The Greatest Architect

“Lloyd, are you still going into that dungeon? ”

“Of course.”

Lloyd looks up at the sky, answering.

It was a blue sky with no clouds.

Therefore, the sun should be blazing on all sides.

But you can't find the sun anywhere with him now.

There are shadows everywhere.

‘It's a dark place. ’

Lloyd shrugs without even knowing it.

The Gorge of Floria is much narrower and deeper than I expected.

Thanks to him, there was no sun at all at the bottom of the valley.

No, not just now.

‘It seems like it hasn't been sunny in at least a few thousand years. ’

Without grass, there were wet moss everywhere and unnamed mushrooms.

Especially the hollow dungeon entrance to which his gaze was directed.

“But it's dangerous. like I've been telling you for the last few days. ”

Xaviel's cold, dry voice pierces the eardrums behind him.

“Lloyd, it's not too late. The opponent is a wizard.”

“ ……. ”

“You'd better return to the territory and prepare yourself for the Wizard and return. ”

“ ……. ”

“Lloyd? ”

“Huh."

“Are you listening to me? ”

“No. It's leaking into my ear. ”

“ ……. ”

Lloyd still looks at the dungeon entrance.

“Are you a parrot? Why do I feel like I keep repeating the same story since I left Orc territory? ”

“When did I…. ”

“Never mind. It's been going on and on and on. Lloyd, it's dangerous. It's reckless, Lloyd. Lloyd, I can't. Lloyd, pick up your hearing aid. Well, maybe this is it. Anyway."

Lloyd wrinkles his nose.

“I don't like your opinion. ”

“Why?”

Xaviel's rumour immediately flew in.

Lloyd immediately reacted.

“Because you're trying so hard to hide the inconvenient truth. ”

“Yes?”

“You can't deny what I'm saying. ”

Lloyd looks back.

Xaviel pauses unconsciously as he looks at himself.

“Xaviel? No, Lord Asran. Let me ask you something, if I'm following your lead. So let's go back to the territory to get ready and then come back here. ”

“Yes.”

“In the meantime, all the soldiers trapped in there will die, right?" ”

“That's ……. ”

“Right?"

“…… Yes, I think so. ”

Xaviel nods.

Loyd smiles bitterly.

“Yes. As a matter of fact, you know, it's an inconvenient truth I know. But you made your decision. We can't jeopardize the heir to the territory in order to save a few soldiers. Is that right?"

“Lloyd, I……. ”

“Never mind. Admit that your judgment is reasonable. Only when you don't know how to break through the Dungeon's Defense Trap Magic Cube. ”

“Yes?”

What's that sound?

Xaviel's eyes narrow.

“Is there a breakthrough you've been thinking about? ”

“Uh. I think we should apply the Asran method. ”

“The Deep Law? ”

“Huh."

Lloyd nodding.

Suddenly, in his mind, something came to mind in the article of the Blood of Novels.

"Yes, I applied the cardinal law. A few years from now, you'll be the Master of the Sword. ’

Xaviel of the future who will attack this dungeon in a novel.

I was in a much richer state of experience than I am now.

You saved the experience by devising an effective magic breakthrough.

It was to harness the Mana Absorption Ability of Asran.

Likewise, Lloyd put in his mouth a breakthrough that Xaviel had devised at the time of the future.

“Have you ever tried using Asran's mind to sweep through the air? ”

“Eating?”

“Absorption.”

“Yes, of course. ”

Xaviel replies.

“We usually do that. ”

“Of course. Me, too. I can do it anytime, anywhere, so it's a good training in the law. ”

It was true.

That's why Lloyd often ran the Asran method whenever he had a chance.

You absorb the natural Mana that spreads in the air.

It was slightly amplified so that it wouldn't stain.

It was a good exercise.

“How do you feel when you breathe Mana in the air like that? ”

“Yeah, sure."

Xaviel thinks for a moment and says,

“I feel peaceful. ”

“Tranquility? Why? ”

“Maybe the Mana in the air is always constant. ”

“Isn't that right?"

“Yes.”

That was also true.

The Mana spread in the air was always uniform.

There was hardly any gathering or vacancy.

So when it absorbed the Mana of air, the amount of Mana entering the circle was always constant.

“That's right. It's always constant, as if you were just breathing air. By the way, what would it feel like to run deep law around a hidden sorcerer and absorb Mana so you can't see it? ”

“Yes? Of course it's... Ah. ”

Xaviel's expression changed.

I looked at Lloyd with an unfamiliar eye.

“Mana, which was abnormally dense by the sorcerers, huddles up and comes in at once. ”

“Yes. You know what I'm saying? ”

“Yes.”

Lloyd grins.

Xaviel swallowed the inner amazement.

It was a simple but unthinkable idea.

‘Lloyd is right. A device that artificially attracts Mana that is widespread in nature and alters its arrangement to cause magic. So, naturally, Mana would gather abnormally around it. ’

And to find the sorcerer?

Absorb the surrounding Mana by operating the Asran deep method.

Walk slowly while maintaining absorption.

Then Manah, who was gathered in one place by the sorcerers, will be lumped and absorbed.

‘Then you can see the direction and distance the Mana Nugget came in. Magic crews are hidden so you can only find them with your senses if you can't see them. ’

Xaviel's gaze was on Lloyd.

“Lloyd. ”

“Huh?"

“It's possible. ”

“Isn't that right?"

“Yes.”

Xaviel nods.

Lloyd grins.

“So did you feel the need to rush into the dungeon now? ”

“Yes. Lloyd will wait here, then. I'll go alone. ”

“I don't like that. ”

“Why? It's dangerous inside. ”

“I know. ”

Lloyd glances around.

“But would you be relieved to leave me here and go inside by myself? ”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you'll be safe here? ”

“That's ……. ”

“No?”

“ ……. ”

Xaviel is silent.

It turns out Lloyd was right, too.

You cannot rule out the danger at the bottom of this canyon to be one of the Black Wizards.

But what if we leave Lloyd here and go into the dungeon alone?

What if Lloyd's remains are in immediate danger?

I won't be able to protect you.

Xaviel sighs a little.

“Very well. Let's go in together then. But there is one condition. ”

“Condition? Tell me. ”

“Promise me you'll run away at any time, without hesitation. ”

“What if things get dangerous? ”

“That's right. I know Lloyd well enough to want to save the soldiers inside. But the most important thing is Lloyd's safety. So..."

Xaviel's eyes and expression are beautified.

“Flee at any time if this situation becomes dangerous. even if he had abandoned me. ”

“Yes? Isn't that obvious? ”

“ ……. ”

“If I'm going to die, of course I'm going to leave you. What's so new about that? ”

“ ……. ”

“Are you upset? ”

“No, I'm not.”

“No. Do you know what you're looking at? ”

“I don't know. I don't really want to know. ”

“Look. You're pissed. ”

“ ……. ”

Xaviel's eyebrows twitch.

Lloyd picks up his shovel, swirling.

They were approaching the entrance of the dungeon one day.

I naturally tense up my senses.

Xaviel steps forward.

“I'll go first from here. ”

“Yes, go. Robot cleaner.”

“…… What's a robot cleaner? ”

“There is such a thing. It's a pretty equation.”

“I'm not that pretty. ”

“I know. Let's concentrate. Is this a time for jokes? ”

“Lloyd was the first to joke... Phew, no. ”

Xaviel's expression cools.

It seemed to attract attention.

I walked carefully and slowly.

Little by little, I stepped forward.

Literally like a robot cleaner cleaning the floor.

You start to sense the space by absorbing the mana around you.

Ugh, ugh.

The entrance to the cave at the bottom of the canyon, where there is no wind.

Only Xaviel's footsteps ring faintly there.

I wonder how far they've come.

Xaviel stops.

“Here. Three steps forward. ”

“Don't be so vague. Be more specific. Have you ever seen a pocket watch? ”

“Yes.”

“Use the time stamp on the watch as a direction. 12 o'clock on the front, 6 o'clock on the back. Like this.”

That's what you have to say now.

Just vaguely moving forward, right, and in this way can lead to catastrophe. The signatures don't match, so you can step on the Magic Cube a few centimeters apart.

Did Xaviel realize the same thing?

I immediately changed my words.

“One o'clock, three steps away. ”

“Okay.”

Ugh, ugh.

Movement continued.

Xaviel's detection continues.

“Two o'clock. That's two steps away. ”

“And at 11 o'clock? ”

“There's nothing here. ”

“Then let's move two steps towards 11 o'clock. ”

“I understand.”

“Any detections? ”

“Nine o'clock. The front is clear.”

“Okay. Forward again. ”

Since then, movement and detection have continued.

Of course, there were often dangerous moments.

It was because the trap wasn't just magic.

Chug, chug, chug!

You hear a faint sound on the floor.

Arrows fly from the wall at the same time.

Green arrowheads glow.

It was a poisoned arrow.

“No way!”

Ka 'ang!

An arrow flying towards Xaviel's chest is blocked in Lloyd's shovel.

“Phew, thank you. ”

“Done. Keep moving and detecting. You detect the occult, I block the physical traps. Okay?”

“I understand, but……. ”

“Only?”

“Don't overdo it. ”

“Aha. You mean don't get hurt trying to stop the arrows?" ”

“You are correct. If Lloyd is hurt, you may use me as a shield." ”

“I've always wanted to do that. ”

“ ……. ”

“Of course you did. ”

“ ……. ”

“You're pissed off again. Let's go.”

And so the two continued forward.

Xaviel detects the enchantment and Lloyd defends the Physical Trap Device.

‘Of course, Xaviel in the novel did it all by himself. ’

That's years from now, when he becomes a soothsayer.

Xaviel, on the other hand, is nothing more than Sword Express.

Detecting Mana and preparing for all physical traps was impossible for him now.

It was because the amount was very fine, even if it absorbed and sensed Mana.

‘The horse said that Mana would come huffing into the puddle, but in fact, um...' it would be like a liter of soup mixed with only one piece of goosebumps. No, I think it's a lot finer than that. ’

It needed such a delicate sensibility.

I had to help Xaviel concentrate completely.

“Come on, let's keep going. Take your time. Don't rush. ”

They took a step by step.

It was getting dark around me.

The light from the outside fades away.

From then on, I relied on the torch.

And then I kept going.

Thirty minutes, one hour, and then two hours later, many magicians were detected and evaded the trap.

Meanwhile, Lloyd constantly recalled and recalled the contents of the novel's Blood Knight.

The end of this long rig.

It was because I knew there was a type of trap there that was inevitable.

‘According to the narrative in the novel, I think it's about this big. ’

A large turn to the right.

Then the passageway was widened.

Across the widened passageway, you can see an open space far away.

The deepest dungeon.

It was the Black Wizard's Lab.

‘Found it.'

The lab is far away.

You can see the Black Wizard in the black robe standing on the table in the middle.

You can also see the Black Wizard waving his hands towards this side.

It was the moment of the inevitable trap.

The trap descends from the ceiling.

Giddyup, giddyup, giddyup!

A thick steel barrier falls.

I blocked the whole front passage completely.

It was the same in the back.

Another steel wall falls.

Kuaang!

They were completely trapped in the middle of the corridor.

The situation did not end there.

I heard a voice from the ceiling, "Push Zec!"

Soon, a sweet and aromatic smell spread inside the sealed passageway.

It was a powerful aromatic gas that induced sleep.

But Lloyd was not embarrassed at all.

So was Xaviel.

At this point, they didn't flinch, not even their eyelashes, not even a duodenal ridge.

“Hey. This is a familiar situation. ”

“Well, from what I hear, ”

A dark passageway.

A confined space.

Isolated in it.

Somehow, I remembered the anthill I had overcome before.

This friendly (?) On one condition, they stopped laughing.

And I began to cope with the situation so casually.

After a while thanks to you.

The relaxed menthol of the Black Wizard that had locked them up evaporated as he grew up.