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Episode 29
Screening Test (4)
“Of course, there are many other obstacles prepared in addition to this.”
The manager smiled leisurely and tapped the crystal ball.
The lights went out and the holograms showing various obstacles disappeared.
“The moment you pass through the gate with your teammates, you will be transported to a random space within the ruins.”
“… … .”
“From then on, you will face many dangers. I guarantee it. There will be nothing but a thorny path ahead of you.”
The candidates gulped.
“Yes, of course it will be difficult. However, at the end of that hardship, boundless glory awaits you. The splendid honor of the Five Great Towers.”
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A test where one’s life is at stake for the five great towers. The air was filled with tension.
“Okay, then I’ll cut the explanation short here. Everyone, please enter the ruins.”
Pointing to the wide open gate, the manager declared.
“We will now begin the second test.”
With those words, the candidates, without exception, threw themselves into the gate.
As they were sucked into the black vortex, their appearances disappeared without a trace.
* * *
[This is so dizzying, really… … .]
I was momentarily dazed by the antics of that rich guy.
What? World conquest?
I’m going crazy.
Suddenly, I became the mastermind behind the unintentional invasion of the empire by Lich.
[ha…….]
But that wasn’t what mattered now.
[… … I have to concentrate because I’m taking the screening test.]
okay.
concentration.
Let’s focus as much as possible.
It’s about shaking off distracting thoughts and focusing only on the present moment.
We must prove our worth through the selection test and thus catch the eye of Yann Lantes.
[Write… … .]
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
I continued to take deep breaths and clear my head as much as possible to calm my mind.
As always, I gradually regained peace of mind by thinking of natural objects.
Blue meadows.
And the calm sea.
To the gigantic waterfall with a stream flowing endlessly.
[Hoooo… … ]
My mind became at peace.
As I let out a sigh, my confused thoughts slowly calmed down.
[……good.]
After completing some level of mind control, I turned my gaze towards the front again.
Thud thud thud─.
The interior of the labyrinth, which has the shape of an imperial palace.
Before we knew it, we were walking down a dark hallway with no end in sight.
Becky, Olivia, and Riley.
The team members, lined up like this, began to move forward one by one, keeping a close eye on their surroundings.
[What kind of palace is this big… … .]
I looked around, secretly exclaiming in admiration.
The hallway was very wide.
Of course, it wasn’t just the hallways that were wide.
Looking up, I saw a high ceiling.
I bet that most domed baseball stadiums you’ve seen on Earth don’t have ceilings that high.
‘… … It’s excessively huge.’
[huh.]
As Riley said, the size of the ruins was so huge that it felt like something of an exaggeration to simply call it a palace.
What should I say?
It felt as if we were dwarves visiting the palace of the giants… … .
Thud─.
Boom─!
“… … .”
“… … .”
… … No, it wasn’t just that, but did you really come to the land of giants?
“What is that… … .”
Becky stopped in her tracks at the sound of footsteps. Immediately, the others stopped walking and froze in place.
Everyone in the group opened their eyes wide.
Thump, thump, thump──!
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“… … .”
“… … .”
“… … .”
It was a very long distance, but it was clearly visible.
Stone statue.
A huge stone statue was moving slowly across the hallway.
It was huge.
It was really huge.
It was so huge that it was hard to even guess its size. In fact, Riley probably couldn’t even reach the toes of the statue.
‘… … Did I ever tell you there was something like that?’
[no.]
The manager never said there was such a monster.
All I could say was that there were countless other obstacles prepared.
okay.
That statue is just one of many ‘obstacles’.
Thud, thud, thud─!
The stone statue was walking solemnly through the hallway, holding a halberd as big as its own body, as if it were a guard protecting the palace.
“… … .”
[… … .]
Even just watching that scene, I felt a sense of pressure.
The fighting spirit is gone.
My first thought was that I should avoid it if possible.
And I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
‘I absolutely do not want to fight that monster.’
[… … You too?]
The pressure from the image was too great.
oh my god.
A giant moving stone statue.
And that Guardian carries a weapon the size of my body.
Who would dare to take the initiative and fight that monster?
The management probably doesn’t expect us to fight that monster.
I guess they prepared that guy just for him to avoid me.
‘It’s kind of like a moving restricted area. Find the golden golem, but avoid the stone giant as much as possible. Something like that.’
[Yeah, that’s correct.]
As expected, Riley knew ten things if you told her one.
It would be easier to think of that stone statue as just a red zone.
Just as Pac-Man had to avoid ghosts and eat dots scattered around the map, we had to avoid the statues and find the core of the golden golem.
I had lived for thousands and tens of thousands of years.
As such, I have faced countless enemies, experienced countless defeats and countless victories.
Through those processes, I naturally acquired an ability.
A sense that can gauge the opponent’s fighting power.
I called this feeling, quite bluntly, the ‘combat power meter’.
And after using this ‘battle power meter’ of mine, I was able to realize one thing.
That statue was truly overwhelmingly strong.
If we ever fight, a hundred against a hundred, we will lose.
The aura he gave off was so different that he could almost be called a boss-level monster in the ruins.
It was one of the strongest monsters I’ve ever seen in my life.
‘Is there a team that can take that monster down?’
[No. Absolutely not. It would take three or four wizards like Theobald to fight to win.]
In the first place, that guy wasn’t a monster that was meant to be caught. He was an invincible being. As I said before, that statue was just a monster that had to be avoided.
okay.
Unless you’re a crazy idiot, it’s obvious that no one would attack such a monster first…
“Hey, Riley!”
“……yes?”
“What are you doing! Let’s go! We have to knock that thing down!”
[… … ?]
ah.
okay.
right.
Was this place a crazy place for crazy people?
[Hey! Riley! Stop her! Don’t let her go! Quick! That crazy bitch is going to run out and fight right now!]
Riley barely managed to grab Becky’s arm as she tried to run towards the stone giant with a victorious smile.
“Ms. Becky, wait, wait, wait.”
“Why! Why! Let go of this! Let go of this!”
“Calm down and listen to me. No, calm down and let that magic take a moment, please.”
Becky thrashed and screamed.
“No, why are you holding on to me! I told you to let go! When will I ever get another chance to fight such an awesome monster!”
“Miss Olivia, please come and hold this man.”
“……yes yes?”
“It’s okay, hurry up. Please grab my other arm quickly.”
“Let go! Hey, Riley! You fucking bitch! Let go of that! I’m not going to let that go. I warned you! I warned you!”
Riley answered, holding Becky’s struggling arm.
“It’s not me who’s the troublemaker, it’s you.”
“why!”
“Why do you want to fight a monster like that in the first place? We don’t even know how strong it is.”
“You don’t know how strong I am? That’s okay! You’ll find out when you fight!”
“… … .”
Riley looked at Becky with a pitiful expression.
“If we rush in recklessly, we’ll all be wiped out, right? Even if we’re lucky and win the battle, there’s nothing we can gain.”
“Why is there nothing to gain? You can gain romance!”
That sounds romantic.
“Fighting an enemy whose power cannot be measured! Finding a weak point after a bloody fight and striking it! Achieving victory! Celebrating victory! Enjoying the afterglow! Isn’t this the feeling a wizard should have? Avoiding a fight like this? And you’re still a wizard?”
“… … .”
Riley, who had been listening to Becky silently, asked me a question.
‘Is that how a wizard should feel? Am I abnormal?’
[no.]
That’s just Becky that little shit is crazy.
‘I see, right?’
[huh.]
I continued.
[Honestly, what wizard would tackle a monster like that, let alone a fighting cock like Becky?]
Riley nodded after hearing that.
‘Of course not… … .’
“Wow! What the heck is that! Brother! Brother, do you see that monster too? I’m not the only one who can see that statue, right?”
“I can see it! That’s a really strong looking monster! It’s worth fighting!”
Suddenly, a party popped up from the alley across the street.
The distance was too far to see their expressions, but I could tell from the sound of their voices that they were very excited.
“Brother, can I attack first?”
“Okay! But it’s my turn next! Let’s make a bet on whose attack will take down that monster!”
[No, what the heck is that… … .]
I muttered in a hoarse voice.
Riley, who had been observing them with a blank expression for a moment, also whispered quietly.
‘… … There are people like Becky out there.’
[what.]
What the heck.
[… … .]
No, plague.
What the hell happened to the wizards in the 300 years I was gone? What, did they all get shot in the head?
I don’t know why these guys are all in such a mental state.
“Let go! Let go of this!”
[… … Ah, why is this kid so quiet again?]
Then Becky started to struggle again.
“We have to go and hit the statue before they strike first! Let’s put this… … .”
“Ms. Becky.”
Riley cut Becky off. Becky paused for a moment at the seriousness in her voice, which had become deeply subdued.
“Look at that.”
“… … .”
Just then, the party on the other side of the hallway started attacking the stone giant.
“Okay, let’s go!”
“Okay, let’s grind that rock into powder!”
Woof─!
Magic power rushed in.
The wizard on the far right fired his spell first.
“Here, try this!”
An attack that uses magical power without any sense.
The magic containing the lightning attribute began to fly towards the stone giant, making a tremendous noise.
Quagwaquagwa─!
It was clear that any solid rock would shatter into pieces if hit directly by that attack.
Thud!
“… … Huh?”
But that’s only if the target is an ordinary rock.
The stone giant was not a common rock that you would see on the street.
“What, what? How come you’re fine even though my ultimate magic hit you directly?”
The wizard shouted in confusion.
Is it possible that anti-horse treatment has been done?
The stone giant’s body, which was directly hit by the spell, did not even have a small crack.
Towering─.
The attacked stone statue stopped walking.
The boy’s inorganic eyes moved towards the wizard who had attacked him.
“……uh?”
And at that very moment.
Boohoo─!
The stone statue brandished its weapon.
“Uh, uh… … ?”
okay.
He swung his weapon.
That was it.
But that one simple action was enough to take a person’s life.
Phew─!
There was no time to react.
At the exact next moment, the wizard’s body was crushed into a blood clot.
Crunch!
Blood spurted out. The body fell to the floor. Death without a scream. Everyone who saw the scene stood frozen in place.
“Wh, what… … .”
Swish.
The statue’s eyes moved silently again.
This time, the guy’s gaze turned to his companions right next to the dead wizard.
“Hee, heeeeek… … !”
The rest of the comrades, in a panic, began to fire magic indiscriminately.
“Oh, don’t come! I told you not to come… … !”
Thud, thud, thud──!
But all their attacks are just bounced away in vain.
“… … Ah, ahh!”
Only then did the colleagues realize what was happening and they started to run away in panic.
“No! Sa, save me! Please!”
They ran with all their might and begged for their lives, but it was already too late.
A dark shadow fell over them.
“Save, save, save… … .”
Boom─!
One heavy step.
The stone giant caught up with the wizards’ leaps in an instant.
There was no need to swing a weapon. The statue moved its feet. Then it trampled the two fleeing wizards.
Crunch─!
Of course, this time no screams were heard.
“… … .”
Becky became quiet at the sight of that horrifying sight.
“uh…….”
Ssuk.
With perfect timing, Riley let go of Becky’s arm.
“What are you doing, Becky?”
“… … Uh, uh, yeah?”
“You said you were going to go and fight. Cheer up. Olivia and I will be cheering you on from behind.”
Becky glanced up at the stone giant.
“… … .”
“… … .”
The eyes of the stone statue that had been far away turned towards us this time.
It was a silent pressure to attack if you dare. Fortunately, it seemed like the guy had no intention of launching a preemptive strike.
The guy stood there, staring at us.
Even though it was just that, it felt like the heavy air was weighing us down.
“note…….”
A bead of cold sweat ran down Becky’s forehead.
“Shall we just go and find the golden golem in peace?”
“Okay.”
Lesson of the day.
Even the romance of a wizard is nothing more than a foolish guest in the face of death.
end.
