"So, this is the volcano mentioned in the book…" They stood at the edge of the crater, staring deep at the center.
The blazing hot magma was supposed to be the entrance to the laboratory, but when they looked at it , it was nothing but magma.
They could feel so much heat from it, as if it was the real thing. In fact, no one would think this was an illusion, even for those who had read the book.
"Is this really the entrance?" Selena asked, her expression darkening.
"I don't think this is the one…" Flora smiled wryly. "Maybe it's a different volcano."
"But this looks like the volcano mentioned in the book." Sera innocently pointed at the entrance.
"Then, do you want to enter first, Sera?" Flora asked.
"…" Sera raised her finger but soon lowered it as she looked away.
Noelle clenched her sword. Fire started to erupt from her body as if she was trying to steel herself to enter. She wanted to see if her fire could withstand this magma, even just for a second, to find out the situation.
Alavenya looked down. "Is there another entrance? If there's an entrance, there should be an exit, right? Or at least, there should be a place to circulate air."
"Why are you guys so scared?" Nathan smiled wryly. "It's just an illusion. Charlotte's illusion looked so real even in the ancient library, so you don't have to worry about it, you know?"
"Then, are you going to enter first, Nathan?" Flora asked the same question.
Nathan had a smug smile on his face. But his action was much different from what he looked like. He summoned Anubis and ordered, "Alright, Anubis. Send the guardian inside first. You should be able to figure out whether this is real or not."
"…" The girls were speechless.
In the end, this illusion looked so real that they had to test whether it was real or not. If it was real, they would have been screwed.
Anubis shook his head helplessly and summoned his guardian. "Go."
The fighter guardian jumped toward the magma. The result was shocking for everyone.
It was standing on top of the magma but soon gradually sank down as if it was melting from its feet. It gradually disappeared into the magma as if it sank.
"That looks real to me." Selena gulped down.
"That indeed looks real." Flora nodded in agreement.
"Anubis. Did something happen to your guardian?" Sera asked.
Anubis looked troubled. "I can't sense it anymore."
"…" Everyone's face darkened. "As expected, it's real, isn't it?
"Maybe we're in the wrong place."
Nathan fell silent for a moment before summoning the real deal, Jinwu. That was right. There was only one being that could withstand the temperature of magma in their group. It was none other than the bird who was living on the surface of the sun.
"Jinwu. Can you withstand that and enter? I want to see if this is real or not." Nathan pointed at the center of the magma.
"Why are you guys so scared of this puny pond? It's not even real." Jinwu tilted his head in confusion and simply flew to the center. "See? This is not real. You can't compare this to real magma. Can't you just see through it in one go? Even if this is real, this kind of temperature is not hot enough to wash my feet."
"…" They were speechless. Jinwu acted as if it was nothing concerning.
Nathan asked, "So, is there anything inside, like an entrance?"
"It's hollow. I have been using my own power to fly here, you know?" Jinwu soon disappeared as though he dove into the magma before popping out again a few seconds later.
"So, it's not real…" Nathan smiled wryly.
"But I notice that there is some kind of formation. Mae should be able to recognize it. Maybe you should summon her first," said Jinwu. "I don't know if there's a defense mechanism in here or not since I fly directly to the center, but this is no volcano."
Nathan nodded and summoned Mae this time. "Mae. Can you see anything from this magma?"
"Illusion?" Mae instantly recognized it. "But this is not an ordinary illusion. While it looks like it's just a cover to hide something underneath it, it functions as if it's the reality.
"If you believe this is a true magma, you will find yourself burned alive by the power of that magma. It's using the magma in your mind to kill you. So, there is indeed a defensive mechanism, but as long as you don't believe this is magma, you can pass it easily."
"That's easy for you to say." Nathan smiled wryly. "So, this is what a real illusion looks like?"
"Charlotte's illusion? It does look like it." Mae squinted her eyes.
"Probably." Nathan nodded.
"If that's the case, let's do it this way." Mae clapped her hand. In that instant, the magma turned blue, as if it had become a lake instead of a magma pool.
"!!!" Nathan and the others widened their eyes.
"Since it's hard for you to see through the illusion, I have applied my own illusion directly in your mind to make it look like water. Seeing is believing. This should make it easier for you to pass the illusion."
Nathan smiled wryly. "Why is there nothing like that in Charlotte's notebook? Don't tell me. She hasn't even gone here? But she should be the one establishing the illusion, right?"
"We can ask her directly once we return." Selena nodded.
"So, should we go now? I believe we can do it with this." Flora nodded. There was no more heat that they could feel.
Nathan confirmed it with the rest of the group. Once they nodded their heads, Nathan was the first one to jump.
He created a splash like that of real water, making people believe even more that this was just water.
The rest of the girls exchanged nods and followed right behind him.
However, all of them forgot that this magma might be an illusion, but this was indeed a real volcano… specifically a former volcano. There was no magma, but the chamber was real. In other words, the moment they passed the illusion, they fell straight down the main chamber.