What is this... a joke?

I incredulously looked at my HP bar, then at the wound on my chest. The slowly oozing blood and the pain of the blade piercing my chest didn't feel fake at all. But the HP bar, this thing independent from the world, shouldn't be something that can be faked.

And I looked around, there was no one around, including the direction from which the dagger flew. It felt like I hadn't seen anything.

What the hell is going on?

Could it be an illusion?

But looking at the empty slot in the position of my status, it meant that I didn't have any status right now... unless...

Unless illusions are not a type of status.

I quickly opened my communication device and sent messages to the people on my left and right.

"Come to my location, I have clues about the assassin."

Then, I opened my wings and used a healing spell on myself. At the same time, I summoned a block of ice and slowly pushed the blade out of my chest. After all, if I reached to my back to pull out the dagger, I might have accidentally widened the wound, and the bleeding... no, wait, I'm not even bleeding now. I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

With a forceful push, the dagger fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Oh my god..."

I removed the ice and examined the wound on my chest. It had already healed, so the wound on my back should have the same effect.

But when I turned around, I saw something unbelievable.

There was nothing on the ground around me.

No bloodstains, no dagger.

It was as if nothing had happened before.

Damn it, what is this?

Could it be that the opponent's speed was so fast that they instantly retrieved the dagger?

That's impossible. Even if the opponent did that, it wouldn't make any sense. With that speed, they could have easily killed me, and how could they have completely wiped away all the bloodstains on the ground?

So, there's only one answer.

And the others confirmed my thoughts.

"We've arrived at your location, but you're just standing there, completely ignoring us."

The person who sent the message was Bai Yueguang, followed by Taishi Xi and Ms. Mary.

They all sent messages confirming that I was standing in the same place where I was attacked, lost in thought.

What a joke, I must have been affected by some kind of illusion!

But why here, why now...

"Be careful, there may be someone nearby who can use high-level illusions. If you get caught in this trick, you'll end up like me."

"What? Illusions?"

Everyone expressed their disbelief.

"If getting caught in an illusion makes you end up like this, then the enemy is really terrifying. We'll just be slaughtered."

"I agree. If it weren't for being able to see my HP bar, I would've thought the same."

"Is that so... have you tried using magic to dispel it?"

"I just tried using magic, but you didn't see any magic traces around me, right?"

"That's right."

"Well, that's troublesome... for now, I'll give it a try."

Thinking that, I used a water-based magic on myself.

Arcane·Holy Spirit's Art!

Although I couldn't see anyone else, after using the magic, I didn't feel anything except for a blue halo descending.

That means... magic is ineffective.

But then again, previously we couldn't see the data in the status bar, which means this thing hasn't been counted as a status yet.

Damn, what should we do?

"Maybe we got the direction wrong," Ms. Mary suddenly said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, constantly trying to break the illusion might not be the right approach. Maybe we should try a different mindset."

"Like what?"

Just as I asked, everything suddenly turned black, and when it lit up again, I saw a blue sky.

Huh?

What just happened?

Then, I crashed into a wall, and my HP bar decreased a bit.

"Oh my god."

I got up from the ground, took a health potion, and stood up.

I looked up at Ms. Mary, who was holding a hammer-shaped staff. It seemed like she had used it to knock me away earlier?

Oh my god, where's the basic trust between people? Do you just directly knock me away with a weapon?

I'm so sad.

But what I'm more concerned about is whether you hit my face or my chest, not my lower body, right? Does healing magic work there!

But after I approached her, I asked about something else.

"It seems that we need someone else to dispel the illusion once we're under it. In that case, how can we dispel it ourselves? Should we wear a ring that stabs us every minute?"

"I'll consider developing that!"

Ms. Mary seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Well, that's good. Let's solve the next problem."

I looked around.

"How can we find the person who cast the illusion on me?"

"Isn't there any attack alert or something?"

"I didn't see any attack warnings before being attacked, or..."

"Or maybe someone has been using illusions on you for a long time, but you just didn't realize it."

Ms. Mary said as if she understood.

"Indeed, that's possible, but the problem is..."

I looked at them with deep concern.

"When did it happen? And... are we being controlled by illusions now?"

"..."

An inexplicable fear rushed over me!