Soma felt his consciousness seeped back into his mind. He found himself in a daze, blinking away to dismiss the fog that clouded his mind, yet his eyes refused to open. With each passing time, he regained his clarity as he began to piece together the fragmented memories that replayed in his dreams.
The wind that caresses his skin as it carries the distinct smell of pungent iron jolted his consciousness. He opened his eyes as he found himself greeted by the gleaming night of scattered stars in the curtain of night and the moon that slowly bash him in its luminance.
Soma felt his body was a bit heavy as he turned his gaze down and saw Hina was using his chest as a pillow for her to sleep. He turned sideways and confirmed the place they were. The smell of tart began to assault his nose once more as he flinched and the person who was sleeping in his chest was jolted.
"Hmm, What?".
"Did I wake you? Sorry about that".
Hina, who suddenly woke up, struggled to understand her surroundings. Rubbing her tired eyes, she turned her attention to her side as she heard Soma's voice. She halted her movement as her eyes went wide in shock.
Soma smiled wryly as he witnessed Hina's bewildered expression. He tensed his hands trying to raise his body before Hina leapt toward his chest and pushed his body downward.
"Hic, ..I am glad,,, You are fine. Truly glad".
Hina who saw Soma had regained his consciousness couldn't hold back her bottled up feelings. She bawled her eyes as she dived into his chest.
"Hina".
Soma, who is being pushed down, could only stare blankly at the sky. The warmth that enveloped his body, with its trembling hands that clutched his torn clothes, and the sobbing meek voice coming from Hina brought his thoughts to the moment from the battle earlier.
Having no pain or pain while being burned alive, was giving his body a chill. He is glad that he could escape death in that battle.
He raised his left hand, grabbing her trembling back, pressing their body together to give her body a slight comfort of warmth, and put his right hand on her head and caressed it dearly. He softly whispered.
"..Sorry for making you worry. I am fine".
"..Hmm".
Hina, while burying her face on his chest, nods, as they begin to share the warmth for a while, confirming each other's safety. Time passed as they separated, raising their torsos while checking their surroundings.
"That?!".
Soma catches sight of a red mana core as big as a basketball and a silver box that is adorned with a golden lining. Their reward for finishing their arduous task by defeating the Storm Wolf.
He couldn't hide his excitement as his heart began to throb with anticipation for the contents of the box. Hina, who is beside him with her still red eyes after crying on his chest, notices the excitement in his face as the corner of her mouth lifts.
"Soma, let's open the treasure box together".
"Okay".
Together they stand up while Soma is being held off by Hina. He smiled wryly and expressed his thanks which replied with a broad smile from her.
First of all, they approached the mana core as Soma stored it inside the storage ring he had. As they got closer to the silver box, the excitement in their heart also reached their peak while simultaneously putting their hand on top of the box.
"One, two..".
"Three".
As the count reached three. The box opened and it shot a radiance color that shone, illuminating the night sky with its gold color. The inside of the box has much wider space compared to its looks, and it was packed to the brim with gold bars, thousands of coins, and dozens of pieces of jewelry that refract into a kaleidoscope of color.
On top of the packed treasure, there is also equipment that is painted in silver such as leather jackets, long pants, and cloaks. There are also two worn-out parchments inside that contain a skill or even an advanced magic imbued inside.
Upon closer look, they also found three items of accessories which are a necklace, a ring, and a golden key. Four potions glow in a rainbow color, that sparks the pair of two eyes.
For the moment, they didn't take a look at what the details of the items are, they just stored all of the treasure box content. The treasure was stored inside Soma's storage and the newly acquired items were in Hina's storage rings.
After they finished storing all the rewards they found, the box turned transparent before it disappeared. The night began to turn bright as the middle of the arena began to shine with mysterious light and then a magic circle with its rune symbols began to appear on the ground.
Soma and Hina notice the appearance of the Magic Circle in the middle of the arena where. They both turn toward each other in sync before nodding their heads.
With light steps, the two of them began to approach the circle. Soma led in front while Hina followed three steps behind.
[Portal to the Next Floor]
The two of them opened their eyes wide reading the description from the translucent window before them. It seems the circle before them was a portal that would lead them to the next floor. Looking at his surroundings Soma realized, that in the surrounding arena, there was not a single door present for them to continue their journey. It seems the only way for them to continue the trial is through the portal.
Soma closed his eyes as he took a deep breath before exhaling it instantly to calm his throbbing heart. a warm gripped his left hand as he opened his eyes turning to his side and found Hina grasped his right hand in hers, interlocking their fingers.
"You ready Hina?".
"Anytime, I will follow you".
Seeing the decisive expression Hina was showing him, loosened his facial muscle. Hina who managed to break apart from her chain of fear now begins to show her determination to finish the trial with Soma regardless of what will await them ahead.
Soma feels a bit relieved because he could bring her back from the pit of desperation. However, Hina still has one big problem she must face one day, and he is planning to see her overcome it, for he is her number one fan who always awaits her appearance in the novel.
Throwing away all of the hesitation in his heart, Soma began to grip their interlocking hands tightly, then put his foot inside the portal.
[The challengers are entering the Portal. Begin the transfer phase]
The circle shone in a blinding light that made the two passengers who stepped on it close their eyes.
[Transfer Commenced]
The light intensified, and then it swallowed the two of them from the place. Soma with his eyes closed felt his foothold disappear as he floated in a strange sensation before his feet touched a hard surface. They opened their eyes slowly as the sight before them took their breath away.
In the heart of the rugged mountain range, there stood a massive pillar from a torii gate made from wood that was plastered in red and stood imposingly, welcoming everyone who dared to take a step in. Behind it, a stairway emerged carved from the rocks ascended.
The stairway stretched endlessly toward the sky as a testament to human ambition and the longing for the celestial. stand at the peak Soma could see a swirling black cloud with its rumbling thunder dancing freely in the sky.
[The Last Trial]
[Reach the Goal]
"Soma".
"Yeah, I know. Let's prepare first. We don't know what will await us there".
A translucent window appeared before their eyes. Hina gripped tightly Soma's hands which were still connected. Thus Soma replied with a strong nod and shifted his gear to prepare for what was coming knocking on their door.
"Hina, take out all the equipment and items we collected earlier".
"Okay".
Hina starts to connect her thoughts with her storage rings and releases their connected hands. After taking all of the equipment and items, they place it on top of the flat ground. There are a silver jacket and long pants, a silver cloak, a silver necklace that has a purple gem imbued in it, a silver ring with its emerald gem, a golden key, two worn-out parchments, and four pieces of rainbow color potions. She put the appraisal glasses on her face and started to scan the details of the equipment that spread before their eyes.
Soma cast his gaze aside looking at the equipment and items that spread on the ground, looking at each piece of them before stopping at a certain item. He remembered what it was, but kept his mouth closed and it was better to know it from Hina.
[Leather Jacket and long pants(Epic): Created from Storm Wolf material. Its durability could withstand an attack from epic-rank equipment and advanced magic. It was a pair of sets that will give the user a raised stats in strength +50 for each equipment wear]
[Silver cloak(Epic): A cloak that was crafted using lost technology from the myth era. It could protect the user from an Epic rank sharp object and advanced magic. Give the user a bonus stats for intelligence +60 ]
[Thunder God necklace(Epic): Give the user a resistance from Lightning (100%) for one minute]
[Wind God Ring(Eipc): Give the user protection from wind that can withstand Saint-Rank magic. One-time use only, the duration is one minute]
[Golden Key: A key to open something]
[Lightning magic skill scroll]
[Advance-rank magic level 9 scroll]
[Elixirs: A drop of miracle that can cure a near-death state of a person and grow some missing limbs]
Soma saw Hina's eyes bloated and almost popped out from its socket. He wonders what causes that.
"Hina, what is the matter?".
"...Amazing?!".