MTLNOVEL Chapter 193
193. Escape Game
“Thanks, Noah. Without you, I’d probably be…”
“No, I didn’t do anything. It was you who stood up, Arx-san.”
Still, so this is Zain’s Evil Eye trial… What a terrifying ordeal.
Facing your own past. That’s an incredibly painful thing to do. I almost broke under the pressure.
“So, why are you here, Noah?”
“That’s because I saw you, Arx-san!”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Now that I think about it, it’s strange that Noah is here even though this is a dream.
Could this be my mind? But it does look like Salina Village…
“Is this the real world?”
“No, it’s probably inside your mind, Arx-san. That would explain why I’m here.”
So, after losing consciousness, I moved into the world of my mind…?
“I was also surprised when the scenery suddenly changed. But somehow, I immediately knew where this village was.”
“…It’s probably because Noah has been to Salina Village in the real world. My mom mentioned it before.”
Noah had stayed in Salina Village. And she went into the Witch’s Forest to rescue me and disappeared.
“Maybe, even if your memory is gone, you still recognized Salina Village. That’s why you were able to come to my rescue.”
“I see… It does feel somewhat nostalgic.”
Noah looked around, her eyes darting about.
“…So, why is there no one here?”
“Because it’s inside my mind!”
“Oh, that makes sense! If there were a lot of people in your mind, you’d never get any rest.”
Noah said this with a bright, bell-like laugh.
Her usual innocent charm is comforting, but… I couldn’t afford to be entirely relieved.
“What do we do now? Is the trial still going on…?”
“Can’t you just return to the real world like always?”
“I’ve tried a few times, but I can’t wake up.”
The trial had a time limit of one hour.
“Could it be… we can’t leave until the hour is up?”
“In that case, let’s just chat like usual to pass the time!”
Wait a minute…
Time flows differently between the mind and the real world.
For instance, when I first met Noah, it felt like just a few minutes, but hours had passed.
Maybe only 30 seconds have passed, or perhaps it’s already been an hour.
If that’s the case, I’d be trapped in this space forever.
“No, we have to get out of here now.”
“But is there a way?”
“That’s the problem… Hmm.”
If I can’t wake up on my own, I’ll have to rely on something else.
But looking around, there’s no one here, and nothing that seems to lead to the outside world.
“Why did you come to this world, Arx-san?”
“It’s for the trial. I was told I needed to undergo a trial to master Zain’s Evil Eye…”
“I see. So Dan earlier was part of that trial, and that’s why he disappeared, right?”
Noah’s reasoning was correct.
The trial was about overcoming the past, and Dan appeared for that purpose—
“…Could it be?”
It might be a long shot, but I had an idea.
The chances are slim, but it’s not zero.
If so, I just have to try!
“Raize!”
I imagined Raize’s appearance in my mind and called out her name.
“What is it, all of a sudden?”
It happened then.
Unbelievably, Raize appeared right before my eyes.
“Ah, Arx-san!? What did you just do!? Someone suddenly appeared!”
“Just as I thought… It’s because this is inside my mind!”
Zain’s Evil Eye trial involves confronting the past.
If that’s the case, the person who appears must be someone relevant to the individual’s past.
For instance, Dan appears in my trial, but he wouldn’t show up in someone else’s.
In other words, in the trial, you can only see the people you’re trying to see.
Which means, if I try, I should be able to summon anyone I want.
I explained my reasoning to Noah.
“I see… That makes sense. As expected of you, Arx-san!”
Noah clapped her hands with a smile and tilted her head again.
“…So, what does that have to do with escaping?”
“It has everything to do with it. Maybe that person can help me return to the real world!”
Using the same method as before, I visualized the next person I wanted to summon.
“…Please, come! Mira-san!”
As I called her name—there she was, Mira-san appeared before us.