章 21: The Luckiest Man Alive

— Inside the Spiritual Realm —

Jason's eyes widened with fear as he looked directly at a ghastly soul, who stared chillingly back at him. Quickly casting his eyes to the right, Jason avoided the soul's oppressing gaze and noticed a realm shrouded in darkness, devoid of any moon or stars.

He felt a familiar sensation, having been transported to a similar space every time he consumed the black mushrooms, but this realm seemed a bit different. It was gloomier to say the least and certainly more...lifeless. As the soul slowly floated away, continuing its aimless journey, Jason shivered at the sinister whispers and anguished screams that surrounded him.

'I was just practicing my skills with the bow,' he thought as he recollected his memories. Jason stared at the bleak expanse that encircled him. 'Did I fall asleep? I'm sure I didn't eat any mushrooms this time, so…how?'

Jason squinted his eyes, peering across the desolate wasteland. He saw jagged cliffs and rocky terrain that stretched as far as the eye could see, blackened trees with gnarled branches that clawed toward the sky as if asking for salvation, and a dense fog, thick and suffocating, that rolled toward him slowly.

Not wanting to take any chances, the black-haired teenager jumped to his feet with haste and prepared to run in the opposite direction when a shrill laugh pierced through his ears.

"BWAHAHAHA…WELLLLLLLLLLL, IT'S BEEN QUITE A WHILE SINCE I HAD A VISITORRRRRR," an unknown figure hissed ominously. "HOW MANY CENTURIESSS? THIRTYYY? FORTY?"

Jason looked around and hoped that the voice wasn't talking to him. Not seeing a single thing besides souls, however, Jason took off and ran as fast as he could.

"WHY ARE YOU RUNNINGGGGGGGGGG? DON'TTTT YOU KNOW THE LAW OF THIS LANDDDD? NO ONEEE ESCAPES THE NETHERWORLDD."

"What the hell are you talking about? Is this a prank, Karl? Get me out of here already! I don't want to play your stupid games," Jason screamed as he continued to run.

"THISSSS ISSSS NO GAMEEEEEEEE," the creature said as it floated slowly to the ground in front of Jason.

"IT'S. A. TRIALLLLLLLL."

Jason took one glance at the ugly red imp in front of him and stepped back in fear. His legs shook as he looked directly at the little devil's curved horns, slithery tail, and long blood-stained wings. Seeing the hate reader stumble in fright, the devilish imp inched closer, licking his lips as a wide grin grew on his face. He reached for his trident and thrust it thrice, grabbing three poor souls, faster than Jason's eyes could follow.

As the souls squirmed helplessly, one on each stake, the creature hissed loudly, "YOU'RE NOT LIKE THE OTHERRRRRRRRRR ONE. YOU SSSSEEEEM SO WEAK, AND YOU THINK YOU CAN RULEEEEEEEEEE US?!?"

"Sir, if you would be so kind," Jason said elegantly while his mouth quaked. "Would you mind telling me the purpose of my visit?"

Furious, the little creature growled louder.

"PLAYING THE INNOCCCCCCCENT FOOL WON'T HELP YOU NOWWW. EVEN ORPHEUS WAS WISERRRR WHEN HE TRIED TO CHEAT DEATH!"

With a loud screech, the imp disappeared from Jason's sight. Reappearing behind his neck within an instant, the devilish creature quickly kicked Jason with full force.

Thud!

The hate reader fell to the ground face first as he heard a familiar sound.

Ding!

Hate Counter: 546

Though Jason had no idea where he was or why this scary creature was attacking him, in that instant, the hate reader grasped something crucial: a death in this blood-curling realm was a death in the real world!

Jason got back on his feet as his neck readjusted into place. Within moments, he felt another sharp pain, this time in his stomach. Looking down, Jason watched in horror as the blood flowed from his mouth and noticed a silver trident protruding from his stomach.

Ding!

Hate Counter: 545

Jason turned around slowly and glared at the imp, whose smile begin to fade.

"WHY WON'T YOU FALLLLLL?!?" screamed the red devil furiously.

A soul flew up to the little imp and whispered something in his ear, causing him to panic.

"NOOOOOOOOO, I-I CAN'T LOSE AGAINNNN," he yelled, picking up the pace and releasing a flurry of strikes toward Jason's head, neck, and spine.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!x3

Hate Counter: 544

Hate Counter: 515

The next minute passed slowly for Jason as the teenager was ragdolled across the bone-chilling realm time and again. Barely conscious from the searing pain all over his body, Jason prepared himself for eternal slumber. The imp had impaled him from various angles, broken his bones repeatedly, and punched the living daylights out of him, but there was nothing the hate reader could do to fight back.

With his last ounce of energy, he prayed to the gods for another chance at life. He had wanted to see his parents once more and say goodbye to his special companions that had made his time in the new world worth living. Tired of watching his precious lives fall like flies, Jason closed his eyes one last time, and like a miracle, the beating stopped.

"FFFFUUUUUUUUCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK!" cursed the little devil as he was forcefully ejected from the hellish realm, fading into thin air. "I RAN OUT OF TIME AGAINNNNNNNN??????? I SWEAR TO THE DEMON KING THAT I WILL GET YOU NEXT TI—"

Synced with the loud and thunderous roar of a three-headed beast, the disquieting realm began to swirl upwards, dragging the nightmarish reality out of Jason's Spiritual Realm.

—

Moments later, Jason opened his eyes again and saw the familiar clear-blue sky of the Isles. Beads of sweat dripping from his forehead, the black-haired teenager released a sigh of relief and caught sight of his adorable younger sister, Elf companion, and servant sleeping soundly around him underneath the warm rays of the sun.

'Just a bad dream,' he thought to himself. 'Nothing but a bad dream…'

Just then, a new notification rang gently in his ear.

"Congrats on surviving Trial 1!

Quest: ??? T???? ?? ? Death ???

Progress: 5%"

Jason paced around, scratching his chin, perplexed. 'Is this a bug? Why are there so many question marks? Wait, I don't think I've ever seen this quest before…'

A sudden realization hit Jason as he assumed the worst. If his quest only had 5% progress completed, and it was only the first trial, surely the next ones would be even deadlier.

"WAIT! I quit! Cancel the quest!" Jason screamed without a care in the world, horrified at the thought that he might have to relive his experience with the devilish imp again.

"Hello??? PLEASE? Anyone there!"

Unfortunately, silence was Jason's only response.

The leaves rustled behind him as a delicate hand touched his shoulder. Yawning, the beautiful dark brown haired elf inquired sarcastically, "Ate too many mushrooms again? You know…addiction isn't a good thing."

"No need to scream so loudly in the morning, Master. We can hear you just fine," mumbled Karl groggily.

"Yeah…Yeah, that's right. I found some mushrooms this morning on my walk and ate too many," Jason lied, not wanting to worry his friends.

"But are you ok? Your hand is trembling," asked a worried Eve.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you guys. I'll be alright," he replied.

Hoping that the next trial wouldn't come any time soon, Jason pushed his fear to the back of his mind and cracked a small feeble smile before asking, "Well then, shall we continue South?"

—

A week passed quickly as the group of four traveled in search of the exit. They trained in the mornings, played various games in the afternoons such as Tag, Dodge This, and Spirit Catch, and chatted happily at night, telling jokes and making fun of each other.

During this week, Jason continued to make incremental progress with the bow, finally drawing back the string on the third day and releasing his first arrow on the fifth day, albeit only several feet — one meter. By the seventh day, Jason could shoot several arrows in quick succession at the Elderwood Oaks ten feet away but was lacking largely in accuracy.

"Hey, Karl! I thought I told you to hold the berry straight," Jason yelled as he nocked his arrow.

The teenager drew the string with all his might and aimed at the raskulture berry above the monkey's head.

"Stupid, shitty Master," the Doom Monkey screamed back. "If you miss, please don't shoot downward, okay?" he begged, still holding the berry. "I still need my little Karl for years to come."

Alea and Eve, long accustomed to the boys' method of communication, giggled as they watched the arrow soar through the air. Karl screeched as he felt the wind blow right above his head and ducked as the arrow embedded itself beautifully inside the center of the berry.

"Yayyyy," Alea screamed, grabbing Jason's hands tightly and jumping with joy. "See? I knew you could do it! Your training really did paid off!"

"Umm, Alea," Jason said hesitantly, snapping the princess out of her excitement. "Your hands are really soft."

The black-haired teenager and Elven princess blushed simultaneously, quickly parting hands, and turning their heads to the side.

"Awww~~" Karl said mockingly. "Are the two little lovebirds at it again?" he said while rolling on the floor laughing.

After all, he had noticed the way the two of them looked at each other over the last week, and these events had grown increasingly more common.

Eve, whose lack of understanding and innocence led her to ignore the awkward mood, jumped with a hug toward her big brother and shouted, "Wooo, Big Brother! You finally did it!"

Alea's heart melted at the wondrous sight of this "fake" brother / sister relationship. They were so kind and caring to one another and were willing to support each other through thick and thin.

'What had went wrong with her own family?' she wondered.

Trying to change the topic mentally, the Elf said, "Should we make our final push? We should be close to the exit now, right Karl?"

"Yup, just a little more, and we'll be out," replied the Doom Monkey happily.

The group embarked on their trip South once more, continuing until they saw a clear path. Marked by files of BrittleLeaf trees, the final stretch of the Curious Grove opened to a spacious plain. As the group walked out of the exit, Jason looked left and then right but saw nothing in sight for miles.

There were no squawking birds, no cursing monkeys, and certainly no leaves. All there was to see was a plain of yellow-green grass and dried soil.

"Wow, I guess it looks pretty boring outside," The Doom Monkey said, unimpressed.

"Ya, it sure does…But how do we get from here to Garlacia?" Jason asked. "Eve? Karl? Do you all know?"

Eve quickly shrugged her shoulders before pointing in a random direction, and Karl did the same, imitating her.

"Guys, look, we can't just walk around randomly," Jason said with a sigh. "We —"

The princess cut him off with a sly smile and said, "Actually, Eve is right."

"A spirit told me that Garlacia is only a two hour walk from here. If you head to the East, you'll hit it soon."

"Thank you, Alea," Jason replied as he watched the fluffy green spirit fly away. "We can set out tomorrow then, but for now, let's eat."

Jason sat down and prepared the last bit of Deerpaw for dinner. They had gone through most of the meat over the last week and had wanted to save the most special pieces for last.

Thanking the fire spirits for their help in preparing the meat, the Elf watched with a slight grin as the Doom Monkey and the little vampire bellied up with content expressions on their faces.

Mustering her courage, the beautiful princess steeled herself for the battle ahead and readied herself for departure. But before she could leave, there was one more thing she wanted to settle.

Alea walked over to Jason, who was lost in thought, staring at the sky. Tapping him gently on the shoulder, the princess said lightly with a giggle,

"I imagine it must be tiring having those two around for the rest of your life."

"A little bit. But it's quite fun, no? Eve is an adorable little sister whose presence saved me when I was lost and scared, and Karl…well, he's pretty funny," Jason replied after a moment of thought.

"Yeah, they're wonderful," Alea said despondently as she thought back to their trip together over the past week, "Every moment is so full of joy and laughter. I-I just wish that I didn't have to leave you all so soon."

"Well, you can always come back to travel with us again," Jason said, cracking a smile back at her. "I'm sure Eve would love to gossip with you more after you resolve your empire's concerns."

"And…What about you? Would you like to see me again?" she asked hesitantly as her emerald green eyes shone brightly under the sun.

"Of course, I would love to see you again," he said before whispering, "But you're much too dangerous. My heart beats way too fast when I'm next to you."

Jason leaned in and gently pecked her on the forehead, leaving an expression of shock on the princess's face. He had experienced the nightmarish trial only a week before and knew that when the second one came around, he might not have much longer to live. Not wanting to trudge through life with any more regrets or self-doubt, the teenager decided to make a bold move.

However, his lack of experience showed clearly here as his face flushed red, and he stammered, "T-This gesture means goodbye in my hometown."

"O-Oh. I-I see," the princess stammered similarly.

The hate reader lowered his gaze and cursed himself ten thousand times over. 'Ahhhhhh, what kind of stupid reason is that? Why couldn't you just man up and say you liked her?' he thought as he slapped his right cheek until it turned bright red.

"Jason?" Alea said slowly, causing Jason to look back up at her. "Before I leave, I wanted to give you this bag of paralysis grenades which will help you in case you come across any danger and well…this."

She pulled Jason's face closer to her own and kissed him straight on the lips. Jason's eyes widened as he felt her warm and soft lips press against his. Wrapping his arms around her, the two shared a final embrace that seemed to last for an eternity.

After a few seconds, Alea pulled away with bright red cheeks, her hands covering her pointy ears.

With the brightest smile, she laughed and said, "Well then, in my hometown, this gesture means 'See you again!'"

Jason sat on the floor dazed, watching the beautiful Elf's long brown hair sway with the wind. As she ran into the sunset toward her empire, hiding her face out of embarrassment, the hate reader rolled backwards and laid on the grass with the biggest smile he had ever had and murmured,

"I am the luckiest man alive."

Hate Counter: 515