Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Crystal Scroll
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‘Having Minerva around is great.’
I leisurely surveyed the Wingless Nightmare as I followed behind her.
Whenever I pointed out a trap’s location, Minerva would neutralize it without a fuss. It was surprising that you could clear this place in such a relaxed manner.
Since it was a trap dungeon by nature, there was only one path anyway, so I didn’t need to take the lead or guide her. Mazelike dungeons with twisting paths would come later in other areas.
“Stepping in the center will trigger arrows from the left. Be careful.”
“Got it, dear.”
Minerva strode forward, casually smashing through the traps densely packed in this place—traps that had been tempered to the extreme with malice by the modders in Nirvana Mode.
For instance, just moments ago, after my warning, she collapsed the ground near a switch that would launch about ten arrows when stepped on. In vanilla, it was only three.
Or like now, on a thin straight bridge where seven ax-blade pendulums swung back and forth, with switches along the path that fired arrows when stepped on.
In the game, it was a section demanding nonstop sprinting from start to finish, timing it just right. But Minerva simply shattered the pendulums and crumbled the walls loaded with arrows.
“We still have a ways to go, don’t we, dear?”
“We’re almost there. Just a few more spots to get through.”
Even in the game, it took ages to clear, and considering how the scale had grown much larger in reality, a few hours wouldn’t be unusual.
But thanks to Minerva, we reached the final trap in under an hour. It felt less like conquering a trap-filled dungeon and more like strolling through a building.
‘Even if it had enemies placed throughout, it would’ve been the same.’
Unless they were boss-tier or mid-boss level, nothing could withstand the barrage of spells Minerva unleashed. Low-level mobs would’ve been wiped out by a single casual spell.
Only a handful of traps remained now. After cleanly dealing with them and walking a short distance, a vast open plaza appeared. Ankle-deep water covered the entire floor.
Its overall size was similar to the training grounds of the castle where the Silver Dawn Knights resided. Unlike the rough stone walls we’d seen so far, these were neatly stacked bricks.
Aside from the ankle-high water on the floor, the place was empty. I pointed to a large door on the opposite side from the passage we’d emerged from.
“We’re good. See that door? The Crystal Scroll is right behind it.”
“Oh… finally…”
“Wait a moment. Don’t go yet.”
I stopped Minerva, who was on the verge of tears in her eyes as she started toward it. From beyond the wall right behind us came the clanking sound of something loading.
“Why is that, dear? Is there more to do?”
Minerva turned to me with an extremely urgent expression.
“Yes. There’s one last trap behind there. We need to handle it too.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than a ‘thwoong’ rang out. The sound of something launching. Minerva frowned, clearly having heard it too.
—KABOOM!
A sound that shook the entire area erupted from beyond the wall. The ground trembled slightly.
The explosions didn’t stop at one. Like splitting a mountain, thunderous blasts continued seven more times in succession. Only then did silence finally settle.
“…That’s it, huh.”
“Yes.”
The quiet was brief. Clanking echoed again. Whether she’d used detection magic in that short moment to identify the trap, Minerva spoke in an irritated tone.
“It’s a bit grandiose to call that a mere trap.”
I agreed completely.
Yeah. A puny word like ‘trap’ couldn’t properly describe it.
It was a colossal cannon that automatically handled every procedure needed to fire, reloaded shells on its own, and even automatically tracked targets within seconds.
The automation of all processes, infinite ammo, and auto-tracking were astonishing enough, but it fired in four-round bursts, no less.
In a game that set most tech levels to medieval standards, cramming in such overkill technology as a trap felt off, but what could you do? It was the BrNirvana series developers who designed it that way.
For reference, in Nirvana Mode, there’s an identical cannon right next to it. That’s why we heard eight impacts on the back wall.
“You just need to take care of that trap too, right, dear?”
“Before that, one more request.”
I glanced around. The mountain-splitting booms erupted from behind us once more.
“Minerva. Could you lure that trap’s fire? Probably by making a human shape.”
“Lure its fire? Hmm… Hold on a moment.”
Minerva swung her staff. A mana orb floated up in the air. She waited like that for a bit, confirmed the cannon wasn’t targeting it, then swung her staff again.
The mana orb changed shape. Into a human form. Hair grew, clothes formed, arms and legs extended, and each part took on human colors.
At least outwardly, it was a perfect human—shaped like Minerva herself.
The mana-formed Minerva held a staff in one hand just like her creator and wandered leisurely around.
—BOOM!
Soon after, it shattered from a man-sized metal slug flying in from afar. The mana forming the human shape turned blue and scattered into the air.
“There we go.”
“Looks like it. Perfect.”
It was a relief we didn’t need the backup plan. If that hadn’t worked, one of us would’ve had to bait the shells personally.
Of course, with teleportation available, we wouldn’t need to flail around rolling and dodging like in the game as shells flew in.
“What now?”
“See that wall over there? It’s a different color from the surrounding ones.”
Minerva nodded, looking where my finger pointed. Most walls were a mix of black and brown, but that one was closer to gray.
“Make another clone like the one from before, right in front of it.”
Tap. Her staff lightly touched the floor. Blue mana gathered before the wall I’d indicated, shifting colors as it formed a human shape. But this time, it wasn’t Minerva.
It was Ceres. Before her breasts had grown from the breast enhancement pill—not a single curve in sight.
Even if it was a fake made of mana, seeing herself get smashed must’ve irked her. This was a chance for some petty venting too.
“…”
The mana Ceres didn’t last even a few seconds before a lightning-fast shell struck it, shattering it completely. The fragmented Ceres turned blue like before and dispersed.
The shell wasn’t satisfied with pulverizing a mere mana human. KABOOM! The massive metal slug slammed into the wall I’d pointed out. The impact made the wall shudder.
“One more time, please.”
Ceres’s form reappeared immediately, only to get smashed by another slug without fail.
But the wall behind it crumbled too. It had barely withstood the first hit, but the second was too much. The wall collided with the slug and collapsed with a deafening crash.
“Dear, that’s…”
Minerva looked slightly surprised at the space revealed behind the ruined wall. This was the puzzle requiring the trap’s use.
As was typical of the BrNirvana series, without noticing the wall’s distinctly different color, there were no other hints—so plenty despaired over how to open that door, only to eat cannon fire and meet instant death.
Even knowing it, positioning was crucial to destroy the wall, so players had to die a bunch during the clear.
“It’s what we need to do to open that door.”
I said matter-of-factly.
“Three left now.”
“All done?”
“Yeah. That’s it.”
I gazed contentedly at the pair of utterly wrecked quadruple cannons. It felt so satisfying. In the game, there was no way to destroy them, but things were different now.
‘…Though honestly, Minerva could’ve just smashed the wall herself.’
I hadn’t thought of it in the game since such a situation never arose. The idea only hit me after six mana Cereses had been obliterated and the cannons destroyed.
Minerva and I took the gem from behind the broken wall and slotted it into the door’s socket. Then, as I’d done thousands of times, we solved the puzzle by placing the gems in sequence.
In the game, that damned cannon forced you to place one, bolt, come back for another, bolt again, and repeat.
Now, with no such hassle, we could solve it leisurely.
“This is the last one.”
Pushing the green gem into the diagonal left slot made the door rumble and begin sliding open left and right. Minerva stared up at the opening door in a near-daze.
“It’s… really done, dear…?”
“Yes. There it is. Can’t you see it too, Minerva?”
I pointed far off to a box atop a square altar-like structure. Seeing it, Minerva’s body convulsed.
The trembling didn’t stop even after we reached the box. If anything, it intensified. I had to catch her midway when her legs buckled.
“This is… the Crystal Scroll…”
Mumbling leaked between her lips. Fitting for housing the ‘Crystal’ Scroll, the box was adorned with all sorts of crystals. It was about the size of my torso, with no visible lock.
Aside from being even more ornate, it matched the game’s box perfectly.
“It really… was…”
Minerva trembled so much it was pitiful to watch.
‘Her reaction isn’t entirely incomprehensible…’
It came from info on Minerva’s original NPC—via conversations with Arcana.
She had overwhelming talent allowing mastery of all magic, but paradoxically, that same talent caused her to lose interest in life: the Eternal Mage.
She’d learned every spell there was to learn. Now she just flipped through spellbooks memorized centuries ago or endlessly tinkered with magic improvements.
She’d done the same thing for hundreds of years, yet every mage in the empire still raved about her ‘same old routine.’ To Minerva, it was no different from rotting alive.
She’d endured over a century on duty-bound magic tinkering alone when she discovered the Crystal Scroll—long thought lost to history.
A true learning opportunity after so long; her eyes couldn’t help but roll back.
‘It’s even worse seeing it in person.’
Honestly, in the game, hearing Arcana’s words, I’d brushed it off.
No matter how it was wrapped in archaic phrasing, it boiled down to: I’m so talented I mastered all magic, so it’s boring and I want to die.
But to Minerva, it seemed far more serious than imagined. I figured I’d ask about the other scrolls’ locations later.
No exaggeration—she’d probably spread her legs joyfully if I asked her body in exchange for that info.
‘Not that I plan to.’
“Aah…”
Minerva flung open the box with her shaking hands.