Proof (2)
Now that the hunt was over, it was time to collect the spoils. Woojin carefully searched through the Living Armors.
He picked up a longsword that caught his eye.
'What kind of metal was this made from?'
Strangely enough, although the sword had been forged ages ago, it had barely rusted. He guessed it must be a special alloy made by mixing several metals.
Judging by the sheer number of Living Armors, the people of the old empire might have mass-produced metal in huge furnaces.
'I should take one as a souvenir.'
He fastened the longsword securely at his waist. Looking down at it, Woojin smiled in satisfaction.
Just then…
He suddenly felt someone's gaze. For some reason, Fabian was staring straight at him.
It was a situation he had experienced a few times before.
'He's been looking at me for a while now.'
Ever since they sat down at the table to eat. The middle-aged mage had occasionally glanced this way from the corner of his eye.
At first Woojin didn't think much of it, but eventually the stare started to bother him. So he spoke directly to Fabian.
"Is there something you wanted to say?"
"No… well, it's just…"
Fabian asked cautiously.
"This might sound a bit sudden, but… have we met before?"
The words strangely gave him a sense of déjà vu. Woojin thought for a moment before answering.
"I'm not sure. I think today is the first time we've met… though we might have crossed paths by chance. I've visited the Magic City a few times."
"Hmm, is that so."
Fabian nodded and stepped back. Watching him leave, Woojin felt inwardly relieved.
'Quite a lot of people recognize my face.'
Perhaps because the Church Alliance had turned him into a statue, people sometimes recognized him like this. If things had gone wrong, it might have become troublesome.
After his duel with the Master of the Magic Tower last time, his hair had been badly singed, so he cut it short… but apparently that alone wasn't enough of a disguise.
'Maybe I should get some glasses to wear.'
He would have to find something suitable. Wearing a mask like the dark-side priests would stand out too much.
While he was thinking that—
"I'm ready too!"
Claire shouted brightly. She had been struggling with her notebook and quill pen for quite a while, and it seemed she had successfully finished memorizing the resonating lightning spell.
Mages possessed tremendous firepower, but they often had to rest and replenish their spells.
"Then we can move again."
Together with the party, they continued forward.
A new path had appeared when they finished the trial. As they walked leisurely toward it…
Before long, an impressive sight entered their view.
Duran muttered in amazement.
"Huh, they carved a mural in a place like this, like a mole tunnel. And it's huge."
"Yeah."
A gigantic mural.
An enormous mural covered everything—from the wall to the floor and even the ceiling. Woojin's party admired the paintings within it.
A vast and magnificent palace, with islands floating serenely in the sky around it. A majestic dragon was sleeping while resting upon one of the sky islands, and around the palace stood many mansions and facilities arranged in groups.
Seeing this, Claire murmured,
"It seems to depict the era of the old empire."
"Probably."
Ancient humanity possessed powerful magic. Spells and artifacts far more advanced than those of today. Using them, they built a massive empire.
The golden age of humanity.
…But sometimes, abilities that are too great bring about destruction.
"What is that?"
Theodore pointed to one part of the mural.
Everyone's gaze followed the holy knight's finger. What they saw was a magnificent and complex magic circle, surrounded by many people standing around it.
The center of the magic circle split open, and from that crack, black mold and dust flowed out.
Shhk, scratch—
Suddenly, golden letters appeared in the air.
—We discovered an unfamiliar world.
—And we opened the door.
Ancient humanity had touched a forbidden taboo. Realizing this, Duran muttered with a sigh.
"…They created a gate to another world."
The desire to discover new worlds had always been humanity's long-standing thirst. Just as people explored the endless deep seas or observed the stars scattered across the night sky in hopes of proving the existence of extraterrestrial life.
The mages of the old empire discovered another world.
And they created a gate to reach it.
This was the moment when modern theories were proven true.
"So your guess was correct, sir."
"Indeed."
The gate to another world had already been opened once before. That was why such legends had been passed down. Duran had once speculated as much.
The hypothesis had been proven.
For every scholar, it was a moment like a lifelong wish fulfilled.
But Duran's expression did not look very happy.
"Our hypothesis may have been correct… but that only makes me more worried."
"Is there a problem?"
"Just a lament. Even an empire as powerful as the one shown in this mural eventually fell."
In the process of driving out the Demon Realm, the old empire was destroyed, and an entire era faded into obscurity.
Could the humanity of today drive the Demon Realm away?
As Duran voiced his concerns, Theodore, who stood beside him, replied with a smile.
"The old empire was certainly impressive, but it was arrogant. So arrogant that they didn't bother serving the gods."
As civilization develops, faith often weakens. During the era of the old empire, there were no priests capable of using divine magic.
After the empire fell, humanity, seized by great fear, came to revere the gods with utmost devotion. In response to those prayers, the celestial gods bestowed divine magic.
The Divine Age.
The Church Alliance was the blade forged and tempered by this new age.
"The holy knights are ready. All we need is knowledge. If we inherit the legacy of this ancient ruin, the expedition will surely succeed."
"I hope so."
Sharing their hopes, they continued walking forward diligently.
Before long, they came upon a door.
A curtain made of blue light.
Together with the others, Woojin approached the door.
Shhk, scratch—
Golden letters appeared on the door.
—Second Trial.
It was something they had already expected. So Woojin's party did not hesitate and stepped inside.
What they encountered next…
Was a room that resembled a laboratory.
Strange objects were placed everywhere. Their shapes looked like a mixture of brass instruments and distillation devices, and on the shelves stood rows of various reagents.
'…This place looks extremely suspicious.'
Were they trying to create Frankenstein or something?
Since it was an unfamiliar scene, Woojin stayed on high alert…
But the reaction of the mages was explosive.
"Good heavens! Are these tools used by the alchemists of the old empire?!"
"And they're incredibly well preserved!"
Duran and Claire looked half crazed with excitement. Fabian was no different. The three mages looked ready to turn the laboratory upside down.
Woojin calmed them down.
"Let's finish the trial first, then we can think about it."
"…Hmm, I suppose so."
Perhaps the mages felt slightly embarrassed, because their voices noticeably grew quieter.
Shhk, scratch—
At that moment, golden letters appeared in the air.
—Drink.
Drink what?
Just as they were wondering, several unfamiliar presences were heard from ahead… and metal dolls made of brass revealed themselves.
They looked like robots. Each time they walked, a ticking sound like a winding spring echoed.
Claire muttered in surprise.
"They're magic dolls. It seems those little guys have been maintaining this laboratory."
They were entities rarely discovered in ruins. Judging by the atmosphere, they didn't seem to be enemies.
The dolls walked over briskly and placed a long tin table in front of the group, which they had brought from somewhere. Their behavior was almost like hosts welcoming guests.
One of them stood out.
It was larger than the others and made of expensive platinum.
'Is that the leader of the dolls?'
It seemed to be the one with command authority. Woojin carefully watched the platinum doll's movements.
Creak, creak!
The platinum doll waved its hands left and right, almost like a greeting. Then it began setting something on the table.
Glass bottles filled with unidentified liquid.
The sizes of the bottles were all different. Their colors were divided into three types—red, black, and green.
There were nine bottles in total.
'…And we're supposed to drink these?'
The mystery only deepened.
When Woojin stared at the platinum doll as if asking for an explanation, the doll handed him a parchment scroll, like presenting a menu.
He immediately unrolled it. The writing was in the script of the old empire.
It read:
"Among these nine bottles, two contain fine wine, and one contains a potion that neutralizes poison. The remaining six bottles contain poison. Drink all of the hidden safe beverages."
It seemed this was the requirement of the second trial. Woojin read it aloud and then turned the page.
But from here on, things became problematic.
"The largest bottle and the smallest bottle—one of them is safe. Among the red bottles, at least two contain the same liquid. Meanwhile, all the green bottles contain different liquids…"
Complicated. And long.
Woojin grew bored reading it and casually handed it to Claire beside him. Her eyes quickly scanned the scroll.
Claire soon grasped the situation.
"…This is a riddle that requires using your head."
A trial to be solved not with strength, but with wisdom.
If they judged incorrectly, they would drink poison and die.
The mages gathered their heads together.
"There are so many clues that it's confusing."
"It might be better to translate everything clearly and write it down before approaching the problem."
"That's true. There might even be differences in interpretation."
The mages spoke rapidly like they were holding a meeting. Theodore also stood nearby, wanting to help, listening closely to the discussion, but since he couldn't quite keep up, his eyes just kept darting around.
Watching them from a distance, Woojin suddenly had a thought.
'…Do we really have to solve the problem?'
The condition for clearing the second trial was to drink all the hidden safe beverages.
There was only the risk of dying if they failed—but there didn't seem to be any limit on the number of attempts.
So Woojin quietly walked over to the table alone.
Pop.
He twisted out the cork of the bottle on the far left. Then he glanced around cautiously.
The others were still busy discussing the riddle.
Gulp, gulp—
He drank down the liquid in the bottle in one go. Immediately after, Woojin slightly frowned.
'Poison.'
It had an unpleasant taste.
He didn't want to drink it, but since he had already taken a sip, he might as well finish it. Woojin quickly downed the poison and smacked his lips.
'The toxicity isn't that strong.'
It was a bit stronger than manticore venom, but weaker than the poison of a dragon monstrosity.
So without hesitation, Woojin reached for the second bottle.
Glug, glug—
'Ugh, poison again.'
Woojin drank the poison with a look of annoyance.
The platinum doll watching him tilted its head.
It looked almost flustered.
The platinum doll thought:
'…What is this human?'
It was poison capable of killing a fully grown elephant, yet his complexion didn't even change.
Just what had happened to the humans of the outside world?
This trial was clearly meant to test wisdom…
But he was simply bulldozing through it with sheer physical ability.
It was hard to call it cheating. Even if it was, pointing it out didn't seem like a good idea.
'Let's just stay quiet.'
It felt like everything might get smashed if things went wrong.
So the platinum doll's attitude became noticeably more polite.
Then—
Claire shouted with a smile.
"I've translated and written everything down properly! Now we should be able to solve the riddle!"
But the situation had already ended.
Clack.
Woojin placed the final empty bottle on the table.
At the same time, golden letters appeared.
—You have passed the trial.
The party blinked in confusion.
"Huh? Huh?"
"What? Why did that happen?"
The mages fell into confusion.
Woojin quietly stood up and whispered softly so that only the platinum doll could hear.
"Here. Clear away all these bottles."
If the others saw them, explaining would be a hassle.
At his words, the platinum doll immediately nodded and began hiding the empty bottles under the table.
Woojin felt slightly puzzled.
'It suddenly got a lot more efficient.'
The platinum doll moved busily like a bartender.
Its attitude had become strangely friendly.
Why had such a change occurred?
'…Well, I suppose it's a good thing.'
The second trial was already over.
So he decided not to think about it too deeply.
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