Chapter 135

Chapter 133 – Crystal Scroll

‘Good thing Minerva is here.’

I was leisurely following Minerva, surveying the Wingless Nightmare around me.

Every time I pointed out the traps, Minerva effortlessly handled them. I was surprised we could proceed like this in such a comfortable manner.

Since it was a one-path trap dungeon anyway, there was no need for me to lead the way. The labyrinth-like dungeon would come up later elsewhere.

“Stepping in the middle will trigger arrows from the left. Be careful.”

“Got it.”

Minerva boldly smashed through the traps scattered all around, crafted with malicious intent in Darkest Light Mod, as she walked forward confidently.

For instance, just moments ago, after receiving my warning, she caused the ground nearby to collapse, triggering a trap where about ten arrows would fly out upon stepping on a switch. In Vanilla, only three arrows would fly out.

Or like now, there were seven pendulums made of axe blades swinging over a thin straight bridge, with switches that would trigger arrows when stepped on.

In the game, you needed to sprint without stopping from start to finish in a very brief timing, but Minerva just smashed the pendulums and demolished the arrow-loaded wall.

“Do we still have further to go, child?”

“We’re almost there. Just a few more barriers to break.”

Even in the game, it took quite a while to clear, and considering the scale has significantly increased since transferring to reality, it wouldn’t be unusual to take a few hours here.

But thanks to Minerva, we reached the last remaining trap in less than an hour. It felt more like taking a walk in a building than navigating a trap-filled dungeon.

‘It would have been the same even if it were a dungeon with enemies.’

Unless it was a boss-level or mid-boss-level enemy, there was no way they could withstand the magic Minerva unleashed. Even the average mob would have been swept away in a single spell.

There were only a few traps left now. After clearing them and walking a bit further, we arrived at a vast open square filled with water up to our ankles.

The overall size resembled the Training Ground of the Silver Dawn Knights’ castle, and instead of the stone walls we had seen so far, the walls here were built with neatly cut bricks.

Except for the water at ankle height on the floor, it was completely empty. I pointed to a large door located opposite the corridor we had come out of.

“Alright. Do you see that door? The Crystal Scroll is located behind it.”

“Ah, finally……”

“Wait a moment. You can’t go yet.”

Minerva, with tears brimming in her eyes as she tried to walk towards it, was stopped. I could hear a clack clack sound from behind the wall, as if something was being loaded.

“Why is that, child? Is there still something left to do?”

Minerva turned to me with an urgent expression.

“Yes. There’s one last trap back there that we need to handle.”

As soon as I finished speaking, there was a thwoom sound. It sounded like something was being shot. Minerva furrowed her brow as if she heard the sound too.

—BOOM!

A sound that shook the whole area reverberated from beyond the wall. The ground trembled slightly.

The explosion didn’t stop at one. It resembled the sound of breaking a mountain, echoing a total of seven times in a row. Only after that did silence finally settle in.

“……That must be it.”

“That’s right.”

The silence was short-lived. Once again, the clack clack sound echoed. In that brief moment, whether she used detection magic to identify the trap, Minerva muttered in an annoyed tone.

“That’s a bit grand to be called a trap.”

I couldn’t help but agree.

Right. It was hard to properly describe such a thing just as a trap.

This was a super-large cannon that automatically performed all procedures necessary for firing, automatically replenishing ammunition, and even automatically tracking targets within a few seconds.

Just the fact that every procedure was automatic, the ammunition was infinite, and it tracked targets on its own was astonishing enough, but it even fired in a four-shot burst.

In a game where most technology was set in the medieval era, I questioned the logic of incorporating such an over-tech trap, but what can one do when the developers of the Brightest Darkness series did it?

By the way, in Darkest Light Mod, there was another cannon with the same specifications right next to it. So that’s why I heard something crashing into the back wall a total of eight times.

“So, all we need to do is deal with that trap, right, child?”

“Before that, there’s one more request I have.”

I looked around. The bang bang bang bang sound that resembled breaking a mountain echoed from behind me again.

“Minerva, is it possible for you to redirect the cannon’s fire? I think making a human shape will do.”

“Redirecting the fire? Hmm…… Wait a moment.”

Minerva waved her staff. A sphere of mana floated in the air. She waited a moment, confirming the cannon wasn’t targeting that, then waved her staff again.

The mana sphere changed its shape. It formed a human shape. Hair appeared, clothes were donned, arms and legs grew, and each part changed to a human-like color.

At least on the outside, it looked just like Minerva herself.

—BOOM!

And not long after, it was smashed by a metal object the size of a person that flew in from a distance. The mana that formed the human shape turned a shade of blue and scattered into the air.

“That worked.”

“Indeed. It worked.”

It was a relief we didn’t need to resort to a backup plan. If that method hadn’t worked, either one of us would have had to lure that cannonball with our bodies.

Of course, there was no need to roll and tumble to evade the cannonball like in the game, thanks to teleportation.

“Now what should we do?”

“Do you see the wall over there? It should be different in color from the surrounding walls.”

Minerva nodded as she looked at the spot I pointed to. Most of the walls had a mix of black and brown, but that one was closer to gray.

“You just need to create a clone of the one you made earlier in front of it.”

Tap, the staff lightly touched the floor. Blue mana gathered in front of the wall I pointed to, shifting colors, and took on a human form. However, this time it didn’t resemble Minerva.

It was the figure of Ceres. Before the Enhancement Potion made her breasts grow, she looked completely flat.

No matter how much a fake form created from mana, it seemed losing her form was quite unpleasant. Perhaps it was a bit of catharsis as well.

“……”

Before several seconds could pass, the mana Ceres was shattered by the cannonball that flew in like lightning. The shattered pieces turned the same blue and dispersed.

The cannonball wasn’t satisfied with just smashing a human made of mana. BOOM! It collided with the wall I pointed at. The wall shook and trembled from the impact.

“One more time, please.”

Immediately, Ceres’ figure appeared again, and surely enough, she was smashed by the cannonball.

But the wall behind it would receive the same fate. The first impact barely held up, but the second impact failed to withstand it. The wall that collided with the cannonball crumbled down with a loud noise.

“Child, that is…….”

Minerva looked slightly surprised at the space that appeared behind the crumbled wall. This was the puzzle that required utilizing that trap.

Just as it had always been in the Brightest Darkness series, there were no hints to figure out how to open that door unless one paid attention to the different color of the wall, leading many to scream in despair while being hit by cannonballs and facing Yudahee.

Even if one knew, selecting the location to break that wall was crucial, so many would have to die multiple times during the clearing process.

“This is the task required to open that door.”

I said nonchalantly.

“There are now three left.”

“Are we finished?”

“Yes. It’s done.”

I gazed contentedly at the two broken cannons. I felt a sense of satisfaction. There was no way to destroy those in the game, but now the story was different.

‘……Actually, I think Minerva could have broken the wall herself.’

I hadn’t thought of that since such a scenario never occurred in the game. It was only after Ceres constructed from mana shattered six times and the cannons broke did I finally recall that thought.

Minerva and I inserted the gems we gathered behind the broken wall into the door’s slot. Then, just like we had done thousands of times before, we began to solve the puzzle by fitting the gems in order.

In the game, I had to match one gem and run away from the cursed cannon, then return to match another, and repeat this process over and over.

But now, without such antics, we were able to solve the puzzle leisurely.

“This is the last one.”

As I pushed the green gem diagonally to the left, the door began to shudder and slowly opened from side to side. Minerva looked up at the opening door with a dazed expression.

“Is…… it really done, child……?”

“Yes. There it is. Can’t you see, Minerva?”

I pointed at the box placed on a square structure resembling an altar in the distance. Minerva’s body trembled as she confirmed the box.

The trembling didn’t stop even after we reached the box. If anything, it felt like it was getting worse. At one point, she almost stumbled after twisting her ankle, and I had to catch her.

“This is…… the Crystal Scroll……”

Her mumbling slipped through her lips. The box, like a container for housing the ‘Crystal’ Scroll, was adorned with all kinds of gems. It was the size of my torso, and it didn’t appear to have any locks.

Except for being more extravagant, it was almost identical to the one in the game.

“So it really was this…….”

Minerva was trembling so much it seemed almost pitiful to watch.

‘I don’t completely understand why she acts like this, but……’

This was information that could be gathered from the conversation with Arcanum, the original NPC of Minerva.

She possessed overwhelming talent, allowing her to master all forms of magic, but paradoxically, it led her to lose interest in life.

She had learned all the magic she could. Now, she merely flipped through the spellbooks she memorized hundreds of years ago or endlessly toiled to improve various forms of magic.

Even though she had been doing the same thing for hundreds of years, all the mages of the Empire gushed over her “same acts.” For Minerva, it was no different than rotting alive.

And so, while merely persisting out of a sense of duty for over a century, she discovered that the Crystal Scroll, known to have been released a long time ago.

This was truly a rare opportunity to learn, and her excitement was beyond control.

‘Seeing it in person makes it even more severe.’

To be honest, when I heard Arcanum’s words in the game, I took it somewhat lightly.

Accustomed to elaborate vocabulary that did its best to cloak the truth, the summary was simply that she wanted to die because she had learned all the magic, and boredom had set in.

However, it seemed this matter was significantly more serious for Minerva. I had a feeling she would definitely ask about the locations of other scrolls later.

Without exaggeration, if someone offered to tell me the locations of the remaining ancient scrolls in exchange for her body, I would happily comply.

‘Not that I would think that.’

“Ah…….”

Minerva opened the box with trembling hands.