The Returned Sword King Decided to Become a Tyrant Chapter 122
Source of Power (2)
-How much food is left?
-There are five days left.
-I see.
The knight nodded indifferently, as if it was within the expected range.
But he couldn’t hide the darkening expression on his face.
I wandered around these hellish ruins for days.
Perhaps on that first day there was more than ten days’ worth of food left?
It was such a funny thing.
-Have scholars yet been unable to solve the mystery?
-Yes.
-… … Phew. It’s become this difficult right from the first intersection.
Finally, the knight sighed softly and turned his head.
The six-way paths branched out and spread out, revealing their entrances as if mocking their ignorance.
As if to say that if you just stretch your legs a little, you can get out of here.
-If scholars discover any new clues, let them know right away.
-Yes, I understand.
Before long, the faces of the exhausted knights and scholars also became haggard.
Should I be thankful that I can at least escape the blizzard raging outside?
No way, that was such a stupid question.
After all, if I can’t solve this puzzle, being trapped in a blizzard would be a more comfortable death.
-Do we have no choice but to use that method?
The knight clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
A solution you haven’t tried yet, but don’t want to try.
Suddenly, all that was left for them was one last resort.
* * *
Phew, phew!
visor-!
I shrugged, swatting away the flying objects again.
This was already the forty-fourth trap. However, as if he wanted to continue the variation, this time there was something blue at the end of the arrowhead.
It’s poison, and it’s so strong that it would kill an ordinary person in an instant.
“They keep shooting without any end in sight.”
“The timing and direction are all different. Perhaps the purpose itself is to exhaust one’s mental power.”
The top priest answered.
That is indeed true.
The traps were vicious, but they didn’t seem designed to wipe out everyone in one fell swoop.
This could be seen just by looking at the honest presentation of questions and answers here and there.
So that we can kill those who come in, little by little, but surely.
They were conditioned to the point where they were slowly eaten away by fear.
Perhaps, if it weren’t for me and the Archmage passing by here right now, I wouldn’t have been able to come here so easily and comfortably.
“This is the fourth time.”
“Yes.”
I smiled contentedly as I looked at the fork in the road before my eyes.
According to records from before the return, this was likely the last gate.
Indeed, even that appearance was different from the three forks in the road we had seen so far.
“This time there are only two paths.”
The top star showed interest.
The forks in the road we’ve seen so far have presented us with at least six, and sometimes as many as ten, choices.
In the midst of all this, the saying that there are two paths had a lot of meaning.
“Simply finding the right path may not be the answer.”
“It’s not impossible.”
The labyrinth that used to force you to make the right choices, separating life and death, now offers you a mere 50% chance?
It was a trap in itself. It was clear that there must have been another intention.
If so, the solution was simple.
“Your Majesty, there is ancient writing here too.”
“To be interpreted.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I winked at Layton.
Then, as if he had become accustomed to it, Layton took out his notebook and began to write down the passage on it.
A total of four hints. And four gateways.
Layton has proven his worth countless times over the years.
‘It was a good decision to bring him along.’
Of course, I’m not only talking about bringing them to the land of the barbarians.
Since we knew that there were ancient ruins here, it was almost inevitable.
What I’m satisfied with is the act of bringing the guy to Esteban.
‘Thanks to you, I was able to bring forward my plans to come to this ruin.’
In order to fully achieve the goal of conquering the lands of the barbarians, someone with ancient knowledge was needed.
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That is, a person with enough knowledge to uncover the secrets of this relic.
Except for the first fork in the road, which I actually solved with my own knowledge, the guy played a big role in all of them.
It was an undeniable fact.
Conversely, what was it like before the regression?
The country that discovered and explored this place could not even find a proper ancient scholar.
Even the information we had was uncertain… … .
That is why there were great sacrifices made in the process of exploration. And most of those victims were those who threw themselves into finding the answer.
‘Even that couldn’t pass the final gate, so you could say it was a dog’s death.’
After a brief moment of reflection, Layton stood up and wiped his forehead.
“… … It’s over.”
But his expression was frozen.
It wasn’t that the interpretation was blocked, because the content was very simple.
However, the resonance of the content was just upsetting.
“Perhaps, as before, hints will be revealed only when the content is interpreted.”
He handed me his notebook and started to ramble.
“I see.”
I checked the contents of the notebook.
[The wizards will unravel the false theories and reach their long-awaited destiny.]
One phrase from the previous one.
and.
“So praise the source of magic, the fountain of glory.”
“The fountain of glory.”
Upon hearing that, Matapju’s expression sank.
“… … I never thought I would hear its name here.”
Ancient magicians believed that mana was a power that came from a single entity, not from nature.
And the Fountain of Glory they spoke of was the lord of magic and the source of all mana.
“The existence of the well was a common myth until the theories of mana and elements were established.”
“So that means a primitive form of faith.”
“Yes. But I understand that after the theory was proven, it was immediately destroyed… … .”
But to praise such a spring?
It was a phrase that seemed like a joke. However, Matapju also knew that it was not a joke.
“The wizards who created this place believed in the existence of the well.”
“okay.”
“Then we can guess that it is from an earlier period than what we call ancient times.”
The theory of mana and elements was established over a thousand years ago, so this place must have been built even earlier.
But that was just a guess.
“You could think of it the other way around.”
“yes?”
“It is said that even after the theory was established, there were still those who believed in the existence of the ‘Fountain of Glory.’”
“… … !”
Matapju opened his eyes wide and became lost in thought, as if he had not thought about it until then.
Yes, that is certainly a possibility. In fact, it cannot be ruled out.
“Indeed… … If so, then the content of solving the false theory of magic and solving the fate of long-time magicians is also meaningful.”
Matapju muttered, recalling the previous contents.
To those who believed in the folklore of the well, the established theory of ‘elements’ and ‘mana’ would have been like heresy.
So, they were ‘false theories’ written in the content.
So finally.
What is this long-held destiny they speak of?
Perhaps it has something to do with the secrets of the ruins beyond here.
Even after the theory was established, those who believed in the existence of the well tried to settle here.
“no way…….”
By summarizing the content, it was easy to deduce the correct answer.
Matapju’s astonished gaze turned to the two intersections, and I nodded in agreement.
“Yes. This is to prove the existence of the ‘Fountain of Glory.’”
The source of magical power.
They overturn theories by directly revealing and proving them. That has been their long-standing destiny.
At that moment, Matapju’s eyes sparkled.
“… … Then I think I understand the meaning of this problem.”
“Hoo.”
I crossed my arms and stepped back, a gesture that said, “Find out what you want.”
Matapju approached the two paths and slowly raised his arms.
Wooooow!
Then, a magic circle began to appear from the hands of the magician.
But it wasn’t the modern thing he had spent his whole life learning.
That’s right, it was an ancient magic circle that had been recently restored through research with Layton.
“… … The hint to the answer is in the sentence. The two false theories must mean these crossroads respectively.”
“So does that mean neither path is correct?”
“Yes. Only the fountain of glory they believe in is true, and they would not have dismissed the others as mere theories. So if we erase both false paths.”
“I guess that means the true answer they thought of is revealed.”
… … and the magic circle reached between the two passages.
The type of magic circle is cancellation, which determines truth and lies.
Then, coincidentally, as if it had been waiting, the inside of the labyrinth began to shake slowly.
Kookookookookung!
“Huh!”
It was a sudden vibration.
Layton followed the footsteps without even knowing English.
But even on that shaky ground, the magic tower master was still activating his magic circle.
“I see.”
For a moment, the corners of my mouth went up slightly.
The magic circle created by the magic tower. Because a new passage appeared wherever it touched.
Kugugugu-
Clank-
“What, it stopped?!”
As Layton said, the vibrations had stopped. It seemed that it was the noise that was being made to create a passage.
Whether or not, I muttered quietly as I looked down the exposed passage.
“Erase the false theory, this is a very profound answer.”
“Haha. I guess that means the existence of the two theories was that annoying.”
Of course, it wasn’t meant in a good way.
Because it was a trap that took advantage of the confidence that one of the two would be the correct answer.
Matapju continued speaking, making the magic circle disappear.
“Perhaps others would not be able to make a sound judgment with the mental energy they expended to get here.”
“Well, it was a meaningless attempt for us.”
I said that, chuckling and shrugging my shoulders.
In any case, the door was already open. It meant that whatever their plan was, only the results remained.
“egg plant.”
“All right.”
Matapju and Layton could also tell that this was the last time.
That would be the case, because a surprisingly large flow of magical power was felt beyond the open passage.
* * *
At the end of the road was a huge workshop.
An interior that is dust-free even after countless years have passed.
Magic tools that are still in place without a single damaged spot.
This was a passage that showed how much effort the wizards who created this place put into it.
“… … and the skeleton.”
“The wizards who created this place.”
The skeletons scattered on the floor also maintained their shape despite the passage of time.
But there was something else that surprised the group.
“That was the cause of the cold air flowing underground.”
The center of the lab.
The huge ice blocks placed there still radiated their coolness to the surroundings, as if they were freezing everything in all directions.
Matapju nodded, stroking it.
“It’s an object made of magic.”
“I see.”
It seems that magical power was being injected through the dizzyingly connected pipes.
So why is this ice here?
Matapju was able to find the answer right away.
“… … This was to cool it down.”
As the ice was pulled away, a huge mass of magical power hidden between them was revealed.
The overwhelming heat that touches your skin.
A flare that swirls around as if it were going to burn everything around it.
And even the circular shape that floats through the air, leaving behind ripples.
Wooooow-!
Was this the existence of the ‘Fountain of Glory’ they were trying to prove?
It seemed that the wizards wanted to complete the theory by creating it themselves.
“But it seems that even they themselves could not endure and were destroyed.”
… … artificial sun.
The formidable thing was boiling and bubbling.
