Chapter 83: Test of Medusa
Being a magician, especially a magically talented magician, Du-Wei's magical powers weren't very high at this time but it was because of the amount of spells he learned was too little. Despite this, his magic level is doing very well relatively speaking.
Despite being in the darkness, Du-Wei expanded his spiritual mental senses like countless antennas. Even if his eyes cannot see, an intangible feeling instantly lit up inside Du-Wei's mind, allowing him to a have a full grasp of the surroundings like it was in the palm of his hand.
Even in this environment, Du-Wei still had a keener sense of the surrounding than Hussein.
"Now, hold on." Du-Wei smiled in the darkness, "First, we need to ask the Prime Minister how we should continue proceeding downwards."
"What's wrong?" Hussein cut in and asked.
"This place has a total of three doors." Du-Wei spoke lightly, "The front, left, and right, each direction has a door."
Hussein kept silent. Even though his strength was great, but he didn't have the same ability to use his spiritual powers to sense the surrounding environments. If he was in a fight where heavy movements was required, he would have no problems knowing where the foe is located. But if the enemy were standing still, then he would not be able to figure out where their location is.
"Three doors?" Dadaneier whispered, "Three of us and three doors, don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?"
"Then we will have to ask the Prime Minister here." Even in the darkness, Du-Wei still turned his head towards Gargamel and reached out his hand to tap the mouse's shoulder. "Our lord prime minister, you came to this place before, was there so many doors in the past?"
Gargamel originally didn't want to speak the truth, but Hussein suddenly pinched his neck in the darkness and spoke in a somber voice. "Before you answer, first think clearly. My sword is very close to your neck. If you lie, I can recognize it immediately from your heartbeats and pulse!"
This level of threat was enough, so Gargamel immediately chose to tell the truth.
"This room is also a magic array, In the past when I came here, there was only a one door but the exit could be changed at the owners will. Only one door would lead to Queen Medusa, while the other fake doors are filled with illusions. This will depend entirely on the mood of Queen Medusa, if she is willing, creating 10 doors here won't be a problem." Gargamel gave a wry smile, "I think Queen Medusa already knows you are here and what she meant is that only one of you can see her."
"She's trying to keep us apart?" Dadaneier spoke in a somber voice, "This is obviously a trap. Does she really expect us to fall for it?"
"It's hard to say." Du-Wei's tone was light, "Among the three of us, whoever can see Queen Medusa will depend entirely on her intentions. We can move together and try each door one by one….. But since this is a magic array, she won't see us even if we walk through every door."
"Then lets destroy this magic array, or simply tear down the Palace!" Hussein believes in his own strength.
Out of everyone's expectation, Du-Wei raised an objection by saying. "I think splitting up into three groups may be more useful."
"Are you crazy?" Hussein was somewhat surprised, "Apart from me, I suspect neither of you would have the ability to protect yourselves if one of you were to encounter Medusa alone."
This assumption not incorrect. Among the group of three, the one with the strongest fighting strength is of course Hussein, the one with powers nearing a Saint Paladin. The only reason the trio was daring enough to enter the Canyon Valley in order to provoke Medusa was because of such a strong presence in their mix. If it was only Du-Wei and Dadaneier, the two would never have the ability nor courage to provoke Queen Medusa, one of the worlds strongest magical beasts!
"We are after all on her plate." Du-Wei's voice carried a hint of enjoyment as he spoke, "Since we are guests, it's natural for us not to be rude. I believe it would be for the better to respect the wishes of the host."
With that said, Du-Wei silently called forth a fire magic spell from his palm and gently lifted the fireball from his hand. From the fire's light, Dadaneier and Hussein could see Du-Wei's facial expression.
This juvenile with a smiling face and a scheming pair of eyes looked like he had no worries. If they didn't understand him better from the long travel time, Dadaneier would also think this child was crazy to propose the idea of splitting up to meet the terrifying monster known as Medusa. But due to the cautious and bright ideas proposed by Du-Wei so far, Dadaneier knew that this person must have some kind of idea up his sleeves.
"I mean it." Du-Wei spoke with a smile, "Dadaneier, you and Hussein will take one path and I'll take a path on my own. As for Gargamel... You may take one path on your own."
"Me?" The mouse Prime Minister froze from the shock.
"Yes, you." Du-Wei looked at him with a calm face, then spoke gently. "You were Medusa's subordinate so she won't hurt you. I also think she's not trying to make things difficult for you by putting this magic array down here. As for Dadaneier, if you were to go with Hussein, I believe there won't even any problems."
"What about you, boy? If you face Medusa alone, do you have the ability to protect yourself?" Hussein frowned.
Du-Wei didn't reply, instead, he asked Gargamel one sentence. "Queen Medusa is a woman, right?"
While not understanding the meaning behind Du-Wei's question, Gargamel decided to answer truthfully. "... Right."
"It'll be OK." Du-Wei curled his lips and put on an indifferent smile as if talking to himself: "Since it is a woman, we wouldn't know who is really in danger until we meet."
Medusa's pretrifying stare.,,,
Humph, against the "Charming seductive eyes" granted by the demon. It is not guaranteed which is stronger!
This time, Du-Wei was very adamant and has made up his decision. "I'll walk in the middle. As for the left and right sides, you can take your pick."
With that said, Du-Wei walked forward without turning. After a few steps, he looked back at Hussein and spoke. "Don't follow me and just do as I say… Believe in me!"
Under the brightness of the small fire, Du-Wei had a calm look full of confidence despite his childish and young face. This kind of attitude and composure left Hussein speechless.
"All right! If you must go off to meet your death, then so be it." Hussein sneered.
Leaving his comrades behind in the back, Du-Wei walked up to the middle door in the dark room by himself. His hands already resting on the cold stone doorknob, he let out a sigh then twisted the handles with ease. With a snap, he opened the door.
Upon entering the doorway and into the unknown darkness, he could hear the door gently closing behind him. Du-Wei laughed in a low voice…. Then laughed to himself, "Did you not want to see me Queen Medusa? I have come."
After watching Du-Wei slowly walk through the doorway and seeing the door automatically closed by itself, the light from Du-Wei's fireball was also cut off from them. With the light gone, Hussein immediately called forth his Dou Qi and a golden aura enshrouded his body, lightning up everything…. But at the moment, Dadaneier and Hussein were both surprised to see the door that Du-Wei had entered has…. Disappeared!
Only a wall was left in the area where the door used to be!
"What are we going to do?" Dadaneier was acting a little nervous.
"Do as he says." Hussein spoke coldly, "It was his own choice. You might as well follow me"
Then the Knight once again gave the mouse Prime Minister a glimpse, "You go ahead and choose a door! Don't expect us to leave you here."
Under the cold gaze of the knight, the Mouse Prime Minister lamented and helplessly picked the left door. All the while saying, "O great Queen, not that Gargamel is not loyal to you, it is just that these mobsters are too strong…."
With the disappearance of the door that the mouse Prime Minister had entered, the Knight pulled Dadaneier with him and the two also entered the final door.
"Queen Medusa, aren't you going to see me? I have come." At the moment, Du-Wei was in a strange land.
There was still no trace of light, just pure darkness, causing others to lose the functions of their eyes. Du-Wei was even more surprised to find that the other party has apparently used some sort of magic in the surroundings to disrupt his spiritual mental senses.
Because a strange thing occurred when he released his spiritual powers, the direction of his aim was changed every time. As if flowing through a boundless ocean, his spiritual powers would expand without end, unable to return to him. Then there was also another powerful unit of spirit force that would block him at random, sending back his spiritual mental force at every encounter.
It was obvious, the other party was preventing him from using spiritual force to explore this place.
"Dear Queen Medusa, since you called me here, why are you hiding?" Du-Wei smiled, then retracted his spiritual powers.
In the darkness, a hoarse but muffled voice came from all sides.
"You hear my call?"
Du-Wei was smiling, acting like he was not even a little nervous. "That's correct. In that dark room, I heard someone using sensory magic to speak to me, instructing me to select the Middle door. I sounded out my comrades and found out that they couldn't hear the voice. Only I could hear the voice, so I understood that you only wanted to see me, right?"
The hoarse and muffled voice was silent for a while, but after a pause, it spoke.
"Because you are a magician. Gargamel taught me a lot, but now, I need to learn new things, I hope you can give me this. However, before I meet you, you have to go through my test and your companions will also encounter the test. Only those that pass the test could see me."
The sound ended, but then Du-Wei felt a blur in front of him... Then suddenly, a strong light struck down, warping the space around as if everything was disappearing…..
Chapter 84: I’m Lonely
Du-Wei found himself standing in the middle of a street.
Specifically speaking, he was standing in a bustling city street!
On the street corner, there is a Bookstore he used to frequent, opposite to it was a cinema along with a game store that he also frequented. Then behind it was a 24-hour KFC that he often ran to at midnight in order to get a late night snack... (For anyone that knows, its Siu Yea. English don't have a direct translated word for this late night snack phrase)
Looking in front of him, cars were moving to and fro, then he looked at the flickering Red and Green lights, and then also the neon lights of the shops on either side of the streets….
Du-Wei froze for a moment, then he couldn't help but sigh. "Still playing this hand. This is a fantasy right?"
The passing pedestrians looked as if they were in a hurry with an indifferent look. There was even a stumbling child with a balloon in hand at the street corner….
As for himself, his Mage robe was gone. Now he was dressed in a jacket that he often wore in his past life and a pair of NIKE sneakers.
All of this was extremely like the "world" from his previous life.
Of course, it is only "like".
At this moment, the hoarse and muffled voice rang out from Du-Wei's heart. "Your heart hides a very strange world..."
Du-Wei grunted as he watched the sky, then coldly said. "Even though you used to be a snake, but you are a person now. You should at least know how to respect other people's privacy, right?"
The hoarse voice spoke without any anger, "I'm very curious. Your inner spirit world is very different from your two companions... Where is this strange place? Those moving subways and the no horse drawn carriages... Also, there are those tall buildings..."
Du-Wei was fundamentally unable to listen to the noisy voice inside him. His face suddenly showed a trace of happiness as he lifted his leg to cross the road in front of him. Even when he was crossing the road, he carefully looked left and right at the oncoming cars, then he watched the red light turning to green before calmly walking on the crossing lines to reach the 24 hours KFC. Once there, he actually pulled out his wallet to buy a spicy chicken burger and a cone of ice cream.
The familiar feeling at the entrance almost caused his heart to be emotionally moved. Under the extremely realistic sweet taste of the ice cream flavor, Du-Wei closed his eyes to savor the moment, then laughed.
He sighed, "Thank you. Although you peeked into my inner thoughts, but still need to thank you for giving me the chance to look back on all of this... Originally, I thought I had forgotten all of this, but I did not expect that my heart still remembered all of this so deeply."
Neon lights sparkled among the long streets and young teenagers naturally smiled as they walked...
While Du-Wei was savoring the ice cream cone in his inner world, Dadaneier and Hussein have both encountered trouble on their side.
The two men stood in the middle of a circle like that of competitive arena and the surrounding venues were high and empty.
Hussein was wearing a bright silver suit of armor and on his chest was a flashy badge of the Holy Knights.
However, murderous killing intents were coming from all sides!
Nearby, holy knights have already surrounded the two in the inner circle of the arena, each of their faces carried wounds with a frosty chill. Holding their sword up, they pointed their sword at Hussein and a murderous killing aura could be seen from the swords in their hands!
"Hussein! You betrayed the Temple. From the will of his Majesty, you still won't surrender? Accept gods trial and perhaps by the trial, god will let you stay alive!"
A tall middle aged Knights shouted in a loud voice, his facial beard was so big that you could no longer make out his original face. But Dadaneier was surprised to find that on the chest of the middle-aged knight, other than the badge of the Holy Knights, he was also wearing a ninth level badge issued only by the cities association of knights!
Ninth level Knight? Then wouldn't it be...
As expected, Hussein's face looked like he was dropped into the ocean. Staring around, he then suddenly let out a good laugh, "HA HA HA HA! What a good Medusa! You are actually capable of using this illusion trick as a weapon! Humph! Did you think that you have found my biggest weakness in my heart? Humph!" He looked at the ninth level Knight before him and sneered, "Knight leader "Hoilik", I have killed you once before, now in this is fantasy world, I will kill you a second time!" (Hoilik is the third holy knight leader that Hussein killed)
These holy knights acted like they didn't care what Hussein said and this huge bearded middle aged knight was indeed the already dead ninth level Holy knight leader.
Then, almost as if they can't hear what Hussein said, Hoilik raised his hand and the 10 knights behind him held up their sword at the same time. With a flash of brightness, Dou Qi was wrapped around their swords and without pause, they struck down vertically and horizontally aiming at Hussein. At that moment, they couldn't tell how many Sword Qi was actually coming towards where the two were standing...
"Ice cream cone.... The latest Evangelion book... Let me have a look. Now Medusa, from my memories, what else did you find out….."
Du-Wei hummed a tune with his hand in his pocket and walked through the streets, all the while watching the surrounding pedestrians, vehicles and buildings...
Really, very realistic...
With a smile on his face, his eyes suddenly lit up as he saw a small roadside shop. Walking over, he bought of a packet of cigarettes and an emotional expression could be seen on his face. With trembling fingers, he opened the packaging and lit one for himself and took a deep puff...
At this moment, Du-Wei was almost brought to tears by this familiar flavor.
God has mercy, I have finally got another whiff of this cigarette smell.
That familiar hint of spicy flavor as it turns inside your lung, then slowly coming out from the nose, Du-Wei could only sigh as he immersed himself in this pleasure. Then the hoarse and muffled voice rang out from his heart, "This kind of thing is harmful to the body, right? Why do you enjoy something harmful to you?"
"Oh, it looks like you learned a lot." Du-Wei smiled, "Things that are bad for you, but yet a lot of people can't refuse such things. In this world, there are too many examples like power, beauty, wine, and wealth... Could all of those things be completely harmless to people? However, most people are drawn to it even though it is harmful to them, but most people still couldn't give up the pleasure of enjoying them… This is human nature. Medusa, that's human nature."
"Humanity..." the hoarse voice sighed, "Human nature seems to be very complicated."
"At least the thought pattern is much more complex than snakes." Du-Wei curled his mouth, "Well, thank you, at least you've let me have another taste of this cigarette smell... Next, let us see what else you will help me remember."
With that said, Du-Wei readily threw away the cigarettes in his hands onto the ground and stamped it out with his feet.
"You don't enjoy it? Why not enjoy it little longer? You know… Once you leave this is a fantasy, you're never going to experience it again."
Du-Wei smiled with sunken eyes but there was no indecision, "Because I know that these are only fantasies. It took me a long time to let myself to forget these things, so I'm not going to allow myself to indulge in these things."
"This is human nature?" Medusa questioned.
"No, just a kind of self defense." Du-Wei reached out and flicked his fingers and created a ball of flame.
Standing at the corner of the main street, Du-Wei freely unleashes his magic... A roaring flame came forth from his hands and created a giant hole in the middle of the road. The raging flames immediately ignited the trees in the surroundings and even the glass windows from the nearby stores were shattered from the explosion…..
"I have to say, your illusion really is like the real thing" Du-Wei coldly laughed, "Okay, now that I've had enough fun, it's time to go back."
"Why, you're not enjoying this? As long as you want it, you can stay here for a while longer."
A deep grudging atmosphere was starting to cover Du-Wei's face, then he quickly short forth multiple fireballs from his hand. Soon, half the street was engulfed in the shadows of the raging flames! Without hesitation, he destroyed all the surrounding buildings and spoke in a cold voice, "Because I know all of this is not real! The past is in the past, reality is still reality. If I just indulged myself in this and never leave, don't you think that is really stupid? This saying does not only apply to humans, this is also applicable to you….. Queen Medusa."
The current scene in front of Du-Wei was like a war zone. The sky was stained with the color of flames and a fire hydrant on the side of the street reacted to the flames and exploded. Columns of water gushed out and mixed with the flames, causing burning smoke to fill the air. Squeals of cars slamming on their brakes could be heard as vehicles collided into each other, causing pedestrians to scream and scream as they fled for their lives…..
"OK, enough, if that is your test then I'm telling you now, human nature is much more complex than you think, Medusa." Du-Wei's eye was cold and a flaming light could be seen on his fingertips. Without hesitation, he shot it towards the fountain located at the street square, where crowds of onlookers were located…..
"Understood, then leave." Medusa finally said, "However, your friends are not as strong as you are….. Their current situation is much more dangerous than you."
A whistling sound could be heard as Hussein gasp for a breath. Inside the arena, his body was covered in his golden Dou Qi and even his hair turned into a golden yellow color!
The badge and a piece of his chest armor has already been cut apart, revealing his bare chest and a bloody wound. His face was covered in blood, making his face look absolutely hideous!
Holy knight leader Hoilik was currently standing in front of him, but his condition looked a lot better than Hussein's.
"Hussein! Could this be all your strength?" A look of anger could be seen on Hoilik's face as he looked down at Hussein and on his own sword dripping with blood!
Why...
Hussein questioned himself! Why I am not his opponent?
Funny! It really is funny! My strength is far better than him! Even while facing two Knight leaders, I, Hussein, could still come out victorious!
But why do I feel...
Maybe it is because I'm still remorseful in my heart about killing them?
Watching the knight leader in front of him, Hussein felt his inner courage and battle intent slowly fade away….
In addition, there is a part of him in his heart that wanted to condemn himself!
Kill him?
I can't!
How can I point my sword at this respectful master that taught me so much? How can I point my sword at my brothers and companions that has lived by my side?
The tearing pain in his chest has already caused Hussein to lose his focus. From the combined attacks of the knight leader and the 10 senior knights, Hussein could no longer fend off the group, even with his tyrannical powers.
But why can't I lift up the killing intent inside my heart?
It cannot be... It cannot be! I can't kill my brothers! How can I lift my sword against my senior elders?
But... I must survive. I want to live on and bring forth the truth to the public! The Temple lies and all the hypocrisy of the so called gods! I'll tell the world everything!! I cannot die here until I finished my quest!
So I will have to kill the people before me…..
Oh, but they're already dead! This is all but a fantasy...
But facing them, how can I raise my sword and butcher them a second time? Facing all these familiar faces…..
Dadaneier has already collapsed on the ground. In a weak breath, he suddenly shouted. "Hussein! What are you waiting for! They are phantoms! All fake! Fake!! Why don't you fight back!!"
"Shut up!" Hussein lets out a thundering shout. Without waiting, knight leader Hoilik once again raised his sword and slashed down with his Sword Qi against Hussein. With a snort, Hussein blocked off the attack but was pushed back a series of steps by the repeated burst of attacks by the other knights. Looking at the ground, you could see cracks appearing on the ground from each of the steps he took.
Maybe I'll die in here.
I shouldn't be alive today! In order to live, I had to kill so many of my brothers and companions….. Am I so noble?
HA HA!
HA HA HA!!!
Du-Wei opened his eyes and found himself lying on top of a table.
This place was a big room, exactly like a meeting hall. In the air, there was a faint aroma. This type of scent smelled very comfortable, as if there was a warmth in one's stomach.
Du-Wei rolled over and sat up. Stretching his body, he looked out into the empty Hall and smiled. "Thank you, I had a very good dream."
In the empty room, the sound produced by Du-Wei was gently echoing back towards him. With a sigh, Du-Wei looked around and saw that there was only a stone bed in the middle…. Or to be more accurate, it was just a large stone table.
Cold and lifeless.
"You should at least get some lights on." Du-Wei laughed, then spoke as if he was talking to himself. "On the bright side, this is at least warm…. So it won't be so lonely."
"Lonely... What the hell is that?"
While still in the hoarse and muffled voice…. Medusa finally asked another question.
What is loneliness?
Du-Wei lowered in his head in thought for a moment, then smiled.
"Loneliness is when your heart feels empty and no one can share your feelings with you, whether it is anger, happiness, sadness, or joy….. Everything in this world doesn't have a relationship with you and no one cares about you…. You don't know why you are living in this world, you don't know what to do and you don't know what to think….. When you have these kind of feelings, this is known as loneliness!"
Medusa sighed, her voice carried a trace of weariness and a hint of weakness.
"If you say these things are what makes up 'loneliness'..." Then the color of the world must be painted in horror, the quiet voice sighed.
"I am lonely."
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