Chapter 237: The Tutorial Floor (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 237: The Tutorial Floor (9)
I cut my way through the mummies and ventured deeper into the temple. Before long, I came to the first gate.
“Grrrroooan...”
T-ring—
「You have encountered the 139th Avatar of the Constellation, ‘Mysterious Beast’.」
It was a sphinx.
The creature, so massive it made the golem seem cute in comparison, was fast asleep as if guarding the door beyond it.
Its massive forepaws were large enough to crush me flat, and as befitting an avatar of a Constellation, the amount of magic power it radiated was substantial.
‘Wait... isn't a sphinx supposed to be a monster with the body of a lion and the head of a human?’
But this one had the head of a bird. If I had to categorize it, its appearance was closer to a griffin.
Was it trying to stick to a theme, since this is the Temple of Horus?
It was strange, but that didn't matter. Whether it had a human head or a bird head, the fact remained that it was a magical beast I had to deal with.
Fortunately, the sphinx was so soundly asleep that it didn't notice me even as I drew near.
The only downside was that using magic was tricky since we were underground. Besides, cats have ridiculously sharp senses, so if I used a large-scale spell, it might notice and wake up.
‘Is it even a cat in the first place...?’
Lions are felines, but its head was a bird's.
So what should I call it? A lion? A bird?
For a moment, questions and curiosity filled my mind, but I quickly snapped out of it.
‘...This curiosity is a sickness, I swear.’
Whenever I get lost in curiosity like that, whether I like it or not, I'm reminded that I am, at my core, a mage.
Suppressing my killing intent as much as possible, I took my stance.
A golden aura shimmered over my fist. Like I've said before, beasts are meant to be beaten with fists.
I had no intention of holding back.
“You're so big, I don't have to worry about missing.”
The moment I spoke, a faint wind stirred around my fist.
Rumble—
The wind, which at first only scattered the dust on the floor, soon became a powerful gravitational force, strong enough to lift even stone fragments, and swirled around me.
Within that gravitational pull, so strong it was almost too much for even me to handle, the golden aura turned dark. It became a fathomless darkness that looked almost ominous.
「‘Dancing Destroyer’ watches you with curious eyes.」
「‘Eye that Guards the Throne’ focuses on you.」
The condensed Vajra Qi exploded from one point.
Great Prajna Void Annihilation Fist (大般若空虛滅盡拳).
From within the roiling black energy, my fist shot out, generating a gravitational pull that seemed ready to devour everything.
KWAAAAANG!!
But my fist never reached the sphinx. Instead, it collided with an unknown, opaque barrier.
The barrier, which had appeared out of nowhere, didn't even get a scratch from my full-power punch.
T-ring—
「Warning, Warning, Warning.」
「The riddle has not yet begun.」
「Attacks against each other are prohibited.」
Soon, a new screen appeared before my eyes. It flashed red, like some kind of warning light.
While I was momentarily distracted by the screen...
Kugugung—
“Yaaawn...”
The sphinx, with its colossal body, awoke from its slumber.
It had been massive even while sleeping, but now that it was awake, it was bigger than I could have imagined. I had to crane my neck just to see its face.
No matter how I looked at it, this was not a creature that belonged on the Tutorial Floor.
“What's all this commotion-meow?”
Only then did I understand the message on the red screen and the nature of the opaque barrier that had blocked my attack.
No matter if this was a hidden dungeon, it was still just a dungeon on the Tutorial Floor.
If something like that just popped out, all the player candidates would be wiped out, and that would go against the fairness the system strives for.
There's a difference between impossible and having a near-zero chance of success. As long as this creature existed on the Tutorial Floor, the candidates had to have a non-zero chance of clearing it.
“...A human?”
The awakened sphinx groomed its head with a forepaw, like a cat, then shot me a peculiar look.
Its eyes were unnecessarily bright and sparkling.
“Don't tell me! Are you a challenger-meow?!”
The beast's reaction was different from what I'd expected.
A sphinx is supposed to be a guardian of the pyramids. From its perspective, I should be nothing more than an intruder.
It wouldn't have been strange if it had charged at me, trying to kill me on the spot.
But it didn't. Instead, it cried out in a voice filled with joy and delight.
Thump, thump—
Overjoyed about something, it repeatedly stomped its forepaws on the ground. The corridor shook with each impact, and I was covered in dust.
A murderous urge welled up inside me.
“It's riddle time-meow!”
The sphinx's tail swayed back and forth.
It was like a child, desperate to play.
“Refuse and I'll kill you-meow! Get it wrong and I'll kill you-meow!”
It bared its sharp claws and teeth, trying to threaten me, but to my eyes, it just looked like a stray cat hissing.
The riddle of the sphinx—the famous tale of it challenging passersby to a riddle and devouring those who couldn't answer.
Needless to say, I had no intention of playing along with such a farce.
“What will you do if I answer them all correctly?”
But until the riddles were over, we couldn't harm each other. It was a kind of protective measure for the player candidates.
For now, solving the riddles was the only way forward.
Of course, I didn't need to take them seriously. The important thing was just to get them over with.
“Kuhuhuhu...!! A mere human dares to say you'll answer all of my riddles-meow? How arrogant-meow!”
A bizarre smile spread across the sphinx's lips.
It already had the look of someone who thought they'd won.
“Very well-meow! I will now ask you three riddles-meow. If you get even one wrong, I will devour you-meow. But, on the off chance you answer them all correctly, I will obediently open the way...”
“Enough with the chatter. Just ask the questions.”
The creature's brow furrowed menacingly.
“...You, I'll make sure to chew up extra thoroughly-meow.”
With a surge of intense killing intent, the first riddle began.
A long, long time ago, two gods lived above the clouds. They were brothers, born of the same parents, and their bond was so strong they had never once fought.
One day, the brothers descended to the surface and met a beautiful woman by a nearby lake.
But, as strong as their bond was, their tastes were just as similar. Ironically, both fell in love with the woman at the same time.
In the face of love, their brotherly bond meant little.
The two began to push each other aside, each trying to win the woman's affection.
The competition to win her love grew fiercer, until the brothers eventually drew their swords against one another.
“And here is the first question-meow!”
It shouted, looking at me with a confident expression.
“Tell me the names of the two brothers-meow!”
“...What?”
Pleased with my reaction, the corners of its eyes curved up. Its gently swaying tail betrayed its good mood.
“Kyahahaha! As if a mere human could solve a Constellation's advanced riddle-meow! You'll pay dearly for your foolish bravado-meow!”
Ignoring its laughter, I fell into thought for a moment.
Since it was a riddle from a Constellation, it was likely an anecdote from a specific myth.
However, brothers fighting over a woman is an incredibly common trope in mythology. I could think of dozens of examples off the top of my head.
The only clues were that they were gods with the same parents, lived above the clouds, and met a woman by a lake.
But even with that, there were too many possibilities.
Seeing me ponder, the smile on the sphinx's lips grew even more grotesque. It was even drooling, as if it had a hole in its chin.
It was a cheap trick to break my concentration.
My goal was just to end the riddles anyway. Whether I was right or wrong, that bird-brain was going to die by my hand. That much was certain.
So there was no need to try hard to get the right answer.
I just blurted out the first answer that came to mind.
“...Bickering?”
It was the answer to a nonsense quiz I'd seen in a newspaper a few days ago.
Even I had to admit it was a half-assed answer.
I expected the beast to lunge at me right then and there.
“Kuh...!”
But contrary to my expectations, its reaction was strange. It looked like it was bursting with indignation.
“Th-That's correct-meow!”
“...?”
It's actually correct?
My disbelief was short-lived as the beast puffed up its body and shoved its face toward me.
“Th-The next one won't be so easy-meow!”
There once was a boy who loved hamburgers.
He ate hamburgers for all three meals a day and even had a hamburger-shaped keychain on his bag.
“Here's the second question-meow! What is that boy's favorite color?!”
“...Burgundy.”
The sphinx's eyes went wide.
It looked completely flustered. If anything, I was the one who was flustered.
This is what it calls a riddle?
“...I didn't want to resort to this, but here is the final question-meow.”
Its voice turned solemn.
Amazingly, I didn't feel the least bit tense.
“Here I go-meow! What has four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?!”
“A human.”
As expected, it was a question not even worth thinking about.
A ripple of shock passed through the sphinx's eyes.
“W-Wrong-meow!”
“What?”
“The answer is a transforming robot-meow!!”
It was clearly the right answer, but the beast was just being stubborn.
Is it sane?
“What kind of nonsense is that...”
“Shut up-meow!”
T-ring—
「The riddle has ended.」
「You have answered the riddle incorrectly.」
「The ‘Desert Curse’ is eroding your body.」
At that moment, the beast charged at me.
The corridor shook as its enormous body moved.
“Die-meow!!”
Watching the scene unfold, I casually flexed my left hand. I hadn't expected it to get the first move.
My right arm was shredded from the punch I'd thrown earlier, so it was useless.
‘A curse... Is it something like a general decrease in physical abilities and a loss of the five senses?’
I felt my strength drain for a second, but I wasn't worried.
My previous battle with the snake-head had taught me that most curses don't work on me.
「You have resisted the ‘Desert Curse’.」
Using my footwork, I dodged its attack.
KWAANG!!
When its forepaw slammed into the floor, it left a rather cute-looking crater as stone fragments flew everywhere.
For its size, it was quite agile.
Though by my standards, it was still far too slow.
“Stop dodging like a little rat-meow!! Where did you go-meow!!”
“Here.”
“?!”
I leaped in front of its face and immediately threw a punch—a fist reinforced purely with magic power, internal energy, and support magic.
PWAAK!!
“Nyaooong!!”
With the sensation of flesh tearing, the beast's massive body staggered.
As I thought, beasts are meant to be beaten with fists. There's no particular reason; it just feels good.
It collapsed, blood dripping from its shattered beak.
As I approached, its pupils began to tremble violently, as if in an earthquake.
“I'm going to give you a riddle now. If you get it right, I'll leave peacefully.”
I whispered, close enough to reach out and crush its eyeballs.
“...A-And if I get it wrong-meow?”
“You die.”
What a stupid question.
“So?”
Gulp.
After a moment's hesitation, the beast swallowed dryly and nodded.
“Alright, here's the question. No repeats, so listen carefully, okay?”
“...”
“What has four legs in the morning and at noon, but has no legs in the evening?”
Hearing the question, the beast broke out in a cold sweat.
Even as it glanced nervously at me, its eyes were still unnecessarily bright.
How much time passed? A minute? Three?
“...I-I don't know-meow.”
It tried to act pitiful, putting on a cute voice.
Not that a bird-head dripping with blood could ever look cute.
“The answer is you.”
“What do you mean...”
Swish.
Blood sprayed, following the golden arc I drew in the air.
“Where are your legs when your head is separated from your body?”
T-ring—
「You have defeated the 139th Avatar of the Constellation, ‘Mysterious Beast’.」