Once again, the doors of the Old Library creaked open.
Unlike the previous visit when I came here with Instructor Kadisha, this time, I entered alone with Instructor Esta.
“Well then.”
Instructor Esta spread her arms wide, a confident smile on her face.
“So, how does one enter this trial?”
To note.
Instructor Esta had heard of the trial but had never personally experienced it.
“A trial with 400 ancient beasts of A-rank appearing. Who could withstand that?”
“Shouldn’t we start preparing now if we want to head down to the resort?”
“Even at the resort, will we have to keep thinking about this trial? No way, no way. I won’t even get proper sleep there.”
Though she phrased it indirectly, Instructor Esta was firmly refusing. Having left behind her instructor’s magic panel as well, she seemed entirely serious.
“Take me to the trial.”
“Shall I call the others then?”
“No. I want to attempt it alone. If I do receive any support, it will be from you alone!”
The reason Instructor Esta had insisted on bringing me here was obvious. It wasn’t to write some research paper based on the Old Library’s ancient texts but rather to directly enter the Seven Star Trials, as introduced to her through Instructor Kadisha.
“Phoenix, you said the special class students could sufficiently clear the first floor of the Earth Tower, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about me?”
Instructor Esta pointed to herself.
“How far do you think I can go? Alone?”
“Hard to say. Wouldn’t you need to try it out to know for sure?”
Since the number of floors one could conquer depended on various factors, I couldn’t give an easy answer.
“Still, you could provide a rough estimate, couldn’t you?”
“Do I look like someone who knows exactly what kind of trial lies on each floor?”
“Don’t you?”
“No, I don’t.”
That was a lie.
Of course, I knew.
But there was no way Instructor Esta could detect my deception.
“These trials were created by the Four Founders 500 years ago. If I knew their exact contents, wouldn’t that make me a person from 500 years ago?”
“That… that’s true.”
Given that she perceived me as someone entirely different, there was no way she’d think I was a person from 500 years ago.
After all, I was seen as someone who had saved my family through a pact with a demon ten years ago, was abducted to the Demon World, and returned through some unknown means.
“Still, couldn’t you at least make a guess?”
“If you’re going in blind, I’d say you might clear up to the third floor.”
“Only the third?”
“Making it to the third floor solo is already quite an achievement. Most trials weren’t created based on the experiences of a single Founder but on the combined efforts of a party. These experiences were then manifested as trials.”
I spread all ten of my fingers and made my way toward the bookshelf containing the storybook that led to the Seven Star Trials.
“The number of people who can enter at once is likely limited. The Four Founders wouldn’t have created trials where 100 or 500 people could rush in at once and pass.”
Even if such a scenario were possible, the trial itself would have provisions for internal collaborators to appear.
For example, in a trial involving a battle against the Demon King’s army outside the continent, while the Hero Party, including the Four Founders, charged toward the Demon King’s Castle, hundreds of expeditionary troops would act as NPC-like supporters.
“Still, if you were to solo all the trials, you’d probably become the strongest on the continent, Instructor Esta.”
“Not alone.”
Instructor Esta stepped closer and placed her hands on my shoulders.
“With you, isn’t that right?”
“Even if you put it that way, I’ll only provide minimal support. It has to be fair.”
“Fair?”
“An advisor guiding challengers of the trials can’t treat some with favoritism—joining as a companion or granting buffs—while ignoring others.”
“Hmm…”
Squeeze.
“So you’ve been throwing your peers into trials without guidance, is that it?”
“Wait, wait!”
“Do you have any excuses?”
“I only did it to give those who haven’t yet reached S-rank a taste of reality. It’s different when it comes to someone who’s already an S-rank like you.”
“Hmm.”
Instructor Esta released her grip on my shoulders and stepped back.
“Fine. I have a lot to say, but let’s try this out first. So, how do I proceed? Do I need to have my spirit extracted like the others?”
“That’s one way, but since you’ve come all the way to the Old School Building, there’s no need for that.”
I gestured toward a worn-out sofa amidst the scattered furniture in the Old School Building.
“Have a seat.”
“…”
“Just so you know, I’ve tidied up the place a bit. It’s not like dust accumulates here anyway, and if there were any issues with the scene, I simply dealt with them.”
“Wait, don’t tell me this sofa was part of the crime scene…?”
“I just removed the preservation magic that was cast over it.”
I pointed to the antique-looking sofa.
“Doesn’t it look like something that might have been purchased when the Old Library was first built 500 years ago?”
“…What exactly did you do?”
“I removed the layers of preservation magic. The original one cast 500 years ago and the additional crime scene preservation magic on top of it.”
“Hah…”
Instructor Esta buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.
“Should I report this?”
“If you do, every historian and artifact enthusiast interested in relics of the Four Founders will flock here, not only to sit on this chair but—”
“Wait, what did you just say?”
Instructor Esta interrupted me, her eyes sparkling.
“An artifact used by the Four Founders?”
“Yes. This building itself was where the Four Founders taught students before their ‘disappearance.’ I’ve heard that this particular sofa was where the ‘Saint’ sat to teach the children.”
“…How do you know all this?”
“I only know what I know. I don’t know what I don’t.”
“Hmm. Did you make a deal with a demon to acquire knowledge from 500 years ago?”
Instructor Esta chuckled, testing me.
I simply shrugged with a smile, and she cautiously sat on the sofa, calming her breathing.
“Well, regardless, that’s not the main issue. The important thing is… I too can experience this trial, right?”
She closed her eyes while seated on the sofa.
“Don’t tell me this trial is only available to Academy undergraduates?”
“…”
“Surely not? Even for the Four Founders, starting students as young as 17 against a trial with 400 A-rank beasts sounds absurd. And the oldest undergraduates are only 19?”
“Of course not.”
Faculty could also challenge it.
In the Academy’s universe, faculty members—provided they met specific conditions, such as being a heroine—could participate in endgame content like trials.
“This trial is also available to graduate students.”
“What?”
“Just kidding. Even the Headmaster of the Academy can challenge this trial.”
“…”
Instructor Esta groaned, keeping her eyes shut.
“If it were a trial exclusive to undergraduates, I might have regrets, but I wouldn’t be worried.”
A trial that even Instructor Esta could attempt. In other words, a trial designed to prepare for an apocalyptic scenario that undergraduates couldn’t handle alone.
If not even graduate students, instructors, or the Headmaster could overcome it, humanity might face an unprecedented disaster.
“…Phoenix.”
Instructor Esta called my name seriously.
“Let’s begin.”
“Understood. Then—”
I placed my hand on her head.
“Red, Sun.”
Then, with a light snap of my fingers before her, the process began.
* * *
Moments later.
“Just so you know, the conditions for entering might differ from Yunia and her group, but the trial itself won’t change.”
“I see.”
I gestured up and down toward Instructor Esta, who had entered the mental realm in the same bare state as Yunia and the other undergraduates.
“You might want to put on some clothes.”
“Is this what you mean?”
Before I could finish, Instructor Esta instantly draped herself in an outfit.
At the same time—
“Why is your hair longer now?”
“You change your hair, eye color, and even skin tone. Why can’t I indulge a little too?”
Even though her hair had grown significantly longer compared to when we first met at the Academy, Instructor Esta now sported flowing locks—a sly smile playing on her lips.
“Or is this the real you? I’m not sure about the hair or eyes, but—”
“If you don’t know, then just keep on not knowing. What matters now is the trial, and I am someone tasked with guiding humanity through it.”
“Alright, we’ll go with that.”
This is why I like Esta.
She adapts to me just enough, never sharing the information she gleans with others in a way that would put me in a difficult position.
If we had had the chance to talk more ten years ago—if I’d been just a bit more composed back then—maybe I could have told her everything.
About how the Marchioness of Ludvecia’s fabricated “Demonic Abduction” story was actually true.
“This way, please.”
We passed through the pristine white garden and entered the Earth Tower.
“Hmm.”
Instructor Esta stepped into the plains of 500 years ago, taking a deep breath of the earthy scent and extending her hand to summon an Aura Blade.
“Alright.”
Rumble.
“Come forth.”
Hundreds of beasts charged toward her, drawn irresistibly to the overwhelmingly strong “angelic power” that lingered around her.
Even if the opponent was far beyond their capability to handle, they came at her with everything they had.
“First, let’s keep it light.”
Instructor Esta lowered her stance.
“Let’s go with about 30% of my strength for now.”
With a single, sharp movement, she dashed forward.
Slash.
For a moment, it felt like the entire spatial structure of the tower shifted ever so slightly.
“Phoenix.”
Swinging her Aura Blade to the side, Esta turned her head toward me.
“This isn’t the end of the trial, is it?”
As expected of an S-rank.
“Of course not.”
What mattered wasn’t just the current wave of enemies.
“There’s still the boss left.”
A greater trial lay ahead.
“Do you think you can handle an S-rank beast?”
Every sealed trial tower features an S-rank beast as the boss, starting from the very first floor.
