Chapter 285: Labyrinth of Change: Labyrinthos (14)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 285: Labyrinth of Change: Labyrinthos (14)
Dragon Bone.
Literally, it refers to the bones of a dragon. Aside from the Dragon Heart—the organ that generates and stores the vast amounts of mana a dragon uses—it is the most expensive part of a dragon’s corpse.
To put it a bit hyperbolically, the seller names the price.
In the first place, dragons are called the Strongest Species, surpassing even High-tier and High-Rank Species. Hunting one is no easy feat, so there are rarely any sellers to begin with.
But let’s say there was a collector who somehow managed to gather the bones of seven different types of dragons.
Of course, he didn’t hunt them himself; he likely snatched them from a dungeon someone else was clearing. Regardless, the process couldn’t have been smooth.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like I used it all. Will anyone even notice if a mere half is gone?”
Now, how would that collector feel if some madman used up four types of those bones in a single night without permission?
Well, I mean… if it were just the Dragon Bone, it would still be bad, but maybe I could beg for forgiveness somehow.
“Regrettably, there is no Divine Iron, but I have oil obtainable only from the Dragon Palace, Heavenly flames, and even the Jade Emperor’s pills. Fortunately, there is an abundance of substitute materials. Now that the preparations for the awakening are complete, shall we wake it up?”
I’m sorry.
Every single one of those items was a treasure he had bragged to me about until his breath ran out.
Usually, the guy lied so much it seemed like he didn’t know how to do anything else. But when he bragged about his treasures or spun his tales of adventure, his eyes would uniquely sparkle as he told the truth.
I didn’t exactly want this to happen, but it’s all been used up.
I mean, I didn’t think he’d just go ahead and do it while I was trying to take a moment to think.
By the time I finished deliberating, the materials had already been melted down. What was I supposed to do?
Whether she knew about my dilemma or not, the Sun Wukong of the gourd excitedly poured the melted materials onto the Ruyi and began chanting an incantation.
As the chant began, the Dragon Bone and the pills, dissolved in the heated oil, filled the damaged parts of the Ruyi and gradually hardened.
— Ugh… Mmm?
As the damaged Ruyi was restored, the Sun Wukong within the Ruyi also began to react.
— What is this? There’s no way I could recover this quickly. Dragon Bone? And one for each element governing the Five Phases? Besides, what is this… oil from the Dragon Palace, Heavenly flames…? And even the old man’s pills…?
The surprise in her voice suggested that “our” Sun Wukong had a bit more common sense than “that” Sun Wukong.
…Wait, no. Did you just call the Jade Emperor “the old man”?
— How did you suddenly get these things? No, even if you could get them, the skill required to blend them is absolutely…?
“Hello? Ruyi. Are you feeling awake now?”
— …I see. I finally failed to repair the Ruyi and fell into a nightmare. I should have just swallowed my pride and asked for help.
Sun Wukong, who had always lectured me not to escape from reality, had somehow started escaping from reality herself upon seeing another version of herself.
— This is a dream. There’s no way this could happen if it weren’t a dream. Why would the gourd, which should be resting in the Heavenly Treasury, be in the human world? Unless this idiot finally crawled all the way up to the Heavenly Realm while I was asleep… actually, that’s possible.
Hey, why are you suddenly blaming me while escaping from reality?
I mean, how much trouble have I actually caused so far?
“You’ll have to understand. The regret sealed within the Ruyi is related to martial arts, so she’s a bit simple-minded.”
— Why don’t you drop that disgusting tone first? If I’m simple-minded, then you’re just a twisted brat.
“I’m not twisted; I’m lamenting. Unlike you, who believes everything in the world has a clear answer and that the fist is the foundation of it all, I had far too many worries.”
…Wow. The scholar-type Sun Wukong and the warrior-type Sun Wukong are fighting.
And they’re both blonde beautiful girls.
— I’m not usually the type to have many regrets, but if I’d known this would happen, I would have tried to help you awaken a different ocular technique instead of the Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils. Good heavens, what kind of madman dragged the Purple Gold Red Gourd from the Heavenly Treasury all the way to the human world?
I had a vague idea that it must have been a grand adventure since it was a Myth-grade artifact, but hearing Sun Wukong exaggerate like this gave it a different feel.
Just what on earth did that con artist do and where?
“Why? Thanks to this, the Ruyi, which was on the verge of breaking, will be sturdier than before. Isn’t that a relief?”
— …Relief? What relief? Now it looks like I’m destined to merge into one with you.
…Huh? What does that mean?
“Are you curious about what that means?”
“Ah, yes. Honestly, a little. Is there some kind of problem?”
“No, it’s not like that. It’s just that the real Sun Wukong—our original self—divided her regrets and stored them as residual thoughts within three artifacts: myself, the Ruyi, and the Golden Hoop.”
— …And the reason I’m the only one who is a projection is that the gourd and the Golden Hoop had fulfilled their roles and were no longer needed, but the Ruyi could still be used as a weapon, so the original self took the real Ruyi with him.
“Well, yes. Anyway, he then hid the Ruyi’s projection in the human world, the Purple Gold Red Gourd in the Heavenly Realm, and the Golden Hoop in Hell. Now, do you know why he didn’t hide them all in one place?”
“…I’m not sure?”
“It’s because we were originally one being. If we are close to each other, we merge. That’s why he kept us apart.”
…Hmm? Is it bad if they become one?
“You’re wondering if there’s a problem if we become one, right? You’re right; there isn’t really a big problem. The problem is that our power grows too great.”
“…Excuse me?”
“We each hold the regrets Sun Wukong had regarding her martial arts, her Taoist magic, and her memories.”
— It’s nothing to brag about, but possessing even one grants immense power. Just with the Ruyi alone, you could neutralize almost any opponent, and when using Synchronization, you had almost no equals, did you not?
…Aha.
— It was a self-imposed measure to ensure that another person like me—a ruffian who would turn the heavens upside down—would never appear again.
“The Ruyi hidden in the human world was conditioned on a trial so harsh it was meant to be impassable.”
— And the gourd hidden in the Heavenly Realm was set so that only someone possessing the Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils—which cannot be obtained through normal means—could become its master.
“…So you’re saying that through a series of coincidences, I met the conditions and ended up with two of the three?”
“That’s right.”
— Indeed.
“We, who were originally one, will mix again, and our divided powers will become one and grow even more formidable.”
— It’s a terrible thing, but that’s how it will be.
“Uh, then will you happen to lose the memories of being with me…?”
“I know what you’re worried about, but that won’t happen. Since we were originally one, it’s more like we’ll share each other’s memories and return to a natural state.”
— I’m begging you, please stop using that tone…!
I mean, it’s not even that weird; why does she hate it so much…?
Anyway, if they aren’t losing their memories, it doesn’t really matter.
“It’s not like we can undo it now anyway. Just accept it gracefully. The repairs on the Ruyi aren’t fully finished yet, so if we become one, we can finish them faster, right?”
— This is driving me crazy. How did you even end up getting the gourd… You’re a guy whose luck I can’t tell is good or bad.
It’s not like I picked it up because I wanted to.
Uh, well. Honestly, so many things happened so suddenly that my feelings are a bit too complicated to put into words.
The Sun Wukong before my eyes slowly transformed into particles of light and melted into the repaired Ruyi, and the Ruyi also returned to the form of a small sphere as if entering dormancy again.
— Don’t worry, we’ll see each other again soon.
— Gah! If you say it like that now, it’ll be even harder to tell us apart…! Shut up!
— We’re going to become one soon anyway; you worry about the strangest things.
— I said shut up…!
— Hoho.
…Just what is going on between those two? No, wait, they’re the same person.
Does the Ruyi personality treat the gourd personality like some kind of embarrassing past?
— Anyway, it was a pleasure to meet you, new master.
— …I’ll see you after the Ruyi is finished being repaired. Don’t worry too much; not much will change.
Ah, wait. This isn’t the time for this.
“…So, how do I get out of here?”
— You are the master of the artifact now. Won’t the artifact naturally listen to your words?
— Once we fall asleep, the instructions for use will naturally come to mind.
— Don’t look so sad. Like it or not, it’s not a lie anymore; there really isn’t much time left.
“…Who said I was looking sad?”
There’s been so much trouble lately, I just wanted to see them for a bit.
“…I guess they fell back asleep already. Since there’s no answer.”
As if to prove Sun Wukong’s words weren’t a lie, the instructions for the gourd naturally surfaced in my mind.
Actually, more than just the instructions for the gourd, several other things came to mind, but for now, getting out is more important than testing them.
“Right, this is enough for now. Gourd, get me out of here.”
The moment I gave the command to the gourd, I felt a strange sense of floating, and I felt myself being ejected, the opposite of when I was sucked inside.
* * *
And the first thing that caught my eye after escaping was…
“Ah, you’re out, Junior. Were you okay?”
“Oh? That’s a relief, but then we might have actually beaten an innocent man?”
It was the con artist, who appeared to have been beaten—really, truly beaten—to a pulp.
He looked like he had been getting hit right up until the moment I emerged; there wasn’t a single uninjured spot on his body. Seeing the wolf currently biting his arm made me feel even more guilty than I already did.
“I… I didn’t do it… please. Believe me…”
I wondered what kind of treatment it took to break such a stubborn guy like that.
First, without saying a word, I poured about half of my remaining Elixir into his mouth.
If he died like this, even a guy as shameless as me would feel too guilty.
A moment later.
“Cough, hack… ha…!”
The guy, barely revived with the help of the Elixir, began to glare at me.
Yeah, after getting beaten like that, honestly, he had every right.
I don’t usually say things like this, but I was actually willing to take at least one punch from him.
“Purple Gold Red Gourd! Come back! Come back! Listen to me! Purple Gold Red Gourd!”
“…Ah, so the problem isn’t that you got hit, but this?”
The way he wailed desperately while looking at the gourd hanging at my waist seemed, for some reason, even more pathetic than how he looked when he was being beaten to a mess just moments ago.
“What did you do! How! How could you complete the master recognition so easily? It wouldn’t even let me try…!”
“It’s not like I got it because I’m great, so I don’t have much to tell you.”
Tada! I just happened to have the Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils~? If I said that, would this guy even accept it?
“It took so long just to get it to store items for me…! Do you know how happy I was when it first listened to me…! I was planning to get closer to it little by little! Who do you think you are to come between us!”
Wow, I think this is the first time I’ve seen this guy get so emotional.
“…Uh, wait. Are you crying right now?”
“Does it look like I wouldn’t be crying…!? Can you even understand how I feel right now…!?”
This is starting to feel really awkward… I mean, it’s not like I stole it because I wanted to.
They said he didn’t have the qualifications to begin with, so what was I supposed to do?
“It’s unfair enough that my most cherished artifact was taken. I was even tortured! How could I not feel wronged!”
Honestly, if it were me, I’d probably want to kill everyone in front of me right now too.
“Give it back. The Purple Gold Red Gourd, and my artifacts that are inside it…!”
Well, giving it back is technically the right thing to do. Morally and according to my conscience.
But if my guess is right, returning the gourd to him would only cause him more pain.
Regrettably, he wasn’t in a state where he would be convinced by my words.
“…Fine, I’ll give it to you, so don’t regret it…?”
“Ah…? What. You’re giving it back more easily than I thought. If you just return it, I’ll forgive everything. Yes. Of course…!”
As if afraid I might change my mind, he hurried to grab the gourd I held out.
However, the gourd teleported away from his touch and returned to my waist.
“…Huh? This…?”
And since he had his own experience researching artifacts, he must have realized that this was the rejection reaction unique to an artifact that had completed its master recognition.
“A-again. Something seems to have gone wrong.”
“…Sure, try until you’re satisfied.”
About an hour passed as he struggled to take the gourd, absolutely refusing to accept reality.
— I’m sleepy, so stop bothering me…!
“Gyaaaaaaaaak…!?”
He must have finally gotten on Sun Wukong’s nerves, as the gourd spat out flames and scorched him.
And as he fainted once again, the tear tracks on his face remained incredibly vivid.
“Elixir. Good thing I saved some.”
…I’m really sorry, man.