Chapter: 531
Not long after sending off the girl who came with his friend’s mace, he organized all the research he had been doing until now.
Knowledge accumulated over centuries spent underground.
Results he could present because he—being the genius Erginius—achieved immortality.
Preparation to pass it on. He didn’t feel any regret.
In the end, the great wizard Erginius left his mark in this world solely as an apology for future generations, so how could he feel any longing?
Moreover, this time, the one receiving knowledge was his friend’s cherished individual, one of the few recognized by him, and simultaneously chosen by the great Lord Jushin Armadi as his apostle.
The skeleton with Erginius’s memories lamented that it could only give her this much, but it wasn’t going to harbor any regrets.
After several days of completing the preparation to pass on everything, Erginius worked hard to satisfy his newfound curiosity before facing the end.
The ceiling that must not break under any circumstances. Even if it were to break, it should only crumble due to something miraculous, not due to ordinary bombs and scrolls.
He did his best to find out about the outrageous event that shattered it.
The process was not easy.
All the knowledge and theories accumulated by the great wizard Erginius could clearly not explain the phenomena that took place.
It’s easy to declare it nonsense.
It’s simple to ignore what happened before one’s eyes.
But a wizard should not do that.
A wizard, whose mission is to explore and resolve every phenomenon in the world, must explain what occurred before them.
If existing theories do not account for it, then the original knowledge is simply wrong.
What went wrong? What was overlooked? What is the new aspect? He must desperately track it down and find the correct answer at the end of it.
The best method for that is to recreate phenomena one by one.
He remembers the type of scrolls and bombs that little kid used. He also perfectly memorizes the order.
So, he needs to recreate them one by one to identify where the variables arose.
Engrossed in research, forgetting the passage of time, Erginius discovered a clue only after several days.
Something dimly flowing from the scroll that turns the surrounding area into another realm.
A force that widens the gap between magic powers and disperses them.
He didn’t know exactly what that force was, but he understood how it acted.
Then, devising a solution itself wouldn’t be hard.
If he meticulously structures the magic of the ceiling, the unidentified power flowing from the scroll shouldn’t be able to completely disperse it. Erginius’s judgment was correct.
The magic, made more detailed and organic, did not crumble under the unknown force.
Although it meant that when that kid comes next, she wouldn’t be able to visit as before, that was not what was important right now.
A new power, even unknown to him. The unidentified force flowing from the otherworldly scroll.
He must uncover it.
After hundreds of years had passed, Erginius, having discovered new knowledge again, immersed himself like someone possessed.
Was it because of that? When he noticed a commotion above the ceiling, Erginius felt a pang of regret he had forgotten.
He still wanted to study this power a bit more, yet she was already coming.
No. No way. It’s not right for a dead person, who ought to be erased from this world, to cling to regrets.
But does it mean he has to leave this world, erasing the unknown right before his eyes?
If he doesn’t research, could this power remain unknown forever?
Ah, thinking back, that kid was here last time without overcoming the trial.
Right. At that time, she let it go as an exception, but it wouldn’t be this time.
If that little brat comes, she could very well reach this place the right way, so he would research this power until that time.
Erginius, who compromised with himself, thought that after confirming Lucy had left, he might as well prepare for dungeon strategy and immersed himself in research again.
The realization of his oddity struck him only after half a day had passed without Lucy returning.
What is it? Preparing for dungeon strategy shouldn’t take this long, right?
Wasn’t that kid the one who clearly revealed his method? It must be that they hadn’t anticipated it could be countered.
Thus, she must be preparing for the dungeon, so why hasn’t she returned after all this time?
Sensing something odd, Erginius finally cast his magic to check above the ceiling.
He confirmed that Lucy Allen was still left in this vast desert.
Fortunately, Lucy Allen was indeed still there.
However, did she appear to be interested in the dungeon strategy? Not at all.
“This sloppy dungeon’s 2nd Floor? If you go to the right end, a secret passage will appear, right? Then…”
She was strategizing the dungeon in the desert with the mercenary group she led.
Her lengthy discourse, as if she had etched every corner of the dungeon into her mind, felt a bit arrogant and far-fetched, but no one among the listeners took her words lightly.
As Erginius found it strange, he soon learned the reason through one of the mercenaries.
“If we raid this too, how much profit will we make today?”
“I thought the mercenary captain was dreaming when he poured money into that young lady. But everything had its reasons.”
“No more nonsense, let’s get ready to go in. We need to raid quickly and get out to hit the next one!”
Lucy Allen had already succeeded several times before this.
Instead of raiding my dungeon, she’s going for those petty ones? Why? How could this be?
…
Could it be she doesn’t know where the entrance to my dungeon is?
So, she’s looking for a dungeon?
It seems unlikely for Lucy, so familiar with dungeons, Erginius made a subtle attempt to guide her towards the dungeon.
“Lady, what’s this?”
“What kind of sloppy thing are you worried about? The sloppy saintess is really generous. How about paying attention to that stone too?”
“Uh, um, is it nothing?”
Ignoring completely.
Even after that, Erginius offered hints several more times, but each time Lucy disregarded them and moved on to another dungeon. Even during the process of raiding the dungeon near the entrance of his own dungeon, she remarkably ignored his dungeon. Even others remarked it was odd.
Even though Erginius often heard he lacked wit, when faced with such blatant disregard, he too couldn’t help but realize the problem.
Lucy Allen doesn’t not know about his dungeon. She simply knows but disregards it.
She was wandering around the desert, protesting to him.
Asking why he had ignored her.
Realizing this, Erginius chuckled and thought of the word “petty.”
Then came the grumbling of why, despite having first offered goodwill, he couldn’t do even that for her.
And then, what about that little brat? What’s up with that friend who’s going along with her?
A sigh followed with question after question.
Various negative thoughts flooded his mind.
Eventually, it led him to self-reproach.
Like a habit left in the memories of Erginius, as he ground his teeth to dust, he scolded himself.
Dummkopf.
This damn curiosity led him to commit a grave sin, and again it has him trying to forget his own identity because of curiosity.
He vowed never to forget the sin throughout his life.
Knowing that the greatest wizard who made him left this memory most vividly.
Did the passage of hundreds of years rust his memory to the point the sin felt so light?
Remember.
You are merely a remnant left by Erginius.
You are meant to leave the will of that being in this world and be forgotten. Curiosity and inquiry are what those who live in this world should possess, not a figure meant to communicate a message and vanish.
And anyway.
What does it matter if the person obliviously being erased at the end of this matter holds on to regrets?
Haha. To make one realize their own mistakes by themselves.
This is certainly the way of the Lord.
No matter how irritating what’s on the surface, what’s buried inside is, after all, an apostle of the Lord.
As Erginius chuckled inwardly, he finally checked through the preparations he had made before opening the path to the surface.
To fulfill the will left by the great wizard Erginius.
*
“Lord Erginius, really tough as nails, huh? By now, he should’ve made an exit.”
Having been wandering around the desert to vex Erginius for a whole day.
The eyes of the mercenaries raiding the dungeon were filled with fatigue, yet their faces were full of smiles.
While killing time in the desert to find hidden items, they naturally piled up more burdens.
In that process, they each packed up what they needed, so there were no complaints. But still, it’d be nice if some reaction returned soon.
“He’s been stubborn since long ago. Why not outright ignore the next clue?”
“Are you trying to make me mad? Not a bad idea.”
All right! The next time we find a clue, let’s smash it and openly laugh at it. We’ll make it impossible for him not to react.
“Hey! Wizard! Stop!”
“State your affiliation!”
While Erginius was thinking of how to troll him, a commotion erupted from the mercenaries who were on alert.
Wondering what was up, I turned my head and froze at the sight of a fragile-looking man with flowing black hair in the distance.
…Huh? If my memory serves right, he looks a lot like the Erginius from the cutscene. Am I imagining things?
“…Lucy, could that skeleton come out himself?”
“That’s him, right!? That’s Lord Erginius, right!?”
“I think so…”
“Why is that skeleton outside?! And with human skin on!?”
“How would I know?!”
What?! There was an event like this?! No way! As I blinked in shock, Erginius’s eyes met mine from far away.
And right after, the skeleton that had been distant suddenly appeared right in front of me.
“Sorry. I kept you waiting for too long.”
“Who’s waiting for a loser like you? Your self-consciousness is way overboard. With all that delusion, you still haven’t broken free from being a loser, huh?”
“Hm. I have quite a bit to rebut, but thanks to you, I’ve realized something, so I’ll let it slide for now.”
Realized?
What?
What did I do to him?
Did I only provoke him?
While in daze, rolling my eyes, Erginius snickered while laughing lightly.
“Right, right. Got it. You’d be satisfied if I said thanks, right?”
Huh?
No.
What the heck is he mistaking this for!?
What kind of thought process leads to that annoying grin?!
Why is a skeleton old man, over 300 years old, trying to pretend to be young?!
Someone explain this to me!
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.