NOVEL WEB Chapter 42: The Trial of Worlds
The orb of light that had appeared after the golem's defeat pulsed gently, bathing the chamber in a soft, welcoming glow. Jin-woo and Cid approached it. As they drew near, the light flowed into them, not as a surge of power, but as a feeling of restoration. Their energy was replenished, their minds cleared of the lingering psychic fatigue from the fight. It was the Author King's way of resetting the board for the next trial.
They ascended the staircase of starlight, which dissolved behind them with each step. They arrived in a new chamber, identical in size and shape to the one below. But this one was not empty.
The room was split perfectly down the middle by a thin, shimmering line of energy.
On the left side of the room, a perfect, miniature replica of modern-day Seoul materialized. Tiny, glowing skyscrapers, miniature cars moving along busy streets, and the faint, familiar hum of a technologically advanced society.
On the right side of the room, a perfect, miniature replica of the Midgar Royal Capital appeared. A grand castle, cobblestone streets, knights in shining armor patrolling the walls, and the thick, palpable scent of ambient mana.
Two worlds, side-by-side, contained in a single room.
New runes glowed on the far wall. Cid, now the designated translator, read them aloud.
"'Second Trial: The Trial of Worlds'," he announced. "'A hero is defined by the world he protects. But a world can also be a cage. Choose your burden. Defend your home'."
As he spoke, the two miniature cities began to glow. From the replica of Seoul, hostile energy signatures began to appear—not Weavers, but recreations of the monsters from its past. A massive Naga from a high-level Gate. A horde of Giant Ants. An Ice Elf archer. An army of echoes from Jin-woo's history.
From the replica of Midgar, its own threats materialized. A squadron of powerful Cult of Diablos mages. A rampaging, shadowy beast reminiscent of the monster that had once cursed Alpha. A corrupted knight clad in black armor. An army of villains from Cid's fabricated lore.
Then, the final, cruel instruction appeared in the runes.
"'The other world is your weapon. You may take one element, one power, from your ally's world to aid in the defense of your own. Choose wisely. The trial begins when the first blow is struck'."
The two of them stood before a diorama of their own worst nightmares. The trial was a Kobayashi Maru, a no-win scenario. They were being asked to defend their home, but the threats were endless, designed to wear them down. The only way to gain an advantage was to take something from the other's world, but what?
The replicated armies began to move, their attacks striking invisible barriers at the edge of their respective dioramas, waiting for the trial to begin. The roars of monsters and the chants of mages filled the chamber.
"The armies are infinite," Jin-woo stated, his eyes scanning the endless waves of foes. "A direct defense is a battle of attrition we are not meant to win. This is not a test of power. It's a test of... perspective."
"Indeed," Cid agreed, his eyes sparkling. He was looking at the two miniature worlds, but he wasn't seeing a battlefield. He was seeing a stage. "The rules say 'defend your home'. It also says 'the other world is your weapon'. But it never says how we must use that weapon."
A slow, brilliant, and utterly insane idea began to dawn on them both, a silent communication passing through the resonance link. A shared moment of chaotic genius.
The plan was ludicrous. It was lateral thinking on a cosmic scale. It was a declaration that they would not play the Author King's game by his rules.
"I have made my choice," Jin-woo said aloud, his voice ringing with authority. He looked at the miniature Midgar. "From your world, I will take... the Cult of Diablos."
"An interesting choice," Cid said, playing along. "And I, in turn, shall take a threat from your world. I will take... the Gate system."
The Tower seemed to pause, as if the ancient intelligence within was confused by their choices. They had been offered a weapon, and they had instead chosen their ally's greatest plague.
The runes on the wall flickered. "'Choice accepted. The trial begins'."
The invisible barriers around the dioramas dropped.
The Cult of Diablos mages in the Midgar diorama looked up, ready to assault their city. But then, their forms flickered, and they were instantly teleported across the shimmering line, appearing in the streets of miniature Seoul.
At the same time, a massive, swirling red Gate—a classic S-Rank portal—tore open in the sky above the miniature Midgar capital.
The chaos was immediate and beautiful.
The Cultists, finding themselves in a strange new city of metal towers and horseless carriages, were utterly bewildered. Then, their eyes fell upon the horde of monsters emerging from Jin-woo's past.
"Demons!" the Cult leader screamed. "They are demons from the abyss! They seek to defile this strange land! For the glory of Diablos, we must purify them!" The Cult, driven by their fanaticism, immediately charged the monster army, completely ignoring the city they were supposed to be attacking.
On the other side, the knights of Midgar looked up in horror at the giant red Gate that had appeared in their sky. "A demonic portal! The legends are true!" the captain of the guard shouted. "All knights, to arms! We must defend the capital from the horrors within!"
The army of Midgar's villains, the rampaging shadow beast and the corrupted knight, were suddenly faced with a tide of new, even more terrifying monsters pouring from the Gate. A territorial battle of pure evil began in the fields outside the capital, as monster fought monster for dominance.
Jin-woo and Cid had not chosen a weapon to help themselves. They had chosen their ally's primary antagonist and sicced it on their own. They had turned the trial into a massive, chaotic, three-way "battle royale" in each world.
The two of them simply stood back, arms crossed, and watched the beautiful, self-solving chaos unfold.
In her cage, Iris stared, her mouth agape. "They... they're making their enemies fight each other. Across worlds. Is there no problem they can't solve with such... elegant, infuriating nonsense?"
Woo Jin-chul just shook his head, a weary smile on his face. He was getting used to it.
The Author King's voice echoed in the chamber, but for the first time, it held a note of something other than serene neutrality. It held a trace of... amusement.
"A good story isn't about solving problems," Cid called out to the ceiling. "It's about creating more entertaining ones!"
The battles in the miniature worlds raged. The Cult fought the monsters. The monsters fought each other. The knights of Midgar fought the Gate's horrors. The cities themselves, the objectives they were supposed to defend, were largely ignored by the warring factions.
After a solid hour of watching the chaotic spectacle, the energy of the summoned armies began to wane. The trial was not meant to last forever. One by one, the summoned threats, having exhausted their power fighting each other, faded away into dust.
The two miniature cities were left standing, scarred and damaged from the crossfire, but fundamentally intact. They had successfully "defended" their homes... by doing absolutely nothing.
The chamber fell silent.
The orb of light descended, healing them once more. The staircase to the third floor materialized.
As they started to climb, Jin-woo sent a thought to Cid.
They had passed the second trial not by fighting, but by becoming the ultimate, interdimensional chaos managers. They could only imagine what bizarre, conceptual test the Author King would devise for them next.