ALL NOVEL Chapter 29
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29th Chapter
Selection Test (4)
“Of course, there are many other obstacles prepared in addition to this.”
The administrator said with a relaxed smile as he tapped the crystal ball.
As the light dimmed, the hologram displaying various obstacles vanished.
“At the moment you pass through the gate with your team members, you will be transported to a random space within the ruins.”
“……”
“From then on, numerous dangers will befall you. I assure you. In front of you lies nothing but a treacherous thorny path.”
The participants swallowed nervously.
“Yes, it will certainly be difficult. However, at the end of that hardship, an immeasurable glory awaits you. The honor of the Five Great Towers, indeed, shines bright.”
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This was the test where they gambled their lives for the sake of the Five Great Towers. A tense atmosphere lingered in the air.
“Now, I will cut the explanation short. Please enter the ruins.”
Pointing to the wide-open gate, the administrator declared.
“Starting now, the second trial commences.”
With that statement, the participants threw themselves into the gate without hesitation.
As they were sucked into the black vortex, their figures disappeared without a trace.
*
[I feel dizzy, really……]
I was momentarily dazed due to the antics of that lich.
What? World domination?
It’s ridiculous.
All of a sudden, I found myself an unintended mastermind invading the Empire, becoming the dark figure behind it all.
[Haa……]
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
[I need to focus because I’m in the middle of the Selection Test.]
Yes.
Focus.
Focus as much as possible.
Clear my mind of distractions and dedicate myself to this moment.
Through the Selection Test, I must prove my worth and, in doing so, catch the eye of Yan Irantes.
Sigh……
I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Continuing to breathe deeply, I cleared my mind as much as I could.
As always, I started to envision natural elements, slowly regaining peace of mind.
The green meadows.
And the gentle sea.
Even the enormous waterfall flowing endlessly.
[Huuuh……]
My heart calmed.
As I exhaled, the chaotic thoughts gradually subsided.
[……Alright.]
After finishing a bit of mind control, I turned my gaze straight ahead.
With slow steps—
the inner labyrinth resembling an Imperial Palace.
We were already walking down a dark corridor with no visible end.
Becky, Olivia, and Riley were with me.
The team members positioned side by side began to move forward cautiously, eyes scanning the surroundings.
[What kind of Imperial Palace is this huge……]
I couldn’t help but admire the vastness of the surroundings.
The corridor was exceptionally wide.
And it wasn’t just the corridor that was spacious.
Looking up, I could see the high ceiling.
I could confidently say that any dome stadium I’d seen back on Earth didn’t have a ceiling this high.
‘……It’s excessively gigantic.’
[Yep.]
As Riley said, the size of the ruins was astonishingly enormous. It felt almost over the top to simply call it an Imperial Palace.
How should I put it?
It felt like we were little dwarfs visiting the palace of a giant……
Thud─.
Thud─!
“……”
“……”
……no, it really is as if we’ve arrived in a Giant’s Kingdom!
“What’s that……?”
At the sound of approaching footsteps echoing nearby, Becky came to a halt. Instantly, the rest of us froze in place, eyes wide open.
Thud, thud, thud──!
“……”
“……”
“……”
Though it was at quite a distance, we could see it clearly.
A statue.
A massive stone statue was moving sluggishly from the opposite end of the corridor.
It was enormous.
Truly enormous.
So big it was beyond my ability to fathom its size. It was likely that Riley’s height didn’t even reach the statue’s feet.
‘……Did anyone mention such a thing exists?’
[No.]
The administrator had never mentioned such a monster.
He simply stated that there would be many obstacles prepared.
Right.
That statue was merely one of those “many obstacles.”
Thud, thud, thud─!
The statue moved like a royal guard protecting the Imperial Palace, holding a halberd as large as its own body while walking solemnly down the corridor.
“……”
[……]
Just watching it felt suffocating.
All motivation evaporated.
I thought it best to avoid it as much as possible.
And I wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
‘I absolutely do not want to fight that monster.’
[……You feel the same, right?]
The pressure emanating from the imagery was overwhelming.
Goodness.
A moving giant statue.
Not to mention, it was a guardian wielding a weapon as big as itself.
Who on earth would dare be the first to challenge that monster?
The administrators probably wouldn’t expect us to fight that creature.
They probably prepared it in the hopes that we’d simply avoid it.
‘It’s like a moving restricted zone. Find the Golden Golem, but avoid that giant statue as much as possible. Something along those lines.’
[Yep. Spot on.]
As expected, Riley understood perfectly when provided with even the slightest hint.
That statue could be thought of as just a red zone.
We have to avoid that statue while seeking the core of the Golden Golem, like how Pac-Man dodges ghosts to eat dots scattered around the map.
I had lived for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
In that time, I had faced countless enemies, suffering many defeats and achieving numerous victories.
Through such experiences, I had naturally developed one ability.
The sense to gauge an opponent’s battle power.
I directly referred to this sense as my ‘battle power gauge.’
And using this ‘battle power gauge,’ I realized one undeniable fact.
That statue was overwhelmingly strong.
If we happened to fight, there would be no question—we would definitely lose.
It radiated an aura that could be considered a boss-level monster within the ruins.
It ranked among the strongest monsters I had ever encountered in my life.
‘Is there even a team that could defeat that monster?’
[No, absolutely not. It would take at least three or four wizards like Theobalt to barely manage a victory.]
It wasn’t a monster meant to be captured. An invincible existence. As I mentioned earlier, that statue was simply a creature to be avoided.
Right.
Unless someone was completely out of their mind, there was no way anyone would attack that monster first……
“Hey, Riley!”
“……Yes?”
“What are you doing! Let’s go! We have to take it down!”
[……?]
Oh.
Right.
Isn’t it true that there are plenty of crazies around here?
[Hey! Riley! Stop that person! Don’t let her go! Hurry! That crazy girl is about to charge in and fight!]
With a confident smile overflowing with pride, Becky lunged forward towards the giant statue, but Riley barely managed to grab her arm.
“Becky, wait, just hold on a second.”
“Why! Why! Let me go! Let go of me!”
“Calm down and listen to me. No, I need you to cool that magic of yours for just a bit and please calm down.”
Becky thrashed around and shouted.
“No! Why are you holding me back! When will I get another chance to fight with such a magnificent monster?”
“Olivia, please come hold this person too.”
“……Huh? Huh?”
“It’s fine, just hurry. Grab her other arm, please.”
“Let go! Hey, Riley! You crazy girl! I warned you! I definitely warned you!”
Riley held onto Becky’s struggling arm and replied.
“The crazy one here is you.”
“Why!”
“Why would you try to fight that monster? We don’t even know how strong it is.”
“How strong? It’s fine! We’ll find out by fighting!”
“……”
Riley looked at Becky with a pathetic expression.
“If you recklessly engage, you’ll be wiped out, you know? Even if we happen to win by some stroke of luck, what would we really gain?”
“Gain? Why wouldn’t we! We could gain romance!”
Romance? What a ridiculous thing to say.
“You’re talking about fighting an enemy whose strength we can’t measure! We’ll seek out its weaknesses and strike a blow after an intense battle! We’ll claim victory! Celebrate that victory! Relish in the aftermath! Isn’t that what a wizard is supposed to feel? You’d run away from such fights? Are you even a wizard?”
“……”
While I listened to Becky’s monologue, Riley turned to me with a question.
‘Are wizards supposed to feel like that? Am I abnormal?’
[No.]
That’s just Becky being insane.
‘So it’s true?’
[Yep.]
I continued,
[Honestly, besides a fighter like Becky, which wizard would attack a monster like that?]
Riley nodded at my statement.
‘Of course not…….’
“Wowwww! What the hell! Hey dude! You see that monster too, right? That stone statue isn’t just me dreaming, right?”
“It’s definitely there! It’s a very strong monster! It’s worth fighting!”
Out of nowhere, a party jumped out from the alley across the way.
I couldn’t see their expressions due to the distance, but their voices revealed their excitement.
“Hey dude, can I attack first?”
“Go ahead! But I get the next turn! Let’s bet on who’s attack will bring that monster down!”
[What on earth……]
I murmured in stunned disbelief.
Riley, who had also taken a moment to gather her thoughts, whispered quietly beside me.
‘……There are more people like Miss Becky over there.’
[What is going on.]
Seriously, what the heck.
[…….]
No, seriously.
What on earth happened to the wizards while I was absent for 300 years? Did they collectively hit their heads on something?
I couldn’t understand why their mental states were so twisted.
“Let go! Let go of me!”
[……Oh, now she’s getting noisy again.]
At that moment, Becky began to thrash around again.
“We need to hit that monster before they get their chance! Let me go……!”
“Becky.”
Riley cut off Becky’s words. With a serious tone that managed to calm the wild Becky, she paused her struggles momentarily.
“Look at that.”
“……”
Just then, the party across the corridor launched an attack against the stone giant.
“Alright, let’s go for it!”
“Yeah! Let’s turn that rock into dust!”
A roar of magic surged forth.
The wizard on the far right quickly cast a spell.
“Here, try this for a taste!”
Such a reckless display of power.
The lightning-element magic, exploding with noise, flew straight toward the stone giant.
Boom─!
Any solid rock caught in that attack would surely shatter into pieces.
Thump!
“……Huh?”
But that was only true when the target was an ordinary stone.
The stone giant was no run-of-the-mill rock you’d find on the street.
“What the hell? How is my ultimate spell completely uninjured after taking a direct hit?”
The wizard shouted in frustration.
Did it have some kind of anti-magic property?
Not even the slightest crack appeared on the stone giant’s surface after being struck by the spell.
Stalwart─.
The statue came to a halt.
Its weapon-like eyes shifted towards the wizard who had dared to attack.
“……Huh?”
And in that very moment.
Whooooosh─!
The statue swung its weapon.
“Uh, um……?”
Yes.
It swung its weapon.
That was all it did.
But with that one simple motion, it was enough to claim a life.
Crack─!
Before there was even time to react.
In the precise next moment, the wizard was crushed, turning into a bloody pulp.
Splash!
Blood splattered. The body collapsed to the ground. A silent death. Everyone who witnessed it stood frozen in horror.
“What… what is……?”
Swish.
The statue’s eyes moved silently once more.
This time, it shifted its gaze towards the companions of the fallen wizard, right next to the corpse.
“Hiiieeek……!”
Panic-stricken, the remaining comrades randomly unleashed spells in desperation.
“Don’t come! Stay away from us……!”
Thump, thump, thump──!
But their attacks merely bounced off uselessly.
“……Aah!”
Finally realizing the situation, the remaining comrades fled in total confusion.
“Don’t! Save me! Please!”
They ran for their lives, using every ounce of strength and pleading for mercy, but it was far too late.
A dark shadow descended upon them.
“Sa, save me…….”
Thud─!
A heavy step.
The stone giant effortlessly caught up to the fleeing wizards.
There was no need to swing its weapon. The giant just moved its foot, crushing the two fleeing wizards beneath itself.
Crunch─!
Of course, there were no screams this time either.
“……”
Having witnessed such horrifying sights, Becky fell eerily silent.
“Uh…….”
At that moment, Riley conveniently released Becky’s arm.
“What are you doing, Becky?”
“……Huh? Huh?”
“Weren’t you going in to fight? Show some spirit. I’ll be cheering you on from behind with Olivia.”
Becky glanced upward at the stone giant.
“……”
“……”
The giant’s eyes, far off in the distance, focused on us this time.
It bore an unspoken pressure that seemed to say “Go ahead, attack if you dare.” Fortunately, it didn’t seem to have any intention of making the first move.
Standing still, it continued to watch us silently.
Just that alone felt like a heavy atmosphere was pressing down on us.
“Um……”
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Becky’s forehead.
“Shall we just peace out and find the Golden Golem instead?”
“Sounds good.”
Lesson learned for today.
The romance of a wizard is merely a foolish fantasy in the face of death.
The end.