"... hmm. Essence."
Filak muttered and remained silent.
Wallis walked straight down the narrow pathway wrapped in ice.
Eventually, I saw a beautiful staircase with delicate glasswork.
But when I approached it, it was all a staircase made of ice.
That's a good hobby.
Wallis said.
“It's a design staircase that looks like it's in a burgeoning nobleman's mansion. I try to make the darkness behind my background look bigger with lavish decorations.”
With that said, Wallis does not hesitate to step on the stairs.
The unexpectedly thin ice staircase shook loosely as Wallis weighed it, but it didn't break.
"It looks just like the sweet spot of the application."
Wallis laughed coolly and went up the stairs.
Philak didn't respond, but Wallis didn't notice.
The staircase spirals along the way and leads up the hierarchy.
It's Wallis.
Suddenly, Filak's voice echoed.
"I know that your confidence is backed by strength." But where did you get that power? "
Wallis frowned as he climbed the stairs.
What?
"It's the power that separated the child. No, even if you were a grown-up sorcerer, you wouldn't be as good a user. Where did you learn that extraordinary magical power?"
It's the Nork Academy of Magic.
Wallis answers immediately.
You don't know what an ancient sorcerer created you, but in my time there is an institution dedicated to training sorcerers.
Nork?
Filak's voice swayed with concern.
"Is that the island of Nork?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Wallis nodded.
"That's where the academy is."
In response, Filak was often silent.
"To the south of Eligmod, to the north of Huorremun."
Eventually she murmured.
"I see. There is such an institution on the island of Nork."
"Don't say anything stupid."
Wallis grinned.
"There's no school in a place that doesn't mean anything." Was the name famous since ancient times? "
But Philak didn't answer.
"No matter how good a magician training institution that college is, it's not easy to create someone like you."
Instead, I said so.
“Answer me, Wallis. It's not like anyone can get that kind of power if they learn. People don't do that. What is the source of your magic?"
"You said it was a college."
Wallis shouted in amazement.
Some hear a hundred, and understand only one; and some hear a hundred, and know a hundred. That's what learning is, isn't it? "
"You're right."
Philack admitted.
"In a general sense." But you are alien, Wallis. This silver Filak must be on the lookout. "
At the end of the stairs, the door was in sight.
"If I don't hear at least one word from you and I don't know ten thousand, I won't be able to do it at that age."
"Then that's who I am."
"It's not human business."
Wallis laughed at Philack's words and put his hand on the door.
"I don't have time to go along with a bad question." I'm in a hurry to look like this. "
Saying that, he opened the door.
"My dear classmate is dying."
It was a hall big enough for the opposite wall to dawn.
The floor is covered with square ice tiles.
Far ahead, I saw something like a crown on an icy pedestal.
Welcome to the second tier of the Ice Labyrinth.
Filak's voice said.
Labyrinth?
Wallis laughs with his nose.
Is this huge hall called a labyrinth?
"The maze walls are not always visible."
Filak's voice shakes happily.
You don't know that, Wallis.
In response, Wallis looked far ahead at the crown, and then looked around the hall.
I see.
Wallis nodded.
Labyrinth, huh?
"Do you know what that means?"
In response to Philack's voice, Wallis turned his staff to the floor.
This floor tile.
While saying that, I took a step forward.
When Wallis put his foot on the ice tile, it shone blue.
Next, I put my foot on the next tile, and something like a dustpan and an electric shock ran. Wallis frowned and stepped back.
The tile was shining red.
It's a trap that takes away magic power.
"Exactly."
Filak's voice answered.
"That's very clever."
Hmmm.
Wallis puts his feet on the tile on the right, not on the red glowing tile in front of him. The tile shone blue.
"Blue means safe, red means trap." And you should only step on the right tile and get to that crown. "
"It saves me the trouble of explaining."
Filak laughed.
"If you want to supplement it, I won't allow you to jump over the tile or go diagonally." Of course, the imitation of floating in the air and flying directly to the pedestal is out of the question. When I choose such a method, I will decide that you can't conquer this labyrinth, that is, I will admit defeat. "
"Don't worry about it."
Wallis said, turning his staff to the next tile.
The tip of the cane glowed slightly.
It seemed like he was trying to find a very small amount of magic fangs hidden in the ice.
"The trap was just the beginning, but the closer it gets to the pedestal, the stronger it gets." Remember, the traps around the pedestal are enough to take your life in a single blow. "
"Thank you for your kindness."
While saying that, Wallis stepped onto the next tile.
The tile glowed blue.
"Oh, that's right."
Almost, I got it.
Wallis does not hesitate to step onto the next tile.
Without looking at the shiny blue feet, move on to the next tile. Next.
Without hesitation, Wallis stepped forward, to the right, and to the left, and proceeded through the hall.
Behind them was a path that shone blue.
Wallis was not lost in his steps.
I continued to select only the correct tile, and eventually I reached the pedestal.
"... why?"
Filak moaned.
"Why do you know the right answer?"
Wallis shrugged at the words.
"With the first tile, I grasped the magical tendency hidden in the ice." I can't put it into words because it's a sensory thing, but if I could just feel the waves and step on my feet, that would be enough for me. "
That said, Wallis points at the crown on the ice pedestal.
“Why is the goal the crown? I thought there was a clue to the answer. I noticed it about five steps after I walked out. I wonder if it depicts the ancient Aeolian word" king "."
Wallis grinned, pointing upward.
"Eyes of birds, it's birds"
Certainly, Wallis could not see the sight as he stepped in the hall, but if the ceiling were higher and he could see the whole hall from above like a bird, he would have seen clearly. Wallis' legs painted the word "king (eol)" all over the floor with blue lines.
"Do you see that much?"
Filak roars.
"The bottom is unknown."
"It was a little more expensive than the mirror below"
Wallis laughed coldly and put his feet on the last tile in front of the pedestal.
Is there a next time?
That was when Wallis reached for the crown.
The tiles at his feet glowed bright red.
Wallis looks out.
What?
"It's off."
Filak's voice even looked sad somehow.
"The schemer drowns in the solution, the wise drowns in the knowledge."
said Philippe.
"If you follow the correct path, the letter" king (eol) "will come out." I thought you'd realize that if you were smart, you wouldn't even know how to make it. "
Wallis' body was instantly surrounded by white ice, trying to steal its magic power.
"But I didn't say a word about it. The correct way is to draw the word" king ". You should have been foolish enough to sense the magic until the end. But you drowned in your own knowledge, and came up with a beautiful answer, and you neglected it."
Wallis' body, which was being stripped of its magic power, was pierced by a number of icy spears thrust out of the floor.
"I was caught in your trap."
Wallis could not believe the blood that spurted out of his body.
I wonder. This me.
"I didn't set myself up in a trap. You set yourself up in a trap."
Filak's voice was heard.
"You're losing, Wallis." It's a shame. "