“There’s a certain level to being shameless...!”
The voice of the Second Lord was full of sharp edges.
It was an expected reaction.
I came to her suddenly and asked for a precious magic stone. Even I think I was being shameless.
Anyway, looking at her reaction, she definitely had one.
“I already warned you before. If you keep trying to use me like this...”
“I will make sure the last one would be the last.”
I didn’t want to continue arguing with her, so I just cut off whatever she was trying to say.
It startled the Thunder Lord.
“...The next request will be the last one?”
“Yes. If you give me the magic stone I needed, I will definitely tell you the location of the spirit I promised you at the end of the next request.”
I glanced at the level floating above her head. It was still 90 like before.
A place with a powerful spirit comparable to Laxia, the great thunder spirit that I annihilated.
As long as that was a bait, she definitely couldn’t refuse.
She said, looking at me with her eyes narrowed.
“Do you even know how precious magic stones are? To be honest...”
“If you’re going to talk nonsense, I will just find another Lord.”
I immediately blocked what she’s trying to do.
At my words, she frowned again and stopped.
“Where are you going to use the magic stone?”
“Is that important?”
“...It’s not important. Please keep your promises properly, Seventh Lord. You must give me the information I needed at your next request.”
“Of course.”
Contrary to the earnest voice of the Second Lord, I nodded with a light heart.
She clicked her tongue with a very uncomfortable face and stood up.
“Wait here.”
Apparently trying to get it herself, she went out of the room.
I leaned back in my chair and waited patiently for her to return.
'If she gets the spirit, she’ll definitely be antagonistic again.'
But no matter what attitude she showed, I had no intention of not keeping my promise.
Unless she's an idiot, she wouldn't recklessly attack me again after being beaten like that.
Soon after, she returned to the room. She was holding something the size of a fist in her hand.
The magic stone she held, unlike normal ones with a faint bluish tinge, had a completely transparent light.
I took what she handed over and examined it.
“Thank you. Then I’ll leave.”
Having obtained the magic stone, I immediately left the Second Lord’s Castle.
It was late at night, but I didn’t want to stay at the castle of the Thunder Lord. I was certain neither did she, so I moved right away.
***
There were many ruins and dungeons in the game.
Some of them had nothing to do with the main story, but there were, of course, some that had to do with it.
Ruins of Cabolissa.
A ruin left by a great mage who was praised as a great sage during the ancient time.
The place I was visiting with Asher was also a ruin related to the main story in the game.
It was an episode in which Asher found out the truth that there was no survivor and finally decided what she should do.
Oh oh oh!
As we continued to slow down and change direction from earlier, Ti-Yong let out a roar, perhaps feeling frustrated.
I patted its neck to calm it down and then looked down intently.
The present location was a vast plateau to the west of Santea.
As the Ruins of Cabolissa was a place I passed through in the game as part of the main story, I definitely remembered the place.
It was a terrain like a deep pit...
It was a fairly large terrain, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find.
And as I thought, I was able to find it soon.
In the middle of the field, the terrain suddenly protruded like the crater of a dormant volcano.
“Let’s go down.”
I guided Ti-Yong to land in the middle of the pit and got off its back.
It looked small from above, but when we came down, the protruding surface was so high that it completely blocked my view.
Let’s see...
I looked around and found the entrance to the ruins with my [Super Sensory] maxed out.
I didn’t have to look for long. Soon, I found the thing I was looking for at a distance. It was a rock embedded in a slope, a huge magical energy was emanating from it.
That’s it.
Asher and I moved closer to the rock.
It was a long and wide rock reminiscent of a stone gate, and in the center of it were three fist size magic stones in a triangular shape.
Two emitted a soft golden light, but one only emitted a transparent light because it was half broken.
I examined the half-broken magic stone here and there and touched it with my hand. I tried to pull it with a bit of strength.
Hmm.
It didn’t even budge.
Even though half of it was broken, the magic stone stayed firmly embedded in the stone gate and did not move.
I pretended nothing was wrong and said to Asher.
“Pull this out.”
“...Ah, yes.”
She, too, seemed to have sensed the mighty magic power within the rock, and was distracted by it. She then stepped forward at my words.
Then, the broken magic stone was easily pulled out of the hole.
She looked at me with a puzzled expression as I inserted the magic stone I had brought into the hole.
Although the size was not right, the magic stone stuck like a magnet as soon as it touched the hole.
And soon the magic power felt from the rock stirred like a simmering fire, and even dyeing the magic stone golden.
I stepped away from the shaking rock and spoke to Asher.
“Try injecting magic into the rock.”
Asher hesitated for a moment, then put her hand on the rock and created magic.
Then, her blue mana and the golden mana mixed, and the rock split apart and opened on both sides.
Coo coo coo.
Even in the game's story, this place was a ruin that a lot failed to enter when it was first discovered because of the broken magic stone.
If it was just a simple ruin, one could just break inside, but this place wasn’t that simple.
Eventually, an inner passage was revealed. Luminous stones densely studded the ceiling, so it wasn’t dark.
“Let’s go.”
Asher, who was staring at the passageway with a puzzled face, turned around as if she was a little surprised.
It must be because whenever I found a place like this during my search for Mysteries, I always let her stay outside and entered alone.
However, this place was a ruin only for Asher. Even if I couldn’t explain that to her.
I moved first, and as always, Asher silently followed me asking nothing.
It’s wide.
I walked through the wide aisle, feeling the cool air on my skin.
And we quickly arrived at a much wider space with a magic circle engraved on the floor.
Magic stones were everywhere, lines connected by magical power, and a magic circle in the center, just like the underground scenery seen in the Overlord’s Castle.
Asher and I fixed our eyes on the top of the magic circle.
It was because something like a translucent blue light was wriggling in the air. It looked like some kind of spiritual body.
Knowing what that thing was, I calmly waited.
Rather than a guardian of the ruins, should I say that it’s more of a guide?
This guy was to guide any visitors for the ordeal prepared by the owner of this ruin.
Soon the guy took shape and changed into the appearance of an old man.
- ...How long has this been? Someone finally came!
A very excited voice rang in my head.
The guy grinned and looked at Asher, and I, then continued.
- Welcome, adventurers! This is the place that the great sage Cabolissa arranged for her successor. Those of you who have found this place are qualified to challenge the ordeal. There are two trials prepared. Choose one of the two trials. If you pass, a reasonable reward will wait for you at the end.
As the guy said, I looked at the two entrances on one side of the space.
Asher followed me a beat later and moved her gaze.
- The entrance on the left is an ordeal that tests brute force, and the entrance on the right is a test of mental strength. If you fail the ordeal, you will lose your life. So, choose wisely. If you don’t want to challenge the ordeal, you can leave the ruins now.
I fixed my gaze on the entrance on the right.
A trial of mental strength.
This would bring out the painful memories of the challenger, would drive the mind to the limit. It was an ordeal where one had to overcome agony and suffering.
It could be said that it was like the hallucinations that Asher suffered from monsters in Hallumenta before.
The only difference was that the degree would be much higher than then.
However, since this was an ordeal to the end, if Asher herself was determined, she could somehow overcome it. Like how it happened in the game.
'If you fail, you lose your life.'
Although there was a big risk to take, I didn’t worry because I had something to protect myself from it.
Because I had [Soul of the King], mental attacks wouldn’t work on me.
In the event of an emergency, I planned to take Asher and escape.
Of course, I didn’t know what other dangerous devices were in place in this ruin, but I would have to take that level of risk.
“Go through the right entrance, Asher.”
I said that and walked to the right entrance.
Asher followed me with a look of confusion, not knowing what this ordeal was all about. The guide also floated and followed us.
Inside the entrance, another magic circle covered the entire room, but the magic I felt was much bigger.
- You have chosen the trial to test your mental strength. So let’s start the ordeal right away.
The guide raised magic power, and the magic circle that responded to it emitted a bright light.
“...!”
Asher, who was staggering, immediately fell to the floor. The magic that was activated blew her consciousness away.
On the contrary, I was still standing.
However, I feel the memories of the past rushing through my head like a tidal wave.
Oh...
It’s roughly like this.
All the painful memories I had experienced in my life so far passed by clearly. It amplified my negative emotions to the limit.
But apart from the fact that there were no difficulties in my past life, I was also not mentally disturbed because of the [Soul of the King].
I just watched everything with a novel feeling. But came after that were unknown memories.
“...?”
...What was this?
I was running away, bleeding to the point of darkness, chased by some pursuers.
A burning town, screaming people, and me standing blankly in the middle of it...
The unknown memories confused me, but I was able to realize it soon.
It’s the memory of the real owner of this body.
Fragments of irregular and tangled memories rose to the surface and then sunk back down.
I furrowed my brows and recalled the past memories.
However, the memories that had already passed once quickly faded like a dream and did not come to mind.
- Ho, you held up quite a bit?
The guide smiled as he saw me standing there.
- But if you keep holding on like that, you will go crazy. Come on, lose your mind like your colleague. This is an ordeal designed to be overcome, not to be endured soberly...
“Hey.”
I cut him off and said.
“Could you make the hallucination magic you’re currently using even more powerful?”
- ...Huh?
“It’s not coming back because the memories have passed. Hurry before I forget.”
He looked at me with a puzzled expression. It was as if he was looking at a madman.
