Of course, it can't be that easy.

Aeryth told herself. It was a treasure that was worth at least a hundred thousand jades. It can't be that easy. Yet, her heart drowned. She barely held back from hurling curses at this stupid grey door, but she punched, hoping it would break. It didn't. Her fingers ached.

"Another key," Sera hissed. "What should we do?"

"I don't know. I have no clue where that is. I want to sleep." She muttered, her consciousness sunk deeper into the abyss as if all the energy in her body had vanished.

She turned. And walked. And kept walking, without looking back. Sera might've called her, but she didn't hear anything in her water-filled ears. It's fine. I'll sell this artifact. I don't need it. If that woman didn't want it to be sold, she could've made other things easier. I don't care anymore.

Her fist clenched. The idea of selling something precious to a dead person revolted her to her core.

"Will you stop!" Sera grabbed Aeryth's shoulder and jerked her out of the daydream.

"Stay away from me," Aeryth slapped away Sera's hand. "I don't want to hear any of it. There's no treasure! Just doors. So many fucking doors! Why!" She screamed.

Her eyes were burning, tears threatened, but she held herself for now.

"Aeryth..." Sera was quiet for a moment. "Let's ask Mr. Tor tomorrow morning. There's no need to rush. I'll come along with you. It should be somewhere in the library. We are one step closer, what's the rush? You said it yourself, we gotta do the tedious part to get the benefit, and there's really a treasure. What's there to be down about."

All the secrets of the library are within the library.

She remembered those words. The last straw, she could only hold onto it and then let herself be drawn in self-pity and loathing.

Aeryth took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry. I was just frustrated..."

"It's fine. Even if it didn't seem much, you're just tired. It gets the best of use. Take a deep breath, and look on the brighter side."

Aeryth did. "The note said everything is within the library, so it should be somewhere here. You've already done enough; you should take a rest while I search for it. I'll let you know if I find something, and if I don't, we'll go to Mr. Tor."

"Na ah, I'll also look for it," Sera said with a smile. Aeryth felt her heart clench. How did Sera have so much strength? Unlike her.

It was early in the morning. Aeryth had gone through every section of the library. But there was nothing. No clue about the black key.

"Aeryth!" Sera shouted from the ground floor.

Aerty walked over to the trap door that was used to pass the books without having to go down the stairs each time. Weirdly rectangular. "Did you find something?"

"No. What about you?"

Aeryth shook her head. She was calmer now. But the despair bubbling in her stomach was painful. Sera seemed so free of tension that Aeryth was jealous of her. Why couldn't she be like that?

Aeryth blinked as looked at Sera, or rather the marble floor beneath her. "Sera, would you mind moving to the left."

Sera did. Her brows shot up in confusion.

"We found the key." Aeryth breathed out loud. Her heart soared, filled with excited air.

"Where?" Sera asked, "Did I help?"

"You did," Aeryth whispered. She still couldn't believe it was the end of her troubles. There will be another door.

Aeryth didn't dare to move away, lest she missed it. "Can you bring that blank frame behind the counter? The empty one."

"Roger that," Sera saluted.

Her eyes trained on marble vines that vaguely resembled a key.

Are you blessed by the destiny? If so, reach in and take a hold of it.

In. Aeryth held on to the hope it meant literally.

"Here you go," Sera had it in her hand. "What should I do?"

"I think it is eerily the size of this trap door. Can you bring it up," Aeryth said.

Sera nodded. She came up the stairs, as Aeryth moved slightly to give her space. Sera placed it on the trap door.

Nothing happened. She didn't let it discourage her.

She leaned over and peeked directly through the mirror. The mirror showed the key perfectly encapsulated in the portrait, cradled by the black vines. Aeryth hesitantly reached into the frame glass. Her hand sank like it was a puddle of water.

The key distorted. So did everything else in the view. But, her finger felt it. Gently wrapped around it. Aeryth pulled out her clenched hand. She stumbled back, falling on her back. The soft carpet didn't hurt. Her heart thumped.

She laughed out—loud and wild. A relief and another dread coiled in her stomach. What if there were more doors? Still, one step closer, she was.

One step closer to the power she so desperately needed. One step closer to becoming a normal human again. To gain control over her emotions. To be herself again, one that was so confident and always smiling. Just a little more, and I'll be fine again.

"You alright?" Sera asked, genuinely worried.

"I'm fine. Let's go up again."

Sera nodded.

They looked at each other and made a silent agreement. "This time, you'll open it."

"What?"

"I am cursed with misfortune, so you should be the one to open it. Maybe we won't face another challenge then."

At this point, Aeryth couldn't deny that if not for Sera, she would've never found it. And it bothered her. As it should. She shouldn't need someone else to help her. Still, she was glad Sera was here. Her emotions were a jumbled mess. The relief that someone was here to help her, and the dread that someone was here to help her, both ached her heart.

Don't be relieved. She'll leave. The angry Aeryth inside her growled.

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The door slid to the side. They walked in.

There was another door. Another white door.

It's fine. We can find another key. It's nothing to worry about.

Aeryth held the handle and twisted it. It opened with a click. A relief washed over her as they walked into what seemed like a garden.

At the center of the garden, four paths from each direction leading up to a Tearoom. Opened from all sides, it was beige and made of polished wood. It held the same nostalgic air as the bedroom.

They approached it in silence.

On the round table in the center, among the empty tea cups, a note lay, tucked in by a saucer.

"Another note?"

"Yeah. Do you know who Celine is?" Aeryth asked.

"No idea. Must be a great mage, if she created all this weird and wacky puzzle."

"Yeah," Aeryth picked up the note.

This part of the trial was pure luck. As much as people deny it, there is a factor of luck and fortune in the path of every wise sage, a ruler, or a decrepit, senile old man, who is better off dead. I am not the one to deny it. This trial was just that. Are you fortunate enough to stand at the right place at the right time, of course, with a calmer mind to remember those keywords I've left?

You're here, so the answer is yes. It's not a debate if you're a lucky person. Luck is a factor for each event separately, after all. You could've lost your entire worth on a gambling bet, but the probability you'll win the next one is still the same as if the previous one never happened.

In this instance, fate has chosen you to be here, perhaps, it's a reward, or maybe it is to lead to a greater tragedy. One day, you might look back at this point, and say this was the unlikiest happening of your life, but for now, at the juncture, you're blessed by fate to consider yourself fortunate.

Anyways, that's a tangent, I wish not to talk about. If you're here, there's a high probability you've met Tor, perhaps, even gotten to know that rude old dwarf. And might even have beliefs similar to his, and that might create a rift between us, so we'll no longer talk of luck and fate, a fickle thing they are. Let's focus on something a little more cogent.

Finding this place: The Garden of Euphony, means one thing. You're chosen as worthy of inheritance of The Adventure House. It was my idiosyncrasy, that as time went on, and I learned, I could recreate it in reality through various means. So I did. You must've found the bedroom by now. It is the only part of the house that just has one purpose: To rest.

While all of the other rooms of the house are magic realms capable of many things. From entrapping someone for an eternity to creating a safe haven. In the Lesterforge, I've only left one part of it. The bedroom. The rest are scattered around The ------ -- --------.**

Ask Tor for the next piece of clue. He was a dear friend. So I entrusted him to judge if the person who finds it is worthy of my inheritance. Because this trial does not elude to your character other than you have a great many friends, or a greater perseverance and persistence. No one of those equates to you not using my power, an idiosyncrasy that I spent a lifetime cherishing to use for vile intents.

Well done, reaching this place. It's the garden. It does not exist separately. You can come here every time you find a room in the house, but to claim the garden, you must have the entire house.

But this took some effort, so I have a gift for you. Claim it after you accept the trial.

Aeryth stopped reading.

"Waoh, that's a mouthful. A magical house. I am so excited to see what the rest of it would look like." Sera paused. "Only you can find it, so when you do, be sure to return and show it to me, alright?"

"Yeah," Aeryth smiled. "I'll be sure to show you if I find it."

[Trial of the time Witch: The Adventure house is available, do you wish to accept it?]

Aeryth gave a mental affirmation.

[Trial Accepted.

Completion: 10%

Claimed: The Bedroom

Claimable: The Lumenstone Lance

Next Target: Unavailable (Talk to Tor.)]

"There's a floating window in front of me that tells me my progress," Aeryth said aloud. "And even the fact I need to talk to Tor."

"Yeah, it's like a stripped-to-bone dairy-like thing. Quest interface, we call it. Once you awaken and follow a path, you'll get a lot of path quests."

Aeryth nodded. She knew about the paths. But, it was not of any importance right now. "I see. It also says we can claim a lance... that must be the treasure."

Aeryth noticed Sera's expression visibly drown. "Oh."

"You don't seem as excited as I thought you'd be," Aeryth asked.

"Oh, it's just... I thought we'd be carrying a treasure chest full of gold or something."

Aeryth sighed. "Really...? Why does it matter as long as we can sell it for money? It must be a rare-grade weapon, right?"

Hearing Aeryth's words, Sera perked up. "Oh, Oh, rare-grade weapon... I cannot wait. Where is it?"

"It didn't say where we can claim it," Aeryth said.

"It should be around here, somewhere. Let's search."

The garden was huge. There were a lot of statues of figures in one of the sections, clad in fashionable clothes, carrying weapons. The flower hedges were a beauty to behold.

After some walking. They saw a statue, holding a lance. It was made of steel, with a glowing blue large spearhead which was not at all connected to the steel base in any manner.

"Woah," Sera rushed to it, excitedly. But stopped. "Wait, this statue is no different than the others. If this is claimable now, does that mean, you will get each and every one of these at some point?"

Aeryth looked around the room. There were fourteen figures, each holding a weapon of their own.

"I guess..." Aeryth said. She couldn't even begin to fathom how much effort each of these trials would take. Celine even mentioned she didn't make this one complicated. So assuming others would be worse was for the best.

"It's probably impossible to get all of these, even the next one if you ask me," Sera said, "If this was for the fledgling who was not proficient in magic, then I don't even begin to imagine what this person might expect from someone who knew magic."

"Probably to kill a dragon just by looking at it."

Aeryth approached the dais. It was two steps above the ground. She held the cold metal.

[If you take the statue, this place will collapse, and you'll return to the real world.]

"We'll leave this place if I claim it."

"We didn't miss anything, I think. So might as well leave."

"Right," Aeryth nudged the spear out of the hand of the man who almost was three feet taller than her. On his hand, the lance suited. On her hand? It would be lacking. "I don't understand one thing. Why did I get a system prompt, but you did not? Your contribution shouldn't have been ignored."

"Who cared about that, let's hurry."

"I do," Aeryth said. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You did receive the prompt... Otherwise, you'd have been curious about it too. Weirdly, you're dismissive of something mysterious and unordinary."

"I did. So what? I, of course, refused it. I don't want you to share this with me." Sera's voice was quick, "It's your treasure, Aeryth. I just wanted to enjoy the ride for a little while. But, it's not mine. "

Aeryth's jaw clenched. *We could've found all of them together. No, I am foolish for thinking that. She's going to leave, just like everyone.

"Thank you," Aeryth muttered. "I'll be sure to repay you for everything."

"Hey! Don't get so angry. I already have everything I want. Why would I try to hog a treasure you found."

"I am not angry."

"You are!" Sera screamed back. "Why are you angry? I didn't want you to feel burdened, so I hid the fact. What's the big deal about it?"

"And I said I will repay for your kindness. I am not angry!"

Sera recoiled at her high-pitched scream. "I am stupid. If you don't tell me why you're angry. I will not understand. Please, Aeryth, just tell me."

Aeryth sniffed. "It's nothing. I am... just a selfish and self-centered prick. I only care about myself. So I am angry that you didn't think what I think. It's stupid. Are you happy?"

"What did you think?" Sera asked.

Aeryth looked back at the statue. "Nothing."

"Why won't you speak?! I don't understand." Sera stomped her feet and turned away.

"I thought that you'd want to search all other treasures with me," Aeryth whispered, staring at Sera's back.

"That... I cannot."

"I know. I am sorry for having such irrational expectations," Aeryth muttered, turning her back to the lance. "It's stupid and selfish to expect that from you. I am sorry."

"I am indebted to Lady Sia for everything she has done. I am her confidant, her guard. Even if I want to, I cannot leave this place, my home, and go on searching for treasures with you. I am bound to this place." Sera whispered. "If I could, I would love to seek more of these treasures. It was a blast. Even though we literally did not fight any monsters, I cannot remember the last time had this much fun. "

"I am sorry for misunderstanding you. And... I am glad to hear that," Aeryth whispered. Her throat hurt. She didn't even understand why she was so emotional.

Aeryth pulled the lance from an angle, trying to free it without breaking the statue, the most likely previous owner of this lance.

"Aeryth. Let's organize an Auction for the lance. There's no other way you'll be able to get the worth of this thing otherwise."

"Auction?" Aeryth asked.

"Yeah. Let's have an Auction. You'll have to meet Lady Sia for it, of course. There's no other way you will get all the worth out of the lance, otherwise."

"I see." Aeryth considered. She would not meet one more person if she could help it.

The weight and the density in her hand beckoned her to keep it close to her chest. To claim it for herself.

"Thank you, Sera. I'll gladly accept your offer."

The world around them vanished as she wrenched it free. They were in the library, and there was no white door. It had vanished just like a red one. No proof it ever existed, except for the lance in her hand.

The ember-colored lance had not vanished.

Sera's eyes quivered, brows scrunched. "Oh, we are oh so royally fucked." She uttered in terror.