Chapter 31: Trial of Wisdom
"Uhhh… This is not what I expected to see here?!" Loki's voice echoed through the grand chamber, his face a mask of confusion. Beside him, Athena mirrored his bewilderment.
Within the chamber lay a vast library. Countless bookshelves, filled to the brim with tomes, lined the walls. Each book was meticulously organized and impeccably maintained. The whole room exuded a serene and scholarly vibe.
Athena entered the room and withdrew some of the books from the bookshelves. She flipped it open and turned some pages. The book describes the basic eden theory and its manipulation. She closed that book and opened another one. This book describes various elements and their usage.
"Almost all of these books are filled with knowledge," Athena exclaimed, her voice tinged with awe.
"This is a paradise for scholars and sages," Loki agreed, marveling at the collection. "The accumulated knowledge and wisdom in this library might place it among the top five greatest libraries ever."
Swish
An old man suddenly appeared before our vision. He was floating in mid-air while holding a crystal ball in his right hand. He had long white hair placed above his head like a bun, he also had a white beard and a lean, frail body. He had a sage with a great wisdom vibe around him.
"Greetings Challengers! Welcome to my humble abode. I am the trial guardian of Trial of Wisdom. My name is Ved Khaos." Ved announced while slowly landing on the floor.
"Trial of Wisdom?" Loki and Athena exchanged puzzled glances before turning their attention to Ved.
"I shall provide you with five riddles. Your answer determines whether you are capable of completing the trial or not. The crystal ball in my right hand is called the crystal of cognition. When the trial begins, the crystal will glow and a holographic inscription will appear above it, displaying the riddle. It also verifies the answer to the riddle." He explained the trial and gently placed the ball in front of them.
[Name: Ved Khaos]
[Age: -]
[Title: Timeless Sage]
[Tier- Epic]
[Rank: high-Platinum]
[Affinities: death, wind ]
[Abilities]
[ Host's strength is too low…]
[Cannot access the abilities…]
[Copy condition: Complete his trial.]
"Let the Trial begin!" He grandly announced and the ball shimmered with a white light. A holographic screen appeared above it and displayed the first riddle.
[ What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it? ]
Loki and Athena went into deep thought as they processed the meaning behind the sentence. A sense of urgency surrounded them as they had to leave this place before sunrise. Their sense of time had already gone haywire and so is their phone's time zone. They overloaded their brain to deduce the answer.
Ved leisurely sat on a chair and started reading some books. He glanced at their worried expression and muttered some words to them.
"You don't have to worry about too much. A time dilation formation is cast in this whole trial chamber such that the time difference between the outside world and here is very different. Take your sweet time and search for an answer."
Their faces lit up and they calmed their overloaded mind. They pondered for a while and exchanged their thoughts. Both of their answers were different.
Loki glanced around and took a seat on a random chair.
"Hmm… Could this be the answer?"
A spark of enlightenment flashed in his mind as he gazed at the peacefully quiet library. He excitedly approached Athena and told her his thoughts.
Athena also found it very likely to be the correct answer so she agreed with his thoughts.
Loki nodded and swiftly approached Ved, quietly reading in a random corner of the library.
"Sir, I've found the answer to the riddle." He patiently uttered.
"Remember, Failure has consequences." He wisely warned and placed the crystal ball beside him.
"The correct answer is Silence." Loki took a deep breath and replied. His gaze was fixated on the ball for confirmation.
The ball simmered slightly with green light and a holographic screen appeared before him.
[Correct!]
He sighed in relief. Upon confirming the answer, Ved congratulated him and began explaining the meaning behind the phrase.
Athena quietly appeared beside Loki, they both listened to Ved's explanation and nodded.
"The riddle describes something extremely delicate or easily broken. In this context, "fragile" refers to a state that can be easily disrupted or disturbed. When you speak the word "silence," you are, by definition, making a sound. Silence is the absence of sound. By making any sound, including saying the word "silence," you disrupt the state of silence.
So, the riddle plays on the idea that silence is easily broken by any noise, including the act of mentioning it. Therefore, the answer "silence" fits perfectly with the clue given in the riddle."
He congratulated them again and ordered them to pick any one book from the library.
"This is your reward. For each confirmed answer, you shall pick one book of your liking from here." He responded, giving them a time limit of five minutes.
Both Loki and Athena hurriedly left Ved alone and roamed around, glancing at the bookshelves. There were lots of interesting books to pick from and too little opportunity but oh well this is how life works I guess.
Five minutes flew by, They both picked a book each and approached Ved.
Ved glanced at their choices and nodded.
"You can take them. Now let's begin the next riddle." He responded, tapping slightly at the crystal ball. The ball glowed lightly and the next riddle appeared before their vision.
[ I am always hungry and will die if not fed, but whatever I touch will soon turn red. What am I? ]
They both pondered over the riddle for a bit, exchanging their thoughts. Athena carefully muttered each word and thought deeply.
"Whatever I touch will soon turn red…Hmm…"
She didn't take long before an answer flashed in her mind.
"Fire!" she uttered with great conviction before Ved. Loki was slightly shocked by the speed of her answer but was happy nonetheless.
He glanced at the ball as the ball verified her answer.
[Correct]
It displayed and dimmed down. Ved congratulated them while continuing to read his book. He allowed them to pick another book as a reward with the same time limit.
They quickly selected a book and appeared before him. They had already planned out and decided which book to pick so, it didn't take a lot of time.