The Skeleton Magician’s Play Diary
Vol. 1 - Ch. 8.3 - Enchanted by the Moonlight - Part 3

While he was down, I managed to get up. I was blown away for a while, or I could not move until just now. He was also picking himself up slowly.

 This is where the trap I had set before between the nobleman and me comes. When did I do that, you ask? I did it right before I used the second firewall.

 I had assumed that he would approach me during this time, but I didn't expect it to be effective at the last minute. If it was not for the trap, I couldn't have prevented myself from getting crushed.

"It's always a dead end when a prideful villain does something like that! Hahahaha!"

"Guaaaah!"

 The nobleman who was dragged down to the ground puffed out his throat in anger, trying to use his dragon breath again. But I'm not a fool. I had already thought of a countermeasure for it.

"Hmph, keep sucking on this!"

"Gaga!"

 I shoved the wand into the nobleman's wide-open mouth. This equipment had the lowest performance, but it had an infinite durability value. In other words, it is systemically indestructible. No matter how strong his jaw was, he couldn't bite down on this wand.

"This is next."

"Ggee...ggee?"

 I took out a bottle from storage that contained a poisonous coloured liquid and made the nobleman swallow it through the gap between the wand and his mouth. It was the poison that I had created and synthesized earlier.

 Even though he's a boss, the nobleman doesn't even have a [State Abnormality Resistance], let alone a [State Abnormality Disability]. If that's the case, will he be able to withstand my special poison in its undiluted form?

"Geaaaaah!"

 The nobleman let out a muffled scream. It seemed to have worked after all. Checking the markers, the poison and paralysis icons increased, and the bleeding icon began to flicker strongly. Looks like all the effects of the poison had been exerted. The impact of having him take the undiluted solution ended in my victory.

 ' Oops, the effect of the trap has worn off.'

"Twin traps set, magic circle activated, magic sword!"

 The trap was immediately activated as it was placed right underneath the nobleman twitching at his feet. The contents of the trap are all dark arms. I can also use my remaining magic power to activate the magic sword, but it will need more magic power.

"Perish, you delusion!"

"ggghhhhhh!!!"

 The four dark arms held the nobleman down, and I cut out his heart with the magic sword. The boss, the aristocrat's physical strength bar, was finally shattered.

You have won the battle.

You have passed the "Trial of the Blue Moon". You will receive a reward and 10 SP.

You are the first player to win the "Trial of the Blue Moon". You will receive a reward and 10 SP.

You have successfully conquered the "Trial of the Blue Moon" alone. You will receive a reward and 10 SP.

Successfully completed the first round of the "Trial of the Blue Moon". You will receive a reward and 10 SP.

You have earned the title "The One Who Transcends Trials".

Race level increased. 1 SP gained.

Vocational job level increased. 1 SP gained.

The [wand] level has been increased.

The [Magic Control] level has been increased.

The [Earth Magic] level has been increased.

The [Water Magic] level has been increased.

The [Fire Magic] level has been increased.

Newly learned Fire Pillar and Fire Wave spells.

[Fire Magic] has reached its growth limit. Evolution is possible.

The [Wind Magic] level has been increased.

The [dark magic] level has been increased.

The [no magic] level has been increased.

You have newly learned the Magic Lance and Magic Wave spells.

The [Summoning Technique] level has been increased.

The [Granting Technique] level has been increased.

The [Magic Circle] level has been increased.

The [Necromancy] level has been increased.

The [Spellcraft] level has been increased.

Newly learned the spells of Dissolve and Poison.

The [Trap Magic] level has been increased.

The [Appraisal] level has been increased.

A victory in the boss area allows you to transfer to the respawn point. Use it at your discretion.

I won.

 I'm glad I won. But I feel too tired. I couldn't even laugh as loudly as I did when I won against the evolved Ratman. I was very exhausted. I fell to my knees and collapsed.

"Why... da..."

I heard some noises. When I looked back, it was the Moon Delusion.

 '"...Hey, you're not going away. I stabbed you in the heart, remember?"

"I'm surprised that it hasn't disappeared. Is this a part of the event?"

"Why don't you come to me?" The nobleman asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

It seems like even though I have won the battle, he did not disappear because he is an immortal dead type.

"gag ...?" He looks up as he speaks...

"If I do, the moon will be mine." The nobleman continues.

"Yeah, that's it."

 I decided to say exactly what I was thinking to the foolish man who was limping but still not ready to give up.

"They'll never turn on you if you think you're an object.

"Nah..."

 Before the fight, I had an idea of what this man's story was about. It was "The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter". The man's equipment was the items that Kaguyahime had requested from the nobleman who had asked her to marry him. I assumed that he was the last person to drink the potion of immortality she had left behind. And he has been stuck since then, delusional to meet his Moon.

 Perhaps this nobleman, the "Moon Delusion," couldn't give up on the girl who left him, so he took a secret potion and collected and dedicated all the authentic items she asked for. For him who knows the story of her hardships and tragic end, it is an unbelievable obsession. No wonder he has "delusion" in his name.

"What is it you love about her, anyway? Is it her beauty? Her character? You don't truly love her if you think of her as a thing to love."

"No, no, no..."

"What you are looking for is yourself with a good woman at your side. In other words, what you love is yourself." I added.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

 As soon as the "Moon Delusion" screamed out, it turned ashes. Was this the right thing to do? I just said a rather random and rather clichéd line... Did I hit the nail on the head?

I think I said the right thing at the right time, which made him disappear.

Gained the Unique Ability Skill, [Blessing of Yifa].

 Hmm? The unique skill is [Blessing of Yifa]? Well, Yifa is the goddess who helped me with character creation. She blessed me.

 I've been in her care from the beginning, and I'm grateful for it. But at the same time, I feel as if I am being used for some purpose.

 I don't know the purpose, but I'm just going to play the game the way I want to play it. If I ever get a chance to talk to her face to face, I'll ask her a lot of questions.

 Now, let's go back to the lab. That's it for today; I'm logging out. Tomorrow we'll start with checking the rewards and evolving the ability skills.

I'm looking forward to it!

"Wow. Nice work, Isam!"

 It's been a while. I'm Yifa, the Goddess of Death and Chaos. Today is the first day of the "Trial of the Blue Moon" since the service began. We've been looking forward to seeing someone who would challenge us.

 I am paying special attention to this player, especially since I am the one who helped in the creation. In the game, players of the right level can break through if they move ideally and make more than enough use of their ability skills. Also, if you are a solo player, the demon's stats are reduced more than when you are in a group. That's why you will get a special reward if you are a solo player.

 The average player seems to struggle with demons of the same level, but that's because there is so much weakness in their movements.

 The way to get the Trial of the Blue Moon is simple. And that is for players who are level 15 or above to enter the boss area on the night of the new Moon and go in for a battle. I'm sure players, especially those who are active in verification, will immediately understand the condition.

 And now I'm watching the trials live with Gulnare, the Goddess of War and Victory. I'm watching with her because both of the players we have high hopes for are undergoing the trials. She has a new favourite player now.

I had high hopes for Isam, but I didn't expect him to break through at that level. At the very least, I thought it would be after a period of evolution.

 One of the players I worked on character creation for was Isam. I liked his play style and helped him a lot, but I didn't expect him to get through the trials at level 8, about half the recommended level, and without evolving.

 I also appreciated the fact that he could defeat Moon Delusion, which was bugging me. It made me feel better. I even gave him a special blessing.

"But your favorite is also tremendous. In terms of simple combat power, isn't yours one of the top players?" I asked Gulnare.

"One-on-one fistfights, maybe."

 The player Gulnare has high hopes for is also likely to go through the ordeal solo. And he is also at the same level as Isam.

'He is a fearsome person, isn't he?'

"Whoa! You're clear! I'll give you a blessing too!" Gulnare gave her blessing to her favourite player.

It's over. The opponent was the "Moon Tiger". A demon defeated the challenger with its powerful movements and its ability to manipulate lightning. Unlike the "Moon Delusion" that Isam-sama fought, a test forced him to fight head-on without reinforcements or other tricks.

 The player must have been inferior in every parameter. Still, he managed to do it with his sense of style and competitive instinct. I can see why Gulnare likes it.

 Now, what about the other areas? There are four areas adjacent to Firth, the city of beginnings. The west was defeated by Isam, and the north by Gulnare's favourite. Then, what about the east and South?

The South seems to be... no good. The trial was ongoing in the South.

They're good people, but they made a mistake in the first place.

 It is a group led by a so-called top player that is being tested in the South? Their opponent is "Tsuki Usagi no Kage". It's the weakened alter ego of my cute pet, Pyonkichi. He wields a pestle that is slow but extremely difficult to defend. When his strength is reduced to half, he changes his weapon to a large machete and quickly slashes with it.

 The pestle is avoided, the machete is defended by the wall and the companions' attack in the meantime. This is the optimal solution, but the group's waller could not shield the pestle, and the front line collapsed. Some managed to reduce the number of attacks to half, but they couldn't cope with the increased speed of the big hatchet and lost.

 At the east, the group challenging in the east is also a group of top players. The difference between them and the people in the South is that they, or more precisely the male player who is the leader, is a favourite of the extremely obnoxious goddess Earl, the Goddess of Light and Order.

 There is nothing wrong with the player himself. His words and actions are well-behaved, he's soft with NPCs, and his brain waves don't show any contrary signs. He is like a picture of a good young man. From my point of view, he is a boring honour student.

 His only flaw is that he is as insensitive as the hero of a romantic comedy. All the girls in his group are women, and they are generally beautiful women or beautiful girls. All of them are real beauties with slightly tweaked faces and all of them like him.

 Earl liked him so much, maybe because he saved her congregation many times since the beta test days, and she gave him the blessing before any of us. He even said that he was the one who would bring order to this world.

 What a foolish thing to say. Will order be put in the world? If that happened, all the players would probably leave.

 Players are looking for stimulation in this world that is not found in reality. To achieve this, unrealistic chaos, elements that cannot be experienced in reality are essential. It would be foolish to try to erase it.

"At this rate... My favorite player is gonna win."

 The test of the east is the "Moon No Evil Fairy". It's a tricky boss who fights with its flying ability and has quick movements due to its small body and powerful magic. He attacks with a non-attribute attack when his health is at 50% and 30%. If the vanguard isn't careful, he can easily eradicate them all... but he's getting around well.

 The brave warrior from the east was also hit, the knight with his high defence, the bandit who keeps the fairies in his sights with his quick movements, the warrior with his precise swordplay, the sorcerer with his firepower and magic, and the priest with his perfect grasp of everyone's physical strength. The coordination of the six of them is honestly worthy of praise.

"Three out of four groups made it through? I thought I made the difficulty level higher, but did I not adjust it enough?" said Gulnare.

 Originally, this was one of the most difficult quests, with a breakthrough rate of less than 10%. The title of "Overcoming the Trials" carries that much weight. And yet, of the total of 14 people who attempted the quest, only 8 made it through. That's less than 70% of the total. That's much more than we had originally planned. This is a serious problem.

It's too early to judge from this. All of the players who broke through are players that we goddesses favour.

"...well, yes."

 I'm sorry if I was a bit distracting. Let's give it a few more tries. Now that the ordeal seems to be over, let's return to our normal duties until additional people appear to challenge us.

 The most famous among ordinary players is the Goddess of Light and Order. This is because there is a large temple dedicated to her in the city of Firth.

 And, there is a reason why a main character's level is up by only 1. This is because the amount of experience you get from these trials is only the same as the amount of experience you get from the field bosses you were originally supposed to fight in that area.

 This may seem like a harsh specification, but it is balanced out by the reward items. (If anything, the items are like official cheats.)

 The producer of the ordeal (the goddess) tends to say that if you raise a player's level too high, who can only pass the severe ordeal at a low level, the game will become boring for that person for a while.

Name: Isam

Race: Moving Skeleton Lv9 up!

Occupation: Apprentice Magician Lv9 up!

Title: Seeker of the Truth

   Those who have earned the title

   The heretic

   Juniors dominating seniors

   Ingenious scheme

   The One Who Transcends Trials new!

Ability Skill: Remaining SP 148

   [Wand] Lv12 up!

   [Magic Control] Lv14 up!

   [Earth Magic] Lv9 up!

   [Water Magic] Lv.9 up!

   [Fire Magic] Lv10 max!

   [Wind Magic] Lv9 up!

   [Dark Magic] Lv1 up!

   [No Magic] Lv10 max!

   [Summoning Technique] Lv.9 up!

   [Granting Technique] Lv6 up!

   [Magic Circle] Lv8 up!

   [Deadly Magic] Lv6 up!

   [Spellcraft] Lv5 up!

   [Trap Magic] Lv6 up!

   [Archaeology] Lv7

   [Linguistics] Lv5

   [Pharmacy] Lv7

   [Alchemy] Lv7

   [Appraisal] Lv.9 up!

   [Night Vision] Lv-.

   [Covert] Lv9

   [Stealthy Footsteps] Lv8

   [Surprise Attack] Lv6

   [State Abnormality Disable] Lv-

   [Light Attribute Vulnerability] Lv6

   [Vulnerable to Blow] Lv10

Specific Ability Unique Skill

   The blessing of Yifa.