This time, Ivan and the others found themselves inside a garden. The air was fresh, and the sky dazzlingly clear. The garden was about the size of a school gym. Canals crisscrossed the neat lawn, crystal clear water flowing through them. Trees were spaced at regular intervals, each bearing delicious-looking fruit. Inside the ring of trees was a chalk-white building. Ivan and the others had been teleported to one corner of the garden, a short distance from the building. Bridges stretched out in all four directions, and there was a magic circle at their feet.
The moment they destroyed all of the roaches another gate sprouted from the ground, only it didn't allow them to contemplate before they were dragged in by a sudden force of suction.
Ivan and the others relaxed their guard as they didn't seem to find anything off about the new place they found themselves. If they were to judge the situation then this was just a natural process of the dungeon.
"Where the hell are we now…?" Ivan looked around, climbing on a nearby tree to gauge the situation,
Apart from the overwhelmingly large tree that loomed over the entirety of the garden, there was another thing to note of. "W-Where in the sky…?"
Rather than surprise, Ivan spoke partly with exasperation. Beyond the garden was an edge of the island that led to nothing but the deep blue sky. However, inching his head a bit Ivan was able to take note of the dense fog below them.
"Alright, so high elevation… dense sea of fog…. And a giant tree… If I had to guess we're at the tip of the grand tree, the tip above the sea of trees."
He said this and yet doubted his own words, when he and the group had flown here they had seen the tip of the tree already, and it was in no way near the elevation of where they stood now.
It was when Ivan shimmied back down the tree and contemplated with the others that the situation became clearer in his eyes,
The stone monument sitting beneath the tree looming over the garden was no doubt the ancient magic and thus the end of their trial. As for the mystery behind where they stood, Yue and Tio came up with the conclusion that the floating garden and the tip of the tree were hidden using illusionary magic or simply bending light to hide the tip was just the liberator's method of hiding their treasure.
"Or used high-level spirit magic to interfere with the perception of anyone who looks at it, even..." Yue gave an expert's opinion on how Haltina had managed to hide the tree.
Keeping those thoughts in mind, they crossed the bridge from their magical circle toward the stone monument.
The flowing canals illuminated green as they got closer, magic particles floating into the air like thousands of fireflies. They bloomed bright enough to dim the area.
As for the tablet itself, it too glowed a bright green before Ivan and the others were assaulted with another memory scan, at the same time the ancient magic they were in search of was also transplanted into their mind.
Having been used to situations like this the only one affected by the mind invasion was Shea, who had yet to clear a dungeon until now.
"Wawawa–!" She held her head as she felt the world spin around her, Felis and Canis propped her up by the pit of her arms before dragging her alongside them to the stone tablet.
The tree behind the lithograph began to squirm. The tree's bark twisted and warped until it had formed an approximation of a person's face. The face protruded from the trunk until it had formed a full head and shoulders. Once the person, no, woman's face was complete, she opened her eyes and spoke up.
"First, allow me to congratulate you on making it this far. I am Lyutillis Haltina. You have done well to complete my trial, along with the trials of the other labyrinths. You have my respect for completing such a difficult gauntlet, and my apologies for forcing you through it."
"...You got that right?" Ivan failed to withhold his snarky comment, not caring that what he was speaking to was essentially just a recording.
"However, a trial of this nature was necessary. Since you have completed various other labyrinths, you have likely learned about the tragedies of the past, of our relationship with the gods, and of the tyranny, our world currently lives under. It is for that reason that I wanted you to know both the strength that can be derived from unbreakable bonds and how they can be tested. Moreover, having come this far, I felt it necessary to teach you both the strength of a person's heart, and its fragility. I pray this knowledge will aid you in the trials to come."
Ivan sighed before kicking over a nearby rock, imitating a sizzling noise as the side, probably never kissed by the sun for over hundreds of years, showed itself.
This was about the fifth time he and his group received somewhat of a moral lesson at the end of a labyrinth. It might have been refreshing to hear in the ears of residents of the world but for an Earthling like him, such messages were preached in countless anime and movies.
Thankfully it was the Gruen Labyrinth that broke that cycle, ironically enough it was his message that he remembered the most and kept deep in his memories,
"I know not for what purpose you sought my magic, evolution magic, for. And now that it is yours, you are free to use it as you please. All I ask is that please, don't allow this power to rule your thoughts. If ever there comes a time you feel yourself drowning in the power you've obtained, cling to the bonds that saw you through these trials."
"The power of my ancient magic, evolution magic, allows you to enhance all other forms of power, no matter how weak. You should already have been granted the knowledge of how to use it. But that's not where the true worth of this magic lies."
Ivan's eyes finally shot open with those words. They were very enticing after all. He'd love more information on what 'enhance' meant, if it was like multiplying power then sure it would still be worth toying with but not nearly as interesting as he was hoping.
"As its name suggests, evolution magic causes other powers to evolve. Naturally, that includes other ancient magic. Creation magic, gravity magic, spirit magic, transformation magic, spatial magic, and restoration magic... These are all powerful branches of magic that manipulate the fundamental forces that govern this world. If you were to evolve them all and combine them, you would give birth to a magic that surpasses all others. Magic that could truly be considered godlike... Concept magic."
There it was, the exact words he was hoping to hear. Rather than enhancing strength or durability or abilities it instead enhanced the effects. 'Evolving' them into a newer height of power.
"Concept magic is exactly what it sounds like. It can bring forth any concept its user can imagine, granting them the powers of a god. However, even if you manage to collect all the ancient magic, mastering concept magic won't be easy. For concept, magic operates not on theory, but force of will. You will need an unbelievably powerful will to bend this magic to your desires."
'Oh great, unscientific shit to contend with my science…' The dredged 'power of feelings' was what controlled one of the most powerful magics. Something that could not be controlled which meant training would be even harder to conduct, not to mention tests in a controlled environment.
"Even with our powers combined, us Liberators were only able to create three concept magic spells. They served our needs well enough, but... Regardless, as a gift, I shall pass on one of those to you."
The stone tablet below Lyutillis slid to the side, revealing an object resembling a pocket watch. Ivan bent down and picked it up. The front of the object was covered with a translucent glass-like substance and inside sat a single needle. Engraved on the back was Lyutillis Haltina's crest, indicating that the object also served as their proof that they conquered the labyrinth.
As Ivan mused the object, Lyutillis continued her speech.
"That object is called the Compass of Eternal Paths. The concept magic
spell its imbued with—" —Points its owner toward whatever they desire.
"If you wish for something, the compass will show you where that something may be found. Whether that something is a missing person, a hidden object... or even a different world."
"Hooooh…" Ivan stared at the compass in his palm. 'It appears my wishes have been heard…'
He carelessly fumbled it around in his hands, with it the possibility of creating a door back to Earth wasn't entirely impossible. In fact, Lythustillis herself confirmed as such when she mentioned its direction toward other worlds.
"I pray that you can live freely, in a world where you may choose your own future. May the path you walk be filled with blessings." Still smiling, Lyutillis disappeared back into the tree.
Ivan ignored her disappearance before closing his eyes, holding the compass tightly as he intended to search for the Earth he knew. The problem was that even as the compass glowed he was unable to confirm whether it was truly pointed to his destination.
If there was some hidden desire deep desire that he didn't know of, who knew how it would affect the results if he were to attempt transporting there.
Though he had good faith that his current target was indeed Earth. As for why, well no matter how many times he thought hard about reaching it using spatial magic it was impossible.
He was confident that he could teleport to the other side of the planet so long as he knew the spatial coordinates. And yet going to where the compass pinpointed was deemed impossible.
'How did the liberators do it…?' The compass was invented to take the liberators to the realm of gods, so they must have had a way to traverse there.
"I suppose we have no choice but to clear the last remaining dungeon…"
The rest of the group nodded with confidence, one more job, one more job and they'd complete the task they'd been partaking in for nearly a year.
That is… if the gods let them…
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I apologize for the exposition dump in today's chapter, while it is important I find it dissatisfying the way I portrayed it. Though I have an excuse! Is it a good one...? Of course not! If I had not slacked off then I could have written earlier and thus not have had to worry about the time restraint! As in, I have to go in 20 minutes, it was a sudden event but I must leave home soon and I don't know if I'll have the time or will to write later.
So that's it, we're approaching the end. This time for sure! I can't wait to begin drafting and researching for the next work, its gonna take a while though~ Thanks for reading, have a great evening and I'll see ya all soon!
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