Chapter: 489
As Arthur glimpsed the corridor revealed beyond the crumbling wall, a strange déjà vu washed over him.
Had he seen something like this before?
Ah, right. The underground of the royal palace. He had passed through here during his older brother’s coming-of-age ceremony.
The view beyond the wall resembled that place all too well.
An answer to his unasked question came from Lucy, who explained that the layout beyond the wall was prepared by the great mage Erginius.
Considering Erginius’s connection with the establishment of the royal palace, it made sense for them to share similarities.
Following Lucy, Arthur stepped through the wall and quickly realized this wasn’t a typical passage.
Had Erginius created a shortcut in a bizarre manner, just like the last time in the desert?
If Erginius were to see this, he’d probably faint.
…After all this is over, I should definitely ask him about it.
Maybe this place is a facility considered important by the kingdom.
As Arthur tilted his head at the surprisingly clean corridor after so many years, he raised it upon hearing Lucy Alrn’s voice.
And then he faced it.
The shape of the magic circle resting beyond the door.
Arthur, who had just received teachings from Erginius, had an inkling of what that magic circle represented.
Purification, transition, and connection of energy.
He wasn’t exactly sure how it worked, but it seemed to be a magic circle that purified some evil power and transmitted it elsewhere.
Now he understood why Lucy Alrn had brought him here.
By cutting this connection, they would effectively halt the barrier itself.
“If that’s the case, I should have brought Joy along.”
While he had received teachings alongside Joy, Arthur hadn’t fully absorbed it like she had.
Even now, after asking Joy for further explanations several times.
To master this, he would need to have her with him…
Huh? Why is there no response?
By now, some sarcastic remark should have returned, right?
Feeling perplexed, Arthur raised his head, startled by the completely changed scenery around him.
Had he fallen victim to another trick of the Evil God? If Lucy Alrn intends to give me a blessing, it better be a proper one.
Using sloppy means results in this kind of situation, doesn’t it?
…
Damn. I bet when I wake up, I’ll be stuck listening to her mock me for ages.
As he grumbled and surveyed the area, Arthur suddenly sensed that the scene he was in was different from the one shown by the Evil God.
How do I put this? The place the Evil God had shown him was a hellish landscape devoid of life, but this place seemed intact.
“Don’t mistake me for the Evil God.”
Startled by the voice behind him, Arthur turned to find a plump little kid floating in mid-air, staring at him with a frown.
Was this kid even ten years old? The child scrutinized Arthur’s face and then furrowed their brows.
“What are you? You don’t look like someone qualified to be here.”
“Actually, I’ve got questions for you. What are you?”
“Are you really going to just wander in here without knowing anything? How?”
The kid crossed their arms, looking utterly perplexed by the situation.
A depth of experience that shouldn’t come from such an outward appearance. Just how superficial are these appearances?
“I won’t have anything to say even if you ask how. I just followed the guidance of a friend.”
“That friend… Are they from the Soladin line?”
“What nonsense. That kid has nothing to do with the royal family.”
“Hm? Hmmm?”
Hmm, is there any reason to continue this conversation?
This could very well be another trap crafted by the Evil God. Even though there’s something unsettling about it, for now, I’ll just self-destruct and wake up from this dream.
“Wait! What are you trying to do?!”
“I’m gonna wake up from this dream.”
“This isn’t some dream! It’s a place of trials!”
“Ah, fair point. The nightmares bestowed by the Evil God could indeed be called trials.”
“Didn’t I just say! I have no connection whatsoever to the Evil God! Don’t tie me to those puny folks who don’t even know what they are doing! No matter how old I get, I won’t be related to pests like them!”
When asked if this was the Evil God’s trickery, the little one raised their voice in a fit.
Given the level of insults being tossed around, they couldn’t possibly be a follower of the Evil God, could they? After all, they can’t speak ill of their own god.
“Then what are you?”
“I am the fragment left by the progenitor of Soladin! I am the one who carries his legacy in this land! A descendant of Soladin! Worship me!”
The kid pouted while shouting, but Arthur’s demeanor remained unchanged.
“Your appearance is certainly reminiscent of the legends.”
“You brat!”
“Looking for respect? Then show me concrete proof. The current situation isn’t exactly suitable for blind trust.”
If this little brat is the reason Lucy Alrn brought me here, she must have given me some sort of indication about it.
However, she didn’t say anything to me. This kid’s existence is clearly outside Lucy Alrn’s knowledge.
A being using a method Erginius couldn’t even anticipate is someone I can’t trust.
“…Unfavorable situation, you say? What do you mean?”
“The so-called ‘puny pest’ has seized control of the barrier.”
Arthur purposefully adopted an aggressive tone, but confusion was etched on the little one’s face, not anger.
“I’m going mad. What in the world is happening?”
“If you truly are the personality left by the progenitor, then let me go. I still have a lot left to do.”
“Wait just a moment! I need to think!”
“Or I’ll just go out myself.”
The moment Arthur drew his sword and pointed it at his neck, the little one snapped their fingers.
With a sharp sound echoing, the sword Arthur was holding vanished as if it were merely an illusion.
“Is your task related to this magic circle?”
“…That’s correct.”
“Sigh. It can’t be helped. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn’t be given to someone without authority, but given the situation…”
As the kid snapped their fingers again, the scenery once more transformed around them.
This time, the landscape resembled Erginius’s abode that had been beneath the desert not long ago.
“Descendant of Soladin! If you wish to engage with the magic, prove your worth! If you possess worth, the magic shall naturally heed your call!”
Listening to the solemn tone that felt as if a trial were descending from the heavens, Arthur didn’t respond. Instead, he began to construct magic on his fingertip.
“Are you deaf or something?!”
Hmm. I intended to self-destruct with magic, but does he catch on? I believed I was being discreet enough.
“If you want to interfere with the magic circle, you better earn your worth! Not kill yourself!”
“Why do I have to earn worth?”
“Well, because only those with worth will be granted the magic of the great mage Erginius!”
“I can interfere with that magic circle even without worth, you know?”
“What? No. Uh. Um. What?”
“Purification. Transformation. Transmission. That’s what the magic inscribed on that circle does. Am I wrong?”
“How do you know that?!”
“The great mage Erginius himself told me.”
“…What?! He’s still alive?!”
For the first time, a glimmer of excitement shone on the previously sullen expression of the little one.
*
[Don’t worry. It seems you haven’t fallen victim to the Evil God’s tricks.]
In the moment I bit my lip at Arthur’s sudden loss of consciousness, my grandfather reassured me.
‘So what’s going on here?’
[This must be something left by that Erginius punk. It likely pulls the spirit in response to certain conditions.]
Hearing Grandpa’s words, I recalled knowledge from a long distant memory.
There was a storyline where Erginius conducted a trial… Wasn’t there?
Wasn’t there?
Damn. It’s been so long since I skipped through the story that I can barely remember details that passed by in a blur!
[Considering his eccentricity, it must indeed be something for the trial.]
That’s a relief. It seems my memory isn’t off after all.
‘So does that mean we have to wait until the trial ends?’
[Probably, yes.]
While it might have been a momentary jolt in the game, the reality’s situation was different. Even after a few minutes passed, Arthur continued to stare blankly into space.
“Hey, you dumb sword guy. What do you plan to do with that sword?”
Noticing Frey lifting her sword in its scabbard, I urgently raised my voice, prompting Frey to tilt her head.
“I’m gonna smack him awake! Is that not okay?”
“If your aim is to wake him, then you’re planning to put him into an eternal sleep.”
“Ugh, is that so?”
Having pulled Arthur from his eternal slumber, I sighed in relief and crossed my arms.
This is unexpected. I had planned to wait for the Evil God’s followers to stir trouble while being prepared.
What if Arthur doesn’t wake up before the decisive moment!?
Feeling perplexed, I started tapping my arms when a translucent Adri popped through the wall.
“Old hag! You came to let me know it’s all ready and you’re excited?”
– Well, that’s true, but there’s an invader trying to break in at the entrance.
An invader? Is that Luca himself making an entrance?
That must be the case. Here is a place only accessible to those who either have the stone tablet or have visited before.
The commotion caused by the Dragon’s Breath must have caught his attention.
Well, it was unbelievably noisy. Ignoring it would be odder.
– I thought you’d be panicking, but why so calm?
“They’re just lowlifes who can’t even crawl on the floor. Why should I panic?”
I had already anticipated that Luca would follow the void’s followers to chase after me.
Of course, I had also thought of countermeasures for that.
However, now the situation has unexpectedly improved beyond my expectations.
Thanks to Adri embellishing this place with her magic, I’ve got plenty of options.
Remembering what I had asked Adri moments ago, my lips curled into a smile.
Hmm. Since it looks like it’ll take some time for Arthur to wake up, shall I have a little fun in the meantime?
If I can make the void followers scream their heads off, it will delay their plans, after all!
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
