⑪ 'My Gift "Additional Bonus," Which Was Treated as the Weakest, Was Actually the Strongest Skill That Could Obtain Allies, Weapons, and Rewards' - Chapter 12

Review of the previous chapter

The mastermind behind the assassination attempt was repelled, and Zeke the assassin joined the party.
In the ancient ruins that followed, they broke through traps and guardians, and Ordo the "shield-bearer" appeared from the light shown by the "Additional Bonus."
With the circle of offense, defense, tactics, and stealth complete, Asura's party reached a new stage.
However, they were only halfway through the ruins, and it is said that a "sentient trial" sleeps in the depths.

~Chapter 12~ The Trial of the Depths

　Below the mossy stone steps, it resembled the bottom of the night.
　The only light came from the faint phosphorescence seeping from Milia's wings and the small flame flickering from Phil. The damp air caressed their throats, and the sound of water dripping one drop at a time in the distance echoed as if matching their heartbeats and footsteps.
　Asura gripped his black silver dagger again. The warmth of the hilt was his own body heat. Along the edge of the blade, the stone dust that had kicked up during the previous battle left a gritty texture.

　"Master, from here on is the Chamber of Trials."
　Milia's voice was like the sound of a quiet bell. But Asura felt a streak of tension running beneath its surface.
　"...I have no intention of turning back."
　Ordo thrust his shield half a step forward and exhaled deeply. "I will take the vanguard."
　"I'll go around from the right. I'll clear the blind spots in the shadows." Zeke melted into the wall.
　Leon loosely unfurled a scroll and scanned everyone with just his gaze. "Don't lose formation. I'll keep the commands short."
　Cain rolled his shoulders and smiled at the corner of his lips. "Alright, I'll carve up whatever monster comes out."
　Sophia let her gaze wander from deep within her hood and nodded slightly. Luca quietly stepped forward with his front paws and brushed his tail against Asura's shin. Phil made the sparks of flame tremble twice, then three times, blinking like a signal.

　The stone door opened without a sound.
　The hall was larger than he had imagined. The ceiling was too high to see, and mirrors embedded in the four walls reflected their figures many times over. In the center was an altar, surrounded by a circular groove. The groove was filled with a black liquid, and ripples were slowly spreading across the surface even though there was no wind to touch it.

　"...Be careful. The smell is bad." Luca growled low.
　Asura's pulse throbbed at his temple. The sense of distance of themselves reflected in the mirrors was subtly different from reality. Every time he took a step, the Asura in the mirror moved—half a step late.
　"It's coming."
　The air in the hall sank slightly. One, two bubbles appeared in the center of the black liquid surface. The moment they burst, they took shape.
　Slimy blackness clung to them, eventually forming human shapes. "Themselves" reflected in the mirrors stepped out of the groove. A shadow with silver wings, a shadow wielding twin blades, a shadow holding up a scroll, a shadow clanging a shield—.
　"Mirror images...!" Cain gritted his teeth.
　"They aren't just imitations." Leon's voice was low. "Enemies that don't speak our language don't learn tactics. But they are 'watching us'."

　The first to move was the shadow Asura. The black silver blade approached on the same trajectory.
　Collision—a high-pitched sound of metal laughing pierced the hall, and numbness ran through Asura's arm. The recoil reached deep into his bones.
　"Ugh...!"
　Ordo's shield cut in from the side, parrying the twin blades of the mirror Cain. Sparks flew, and the floor stones cracked.
　"Right, open up three steps—'Lighten your footsteps'." At Leon's single word, everyone's bodies felt suddenly lighter. Their breathing cleared, and their knee movements became smooth.
　Sophia's fingertips trembled, and two arrows of light without incantation pierced the chest of the mirror witch. But the shadow did not collapse. The black liquid filled the missing hole, distorting its expression as if laughing.
　Phil made the flames burst. The air in the hall distorted with heat, and the mirror spirit spat fire on the same trajectory.
　"If it's the same, we can't win!" Cain changed the angle of his blade, kicked the floor, and dived low. "Then I'll beat them with numbers!"
　Zeke's shadow slashed the shadow Zeke from behind. Shadow tearing shadow—a battle so indistinguishable it was comical.
　Asura paused his breathing for a beat. The gaze of the mirror Asura was just a fraction late. A delay. A delay in reflection. Then—
　"Leon, the signal."
　"'Triple-beat blade'."
　Asura swung his first strike, intentionally making it look like a wide swing, scattering sparks of a miss. The mirror Asura entrusted its body to the same wide swing—and in the space, there was a shadow of delay.
　Second strike, blade upward. The mirror's blade also went upward.
　Third strike, he turned the base of the blade and swept its feet.
　The mirror lost its footing, and its posture collapsed.
　"Now!"
　Luca dashed like white lightning and pierced his fangs into the shadow's throat. Phil's flames fell there, and a red core bloomed within the black.

　However, the hall was, after all, a "trial."
　The black in the circular groove bubbled all at once, and the images doubled, then doubled again. Reflecting their ragged breathing and accumulated fatigue, the shadows' movements became faster, deeper, and sharper.
　A thin cut was carved into Cain's cheek, a black blade grazed Sophia's shoulder, and Milia's wings were scorched by black flames.
　"...Master!"
　Before Milia's voice could reach him, Luca was sent flying at the edge of his vision. The heel of the shadow Cain struck Luca's chest, slamming him into the stone floor.
　"Luca!"
　A voice like his throat being squeezed burst out. Luca tried to stand up, but his front paws trembled. A black laceration ran from his chest to his shoulder, and his silver fur was soaked in blood.
　The swarm of shadows turned their gazes toward Luca all at once and moved. Like beasts that had sniffed out a weak point.

　"...Don't come near him."
　Asura took a step forward. His hand gripping the blade slipped with sweat.
　If he retreated here, the blade would surely reach what he wanted to protect.
　The days when he was the weakest—the decoy, the mockery, the biting of the luggage ropes.
　Deep inside his chest, something burst.
　"Don't come near him!"

　The world became heated.
　"Additional Bonus"—light.
　Above the altar, a platinum ring opened. The characters descending from it were as sharp as blades, yet as soft as snow.
<Contract Deepening: Authority of Protection and Hunting>
<Condition Met: Master declares the will to protect>
<Reward: Promotion of the Spirit Wolf>

"...Luca."
　Asura called his name.
　White light licked Luca's wounds, and the smell of evaporating blood filled the hall for just a moment.
　The sound of bones creaking. Flesh stretched, and his form changed.
　The outline of the small wolf pup was broken, and streamlines carved by moonlight appeared. The silver turned into the brilliance of steel, and his eyes changed from amber to the depths of ice. His tail bundled the wind, and his claws became blades of frost.
　His howl was thunder.

　Fenrir.
　The "Silver Wolf" spoken of in legends looked back at the altar's light just once and leaped forward.
　The air froze.
　Luca—no, frost flowers bloomed in Fenrir's footprints, and the black shadows froze and shattered as soon as he ran past them.
　"...Amazing," Cain muttered, forgetting to laugh.
　Sophia's lips trembled. "Beautiful..."
　Leon's quill pen raced. "'Open the path of the Wolf King'."
　Ordo held his shield high. "Now, push through!"

　Fenrir tore through the swarm of shadows.
　Asura held his blade low and ran, stepping on the icy path created by Fenrir. The coldness transmitted to the soles of his feet calmed his hot blood and sharpened the contours of his vision.
　"Phil, left column!"
　"Leave it to me!" Flames ran, and the sound of ice and fire intersecting sang in the hall.
　Zeke's shadow stabbed the real shadow from behind, and Milia's light arrows pierced the remnants before they could linger.
　Sophia's non-incantation was fired accurately along the trajectory of the ice, and Cain's twin blades slashed and widened the gap.
　"'One heart'." Leon's short words bundled everyone's breathing together.

　The shadows wavered, leaving only one.
　The mirror Asura. Their gazes met. That is himself. The thorn that wouldn't come out from when he was covering up his weakness.
　Asura sheathed his dagger and clenched his fist instead.
　"It's over."
　The mirror Asura also clenched its fist. But hesitation was reflected in that fist.
　He stepped forward.
　The fists collided. A solid impact that resonated in his bones.
　The shadow shattered.
　The black liquid returned to the groove, and the sound disappeared from the hall. One, two deep breaths.
　Eventually, the final light floated above the altar.

"Additional Bonus"
<Blessing Update: Bond with Spirit Wolf Fenrir / Signpost of the Ice Fang>
<Sub-reward: Cloak of Frost (Synchronized with the Master's heartbeat)>

　The sensation of cold cloth fell onto his shoulder. Although the cloak was thin, it didn't let the heat escape from the inside. His breathing steadied, and the haze in the back of his eyes was cleared away.
　Fenrir—Luca rubbed his nose against him. His body temperature was high. Within the icy fangs, there was the heat of a certain life.
　Asura hugged his head and smiled slightly.
"Thank you. ...Let's go home, everyone."

　The mirrors in the hall darkened one by one, and the sound of water stopped in the distance.
　Beyond the stone steps, the ruins still continued.
　However, his footsteps were lighter than before. The weight on his shoulders was no longer a "burden." It was the weight of being together.

　The sound of the door closing behind him echoed.
　Beyond that, he felt as if someone's presence had faintly laughed.
　He is being watched by the trial. But he didn't care. Keep watching.
　The weakest—is no longer here.

――――

Afterword (Chapter 12)

Thank you for reading.
The "Mirror Image Trial" in the depths was a battle for Asura and the others to face "themselves."
And with the will to protect as the condition, the "Additional Bonus" responded—Luca finally evolved into Fenrir. Along with the trajectory of ice, the party's vanguard changed qualitatively.
In the next chapter, the confrontation with the "sentient guardian" waiting in the depths of the ruins, and the coordination between the evolved Wolf King and the shield-bearer Ordo will be the key.
Furthermore, before long, a major turning point will also come for Phil, the fire spirit.
Please look forward to the next Chapter 13, "The Deepest Flame."