Chapter 193 – Riddle And Question

“You want them to turn on each other,” muttered the spirit as she watched the scene in the room after Nikolai gave them the one-hour time limit. “However, you are ignoring the other challengers.”

Nikolai stared at the two inside the room as a smile overtook his face. There was no way that he would hurt Sergio, but it was an excellent chance to show the true colors of Valkyrie. It might be a bit villainous to use this method, but it was necessary.

“I will just send them the monsters,” Nikolai waved his hand. “However, there are some interesting characters you have here. These are the elites of the Vangir Guild.”

“Ah, I first heard that name a while back,” the spirit said as she circled him, hugging his back. “It seems they found my dungeon below some ancient ruins.”

“Get away with me unless you want another slap, succubus,” shrugged Nikolai and broke the embrace. This spirit tried to bounce on him earlier, and he had to slap her away.

“Che,” she clicked her tongue as she floated away. “Most men would be drooling over my body. However, there is not a hint of reaction from you. Are you broken?”

“I had my fill already from pleasure,” replied Nikolai, but he wasn’t sure if that was the reason.

The darkest times of his life were spent either with alcohol or prostitutes, so he developed some repulsion to the two pleasures because his brain associated them with his loser and pathetic past self.

At least, that was the case with loveless sex because the more shameful past was after that where he desired the Elven Princess. It was as if his brain was rewired after going through that year of torture and experiments.

“There are other challengers who look like the ones you are interested in,” said the spirit as she pointed toward a different direction. “Let me show you.”

Nikolai glanced at the lights gathering on her fingers and saw the image of a group of young men and women. His eyes widened when he saw the familiar figure of Ruxi among them.

“You are here, rat,” his teeth grew longer as bloodthirst filled his heart. “I want to send the strongest monster to kill them.”

“You know that I would do anything for you, but there are rules that the creator of this dungeon has set,” said the spirit seductively. “Even as a lowly human, that man was able to satisfy me enough to use my powers.”

“Your powers?” frowned Nikolai. “I still don’t understand the purpose of this dungeon?”

“It is a trial dungeon, and whoever clears it becomes my master. So many proved worthy, but their lust and greed betrayed them when they saw me.”

“You are the final trial of this dungeon,” Nikolai closed his eyes to see through the different challenges. “Interesting.”

“I sure am,” she grinned. “Those who fail to keep their hearts serene when they see me or learn of my powers will clear the final trial. Unfortunately, however, none were able, and they turned insane.”

“I don’t feel anything in particular,” muttered Nikolai.

“You are a dark being, and my illusions work very little against you because of that. That means if you enter this dungeon as a challenger, I can be yours.”

“There is someone far more powerful than I am who will obtain your powers. However, I will make sure that someone else receives them.”

“You don’t know my powers yet to reject, so don’t be hasty,” she whispered into his ears. “However, I am interested in the man you chose.”

Nikolai smiled and waved his hand. Then, the room disappeared, and they were inside one of the starting points, which had two people inside it.

“You cannot be serious…?” muttered the spirit as she looked at the blonde young man standing beside the knight. “This man is… beyond weak.”

“I thought you did not care about strength,” smiled Nikolai, and the spirit was speechless. “This man is the best master you can ask for, trust me.”

“…he does not even have any mana for me to devour.”

“Do not be bitter,” Nikolai walked around the room beside Sergio and Valkyrie, but they could not see him. He was separated from them by a dimension as the dungeon master. “This room is suspicious.”

“The creator designed it,” replied the spirit as she floated beside him. “He believed that the first quality my master should have would be intelligence. Most think this is the least important trial because it’s the first, but it is the most important.”

“How thoughtful of him,” laughed Nikolai before he turned toward the riddle. “This is misleading. The creator was far viler than you paint him to be.”

“What do you mean?” asked the spirit with intrigue.

“You can do what you desire, but others might disagree; you can bend earth, ice, and fire, but you can never create a tree. This is one of the teachings of the Church of Light.”

“I know that, but many have solved it before.”

“You don’t need to test me because I know that the real treasure is not behind any of the two doors,” smiled Nikolai. “The god will do as he desires, but others might disagree. Any can bend earth, ice, and fire, but only light can create a tree.”

“A dark being reciting the teachings of light,” laughed the spirit with genuine amusement. “Then, what is the catch?”

“I had to infiltrate their ranks once,” explained Nikolai. “This has nothing to do with the teachings of light, and the clue was in the monster behind the door. The real clue is that wind was not mentioned.”

“The original verse does not include…”

“That has historical reasons because the church wrote the teachings. However, here, there is a missing element: wind. Those who realize this can find the true treasure of the first trial.”

“And do you think this man will know?” pouted the spirit as she circled Sergio, who was frowning heavily. “Well, he is certainly attractive,” she licked her lips.

“I will cut that tongue if you do that again,” Nikolai waved his hand, and they were teleported back toward the main room. “It is not that he will know but already knows.”

“It has been a few minutes…”

“Most underestimate him, but this man is a genius. However, he is certainly naive enough to mask that intelligence. If he were ruthless, then this world would fall into his hands in no time.”

***

Sergio stared into her eyes, knowing that she was serious. Of course, Valkyrie was never the person who would joke around in such circumstances. But unfortunately, it seems this trial has already achieved its purpose and placed a wall between them.

“You can,” he said with confidence. “You are far stronger than I am, so there is not a lot for me to do.”

[A particular restriction has been activated. Those who share the same starting point cannot harm each other.]

“…how convenient,” smiled Valkyrie. “You can decide without fear, then. This would not be a trial if you had no choice but to follow me.”

“Boss,” sighed the alchemist as he spread his arms. “We can think about this together. There are two doors, and what we decide will mean that one of us will live and the other will die.”

“Are you ready to die?”

“…not yet,” he replied. “That is why there must be another method to bypass this place. We just need to think of a different method where we both survive.”

“That is too optimistic, Sergio, and you are smarter than that.”

“I am smart enough to notice that dungeon master did not mention one of us dying. The dark monster can be behind one of the doors, but it does not mean death. Furthermore, we have no idea which door it would be.”

“I know the answer already.”

“Woah…” the alchemist paused. “You are impressive, boss. However, I don’t think that you are going to tell me, right?” Sergio scratched his head.

“No, I will,” smiled Valkyrie all of a sudden and pointed toward the left door. “That door contains the treasure, and the other one has the monster.”

“How did you know?”

“The verse is a modification of the first holy book, the second chapter. The title of the chapter is called West Church, written by the founding priests of the west. This makes the treasure behind this door.”

“That is too simple,” sighed Sergio. “I disagree.”

“Oh?”

“This is a demonic dungeon, not one a holy one. This means that this riddle means evil for the demonic beings. If it is truly the West Church, then that means there is a dark being behind the door on the left.”

“…you are right,” she said with a knowing smile. “I am glad that you realized as much. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have told you the truth.”

“Your tests will be the death of me, boss,” sighed Sergio. “However, we cannot be too sure that this is the right answer. Furthermore, the question remains: who is going to fight the dark being?”