prynovel Chapter 4253 My Arena
Chapter 4253 My Arena
Chapter 4253 My Arena
If someone from another world saw "me" in the mirror start talking, even the most composed person would probably be startled.
Unfortunately, the person in the mirror was facing a rabbit girl.
From birth, they are beings living in the Mirror Realm of Daylight.
Facing the person in the mirror, the rabbit girl showed no surprise whatsoever. More than focusing on the similar appearance, she was more concerned about what the other person had mentioned... the arena.
Just a second ago, she thought this test might not be a real arena.
The next second, the person in the mirror proved her wrong, showing her that this was the arena.
Therefore, the three white spots in the inner circle are now undoubtedly the arena...
The rabbit girl silently wondered: Could it be that the cruel scholar likes arena-style competitions? Otherwise, why would he make everything an arena?
However, this thought only flashed through his mind. Time was of the essence, and Angell was still watching him from outside. He couldn't afford to waste time by letting his mind wander.
The rabbit girl looked at the text box.
"What do you mean by 'your arena'?"
"What should I do?"
The rabbit girl thought for a moment and chose the first option.
"What do you mean by 'your arena'?"
The "she" in the mirror lazily raised her finger and swayed it from side to side: "No, it's not my arena. It's the name of this place, 'My Arena'."
The rabbit girl didn't understand at first, and it took her several seconds to realize what was happening.
The person in the mirror refers to this stepped pyramid called: My Arena.
It sounds like a subjective description, but it's actually a fixed term?
"You can also call this place 'My Arena'." The person in the mirror paused, and seeing the rabbit girl snap out of her thoughts, continued, "As for what you need to do?"
She gently stroked the soft, long ears of the rabbit doll at her waist: "It's very simple. You just need to climb to the top of the arena and defeat the being at the very top, and you'll have passed the test."
"However, I need to remind you that reaching the top is not an easy process..."
"Just like the little girl in the fairy tale who fell down the rabbit hole, she has to overcome many obstacles to find the final exit."
"understand?"
Simply put, during the ascent, there may be various obstacles that block your way; you must overcome them to continue forward.
The rabbit girl nodded, following the instructions in the text box.
"Very well, then go ahead."
"We hope that today's contestants can unleash a new wisdom on the stage."
After the person in the mirror uttered these words, they slowly retreated into the depths of the mirror... A halo of light flickered, and the mirror became foggy, obscuring all human figures.
The rabbit girl was still a little confused when she saw the person in the mirror leave.
Leaving now?
The masked referee Angel encountered before at least explained the rules before leaving.
The person in the mirror only said they wanted to reach the summit, and said nothing else. What kind of trials awaited them along the way? Would they have to fight? Or would they need to combine fighting with wisdom?
Without saying anything, they just disappeared?
With a silent sigh, the rabbit girl leaped onto the ring.
"Did you hear what the person in the mirror said?" she murmured to herself as she searched for the steps to the top.
She knew Angell would definitely come back to her.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, Angel's voice came from beside him: "I heard it, a challenge that fits the name perfectly."
Rabbit Girl: "???"
What is a challenge that matches the name?
"Did you see something?"
Angel: "You'll understand soon enough... Go to the left, then turn right at one corner of the center ring."
Although the rabbit girl was puzzled, she did not immediately ask any questions. Instead, she followed Angel's directions and arrived at a stone door.
This is the "stone gate" leading into the Step Pyramid.
The stone door had a crack, through which one could vaguely see what appeared to be a figure inside, as well as a clearly visible zigzagging staircase built along the wall.
Although she hadn't entered the stone gate yet, she already understood that the so-called summit was not about climbing from the outside, but about going up from the inside.
"What kind of arena is this?" the rabbit girl muttered to herself. "It's just like a miniature treasure tower, a kind of tower climbing game."
While complaining, he pushed open the stone door.
Then she froze.
It wasn't a "transition animation," but rather the figures inside the stone gate that startled her.
It was someone who looked exactly like her, except that their appearance was slightly different.
She sat atop a miniature model city, complete with flamboyant sculptures, soaring music, and a grand theater shrouded in curtains…
She seemed to have taken this art-filled city as her own seat, sitting comfortably with her feet swinging up and down.
The appearance of "her" is exactly the same as that of the rabbit girl, but her clothing is a different style.
She was originally wearing a plain white hooded bunny jacket, but now it had become a free-flowing canvas. It was splattered with specks of oil paint, ink, and gold powder, the colors bold yet harmonious, as if recording countless moments of creative passion.
Two rabbit ears dangled from the hat, one drooping lazily, the other tied with a delicate paintbrush that served as a bow, the tip still wet with indigo paint.
Her face, arms, and even nails were covered with various musical notes and urban graffiti. Although they were different styles, they did not look messy; instead, they resembled a unique decoration.
She looks exactly like a bunny girl.
However, it is full of artistic temperament.
The bunny girl was truly stunned when she first saw herself dressed so unusually.
She hadn't paid any attention to the person in the mirror before, but this artist-dressed version of herself gave her a subtle sense of unease.
It's like looking in a mirror, yet not quite; it's as if you're facing a parallel version of yourself through some invisible barrier of time.
It took the rabbit girl a long time to recover from her shock.
At this moment, she also understood why Angell had said earlier, "A challenge that fits the name perfectly."
Both fighters in the ring were bunny girls.
I encountered another "me," isn't this "my arena"?
She forcibly shifted her gaze away from her "artistic self" and looked around.
The surrounding layout is also very artistic, with various art-related decorations that make the first floor space very eye-catching. Painting, sculpture, music, fashion, dance, drama... even people who don't usually understand art feel as if they have been immersed in art and their spirits have been elevated when they walk in here.
However, more than these artistic decorations, the bunny girl was more interested in the very conspicuous zigzag staircase, which was embedded in the wall and stretched all the way to the end of the ceiling, where the entrance to the second floor was located.
Although the zigzag staircase is very conspicuous, it seems like anyone can step on it.
But at this moment it was shrouded in a faint shimmering light.
Although the rabbit girl hadn't gotten close yet, it was easy to guess that the shimmering light was meant to block people from moving forward.
Based on past experience, to enter the second level, one will likely have to pass the test of the first level first...
The guardian of the first level is, without a doubt, the "artistic self" right before our eyes.
The rabbit girl stood at the door, surveying the entire floor before whispering, "I feel like this floor might be testing art. If it really is art-related knowledge... I'm okay with music because of Luigi's memories, but I'm not good at anything else."
"If the test involves other knowledge, then it's up to you."
Angell: "No problem."
The rabbit girl nodded gently and walked forward.
As she approached "My Artistic Self," the familiar "silence" mode appeared, but no dialogue options popped up in the text box.
She guessed that the other person might want to speak first?
Sure enough, as the rabbit girl approached, "the artistic self" slowly turned its gaze to her, its eyes flickered, and it tilted its head to examine her closely, as if admiring a painting.
After a moment, she spoke slowly, her voice carrying an ethereal echo: "Welcome to my art gallery... another me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the dialogue options popped up in the text box.
""Who are you?""
""who I am?""
It was a philosophical question, but the rabbit girl had no desire to ask it. However, since these were the only two options, she randomly selected one.
"who are you?"
"I am you." Although she had the same voice as the rabbit girl, her voice had a certain ethereal quality, as if the air itself was helping to echo her soft whispers.
If you are me, then who am I?
The rabbit girl wanted to ask, but no options popped up in the text box, so she could only remain silent.
“I know you have a lot of questions, but I have a lot of questions too.” She looked around: “Suddenly, I appeared; suddenly, I was told my mission.”
"Mingming, it's you."
"But He deliberately put me to test you."
"What's the point of this test? You are me, and I am you. Everything I know, you also know. And everything you know is in my mind."
"What's the point of this mutual testing? It's better to paint a picture or listen to an opera."
She seemed to be whispering, or perhaps accusing someone.
The rabbit girl was speechless: What do you mean by "I am you, and you are me"? I don't want to draw, and I don't want to listen to opera!
“No, you will.” At that moment, “the artistic self” suddenly looked at the rabbit girl.
Rabbit Girl: ? ? ? She can read minds?
"I bet you're thinking right now, am I reading minds?" She shook her head calmly. "No, you don't have the ability to read minds, and naturally, I don't either."
"Everything I am comes from you, and my thoughts are your thoughts, so you don't need to be surprised. I can guess what you're thinking just by frowning slightly, because I am you, and you are me."
She paused for a moment, then said, "Your expression just now was quite amusing. I bet you were internally complaining that you didn't want to paint or go to the opera."
"Am i right?"
The bunny girl looked at the text bar, where there was a nod option.
She immediately nodded.
However, even without the text prompt, she would nod; because the other person was absolutely right.
Could it be that she really is me?
While the bunny girl was in a state of confusion, "the artistic self" slowly spoke up: "You said you can't draw, but if it's a cute and pink bunny asking you to draw it, can you draw it?"
Bunny Girl: ...I'll definitely draw the bunny's request!
"You said you don't watch operas, but what if it's an opera performed by a rabbit?"
Rabbit Girl: ...I have to see this, but this is cheating!
"So, there's no need to deny it. I understand you because I am you," Art Self said calmly.
Suddenly, she seemed to fall into some philosophical thought, and murmured: "But I am not you, I am the facet of your art, I only represent your art."
"If that's the case, I'm not the complete you, therefore I am not you. So, I can actually be an independent version of myself?"
She seemed somewhat lost.
This was the first time the rabbit girl had seen the gatekeeper who set the questions, and she was completely lost in her own thoughts.
So perhaps she really wasn't a pre-prepared NPC, but rather an artistic facet that had just split off from "me"?
The rabbit girl quickly shook her head.
She feared that if she followed her thoughts, she too would fall into the same void as she was now.
Fortunately, her artistic self seemed to be reminded by some force, and she slowly came back to her senses from her self-reflection. She looked at the rabbit girl and said, "Let's talk about things later."
“According to the rules He left in my mind, I need to test you.”
"Only by passing the test can you leave me..."
As she said this, she glanced at the rabbit girl and said, "However, I feel you cannot pass my test. Because I know everything about you, you can't beat me."
When she said those words, the rabbit girl finally saw new dialogue options appear in the text box.
"What will the test include?"
She selected it without hesitation.
What will the test include?
Artistic Self did not answer immediately. Her slender fingers gently brushed over a stain of oil paint on her coat, as if caressing an invisible painting, her eyes filled with a dreamy reverie, as if she were immersed in some grand narrative.
After a long while, she raised her eyes and said in a clear and gentle voice:
"Before revealing the trials, I need to explain the rules of this place to you; this is the established melody He left in my mind."
She paused, then recited softly in a monologue-like tone, as if on stage:
"This place is called 'My Arena,' a towering seven-story Tower of Babel..."
“Each layer preserves a side of you, a ‘slice’ from your memories.”
“For example, I am a slice of all your artistic perceptions, the one who resides in the first layer—the ‘artistic self’.”
This layer is also known as the "Art Layer".
"The second, third... and all the way to the unreachable seventh level, are all guarded by other 'you'. You must defeat each and every 'me' in order to break free from the shackles of this place and bring this pilgrimage of self to a close."
"And the one thing that runs through all seven levels of trials is the same—"
A subtle smile curved at the corners of her lips.
“Put forward a question that you can answer, but I cannot.”