Chapter 92: The Trial
After learning that Russell was her descendant, Morgan no longer spoke with the same measured formality as before. It was simply too tiring.
"Wasn't it called the Eastern European Plain?" Morgan asked. Even she didn't sound entirely certain.
"Wait a moment. If you're on the Eastern European Plain, that's perfect. I once left behind a trial here—along with some rather useful things. They should be of great help to you now."
"That's quite a coincidence. But hold on—why would you leave a trial in a place like this? Don't tell me it's inside the ancient ruins I'm currently stuck in?" Russell said casually, but Morgan actually took it seriously.
"I left it behind while traveling—just on a whim. Is there anything around you that looks noteworthy? Draw it for me."
Something noteworthy… Russell frowned and carefully surveyed his surroundings. Intersecting corridors branched in every direction, forming a labyrinth—one wrong turn and you'd be lost for good. Everything was built of stone, with no obvious stylistic clues.
As he continued to look around, Russell suddenly noticed that the brackets beneath the torches had an unusual design. He sketched them into the notebook as accurately as he could.
"You were right," Morgan said after a moment. "This is indeed where the trial is located."
"That's impossible, isn't it?" Russell said, unconvinced.
"Trust me," Morgan replied lightly. "Trust doesn't need a reason."
Are you some kind of fox spirit now? Russell thought silently.
"Turn the drawing upside down," Morgan continued. "Doesn't it look familiar now?"
Russell did as she said—and sure enough, once inverted, the image clearly resembled a crown of thorns.
"I need to know your exact position," Morgan said. "Sketch the surrounding environment as well."
Once Russell finished everything, a map immediately surfaced on the pages of the diary, thoughtfully marking his current location with a small dot.
A red line extended forward from that point, winding onward until it stopped at a specific location.
Russell followed the red line all the way. Along the route, he encountered no obstacles at all—no mechanisms, traps, or guardian creatures of any kind.
According to Morgan, there had never been anything particularly valuable stored inside in the first place. There was no reason to install excessive traps—three trials were more than enough. Otherwise, the resources spent on defenses would have outweighed the value of what lay within.
At the end of the red line stood a towering bronze gate. On either side of it were two circular indentations. Russell searched for a long time but found no obvious mechanism to open it.
"What do I do here?" he asked.
"Simple," Morgan replied. "The first trial is Transfiguration. You need to create two keys and insert them simultaneously to open the door."
She made it sound easy.
Transfiguring keys wasn't difficult for Russell. He conjured a lump of clay, pressed it into the holes, and pulled it out, revealing the exact shape of the key grooves.
The real challenge was inserting both keys at the same time—it required true multitasking. After many failed attempts, he finally managed to succeed once by sheer luck.
The bronze gate slowly creaked open.
Inside was a chamber roughly the size of a football field. The center plunged into a bottomless abyss, with only a narrow stone slab bridge leading across to the far side.
"So… I just walk across?" Russell asked.
"If you do that," Morgan said calmly, "I'll be seeing a charred version of you very soon. The moment you make even the slightest sound, Fiendfyre will erupt from both ends, sealing you in. At that point, you'll have two choices: burn to death, or jump and fall to your death."
"And Apparition?" Russell asked.
"Your body would tear itself apart in midair."
"So… you're saying I should use a Disillusionment Charm?"
"Not stupid," Morgan replied approvingly.
Russell was stunned. "What if someone doesn't know the Disillusionment Charm?"
"If you're strong enough to walk straight through Fiendfyre, that works too. Or you can fly across—though if you're too fast, it'll still trigger the flames."
In that case, Dumbledore would probably have no trouble, Russell thought.
"As for the final trial," Morgan continued, "I placed a skeletal knight inside. Normally, one must earn its recognition. But for you, simply showing it the badge will suffice."
The first two trials weren't particularly difficult—because Morgan had stacked all the difficulty into the third.
For the first time in his life, Russell experienced what it felt like to be fast-tracked. The feeling was incredible.
In a chamber similar in size to the previous one stood a small skeletal figure. It showed no reaction whatsoever to Russell's entrance.
As expected of something crafted by Morgan herself—the skeletal knight looked impressive. Its polished bones weren't frightening, but instead carried an eerie sense of sanctity.
Blue flames flickered within its skull. It wore a suit of rusted armor that dragged along the floor.
One thing, however, was missing.
There was no horse.
Without a horse, how could it be called a knight?
Russell didn't dwell on it. He took out the badge and waved it in front of the skeleton.
Instantly, the flames in the skeleton's eyes flared brightly. Its teeth clacked together with a sharp ka-ka sound, and a faint, distorted voice emerged from its mouth.
"Morgan… master."
"Morgan… master."
"Morgan…"
The repetition grew faster and faster. Alarm bells rang loudly in Russell's mind. He slowly backed away, fully prepared to flee at the slightest movement.
At the same time, he silently cursed Morgan—how could something she created malfunction like this?
"Morgan… dead."
The blue flames in the skeleton's eyes abruptly turned crimson, locking onto Russell with murderous intent.
A deep hum echoed from its mouth, and its body suddenly surged upward in height.
Only then did Russell realize the truth—the skeleton had been kneeling all along. Its lower body wasn't human at all, but that of a horse.
A centaur skeleton.
No wonder there had been no horse—it was the horse.
Perhaps from centuries of inactivity, its movements were stiff and sluggish.
Seizing the moment, Russell retreated to the previous chamber, crossed the stone slab bridge, and began frantically thinking of a solution.
Leaving outright was painful—but if he truly couldn't deal with it, survival came first.
Staring at the narrow stone bridge, Russell narrowed his eyes as an idea took shape.
The skeletal knight emerged from the chamber and stepped toward the bridge—then suddenly stopped.
Russell's heart skipped a beat.
He saw hesitation in the flames of its eyes.
This meant it wasn't a mindless construct at all—it possessed true awareness.
What he thought was a bug… turned out to be full artificial intelligence.
Morgan, you've really screwed me over.
It seemed retreat was the only option.
Russell cast one last glance at the skeletal knight and turned to leave—
When sudden hurried footsteps echoed from outside, accompanied by rapid Russian voices.
A wolf in front, a tiger behind.
Russell was trapped between two dangers.
Then I'll let them fight each other.
He pressed himself against the wall and activated both the Disillusionment Charm and the Silent StepCharm at the same time.
In an instant, he vanished completely from the skeletal knight's sight.
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