C772
Hoooong—
The wind formed by Valeria's mana enveloped them gently.
They landed gracefully on the ground and easily adjusted their clothes.
"This kind of pressure seems to be the start of the succession temple's trap? It's an interesting monster, just like your ancestor, Maliet."
Valeria nodded and placed her hand on the wall.
As if she wanted to touch directly the legacy left by her ancestor.
The wall was made of a transparent, gem-like mineral, and a faint flow of mana could be felt through it.
If she had been the Valeria of the past, and if she had come here alone, she would have never dared to take such an action.
Touching the wall could trigger some kind of trap.But now she had the confidence that, no matter what happened, she could handle it.
Jin read her thoughts and felt relieved.
"The atmosphere here is a bit different from the succession temples I've encountered so far."
"In what way?"
"Until now, succession temples usually emitted a sacred energy that made me feel solemn from the moment I entered. But here, it feels like someone is mischievously watching us."
"Really? Despite the infamous reputation of the succession temple's viciousness, it seems Maliet might have been a good person."
In his previous life, Jin had never heard the name Maliet from Valeria's lips.
In other words, this was a succession temple that Valeria had not been able to find in her previous life.
'Besides the communication device created by Zen Lutberh, it would be great if there were something else here that could be of great help to my master. Maybe Maliet's records or her remaining magic.'
Looking around, they saw a short, outlined path.
At the end of the path, there was a crossroads.
"We have a crossroads right from the start. Which way should we go?"
Valeria lightly waved her silver pine wand and created a record window. She intended to examine the records to see which path was correct.
However, the last record remaining in this space was over three hundred years old, and there was some kind of alteration.
"It seems that ancestor Maliet took precautions so that the records wouldn't be easily accessible."
"That means we'll have to leave marks."
"Let's go left first."
When the two entered through the left entrance, they heard an ominous noise in the distance.
The sound and vibration seemed like something enormous rolling at great speed.
Grrr!
Indeed, it was a metal sphere the size of a small dragon’s torso.
Anyone with combat power barely able to defeat Honka would likely turn around and run as their best option.
Jin reflexively clenched his fist to smash the metal sphere, but he remembered Honka's words.
Instead of breaking the metal sphere, he opened his palm, causing it to stop.
The metal sphere halted with a loud sound.
"The slope of the path where the sphere rolled down is quite steep. It seems to be a device that forces people toward the correct entrance," Jin said.
Valeria thought the same.
Leaving the metal sphere behind, they exited and entered the right entrance, where they witnessed a trap activating on a level lower than the metal sphere.
It was just a few thrown stones.
"That makes sense. If they're intentionally making us choose the easier path, then it's more likely this side is the true way."
They decided to return to the left side and continue their advance.
Jin used his strength to push the metal sphere uphill, clearing the path.
When they reached about halfway down the road, the two realized there was a hole in the ground.
The metal sphere couldn’t fit through it, but a person could easily enter.
"A shortcut, perhaps?"
"Yes, probably."
Falling through the hole, a vast communal landscape unfolded before them.
And immediately, the two recognized that this communal space was being used as some sort of “battlefield.”
The floor, walls, and even the ceiling were filled with combat marks.
From sword slashes to lost magical remnants, there were traces that seemed to have been created by some intense struggle.
[Grrr, Uhh, Intrusion, reached in... 3 minutes... 24 seconds. New record, updated. Average time, 78 hours 13 minutes, excessively fast. Beyond extraordinary, a formidable enemy...]
This time, it was a golem.
Jin and Valeria turned their heads toward the direction the golem’s voice was coming from.
They saw a golem with a humanoid shape similar to Jin’s, moving clumsily, with yellow eyes flickering.
"78 hours? Does it usually take that long unless you have the ability to use shortcuts? And besides, it doesn't seem to be a living golem, yet it possesses so much judgment and intelligence."
In both his past and present lives, Jin had never heard of such a golem.
[Honka... Survival, confirmed. No damage to succession temple. Red hair, complete mana body. Histor... confirmed. First-class armament, not applicable to first-class enemies.]
The golem spoke in a faint, slow voice.
Chiiiiing!
Suddenly, rune inscriptions appeared all over the golem’s body, and a massive amount of mana began to emanate from it.
Jin was more amazed by the golem’s intelligence than by its mana.
[The Successor, the final trial begins. If you feel like you’re about to die, scream. Surrender.]
Right after the golem finished speaking, various forms of transformation magic, unlike anything they had seen before, began to emerge.
Jin and Valeria simultaneously formed a protective shield, not to prevent injury, but with the intention of examining the golem’s magic.
They were amazed that the golem could use such high-level magic.
Although the golem had ordered them to surrender if they felt like they were about to die, they observed the transformation magic comfortably within the protective shield.
It was possible because Jin was there.
Had they been simple knights or magicians of a level close to Five-Star, they would certainly have struggled and likely faced defeat.
"Your ancestor was an incredible person."
"I'm still in shock."
Honka had referred to the traps placed by Maliet in the succession temple as works of art, and among them, the greatest masterpiece was this golem.
"This magic... Is it a variation of Hellwind? The way the flow changed was impressive. The moment mana was released was particularly amazing."
"And the way it was prepared to be unleashed alongside consecutive Flame Orbs is also impressive. And considering the casting speed rivals that of a simultaneous caster, it's likely halfway through releasing the magic stored in the rune inscriptions."
"Storing magic in rune inscriptions... It's theoretically possible, but to be able to store so many high-level spells like this?"
"It would be impossible using the methods commonly employed by ordinary magicians. In my opinion, it's a variation of Record Magic. Imbuing the records with storage properties."
As Valeria mentioned, all of the golem’s magic was what Maliet had used during her lifetime.
Maliet had “recorded and stored” her magic in the golem.
"Recording and storing... If we can develop this as alliance technology, perhaps all the alliance knights could enter combat like magic swordsmen. Even without a magician’s mana, they would only need to use the stored magic at the right moment."
Surprisingly, it was Valeria who spoke those words, not Jin.
Jin widened his eyes and looked at Valeria’s profile.
Suddenly, Jin recalled a memory from his past life when he enjoyed watching Valeria’s profile like this.
"Of course, it wouldn’t compare to a true magic swordsman like you, but the combat abilities of all the knights would increase dramatically. If we can research this, it could be as remarkable a discovery as the communication device we were seeking."
The two continued their conversation within the protective shield for about ten minutes.
By then, the golem's magic seemed to have dwindled significantly compared to when they first encountered it.
[10 minutes and 32 seconds have passed. Magic spells consumed: 871. Effective hits: 0. The trial... is complete, Successor.]
The golem spoke in a faint, slow voice.
Jin and Valeria lowered their protective shields, and the golem placed its left hand on its chest in a gesture.
[Please, follow me. It is time for you to see... my master’s world.]
Jin and Valeria couldn’t take their eyes off the golem as they walked behind it.
Up close, they could see an even more intricate and complex craftsmanship.
After a few minutes, a massive door reaching up to the ceiling appeared.
[I will inform you in advance.]
"What is it? Is it a warning note?"
[Inside, there are deceased individuals who have recorded themselves and superimposed in the succession temple. They are the previous successors. Although their condition is unstable, they are harmless. Also, it is not your future unless you choose to become like them.]
"Could Zen Lutberh be one of them?"
At Valeria’s question, the golem nodded.
The content of the letter wasn’t metaphorical expressions but literal descriptions.
[That’s correct, and also, Teben Histor.]
"Teben Histor... That was the name of the ancestor who wrote this letter. I see. But what’s your name?"
The golem did not respond but placed its palm in the center of the door.
As it did, the entire door reacted with mana and began to glow.
The door gradually opened, revealing the end of the succession temple beyond.
A vast space stretched out like a serene sea, adorned with hundreds of floating blue points inside.
Each point was a Record Window, the essence of the records left by Maliet Histor, what could be called "the world of Maliet Histor."
Valeria immediately became reverent, but before she could fully experience the awe, they heard another voice.
[Oh, oh! A living person, and a newcomer!]
[At last, the descendants... have arrived!]
They were the voices of Teben and Zen.
They appeared as ghostly, blurry figures, but their expressions were filled with excitement, even visible from a distance.
Valeria first respectfully bowed her head, already accustomed to meeting spirits these days.
"Nice to meet you, Ancestors. I am Valeria Histor."
"I am Jin Runcandel."
Teben and Zen smiled broadly and immediately bombarded them with questions.
[Guys!]
[When you entered here, did you make twenty turns and all those strange things?]
It wasn’t a question one would usually ask a newcomer they’ve met after three hundred and fifty years, but it seemed to be an extremely important matter for Zen and Teben.
The golem rubbed its forehead as it looked at Zen and Teben.
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