C771
Both Lueth and Euria verified and approved Sael.
Like Luche, Sael requested to join the Vamel Alliance with pure intention.
Of course, the most excited about the fact that the "complete long-distance communication device" might have been developed over three hundred years ago was Qwaul.
"If the content written on this paper is true, then that engineer named Zen must be a genius on my level. Our Valeria's ancestors wouldn’t have invented it, so it’s quite fascinating. But Valeria, what does it mean that the soul and body of Zen and your ancestor are all preserved in the temple of succession?"
<All of Zen Lutberh’s knowledge and achievements, soul, and physical body, including my soul... will be preserved in the Maliet succession temple. If the enemies can’t find it, it will remain there forever.>
That was the phrase written on the paper delivered by Sael.
"I'm not sure either. It could be a metaphorical expression or perhaps a way to truly seal the body and soul. We’ll have to go and see for ourselves to confirm."
"If it’s the latter, maybe Zen Lutberh and this Qwaul could meet. You might also meet your ancestors."
"No matter how special my clan’s magic is, I don’t think that’s possible. But it's true that the succession temple has remained hidden from Zipple until now, so there must be a significant harvest awaiting us."If Zipple had discovered the Maliet succession temple, they wouldn’t have a simple calling function in the staff of the Tower Master, and then Sael wouldn’t be alive.
"Yes, yes. The succession temple has a bad reputation, so the part about being cautious is a bit worrying... But since Jin will be with you, you don’t have to worry. There aren’t many traps or tricks in this world that even he couldn’t handle."
"Before I met Jin, I managed on my own to explore dangerous succession temples, so don’t worry. Please organize all the information related to the communication device until I return."
Due to the frequent long-distance jumps, Qwaul quickly repaired the Red Owl.
The region where the Maliet succession temple was located was a small island called "Honka." It was an uninhabited island situated in the northern part of the empire, so there was no need to worry about unnecessary clashes with enemies.
However, the conditions to enter the succession temple were somewhat complex and demanding.
"Ancestor Maliet... seems like quite an eccentric person."
Valeria spoke as the Red Owl approached the Honka island.
"Indeed. Seeing those conditions makes me wonder if such things are related to the area of magic. No, it’s definitely impossible."
Jin said while summoning Shuri.
Shuri pushed the Red Owl, which was floating on the sea, and swam toward Honka Island.
[Nyaa.]
"Hello, Shuri. Some of the conditions are probably jokes or some kind of disguised test. But no matter how strange they are, they’re the conditions my ancestor left, so let’s follow them as they are."
"Hmm."
When they reached the island, Shuri shook her body and basked in the sun, while Jin anchored the Red Owl at a suitable spot on the beach and made it invisible.
"Jin, are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Then let’s try them one by one."
After saying that, Valeria coughed awkwardly, as if embarrassed.
'Lately, my master’s (teacher's) personality has improved a lot. If it had been before, no matter how absurd and embarrassing, she would have said it dryly and without any reaction,' Jin thought to himself and smiled internally.
However, he still felt a mix of embarrassment and amusement.
"First... Once we arrive on the island, we’re supposed to spin around twenty times and touch the ground with our noses, right?"
Jin asked, and Valeria nodded.
Anyone who arrived on Honka Island to enter the succession temple had to spin twenty times and touch the ground with their nose.
That was the first condition.
The two looked around for a while and then took the position to spin.
And then, one by one, they synchronized their movements and started spinning twenty times.
"Pfft."
"Ha, ha!"
They started laughing as soon as they touched the ground.
The second condition was to climb a tree on the island and imitate the sound of a monkey’s cry.
Even though they had already burst into laughter during the first condition, imitating the sound of a monkey’s cry made them feel uncomfortable.
"Ooo, ooo..."
"Ooo, ooo..."
Shuri tilted her head as she watched them.
Then they had to crawl on all fours and roar like a lion, sing two random folk songs they knew, and so on.
Gradually, they felt an indescribable sense of strangeness as they completed all those conditions.
Both their faces turned red.
"...Hmm, I feel like I’ve had a peculiar experience."
"Ahem, now that we’ve done it all, it’s time to activate the star."
On Honka Island, there were five mana devices created by Maliet.
Jin and Valeria mounted Shuri and searched for the locations of the mana devices indicated in the letter.
Each time Valeria infused mana into the devices, a blue light appeared.
With the five devices opened, the light soon became a line that connected the entire island, forming the star.
Both headed to the center of the star and took their positions.
"I wonder what kind of guardian will appear."
The final obstacle was to face the guardian invoked by the star.
"Maybe it’ll be a golem."
The letter only contained information about the invoked guardian, and nothing was mentioned about its combat power or other details.
After a while, the ground started to tremble.
Jin felt no tension because he thought that the guardian, whether it was a golem or something else, would never be a match for him.
[Greetings... to those who have come to the Maliet succession temple.]
Roar!
Suddenly, the ground in front of the group opened wide, revealing a huge entity.
A toad?
A creature resembling a toad.
The guardian protecting the succession temple wasn’t a golem, but a creature similar to a core monster that could speak human language, like Ozdock or Vailam.
[I am Honka, the owner of this island. State your names.]
"I am Jin Runcandel."
"I am Valeria Histor."
[It seems that the Histors who come to visit me always bring humans who are not Histors. Anyway, when I sensed it from the shadows, the two of you faithfully fulfilled Maliet’s requirements. If you had skipped even one, I would not have appeared.]
Realizing that those embarrassing actions weren’t entirely useless, the two sighed in relief internally.
"I’m glad. So, once we defeat you, will everything be over?" Valeria asked.
Honka nodded in response to Valeria’s question.
He remembered the deal with the two humans (Zen Lutberh and the Histor who brought him) who came about 350 years ago.
However, Honka looked at Jin and thought silently.
'...I won’t even be able to grab a bone if I fight this human named Jin Runcandel.'
Honka was by no means a weak entity.
Having lived for thousands of years, he had created his own core and formed his own ego.
He could not be weak.
The problem was that his opponent was Jin.
[It’s true... stop, stop. I’ll just let you in, so stop.]
When Jin placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, Honka finally decided to abandon the fight.
"It would be easier this way, but why?" Jin asked.
[You’re too strong... Even though there were negative comments about the danger of the Maliet succession temple. Valeria Histor, you have no conscience. Why did you bring such a monster? Aren’t you making it too easy?]
Jin and Valeria didn’t respond, their pupils blinking.
They had never expected the guardian to react like this.
"You made a wise choice."
Jin lowered his hand from the hilt and spoke.
[But there’s one condition.]
"A condition?"
[...Inside the succession temple, there are various traps and devices that Maliet painstakingly installed when she was alive. Maliet considered them her artistic creations and was very satisfied with them.]
"It seems you were very close to my ancestor, Honka."
[Yes, Valeria Histor. The reason I settled on this island and started using the name Honka is also thanks to Maliet. She was certainly eccentric, but she was my only friend. Anyway, I can’t bear to see those works of art being carelessly destroyed by the monster you brought.]
"Is there no way to prevent the traps from being activated?"
[I have no authority over that.]
"Then what do you expect us to do?"
[Simply pass without breaking any traps that cross your path. For the sake of future successors who will come after you. I assume you wouldn’t even mind making that level of effort, would you?]
The next successor.
Hearing those words, Valeria felt something stir in her chest.
Just a few years ago, she was completely alone in this world.
But now she had Jin and comrades, Lueth had become part of her clan, and the monster friend of her ancestor was telling her to think about her descendants.
[You should have come much earlier. The difficulty level set by Maliet is tailored to budding geniuses. That’s why the Histor who came with the engineer 350 years ago had an incredibly hard time. Well... to be honest, I started remembering all of this recently.]
Honka’s memories of Zen and the Histor who came 350 years ago, and even the memory of his only friend, Maliet, were all recent occurrences.
Until the manipulation of history regarding the Histors weakened, Honka had remained on this island with only a vague sense of duty.
"I’ll do as you say. We’ll enter without breaking anything."
[Good, I trust you and will open the succession temple.]
Honka's massive body rolled back twice.
Then, beneath Honka, a thick iron door installed under the cave was revealed.
[Go ahead. And leave this ruby cat behind. Let’s have some fun while you’re gone.]
[Nyaa.]
As soon as Jin opened the door, an incredibly bright light flashed through the eyes of the two.
In an instant, just as they were about to activate their protective shields, Honka, who was outside the cave, blew a powerful gust of wind at them.
The gust of wind shot out like a projectile, pushing them toward the entrance.
The first trap was a narrow cliffside path.
[This seems to be the only trick that might work against those guys. But even that won’t have much effect.]
As Honka had said, the two fell without any panic.
After all, when they hit the ground, they could simply generate wind sword or mana to cushion the impact.
[Maliet, it seems this time will end in disappointment. Let’s look forward to the next. It’s still good to see that your lineage hasn’t been cut off.]
[Nyaaah.]
Saying this, Honka stretched and yawned along with Shuri.
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