling sound coming from the rubble. The tower was returning to its original state as the walls of the tower were enveloped by golden light, becoming the base of the tower. Then, the rubble covered the walls, making it genuine.
After that, they felt the ground levitating before stopping at the position they wanted. The other rubble also reconstructed the second floor. It took them a few minutes, but they succeeded in rebuilding the tower.
When they opened their eyes, they found themselves back in their previous position.
"Still, where are the skeletons? Since we have beaten the second floor, we should have exited the illusion." This was another reason why Haruka could figure it out. With Baold's information, she expected to find skeletons of the early challengers. Yet, she could find nothing, making her think that everything was just an illusion.
"They might be on the third floor or something?" Avalon explained while pointing to the side. "Look. The stairs to the third floor have been opened. Should we get some rest first or head to the third floor right away?"
"How is your condition?"
"My mental state is still good. I'm also not exhausted, and my essence consumption is only about twenty percent."
Haruka was a bit tired after all the thinking, but she also felt a bit refreshed because she thought she could climb this tower. She had used more essence than Avalon, but it wasn't at the level where she should worry.
"I think we can challenge one more floor before getting some rest."
"Alright then." Avalon nodded in agreement.
Both of them faced their next challenge with the help of the golden orbs.
Although they had suspected it, they couldn't find any proof about the fact that Theo was the golden orb they individually saw.
The real Theo was hidden elsewhere, in a place that no one would expect. In that place, Theo was sitting peacefully next to the pond.
There were a lot of fish in the pond, flocking around a spot in front of Theo as they devoured the food he tossed inside. He was sitting on a flat rock that had been shaped like a chair. The running water coming from the side of the pond filled the atmosphere, and the spring breeze made it peaceful.
Theo seemed to be enjoying his little vacation in this place. While watching over the fish, he used this time to reply to the comments. He had been doing this a lot, but from the comments, he noticed that the perspective had switched. So, he continued repeating the same replies until his part was shown. In addition, he saw that he got multiple chapter comments at once, symbolizing the fact that his own time had been accelerated until he got his moment.
"You might have realized it, but I'm using my illusion to project the golden orb for them. I hope that they can grow stronger in this tower. And yes, they should realize they're fighting each other not long after."
Theo looked at the other comments and said, "I'm not sure, but it seems you're talking about Avalon. Avalon has been too focused on one thing, causing him to overlook all his other qualities. I'm simply showing him his other qualities that he has overlooked."
"As for the core of the illusion…" Theo paused for a moment.
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the right as a man walked across the bridge, heading to Theo. "I'm truly blessed to meet someone like you here, Dan Theo."
"If I can solve everything peacefully, then I will do it. I should be the one saying that since I can settle it like this," Theo smiled while looking at the man.
The man had long brown hair. He had a mature and gentle face, while his gaze was filled with wisdom. He wore a plain white shirt and long black pants, like a modern person Theo had seen in the previous realm. But his graceful demeanor showed an ethereal feeling, making him look like someone who had transcended humanity.
With a single wave of his hand, two flat stones appeared next to Theo, one higher than the other. He summoned two cups with green tea inside as he sat down next to Theo.
"Though, I prefer that you don't call me with that 'Dan' thing," Theo said after the guy sat down. "I mean, you don't want me to call you Ere Lemin while saying that it's a title for a respected guy in my realm while it might actually not mean that, no?"
"Haha. My apologies. I didn't mean that, as I have never thought that this world would be connected to other worlds. In fact, this is the first time I've heard about it," the man chuckled. "In that case, I'll call you Theo. Please call me Lemin as well. Is that alright with you?"
"Sure. I don't like that much formality anyway," Theo nodded in agreement.
That was right. The one who was talking peacefully with Theo was actually the man who was feared for his illusion ability, Lemin Balkman, the world's strongest illusionist.
It seemed that Lemin had acknowledged Theo's skill. Instead of letting him rampage in his tower, he actually invited Theo into this place for a peaceful conversation.
"Still, to think that they would invite someone like you to this place. In terms of illusion understanding alone, you are better than me. Though, it seems that you haven't explored the magical abilities you have, causing you to be inferior to me in terms of might," Lemin said while observing Theo.
"Yeah," Theo nodded. "Though, it doesn't mean that your understanding is shallow either."
"I'm glad that you're thinking that way. But I think we both know that we've only touched the surface."
"Indeed. There are limitless possibilities with illusion and reality. You should have been aware of it while building the tower, right?"
"Indeed," Lemin admitted. "I know that I have to leave behind my legacy. However, I want those who manage to obtain my legacy to be able to understand the illusion... Those five trials are made for the sake of introducing them to the limitless possibilities that illusion carries."
"For you, the illusion can actually change reality," Theo paused for a few seconds. "For me, the illusion can actually be the reality. Both paths are not wrong."
"When discussing illusion with you, I've realized that despite having that deep understanding, you are not arrogant at all. You're learning from all kinds of sources. People might be swayed and somehow forget about the basics, but your foundation is solid, and you have integrated those parts to match your understanding."
"You, too, have a good foundation," Theo waved his hand, acknowledging the person before him.
"I don't mind if you want to take all the things I've left. However, if you don't mind... I would like you to fulfill my last request."
"And that is..." Theo squinted his eyes.
Lemin's expression turned serious as he stated, "Please fight me with illusion, Theo. Let us broaden our horizons."
Would Theo accept the challenge? Would two powerful illusionists fight each other?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone