Chapter 187: The Treasure Trial
Jack, Longsword, and Bocor stood before a dark cave mouth.
Well, the Lord said, guess we found something. What do you think, Jack?
I think its a cave, and I also think that I cannot see in the darkness.
Bocor snorted. Are you afraid, little man?
Dont worry, Jack replied with a smirk. I know my way around caves. He wasnt angry. This cave was too nostalgic for that. After all, his entire journey had started in a little cave in the Greenway natural reserve.
This one, as it seemed, wasnt too different from his. As they transitioned from the labyrinths straight-cut, well-lit corridors into the jagged cave pathways, carrying their own torch that Longsword had fished from his bag, their path was almost immediately cut short.
Only a few feet into the cave stood a mirror. Or, rather, what looked like a mirror. An oval wooden shape embedded into the wall, as tall as a grown man and as wide as three of them. Its surface was covered in glass, but that was where the similarities to a mirror ended. Through it, Jack could see not himself, but a small cavern filled with treasure.
There were weapons and sets of armor, all intricately carved and covered in jewels. A mound of gold coins at the back reached up to Jacks knee. There were fist-sized jewels on small pedestals. And, at the very end of the small cavern, a small gray orb rested on a red velvet pillow. The entire arrangement of the room seemed to point at that orb, as if everything else was merely a warm-up before the real treasure.
Jack tried to scan it, but either he couldnt do so through the mirroror was it a window?or the item wasnt scannable in the first place.
But why was there a mirror-like window between them and the treasure?
Just as Jack had that thought, the mirrors surface flowed and undulated. The shapes inside it warped, turning from treasures in a cave into glass apparatuses and round faces, with desks, white robes, and a blackboard at the very end. Jack, to his absolute shock, found himself staring at one of the labs he used to teach in Northeastern University, separated only by a mirror and a few months of extreme change.
What the hell? he asked.
Are you seeing what Im seeing? Longsword asked, equally surprised.
Yeah. But I mean Do you even know what that is?
The Lord gave him an odd look. Of course I do. Its where I grew up.
You grew up there!?
My Lord, Bocor said, forgive my disrespect, but that is impossible. Someone of your stature would never set foot in this gambling den.
What? Jack asked.
What? Longsword asked, equally confused. What exactly do you see, Bocor?
The minotaur frowned. Drunks, card cheaters, and scum of the earth. Bottles, dirty tables, standing beds, smiles, all arrayed under the statue of a grape-holding satyre.
Jack took a second look. Still, all he saw was the lab. Am I hallucinating?
Oh, Longsword said, squinting at the mirrors top. His eyes brightened. Oh!
Jack followed the Lords gaze, but all he saw was the mirrors wooden case.
Mirror of Origins
Unlike conventional mirrors, this one does not show the current self. Instead, it is an elaborate device that shows the observer a scene of their past, which they can experience and relive as soon as they step through the mirror.
Oh, Jack repeated.
We are all seeing different things, Longsword explained. I believe this is a Treasure Trial.
A Treasure Trial?
Yes. Not all Trials are tailor-made to their creators Dao. Some simply hold treasures, there for anyone to take. They are rarer, but also easier to complete.
Oh, Jack said, turning back to the mirror. A Treasure Trial. Okay. I can live with that. So, what do we have to do?
If I had to guess? Walk through the mirror, resolve whatever vision appears, then step into the treasure room and take everything.
Hmm, Jack said. Did we all see the same place before the mirror activated? A small cave with treasures and a prominently placed gray orb?
I did, Longsword replied. Bocor nodded, too.
So, thats the real treasure room.
Most likely.
Okay
Jack cracked his neck, staring at the laboratory in the mirror. There was a bit of nostalgia there. Surprisingly, only now did he realize that he hadnt thought about his past days at all since the Integration. He hadnt missed them in the slightest.
Talk about good life choices I guess I really didnt like it that much.
Should I go first? Jack asked.
No.
That was more decisive than expected. Jack turned to look at Longsword, who had just spoken, and raised a brow. Why?
The Lord frowned at the mirror, considering his options. Finally, he decided, Lets go all at once.
Jacks brows rose higher. Why? he considered again. It took him a moment to follow Longswords train of thought.
They didnt know how long this Trial would take. How exactly does one cross a mirror? There was a chance it would be instant, but it could also leave them stranded for unknown periods of time. In other words, any trial-taker might become vulnerable.
Therefore, Longsword didnt want to go first, in case Jackor Bocortook advantage of his vulnerability and assassinated him. At the same time, he also didnt want to let Jack lead, because whoever went first would also enter the treasure room first. If Jack was that person, he might sweep a few trinkets into his pockets, with nobody being the wiser.
Then, why not send Bocor first, as a test subject? Jack wondered. There was only one reason: Longsword didnt trust Bocor, either. In that case, the only solution for Longsword would be for everyone to enter the mirror at the same time. Provided he completed the trial first, he would not be vulnerable or prone to losing treasure.
For the first time, Jack realized they were three men all on guard against each other.
Very well, he said, approaching the mirror. It was tall as a man, but wide enough that all three of them could enter its surface side-by-side. Longsword and Bocor were already there, Longsword standing in the middle, head held high and hand hovering around the handle of his sword.
A small clarification, gentlemen, Longsword said before they entered. As the strongest person here, and as the leader of our small group, I get the lions share. Agreed?
He turned to stare directly at Jack, who met his gaze.
Jack expected this. He wasnt happy about it, of course, but there was nothing he could do, either. Longsword was the strongest person around. If he wanted the lions share, he could take it.
Although, if this was Jacks group, they would have shared everything evenly.
The fact that Longsword was so proactive in demanding more dropped his standing in Jacks opinion.
Agreed, he replied, making sure to let his dissatisfaction show. The Lord didnt seem to care.
Of course, Bocor also confirmed from the other side.
Good! Longsword clapped, recovering his jovial self. Then, lets get to it. On three. One, twothree!
Jack dived into the mirror. Through the corner of his eye, he noticed that Longsword waited an extra half a second to confirm that both Jack and Bocor had entered. Only then did he enter himself.
In the next moment, Jack found himself in the lab he used to teach.
Ah, Mr. Rust, a few students said, noticing him. Welcome, sir.
Jack nodded at them absent-mindedly. He was busy marveling at his surroundings. Everything was as he remembered. The faint smell of glue, the sunlight streaming in through the windows, the stale air. A picture of his late father, Eric Rust, sitting on a tall shelfthis was Jacks lab, mostly, so he had the right to decorate it.
He looked down at himself, finding the white robe he was so familiar with. The gloves, the lab glasses around his neck, the hair net. Even the students were ones he recognized.
Most importantly, his body had reverted to his weak, pre-System self. There was no Dao to be found.
It really was a jump to the past, a punch in the gut. What am I doing here? Jack wondered. Taken back so suddenly, he realized that the difference in life quality was staggering. He was instantly drowned in the feeling of emptiness that pervaded most of his life, the dull routine that slugged his days. He remembered the existence of bills, rent, and loneliness. The weight of being forced into a life where he spent most of himself just to make ends meet.
It wasnt bad. Not really. Many people had it worse. It just wasnt the kind of life he was meant for.
Compared to the sheer joy of his post-Integration life, this place didnt feel like home at all. It wasunfulfilling. Which was odd, really. Here, he had bills. In the System world, he had interstellar empires after him and the future of Earth on his shoulders.
How come he preferred the latter so clearly? Why did danger feel like his natural environment?
Was I always crazy? he wondered, then smiled. I believe yes.
Suddenly in his lab, Jack wanted to open the window and jump out onto the grass, lay on it and take deep breaths. He wanted to feel the sun on his skin, to relax without having anything to do, to go say hi to his mother.
Mr. Rust? a student said, interrupting his daydreaming.
Jack reoriented on the presentor, at least, what the present looked like. Right, he said, walking to the front of the lab. Remind me, guys. What are we going to do today?
Extract banana DNA, sir, one student said.
Jack nodded. It had only been less than three months since the Integration. He remembered how to do something as simple as that. Right. Lets get started, then.
He wanted to go out and enjoy a day in this world. But, at the same time, there was something nostalgic to teaching this class. He didnt want to betray his past like this. Let the lab pass.
Visions like this were about making the right choice, and Jacks instinct hadnt failed him yet.
Two hours went by slowly, yet quickly at the same time. Jack didnt do much; he simply observed his students, occasionally giving them pointers, correcting their technique, or giving out instructions for the next phase of the experiment. For a one-time thing, this wasnt too bad.
Only towards the end of the lab, when he had already spent more than an hour there, did Jack start to get worried. What if this was the real world? What if the System and everything else were just particularly vivid daydreams? What if he really was stuck here forever?
He suppressed the fear of that thought. Eventually, the lab was over. Jack made sure all the equipment was properly cleaned and stored. When the last student left the lab, politely wishing him goodbye, he turned off the lights and walked through the door himself.
And he was in a cave filled with treasure. He almost stumbled from the instant transition before regaining his bearings. He felt the massive strength coiled in his body, ready to be unleashed. The Dao in his soul; a powerful, revving engine.
He was back.
Before the smile even formed on his face, he had looked around and realized he was alone in the treasure room. Longsword wasnt there. Neither was Bocor. There was nowhere to hide.
Jack was the first out.
His eyes quickly scanned the room, falling on the object that was clearly the most precious. A gray orb on a red, velvet pillow. He could sense that it was scannable, but he didnt read its description. There was no time. Another thought was flashing in his mind, an urge so pressing he didnt bother squeezing it.
Longsword is an enemy. We both know that, and not stealing from the enemy is stupidity, he thought, approaching the velvet pillow. I wouldnt have done this if he trusted me, but since he didnt Well, its a different story.
Of course, if he took the gray orb, Longsword would know. They had all glanced at the treasure room before the mirror activated.
But Jack had an idea. Because, in the hidden pocket behind his left thigh, rested an outwardly similar gray orb, except far less valuable. One called the Ticklish Pebble.
With a swift movement, Jack switched the orbs, sliding the new one in his secret pocket and withdrawing his hand.
What are you doing? a voice came from behind him.
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