#110. Sphinx’s Riddle (1)
chin.
Damdeok placed his hand on the gold-decorated doorknob.
Baekgureum, who was watching from behind, asked in a serious voice.
“But bro… “Are you smart?”
Damdeok looked back with a puzzled expression.
“what?”
“no… “The gods here said that if you can’t solve the problem the Sphinx gave you, you will be eaten.”
My usual pony-like personality had disappeared, and I couldn’t hide my restlessness and anxiety.
Damdeok smiled and replied.
“so? If you can’t answer the question correctly, you’ll be hit by Sphinx! “Are you afraid of being eaten?”
“no?! It’s not that it’s scary, it’s that you can guess it right! Make a strategy before you go in! uh?!”
Damdeok giggled and looked at the guy.
How do you plan ahead when solving a riddle?
It was a ridiculous story.
“Just say you’re scared~ You’re scared of things like ghosts and ghosts~ Hey, now that I think about it, it would have been very embarrassing if you had followed me when I was working part-time as Medusa. “It’s a shame, kekeke.”
“Miss, really… “Don’t play around!”
When the guy huffed again, Damdeok tapped his shoulder.
“Okay, okay. But what should I do? If you don’t get in here, there’s no other way. Or are you really going to search this wide pyramid one by one to find it?”
After searching up to the 333rd floor, the sun was already setting outside.
Thankfully, thanks to the address information, the places I can visit are limited to Area A, but… .
‘I never thought Area A would be this wide.’
Moreover, it is said that Teotihuacan has sections from Zone A to Zone F, so it was more like a small world than a building.
“If you’re that worried, you just have to work hard. You’re a swordsman genius from the East. “Please show off your skills.”
Damdeok said that and opened the door without hesitation.
“Ah, bro! a little! slowly… !”
Squeak-
With a sound, the huge door opened with relative ease.
“Ugh, dust.”
As if no one had been in or out for a long time, dust was billowing through the cracks in the door.
I said that to tease Baek Cloud, but honestly, I was a little worried, so I only opened the door halfway.
“… “What, nothing special?”
Damdeok stuck his head in, looked around the empty interior, and opened the door wide.
Aside from the sphinx, the room was clean.
What’s special is the murals painted throughout the room… .
“… Brother, be careful. A curse might pop up from somewhere.”
“How does a curse come out? It’s not even a living creature. Oh, man, stay away.”
Damdeok took a step at a time, reprimanding Baekgureum, who had already clung to him.
A spacious, square stone room.
The dust flying around every time I took a step was no joke.
‘There are quite a few spider webs… .’
It must have been a room that had been abandoned for a long time.
“But didn’t those guys make eye contact with the Sphinx earlier?”
It was an empty room with nothing in it, so what caught my eye?
‘Maybe a mural?’
The murals that filled the room depicted heavily armed soldiers.
‘I can’t even see my eyes because I’m wearing a helmet… ‘It’s a mess to run into.’
After looking around for a while, Damdeok found something.
“uh… that.”
Baekgureum’s gaze moved along Damdeok’s finger.
face.
A stone slab was seen slightly protruding.
“Anyone can see that it says, ‘Please press.’ right?”
“No, no…” brother. “I saw it in a movie, and if you press something like that, you die immediately.”
“You’re laughing. “Is this a movie?”
“Ah, bro! We’re in a place that’s more like a movie than a movie! “You said it couldn’t be done?!”
“shut up. men and horses.”
Damdeok approached with great strides.
It was an outright suspicious slab.
Just as the system told me about the gate core hack in the past, I thought that if I looked closely at this, it would tell me something, but unfortunately, nothing came to mind.
‘Hmm, I have no idea what it is.’
A stone tablet full of strange hieroglyphs that cannot be interpreted. The only way to find out what it was was to press it myself.
“Go first.”
As Damdeok tried to press down on the stone slab, the white cloud behind him frowned and screamed like a work by Munch.
“No way!!”
“Oh, that’s really crazy.”
Damdeok chuckled and tried to put strength on his hand on the stone slab.
It stopped standing tall.
“… Well, no. just in case.”
Damdeok removed his hand and glared at the stone plate.
“Baekseol. “Come out.”
Anyway, I had a strong feeling that if I pressed the stone slab, something would pop out.
At least I had to make sure I was prepared for that.
“… Baek Seol?”
But it’s quiet.
Hercules’ lion skin must be very cozy.
In the past, he used to be so cute, but these days he’s stuck inside and doesn’t come out often… .
“hey! Snow White!”
When Damdeok shouted, only then was his dying voice heard.
– will… .
“What. Why isn’t it coming out? “Come out quickly.”
– will… .
I think they say it’s scary.
what the.
Damdeok looked at Baekgureum, who was still doing Munch’s scream pose with a bewildered expression, and Baekseol, who was hiding behind his lion armor and only slightly sticking his head out.
“Are the Baeks the problem? .”
Damdeok clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Now that this has happened,
“I don’t know. “Press.”
Damdeok pushed the stone slab and quickly stepped back.
Sigh.
A stone slab being sucked into a wall.
At the same time, a large vibration began to occur on the floor.
Coo coo coo coo coo coo.
“Ugh! I told you not to press it! I’m ruined because of you! “It’s ruined!”
“Oh, I’m more scared because of you, man! “Why is this guy who is normally fine like this?!”
“Aaaah!!”
Damdeok left the screaming guy behind and focused his mind.
Baekgureum It seems like that guy was already wrong, so at least he had to come to his senses.
‘Ugh. ‘It’s so shaky.’
It was difficult to stand properly because of the vibration.
Damdeok opened his eyes even more.
I was clearly standing still, but my vision was shaking randomly as if I was dancing.
In addition, the bricks on the side where the slab was pushed began to be rearranged here and there.
Dudduddu! Dude!
yet,
“… “What, was there another room inside?”
A narrow passage appeared in front.
In the space at the end of the passage, the sphinx statue standing majestically in the middle of it was clearly visible.
But Damdeok couldn’t approach him right away.
Cooung. thud.
thud. Cooung.
A mural engraved throughout the room.
Soldiers were coming out of the mural.
“I knew it would be like this.”
I thought it was strange that no one was in the room from the beginning.
Seeing him raise his weapon with his red eyes shining, it seemed like it was time to fight.
“Baekseol.”
– will!
White White, recognizing the severity of the situation, quickly came out and transformed into a sword.
Damdeok grabbed Excalibur and cut down the guy who was just running towards him.
– Kaaak-!
A rough metal sound echoes.
‘Is your body made of rock? It doesn’t cut well… .’
The guy who was staggering attacked fiercely again.
– Kaaak-!
– Kagaak-!
Even if I slashed with divine power, the attack did not work well.
However, when using powerful skills, the problem was that it was inside the pyramid.
‘If I use something like Wave Slash or Black Fire Climb, this space will collapse… .’
If it becomes known that the courier came into Sphinx’s room while delivering and was causing trouble… .
‘I’ve been so careful all this time, it’s all nonsense.’
Is there no choice but to destroy them one by one using the intangible sword technique?
Even if it took a while, it was the only way to go.
however,
“uh?”
Damdeok’s eyes widened for an instant.
The road leading to the Sphinx’s room was gradually narrowing.
I guess there was a time limit.
“no!”
Even though I gritted my teeth and swung my sword frantically, the statues broke into sand and then came back again, constantly running at me.
It seemed like they were not living creatures, but soldiers that someone had artificially created.
If your concentration is even slightly disturbed, your attack will not go well.
Also, if you concentrate so hard that you barely destroy it, it will regenerate and attack you again.
‘driving me crazy.’
It was really crazy.
Coo coo coo coo coo.
The passage was already quite narrow.
‘You have to go in now!’
Damdeok used the wind sprint skill.
He ran zigzagly between the large soldiers, and just before he entered the gap in the wall, he snatched two soldiers and trapped them.
That’s it.
The narrowing wall stopped for a moment.
But even for a moment,
Push! puck!
As the soldiers turn to sand and scatter, the wall moves again.
but,
Shaaaaaagh-
Meanwhile, the bodies of the soldiers are rapidly regenerating.
That’s it.
The wall stopped again.
Damdeok smiled in remorse and began grabbing all the nearby soldiers and throwing them through the cracks in the wall.
“Hwaap!”
thud. Coogung. Coogugung.
That’s it.
Push! puck!
That’s it.
Push! puck!
Well… !
The walls were no longer closed.
Baekgureum, who was ignorantly driving his sword into the soldiers’ necks, looked blankly at Damdeok.
Damdeok waved his finger at Baekgureum a couple of times and leisurely went inside, stepping on the soldiers in the passage.
* * *
A small circular stone chamber.
A large stone statue of a sphinx lies in the middle of the room.
“Wake up.”
“Get up.”
“Open your eyes.”
“Move.”
“Hey, Mr.!”
As soon as Damdeok and Baekgureum entered the room, they shouted several spells right in front of the Sphinx, but nothing happened.
“I guess you’re not scared anymore? “Are you a mantra and you speak well?”
When Damdeok asked, Baekgureum answered with a stern expression.
“Because I lost just now. “I have to win, even if it means waking up the Sphinx.”
Damdeok looked at that guy and shook his head.
‘Anyway, the competitive spirit is strange.’
The guy didn’t care and kept shouting spells at the Sphinx.
“wake up!!”
“Hey man!!”
Damdeok stopped the guy who was fussing.
“Shh. “What did you hear just now?”
“What can I hear? Brother, I’m afraid I’ll wake you up first… .”
Baekgureum’s eyes widened slightly as he answered bluntly.
I heard it.
It’s clear now… .
– Meow!
Their eyes slowly met.
“hey… ?”
“yes… ?
– Meow! Meow!
The cat’s cry gets louder.
Damdeok approached the direction where the sound was heard.
Inside the Sphinx’s body.
Upon closer inspection, there was an openable lid on the top of the body.
gulp.
Damdeok, who swallowed dry saliva, slowly approached the sphinx’s body and opened the lid.
Sigh-
“I thought I was going to die from frustration!”
Some cat jumped out.
And not just one, but three… .
“Wow, it’s refreshing air!”
“It’s the outside world!”
“I’m going to kill you!”
Yellow cheese cats that resemble desert sand.
They are grooming each other and purring, so it definitely seems like they are cats… .
“What kind of situation is this?” ?”
“well… Still, I’m glad it’s not like a mummy… .”
Damdeok and Baekgureum looked blankly at the cats.
“hmm? “You’re an outsider!”
“You guys are the ones who took us out!”
“You’re so kind!”
Damdeok, who was taken aback by the friendly attitude of the cheese cats, opened his mouth.
“if… You Sphinx… .”
Probably not?
Probably not.
I thought and asked, but the cheese cats nodded as if it was only natural.
“It’s a sphinx! “I’m the first one!”
“I’m the second ping!”
“I’m the youngest!”
“The three together are a sphinx!”
Damdeok and Baekgureum couldn’t say anything with their mouths open.
“… “If you put the three together, it’s ‘Sphinx.’ Why is it ‘Sphinx’?”
The cats answered that question like a chorus.
“Spink is tacky! “The Sphinx is majestic and nice!”
Damdeok gave up thinking any more.
It was the same with the white clouds.
‘Still, bro, if you look this cute, I might not get eaten… .’
‘yes? Let’s just quickly ask and leave… .’
After the two reached an agreement while whispering, they approached the cute sphinxes(?) with a relatively light heart.
“Do you know anything about the pharaoh sleeping inside the pyramid? “I’d like to know the location.”
“Oh, just a question?!”
“Good!” “If you guess the problem we ask, we’ll tell you everything!”
“I’m ready!”
There was no tension at all.
To be honest, the visuals made me want to open a can of tuna and pat them.
Damdeok answered confidently.
“okay. “Tell me the problem.”
That was a mistake.
As soon as Damdeok accepts the conditions, the cats’ expressions harden, and in an instant, all three transform into giant monsters.
[Crrrrrrr… !]
A mythical monster with the body of a lion, the face of a jackal, and the wings of a griffin.
Although there was a difference from the original appearance of the Sphinx, Damdeok and Baekureum were recognizable at a glance.
That’s the real Sphinx… .
[You know what happens the moment you don’t get the question right, right?]
[How could you not know? The story about us is famous~]
[Keu, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to feast. That statue was so cramped that it burst… !]
[Don’t you gods know how painful it is to be transformed into a cat?]
The monsters in front of me, licking their lips and giggling, were no longer cute cats.
ruined.
It was the first word that came to Damdeok’s mind.
‘The divine power I feel… Similar to Hephaestus.’
Divine power similar to that of the Supreme God.
It was said that if we fought, we would inevitably lose.
When Damdeok and Baekgureum were unable to say anything due to the sudden situation, the first one suddenly walked forward.
[In return for taking it out, I didn’t eat it right away so I’m grateful. Hehehe.]
The distance was only slightly closer, but the feeling of life on my skin was incredible.
Baekgureum’s face, weighed down by the force, turns pale.
[
[Neutralizes the status abnormality ‘Fear’!]
Damdeok was able to survive thanks to the title effect, but that was all.
‘If I do this wrong… .’
Cold sweat broke out on my back.
My fingertips also tremble slightly.
Not one, but three such monstrous sphinxes.
In case they don’t get the question right here… .
‘I die without moving.’
This was real.
Damdeok opened his eyes wide.
No matter what happens, no matter what! I had to get the problem right.
[Kkeuk, your eyes are nice. Then let’s get started right away. The first problem is… Shall we try math?]
At the word math, Baekgureum’s expression darkened, but Damdeok’s expression brightened.
‘I am confident in math.’
It was a subject that I stayed up all night studying throughout my school days when I had no talent.
‘I was even ranked first in the whole school among talented kids.’
I had solved so many problems that I was almost ready to memorize them all.
Geek. Geek.
First, he started writing problems on the floor with his claws.
Damdeok watched the scene with a confident expression.
[Now, solve it.]
The first person who had finished solving the problem put his big paw away.
Problems written in detail on a hard slate.
Damdeok’s eyes opened wide.
———————–
7×2=455
5×4=91
8×3=555
7×5=242
10×1=999
10×4=?
———————–
Damdeok’s eyes shook violently.
‘… ‘I have no idea?’
fantasy,
