Chapter 225: Arifureta (5)
Chapter 225: Arifureta (5)
~Mash B. POV~
[Tortus, Reisen Gorge]
*Shiii*
Exiting from the Great Orcus Labyrinth we materialized in a narrow valley known as Reisen Gorge nestled between formidable mountains. Reisen Gorge is a canyon that divides the north and south portions of Tortus' mainland. It is the place where Miledi Reisen's Labyrinth and the exit to Oscar Orcus' Labyrinth are located.
Reisen Gorge runs anywhere from 1 km deep at its shallower ends, to 2 km deep in certain places. Depending on the area, it can span anywhere from 900 meters to 8 km wide, and it runs from the Gruen Desert in the west to the Sea of Trees in the east.
There are staircases at each end of the gorge. Reisen Gorge's most unique feature is that magic cannot be used inside of it. Furthermore, it is the home to an abundance of strong monsters.
The chasm that would come to be known as Reisen Gorge was formed when Tortus' guardian spirit Grandia sacrificed himself to prevent Ehit from killing all those who resided in the mainland's southern hemisphere.
It would eventually get its name from the Reisen family, who were powerful magic users that existed since the founding of the Grandort Empire. Throughout Tortus's history, Reisen Gorge has been used as an execution site.
Sometime after Miledi Reisen joined the Liberators, a base was created deep beneath Reisen Gorge, but it would later be abandoned when it was attacked by mutated soldiers of the Igdol Demon Empire.
After the Liberators failed in their goal of freeing Tortus from the tyranny of the gods, the created one of seven labyrinths deep within Reisen Gorge, with Miledi forced to live there for thousands of years. Furthermore, the exit to the labyrinth made by Oscar Orcus was also constructed in Reisen Gorge.
Having used my [TOOS] the exit of this Labyrinth led us to the vicinity where the next one is located. With a simple use of my Authority of Melancholy, [Delete Space] we teleported to the entrance of the Great Reisen Labyrinth.
The Great Reisen Labyrinth is hidden deep within the Reisen Gorge, one of the most dangerous places on Tortus, due to the natural phenomena of the region which disperses mana before a spell can be activated and is a nest to powerful and dangerous monsters.
Because of the inherent phenomena of the region, it is practically impossible to use magic inside the Reisen Labyrinth as well, and the effect gets stronger as one goes deeper inside the Labyrinth.
The structure of the Labyrinth is like a maze filled with all kinds of non-magical traps and an army of golems. Also, the maze-like structure of the Labyrinth keeps changing after a certain period of time, so it is difficult to map out the region as well.
The Labyrinth was created by Miledi Reisen and gives the knowledge of gravity magic to those who have overcome its trial. The concept of the Labyrinth is 'Force challengers to clear obstacles without using magic'.
Unfortunately for her though my Authority doesn't rely on Magic. I led us to enter stunning the vampire girl, "Let's go. The path to the Ancient Magic [Gravity Magic] awaits us!"
Entering through pushing aside the tone acting as a barrier and blocking our entrance. And proceeded to let my Golems do all the work using [Creation Magic] and [Age of Babylon] together they never stood a chance.
I could cheat my way there but… there's a sense of accomplishment when I complete a challenge. Although I'll cheat on a few because of their stupid bullshit cheats I'll complete this in style and dominance.
/////
[Tortus, Great Reisen Labyrinth, Final Floor]
Making our way to the final room of the Reisen Labyrinth was an unassuming room of white-pink marble with various little cubby holes arbitrarily hidden in the walls. In the corner sat a small pile of items covered in cloth, but no sooner had I entered the room the cloth flew off as something zipped out of the pile at me in an arrogant tone, "Mwahahaha! Welcome to the final level of my dungeon! I, Miledi Reisen, will now grant you – wait a minute! You didn't clear the labyrinth!"
A chibi golem in enchanted armor flew in front of my face, wagging an accusatory finger at me. Miledi Reisen, leader of the ancient Liberators and the prodigious atavist magician with the power of gravity at her beck and call. Of course that was before 2000 years ago.
Now she's just a fragment of a soul trapped in an enchanted golem, doomed to a lonely existence for the rest of eternity as I bluntly spoke, "Uh… yeah, I did. I just let my Golems do the work bullying and beating down these defective models."
Revealing a snarky smirk the Miledi Reisen turned its golem head seeing my army worth of Golems froze on the spot as they were called back into my [GoB]. Her Golems were made from rare metals I'll gladly take as my waste no want not.
I walked into the center of the ancient Magic Circle as it began to inform me like last time with Orcus's Magic Circle. Knowledge about the Ancient Magic [Gravity Magic] flowed into my head as I grinned.
[Ding!]
[You have gained the knowledge of the Ancient Magic Skill [Gravity Magic]!]
Skill List.
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<Gravity Magic> (Active) Lv.-
MP Cost: Varies/None.
Description: One of the ancient magics originating from the "Age of Gods," which gives the user control over gravity. The true power of this magic is the ability to manipulate the planet's energy known as Ether. It could interfere with a planet's magnetic field or utilize geothermal energy like magma. It could be used to cause earthquakes or volcanic eruptions as well.
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Huh. This skill doesn't need me to use my own Mana source but from the planet instead. Nice.
While being amazed I let Yue know as I transferred the memories placing my hand over her face using [Gluttony] to 'share' the memory as her eyes widened. But soon Miledi spoke out loud yelling much to my annoyance, "Using Naiz's Space Magic? No, you… you didn't use magic! How?!"
This is a mercy kill. Waving my hands I sent my [Unseen Hands] around the Golem as I pierced it with the Rule Breaker as all connections this soul had with any magic. Gone. Just gone with the soul leaving for the afterlife twirling the dagger in a proud tone, "Thank you Medea teaching me how to create Rule Breaker."
Yue finished absorbing the knowledge and asked me in a curious tone about Miledi, "Oh… I know she was annoying but was that necessary?"
Turning my head round and putting away my Rule Breaker into my [GoB] I responded in a righteous tone, "Yes. Yes, it was. My reasoning is simple. She was an annoying person, and I didn't want to interact with her like her annoyance through the Labyrinth. Unless you wanted to talk to her more?"
She immediately shook her head. Good then are on the same wavelength then. The magic we gained was called [Gravity Magic] although its name was very misleading.
This magic allowed one to interfere with the mass of an object, the energy of stars and planets, and gravity itself. It could allow a user to interfere with earth veins, terrestrial heat, bedrock, or magma. Or in short terms, Earth Manipulation Magic on steroids but we soon had to leave after taking her ring of course.
But with that, it was on to the next Labyrinth. The Labrinth of Naiz the Grand Gruen Volcano. Opening a portal with my Gamer Ring we proceeded to go in.
*Shiii*
/////
[Tortus, Gruen Desert]
*Shiii*
Exiting through the portal we soon arrived at the entrance of Grand Gruen Volcano only located in Gruen Desert. Sad place this had become in my opinion.
The region that would eventually become the Gruen Desert was originally a lush green paradise that was home to the Sacred Kingdom Klystron. At the time, it had been bestowed the most blessings out of all the nations by Tortus' god Ehit.
This, however, caused the rest of the world to resent it, and declare war on the kingdom. The resulting battle not only destroyed Klystron, but also decimated the entire region until it became a barren wasteland.
In truth, Ehit wished for the kingdom to be destroyed to harness the life force throughout the region and create an alternate realm for his spirit to reside in, known as [The Sanctuary]. Such a sickening thing to do.
*Snap*
Snapping my fingers using my [Gravity Magic] channeling the energy of the planet we created a dome of repulsive gravity that affects everything to be moved away from us.
Yue soon followed my example already showing her genius use of [Gravity Magic] as she asked me in a curious tone smiling gleefully, "So this number 3. Which Ancient Magic are we collecting this time Mash?"
Man despite her age she acts like a kid. A broken mental kid but she's having fun so that's where it counts right?
I explained to her how this Labyrinth is going to be a breeze compared to the others thus far and this one housing the Ancient Magic of [Spatial Magic]. Her eyes shined as I explained in full detail as we entered inside with me summoning my Demon Beast specifically made to hard counter the fire monsters.
The Grand Gruen Volcano is in the Gruen Desert. It is five kilometers in diameter at its base and has a height of three kilometers. It is conical like most volcanoes but shaped more like a dome. Its summit is flat, however, unlike most domes.
It is one of the few Labyrinths whose location is well-documented in modern times the only other being the Great Orcus Labyrinth, but it's not frequented as much due to it being more dangerous and not as rewarding to face.
It is about 50 floors deep and is filled with rivers of lava that are suspended in midair. The intense heat causes explorers to lose their energy quickly and can be deadly after being exposed to it for a long enough period. It is also full of various monsters that are made entirely out of lava.
There are two pathways to complete the Labyrinths. The first is through a series of mazes made of invisible spatial magic walls and a teleportation puzzle with hundreds of options, but only one correct solution.
This is followed up by having to fight a lava minotaur at the end of it, and then 50 huge lava snakes in the final trial room. Alternatively, there is a shortcut through the Labyrinth, but the downside would be to having to fight 100 lava snakes in the final trial room.
Despite being an active volcano, it has never erupted. This is due to a keystone that keeps the magma contained inside the Labyrinth. Once the keystone is destroyed, however, it will erupt violently and destroy the Labyrinth (though it will repair itself over time).
The Labyrinth was created by Naiz Gruen Caliente and gives the knowledge of spatial magic to those who have overcome its trial. The concept of this Labyrinth is to 'Test how challengers can keep their focus and respond to constant surprises while under extreme stress.'
Yue had a deadpan expression stating the obvious path were going in a dry tone, "We're going to the shortcut one, aren't we? The one where you must fight 100 lava snakes in the final trial room?"
All I did was grin in a smug tone having multiple Water-based Demon Beasts at the ready with [Water Magic], "Yes. Yes, we are. With this will be our 3rd Ancient Magic we collected and keep on going."
Yue merely smiled while placing a hand over her head at my crazy efficient planning and workaround. Truly my power is to be marveled. These dungeons weren't meant for someone like me to compete.
/////
[Tortus, Gran Gruen Volcano, Final Floor]
*SPLASH*
*SHIII*
The sounds of the 100 Lava Snakes being doused by my Water Demon Beasts didn't last any more than a few minutes before they were all defeated. We both soon appeared on a podium in the middle of a massive underground lava lake below the Naiz Gruen Volcano.
The Center of the Gruen Labyrinth, home of the Space Magic. Before us stood a small cubical cabin made of a pitch-black stone that seemed cool to the touch. No is cool to touch.
I can see many uses for this magic and Multiversal Travel for one. Hajime made a key that allowed him to travel across worlds with this, becoming the strongest existence in multiple worlds.
With the final bosses dealt with, the door to the cabin opened whirring gently and we both entered inside. It was small, even with a small table sat in the center and upon it a simple pendant.
It was the pendant used to enter the next dungeon, The Sunken Ruins of Melusine. Taking it for its intended use or antique collection considering I have [TOOS] to show me the right path in the future.
Not long after we found the next magic circle as I smirked modifying it like I have the last 2 times by this point. We walked into the center of the ancient Magic Circle and it began to inform me like last time with Orcus's Magic Circle.
Modifying the circle we quickly obtained the knowledge about the Ancient Magic [Spaitial Magic] flowed into our head as I grinned. But I also made sure to destroy it after we obtained it.
[Ding!]
[You have gained the knowledge of the Ancient Magic Skill [Spatial Magic]!]
Skill List.
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<Spatial Magic> (Active) Lv.-
MP Cost: Varies
Description: One of the ancient magics originating from the "Age of Gods," which allows the user to manipulate the space around themselves, allowing them to either bend or expand the space near them or move themselves to another space or location. The true power of this magic is the ability to manipulate boundaries. It could be used to create entire dimensions, as well as manipulate the boundaries between fantasy and reality.
----
Add that OP skill to the increasing list of what's needed to be done. Yue soon asked me what's our next stop in a curious tone testing her [Spatial Magic], "What's next? I'm kind of excited to see what our next Labyrinth Speedrun is."
Smirking at this I know the next one while using my [Creation Magic] and [Age of Babylon] creating a skin-tight suit for her in a calm tone, "Will be going to the Melusine Labyrinth next but will be skipping the trial BS. This suit will help you survive the bottom of the ocean sea pressures."
She took it but then asked about me in a confused tone tilting her head, "Okay… but what about you?"
I smirked as I spoke to Shinra-Koketsu in a proud tone, "Don't need one when I have Koketsu around. Would you be a dear?"
Using her [Shapeshifting] ability Koketsu changed into a form suitable for adapting to my changes startling Yue with her voice in a nonchalant tone, "Sure. Sure, already have the changes made. Just hurry up already, okay?"
I nodded as Yue was stunned as she stated the obvious about my uniform in a shocked tone, "I-I-I'm sorry but did your uniform just talk? Or am I just hearing things…"
I smirked as Koketsu rolled her eyes. I did warn her to expect the unexpected guess that's my fault for not explaining about Shinra-Koketsu I have on hand.
Why do you need a Sacred Gear armor or transformation when my uniform does it for me? I am so glad I have her on my side.