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Episode 33
Their circumstances (2)
Our Olivia has an unusual habit.
Whenever I see the bodies of the dead, I pray to relieve their sorrow and help them attain Buddhahood.
The subject does not discriminate on the cause of death.
Whether you died from a trap, from a monster, or from fighting other test takers… … .
Olivia would always pray for them whenever she saw a body.
By the way, the candidates for this attempt were the ones who had just become food for the transparent chimera.
“May the Great Mother of Magic look after the spirits of these dead, ᚱᚲᚳᛈᛉᛊᛋ, ᛌᛍᚢᛤᛥᛦ, the Goddess of Ministry, ᛰ᛫᛬᛭ᛮᛯ, ᚥᚦᚧᚨᚩ… … .”
“… … .”
[… … .]
He always mutters ancient runes in the middle of his prayers, lest anyone think he is a magician of old.
Olivia herself said that if you pray like this, the spirit of the dead will attain enlightenment more quickly… … .
Hmm, well.
To be honest, that was all superstition.
To begin with, the very concept of becoming a Buddha was a nonsense created by religious people to suck up money.
But what can I do?
Olivia herself insisted on doing it that way.
“Whew, it’s done… … .”
“Hey, you idiot.”
“……yes?”
After Olivia finished praying, Becky asked her a question.
“Why do you always have to bother doing this?”
“No, it’s nothing else… … . To protect the honor of the dead… … .”
“So. Why on earth should we defend the honor of the dead?”
“Ah, that, that, that… … .”
Olivia continued her explanation in an awkward manner, even gesturing with her hands.
The Godmother of Magic is a being who guides the souls of dead magicians to the afterlife, but in order for the guide to arrive easily, there must not be any lingering grudges from the dead, and so on and so forth…
‘It’s just a ridiculous superstition.’
[huh.]
But to summarize what Olivia said… … .
Well, that’s just the code of conduct of the Blaze Arcane School.
[… … Is that a religion or a school?]
Honestly, when I just listened to Olivia, it seemed like nothing more than a cult.
I’m not exaggerating, but I don’t think it would be at all strange if you were to be punished by the heretic inquisitor right away.
[Anyway, those ancient magic-obsessed kids are still weird, whether they were 300 years ago or now… … .]
It’s not for nothing that they’re treated like idiots.
“By the way, Olivia.”
“……yes?”
“I have a question, too.”
This time, Riley asked the question.
“You said earlier that among the ancient magics, there is no magic that can find paths.”
“Ah, yes… … .”
A conversation between Becky and Olivia half a day ago.
So, this is the story of when Riley was destroying the magical barrier of the ruins in order to unfold Pathfinding.
-What? You can’t even use basic navigation or magic? How about pathfinding? You can’t even do pathfinding?
-……yes.
[… … I definitely said that.]
As I recalled the memory, I turned my gaze forward again.
Riley continued to question Olivia.
“But then how did you pass the first test?”
“yes yes?”
“You said you couldn’t use pathfinding magic. Then you couldn’t even find the management office. How did you pass the first test?”
“Huh? That’s true!”
Becky also jumped up from her seat after hearing Riley’s words and started questioning Olivia.
“Hey, you idiot, how did you pass the first test?”
[hmm…….]
This makes me curious too.
[That’s a sharp observation.]
How on earth did Olivia pass the first test?
And I can’t even use pathfinding.
I can’t even use pathfinding magic.
In fact, all Olivia knows how to do is show off her little knowledge of ancient magic… … .
How did she manage to find the management office through the magic circle that spread across Wilhelm?
“Uh, uh uh… … .”
Olivia, hearing the question, started fidgeting with her fingers again.
She trailed off quietly.
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“Uh, that, that… … .”
After some hesitation, Olivia opened her mouth. The answer she gave was somewhat shocking.
“There’s no law that says I have to go to the management directly.”
“……what?”
“……yes?”
As Riley and Becky simultaneously questioned, Olivia continued in a crawling voice.
“Oh, that’s right. I can’t even use basic pathfinding magic. The only magic I know how to do is ancient magic.”
“… … .”
“But, isn’t that too much?”
Olivia slowly raised her head from where she had been bowing.
I don’t know why, but her eyes were shining mysteriously.
“Of all the members of our school, I am the one who knows the most about ancient magic. I am also the most knowledgeable.”
“… … .”
“Now, I guarantee you that among all the wizards alive, there is no one who knows the ancient magic better than I do.”
She continued speaking.
Slowly but surely.
“I, I hate to say it myself, but I am a genius. I am the only one who has mastered all the principles and systems of ancient magic.”
“… … .”
“That, that’s why… … ! If I, like this, just rot away within the minor school, then it would be a huge loss even on an imperial scale… … !”
Olivia’s voice began to rise slightly.
“I absolutely must enter the Five Great Towers! No, rather, the Five Great Towers must serve me!”
“… … .”
“Why? Because there is no one in the world like me as a genius! There is no one in the world who can use ancient magic better than me!”
The corners of her mouth twisted strangely.
“But I just couldn’t find the management office on my own. When I asked other people, they all said they didn’t know where the management office was.”
“… … .”
“I was discouraged. And, if I couldn’t find the location of the administration office, I wouldn’t be able to take the test… … .”
Olivia was smiling.
no.
To be precise, laughter.
“Just because I can’t find one management office, and can’t use that one pathfinding spell… … . Should a genius like me fail the selection test without even taking it?”
“… … .”
“Oh, that’s ridiculous! That’s impossible!”
Riley and Becky were so taken aback by Olivia’s sudden outburst that they stood there dumbfounded, unable to interrupt her.
“So, so, so… … I thought of another way.”
“… … What method?”
“I went to the wizard guild that specializes in pathfinding and asked them to find the management office for me.”
It was crazy.
How dare you try to borrow someone else’s strength in an exam where you have to prove your own abilities.
It was an action that completely defied common sense.
“At that time, there was already a wizard in that guild who had finished registering for the selection test.”
“… … .”
“There was some strange symbol on his hand, which was a sign that he was a candidate for the selection test!”
“… … .”
“So I asked him! Please help me. I, I, I really want to apply for the screening test… … .”
There’s no way they’ll listen.
Of course, the wizard would have refused Olivia’s request.
“But he refused my request. He said that finding the management office was part of the test.”
Clearly, the wizard was a good person.
That would be the case, because just giving Olivia information about the first test would have been of great benefit to her.
It was like doing a favor to a complete stranger.
But Olivia seemed to think differently.
“As I said… … . I can’t use Pathfinding. I can never find the management office on my own! That’s why I begged you. Please find the path for me.”
She continued talking.
“But that wizard ignored me. He treated me like a lunatic and tried to kick me out! He said that a fool like me who relies on others’ powers isn’t even qualified to take the selection test… …!”
I would say the same thing.
It’s no different from throwing a tantrum and asking to be fed with a spoon after you’ve served the meal.
anyway.
Olivia took a deep breath and muttered in a low voice.
“So in the end, even though I really didn’t want to… … . I just decided to do it my way.”
“What is your own method?”
Olivia muttered quietly when Becky asked her a question.
“There are many terrifying spells in ancient magic. There are spells that blow up entire mountains, spells that split the sea, and spells that make meteors fall… .”
“… … .”
Olivia paused for a moment and confessed with a sigh.
“Of those, the one I’m best at is torture magic.”
“… … .”
[… … .]
Torture magic.
In short, he just tortured that Pathfinder.
-Kuaaaaah! Got it! I’ll do it! I’ll do it! P, please! Please stop… … . Kuaaaa, aaaah!
Until he lost his mind and became Olivia’s puppet. And until he begged himself to find the management instead.
“No, wow! Shit! This is ridiculous!”
Becky’s eyes widened when she heard those words.
“The manager let it pass again?”
“Oh, anyway, it’s true that I used my abilities to find the management office, right?”
“Wahahaha!”
Becky burst into laughter.
“No, then why have you been talking nonsense about manners for the dead all this time, you psychopathic bastard? This is driving me crazy!”
“What, what does that have to do with this… … .”
“What? Puhahaha! Oh, ahahaha! Aha, ahahahaha! Hey! Riley! Did you just hear that? What does that matter! This kid is a real idiot! Hahahaha!”
Finally, Becky started laughing hysterically, rolling around on the floor.
“… … .”
[… … .]
On the other hand, Riley and I had a look of boredom on our faces.
[… … This is ridiculous, really.]
You tortured other applicants to find out the location of the management office?
I’m going crazy.
[How is it that there isn’t a single normal person here?]
‘That’s what I wanted to say.’
One of them uses his clone to cause trouble.
Another one tortures candidates into taking the exam on their behalf… … .
[ha.]
Riley is the only one who passed the test through normal means.
It’s really dizzying.
Is this really a test to select talented people?
Not a man-made disaster?
* * *
The test time is exactly one day.
It was exactly 24 hours.
Half a day has already passed since the exam began.
So, in reality, we only had about 12 hours left.
[Ugh… … .]
The condition for passing the second test is to find the core of the golden golem.
The core is the golem’s power source.
In human terms, it is an organ no different from the heart.
There’s only one thing we have to do to get such a core.
[First of all, I need to quickly capture this damn golden golem bastard… … .]
The problem was that it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.
[ha…….]
I sighed.
[Is the guy still running away?]
‘yes.’
We’ve been tracking the golden golem for hours.
This was a real headache.
Of course, things went smoothly at first.
Because I was able to find the nearby golden golems without much difficulty using Riley’s “Pathfinding”.
But there was one thing we were overlooking.
[I’m going to go back… … .]
This was the interior of the ruins.
It is also a very dangerous ruins site in the form of a labyrinth.
The road was already complicated, and there were monsters and traps everywhere.
As we avoided these obstacles, the golden golem had already run away far away.
This is why we haven’t been able to capture the golden golem for the past half day.
‘But there is one piece of good news.’
[What is it?]
‘It stopped.’
[huh?]
‘The two nearby ones stopped moving completely.’
It stopped moving completely.
And all at the same time, the golden golems that were running wild in all directions.
[This is a heaven-sent opportunity.]
You can’t miss this opportunity.
It was at that moment that we were once again following the trail of the golden golems and moving forward.
Towering─.
Right then.
Riley stopped walking.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“… … .”
Becky, who was next to me, asked a question.
“Another trap?”
“no.”
“Then why did it stop?”
Instead of answering, Riley pointed straight ahead.
Step by step─.
On the other side of the alley.
Three wizards appeared.
“… … !”
They were wearing robes turned inside out and looked startled as soon as they saw us.
As if I had never expected to encounter people in a place like this.
[… … .]
I looked at the other person carefully.
Their faces were all covered in dried bloodstains.
But strangely enough, there wasn’t a single visible wound on the guys’ bodies.
‘Is that monster blood on your face?’
[no.]
This isn’t some wild guess.
I could tell by the color, the viscosity, and the smell.
That’s definitely human blood.
To be precise.
The blood of the candidates who most recently engaged in combat with them.
“What are you going to do?”
Becky asked.
“Just let it pass.”
“Why? It’s a great opportunity to reduce competition. Can’t you tell just by looking at them? Their quality looks really bad.”
“Still, we must avoid unnecessary combat. Our first priority is to find the golem’s core.”
Avoid unnecessary engagements.
That’s exactly how we’ve been handling the screening test for the past 12 hours.
“hmm…….”
Becky smiled faintly when she heard that.
“Riley.”
“yes.”
“I understand your desire to avoid unnecessary combat.”
Becky pointed to the candidates in front of us with one finger.
“But unfortunately, I guess they don’t think that’s the case?”
The will to kill.
In the midst of the suffocating tension, a flash of magic occurred. The opponent had launched the first attack without saying a word.
One of the wizards waved his hand slowly.
A red line was drawn in the air.
Jooooooowook─.
There was no time to warn her. Riley quickly bent down. Becky also lowered her posture, forcibly pressing down on Olivia’s head next to her.
“Whoa!”
“Get your head down, you idiot!”
And the very next moment.
Along the solid line, the site was split in half.
Damn──.
A surreal sight.
Our background began to crumble.
A huge amount of rubble and debris came crashing down, accompanied by a loud noise and dust.
“haha…….”
Becky smiled awkwardly.
“That’s not an easy opponent.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Riley’s expression hardened.
Olivia shivered.
“Oh my, that kid who gets so scared and trembles every time a battle starts is torturing someone else? I can’t believe it, really.”
And Becky, who was looking at Olivia like that… … .
[… … Wow, what is that? It’s gross.]
“… … .”
There were 12 people.
“Is this your first time dealing with a clone?”
Becky smiled at her bewildered enemies.
“Well, it’ll be a great experience for you guys.”
