#188
Helmut
Episode 188
‘Grant magical power.’
It is a way to distinguish between other forces such as vis. It would have been made so that non-mages could not inherit the inheritance.
In any case, the road wasn’t going to open right away.
Area sat down on the floor and looked at the circle I drew. There must not be a single mistake.
The purple eyes took on an infinitely serious color.
The moonlight gradually became darker. But time passed slowly.
Helmut, who was sitting across from me, recited part of his will.
“It is said that it is the time when the full moon shines in the deepest darkness. “When does the deepest darkness mean here?”
“midnight. For wizards, midnight is said to be the time of the devil at the border between one day, and is often likened to the deepest darkness.”
“It’s midnight.”
“I said it was a quiet night, so you shouldn’t talk then. “Be careful.”
If you miss this opportunity, it will be one year. Rampione’s dungeon will not tolerate mistakes. Tension appeared on Alea’s face.
Helmut nodded silently.
I can’t swing a sword, or at least I can’t turn the pages while reading a book.
No, that would have been fine, but since it was an opportunity that only came once a year, I couldn’t tolerate any variables.
They waited in its natural state. Under the moonlight, Area’s silver hair sparkled like spiderwebs. Helmut was conscious of that sparkle.
Suddenly, our eyes met. Area was also looking this way.
It was the first time the two had been together for this long. Yes, since that night of celebration when both of them were silent.
Suddenly, Area opened her mouth.
“For a wizard, truth has a meaning in itself. That’s what it says in Rampione’s book. Do you understand what this means?”
“no.”
I don’t know what that means, and I don’t know why Area says that.
It was a statement that could not help but be taken seriously. In a relationship like theirs that keeps a lot of secrets.
Area asked softly.
“Truth has one meaning. “Then what is a lie?”
“Lies are meaningless, so it would be nothing.”
“What if I replace that with numbers?”
“1 and 0.”
Only then did Helmut realize.
“When you cross lies and truth, may you be able to open the door, huh?”
What was said was Lampione’s will. Since they had to open the road in a little while, I guess they just answered before I asked.
Area added, as usual, in an explanatory manner.
“It means always getting closer to the original truth. Whether it’s a problem or a person. But I don’t think lies are necessarily meaningless. Because sometimes there are things that cannot be realized as truth.”
“You can achieve it with lies and then reveal the truth.”
“That’s when it’s okay for the truth to come out.”
Area cut off firmly.
“There are times when the mere revelation of some truths can be fatal.”
“… … “Maybe so.”
Helmut agreed. It was something he had no choice but to agree with. Because he too was holding a fatal truth.
Helmut did not consider truth to be 1. There are stages to truth.
A truth that can be revealed to some and a truth that should not be told to anyone.
The fact that he was a disciple of Sword Saint Darian was a truth that could be revealed depending on the person. Because of that, he exposed himself to people like Ethan Kudrow and Luke Yeager.
However, outside the Forest of Pahe, no one knew that Helmut had a sprout of darkness except Archmage Antiol, who noticed it himself. Because High Priest Dolos is dead.
No one was supposed to know that fact. It was the same for the area in front of me.
For the first time, a question arose. Darian said that if the humans found out that Helmut had a seed of darkness, they would turn against him. He believed so.
However, Antiol did not turn into an enemy. That may be because he is a wizard who is hostile to the temple.
‘Then, will Area, who is a wizard like Antiol and has a hostile relationship with the temple, turn into an enemy when he learns the truth?’
There was no positive answer to that question. If it were Area, he might accept that fact as calmly as Antiol. It was an answer that could not be confirmed.
But you can’t take risks. Because risking one’s life is foolish.
The conversation stopped and silence fell on the black cliff. Time was passing slowly but clearly.
As the night deepened, the darkness seemed to get deeper, while the moonlight became brighter.
At one point, a faint light appeared on the six stones. A red color that contrasts with the moonlight.
It wasn’t a flashy or eye-catching light. Because Lampione didn’t want anyone to discover his dungeon by chance.
The light emanating from the six stones vaguely hovered at the exact origin that Area had drawn.
Area placed her hand in the center of the circle. When I gave him his magic power, the circle responded.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of the ground breaking somewhere.
When Alea released her hand, there were four pieces of metal protruding from it. Almost as if it had sprung up from the ground.
‘Now that you’ve shown your qualifications, it’s time to intersect lies and truth.’
Area turned the curved metal. The metal plate rotated like a gear wheel, showing another side. There were numbers written on it.
If you turn it, you will get all the numbers from 0 to 9. After crossing the four numbers 0, 1, and 0101, Area stood up.
‘This is the beginning.’
Quad deuk! The sound of the ground breaking was heard again.
The red color deepened where the four metals were.
The light became bright enough to obscure my vision. Something slowly bubbled up from the place where the numbers were sucked in like a whirlpool.
Like a hump protruding from the head of a cliff. A large door, much larger than Helmut, finally appeared.
It was a secret door filled with magic and engraved with all kinds of ancient characters. It was mysterious, like a gateway to another world.
‘This phenomenon… … .’
Helmut stared at the door. It looks similar to when the road to Archmage Antiol’s residence was opened.
From now on, the place they are heading to is the space of Rampione, which is distinct from the outside world.
There may be a reason why Area needed Helmut.
“Let’s go in.”
Area, standing in front of the door, asked if I could open my mouth now. The gap between the two narrowed.
Area placed a magical hand on the circular metal plate in the middle of the door.
A faint red light imprinted Area’s magical power. As a dungeon challenger and someone who gets an opportunity that only comes once a year.
Grumble! The entrance to the dungeon was opening. Area walked inside first without hesitation. Helmut followed him closely.
A moment after the two entered, the door closed by itself. The outside and the space are blocked.
Now this dungeon no longer accepts people.
Inside was a long passageway. It was a dark building. It felt like I was walking down the hallway of an old ruin buried underground.
Even the long hallway had an end. One huge door at the end. Helmut read the writing on the door.
“He who answers all questions will reach the end of the road.”
And below that, I saw a number appear. Currently it is 360:00. As soon as they walk through the first door, time will begin to run out.
“6 hours… … “This is it.”
And below that, there was another text written in small letters. Helmut tilted his head.
“One problem, three opportunities. “The end is not written.”
“that’s right. I don’t know where it ends. Each room is given only three chances. If you make a mistake more than three times, you cannot proceed any further. I didn’t get the question wrong… … I gave up and left. “I was afraid that the movement magic would be distorted, so I walked back the way I came in.”
Harsh wizards try to eliminate intruders from the dungeon.
Although the purpose of the dungeon’s establishment is different, giving him three chances and allowing him to walk away even if he fails must have been a great mercy from Rampione’s point of view.
Anyway, if you want to conquer a dungeon, you need to avoid making as many mistakes as possible.
“Let’s go right away.”
The two entered the first room. As the door closed behind me, the problem appeared in glowing letters on the wall of the room.
The same four protruding metal plates as before were located underneath the problem.
It was a math problem. Incredibly complicated.
Helmut also knew how to do basic math, but this didn’t seem to be at the academy level. While solving the problem, he felt like he wanted to tear down the wall.
Area calmly took out a pen and paper from her arms.
“You won’t have to step forward yet. The problem is similar to before… … “There is no overlap.”
It only took a minute for Area to solve the problem.
“238… … “It’s 0238.”
Helmut, who had nothing else to do, turned the metal plate and guessed the answer.
Five seconds later, one side of the wall slowly opened. This is the door to the next room.
They kept going. The room’s problems were not limited to simple math problems.
There were also numerous riddles and nonsense quizzes where you were given several clues and combined them to find the answer.
Area was in charge of math problems, but in other cases, Helmut was able to solve them by his side.
In some rooms, a series of numbers appeared on the wall.
[2 5 17
3 13 131
7 51 ????
9 83 6851
… … … ]
“Are you guessing the number in the question mark over there?”
“Okay, there will be rules. What do you think the answer is? “I’ll give you 3 minutes.”
It seemed like I had time to spare because I had solved the problems in front of me easily. If you see that you are asked to solve a problem like this.
Helmut, who was staring at the numbers, spoke out after a while.
“Is it 2569?”
“You’re right. “You did really well.”
Area spoke as if complimenting and looked at Helmut. Anyway, it’s a favorable view.
I can’t tell if this is being ignored or acknowledged.
Helmut turned the metal plate and guessed the answer. The door to the next room slowly opened.
In the next room, there was a sentence written on the wall in purple letters. Area recited that sentence out loud.
“I am in the place where the wind catches me. Even though I don’t collapse from lightning, sometimes I collapse from a stream of water. “Sometimes I am dirty, sometimes I am beautiful, and when I touch the floor for a long time, people get what they want.”
Area muttered.
“Contacting the floor? Is it because of the wind? “Shouldn’t it be protruding for the wind to catch it?”
Helmut spat it out right away.
“… … Hill?”
Alea raised her eyebrows.
“Why does it become a hill?”
“Butt in the back… … “I thought so.”
Alea’s expression changed mysteriously.
“My butt is hilly… … Right. The buttocks are sometimes likened to mounds. “It makes sense.”
Helmut didn’t know that analogy, but he realized it instinctively. Area immediately read the next sentence written in yellow.
“I am innumerable, yet I twinkle like a candle. If my light were poor, I wouldn’t have dared to notice you. “Everyone has one me in their heart.”
This time, Area found the answer right away.
“This… … Is it a star? “There are two more below.”
Area read the next sentence quickly. It was green text.
“I have a coffin above my head, and sometimes I look down on others from above. Because luck and wealth follow me, I am always welcomed by everyone. People never stop praising my beautiful eyes and slender body. “I am strong, but sometimes I am weak and fall down, spraying blood on the metal.”
“He’s wearing a crown. For a monarch, things may not be that simple. Rather, the answer is numbers.”
Helmut pointed out four metal plates. If words were the answer, it wouldn’t exist. You would have been given a blackboard to write your answers on.
“There are four sentences, so this must mean four numbers. What do you think the answer is?”
Helmut was lost in thought at Area’s question. Something suddenly occurred to me.
