The Ancients World

Chapter 152: The Legacy that should be Legendary II

It's more of a riddle than a puzzle. It would have been a nice clarification in the forum post. I wonder how the original people who did this solved the puzzle. They didn't know Flint or Ulma Runa. They had to of spent tons of time researching before they actually answered. The riddle states that there is more than one. It holds the answers and yet doesn't. My knowledge of Ancients World is the greatest of all the players currently playing.

Since Ulma Runa and Flint were both mages, it has to be about magic. "The different types of magic?" Nothing happens, and my first answer is no good. If it's not the different types of magic, then perhaps it's matter and states. "Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma?" Nothing again. You would think those answers work. This might be why Ulma Runa never solved it. Well, I don't know if she even attempted. The obvious answers are now gone, and there is no hope of a quick solution with them.

I walk back over to the desk and sit down in the chair. I place the puzzle in front of me and stare at it. Sally comes up beside me and looks at it too. "Perhaps it's our concept of reality? Time, energy, and space." Sally comes up with a good answer, but there is no reaction. Flint might have philosophical tendencies, but I don't know him well enough to say he does. "This is going to take a long time, isn't it..." We got nothing other than time. Monsters don't attack this area because it's protected by magic.

I close my eyes and cover my face with my hands. It's tailored to Ulma Runa. No one else would know the answer. I have knowledge next to nothing when it comes to Ulma Runa. All I know of her now is she's a dark sorcerer and is in bed with Bellvia. This was made when she wasn't evil and wasn't someone who'd curse an entire species. "Sally... What do you know about the kingdom of Bellvia?" Sally has been here way longer than I have. She might have the insight I don't.

She picks up the picture and looks at the actual photo instead of the riddle. "When I was still a slave, most illegal trading was done in Bellvia. It's one of the places with very loose laws and corrupt officials. The bell tower in the background of this picture was once the home of the monks of Azerlor, till it was destroyed in a riot." I quickly take the picture out of her hand and stare at it. The answer is right in front of us. Now to interpret it into the answer for the puzzle.

Ulma Runa may come from Bellvia. This picture was taken when she was still a little girl. "Damn... We have the answer. There isn't a way to put it into words the puzzle would recognize as an answer. I hate wordplay and games. It makes things more complicated than they have to be." Sally stays quiet with a thinking look. Flint is a cynic and wouldn't make it something that a naive person would say. I doubt Ulma Runa was a naive girl. She isn't even smiling in the picture.

Being a cynical man and powerful mage. Flint would point out the hypocrisies of man and its failings. While turning them into lessons at the same time. Now how would Flint and Ulma Runa answer this puzzle? What do the most cynical people think when confronted with a question like this. This is way more challenging than I thought. I wasn't expecting to direct people and their beliefs. I was planning on some mental tests.

In a sense, it fits. Only people like Flint and Ulma Runa would answer the riddle. They would only trust people with mindsets like them... Hold on... That might be the answer—at least one of them. "The human nature and its ability to grow rapidly at the cost of others. Both organic and inorganic. This ends up destroying other potentially great creatures too. Turning humanity into a parasite." The picture bursts into blue flames and flies at an old bookshelf in the room. It sets it on fire and burns it to dust fast.

A new path has revealed itself, and there is bone-chilling cold coming from the path. Sally immediately pulls out a potion as her teeth chatter together in the cold. She drinks it fast and looks to have warmed up. "The answer was something only people who believe the worst of humanity could see. I'm glad I've met the owner of that riddle. If I hadn't, then we'd be stuck here for a while." Sally nods her head understanding the worst of humanity.

She has been exposed to it for many years. It was thanks to her help that I found the answer. "Thanks for helping Sally. I wouldn't have figured it out if it weren't for you looking in places I failed to. It's a good thing you did. I would've missed it." She gives a bashful smile at my compliment. She deserves the credit. "From what I remember, the class should be down this hall. Once we reach the chamber, ignore the scroll floating in the middle of the room. It's a trap." There is a lot of power at stake. Flint wouldn't want anyone undesirable getting it.

I begin walking down the hall, and Sally follows behind me. As we walk, torches along the walls light themselves. "What should I go for once we reach the chamber? If it's full of traps, how are we supposed to know where the class is?" She brings up a great question, and I plan to tell her once we get to the chamber. The forum stated there is a false wall on the chamber's back wall. All you have to do is use inspect on it, and it will reveal itself.

I stay quiet and give her a head tilt that tells her I'll handle it. After about 2 minutes of walking, we approach a door covered in ice. I use my right wing and slam it against the ice, it shatters, and the door is free. I push the door open, and we enter a room full of treasures. All of this is probably trapped. I look to Sally and see the apprehension on her face. She has good instincts not going for something so tempting. I make a path through the piles of gold to the back wall and use inspect on it.

[False Wall]

[Do you wish to open the false wall? Y/N]

I think yes and reach my hand out at the same time. I push open the hatch, and a dusty room is revealed. There is a chest in the very center of it, and it's the only item in here. I use inspect on it too.

[Flint's results on Project Glacies]

[Description: This chest holds the successful creation of Project Glacies. The one who opens the chest will receive what's inside.]

I look at Sally and nod my head for her to go. She walks up to the chest and opens it. A single scroll floats out of it, and she takes it from its floating position. She turns to me with a smile. "What are you waiting for, Sally. Read it and get the class." She nods her head and unfolds the paper scroll. I watch her read it for about 30 seconds, and then a bright blue light comes from the paper. The light enters Sally, and after all of it enters her, she falls to the ground.

Taking or receiving a bunch of power in a short amount of time like that can cause a lot of stress on the body. I walk up to her and pick her up. I carry her in my arms and leave the hidden room. I look around the giant chamber full of treasure and regret it's all trapped. We have what we came for, so that means we can leave. We don't need to clear the dungeon, and I'd like to get a move on to The Holy City. So this dungeon isn't getting cleared today.

I backtrack through the winding tunnels and passages. After about 30 minutes, I make it to the entrance of the dungeon and get a prompt if I want to leave or not. I accept the option to leave, and I walk out into the nice warm sunlight. I spread out my wings and launch off the ground. I head away from the city and dungeon and in the direction of The Holy City. After flying for an hour, I land and set Sally against a tree, and I take a load off.

I relax and enjoy the silence. I want to wait until Sally is awake before we head into The Holy City. After another 30 minutes, she begins to stir and sit up. I watch her open her blue-green eyes and look at me. As soon as she does, she gives me a big smile. "I've got a Legacy class.~" She speaks in a sing-song-like voice. I smile and can't stop myself from feeling happy for her. She now has the power to do whatever she wants. She is free from the will of others. Now her life is her own.