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Tuben and Zen were grinning from ear to ear, staring at the two with a rather nervous gaze.
Their faces were filled with such anticipation that, although they looked like ghosts, Jin and Valeria could feel their hearts pounding.
"...We did it, but..."
[Woohoo! See? I told you! If we hadn’t done that, we really wouldn’t have been able to enter...]
[Ha, the golem and that damn monster weren’t lying. Take it!]
It seemed the two had made a bet on whether the descendants coming to the succession temple would meet the entry conditions.
Zen was the loser. Zen pulled out a bundle of paper-like objects from his pocket and handed it to Tuben, making the golem sigh at the sight.
[I’ve told you a thousand times that those aren’t your belongings; they’re mine... Why did you bet with someone else’s property?]
Whether it mattered to Zen or not, Tuben snatched the paper from him and expressed his 350-year victory.[Hehehe!]
Zen and Tuben, the two geniuses who presumably created a long-distance communication device, were in an unstable mental state.
This was likely due to the fact that they had "recorded themselves in the succession temple" and the long period of 350 years.
Moreover, during that long period, Zen and Tuben had only each other and the golem for company.
Thinking that the style of the letter was very calm, the sight of the two laughing and giggling made Jin feel a sense of sadness.
"It seems Tuben Histor has won. Congratulations."
Instead of showing any sign of disappointment, Jin said this, trying to match the atmosphere.
It seemed better to go with the flow.
[Jaja, thank you! Your name is Jin Runcandel, right? For a Runcandel, you're quite adaptable.]
"Thank you. By the way, what is that paper used for? It doesn’t seem like money."
[Oh, it’s paper for storing magical spells. The golem keeps insisting that they belong to him, but I wonder where he got the idea that it belongs to either him or me. Anyway! I’d like to receive congratulations not only from an outsider but also from my descendant.]
"Congratulations, Ancestor Tuben."
[Yes, yes. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.]
[Hmph, though until recently, we forgot we were even waiting for our descendants.]
[Well, considering the historical manipulation of the Histor clan, it’s an inevitable matter, Zen. Besides, we’re ghosts, so naturally, our memories are weak.]
[Oh, right! Hey, what happened to my clan? Lutberh! They didn’t go extinct, did they?]
"Well..."
Valeria explained for a while how they had met Sael and come to the succession temple.
[...Now I remember more vividly. It’s really fortunate! Zen, as we expected, those guys couldn’t find your clan. And my clan didn’t meet its end either. Hahaha!]
[But why do you look so good when you’ve come all the way here? We wandered around for days and looked like beggars.]
[That’s because this time, the successor took a shortcut. They had the power to ignore the set difficulty. They had formidable abilities.]
The traps installed in Maliet’s succession temple were originally designed based on Honka as a reference point. They were designed so that if one barely defeated Honka, they could reach the final point of the succession temple after enduring various hardships.
[Moreover, since they aren’t enemies, I didn’t apply First Class Hostility either. I only used 50% of my original combat power. It wouldn’t have mattered even if I had used all my abilities.]
[Hmm, it feels unfair. If it were this easy, it feels like we’re giving away our creation too easily, doesn’t it, Tuben?]
[That’s right! We really worked hard for it!]
"Is that creation by any chance a communication device?"
[Yes, exactly! It’s a long-distance communication device!]
[Don’t they have something like that outside now?]
"No, we don’t. We can only send signals with objects like the Magic Tower Master’s Staff from Zipple."
[Well, I can’t just give it to you like that. Let’s have one more test.]
[Oh, great. What kind of test?]
[We’ll decide it while you explore the succession temple. Prepare yourselves! If you don’t pass the test, we really won’t give you the communication device.]
Zen and Tuben ran off somewhere and disappeared.
[Now, although they may act like that, they were once great magicians and engineers. Don’t worry too much about the test. It won’t be too difficult. Even if they’ve become fools, they haven’t forgotten their duty and mission.]
The duty and mission of a Record Magician and a pioneering engineer.
It was to pass down their inventions to those qualified to receive them.
As the Record windows of Maliet floated in the air, the golem extended his hand, causing a pleasant vibration to spread throughout the succession temple.
[The Master foresaw a moment like this a long time ago.]
"Foreseen? What does that mean?"
[But fortunately, Valeria Histor, you don’t seem too tired or lonely.]
Did Maliet already know Valeria’s future?
Jin watched the golem with those questions in mind.
The golem’s touch activated the record windows.
[Please, lie down and watch the master’s records.]
As the two lay down, the surroundings gradually darkened.
Soon, as it darkened completely, the record windows lit up like a blue galaxy on the ceiling.
[You might feel a little confused. Please don’t resist.]
Following those words, after a while, the two were able to immerse themselves in the stories of the past, just like when they consumed the Royal Hymn Drink in the Wantaramo Forest.
--------------------
Jin and Valeria became translucent observers inside the video.
April 1, 1391, Honka Island.
‘It seems to be a record of the day Ancestor Maliet and Honka met.’
‘It looks like the fight has just ended.’
Jin and Valeria observed Honka, panting and half-frozen in front of them.
This was before Honka even had a name.
Maliet was a woman of extraordinary beauty.
She had a colossal physique, not much smaller than Honka’s, with fiery red hair that covered more than half of her body and mischievously twinkling eyes.
Jin and Valeria were left speechless. It was the first time they had seen someone so large.
Not even Hedo would seem so big next to Maliet.
"Why do you torment the people who approach this island and make their lives miserable? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve scolded you."
[Hmph, no reason. If you want to kill me, go ahead!]
"If you had killed even one person, I would have. But you just pretended to be a current in the sea and scared people away. I find it endearing, so I’m being lenient with you. If you keep this up, soon the Empire or Zipple will come and subjugate you. So, confess your sins through me and regain enlightenment."
[And if I refuse?]
"Then there’s nothing I can do. There are some issues with invading privacy, so I try to refrain from doing so as much as possible, but I can only examine your records one by one. I need to understand why you’re doing this. If I wait too long to hear from you directly, you might end up dead."
[What is this... Eh? What’s happening? Why are my memories suddenly being projected into the air?]
"Well, yes. As I suspected, when you sought enlightenment to overcome the torment inflicted on you by humans and other creatures, that was the moment you gained your inner core."
[Ugh, stop it!]
"But usually, when someone gains power, they fill themselves with hatred and seek to massacre weaker beings. But instead, you chose perfect seclusion. What does that mean? It means you deserve a reward, that’s what it means. Come here, let me give you a hug. Are you frozen and unable to move? Then I’ll hug you. How about that?"
Honka protested with a shout, but once Maliet’s enormous body enveloped him, he couldn’t resist the comforting sensation.
That’s how Maliet and the inner-core toad monster became friends. Maliet named him Honka, derived from the island’s name.
For a moment, memories of the touching story of Maliet and Honka played out.
The two sat by the campfire, shared meals, or Maliet told Honka stories of the outside world.
Honka never opened his heart to anyone but Maliet, but there were no longer any threats to anyone passing near the island.
"Right now, many Histors are coming to this place I’m creating, but over time, my clan will decline and be defeated by Zipple. The number of Histors coming to this island will gradually decrease."
[Even though you’re so strong, can’t you defeat Zipple? You said Histor magic is the best.]
"They have much more power than we do, and besides, they’re despicable. I can’t do anything. In any case, within a few hundred years... No, even less, within a hundred years, my clan will be on the brink of extinction. I wonder how many people will survive, ten? Five? Maybe only one."
[Why do you talk about it as if it’s already happening, like someone who’s about to leave?]
"I don’t have much time left. By then, I need to complete a succession temple that will provide strength to the Histors who will come when my clan weakens."
[What are you talking about? Are you seriously ill or something?]
"It’s not an illness; it’s a curse. It affected me during the battle against the Zipple Spectres. It’s a curse called Kian’s blood, and if you’re cursed, you gradually suffer and die in agony. My progress is currently at about 50%. If I manage to hold on, I have about three years left."
Honka didn’t know how to react to the sudden and imminent separation.
Maliet smiled as she looked at Honka.
"When I die, you should leave this place and make friends with new people. I can entrust the protection of the succession to the golem I’m creating."
[I don’t want to.]
"Someday, when it’s time for you to go, you’ll regret it. It’s too lonely to live a life where you only miss me. Do I have to keep worrying about you even after I die?"
[Stop talking about dying all the time and find a way to lift the curse. If you do that, I’ll leave the island with you and help you.]
"Finding a way to break the curse that may not even exist or completing a task for the future. Naturally, the remaining time should be devoted to the latter. For the sake of the clan, for my sake, and for the world."
[Even without you, many Histors are already creating succession temples. Isn’t that enough?]
"Most of those companions are too naïve, leaving only a sense of duty for the exhausted future generations. My succession temple will be a more special sanctuary than that."
With that said, Maliet suddenly turned her head towards Jin and Valeria.
It was an action meant to give the feeling of speaking directly to future generations who would peer into this record as observers.
"So enjoy the time you have left.. I hope it serves as comfort in your lonely and difficult lives."
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