The scene outside the Divine Hall was just as he had seen in the vision. It was a dense forest, not the tundra of the Endless Wilderness. Ornate treehouses were built upon the towering trees, and countless lamps hanging from the branches twinkled like stars.

A red glow from the sky tinted everything a faint crimson.

’Is this what the Elf Realm looked like back then? Where did that red light come from?’ Colin thought.

He looked up at the night sky.

Strangely, the night sky was now completely crimson. All the stars, even the moon, had vanished without a trace, as if an absurdly large red cloud had appeared in their place.

The next moment, the red sky blazed with light.

Fires instantly erupted all around.

The lush trees began to burn rapidly. Countless screams and battle cries suddenly surged from all directions like a tidal wave, startling Colin.

Immediately after, the clash of Armor rang in his ears.

By the light of the flames, Colin could faintly make out a large army advancing through the forest. Judging by the uniform sound of their clashing Armor, this army was no disorganized rabble.

A dark shadow at the edge of his vision stirred.

Turning his head, Colin saw trees in the distance toppling one by one. A group of humanoid robots, seemingly over ten meters tall, was striding in his direction. More than ten massive Mechanical Dragons dove from the distant mountain peaks, skimming over the treetops as they flew toward him.

These machines were not of a modern design, but rather magical constructs made of Bronze and Magic.

Even from the perspective of a Transmigrator, these things were far too advanced.

’Judging by the explosion that just destroyed the Divine Hall,’ Colin thought, ’I should be separate from this illusion, so I should be fine, right?’

Just then, several figures hurried toward the Divine Hall.

Colin took a closer look and saw that the leading figure was none other than the Elf Knight he had just fought.

The Elves behind him were also clad in Chain Armor with Great Swords on their backs.

They ran all the way to the statue and fell to their knees. With hands pressed together, their mouths moved continuously, looking like believers praying to the Gods.

They were murmuring in the Elf Language, which Colin couldn’t understand at all. He could only see the desperate, almost savage expression on the Elf’s face.

The army marching through the forest drew closer.

Carrying Large Shields and raising Long Spears, they advanced step by step toward the center of the Divine Hall.

The Elf kneeling before the statue said one last thing. Then, the group of Elves silently drew their Long Swords, rose to their feet, and took a stance against the surrounding army...

Colin gazed at the encroaching army, the rampaging mechanical beasts, and the crimson sky.

’If there really is an apocalypse,’ he thought, ’it would probably look just like this.’

In that instant, countless Swordsmanship training sessions he had experienced in dreams flooded his mind. Within the illusion where time flowed rapidly, Colin felt as if he had undergone centuries of training.

But there was no doubt that in the face of this vast influx of memories, he could only grasp a small fraction of it.

Everything finally coalesced into a Panel.

-----------------

[Special Commission Complete]

[agility +1]

[Acquired Legendary Skills: "Silent Sword Skill (Apprentice) 500/1250"]

[Silent Sword Skill: A type of "Sword Chant" technique from the ancient Elf Kingdom, a skill that can only be mastered by long-lived Elves through training. Legend has it that this is the most difficult of all Sword Chant techniques to master, and was the Elves’ last, desperate struggle against a great enemy.]

[You have experienced several centuries of an Elf’s life. The vast memories are difficult for you to control, but being able to grasp even a small part of them is a considerable benefit.]

[Acquired Specialty: Silent Chanting Style (Basic Level)]

[Silent Sword Dance (Basic Level): You have mastered the basic concepts of Swordsmanship. 1. Magic failure rate is reduced by 10%. 2. You can activate Sword Dance in combat, increasing coordination and raising movement Speed by 20%. It also increases Defense, as well as attack Damage and accuracy, based on your Intelligence. Cannot be activated while wearing Heavy Armor.]

-----------------

"Hey, your companion’s back. We can go now, right?"

The Half-Sheepman’s terrified voice reached his ears, snapping Colin back to consciousness.

He glanced to the side and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Next to the statue was a large pile of scattered white bones and rusted weapons. Orelia was sitting against the statue, painfully clutching her right arm, which was slowly oozing blood. Salin stood nearby with his Short Bow and Short Sword. Although he was unscathed, the Quiver on his back was empty.

"What happened?" Colin ran to Orelia’s side to check her injuries.

"Mr. Colin, are you hurt? I should still be able to pray for divine grace to heal your wounds." Orelia’s eyelids drooped; she was starting to feel weak from blood loss.

"Why don’t you heal yourself?"

"I was worried you would come back injured, Mr. Colin."

"Hurry up and heal yourself. I’m fine." Colin asked, "Where’s Kase?"

"Over there, buddy. You three are really close." Salin pointed to the other side of the statue. "A whole horde of wandering Skeletons charged us just now. Those two refused to leave, no matter what. Said they were afraid you’d get killed by the Skeletons when you came back."

From the Half-Sheepman’s explanation, Colin finally understood what had just happened.

The trial had transported his entire being into the illusion, and Kase and Orelia had been waiting right here, until they were attacked by wandering monsters.

Colin walked around the statue and looked behind it.

The Half-Orc, covered in wounds and blood, stood atop a pile of bones. Among the Skeletons at his feet, besides Ordinary human bones, was the massive skeleton of what appeared to be an Ogre.

One could only imagine what a grueling battle they had just endured.

"Hey, Kase, how are you doing?" Colin walked over and asked.

As he got closer, he noticed something strange about Kase’s condition.

Veins bulged on the Half-Orc’s thick arms, twisting like coiled serpents. His already immense muscles swelled even further, looking as if they were about to burst.

"It’s nothing."

Kase looked over, and Colin saw that the whites of his eyes were completely bloodshot. Nearly every part of his eyes except the pupils was red, so red it looked like they might start bleeding.

’This isn’t a sign of serious injury, is it?’

"When you saw the monsters, you could have..."

"Have you ever seen a boss abandon his crew and run?"

"Come over here and let’s treat your wounds first," Colin sighed.

Two companions. One, despite being injured, saved her Divine Art to heal him. The other stayed behind to fight a horde of Skeletons just to cover his return. The situation gave him somewhat mixed feelings.

Of course, if not for their efforts, Colin figured he would have been thrown right into a pile of Skeletons after completing the trial. If that had happened, he probably wouldn’t have had enough lives to fight his way out.

’I really owe them both a huge favor...’ he thought.

After using her remaining Divine Art to heal herself, the Tiefling and Colin used the remaining bandages and ointment to treat Kase’s wounds.

After a while, the Half-Orc returned to his normal state. His bursting muscles and veins finally calmed down. If he had kept going like that, Colin worried he might have died from his heart rate being too fast.

"There’s no way we can go to that place of yours today. Let’s head back and rest for the night first," Colin said to Salin.

The Half-Sheepman, who was busy recovering his Arrows, nodded and said, "Alright. Another day or two won’t hurt."

The Half-Sheepman had actually come out of the recent battle completely unscathed. Colin had no idea how the guy managed it.

Colin let out a sigh of relief and unconsciously glanced at the sky.

In a daze, he felt as if the sky had become just a little bit redder...