[Raul's POV]
In front of me, the real Raul de Garcia appeared as a Guide in the Soul Room that I possessed. I wondered why this was happening.
"Talking to a guy with the same face as mine is a bit awkward, huh?" said the real Raul, scratching his cheek. "So, what should I call you? You have your own name, right?"
"You can call me Evans," I replied. "At least, that was my name before I ended up in your body."
Honestly, I didn't need to ask the Guide to learn about the Profound Codex I possessed. I already knew the Profound Codex associated with Raul's character in the game. However, I still needed permission from the Guide to activate it freely from now on.
Still, I was a bit surprised to see Raul as the Guide in my Soul Room.
So, the real Raul's soul had indeed remained in this body all along. Maybe that's why I kept feeling his emotions whenever Ariel was around.
"Hey, am I dead?" Raul asked me. "The last thing I remember before waking up here was Brian hitting my head hard during our duel."
That was also the first thing I saw when I came to in the game world I created—lying on the ground with intense pain in my head.
"I don't think you're dead, as your soul is still here in this body," I replied. "Even outside, your feelings for Ariel still affect me when I'm near her."
"Is that so?" murmured the real Raul. "Speaking of Ariel, how is she now?"
Do you really want to know? Can he handle the truth?
"She's been getting close to Brian lately," I answered bluntly. "There are even rumors that they're a couple now."
Hearing my words, the real Raul fell to the ground and began clutching his chest.
"Argh... that bastard! Damn it!" Raul started pounding the floor with his fists. "Damn! Damn! Damn!"
Did he hate Brian that much? I, as his creator, had designed him to despise the Hero with intense hatred. I hadn't expected to witness his suffering firsthand because of what I'd written when developing this game.
"I... I can't bear the thought of Ariel ending up with a disgusting guy like him!" Raul vented his rage.
"Do you want to reclaim this body? To win Ariel back from Brian?" I asked him sincerely.
"Is that even possible?"
I shook my head. "But I'll look for a way to make it happen someday. How about that?"
The real Raul looked down, deep in thought after hearing my offer.
"My father... he never considered me his son at all," Raul muttered. "The only person close to me—Ariel—chose the man I despise. I have nothing left out there..."
It's true that Raul's life in the game was incredibly isolated. He never interacted with other students and only spoke to others when it was about harming Brian.
I guess it made sense why Raul would grow desperate enough to try to win Ariel back, even selling his soul to a demon. Ariel was the only person in this world who cared about him.
For him, Ariel was the reason he felt alive in this world.
I understood his feelings, having lost Liana—my girlfriend who left me for another man. But at least I still had my dreams to keep me going, to cover the despair after losing the woman I loved.
As kids, we're always amazed by the heroes and hate the villains who bring suffering to others. But as we grow up, we begin to understand why the villains do what they do—to reclaim what was taken from them.
As children, we admire the Hero... As adults, we understand the Villain...
---
[Valeria's POV]
Tomorrow, we'll reach the location for the third trial—a test where participants could lose their lives.
Previously, Raul and I managed to finish first in the second trial. We earned 300 points after this victory.
I felt so happy to finally rank first in one of these survival trials.
At the moment, I was walking around the resting area for the participants, searching for Raul. But I hadn't found him anywhere.
"Where could he be?"
After searching everywhere, I saw a man and a woman sitting under a tree. If I'm not mistaken, they're both members of the disciplinary committee Raul leads, right?
Seeing me approach, they stopped talking.
"Have you seen Raul?" I asked them.
They looked at each other before answering. "The captain? He walked west earlier, I think. He said he wanted to be alone for a bit before continuing the journey," the woman replied.
"Alright, thank you."
Leaving the two of them, I walked in the direction the woman had indicated. Soon, I spotted a man with black hair leaning against a tree.
As I walked closer, I realized he was asleep, and a dark Mark was glowing on his hand.
"Huh? Is that a Codex activation Mark?" I murmured, surprised by what I saw. "Has Raul awakened his Codex? But why hasn't he ever used it?"
Speaking of Codexes, I haven't awakened mine either. There's no certain way to awaken it since everyone has different conditions.
Ugh... Will I fall behind him again? Even without using Nature Mana, he's already formidable. What if he used both powers in battle?
---
[Raul's POV]
The Profound Codex represents unique skills possessed by those who have awakened their Codex. For example, Brian's Codex themes are Justice, Bravery, and Tenacity.
As Brian's Mental Codex grows, he gains access to more skills. Each theme has three unlockable skills.
As for Raul's character, his Codex themes are Hatred, Anger, and Bloodlust. Each has skills with different abilities. However, the most dangerous skills to use are from the Bloodlust theme.
In the game, Raul could never control himself when activating these skills.
"You're here to activate your skills, aren't you?" Raul asked, now calmer after venting his anger.
"You're right," I replied casually.
"I figured as much," he said, standing up. "When I woke up here, my head hurt with all the strange information flooding in at once."
So that's how Guides acquire information about a person's Codex? In the game, this wasn't explained in detail. Guides would just appear when the Player selected the Soul Room menu for training.
"It's my duty, isn't it? To help you become stronger?" Raul said, looking me directly in the eyes. "I'll grant you the activation skill if you promise me one thing."
"Name it."
"Please use this power to protect Ariel."
Even if he hadn't asked, of course, I'd protect someone as important as Ariel. She would become a Saint and save this world from the demons.
"Of course, leave it to me."
Hearing my answer, Raul looked relieved.
"Before you go, I want to ask you one thing, Raul," I added.
"What do you want to ask?"
"Which assassin organization did you hire to kill Brian in this third trial?" I asked him.
Earlier, I received a mysterious note saying that the preparations to kill Brian during the survival trial were complete. Knowing the organization behind it would at least let me prepare for the upcoming fight.
"Ugh... About that..." Raul murmured uncertainly. "If I remember correctly, it's called Ouroboros."
---
[Third-Person POV]
Later that night, one day before the third trial began.
Three men and one woman were gathered not far from the Monster Forest—the site of the survival test.
"I've scouted the area. The participants just arrived and are resting outside the forest," said a man with a buzz cut. Judging by his appearance, he was a Brawler.
"Good job, Ape," said the man with a sword strapped to his waist. "When will the test start?"
"Probably tomorrow morning, considering they just arrived and need to rest before the trial begins," said a mage in a brown robe. "According to my info, there are eight instructors guarding the forest."
Each of the eight instructors would be positioned at entry points where participants would begin entering the forest. They'd ensure no one interfered with the trial from outside.
"Foxy, they're your responsibility, right?" called the swordsman to the only woman in the group.
"Yeah, yeah... Don't worry, Marlin. I'll buy you some time by distracting those instructors," Foxy replied confidently.
"We're trusting you with this because you're the fastest among us," he said.
Tomorrow, the participants would face their third trial. But they didn't know the real danger wasn't the monsters in the forest but rather these assassins who were planning to sabotage the trial.