Ch. 190
Found it.”
“Already?”
Lox had been feeling around the outer wall of the door, and not long after, turned back to us with a smug look.
“This was easy. It’s a simple mechanism.”
He pressed a few protruding stones along the wall in a specific order, and with a series of creaking sounds, a circular segment in the center of the door opened—right in front of me, of all places.
“It’s not a complicated setup. Very basic design. Whoever built this dungeon was quite generous. Unlike a certain someone with blond hair.”
“You little… You talking about me?”
“See that panel where you can place your hand? If you channel mana into it, the door should open. Inside this massive door are gear-like mechanisms—mana acts as the lubricant to get them moving.”
The fact that Lox actually did something useful was painfully irritating. He easily found what I hadn’t, even after I’d brute-forced it yesterday. It stung.
I couldn’t accept this!
That Lox could do something I couldn’t! That he knew something I didn’t!
Even if I wasn’t a dungeon mechanic specialist!
“Would you step aside, Miss Geenie? Ash, this is your job.”
Yeah. Ash should be the one to do it.
Blinded by a brief flash of jealousy, I was still standing in front of the mechanism, grumbling to myself, until I stepped aside for Ash.
After all, we came here because of Ash, and the one who wanted the treasure was the royal family of Elan.
Ultimately, the goal was to secure Ash’s claim to the throne.
Thinking that Lox was so worked up for that reason made him slightly less annoying. For about two seconds.
“Geez, you’re all staring… it’s embarrassing.”
Ash looked awkward, but no one questioned that he should be the one to do it.
Aside from me, he was the only one who could manifest mana outside the body—but more importantly, he was the leader of the party.
He was the one who had led everyone here, the one who did his best to protect the group from me killing anyone. He deserved their trust.
I stood quietly next to Chad, watching as Ash raised his hand toward the mechanism under everyone’s gaze.
It wasn’t much of a moment, but to me, it overlapped with a coronation.
Just like we’d come this far, maybe someday Ash really would become emperor.
‘Will that day come? I don’t know if he’s suited to be emperor… but I don’t want to see him lose that fight and die, either…’
Another thought followed quietly.
If someone tried to kill Ash, I felt like it was naturally my job to kill them first.
It’s because of my nasty personality.
I could never tolerate anyone touching what was mine.
I rubbed my chin as I watched Ash channel his mana into the mechanism.
His mana was a deep, calming green—unmistakably reminiscent of lush greenery.
Most mana took on a cool bluish hue, so his color was quite rare.
“…Nothing’s happening.”
“Try a little more! Maybe you haven’t poured in enough yet.”
Lox’s encouragement fell flat—Ash was already concentrating intensely.
So much so that his hair floated in the air, lifted by the pressure of the externalized mana.
Someone who couldn’t do it themselves might not get it, but if that were me, I’d already be drenched in sweat. Only someone like Ash, a swordsman, could endure it.
Channeling mana inside the body versus manifesting it outside took vastly different levels of stamina.
Time passed, but the door didn’t budge. Surely something should have clicked by now—some mechanism starting to turn.
But there wasn’t a single sign. Eventually, after expending a considerable amount of mana, Ash shook his head and stepped back.
“Lox, it’s not opening.”
“That can’t be…! That’s not right! It wasn’t built as a complex device—it’s a simple structure!”
I’d doubted Ash’s abilities until now, but seeing the amount of mana he poured in, I got it.
If he wanted to, he could probably kill everyone here—excluding me—in under ten seconds.
He might even be comparable to Rovenin… If not strong enough to win, then at least strong enough to last a while.
“Did we miss another part of the mechanism? What did we overlook?”
“Lox! Could it be that the door only responds to certain mana?”
“Right! Like maybe from the creator’s bloodline. Some dungeons only open for descendants…”
“Ugh… If that were the case, they wouldn’t have sent a letter with directions to a friend. That mechanism is definitely activated by flowing mana into it.”
“Then what is it?”
“Or maybe this is just a decoy, and the real door is magically hidden inside that boulder?”
Just when things seemed to be going smoothly, we hit a dead end again—and I was already exhausted from it.
This was my first time treasure hunting, and I was already done with it. Every time something seemed to work, it went wrong. Not the kind of task someone with my temperament should be doing.
Meanwhile, the boys had already gathered together and started brainstorming.
My party might be dumb, arrogant, and a little too rowdy—but I had to admit, they were brave.
[Rai, can you eat that door?]
[I could, sure. But it’s protected by strong defensive magic. To break it down, I’d have to start with unenchanted parts and chip away slowly to collapse it bit by bit… it’ll take time.]
[Can you do it in an hour?]
[It’s very intricately engraved, with multiple types of magic… old too…]
[So how long then?! Just tell me!]
[Ma’am, how much time are you working with today?]
[You little dungpile… How about two hours?]
[Push it a little further?]
[…A day?]
Rai’s slow shake of the head lasted longer than usual.
That meant it was beyond even my expectations. I made a bold offer.
[A week…?]
[You’ll need to give me about three years, actually.]
[HAHAHA!]
I really underestimated ancient magic.
Years to destroy it?!
[Think about it, Master! It’s taking us months just to restore two fist-sized spirit stones, right? Look at the size of that thing. Even if destruction is easier than restoration, obviously—]
“Ugh, I hate magic.”
Seriously. If it weren’t for the enchantments, I’d just have Rai eat the damn thing in one gulp.
[If the one who cast the magic was weaker than you, I could do it quickly, like with those dark elf shackles. But this door? The caster was way above your level. There ‘is’ one way to speed it up, though!]
[What is it? Just say it!]
[If you get about twice as strong as you are now, it could be done within a year!]
[You con artist spirit.]
So basically, there ‘is’ no way.
Getting twice as strong would take longer than waiting three years!
“Lox! Give me the letter.”
Giving up on the idea of using Rai to open the door, I joined the rest of them in thinking.
There might be a clue in the letter we missed.
“I’ll show you, but… don’t ruin it! Even though it’s just a copy, it’s the only one we have!”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”
“Please, anything but this!”
“You’re still mad over one broken rune stone? That wasn’t on purpose—it was an accident! Sure, it sounds like a lie even to me, but it’s true!”
I snatched the letter and flipped through it.
If I remembered right, there was a section on the back that talked about the treasure.
The preservation was decent, so reading it wasn’t hard. No weird cipher either.
But maybe Lox hadn’t looked closely, thinking it had nothing to do with the door.
The wording was pretty standard.
—
“To the treasure—
Whose hands will you fall into?
Where will fate lead you?
Will you save the world,
or save a nation?
Or become nothing, a fool, lost to time?
I pray you remain dormant,
that you remain lost in obscurity.
But if the world needs you,
and you flow to the one who inherits my will,
then grant that person shining glory,
and let them uncover your light.
If you cannot rest forever,
then become part of the world and serve it.
Only—please, do not fall to evil.
That alone is my true wish.
In the name of the Mother Goddess.
May all unfold as She wills.”
—
Nothing stood out at first glance, but a few parts stuck with me.
“Lox, what was the writer’s profession?”
“We’re not sure. We think they were a mage, but that’s just speculation.”
I looked back at the letter again.
Reading one particular phrase over and over, I took a step back from the massive door.
I kept retreating until I didn’t have to look up at it anymore.
Soon I was far from the group, but I wasn’t alone.
Rai clung to my feet, Undaine hovered by my shoulder, and Ador floated above my head.
I gestured lightly to Ador to shine stronger light on the top of the door.
“Rai, do you see that?”
[The writing?]
“Yeah.”
At first I thought the design etched across the top of the door was just decorative.
But from a distance, I realized it was in Ancient Script.
Covered in moss, it was unreadable—but that wasn’t a problem.
With a tilt of my chin, I sent Undaine up to clear it away.
With a burst of water, the moss was swept off, and soon the full inscription became visible.
“Let all… unfold as ordained. Fate is…”
[Fate is like the sea—no one knows where it flows.]
“Wait a sec…”
[Huh? I’ve heard that somewhere. Where was it?]
I checked the letter again.
The writer had used the word “flow” multiple times—every instance hinted at it.
And a written message always reflects something about the writer’s rank, job, or personality.
“To the one who inherits my will, let it ‘flow’…”
I traced back everything we’d done to get here.
The sea. The lake. The will of the Mother.
“Guys?”
“What is it? We’re kind of busy here.”
“Stop groping the wall and pay attention to me?”
The nice thing about my guys was that they always did what I said—grumbling or not.
I gathered the men in front of me. And with a bright smile, made today’s surprise announcement.
“I think… I’ve figured out how to open this place.”