Before I was willing to continue the trial though, The pair of us remained in the safe room for some time. As for what we were doing, I felt it necessary to run some tests.
“If you are going to be functioning as my sword for this trial, then we need to understand your ability and limits. I hit you against the wall, if that hurts you, then how can I use you as a weapon?”
“That!” Alysia’s voice came out flustered. “When you hit me against the wall earlier, it didn’t hurt, it was more like a shock. I just wasn’t expecting it. However, when you hit the walls, I could feel it and have some awareness of it. I feel like when I strike something, I’m able to see it.
“Well, let’s test that.” I tapped her against a few different items lying around in the safe room.
“That’s a pillar. That’s the dungeon transport panel. That’s you! Ahhh… where are you putting me!”
“Huh? I just tapped my leg.”
“Y-you tapped your thigh right next to… n-n-nevermind!”
“Alright, I’m going to try putting you down.”
“Okay. I’ll trust in-” As soon as I let go of her, her voice cut off; after a pause, I grabbed her again. “-you… huh? What happened?”
“What did it feel like to you?”
“Everything went dark, and then it lightened up again. It only lasted a few seconds.”
“I had let you go for nearly a minute.”
“A m-m-minute?”
“It seems like you’re only aware when we’re very close, almost touching.”
“Are you saying I could go dark, and weeks or months could pass?”
“In theory.”
“Th-that’s scary… the darkness… I don’t like it.”
“How about if I have you on my back but am not holding you…”
After doing that test, we found that she could still sense me as long as I was within about six inches of any part of her, although I could only hear her with close contact. Gloves worked, so it didn’t need to be complete contact, just within an inch or so.
We also tried several strike tests, and Alysia proved to be as resilient as Terra. She said that it didn’t hurt her. We practiced for a while longer, getting her used to being swung around. She could feel herself being moved, but it felt like a breeze, even when I was using quick attacks. Ultimately, she grew a bit more used to the sudden strikes, although I didn’t use my full strength against the dungeon wall.
I started to worry that the guide would get suspicious if we wasted too much more time, so I called our practice quits. We finally left the safe room. I walked down the steps, leading to the first challenge. I entered a room that looked like a boss room. It had a feel like a colosseum, although there were no seats for spectators. It left me feeling slightly confused. We were only on the second floor. Don’t tell me I was against a boss already.
“This is your first trial.” She declared.
The little girl didn’t seem to point out how long I was in the safe room. Perhaps, she had no real grasp on time. I had a feeling like it didn’t matter how long I was in there, whether I remained overnight or just a few moments. She would probably always react the same way. That’s when I remembered my test with Alysia. As soon as I let go of her blade, she also seemed to lose awareness of the world around her. Did that mean this soul world only existed when I was present to observe it? That would certainly save on magical power.
As I was considering such things, an opponent came out of the coliseum. The second I laid eyes on them, my mind went haywire.
“Wh-what is this?” I cried out.
“This is the opponent you must defeat to continue!”
“I won’t do it!” I took a step back.
“Hmph… don’t tell me you’re afraid of killing a woman! Don’t worry! This person died long ago. This is just a creation based on her soul.”
I shook my head. “You…”
“This is your trial! If you don’t kill her, she’ll kill you!” The little guide disappeared with those taunting words.
The woman lunged at me, and I leaped out of the way to avoid her.
“What is it, Deek?” Alysia spoke up. “If you’re afraid of using me to fight, don’t be. We already tested this out.”
“It’s not that…” I grimaced, backing away as the enemy slashed at me over and over again.
“I can’t see! What’s going on!”
“It’s you!” I finally spat out. “The enemy she wants me to kill is you!”
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