Chapter 18: Mental Training (3)

“Would you like to give it a try?”

When Professor Morpheus said that, the other cadets’ eyes turned toward me. Their gazes, once filled with ridicule and contempt, the kind I had grown accustomed to in my previous life, now contained something else entirely; it was expectation.

Is it because of everything that has happened over the past few weeks? I wondered.

I still couldn’t get used to this. Until now, I had lived a life where no one had ever expected anything from me. This was unfamiliar territory. It was like putting on a pair of new shoes that I wasn’t accustomed to yet. Honestly, it wasn’t the worst feeling in the world, and I thought I could get used to it eventually.

I rose from my seat and said, “Sure, I’ll do it.”

As I calmly walked toward Professor Morpheus, Iris gently tugged at my sleeve. “Um, Dale.”

She glanced around nervously, then leaned in and whispered, “If you think you can’t take it, just wave your right arm.”

“My right arm?”

“Yes. Just a small wave will do. Got it?”

“Mm. Okay.” I wasn’t sure what she was planning to do, but I didn’t think there was a need for her to step in.

As I walked ahead, I thought about the training. It had been so long that I couldn’t recall the exact number of seconds I had lasted in the illusion. But it didn’t matter. No matter what illusion he threw at me, the outcome would be the same.

When I reached him, Professor Morpheus said, “Just sit in the chair, close your eyes, and relax.”

It sounded more like a hypnosis session than anything else. With that dry thought in mind, I sat down in the chair. I closed my eyes and let my whole body relax.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Professor Morpheus placed his hand gently over my eyes. “Then let’s begin.”

What I saw next was a crimson wasteland. Clammy humidity clung to my skin, the air thick with the stench of blood. Corpses, hacked to pieces, were piled so high they formed small hills. The lecture hall I had been in moments ago had vanished, replaced by a grotesque battlefield soaked in gore.

This place… So, this is Professor Morpheus’s illusion magic.

It was impressive. Even though I knew it was fake, the vision felt disturbingly real. Severed limbs, spilled intestines, maggots feasting on rotting flesh, gray matter leaking from crushed skulls, even a seasoned hero would likely flinch and turn away from such a sight.

But this can’t be all of it, I thought.

If the illusion stopped at mere carnage, Albert wouldn’t have screamed, “Get away… Please don’t kill me!”

Just then, a wet squelching sound reached my ears.

Guess there’s more to this, I thought.

I turned toward the sound. “What the hell is that?”

Before my sight was a writhing mass of slimy green tentacles. A grotesque beast, its body covered in those feelers, stared directly at me with eight bulbous, twitching eyes. Oozing pus dripped from its tentacles, releasing a stench so vile it could make a grown man gag.

I understood at that moment why Albert had lost it. Even I, who had faced uncountable abominations in my past life, felt my stomach lurch. This demonic monster’s appearance could churn the guts of any hardened warrior.

The monstrosity let out a horrifying screech as it charged at me. Its tentacles whipped around like wild hair, splattering yellow pus across the ground. Illusion or not, every instinct in my body screamed at me to run away, scream, or do something.

However, I instead took a deep breath and calmed my mind.

It’s only an illusion.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced in my mind. It was an image of me wandering alone through a snowy wasteland, haunted by the illusions of my fallen comrades—hallucinations born of unbearable loneliness, hallucinations I had created myself.

No matter how horrifying that tentacle freak looks, it’s nothing compared to the hallucinations of the friends I had lost. This? This is nothing, I thought.

Compared to the life I had lived, compared to the deaths I had seen, a grotesque tentacle monstrosity with a bad smell was nothing.

Ssssshhk!

As I stood firm and stared down the charging demonic monster, a sudden burning pain flared in my left chest.

I frowned and looked down to see the Primordial Flame burning brightly, enveloping the soul stigmata on my chest. What the… The Blessing of Resurrection has not activated, so why is the Primordial Flame reacting now?

Before I could figure it out, the charging beast began to flicker. Its grotesque body blurred like smoke, as if it were consumed by an invisible fire. The tentacle demonic monster and the hills of corpses, all of it turned to gray ash and scattered into the wind. I let out a dry laugh as I watched the illusion crumble and fade.

The… the Primordial Flame could do something like this?

Before I knew it, the gore-filled hellscape had vanished, replaced once again by the familiar sight of the lecture hall.

Professor Morpheus’s voice rang around me. “Well now! That was surprising. I never imagined you would break out of my illusion spell on your own.”

He blinked at me in disbelief, giving me a once-over from head to toe. “Hah. I’ve been a professor for quite a while now, but this is definitely a first.”

Professor Morpheus had seen cadets who could endure the full minute inside the illusion. On rare occasions, he had come across cadets with magic resistance or overwhelming mana that made them immune to the spell.

However, this was different. I had fallen under the illusion, and yet, I had shattered it. No. I had burned it to the ground.

“You’re the first to ever do that. How did you do it?” he asked.

You tell me. I’m more curious about what happened myself, I thought.

I gave him a half-hearted shrug and a crooked smile. “No idea.”

“Hmm!”

I stood up from the chair and asked, “Anyway, I passed, right?”

Professor Morpheus gave me a warm, satisfied smile and nodded. “Of course. This isn’t just a pass, this performance practically deserves bonus points.”

“I would be happy to take them.”

“Haha. I’d love to give them, but bonus points are entirely up to the supervising professor.” Professor Morpheus trailed off and glanced toward Professor Kane.

Watching me with a strangely satisfied look, Professor Kane firmly shook his head. “No matter how well someone does, I can’t award bonus points that weren’t announced.”

What a stingy man,I thought.

“What, you got a problem?” Professor Kane said.

“Who am I to question the wise and just decision of Professor Kane?” I replied.

“Cut the crap. Anyway, the ones who pass the test get a special treat: we’ll dismiss you after the morning session. Try not to waste the opportunity,” he added.

The moment Professor Kane announced that those who passed would be free after the morning class, the lecture hall stirred with excitement. Early dismissal, was there anything more thrilling than these two words to a group of cadets?

Seeing how easily I had passed, the cadets’ expressions were visibly relaxed, and they swarmed forward like a tide.

“I want to try!”

“Me too!”

“I can do it!”

“Haha, maybe Albert overreacted.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!”

Albert, however, said in shock, “This… this doesn’t make sense. How could he be fine after seeing that?”

“Seriously, Albert, you’re just dramatic. That’s all,” someone replied

“B-but, there’s no way.” Albert looked utterly betrayed by the world. He was now the butt of everyone’s laughter.

As the next cadet came up to him, Professor Morpheus said, “Alright, just sit in the chair, close your eyes, and relax.”

The cadet confidently sat in the chair. “Yup!”

The next second, a scream rang out.

Then, the entire lecture hall soon rang with cries of terror.

“Eeeeeek!”

“Nooooo!”

“P-please, please spare me!”

“T-tentacles! It’s the tentacleeeeeees!”

Grinning ear to ear, Professor Morpheus continued the mental training session as if it were just another pleasant morning activity. “It’s good to see everyone so energetic. Youth indeed is something great.”

***

Just like that, the morning session finally ended.

Professor Kane clicked his tongue, glancing around at the cadets sprawled across the floor, completely exhausted. “So, only Dale and Iris managed to pass. Camilla was so close, too. What a shame. For all your bravado, only two made it through. Hoho. I trust the rest of you know what happens now.”

Wearing a devilish grin, he lifted a container filled with the special juice. As the green liquid bubbled ominously, the cadets’ faces went pale.

Camilla clenched her fists, trembling with frustration. “Just five more seconds. If I had held out five more seconds!”

She had nearly endured the entire test with superhuman willpower. But just before the end, the tentacles had started twitching wildly, aiming for a place, or more accurately, a hole they most definitely should not have. That was the breaking point. She couldn’t hold back her scream at that point.

“You were doing so well. What happened at the end?” I asked Camilla.

“Well, the tentacle suddenly went for my b-butt…”

“Your what?”

“My… I mean, ugh!” Blushing furiously, Camilla shot me a deadly glare. “Y-you pervert! What kind of indecent words are you trying to make a proper lady say?!”

“What? What did I do?” I said.

“Hmph! Shut it!” Crossing her arms with a huff, she whipped her head away from me.

I shrugged, grabbed my bag, and stood up. As I made my way toward the door, I could feel all the envious stares of the cadets who had failed.

Just as I reached the exit, Iris called out to me. “Dale, you didn’t forget about our lunch plans today, right?”

I smiled warmly as Iris walked over. “Of course not.”

Since she had also passed the test, we could keep our Monday lunch plans.

“I’m really glad you passed, Dale,” she said.

“That was nothing.”

“Actually, I was planning to secretly use my blessing on you if it looked like you were going to fail,” she explained.

“Ohh, so that’s why you told me to wave my right arm earlier?”

Iris gave a sweet little nod and smile. “Yup!”

Her blessing had the power to boost resistance against mental-type magic, so it would have been perfect for dealing with illusion magic.

“But, why didn’t you use it on Camilla?” I asked.

“Well, even though Camilla’s a dear friend, a test should be taken fair and square.”

“R-right.”

That made sense. But then, why was she going to secretly help me? A thought suddenly crossed my mind: Wait a minute. Didn’t Camilla say the illusion intensified just before she passed out?

I had not seen it personally, but Iris’s blessing had a reverse effect. In other words, it could either boost or weaken someone’s mental resistance.

No way! There is no reason Iris would curse Camilla just to make her fail. Right? I thought.

“Well, since Camilla didn’t pass, I guess it’s just the two of us for lunch today,” Iris said.

“Ah! Y-yeah, I guess so.”

Iris took the lead, walking with a spring in her step. “I already sent word ahead, so the food should be ready. Let’s hurry before it gets cold. Hmm~♬”

For some reason, the look on her face as she headed toward the cafeteria was more radiant than I had ever seen before.

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