STGB Chapter 718

Episode 718: Audience (1)

The 6th underground floor of the royal prison where there is no way to enter other than using a teleportation magic circle.

and….

‘I was young.’

The voice of a ‘young woman’ who is believed to be trapped there.

When she heard the voice and looked again at the location of her palm, she was able to confirm that it was quite low.

I was wondering if a ten-year-old boy would touch her if he stretched out his hand while he was standing…

‘No, wait a minute.’

Lightning struck her head like a philosopher curled up in her bathtub.

‘Earth Witch…?’

Earth witch.

The main villain who brought destruction to this world and the cause of the birth of the bizarre city named Lafdonia, the final citadel.

However, it does not feel like an absurd leap to connect a mysterious girl(?) trapped in a box with a witch.

Well, this is the basement of the ‘Royal Palace’, right?

Considering the royal family’s many secrets, it would not be strange to say that it is not the witch, but the witch’s grandfather.

Also, above all….

—Is the Earth Witch really dead?

One day, when this question was posed to Auriel Gavis, he clearly answered:

—She is alive.

The earth witch is alive.

It’s possible that it was a hallucination, but I actually met a girl who claimed to be ‘Alice Groundia’ within the labyrinth several times.

So she thought that the witch was living in the labyrinth, hiding her body.

Well, that’s probably not what’s important right now.

Bang bang bang!

She tried to communicate by knocking on the wall with her watermelon-sized fist.

“Who are you in there? Please say something. Are you really trapped in there? huh? Say it! “Are you asking me to save you?”

But for some reason, no answer came back.

I tried putting my hand on her wall to see if the voice wasn’t coming through from here, but there was no response.

Even the handprint that seemed to have been made from inside had disappeared without a trace.

“Mr. Yandel, is anyone there?”

“Uh… that’s….”

After thinking about it for a while, I just asked Raven outright.

“Raven, can you check if there’s anyone in there?”

“Um… I guess not?”

“…without even trying?”

“Is there any reason to even try? Judging by the amount of magic power, the volume of the portal inside will not be much different from that cubic structure.”

“….”

“To put it simply, physically, no living thing can stand there! “If I hadn’t been squatting on the edge, I would have been sucked into the portal a long time ago!”

Oh, that’s right.

For a moment, Raven’s logical words made me wonder if I was possessed by a ghost and hallucinating, but that suspicion did not last long.

That’s because this is a fantasy world, not a modern world.

There is magic, supernatural power, and divine power. A world where mysterious phenomena that cannot be refuted by words such as the horizontal coordinate system exist, such as people using their abilities to actually kill ghosts.

“…So what are you going to do? “Now I can activate the magic circle at any time.”

I thought about Raven’s words for a moment.

What should I do?

Should I investigate further about that box here?

“Isn’t there something Mr. Yandel always told us?”

“…huh?”

“Set your priorities. Curiosity comes first? Or does something else come first?”

Those words left me speechless for a moment.

‘curiosity….’

It’s not wrong, but strictly speaking, it’s not just ‘curiosity’.

The moment a voice was heard from that box.

I felt something fateful for no reason.

Should I say that it feels like ‘someone’ trapped inside called me here?

“What do you think are the chances of the floor collapsing and falling down while running down a passageway on the fifth floor of the Raven basement?”

“It would be extremely low. “If it weren’t for the situation where ‘thunder’ exploded two times in a row and the dungeon collapsed.”

That’s sarcasm.

It’s not like he didn’t realize what I was trying to say at all.

Sigh.

I slowly raised my head and looked at the ceiling.

Originally, there was a hole over there that we fell into.

Other places were fine, but for some reason, a hole appeared only in the area where we were running.

Even the hole was restored in less than a few minutes.

And from then on, let alone the stone crumbs falling, it didn’t feel like it was shaking at all, like a scientific bed.

“I understand what you mean, Mr. Yandel. I don’t really have any intention of stopping whatever I’m trying to do. But shouldn’t we decide quickly?”

At Raven’s urging again, I asked one last question.

“This… I said it was a two-way magic circle, right?”

“yes. I don’t know where this magic circle will take me, but I’m sure the same magic circle will exist there. “Maybe you can come back if you want.”

Yes, that’s right….

Thanks to this, I was able to end my worries much more easily.

“Activate the magic circle.”

There is no doubt that there is some great secret hidden here.

But right now is not the time to investigate.

First of all, it is right to be satisfied with finding the way this time and come back later to investigate after being fully prepared.

As Raven just said.

Because everything has priorities.

Rather than just investigating, how safely my colleagues and I can get through this situation is much more important.

thus….

“Then will you do it?”

Finally, he looked at Raven and asked one more time, nodding his head to convey his intention.

After waiting for a while, the magic circle was activated.

Flash-!

A radiance that fills your eyes in an instant.

Soon the light gradually fades and vision is restored.

“This is….”

Pure white walls, pure white ceiling.

A closed room on all sides, brightly lit as if a daylight were turned on.

Raven, who was looking around with anxious eyes, points to one wall.

and….

“Why is only this wall made of metal?”

“….”

“uh? As you can see, there are tiny gaps between the metals. I think it has a structure that opens to the side…”

“….”

“Hey, Mr. Yandel? Mr. Yandel? “Can you hear me?”

“…I’m listening.”

I just felt dizzy for a moment, but there was no malfunction in my sense organs.

plod trudge.

Only then did I come to my senses and approached the ‘metal wall that was presumed to be a door.’

Raven was muttering to herself and coming up with various guesses about ‘it’.

“Do we need something magical? But even so, I don’t feel any magical power…”

Something magical, magical power, etc.

A reasonable possibility that a wizard would first think of when seeing a ‘door’ without a doorknob.

In general, the wizards’ inferences are the most accurate.

but….

“Get out of the way.”

“…yes? Oh, if you’re trying to open it with force—.”

“It’s not like that, so don’t worry.”

Soon, I stood in front of ‘it’ and slowly stretched out my hand.

I still have no idea why ‘this’ is in this world.

I know how to use ‘this’.

Click.

So, I stretch out my index finger, which is the size of a German sausage, and press the button.

And soon.

Ding-!

Accompanied by a cheerful sound that does not fit into this world.

Grumble.

The elevator door opened.

*

Raven didn’t think deeply about the principles of this ‘mechanical device’.

He was only curious about two things.

Poor security that says the door opens when you press the button.

And I couldn’t feel any magical power.

Other than that, there was no particular reaction.

“Ah, now I see it was a device similar to a horsepower elevator. “There is something similar in our magic tower.”

Even after hearing those words, I was convinced.

This ‘mechanical device’ does not operate on horse power.

Well, Raven still seems to believe that there is a fine circuit that cannot be felt, but…

‘That can’t be possible.’

Even if it is not a magic tower, I have ridden the magic elevator several times.

But it was completely different from the one I am riding now.

It was so unsafe that it was almost like an iron cage, and the attached pulleys were moved using horsepower.

But what about this?

“…Mr. Yandel?”

You can’t tell by looking at it whether it’s electric power or magical power.

No, can you tell by looking at it?

‘Why the fuck is this here….’

Just looking at it, you can see the difference starting from the design.

It’s so old-fashioned that you won’t feel any discomfort even if it’s installed in a hotel that costs millions of won per night…

Grumble.

Very modern.

The lights on the ceiling, the buttons next to the door, and even the mirror on the wall.

Beyond the mirror, a barbarian and a wizard were standing in full gear, but even so, the moment I entered the elevator, I had the illusion that this was modern times.

“But how does an elevator like this work? Usually, you transmit a voice and ask the manager to operate it…”

While listening to Raven’s voice expressing doubt, I naturally pressed the button.

Well, there was only one button other than open and close.

“uh! “It’s moving!”

As soon as the floor number was pressed, the elevator started operating.

It feels like I’m going up, not down…

“…Hey Mr. Yandel, say something. “It’s scary because it keeps happening.”

“….”

“I don’t know what will come out when the device stops and the door opens…”

Sure… I’m afraid of that too.

If this door opens, what is on the other side?

I couldn’t even imagine it in its current state.

Whoa….

So I just waited quietly.

Be prepared to swing your weapon at any time, but without being overly nervous.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds….

I quietly counted the time and caught my breath.

And so on.

’50 seconds.’

When about 50 seconds had passed.

Huh….

I felt like my climbing speed was slowing down, the movement stopped smoothly, and through the gap in the door that slowly opened, the sight beyond the door that I had been so curious about unfolded.

first.

It was like a hotel lobby.

A chandelier and small fountain located in the center.

Shiny marble floor.

and….

Trudging.

A knight standing in front of him.

“….”

The driver looked at us without any sign of embarrassment.

It was as if they had known about the visit in advance.

The royal guard guarding the position was positioned at the front in an attitude as if he were on duty, and did not ask any questions.

‘…What kind of mid-boss from the beginning?’

In terms of the game, it felt like a mid-boss appeared as soon as I entered the dungeon.

I knew it as soon as I saw it.

That he is a formidable guy.

‘Well, if he was the one protecting this space in the first place, he would have said everything.’

Of course, that didn’t make me feel intimidated or anything.

After all, who am I?

A super-strong barbarian who is confident that he will never be defeated by someone who uses ‘Aurors’.

That’s me.

The only problem is whether you can protect the Raven behind you…

Sigh.

With that in mind, I took a step back and tried to occupy a space that would make it easier to protect Raven.

The knight gently pulls out his sword and aims it at me.

and….

‘…uh?’

That was the whole situation.

Suddenly!

When I came to my senses, a thin solid line was drawn on my cheek.

Grumbling.

Belatedly, drops of blood flowed down along with a dizzying pain.

‘I got cut…?’

It was ridiculous.

Of course, since this knight was an expert with a great sword, it was not out of the question for him to cut me down without me even seeing him.

Also, it was absolutely absurd in this world that there was a distance of more than twenty steps between that knight and me.

but….

“…That’s fun.”

If a blow like that pierced my physical resistance and caused me to bleed, it would be a completely different story.

This guy didn’t even use his aura just now.

‘If you’re not an Auror…’

I glared at him as calmly as I could, not caring about the cuts.

No, I saw the sword he was holding.

‘Is it really a sword…?’

There was a high probability that the secret of the previous blow was in that sword.

Oh, of course, it was my first time seeing the sword itself.

Even if I search through the database in my head, there is no number item like that.

Otherwise, there is no explanation.

thus….

‘The battle must be induced somehow by taking away the sword or preventing it from being used—.’

At that time, I was trying to figure out how to fight from now on.

Crash.

The knight suddenly sheathes his sword and turns his back, as if what he just did was to suppress the momentum.

and….

“Follow me.”

The guy turns his back and starts walking across the marble floor, making a plodding noise.

Raven, who was behind me, stuck her head out and asked cautiously.

“Uh, where are we going…?”

A voice like that of a frightened herbivore.

In response, the driver walked away defenseless with his back exposed and answered the question.

“Throne room.”

“…yes?”

It was an unexpected situation at all.

“King Gaebyeok has granted an audience with you.”

…I never thought I would have the opportunity to meet the king like this.