Chapter 007 Sphinx's Riddle

Standing in the study, Richard saw five or six tall bookshelves lined up against the wall, each filled with books and scrolls.

With eyes slightly narrowed, Richard walked to one of the bookshelves, stepped on a special wooden ladder, and reached for the top of the shelf.

Pushing aside a large number of books and scrolls, Richard touched a cool Black Iron Box placed at the very back of the shelf. The Black Iron Box was about thirty centimeters long and wide, five or six centimeters high, with intricate patterns engraved on its surface, appearing strange and mysterious.

With a slight exertion, Richard pulled the Black Iron Box from the shelf, stepped down from the wooden ladder, and placed it on the wooden table in the study.

Placing his hand on the surface, feeling the ice-cube-like touch, his eyes flickered, landing on a depression on the surface.

The depression, combined with the metal patterns, looked like a cracked mouth; from a special angle, a barely noticeable line of small characters could be seen: "Awaken me with Magic Power, and I will reveal to you the truth of this world."

The Wizard Book! Or rather, this was the shell of a Wizard Book...

Richard had found this after considerable effort in the depths of the Royal Library. Its origin was a mystery even to the oldest librarian. It was known only as a peculiar book filled with Evil Power, carrying a malevolent Curse. If frequently handled, it could make one sick at best, and cause sudden death at worst.

Richard naturally didn't believe in so-called curses and Evil Powers. To Richard, this book merely contained a volatile substance harmful to the human body. As long as he ensured proper air circulation, he could completely avoid chronic poisoning.

However, unlocking the secrets within the book was not simple.

Because the iron shell outside the book had a special design, it was difficult to forcibly destroy. If someone truly forced it open, there was a high probability of damaging the real contents inside.

Richard could use some methods to reduce the damage probability to a tolerable level, but he did not want to take the risk, so he had been diligently searching for Demonized Creatures and people related to spells, hoping to obtain "Magic Power."

Now, he had done it!

"Whew—"

Richard took a deep breath, slightly tilted his head, and looked at the golden liquid placed on the side of the table.

"Right or wrong, the answer will soon be revealed, won't it?" Richard muttered to himself. The next moment, he picked up the bottle filled with golden liquid, uncorked it, and slowly poured it into the depression on the surface of the iron box.

Before long, the depression was filled. After a moment of stillness, with a "click," as if causing some chain reaction, the liquid in the depression began to boil rapidly, releasing numerous bubbles, and the entire iron shell started to vibrate slightly.

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

Then, as if some restriction had been triggered, with a "gulp," all the liquid was instantly swallowed by the book, disappearing without a trace.

The vibration of the iron shell intensified, like a human trembling, causing the tabletop to vibrate along with it. Finally, with another "click," the iron shell opened on its own like a box, revealing the genuine Wizard Book inside.

Richard gently took the book out and carefully placed it on the table. At this moment, a faint voice emerged from deep within the book, "Who... is it? Who... is it?"

"Hmm?"

Richard raised an eyebrow and opened the book.

On the first page, he saw not a word, only an incredibly terrifying skull imprinted in the center.

The eyes of the skull burned with blazing Flames, as if real. Whether it was an illusion or not, Richard felt the room's temperature rising sharply.

This...

In the next moment, something even more shocking happened. The painted skull began to move, its jaw opening and closing, emitting an eerie and chilling whisper, "Who is it? Who on earth awakened me? Who dares to spy on Master Monroe's trove of knowledge? Answer me, or you will face the harshest punishment!"

If anyone else witnessed this, they might be scared half to death, but Richard was not. Instead, he squinted his eyes, watching the skull on the book's page with interest, and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am the Book Spirit created by Master Monroe, tasked with safeguarding this book and screening the qualifications of those who read it."

"What can you do?"

"I can verify whether each reader is intelligent enough. If he is, then he will be qualified to read this book. If not, he will pay the price for his recklessness and ignorance."

"What price?"

"Death!" The Book Spirit's voice was extremely cold.

Richard laughed, "Interesting."

Richard then asked, "How do you verify if someone is intelligent enough?"

"I will exchange a question with each person. If he can correctly answer my question and leave me unable to answer his, then he is deemed intelligent enough. During the time I can't answer his question, he is free to read the book's contents without punishment."

"I see..." Richard's eyes flickered, "So, what is your question?"

"Do you, who wish to peer into Master Monroe's knowledge, confirm you want to begin the challenge?" The Book Spirit's voice turned solemn.

"It's always worth a try," Richard said, "Whether success or failure, I want to study your mechanism."

"..." The Book Spirit was silent for a moment, appearing to ponder the meaning of Richard's words. After a while, it spoke, "Alright, since you are sure about the challenge, let's tackle this difficult question: There is a strange creature, which walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon..."

Richard couldn't help but be stunned. Wasn't this the Sphinx's Riddle from modern Earth's Greek Mythology? In Greek Mythology, the monster with the body of a lion and the face of a human, the "Sphinx," sat on a cliff near Thebes, blocking travelers and asking them the same riddle.

Many couldn't guess the answer and were mercilessly devoured by the "Sphinx." Later, a man named "Oedipus" guessed the correct answer, causing the "Sphinx" to plummet to her death in shame.

The next moment, without waiting for the Book Spirit to finish speaking, Richard interrupted, "Don't tell me your next line is, 'This creature has three legs in the evening. When it has the most legs, it's also when it walks the slowest and is weakest in Physical Strength.' Then you will ask me, 'What is this creature?'"

The Book Spirit's voice abruptly stopped, plunging into silence, a lengthy silence as if it encountered such a situation for the first time.

Richard spoke again to the Book Spirit, "Alright, if this is indeed the case, then I can only tell you, the riddle is 'human.' For humans, in infancy (morning) they crawl on four legs, as adults (noon) they walk on two legs, and in old age (evening) they walk with a cane, having three legs."

"But... is determining intelligence with merely a brain-teaser type of riddle truly rigorous? Or is what you call intelligence fundamentally different from how I understand it? You lean towards cleverness, while I lean more towards Wisdom..."