Someone was shouting when I stepped out into the hallway.
"I already told you! I didn’t cheat on you!"
That was Celine.
I moved closer and peeked around the corner, where I found Celine standing outside her room, glaring at a man with the same dark hair as mine.
My uncle.
The bedroom door behind him was wide open, its handle having punched a dent into the wall.
’So that’s what made that noise.’
"Then why would someone tell me you were seeing another man?" he asked, raising his voice.
"How would I know?! Maybe because they’re lying!"
"Then explain why they would make something like that up!"
"Why don’t you ask them instead of accusing your own wife?!"
Dex opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Honestly, I had no idea which of them was telling the truth. I didn’t know her well enough yet to say whether she would cheat on him.
They started arguing again, and from the look on his face, he was close to hitting her.
I considered stepping in, but getting involved in someone else’s marital problems sounded like a terrible idea.
Before deciding what to do, I checked his stats.
Name: Dex Park
— Personal Attributes —
Strength: B
Agility: B
Stamina: B
Intelligence: C+
Charisma: C+
— Special Traits —
(Not enough authority)
’Is this for real?’
Those stats didn’t fit him at all.
B in Strength, Agility, and Stamina? Those were the kinds of numbers I’d expect from an athlete, not an office worker.
He wasn’t particularly muscular, either. Sure, he was in decent shape, but nothing about his appearance suggested he was that strong.
’Either his job description is bullshit, or there’s something seriously wrong with this guy.’
Dex clenched his fists, then looked away and took a deep breath.
"Look, Celine..." Dex sighed. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have believed those rumors."
"You should’ve trusted me instead of listening to those rumors!"
"I know. It won’t happen again."
He stepped closer and took her hand. She looked annoyed but didn’t pull away.
’Well, that ended faster than expected. Did he actually believe her? Who knows?’
Not that I cared. As long as their marriage stayed intact until I finished my mission, they could argue all they wanted.
Fortunately, my uncle seemed willing to back down. His ridiculous attributes, though, were another matter.
’Just what the hell is this guy hiding?’
With the argument finally over, I slipped away to my room, dropped onto the bed, and stared out the window.
In the novels I read, protagonists usually celebrated after transmigrating. Most of them had miserable lives anyway, so getting a fresh start was practically a blessing.
But me? I had good friends, a loving family, and women who loved me. Sure, I screwed up plenty of times, but I was happy.
’Would I ever be able to go back?’
Maybe it was impossible, but I wasn’t ready to give up on my old life just yet.
And if there was even the slightest chance, I’d need to become stronger.
That reminded me of Lemegeton. I’d leveled up earlier, so maybe the damn book would finally let me read it.
"Lemegeton."
The gray book appeared in my hand.
[Based on the host’s current level, 1% of Lemegeton is now accessible.]
I reached for the cover.
[Warning: The host’s current attributes are below the recommended threshold.]
My hand stopped.
[Proceed?]
A reasonable person would’ve put the book away and waited until they were stronger.
But Dex’s stats flashed through my mind.
The idea of being defenseless with someone that strong living under the same roof didn’t sit right with me.
Besides, how bad could one percent be?
I pulled the cover open, expecting to finally see what all the fuss was about.
Instead, a blinding light hit me straight in the face.
"What the—?!"
When my vision came back, I found myself surrounded by rock. The ground beneath my feet was cold, and I couldn’t see more than a few steps ahead.
’What is this place?’
There was nothing behind me except a wall, so I started walking.
Several minutes passed without any sign of an exit.
’Seriously? Couldn’t the System just hand me a power on a silver platter for once?’
As if answering my complaint, a faint light appeared ahead.
’Finally!’
The light grew brighter as I approached, eventually leading me into a small chamber. Hundreds of candles lined the rocky walls, illuminating a statue in the middle.
It depicted an old man with a face that screamed evil bastard. A long beard hung down his chest, and he sat on a strange-looking horse, holding a weapon that looked like a cross between a lance and a scythe.
’Guess someone couldn’t decide and went with both.’
The whole thing looked suspicious, but with nothing else to investigate, I approached it.
Crack!
The statue swung its weapon at me.
"SHIT!"
I tried to dodge, but the weapon tore through my neck before I could even react.
The world flipped upside down, and my headless body came into view.
’H...How?’
I blinked, only to find myself standing in front of the statue again.
Everything was exactly the same.
There wasn’t even any blood on the floor.
But I could still vividly remember being killed.
My hand instinctively went to my neck.
"What happened—"
Slash!
Pain.
Then I was back again.
Cold sweat crawled down my back. The second strike hurt even more because I knew exactly what was coming.
’If I don’t figure this out, I’m going to be stuck here forever.’
There had to be a way out. Unless the System’s entire purpose was to fuck with me. In that case, it was working really well.
Crack!
The statue moved again.
I threw myself downward.
Then the blade clipped my mouth, sliced through my tongue, and punched through the back of my skull.
So much for avoiding death.
Apparently, even the slightest movement triggered the attack. So I tried standing completely still.
That bought me a few extra seconds.
Then the bastard killed me anyway. A few attempts later, I couldn’t even breathe too hard without setting it off.
How many times was that now?
Ten? Twenty?
I stopped counting.
"Fuck this trial."
SLASH!
I raised my middle finger.
"Fuck you."
SLASH!
"You ugly piece-of-shit statue!"
I kept cursing until I ran out of real insults and started making up new ones.
By the time I stopped, I was exhausted and barely keeping myself together.
’Maybe I’ve got it wrong?’
All this time, I’d been trying to avoid the statue’s attacks without bothering to examine the damn thing.
That’s when I noticed strange symbols carved into its surface.
’Wait. My right eye!’
How the hell did I forget about it?
I took a deep breath and activated my ability.
[Demon Language Detected.]
[Translation available.]
The ignorant man is ruled by what he sees.
The wise man questions what he sees.
The powerful man dictates what he sees.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
I thought back to everything that had happened since entering this place.
I’d been decapitated more times than I could count, yet somehow, I kept coming back without a single injury. Even the blood disappeared.
Maybe the point wasn’t to avoid getting killed. Maybe I was supposed to question whether any of this was real in the first place.
’Wait a minute.’
The ignorant man was ruled by what he saw. That was me when I kept trying to dodge the statue.
The wise man questioned what he saw. And that was exactly what I was doing now.
And the powerful man...
’Dictates what he sees.’
If I understood that correctly, the next step wasn’t just questioning this place. It was changing it.
’Could this be a nightmare or a dream?’
If it was, then I didn’t have to play by the normal rules.
Only one way to test that.
Closing my eyes, I imagined myself as a superhero, complete with superhuman strength, speed, and all the ridiculous powers that came with it.
Nothing happened.
Maybe I was aiming too high?
Fine. How about something more familiar? Like my original body.
A new sensation slowly spread through me, like stepping into an elevator and feeling it suddenly shoot upward.
"It worked."
I couldn’t see my face, but I knew the feeling.
My stomach was gone, my arms felt lighter, and for the first time since arriving in this world, my body finally felt like mine again. Along with it came the kind of confidence that made me think every woman who looked my way was a second away from needing a fresh pair of panties.
crack!
The statue moved again, its weapon swinging straight for my neck.
"Not this time."
I tilted my head just enough for the blade to skim past me, then dropped into a roll as the horse charged forward.
Just as I’d suspected, the first strike was only the beginning.
SLASH!
Another swing came from the opposite direction, forcing me to duck under it before twisting away from the next.
SLASH!
The blade missed my chest by inches.
For the first time since entering this godforsaken place, I wasn’t reacting out of desperation.
I was in control.
"Not so scary when I can actually move, huh?"
The statue paused.
"Is it over?"
Slowly, it raised its head and grinned at me.