A sword clashed against Enrico's bow. From the tip of the bow, a flaming arrow extended. Releasing the string, the arrow appeared at Kai's forehead. Using his light magic on his body, he increased his speed and managed to dodge the arrow at the exact moment before it touched him. Summoning his oceanic magic, a whirlpool of water expanded beneath his opponent's feet until it swallowed his entire body and extinguished the flames around him.
"Hero's Aura."
Activating his hero magic, a blue aura covered his body, strengthening his muscles. He had created this technique moments earlier in this dream of the future. Raising his sword, its blade was covered in the same blue aura. It grew until it reached five meters in length.
"Explosive Aura Slash."
Bringing his blade down with force, both the whirlpool and his opponent were destroyed by the explosion it generated, even throwing Kai backward as he rolled a little on the ground before stopping.
Lying on the ground, he breathed heavily and sweated. He had finally achieved his revenge and won, but—
"What the hell is this? Enrico isn't this weak."
He made an irritated face as he cut through that future dream even while lying down. Back in the house he had entered, he was completely restored and uninjured. That Enrico he had faced did not adapt or evolve like the original, so even with part of his memory suppressed, it was obvious that everything had been a cheap farce trying to use his rival.
"I'm leaving this house soon. It pisses me off."
In the house next door, Victoria was in a different one. She didn't understand why she was there. It seemed fairly peaceful, so she decided to stay for a while. Searching around, she saw two pairs of shoes together—one hers, but the other appeared to belong to a man. Many would think it was her future dream with someone she liked, but when she saw the shoes, she immediately made a disgusted face.
"That's not Enrico's shoe size."
She turned her face and looked at a photo on top—herself wearing a wedding dress and being embraced by Kai. Immediately she felt the urge to vomit, because apparently she had entered a house that showed another dimension.
"Dear, I'm home."
"Giant fireball."
The house meant to show a different dimension was completely burned, and the person who entered through the door was blasted far away. Stepping on the photo and disintegrating it under her foot, she returned to the normal house she had entered. Stomping heavily, she drank some tea to calm the fury she felt toward that other-dimension Valença.
"I need to wash my eyes somehow."
Those two were a little foolish—in her mind, Valença was foolish when it came to her beloved. While the two prepared to leave, outside Elaris was sleeping deeply. Two hours had already passed, and she undoubtedly wanted to sleep longer. But they couldn't waste time, especially when they noticed Skadi approaching. If she was approaching, it meant the remaining two had finished their tests.
"…Why did you wake me? It was so nice."
"We need to prepare for the first move we're going to make, Princess."
"Tsk. I hate my sister."
She stood up with sleep written all over her face. With a sigh, she fixed her slightly messy hair in a way she even liked. Before she could ask Enrico how she looked, the two doors of the different houses opened. Deciding to approach and congratulate them, she took a step forward.
"Congrat—"
She stopped abruptly, her smile freezing when she saw the ugly expressions on the two in front of her. It seemed they had gone through moments they didn't like. There was even a trace of irritation on their faces. Valença approached Enrico with a serious look, trying to erase that expression. She seemed like she wanted to scream at the person left behind, but she wasn't that kind of character.
"Thank goodness you're here to clean my eyes. It was horrible."
'She must have seen the original Valença's dream…'
He opened his arms and let her hug him. It was incredible how she made a pouty child expression even with an almost neutral face. Seeing that, Elaris kicked a stone with her hands behind her back—without a doubt, she was jealous.
On the other hand, Kai also approached enthusiastically, but he was interrupted by Enrico raising his hand.
"I'm not hugging you."
"Why was I born a man? Damn it."
Rolling her eyes, Skadi watched Kai slam both fists into the ground in deep disappointment. Somehow, she felt this situation wasn't supposed to be like this. Something was wrong with the human world. With her hand on her chin, she approached, watching the three interact. Even thinking something was off, she found it amusing.
"I must congratulate you on the excellent work. I didn't think it would be so fast."
That was because the four of them were determined not to live in an illusion. If they accepted it as their dreams and ambitions, they would remain in that world. Among them, the only one whose thoughts wavered while watching her past was Elaris.
Kai only felt regret that his father had died without being recognized. Valença felt bad about the day Val'Drakar died. Both had regrets tied to the past, not the future or another dimension. Even if they returned to the past, they knew it wasn't real.
Skadi looked at Elaris. She had brought the perfect people to pass the final trial without even knowing about it.
"Come, Elaris. It's time for me to see if the blessing will recognize you as its owner."
"Thank you very much, Lady Skadi."
A portal opened for the two of them, and before entering, Elaris looked at Enrico with a sincere smile. He simply waved two fingers at her before the two disappeared.
With that, the elven princess would gain a good new unique ability—but it still wouldn't be enough. He was thinking about making that ability evolve to its maximum potential, because using its full power was absurdly difficult.
'She could only use it fully if she reached circle ten. But depending on what's inside this—'
He looked at the chest he had taken from the system and placed behind the stone. If it was truly as important as the author had implied, he might be able to accelerate that ability's growth a little—even if only on a smaller scale.