Since sending off the young girl who came carrying her friend's mace a while ago, Erginos has been organizing all the research he has done so far.
Knowledge accumulated over hundreds of years spent underground.
The various results he could offer, having obtained immortality, were all a consequence of possessing the genius knowledge of Erginos himself.
This was all preparation to pass on that knowledge. He didn't feel regret.
After all, the great wizard Erginos left his marks in this world, but it was purely for the sake of atoning for the future generation, so how could there be any sense of loss?
Moreover, the person receiving the knowledge this time was someone precious to his dear friend, one of the few people Erginos acknowledged, and simultaneously, the one chosen by the great god Aramadi as his apostle.
The skeleton bearing the memory of Erginos lamented that it could only pass on so much to her, but it had no intention of feeling regret.
Thus, after several days of preparation, Erginos finished getting everything ready to impart his knowledge and, before facing the end, attempted to resolve the newfound curiosity that had arisen.
The ceiling that must never be broken. Even if it were to fall, it should only be due to something miraculous, not shattered by something as mundane as ordinary bombs or scrolls.
He devoted himself to understanding how such an event could occur. The process was not easy.
All the knowledge and theories accumulated by the great wizard Erginos could not explain the phenomenon that clearly happened before his eyes.
It’s easy to declare something impossible.
It's convenient to ignore the events that transpired before you.
However, a wizard should never do that.
A wizard, a scholar who carries the mission to explore and resolve all phenomena of the world, must explain the events that have happened before their eyes.
If they can't explain it with existing theories, it only means the original knowledge was wrong.
What went wrong? Where did they miss it? What is the new part? They must desperately trace it to find the correct answer.
The best method for this was to reproduce the phenomenon one by one.
He remembered the scroll and the bomb the child had used. He had memorized the order perfectly.
So, by reproducing them one by one, he had to figure out where the variables appeared.
Immersed in his research, Erginos didn’t notice the passing of time. After several days, he discovered a clue.
Something faintly leaking out of the scroll that turned its surroundings into another realm.
A force that spreads by opening the gap between magical forces.
Although he didn’t know exactly what that power was, he understood how it acted.
If that was the case, devising a solution wouldn’t be difficult.
By organizing the ceiling's magic precisely, the unidentified force leaking from the scroll wouldn’t be able to scatter it perfectly. Erginos' judgment was correct.
The magic, now more refined and organic, did not crumble under the unidentified force.
Although the child wouldn’t be able to visit again in the same way, that wasn't what mattered now.
The new power that even he didn’t understand. The mysterious force flowing out of the otherworldly scroll.
He had to resolve this.
Hundreds of years passed, and Erginos, as if enchanted by something, became absorbed in his research.
Was it because of that? When he noticed the commotion above the ceiling, Erginos felt the regret he had forgotten.
He wanted to research this power more, but it had already come.
No. No, it wasn’t right to feel regret as a dead person who should be erased from this world.
But must he leave this world without solving this mystery before his eyes?
If I don’t research it, it may remain an unknown power forever.
Ah, thinking about it, the child had been sitting here without passing the trial last time.
Yes, at that time, he let it go as an exception, but this time it wouldn't be.
If that child comes, they’ll surely be able to reach here the proper way, so I’ll just continue researching this power until then.
Having compromised with himself, Erginos confirmed that Lucy had left before resuming his research on the dungeon conquest.
It wasn’t long before Erginos realized something was wrong when Lucy hadn’t returned after a day.
What’s this? It shouldn’t take this long to prepare for a dungeon conquest, should it?
The child, who had clearly shown his methods earlier, couldn’t have possibly expected his approach to be thwarted, right?
Then, she should have returned after preparing for the dungeon conquest, but why hasn’t she returned yet?
Feeling something was off, Erginos finally used his magic to examine the ceiling and check if Lucy Alrn was still in the desert.
Fortunately, Lucy was still there.
However, did it seem like she was interested in the dungeon conquest? Not at all.
‘If you go to the right end on the second floor of this crappy dungeon, there’s a secret passage, right? Then from there...’
She was conquering a dungeon in the desert with the mercenary group she led.
Her lengthy monologue, as if she had memorized every corner of the dungeon, was somewhat arrogant and grandiose, but no one in the group dismissed her words lightly.
Wondering about this, Erginos soon heard the reason through the mouth of one of the mercenaries.
‘How much will we make today if we finish this off?’
‘I thought the mercenary leader was just wasting money on that young lady, but there’s a reason behind it.’
‘Enough talking, let’s get ready to go in. We need to finish this quickly so we can move on to the next one!’
Lucy Alrn had already achieved several results before this.
Instead of conquering my dungeon, she’s conquering those trivial ones? Why? Why?
...
Could it be that she doesn’t even know where the entrance to my dungeon is?
Is that why she’s looking for a dungeon?
Thinking that it was unlikely for Lucy, so knowledgeable about dungeons, to not know, Erginos secretly created a marker leading toward the dungeon.
‘Young lady, what’s this?’
‘Why are you paying attention to something so trivial? Are you really that kind-hearted? Now, how about paying attention to this rock here?’
‘Oh, um, is it nothing?’
She dismissed him cleanly.
Even after several attempts to give clues, Lucy ignored them and headed toward another dungeon.
Even when others said it was strange, she perfectly ignored the entrance near his dungeon and headed toward another.
Erginos, who had often been told he was clueless, couldn’t help but realize the obvious dismissal.
Lucy Alrn was not unaware of his dungeon. She was simply ignoring it on purpose.
She was walking around the desert, protesting to him.
Asking why he had ignored her.
Realizing this, Erginos sneered, thinking of the word "petty."
The next thought was a complaint, asking why, after offering kindness first, she couldn’t return the favor.
And then, the frustration about the friend of the little brat, who was agreeing with her.
So what’s the point of this, a lamentation.
After many negative thoughts rushed through his mind, the final realization came.
He bit his thumb, a habit ingrained in the skeleton bearing the memory of Erginos, and he blamed himself.
Foolish.
Because of his curiosity, he had committed a grave sin, and now he was trying to forget it because of his curiosity once more.
He had vowed to never forget the sin for the rest of his life.
Even knowing that the great wizard who created him had left this memory so clearly.
The memories had eroded over the hundreds of years, but why did the sin feel so light?
Remember.
You are nothing more than the trace left by Erginos.
You are a being meant to disappear after leaving his will in this world. Curiosity and the desire to explore are the qualities of those who must live in this world, not of those who must pass on their message and vanish.
And anyway.
The one who will disappear at the end of this matter, what will they do with their lingering feelings?
Haha. To make them realize their mistake by making them think for themselves.
This is certainly the way of the gods.
No matter how much the outward appearance may be annoying, what is contained inside is that of a god's apostle.
Chuckling inwardly, Erginos, having changed his mind, checked one last time all the preparations he had made, then opened the way to the ground.
To fulfill the will left by the great wizard Erginos.
"Erginos, you really are stubborn. After all this time, you should have come out by now," Lucy said, having roamed around the desert for a day to annoy Erginos.
The mercenaries who were attacking the dungeon with her showed exhaustion in their eyes, but there were only smiles on their faces.
They had been gathering the hidden treasures scattered around the desert to pass the time, naturally increasing their burden.
During that process, Lucy had also collected what she needed, so there was no complaint. But still, it would be nice if she could finally get some response.
<She was always stubborn. How about ignoring the next clue we find outright and seeing what happens?>
"You want to annoy him, huh? Not bad," one of the mercenaries responded.
"Alright. If we find the next clue, we’ll smash it and mock him outright. Let’s make sure we get a reaction!"
"Hey! Wizard! Stop!"
"State your affiliation!"
As Erginos was considering how to deal with the situation, a commotion from the mercenaries, who were on high alert, caught his attention.
Curious, he turned his head and saw a delicate man with black, long hair waving in the wind in the distance.
...Huh? Wait a second. If I’m not mistaken, that looks like Erginos from the cutscene, doesn’t it? Or am I mistaken?
<...Lucy. Is that skeleton really able to come out?>
‘Is that... really Erginos?!’
<Seems like it, but...>
‘Why is that skeleton out here?! And with human skin on it!?’
<How would I know!>
What the heck?! This wasn’t supposed to happen! How could this be?! In the confusion, I blinked, still stunned, and my eyes met Erginos’ from the distance.
Then, immediately, the skeleton in the distance disappeared, only to appear right in front of me.
"Sorry. I made you wait a long time."
"Who would wait for a loser like you? You're so full of yourself. With all that delusion, is that why you're still stuck in being a loser?" Lucy shot back, mocking Erginos without hesitation.
"Hmm. I have many things to refute, but I’ve learned something because of you, so I’ll let it slide for now," Erginos responded, a smug look on his face.
Learned something?
What?
Did I do something to him?
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
All I did was provoke him, right?
Confused, I rolled my eyes silently, only to hear Erginos chuckle softly.
"Alright. Alright. I get it. You’ll be satisfied if I say thank you, right?"
What?
No way.
What’s going on in his head to be acting like this?!
Why is he acting like a young man despite being an old virgin skeleton who’s lived over hundreds of years?
Someone explain this to me!