*Creak...* *Creak...* "Creak...*

As Alen started walking on the upper floor, the sound of his footsteps echoed through the corridor. Several candles hung on the walls, emitting a faint purple glow through the dark hallway.

The air felt dense with a foul smell. The corridor was free from any skeletons hanging from the ceiling.

"This place feels so horrible... Did I really end up in a haunted house or what? Am I going to find a ghost or something else now?"

As Alen walked, he saw a door at the end of the corridor, just a short distance away. He started walking toward it.

He kept walking and walking...

He walked for half an hour straight, but the short distance never lessened.

Alen dropped to the floor, feeling incredibly exhausted and extremely confused.

’Why can’t I reach that place? Did I get caught in some illusion spell?’

He looked everywhere. Everything felt perfectly normal; there wasn’t anything weird.

’There must be something important there. That is why the room is protected by an illusion spell. I have to get there at any cost.’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Alen stood up. He stared at the distant door. There had to be a clue related to completing this trial inside, and if he wanted to pass, he had to get into that room.

Alen picked up a vase from a small table beside him. He measured its weight in his hand and then threw it toward the door with all his might.

*SHATTER—!*

The vase crossed the distance instantly, directly crashing into the door and shattering into pieces. It didn’t face any of the spatial problems he had. Because the glass was an inanimate object, it wasn’t affected by the illusion. So, it crossed the distance easily.

Alen now had proof that he was definitely under the influence of an illusion spell. Now, he had to find a method to break it.

’But how do I cancel an illusion spell? I don’t know anything about magic or spells in detail. I was just transported to this world and awakened my mana. How the hell am I going to solve this problem?!’

From the novels he used to read, Alen knew that any spell or magic used for attack or defense strictly required a definite coordinate. Normally, the coordinate was the person who cast the spell. But it was also possible to use a physical or magical object as a coordinate. And if someone wanted to destroy the spell, they had to destroy the specific coordinate keeping the spell active.

He looked everywhere. There wasn’t anything eye-catching in the corridor except the dim light of the candles.

Suddenly, an idea flashed in Alen’s mind.

He walked over to the nearest candle and extinguished it. As the flame died out, the light in the corridor dimmed. Alen walked forward to another candle and extinguished it too. He continued down the corridor, putting out candle after candle.

As he did so, the corridor turned completely pitch black. It took his eyes several minutes to adjust to the darkness. But after he extinguished the final candle, he finally reached the door.*

*Sigh...*

"So, the fire was the coordinates... Finally... I passed through the illusion."

[Ding! You have passed the ’Illusion of Infinity’]

[Ding! Your understanding of Magic has significantly increased!]

He reached for the door handle and opened it cautiously, expecting some sealing magic or a trap. But there was nothing.

*Creak—*

As the door opened, Alen stepped inside. The room was dark, without any candles illuminating it. Even the windows were pitch black, letting in no outside light.

Alen walked further inside. Fortunately, there wasn’t any foul smell here to assault his senses. He looked around.

The room was spacious, featuring a big, luxurious bed, a study table, and other furniture. On the nightstand beside the bed, he saw another photo of the family he had seen earlier. In this picture, they were laughing together.

Alen tore his gaze away from the image and searched for any other clues.

He checked the desk drawers. Inside were several blank papers and pens. He checked another drawer; inside it lay a pendant and a folded note.

Alen picked up the pendant. It was pitch black and looked like a smooth stone. He then checked the note. Fortunately, it was written in a language he was familiar with, or else he would have had a hard time getting any clues from it.

As he unfolded the paper, his hands trembled a little. The words were written in pure crimson. Alen could easily tell it was blood because there were bloody fingerprints pressed into the paper.

He started to read it.

<Please be alright, my little boy...>

Alen looked at the letter. He interpreted that either the man or the woman from the painting had written this for their son.

’But why with blood?... What the hell happened to them that they had to write such a thing?’

He looked back at the pendant. Whatever it was, it wasn’t his, so he decided he shouldn’t take it. He put the pendant back and turned to walk out of the room.

But just as he turned toward the door, completely unaware, a dark energy formed behind him. It materialized into a beautiful woman who stared straight at his back with hollow eyes...

"My dear son..."

*Creak...* *Shut!"

The door closed behind him as he walked out of the room, completely oblivious, having found nothing useful.

He searched the hallway for another room and quickly found one. He opened the door.

*Creak*

He peered inside. It was a music room. In the center sat a grand piano with dust clinging to it.

Alen walked closer. He pressed a few keys.

*Plin...* *Plin...* *Pliiin...*

Even though it was old, it worked perfectly, just like new. He looked at the wooden board above the keys. He wiped away a little dust in the corner. He saw a hint of someone’s name engraved there. He wiped away more dust to see it clearly.

<Erez Salvinia>

It was a male name, so Alen didn’t know who it belonged to. Probably the woman’s husband, or her son, or perhaps someone else entirely. Alen didn’t mind it.

He sat on the bench and started playing the piano. It had been years since Alen last played. When he was a child, he always asked his parents to listen to his songs. But since they passed away, he hadn’t played a single note.

He began to press the keys.

*Plin...* *Plin...* *Pliiin...*

As he listened to the piano’s soft voice, past memories flooded his mind. He remembered when he once had almost everything: money, fame, friends. He was liked by everyone, always helped others, and had a kind heart. He had good parents who loved him dearly.

He was a perfect child. But after his parents passed away in a car accident, his heart was completely broken. The sudden loss of his parents wasn’t the only thing that hurt him.

What hurt the most were the people who betrayed him—the ones who showed their true colors when he was in desperate need of help.

He didn’t hate them, not even in the slightest. ’Hate’ was a luxury he couldn’t afford. If he started to hate them, he would only walk down a path of depression, destruction, or revenge, which would do nothing but ruin his own life.

’The past is just the past. It cannot be rewound or corrected.’

’It is a permanent memory that cannot be erased from existence.’

’There is only one thing I can do: learn from the past and try to correct my flaws, so I won’t be hurt by the same things again in the future.’

’My path is not just about survival, nor is it hoping to fix the past.’

’It is a path to walk with a newfound self, living without depending on others. My ’Path’ is ’Selfish’, so I have to become selfish in order to live a better life.’

He played the piano with newfound confidence, with absolutely no sense of depression or sadness in his eyes.

[Ding!]

[Ding! Your understanding of your ’Path’ has increased slightly.]

[Ding! Breaking through to the E- rank...]

[Ding! Rank: E]

A rush of mana crashed into his body. The ambient mana in the air absorbed into his core, expanding his core.

His body began to feel much lighter and stronger. It wasn’t an earth-shattering change, but for him—a formerly frail boy with little strength—it finally felt like he possessed full-fledged adult power.

His body was still that of a seventeen-year-old guy, but compared to his past self, he felt incredibly strong. If he had to fight those guys in the alley now, he could beat them even without using a drop of mana.

[Ding!]

[Status Window]

[Name: Alen]

[Age: 17]

[Title: The Outlier]

[Talent: Unknown]

[Rank: E]

[ATTRIBUTES]

[STR: 20/50]

[AGI: 25/50]

[DEF: 15/50]

[INT: 30/50]

[HP: 150/150]

[MP: 300/300]

[ABILITY]

???? (?)

[Description: Your ???? will not be affected by the ????????. The ????? will cancel every ????? recognized as a ?????. Your ???????????, so you will be ?????? Fate.]

[SKILLS]

Body Strengthening (E+)

[Description: Enhances the user’s physical body by reinforcing muscles, bones, and internal structure with mana. Increases strength, endurance, and resistance to damage. Effects scale with proficiency. Continuous use gradually improves the user’s base physique.]

...

As he looked at the interface, a smile tugged at his lips. He closed his eyes and started to play the piano with even more enthusiasm.

But as Alen played, a figure emerged from thin air just behind him. Wrapped completely in darkness, the figure slowly revealed the exact same face as the woman in the portrait. She leaned forward toward his ear.

"My dear..."