Into the Illusion Realm

"Alright, since you already know what the purpose of this room is, I'll just briefly explain your mission. An enchantress who is keen on beauty fell in love with a knight who is fifty years old in age and wanted to restore him back to his prime age. By doing this, she needed to manipulate an element not compatible with her body.

You'll be entering the illusion and try to analyze what happens to the witch when she uses a different element and stop her from doing it. Be reminded that your method of solution will be graded by me so try and explore the story as much as possible before coming to a conclusion," By saying so, Letia opened the marble doors and Artemis could see the blank white space inside with only a purple floating sphere in the middle.

So, it was an illusion room. Artemis was very excited at the thought of such possibilities. This will be the first time she truly experiences high-quality magic. One by one, the pairs disappeared into nowhere as they touched the sphere and it was soon their turn. She looked at Ian who was nonchalantly waiting in line. And feeling her gaze, he turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"No… It's nothing, Your Highness."

Ian went silent before opening his mouth, "…You seem excited at this."

Artemis could only nod her head, "Truly. The story this time intrigues me."

"I see."

Only after a few more students, they were finally standing in front of the sphere and Artemis got a more detailed look at it. The purplish-blue haze that swirled inside the crystal sphere reminded her of a galaxy dotted with tiny stars. As soon as her hands touched the ball, an electrifying sensation traveled up from her palms up to her body and she shuddered at the unfamiliar feeling. A hot and cold stream circled around her body before she felt nauseating dizziness hit her. Her vision warped and swirled.

The moment her vision cleared, a hail was violently pouring down the ground and painfully hit her body with each drop of rain. Thunder struck with terrifying force and the dark forest occasionally lit up. She found herself standing in a humid forest, muddy ground that had the heels of her boots submerged in the gritty muck. The pouring rain quickly lowered her temperature and her uniform uncomfortably stuck on her body.

Such realistic sensation and feelings made Artemis forget that this was even an illusion realm. She looked around and in the distance of the foggy forest found a spot of silver-colored hair that was faintly reflecting the lights that escaped the dense condensation of leaves. With no hesitation, Artemis ran up to Ian and found him hiding behind a tree looking at something.

"You're here," Ian whispered without looking at her. His gaze was fully concentrated at a specific location away from them.

Artemis nodded her head before futilely trying to wipe her drenched face and fixing her hair, "What's happening?"

"Look at that."

Artemis peeked at the direction his eyes were pointing by and saw a scene that looked like it was straight out of a horror movie. In the dim light with thunder occasionally striking, a shadowed figure was busy digging up the dirt with hurried movements before picking up a large object that seemed like… a body.

She took in a deep breath as she watched the man viciously throw the body down the hole he made without hesitation. Caught by surprise, she could only look at Ian with troubled eyes when she saw him holding a rectangular jade pointing the rear end at the scene. With one look, she could immediately recognize the object as the recording-jade box she saw when a knight was inspecting the training grounds back in the manor.

Just like a CCTV, the recording jade-box was capable of capturing scenes with its rear end that had a magic crystal engineered to preserve memories. By simply supplying it with magic spirit, it would immediately work. Artemis was impressed by his quick thinking. The illusion realm that they were in was designed by the academy for school activities such as the one Letia gave them.

And because of this, it was obvious that every scene that they were presented with was somehow connected to the task at question. If other students were suddenly faced with a quick change in surroundings, they won't be able to think of recording what was before them but rather analyze the scenario first. What Ian did by recording the scene could only be described as incredible. By doing this, they may be able to save a lot of problems later if this scene was presented as evidence for future situations.

Artemis quietly watched him record the entire thing and her gaze turned to the man who was doing such a horrifying act. Because of the poor lighting in the surroundings, she could not get a detailed look but rather spots of his appearance only. It was evident that he was a man in his fifties; with a huge body and buffed muscles. He was wearing a set of drenched simple black robes with sleeves that were rolled up all the way to his shoulders and showcased his bulging arm. In his arm was an eye-catching laceration scar.

Soon, the man had finished burying the body before quickly fleeing the scene in fear of someone witnessing. The moment the man was gone, Artemis let go of the breath she didn't know she was holding and patted her chest.

Ian who was quietly fiddling with the recording jade turned to talk to her before his gaze suddenly looked down and he stiffened up. His ears which were pale from the cold noticeably reddened in fluster as if all his blood had reached up to it. With quick movements, he turned around and handed her a cape that he got out of his bag.

"…clothes," He mumbled under his breath, barely sound. Even he could feel the abnormal heat coming from the tip of his ears and realizing this, it heated up even further. Ian closed his eyes to try and calm down his awkwardness and took in several deep breaths. Never in his life had he expected to suddenly be faced with such a situation. His mentality which he was proud of was not prepared for such a moment.

Artemis dumbfoundedly grabbed the cape and it took her a few seconds to process just what was happening. The moment she realized so, a long string of curses almost leaped out of her mouth. She looked down her chest and found her whole clothes drenched and stuck to her body. It was a good thing that a layer of clothing covered most of her breasts as only a small portion was seen and only her collarbone sticking out. Still, even with such protection, her body which had developed all throughout her nineteen years looked indecent.

She could feel her whole face heat up in embarrassment but it was a good thing that she was good at hiding her expression. She quickly put on an impassive one and acted as if it was nothing. With trembling hands, she took the cape and hurriedly tied it on her, "Thanks."

"No problem," Ian replied with abnormal speed and he coughed. An awkward tension was felt in the air and the pair found it hard to start a conversation. They both ended up in the shelter of an ancient tree. In the end, Artemis took the bait and spoke first.

"What about you, Your Highness?"

"I'm alright. I wield fire so my body is naturally warm. As for you, I suspect it's easier to catch a cold if your element is light."

"Oh…" Artemis pathetically responded.

"…We should quickly follow the man and try to get clues from him on where to go next," She suggested when she realized it was about to turn awkward once again.

"Sure," Ian nodded his head unwilling to make eye contact. They traversed down the unfamiliar forest with unexpected ease even with the pouring rain blocking most of their vision as they quietly followed the man who was making his way to a small town on the distance. The moment they reached the gates of the town which had two guards dozing in and out of sleep, the sun had already disappeared and was replaced by the silver light of the moon which hung high upon the starry night.