"Yeah, I know! Suzanne's life is at risk if we don't act quickly."
"What are we supposed to do? None of us can use healing magic!"
"Here, use this." Mihane handed Ava two potions from a leather pouch at her waist. "This is a burn potion, and this is an experimental reagent. It can be sprinkled on and has effects similar to healing magic."
Meanwhile, the Apostle of the Labyrinth had lowered its guard, watching us closely.
"Unfortunately, your trial will be deemed a failure. If that person's life is at stake, you may attempt to challenge it again."
So, Mihane's intervention caused the quest to be considered a failure. Ava began removing my armor and sprinkling the burn potion and the reagent over my wounds, but it didn't seem to have much effect on the extensive burns covering my body.
This is bad. My consciousness is starting to blur.
I think when burns cover more than 30% of the body, immediate treatment is crucial, or you might die, right?
Damn it! This is no joke! If I die, I have to start all over again!
Think! There has to be a way out!
Amidst the fading awareness, I desperately brainstorm a miraculous comeback.
The voices of Ava and the others calling out in the distance fade away.
I can't hear anything anymore.
Now, the colors of the landscape around me start to disappear.
A stark contrast of black and white unfolds before me.
In this state, my mind feels impossibly clear.
I can do anything; there's nothing I can't achieve—I feel an overwhelming sense of omnipotence.
That's right, the sword in my hand holds the power of a healing beast.
"Uni...corn... release... ex...tra...heal..."
In that moment, light bursts forth from the Unicorn, swiftly healing my burns.
Ava and the others are stunned to see my injuries vanish so suddenly.
I stand up as if nothing happened.
Even though my burns are healed, there's still silence around me, and the scenery remains colorless.
Is this phenomenon a result of the shock from the severe burns?
Well, whatever. There's only one thing I need to focus on now.
I have to defeat the Apostle of the Labyrinth.
The Apostle looks shocked at my sudden recovery, but then readies itself, engulfed in flames, brandishing a massive battle axe.
But to me, everything appeared painfully slow. Every movement of the weapon, every flicker of the flames seemed to unfold in slow motion. In response to the fire, I enchanted my sword with a magical ice bullet and dashed past the "Apostle of the Labyrinth," executing the swift technique of my style: the Momentary Ice Blade.
After slipping past the "Apostle of the Labyrinth," I enchanted my sword again and sliced through its back with another Ice Blade strike. Normally, I wouldn't have had the luxury to linger and cast my spell, but everything around me moved at a leisurely pace, as if time had slowed down.
The "Apostle of the Labyrinth," which I had just struck, failed to react, still in the position from my first attack when I hit it with the follow-up strike from behind. Later, I would learn that my strikes had been delivered with such incredible speed that they were nearly invisible.
Magic sword, Momentary Blade. Magic sword, Momentary Blade. Magic sword, Momentary Blade. Magic sword, Momentary Blade. Magic sword, Momentary Blade. Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade, Momentary Blade.
When I finally became aware of my surroundings again, the sounds returned, and I heard the death cry of the "Apostle of the Labyrinth."
Exhausted, I collapsed on the spot.
— Angel Quest: Testimony of the Apostles, 23 remaining —
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
**The Value of Life in the AIWOn World**
556: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:21:21 ID: Pl9AfOrthn49
"Right, if you die in AIWOn, that's it."
557: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:23:02 ID: Pl9Abckwhi10
"I died once, and when I re-created my character and logged back in, my NPC companions gave me strange looks."
558: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:24:43 ID: S10bUn119
"Yeah, I've been there. After a month, when I logged in with my new character, the NPCs called me a monster."
559: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:25:31 ID: BdEnd059wlf
"Huh? What's that about?"
560: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:26:29 ID: Ang8Dvl666
"To the NPCs—beings of heaven and earth—a resurrected human is just a monster, right?"
561: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:28:15 ID: monono6Ono
There's also the issue of being seen as a fraud for talking about dead characters.
562: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:29:21 ID: Pl9AfOrthn49
Ah, that's a thing.
563: Shisha Kaoruko: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:30:55 ID: EVA2014Fifth
That's why in recent AIWOn, the trend has become to completely forget the old character once you die and start a new life with a fresh character.
564: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:32:31 ID: BdEnd059wlf
What's that about? So if you run into an NPC you know, you just act like you don't?
565: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:33:43 ID: S10bUn119
Pretty much, yeah.
566: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:35:29 ID: Ang8Dvl666
It's better if NPCs think we players have only one life too. If they don't, they might think it's okay to do anything since we won't die.
567: Shisha Kaoruko: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:36:55 ID: EVA2014Fifth
Maybe the developers' message is that, even in a game, we shouldn't take life for granted, but rather cherish it.
568: Anonymous Adventurer: 2057/11/22 (Thu) 21:38:02 ID: Pl9Abckwhi10
Perhaps the reason I can't customize my character for a whole month is that this is meant to be that month.
"Seems kinda annoying..." I thought, but when you put it that way, it makes sense. It would be creepy if someone who died showed up with a different face.
"But come on, a month without being able to log in is pushing it, isn't it?" Even when I tried to log in with a different account, for some reason, I could only select the character that had died.
"Isn't it strange? How do they determine I'm the same player even with a different account?"
---AL Year 103, March 23---
"I don't recognize this ceiling."
Those were the first words that escaped my lips when I woke up. But joking around wasn't the point right now. Where am I? Why am I lying down?
As I stood up and glanced around, I realized I was in what seemed to be an inn room. My mind was still hazy, and I struggled to grasp my situation.
The last thing I remembered was...
Ah, that's right. After conquering the 'Apostle of Gems,' I was supposed to descend into the underground labyrinth to tackle the 'Apostle of the Labyrinth' with Misaba's guidance.
So, it was just the three of us—me, Ava, and Trinity—facing off against the "Apostle of the Labyrinth," a creature that looked nothing like a Minotaur and seemed straight out of the latest fantasy summon.
Then, it hit me! I had been engulfed in flames from the Apostle's special ability and had suffered burns all over my body! I frantically checked my skin, but there wasn't a mark in sight. Was it all just a dream? As I pondered this, Trinity appeared in the doorway.
"Oh! Suzanne, you're finally awake!"
"Uh, yeah."
"You've been sleeping for a full day!"
Wait, what? Are you saying it's been a whole day since battling the Apostle of the Labyrinth?
"Ava, Suzanne finally woke up!" Trinity called out from the other side of the door.
As soon as Ava entered the room and saw my face, she appeared visibly relieved.
"Good morning, Suzanne. Though, it's already evening."
Looking outside, it was indeed dusk, the sky tinged with red. That battle with the Apostle had taken place in the late afternoon, making it clear that a whole day had passed.
"Ava, what happened after that? My memory is a bit hazy—I remember getting caught in that flame during the fight with the Apostle, but..."
"Huh? You don't remember?"
"Suzanne, after that, I ended up defeating the Apostle of the Labyrinth all by myself."
"What!? I beat the Apostle of the Labyrinth alone from that state?"
"Back then, you weren't acting like a human."
Trinity shivered slightly, perhaps recalling that moment.
Prompted by their words, I tried to remember what had happened. Surrounded by flames, I thought it was all over, then everything went white...
Now that I think about it, I recall desperately fighting afterward.
"Suzanne, you were burned all over and hurriedly started healing, but at first, the effects were weak. Then, suddenly, you were enveloped in light, and in an instant, your burns vanished. Next thing I knew, you stood up and charged toward the Apostle of the Labyrinth!"
"Right, right! How did my burns heal?"
"At first, I thought it was the effect of the reagent potion Mizuhan gave you, but it seems that wasn't strong enough. Rather, the reagent potion seemed to have a different effect. I'll explain that later, but I believe what caused your burns to heal was this."
With that, Ava lifted the sword hanging by the bed—the one-blade sword, Unicorn.
It was a blade given to me by my master as a token of full certification. If I recall correctly, my master had crafted it by combining a unicorn's horn with orichalcum, obtained during his youth on an adventure.
"…So it's the healing power of the unicorn's horn.
"It seems this sword possesses healing abilities."
"Amazing! With this, we'll no longer need a healer."
I recall unleashing the unicorn's power back then.
However, while I felt that force then, now there's no sign of it at all.
Even if I try to use the healing ability now, it likely won't have any effect.
Upon hearing this, Ava nodded solemnly, while Trinity, who had been excited just moments ago, looked visibly disappointed.
"Yeah, it seems this sword has a will of its own. Perhaps the spirit of the unicorn resides within it.
Back then, it lent me its power because my life was at stake, but now that doesn't seem possible.
It looks like Suzanne will need to be recognized by this sword to access its abilities easily."
"I see. So it wasn't that I mastered the unicorn, but rather it helped me.
…Maybe my master's will is also entwined in this."
"That could be."
"Really? The idea that a weapon could have a will of its own… sounds a bit far-fetched."
"That's not true. At the very least, the cursed sword Muramasa, owned by the goddess Fenris, is said to possess a will."
"When did you look that up?"
"Wait, is the weapon that the priestess goddess Fenris wields really the famous cursed sword Muramasa? No wonder she's strong enough to be a goddess."
"Hmph... Well, it's clear that Suzanne can't master the Unicorn," Trinity shot back.
"Shut up! It's not like I ever thought the Unicorn had a will of its own until now."
"That's part of why you can't use it effectively, isn't it?"
Trinity's comment left me speechless. But really, I had only had the one-edged sword Unicorn for a day. Expecting to master all its powers in such a short time seemed ridiculous.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to work hard to get recognized in due time."
"Now that you know that, you can't just keep sleeping. I need to get stronger to earn the Unicorn's approval. Plus, I've wasted a whole day sleeping—I need to make my way to the next Apostle."
Time was already running short. I had to master the Unicorn, defeat the Apostles, and help Yuki in Arcadia!
As I tried to get out of bed, Ava stopped me.
"No, you can't. Suzanne, you need to rest another day. That's an order."
"What? Why not?!"
"Your body is more worn out than you realize. The Unicorn healed your burns, but fighting the 'Apostle of the Labyrinth' on your own took its toll."