"First, the denier of life and light,
A tool of death, deadly might.
Second, the gaze of a reflective spell,
Reflecting truths, illusions quell.
Third, the elixir of the end of birth,
the weapon of the crawling on earth."
Ken recalled the instructions he had for the items that would grant him access to the pedestal in the center of the room.
'The daggers let the light pass, so they can't be considered reflective. The sword's hilt is reflective while the same goes for the spearhead. Other than those two, I also have the water that reflects some light and the mirror which seems like the most probable choice.'
Ken thought to himself. He shifted his attention to the search for the possible items that could fulfill the requirements of 'elixir' and 'weapon of the crawling on earth'.
'Maybe that clear water I found earlier is the elixir? And it's not just water but a different substance?'
The young child contemplated as he browsed the items on the ground in his mind. He already saw them all, so with his memory, he didn't have to search physically again. He then recalled an item that could also fit his needs.
Ken headed toward the place he saw the object earlier and soon looked at a fang, or more precisely, a serpent's fang. The elixir and the weapon of crawling on earth were most likely the venom coating the fang, and Ken didn't dare touch it with his bare hand.
'It's safe to say I located the third object, now I have to choose the other two.'
Ken returned to where he left the other five and deliberated on which objects fit the riddle the most.
'Denier of light, it should be this sword. The black blade swallows all light, unlike the other items. I only need to pick the best reflective item.'
Ken tossed away the daggers since they were unneeded and tried to look at his reflection in the remaining items. First, he tried the spearhead, which showed nothing special. Second was the clear water which only reflected a vague, weak image of himself.
'Let's check the mirror.'
The mirror was round with a circumference of nearly half a meter. He made it hover in the air using his Qi and looked at his reflection. At first, nothing seemed different, until he noticed his waist. Right there, wrapped around his body, was his belt which was the sheath of his sword. Ken could also see the hilt.
Looking down at his waist, he again saw nothing, but returning his eyes to the mirror, the belt appeared again.
'I see, it reflects the truth and reveals illusions, it must be the second item.'
After thinking about what to do with the mirror and which illusion he had to see through, Ken started acting. He used the mirror to see the reflection of the whole room, trying to find whatever was twisting his perception.
Nothing seemed different than reality until he finally checked the cage holding the pedestal. There, he finally saw a difference. While with bare eyes it seemed like the cage was consistent with no openings, the mirror showed a door that had a lock on it.
'I should aim to melt the lock with the venom.'
Ken reached this conclusion swiftly and stood in front of the fang. He wasn't sure why it mattered what weapon he used. He let the sword touch the fang, smearing the venom on the black blade.
*Tsss*
A sound of fermentation could be heard as soon as the toxic touched the dark metal, but other than that, nothing else happened; the venom was coating the sword without permeating inside.
'It'd probably melt the other weapons and waste the venom.'
He dashed to the spot the mirror showed a lock and hacked at it with the poisoned sword.
*Tssss*
This time, the sounds weren't there for nothing. The grey metal of the lock couldn't stop the poison from seeping into it, causing it to rot and melt. When the sound stopped, Ken struck with the sword again, and the weakened lock shattered.
He grasped the bars of the door with his hand and pulled it open powerfully. The door opened with slight resistance, and Ken gained access to the pedestal.
"Congratulations on clearing the Challenge of Wisdom. You've proven you aren't bloodthirsty beyond reason, and you can still use your mind. You've earned 2,000 BP for your achievement, and you may now check your prize."
The familiar voice spoke as a second pedestal rose from the ground next to the one that was trapped inside the cage. All the items disappeared into the ground, and even the cage was gone.
"It wasn't that difficult," Ken remarked as he waited for the second pedestal to emerge completely.
"You had 30 minutes to finish the task. You'd get a notification that you had 15 more minutes if you took slightly longer to solve the puzzle."
"What's the point of having a pedestal in the center if another one emerges after you finish the puzzle though? They could be both waiting in the cage."
Ken asked the obvious question waiting to be asked.
"There was supposed to be only one prize, but I added a second one for you since you need it. It's not a big deal."
Ken raised an eyebrow in curiosity and approached the newer pedestal to check what the voice wanted to gift him. It was indeed something he needed; it was a storage ring.
"It's an eighth-grade storage ring. It has a storage capacity much larger than your current rings combined. I sense that you have two of the sixth grade and three of the fifth grade. It has a capacity of 750 cubic meters, and you will probably never run out of space."
Ken purchased the ring without thinking twice; his five rings combined had a space of 300 cubic meters, so it was a huge upgrade. For the cost of 150,000 BP, he wore the ring on his finger and placed all his belongings inside.
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