It is natural to think about what kind of trial awaits you when told that you will face one. Therefore, information gathering and asking those close to you is a convenient approach. According to Muil-san, who is such a convenient being, only higher spirits take the form of trials. Those below the mid-level spirits are usually settled in the form of negotiations. In short, these higher spirits are so confident in their own existence that they prefer to take the form of trials from a condescending position. Furthermore, the nature of the trials of such beings can generally be predicted based on what they govern. For fire attribute spirits, they are belligerent and prefer battles, but by offering works made with fire, particularly blacksmithing, one can borrow their power. Water attribute spirits, from their quiet demeanor, generally dislike fighting, but once they rage, they possess the nature of a stormy sea that only presents non-battlefield trials.
Amidst such stories, the trial of Valse, the spirit who governs time and space, remains shrouded in mystery. This is because all the individuals who have undergone trials say they don’t understand. Or rather, they should have undergone trials, but they have forgotten the content of those trials. As a result, there is zero information. Therefore, unable to devise countermeasures, I approached this contract with preparations solely for battle. Honestly, challenging a higher spirit, which can be called a natural phenomenon, is itself reckless, but if we dwell on that, the story won’t progress. So, I was ready for anything.
“The content of the trial is quite simple. Escape from an infinite prison where the finiteness of time has been removed.” That’s what I intended. This spirit, as if saying “I’ll just pop out to the convenience store,” casually said those words to me and changed the scenery before my eyes.
“Where is this?” If the world before was monochrome, this is a white world with a single line of black left on the horizon. A world with no obstacles, where only the horizon stretches on endlessly.
“…Seriously?” I had thought they were out of the ordinary, but I hadn’t expected it to be this much. The story of how this world was created is probably best left for another time. The problem is that the explanation of the rules ended with a single word, and there were no additional explanations.
“Is this seriously like finding a single grain of gold in a desert?” And I accepted the spirit’s trial at face value, and while stunned by its content, I accepted the reality before me. Standing dumbfounded for a while, I had no choice but to conclude that the lack of additional explanation, and the disappearance of their form, meant that nothing else would happen. And how am I supposed to act in a world where all elements of clues, which are prepared before me, are excluded from any dictionary?
“…Haa, this kind of situation was completely unexpected. And while it’s open, considering it’s called a prison… there’s a limit, you know?” Is it not supposed to be more cramped? While this question lingered, I also thought that the cramped space would have been better in terms of search scope. And thanks to the ingrained understanding that panicking in any sudden situation is a loss, I can remain calm, which is fortunate. But that doesn’t mean the situation will improve immediately. Even if I try to take some action by feel, isn’t it asking a bit too much to come up with something in front of this vast, empty space? I expected to be challenged with fighting, similar situations, or perhaps slightly unconventional trials, but I never thought I’d be completely ignored.
“Staying still is the best and standard course of action for someone awaiting rescue… There’s no sun, but it’s bright, and it’s not cold, so the possibility of dying from freezing or dehydration is low, which is fortunate. If anything, it would be starvation, or perhaps something out there on the horizon will come and attack me…” First, as if to organize the situation, I vocalized the information I was experiencing, and then I considered the worst possible outcome for this situation: death. I have three days’ worth of food, and if I ration it, it’s about five days. As for drinking water, I don’t have to worry thanks to the gourd Muil-san prepared, which gushes water when magic is channeled into it. If, hypothetically, the food runs out, there is only one future awaiting me.
“And this wouldn’t count as overcoming the trial, would it?” However, I have to shake my head when asked if such a future is the best. Because I don’t think surviving until rescue is the way to achieve this trial. If so, I wonder if there’s something else, but I don’t have enough information to figure that out. I try to organize the information and consolidate my thoughts by speaking to myself, but my course of action is undecided because the premise might be wrong. The fact that I’m hesitating so much whether to proceed or stay put is, in a sense, like being lost, and useless thoughts began to mix in.
“So, as the spirit said, I have to escape from this space…” Spirit Valse said. Escape from the infinite prison. That time was finite. These two are the only hints given. Reading them is the only way to break through this situation. Is the infinity in terms of space, meaning the horizon continues, or is it in terms of time? Either way, thinking about it won’t get me anywhere.
“What should I do?” For now, I rack my brains again to decide on a course of action to avoid wasting unnecessary stamina.
“It’s not like there’s nothing. I do have magic power. Conversely, it could be said that I only have magic power.” My first impression was that there was nothing to see, but if I closed my eyes, I could feel a denser magic power than usual. The magic power is so concentrated that I could believe that this space itself is made of magic power.
“If someone could perform spatial transfer, would they be able to escape normally? No, it wouldn’t be that simple. We should assume they’ve prepared countermeasures for transfer… Well, either way, I can’t use teleportation magic.” While thinking that if there is magic power, a solution might come to mind, I circulate magic to my eyeballs to strengthen my vision and look around, but I can’t see anything other than the horizon and white space. In such a situation, I can only come up with commonplace ideas that anyone would immediately think of, as I have no experience being lost. The atmosphere suggests a deadlock situation from the start, but I can’t give up here. I have to do something, because if I don’t, there will be no tomorrow for me.
“…What I should do, or rather, what I can do… there’s only one thing… This idea in itself is incredibly stupid, or rather, brute-force, but…” After thinking and thinking, I select and choose the methods I came up with, and among them, the reality where I can only choose the one with the highest probability and the most foolish method makes me want to cry. In the midst of thinking, I remembered an event from a certain day. It’s not a matter of whether I can or cannot do it, but rather that it’s the only thing I can do in this situation, and I let out a sigh. However, there is no option but to do such a thing. Gently, I reach out to the Ore Tree on my back, and rather than worrying if I can do it within the time limit, I chide my heart to commit to it once decided, and immediately begin the work.
Another side
For Valse, the spirit of time and space, Contractors were a form of entertainment. To put it crudely, they were nothing more than tools to pass the time for a spirit living in eternal time. So, I dealt with this human in the same way. The Infinite Prison. As the name of the spirit of time and space suggests, that being governs space and time. Exercising power befitting its name, it twisted space into a space that eternally continued in all directions – front, back, left, right, up, and down. In such a place, I imprisoned a human named Jiro Tanaka.
“Now, I wonder what kind of reaction he will show?” Under the guise of a trial, Spirit Valse enjoyed a view that only she could see. For many years, Valse’s enjoyment has been to witness the final brilliance shown when challenging trials in critical situations. In other words, she created this environment because she wanted to see the radiance displayed at the moment of death. It’s understandable if people call it morbid. The being challenging it, feeling the death that will soon come, desperately seeks a solution. She enjoys that sight.
“The previous Dark Elf child went mad on the third day. I wonder how long this one will last.” Her personality can be inferred from the fact that she doesn’t think it can be conquered. In Spirit Valse’s view, Jiro Tanaka stands frozen on the spot, thinking desperately about something.
“He’s not panicking, is he? This might hold some promise?” Spirit Valse is not malicious. She understands that this trial does have a method of conquest, and it’s not that there’s no way to conquer it. However, she doesn’t anticipate whether Jiro Tanaka can perform the method she has prepared. And even though she says she has expectations, those expectations are merely the feeling that she can enjoy it for longer than before.
“But, I wonder if this child has noticed? The truly terrifying aspect of this prison.” With a smile that seems to fit the onomatopoeia “niyaniya,” her voice echoes in the dim space, from a place unseen by anyone. She smiles gleefully that things are proceeding according to her plan, that he hasn’t yet noticed the true essence of this trial.
“Oh? This child has started doing something strange.” However, as if not caring about Spirit Valse’s intentions, Jiro Tanaka, in the scenery that Spirit Valse is watching, began swinging the weapon on his back.
“Oh my, wasting so much stamina, was being confined that much of a shock?” The stamina here is not physical, but mental. Fatigue is reflected in the body even if the body itself isn’t accumulating fatigue; mental fatigue alone has that effect. At first glance, it appeared like an act of mindlessly dispelling fear, and she began to feel disappointed, thinking that this Contractor, like the previous ones, would end quickly. However, unlike previous challengers, she thought that this challenger was giving up and falling into despair too early.
“Well, it’s fine. When he collapses and looks like he’s about to die, as always, I’ll just rewind time and throw him near the domain.” That’s fine. If it ends quickly, then let it end quickly. However, she will only take the minimum necessary measures so as not to lose this enjoyment if he dies. With that, this trial will be over. Then, she will simply doze off again in infinite time, Spirit Valse thinks. It’s just a way to pass the time. Other spirits also do similar things, albeit with different content. It’s just that in exchange for entertaining her through the process of that amusement, she lends her time for a fleeting moment, equivalent to a blink of an eye for a spirit, as a reward. Believing so, and without much expectation, Spirit Valse watched.
“…What is this child?” When did I start thinking something was strange? The space where time was stopped was a setting born from Spirit Valse’s consideration, as she didn’t want it to end with a mundane outcome like starvation. The truly terrifying aspect of the Infinite Prison is its eternal time. Living beings cannot survive without stimulation. Even if served high-end cuisine, one quickly becomes bored with the same dish. Even if one embraces a breathtaking beauty, one eventually becomes bored. Even with countless treasures, if one cannot use them, one becomes bored. The Infinite Prison is the ultimate form of an event where one can live without doing anything. It is a space where one can suspend the desires necessary for a living being to survive, such as not feeling hungry or sleepy. How many beings would remain sane after living in such a world for a long time? For a day, or perhaps a week, it might still be possible to spend time normally. Or, if it wasn’t just one person but two, it might be different. However, the trial was conducted alone, and previous challengers either spent their time doing nothing in a space where they didn’t need to eat or worry about dying, or they just kept walking. And in both of these choices, their mental fortitude ultimately broke, leading to apathy and the same outcome. Even if the body is fine, idleness is a poison that kills the mind of a living being. The absence of an end and the lack of change possess sufficient lethality to bring despair to living beings. Yet, this Jiro Tanaka kept swinging his weapon endlessly. As if that action itself were the purpose. One day, one might say it’s natural. A week, one might consider it normal. A month, one would admit it’s a long time. A year, one would be surprised. And he…
“I can’t believe he kept swinging his sword for ten years.” A space where you don’t get hungry, don’t get sleepy, and don’t get tired. In the world of the surface, where not a single second has passed, in the time measured by Spirit Valse, Jiro Tanaka continued to swing his sword for ten years.
“What is this child aiming for? Why can he try so hard?” There is no voice to answer that question. Jiro Tanaka and Spirit Valse are not physically connected, and Jiro Tanaka cannot hear Spirit Valse’s voice. However.
“Eh?” Instead of a voice, human effort responded to the spirit’s voice. A crack liền the space.
“No way.” No, it’s not a crack.
“Such a…” Is this what they mean by “speechless”? That was indeed a cut. The result of swinging down on the same spot thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions, tens of billions of times. No, rather than cutting the same spot, he elevated each swing into an action to cut something that wasn’t there. Faced with such a result, Spirit Valse sees the facts. The cut gradually grew larger and finally, a path wide enough for one person to pass was completed. At that point, Jiro Tanaka’s movement finally stopped.
“Foolish, truly foolish,” he muttered, gently lowering his sword and watching him disappear as if sliding into the path. And at the same time, he witnessed a human feat. To the scene, the spirit spoke of him as a fool, but only she would realize that her words contained praise.
Another side end
Today’s word: You must be stubborn when you need to be. However, as a result, you are often called a fool. This concludes today’s content. If you found it interesting, please leave a comment, rating, bookmark, etc. We appreciate your continued support of this work.
