Chapter 286: Trial 7



She really sucks at this.

I can’t believe she was willing to let Snow die early in the game.

Sure, Snow’s a main character who eventually finds a way out of the situation, even if left alone with General Auvin.

She wasn’t a guaranteed loss early on, but it still affects her overall affection meters and potential progress in the game.

But sigh…

Who am I kidding? As if this woman would care about any of that stuff.

She even wastefully let go of the protagonist’s main potential by skipping the tutorial that allows for an early friend, resulting in unnecessarily low specs on his part.

My Lucas wasn’t even this weak when I didn’t intervene early on in his life.

“Hey, you said that pink-haired girl we saved a bit earlier would be useful in this scenario, right? How come she made no appearance in the boss battle with that old guy?”

“She’s fighting somewhere else in the background,”

“Hm? Then she’s essentially useless, isn’t she? And how’d you even know about that?”

“Read the dialogues and in-game descriptions,”

“Tch- how boring,”

Although she said that, I could see through her facade.

She was clearly infatuated with the game, even if she refused to admit it outright. Just like me when I first played it…

I don’t know how many cliché romance fantasy games she’s played in her life, but I could tell she appreciated it more than she let on.

Her occasional questions, the slight furrow of her brows during key moments, and the way she leaned closer during cutscenes-all of it gave her away.

The wave of nostalgia that hit me as I took control of the game was almost overwhelming.

It was like stepping into a time machine, reliving the joy and comfort I found in this world a decade ago.

This game had been my escape-my one means of breaking free from the drudgery of reality and finding happiness in a realm where I could make things right, even if only temporarily. The fact that everything was exactly as I remembered was both unsettling and comforting.

The same music, the same characters, the same choices laid out before me-every detail was a mirror reflecting my memories.

But it also stirred something uncomfortable deep inside me.

I wasn’t just controlling characters in a game anymore; these were people I now knew.

People who, in this new life of mine, had flesh, blood, and emotions.

Watching Snow’s determination, Seo’s quiet strength, Janica’s unwavering loyalty, and even Lucas’s confident charisma unfold on the screen felt surreal.

They were once lines of code to me-fictional, scripted beings.

Yet here they were, reminders that my new reality blurred the line between game and life.

And then there was the most annoying part of all.

Snow, blushing slightly as Lucas flashed her one of his signature smiles.

I tried to shrug it off. It was just the in-game version of Snow.

There was no reason to get jealous over a scripted reaction meant to play into a story arc.

But it still grated on me, just a little. After all, I couldn’t help but see her as more than a game character anymore.

Once I took over the reins of the game, a part of me hesitated, unsure of what exactly to do. Here I was, finally playing the game I had been curious about for months, and yet, as the screen flickered to life, I was no closer to finding answers.

Why was this game here?

Why was I being allowed to play it now, of all times?

I couldn’t help but wonder if the trial was trying to tell me something.

Was it reminding me of something I had long since buried?

The situation with my mother was already a tangled web of emotions and unanswered questions—a puzzle I didn’t even know how to begin solving.

And now, this.

Was the trial mocking me, or was it offering some kind of ironic opportunity?

A chance to spend time with my mother using the very game that once made me forget about her?

I glanced at her briefly.

Her presence next to me felt surreal, a stark contrast to the loneliness I’d felt back then-the emptiness this game had helped fill.

It was a bitter irony, like life was forcing me to confront everything I had tried to escape.

“Hey… that girl has bad vibes,” my mother commented, snapping me out of my thoughts. Her tone was casual, but I caught the hint of suspicion in her voice as she pointed to the screen.

“She’s going to be pretty useful later on,” I replied, my voice neutral as I moved the controller to progress through the dialogue.

“You sure are hoarding all the pretty-looking ones,” she teased, a playful lilt in her voice.

“Well, they are the main heroines,” I said, half-distracted by the game.

Whether I liked it or not, they were essential to progressing through the story.

They weren’t just powerful allies in battle; they were also the characters you had to win over, the ones who were scripted to fall for you.

“Main heroines?”

“Basically, the ones involved in the romance part of the game,” I explained, glancing at her

out of the corner of my eye.

“Hmm~” She leaned back slightly, a sly smile playing on her lips.

The game continued, but my thoughts drifted again.

As much as I enjoyed the nostalgic pull of controlling characters and making choices, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was more than just a trip down memory lane.

….

A week had passed since I first started replaying Hero’s Legacy with my mother.

Now, I found myself once again in her ward.

As the days went by, the changes in her health became more noticeable.

Where she would normally sit upright with ease, she now relied on the bed’s incliner to

support her body.

It was subtle, but I could see how much effort she was putting into keeping up appearances.

Even her psychic powers, which once allowed her to compensate for her blindness effortlessly, seemed strained as she used them to follow the action on the screen.

“Oh, you’re here,” she greeted me, her tone light despite the fatigue evident in her voice. “Look! I managed to take down that boss you said I wouldn’t be able to defeat.”

She pointed triumphantly at the screen. Sure enough, the image showed the remnants of a hard-fought battle.

[The Seven-Star Swordsman]-one of the most difficult bosses on Seo’s route-was lying

defeated.

I blinked in surprise. “You actually did it?”

She laughed, the sound a mix of pride and mischief.

“Hehehe~ Not only did I beat that overpowered boss, but I’ve also got this emotionless chick completely smitten with me!”

She grinned, gesturing to Seo’s in-game avatar, who stood beside the protagonist, her face flushed in an uncharacteristic display of emotion.

“Look at her!” my mother teased, tapping the screen. “She blushes just from the simplest gestures now. I made her crave my attention! Honestly, I wish this game had some kind of sensory tech-it’s such a shame it’s limited to just virtual controls. Can you imagine? It’d be like she was really there!”

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” I said, glancing over at her smug expression.

She didn’t even flinch, her smirk growing wider as she effortlessly dodged an attack on- screen. “Oh, come on. Admit it. I’m a natural at this game now,” she replied, sounding far too pleased with herself.

I sighed, leaning back slightly as I watched her dismantle The Seven-Star Swordsman, a boss notorious for its difficulty.

Normally, it required strategic planning, precise timing, and a lot of retries.

Yet, looking at her party composition, the win was all but inevitable.

I mean, she had Rose, who was off in the background calmly polishing her wand, ready to

unleash some absurdly powerful magical attacks.

Then there was Princess Stacia, the ultimate support or vanguard character depending on your

build.

And, of course, Lucas, the protagonist, whose limitless potential and plot armor could practically rewrite the game’s code to guarantee victory.

Basically Three cheat like characters combined with the main protagonists luck and plot

armor…

With a lineup like that, there was no way she could lose.

Not to mention, I was the one who had spent hours upgrading their specs, optimizing their equipment, and grinding for rare items.

Without my meticulous prep work, she’d still be struggling to get past the mid-game filler

bosses.

She leaned forward slightly, her hands gripping the controller tightly.

The faint tremor in her fingers didn’t escape my notice, nor did the slight hesitation in her movements during moments of high-stakes action.

She was pushing herself, determined to keep up with the game’s intensity despite her body’s

limitations.

Still, her focus was impressive, even as she paused to pat Seo’s head on the screen, a small

smile tugging at her lips.

I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Seo had been her favorite character ever since we started playing together. While I had taken the reins early on to guide her through the mechanics and gameplay, it was

her who had carried the progress forward during the times I wasn’t at the hospital.

Now, as we neared the final acts of the game, it felt surreal to watch her so invested.

[Note: Progress…85%]

[Note: Fragment of divinity… is intervening with user tutorial…]

[Note: Foreign divinity is interfering with user Trial…]

[Note: Trial objective… changed]

[Note: Trial of Forgiveness has been changed….]

[Trial maintenance denied!] [Note: Trial of choices…. in progress…]

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