Chapter Illusory Realm
It was nearing noon. Elysia had just finished her physical training routine. She ends up lying limp on the beach sand, and Rhea comes to her aid.
"Here, your daily supplement dose. Please say aah~" Rhea fed Elysia three physical strengthening pills like yesterday.
Elysia just opened her mouth and let herself be under Rhea"s care. She still couldn"t move her body for a while.
"Thank you." Elysia heaved a sigh of relief, and Rhea responded with a tender smile. She then turned to the side. The laughter of the girls sounded like they were having fun.
Sure enough, the Saint-level girls were playing beach volleyball over there, two against two and only wearing bikinis for some reason.
"..." Elysia didn"t know whether to be jealous or what. The four girls once again completed the physical training target quickly and easily.
"They"re just having fun while waiting for the mental and spiritual training to start. Would you like to play beach volleyball with them?" Rhea turned to where Elysia was looking.
"It"s okay. I"m not in the mood to play beach volleyball. Oww, healing magic..." Elysia healed her aching body with magic. She then went to sit down. Ella and Evelyn had the same fate as her. For some reason, she felt somewhat relieved to see that she had comrades.
"Phew..." Elysia breathed a sigh of relief, and Elena came closer to her.
However, Nell suddenly contacted her via telepathy. "Ely, I"ve finished my task. Please open a portal for me."
"Mm, okay. We have just finished our physical training. Please wait a moment." Elysia tried to stand up, but she staggered. She needed Rhea"s help to stand up straight.
"Please take me to the realm"s portal." Elysia asked Rhea and Elena.
"Sure thing. She just came back, hmm? Let"s go over there." Elena nodded and wrapped her arms around Elysia"s waist. She then took off flying after giving Rhea some eye contact.
"Mother, I will accompany Elysia." Rhea waved her hand to her mother.
"Alright, I"ll take care of Evelyn and Ella." Lifa raised her palm in reply.
"Hmm~ You"ve received some healing magic. Please wait a few minutes, and everything will be fine." Lifa checked Ella and Evelyn"s condition. They were so exhausted and a bit battered.
"Huff, um..." Evelyn just nodded between her panting.
It was just a devilish and h.e.l.lish physical training she won"t lose. But, the ones who trained them were G.o.ddesses. So, that was actually "G.o.dly" training!? Evelyn widened her eyes when she realized that.
"I"m back!" Nell raised her hand in greeting.
"Mm, welcome back. Come in quickly." Elena beckoned for Nell to enter the portal.
"Hoho, you look so exhausted, Ely. Hm-mm~ But the effects can be seen well. I reckon that at the end of this physical training, your physical ability will be on par with someone two ranks above you." Nell flew around Elysia to confirm a few things.
"Hehe, thank you." Elysia patched up the layered barrier and temporarily closed the realm"s portal. A mark was left on the ground, and they flew back to the beach.
"It"s time for lunch. After that, we will have spiritual and mental training. I have no idea what kind of practice Madam Lifa was talking about earlier. Can I get some enlightenment?" Elysia looked into Rhea and Nell"s faces with a curious expression.
"Hmm, that will be explained in detail later. However, allow me to explain a bit. It is an exercise in the subconscious where only your spirit is involved. A supernatural formation will send your spirit to an Illusory Realm within your body, and you are required to complete a trial. The difficulty level is adjusted, but what kind of trial you will encounter is based on your subconscious, which will be strengthened with illusions. Do you understand what I"m talking about, Master Elysia?" Rhea explained a bit, but she felt Elysia didn"t understand what she was saying.
"Even though it sounds simple and just an illusion, never underestimate an exercise like this. I used to have a hard time because of it. The illusions are real, and your spirit can get hurt too if you"re not careful in your trial. by your heart demon, alter ego, or even the unknown." Nell reminded Elysia sternly. She shuddered a little as she imagined what she had encountered during her trials in the past.
"I see, so illusions and trials involving spirits, hmm... Looks like I"ll be partic.i.p.ating, but not now. Please do your best, Ely!" Elena patted Elysia"s back for encouragement.
"I will do my best!" Elysia answered with pa.s.sion. She wondered about who she would encounter in her spiritual trial later.
"Whether it"s your heart demon, alter ego, or even me, you must defeat them all, Ely. I feel this trial is not that simple, and you will usually face a difficult situation. Please prepare yourself mentally and strengthen your resolve, Ely." Elena commented based on her hunch and opinion.
"Mm." Elysia understood that.
"Since it"s for your good, I can"t help you in your trial. I"d better ask Lifa the details later." Elena suddenly had a strange premonition. She decided to dig deeper in case something untoward happened.
Elysia just nodded, and they finally arrived at the beach. The girls waved their hands to Elysia and company to inform them that lunch was ready. Their lunch was pretty simple, consisting of fruits and vegetables like yesterday. It was more than enough to meet their daily needs.
"Phew... Even though it"s spring on the Human Continent and Devil Continent, it"s summertime here!" Sylvia ate a piece of watermelon and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had a lot of fun, unlike Elysia and her two human friends.
"I think it"s still winter in my homeland. For the Elven Continent, Fairy Continent, and Dwarven Continent... Hm, it"s already summer there, I guess." Lynn tapped her cheek with her finger.
"Beast Continent is still spring. Uuu, why do I have to wear underwear like this? Can I put my dress back on?" Vanessa covered her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with her hands shyly as her master stared at her.
"That"s a bikini, not underwear, Vann. It"s a dress code for playing on the beach. Wait, you usually don"t wear any clothes when you"re a little cat or a winged tiger, right? Exhibitionist is shy now?" Sylvia checked Vanessa up and down. "Anyway, you have a nice and curvaceous body."
"When we use our beast form, we have fur instead of our clothes. The game is over. Let"s change our clothes. After this is spiritual and mental training, right?" Yuuki tried to clear up the misunderstanding. She took Vanessa"s hand and got up from the bench.
"Master, we excused ourselves for a moment to change clothes." Yuuki asked Elysia for permission, and Vanessa nodded in agreement.
"Sure, you may put on your dress. Hmm, your bikini is a bit covered in sand. You should change your underwear too. Please wear comfortable clothes." Elysia gave her consent with a few additional suggestions.
"Okay~" Vanessa curved her lips up like a cat. She went with Yuuki to their portable wooden house. Lynn decided to come along too.
"Eh? Hey, wait for me!" Sylvia looked left and right. She was the only one wearing a bikini. Therefore, she rushed to the wooden house to change her clothes too.
"The spirit of youth. Hum, may I know if everyone has the opportunity to take part in spiritual and mental training? I hope to take part in such a trial to measure the level of my inner strength." Theo made his request to the G.o.ddesses.
"You can partic.i.p.ate in my trial, but you must wait for tomorrow. I only prepared enough formations for the girls." Lifa rested her cheek against her hand while glancing at Elena. She actually made an extra one, but it was already taken by Elena.
"Tomorrow? All right. If possible, can you please make one more for my wife too? I heard some things from Vanessa, and we hope to know the limits of our capabilities against mental attacks for the Unknown Continent." Theo scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.
"Don"t be shy about asking. This is just a lower stage trial of the subconscious illusion. Everyone can partic.i.p.ate tomorrow, including you, Gio." Lifa patted the little earth dragon on the back.
"Hmm?" Gio had no idea regarding the trial in question, but he would do as his master or grandmaster instructed. He then devoured his delicious fruit to replenish his energy.
"Are we going to have that practice on this beach?" Elysia raised her hand.
"No, we"ll host it there." Lifa pointed in a direction. It was just a flat piece of land with thin gra.s.s on it.
"I see..." Elysia nodded in understanding. She then turned to her friends. "Are you feeling nervous?"
"No, Ely. It was just a little bit, but that was it." Evelyn shook her head.
"Mm, thanks for your concern, Ely. I was nervous before, but not anymore." Ella replied with a gentle smile.
A few moments later, Sylvia and the others came back in neat clothes. Everyone went to the trial spot because the practice to strengthen the spirit and mental strength was about to begin.
"Please lie down in the circle in the most comfortable position. This formation will send you to your subconscious, more precisely, to the Illusory Realm under your subconscious. You will face levels one to three in this lower stage difficulty. What you will encounter is unpredictable because it comes from you personally. You can only get out of that artificial realm if you are half dead or finish at least level two. Are you ready?" Lifa gave brief instructions regarding her trial.
"Mm, so we"ll be fine if we get injured in that artificial realm?" Elysia asked quickly. She and the girls lay in the provided spot, lined up like fish to be dried under the sun.
"Yes, it won"t affect you, but you will receive a heavy mental backlash if you die in the Illusory Realm. My formation will forcibly pull you out if you are half-dead to minimize the negative effects. So, think of this as a real battle where your life is at stake. You can close your eyes when you are ready, and there are no more questions. I"ll start the formation in a minute." Lifa went to re-check all the formations she had just put up.
"Hehe, we just need to enter the Illusory Realm, beat whoever we meet and come out victorious. However, it will be a bit complicated if there are extras like mysteries, puzzles, or story events." Sylvia gave a thumbs up to the girls around her. She was so excited to undergo her trials and ordeals.
"I will monitor the course of everything. Please start the formation now. Girls, this is no ordinary practice. Be careful." Elena stuck a large umbrella into the ground to protect the girls from the sunlight. She had more worries for Elysia, but she chose to give Elysia more room to grow.