The moment I opened my eyes was the moment when I suddenly found myself standing in the middle of a field of rock formations. Those rock formations more often than not seemed to resemble the shapes of both people and animals, but others appeared to imitate the silhouettes of monsters.
But that was not the only important detail about this place… On top of the strangely shaped rock formations, the area was covered by a fog that was so thick that it seemed almost impossible to see what might lay ahead just a few meters in front of me.
“So this is the famed Field of Illusions… I have only read about this place and I have to say, it does live up to its name.” I said to myself while looking around.
Even though an icy cold gale was blowing in the area, my body felt so hot that sweat was already trickling down my forehead. The level of humidity in this place was clearly abnormal…
There was also the fact that I couldn't feel any living beings nearby at all, yet I could hear sounds of animals and insects coming from everywhere around me…
“As expected of one of the most mysterious places in the Empire. A place whose only purpose is to deceive one's mind…” I nodded in satisfaction after examining the area around me.
I suddenly heard Dante’s depressed voice echoing in the whole area, announcing the beginning of the match in the most anticlimactic manner.
“Well, I suppose it is time for the hunt to begin.” I smiled with excitement before starting to make my preparations. "That being said…" I said as I focused my senses to be on alert for any potential attack.
Trying to go searching for my opponent with this fog while he has the home advantage is probably the most stupid thing I could do in this situation…
So, that would leave me with only one choice… I'll have to wait for him to come for me and set up a few traps for him.
"Though he may be already expecting something like that, so I obviously won't be placing all of my hopes on this strategy to work." I said to myself while examining one of the nearby rock formations. "Heh, I think I already have a few ideas in mind to surprise him! Remillia, can you please watch my back while I set everything? We don't want to be the ones caught by surprise after all." I smiled with a little bit of malice.
Dying Scarlet seemed eager to protect me.
"Thanks, Remi!" I said to my weapon before focusing on my work. "Now then… Where would be a good place for an ambush?" I started to look around for the most optimal place for a surprise attack.
It took a little while to find that optimal place. It was all thanks to the deceptive nature of this environment and the extremely foggy weather that made the search increasingly difficult. Still, those were the things that would make my strategy a success, even if this was my first time around in such an environment.
I quickly started carving runes on all the rock formations I could find nearby. I placed several small runes on some rocks, and a few large ones on others. After that, I even rearranged some of the rock formations with Earth Magic and hid a large magic circle on the ground encompassing the whole area.
Most of my runes were infused with mana from all the elements and various spells. Some with ice, some with fire, some with boiling water, and some others with tendrils made of shadows to scare my opponent. None of those spells were supposed to be lethal, they were meant to be nuisances as my intentions were to try to see how I would fare against Rodrigue as an archer. Of course, I wouldn’t complain if I somehow managed to win because of a few lucky traps, but as I stated, that is not my objective this time.
While I was working on my little stratagem, my opponent never showed even the slightest hint of his presence. It almost made me think that I was all alone in this mysterious environment.
“It would be really awkward and ironic if our opponent also decided to use the same strategy as us, don’t you think so Remillia?” I joked a bit with my weapon while continued making more traps to catch my enemy by surprise.
Dying Scarlet gave its opinion with a serious tone.
“I agree with that assessment.” I nodded. “If I had to guess, he must be keeping his distance and bidding his time. Maybe he was hoping that I would get confused navigating through this place or that I would suddenly succumb to the rumored hallucinations that people seem to suffer in this place.” I explained a possible conjecture to the former scarlet scythe.
Remillia was naturally skeptical.
“Because it actually is just a normal foggy field with strangely-shaped rocks. The rumored hallucinations are just that, baseless rumors that people made up. In actuality, this place was used a lot in the distant past by a certain group of bandits who happened to have mages in their ranks to rob travelers while they were caught up in the illusions made by said mages. After enough people were robbed, it didn’t take long for word to spread about the hallucinations and how the place was apparently dangerous and whatnot. This place soon became the Field of Illusions because of that and people made sure to avoid it at all costs. No one suspected the cause of hallucinations were bandits all along.” I agreed with Remillia and told her something I had learned from Lia some time ago.
Remillia was not particularly pleased with the history of this place.
“Yes, but not in the way you would think.” I shook my head. “They all met their end in the most ironic of manners a few months after they began their little business, believe it or not. It turns out that one of the caravans they robbed was transporting some wine that a noble with bad intentions had sent to the Emperor at the time as tribute. The wine was poisoned and in less than a few hours, the bandits ended their celebration for a successful heist in the evening by meeting the Goddess of Death. They also unknowingly saved the life of the Emperor who would become one of the most loved rulers in the history of Marcel.” I couldn’t help but smile a bit due to the ironic ending of my story.
My weapon was more than pleased to hear about the tale of such bandits.
“Still, rumors or not… This is not the real Field of Illusions. This is just a faithful recreation of the place based on Dante’s memories of it using Spatial Magic. Even if it does seem to have some eerie vibes, I don’t think he would try to include the fabled hallucinations while we are in such an important tournament.” I said while rubbing my chin.
Spatial Magic sure is pretty amazing… Just imagine it, the ability to create a separate dimension based on a place you have once visited… Learning how to use [Teleport] is already complicated enough, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to learn a spell like the one that made this possible… Although, I need to point out that this spell is very similar to the Divine Realms of the Gods, so it would make a lot of sense for it to be difficult. You're literally manipulating the very fabric of reality, after all.
I'm not going to give up on learning it though. There are a lot of cool things I could do if I manage to master it!
Remillia’s said with a serious tone.
“That was sooner than I expected.” My scythe’s voice soon brought me back to reality as I no longer had the time to focus on my thoughts. "I thought he would spend more time pondering why I agreed to his choice of battlefield." I said in a joking manner as I tightened my grip on my weapon.
Dying Scarlet immediately warned me about the incoming danger.
Without missing a beat, I quickly dashed away from the place I had been previously. As soon as I did, three arrows sunk deeply into one of the strangely-shaped rocks. On top of the arrows sinking far too deeply into the rock, they also exploded, shattering the stone into a million pieces moments after landing.
"Explosive arrows? That's a little unexpected… I thought that the guy would take a more stealthy approach." I was a little miffed since one of my traps had been destroyed.
Remillia warned me again of an incoming attack. It was just as we had been practicing in the last few days.
Of course, it was obvious that my opponent was not going to allow me to get away and catch my breath. I quickly turned to my right and raised my hand to stop the attack.
"[Water Aegis]." Several tendrils of water suddenly came out from my palm and formed a protective shield in front of me.
Soon, all the arrows crashed against my shield, but only one of them remained within the water barrier, the rest had managed to pass through as if my barrier wasn't even there.
"I see… He really is trying to use this place to make me feel as confused as possible." I said as I noticed why the arrows had passed through the barrier and even me for that matter. "Only one of the arrows was real. The other three were illusions. He really must feel confident fighting in this environment." I smiled as I sent my barrier flying away along with the real arrow.
A decision that would prove to be wise as it would have exploded in my face had I not done so.
Still, even when I had stopped two of his attacks, my opponent was yet to show himself.
Dying Scarlet insisted on going on the offensive.
"Easy there. We don't want to lose the surprise factor just yet." I reassured my weapon. "We have to let him grow impatient. I'm sure that it won't take long before he gets annoyed and shows his face. That annoyance will certainly make him fall into our traps and then we will snipe him to secure the kill. How does that plan sound?" I asked Remillia.
The moment I opened my eyes was the moment when I suddenly found myself standing in the middle of a field of rock formations. Those rock formations more often than not seemed to resemble the shapes of both people and animals, but others appeared to imitate the silhouettes of monsters.
But that was not the only important detail about this place… On top of the strangely shaped rock formations, the area was covered by a fog that was so thick that it seemed almost impossible to see what might lay ahead just a few meters in front of me.
“So this is the famed Field of Illusions… I have only read about this place and I have to say, it does live up to its name.” I said to myself while looking around.
Even though an icy cold gale was blowing in the area, my body felt so hot that sweat was already trickling down my forehead. The level of humidity in this place was clearly abnormal…
There was also the fact that I couldn't feel any living beings nearby at all, yet I could hear sounds of animals and insects coming from everywhere around me…
“As expected of one of the most mysterious places in the Empire. A place whose only purpose is to deceive one's mind…” I nodded in satisfaction after examining the area around me.
I suddenly heard Dante’s depressed voice echoing in the whole area, announcing the beginning of the match in the most anticlimactic manner.
“Well, I suppose it is time for the hunt to begin.” I smiled with excitement before starting to make my preparations. "That being said…" I said as I focused my senses to be on alert for any potential attack.
Trying to go searching for my opponent with this fog while he has the home advantage is probably the most stupid thing I could do in this situation…
So, that would leave me with only one choice… I'll have to wait for him to come for me and set up a few traps for him.
"Though he may be already expecting something like that, so I obviously won't be placing all of my hopes on this strategy to work." I said to myself while examining one of the nearby rock formations. "Heh, I think I already have a few ideas in mind to surprise him! Remillia, can you please watch my back while I set everything? We don't want to be the ones caught by surprise after all." I smiled with a little bit of malice.
Dying Scarlet seemed eager to protect me.
"Thanks, Remi!" I said to my weapon before focusing on my work. "Now then… Where would be a good place for an ambush?" I started to look around for the most optimal place for a surprise attack.
It took a little while to find that optimal place. It was all thanks to the deceptive nature of this environment and the extremely foggy weather that made the search increasingly difficult. Still, those were the things that would make my strategy a success, even if this was my first time around in such an environment.
I quickly started carving runes on all the rock formations I could find nearby. I placed several small runes on some rocks, and a few large ones on others. After that, I even rearranged some of the rock formations with Earth Magic and hid a large magic circle on the ground encompassing the whole area.
Most of my runes were infused with mana from all the elements and various spells. Some with ice, some with fire, some with boiling water, and some others with tendrils made of shadows to scare my opponent. None of those spells were supposed to be lethal, they were meant to be nuisances as my intentions were to try to see how I would fare against Rodrigue as an archer. Of course, I wouldn’t complain if I somehow managed to win because of a few lucky traps, but as I stated, that is not my objective this time.
While I was working on my little stratagem, my opponent never showed even the slightest hint of his presence. It almost made me think that I was all alone in this mysterious environment.
“It would be really awkward and ironic if our opponent also decided to use the same strategy as us, don’t you think so Remillia?” I joked a bit with my weapon while continued making more traps to catch my enemy by surprise.
Dying Scarlet gave its opinion with a serious tone.
“I agree with that assessment.” I nodded. “If I had to guess, he must be keeping his distance and bidding his time. Maybe he was hoping that I would get confused navigating through this place or that I would suddenly succumb to the rumored hallucinations that people seem to suffer in this place.” I explained a possible conjecture to the former scarlet scythe.
Remillia was naturally skeptical.
“Because it actually is just a normal foggy field with strangely-shaped rocks. The rumored hallucinations are just that, baseless rumors that people made up. In actuality, this place was used a lot in the distant past by a certain group of bandits who happened to have mages in their ranks to rob travelers while they were caught up in the illusions made by said mages. After enough people were robbed, it didn’t take long for word to spread about the hallucinations and how the place was apparently dangerous and whatnot. This place soon became the Field of Illusions because of that and people made sure to avoid it at all costs. No one suspected the cause of hallucinations were bandits all along.” I agreed with Remillia and told her something I had learned from Lia some time ago.
Remillia was not particularly pleased with the history of this place.
“Yes, but not in the way you would think.” I shook my head. “They all met their end in the most ironic of manners a few months after they began their little business, believe it or not. It turns out that one of the caravans they robbed was transporting some wine that a noble with bad intentions had sent to the Emperor at the time as tribute. The wine was poisoned and in less than a few hours, the bandits ended their celebration for a successful heist in the evening by meeting the Goddess of Death. They also unknowingly saved the life of the Emperor who would become one of the most loved rulers in the history of Marcel.” I couldn’t help but smile a bit due to the ironic ending of my story.
My weapon was more than pleased to hear about the tale of such bandits.
“Still, rumors or not… This is not the real Field of Illusions. This is just a faithful recreation of the place based on Dante’s memories of it using Spatial Magic. Even if it does seem to have some eerie vibes, I don’t think he would try to include the fabled hallucinations while we are in such an important tournament.” I said while rubbing my chin.
Spatial Magic sure is pretty amazing… Just imagine it, the ability to create a separate dimension based on a place you have once visited… Learning how to use [Teleport] is already complicated enough, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to learn a spell like the one that made this possible… Although, I need to point out that this spell is very similar to the Divine Realms of the Gods, so it would make a lot of sense for it to be difficult. You're literally manipulating the very fabric of reality, after all.
I'm not going to give up on learning it though. There are a lot of cool things I could do if I manage to master it!
Remillia’s said with a serious tone.
“That was sooner than I expected.” My scythe’s voice soon brought me back to reality as I no longer had the time to focus on my thoughts. "I thought he would spend more time pondering why I agreed to his choice of battlefield." I said in a joking manner as I tightened my grip on my weapon.
Dying Scarlet immediately warned me about the incoming danger.
Without missing a beat, I quickly dashed away from the place I had been previously. As soon as I did, three arrows sunk deeply into one of the strangely-shaped rocks. On top of the arrows sinking far too deeply into the rock, they also exploded, shattering the stone into a million pieces moments after landing.
"Explosive arrows? That's a little unexpected… I thought that the guy would take a more stealthy approach." I was a little miffed since one of my traps had been destroyed.
Remillia warned me again of an incoming attack. It was just as we had been practicing in the last few days.
Of course, it was obvious that my opponent was not going to allow me to get away and catch my breath. I quickly turned to my right and raised my hand to stop the attack.
"[Water Aegis]." Several tendrils of water suddenly came out from my palm and formed a protective shield in front of me.
Soon, all the arrows crashed against my shield, but only one of them remained within the water barrier, the rest had managed to pass through as if my barrier wasn't even there.
"I see… He really is trying to use this place to make me feel as confused as possible." I said as I noticed why the arrows had passed through the barrier and even me for that matter. "Only one of the arrows was real. The other three were illusions. He really must feel confident fighting in this environment." I smiled as I sent my barrier flying away along with the real arrow.
A decision that would prove to be wise as it would have exploded in my face had I not done so.
Still, even when I had stopped two of his attacks, my opponent was yet to show himself.
Dying Scarlet insisted on going on the offensive.
"Easy there. We don't want to lose the surprise factor just yet." I reassured my weapon. "We have to let him grow impatient. I'm sure that it won't take long before he gets annoyed and shows his face. That annoyance will certainly make him fall into our traps and then we will snipe him to secure the kill. How does that plan sound?" I asked Remillia.
