The body of the defeated Mithril Golem did not disappear like other monsters. Rocks, dirt, and ancient armor are still strewn about.
The golem’s core —a dark red orb —also remains, resting on the rubble that looked like a pedestal.
Solana’s thoughtful voice sounded.
『Hmm…… I think this golem wasn’t created by the dungeon. So that’s maybe why it won’t turn to ash even if it falls in the dungeon.』
“Yeah….…”
Nodding, I circled around so I could see the golem core.
I was still wondering, but Solana seemed to be a little convinced.
『I see. The golems spent a long time in the ice. Even though it is made of soil and rock, over the course of 1,000 years, magic will still pass through it. In other words, it becomes flesh and blood maintained by magic. So when the magic power is broken, it will turn to ashes like any other monster.』
I couldn’t give an answer. It’s partly because it’s so difficult that I couldn’t understand it and the remains of the golem piled up in front of me are simply ominous.
“Solana, what did you say just now?”
『……Un. For a moment, I felt something similar to those ashes.』
“Eh……?”
I looked at the exposed golem core. Red-black, an ominous color.
It’s a bit like those ashes.
“……Does this mean that it was brought in from outside too?”
Felix-san pressed his staff on the ground.
“We can investigate this later. This room will be sealed off for a while anyway. We’ll have plenty of time to look into it later.”
Mia-san crouched down and picked up the scattered weapons.
“What a waste. There’s a pretty good shield too.”
Felix-san squinted his eyes, looking tired of it.
“.….Adventurer Mia. The relics in the dungeon will be taken care of by the Raven Warriors.”
“Yeah, yeah”
Mia-san shrugged her shoulders and smiled wryly at Felix-san.
The atmosphere was more relaxed than before, and I was somewhat relieved.
After that, I treated the wounded warriors. I used the 『Divine Protection of the God of Medicine』 , activating【Valkyria’s Spoon】 to heal the larger wounds, and used healing potions for the rest.
“Okay, let’s go.”
After signaling to everyone, we returned to the unexplored area from earlier.
It’s still cold. My breath turned white. Most of the walls are surrounded by ice, and it seems impossible to enter another room from here.
“…… What are we going to do now?”
Loki replied from the gold coin.
『Fufu, can you let me out? 』
I unsealed Loki with 『Alarm』.
The doll-sized god spun around as if dancing before greeting us. His black hair and his robe of the same color swayed softly. Loki was right in the middle of the hall with his hands on the ground.
“Daeg Beorg……”
The room became brighter. The patterns carved into the walls and ceiling —which Felix-san called magic circles —began to glow. There was a sound like a rumbling of the ground, and the whole room shook slightly.
When it stopped, part of the floor sank into a square, exposing a hidden door.
“The magic here is to protect the dungeon, and it appears that it have also protected the back from the seal made by the main god.”
Loki floats softly and dives into the hidden door.
We looked at each other and trotted along.
That was so typical of Loki.
To think there was a hidden room even further inside the unexplored area…
Behind the door, there were no more ice in the aisles and the cold that hurt my earlobes was gone. After going for a while, we go up the stairs, and when we got at the top, there is—
“S-similar room?”
My eyes flickered.
This was because we came to a place similar to the unexplored space we were in earlier.
Looking closely, it’s a little smaller than the previous place where hundreds of people could enter. At most, it’s about half of that. But it’s circular, and the ceiling is bowl-shaped. There are magic symbols shining all over the place, and the only other difference is the lack of ice.
“Rion, come here.”
Loki had already moved forward.
There is a staircase next to the wall that leads to the stage that overhangs the hall. It’s like a place where higher-ups give speeches. Or it could be said that it is a bridge that has been interrupted in the middle.
Looking around from there, there’s nothing more.
At the end of the stage is a magic stone set on a cylinder.
“The device is asleep, can you unseal this crystal?”
After nodding slightly then I used my power.
“Wake up”
| Skill: 『Alarm』 was used. Executing 【Unseal】. 『World Tree, Yggdrasil’s, Water Mirror has been unsealed. 』 |
The ceiling was bowl-shaped. Light fell from it like a single drop. The light burst in the center of the floor, and like ripples, the brightness spread throughout the entire room.
The circular square becomes like a sparkling water surface.
“Wow……”
I exclaimed involuntarily.
The glow over the entire surface eventually subsided and it slowly began to undulate. There were flat areas and raised areas. Orbs of light were floating everywhere.
What particularly caught my eye was the four lights gathered in a flat area.
What’s this?
It seems to represent something, but I can’t seem to find the answer.
“On the flat surface…… four areas?”
I spoke the words that suddenly came to mind.
“……Could it be a map?”
I got it.
The fact that all four of them were gathered on a flat area which looked like a plain makes it seem like the four dungeons in the north, south, east and west of the Royal Capital.
Loki applauds.
“That’s right. The magic that created the world and still covers it, created a huge invisible tree. In magical terms, it was also called the Magic Tree or the World Tree. You can connect to it and communicate with beings far away. Well, the name ‘tree’ was given to it because its shape resembles a tree.”
“O-oh….…”
I could see that his face twitched.
The explanation ran through my head and fell out of my opposite ear.
“I see.”
“Uh, yes, yes.”
Mia-san and I nodded, and Loki shook his head with a look of resignation in his eyes.
“……This is a map showing dungeons around the world. The glowing places are the shelters of the gods, in other words, where the dungeons are located. Where all four of them are gathered— the Royal Capital.”
The light surface is not flat, but undulating. Some of them are raised like steep mountains, and you can get a better idea of the country’s topography than you can see on any map.
“This was used in the War of the Gods. It’s a magical communication station to keep in touch with more distant gods and allies.”
Loki looked up at me from his small figure.
“Rion. Your alarm horn, Gjallarhorn, awakened the gods in the Royal capital, but there may have been beings who could have been heard it from farther away. And this is a place to receive voices from afar.”
I was stunned.
“The horn…… you mean, there maybe a response from it?”
“That’s right. Isn’t it something you blow in the hope of getting a response in the first place?”
Loki winks.
The terrain of the entire kingdom of Asgard seems to be reproduced with light. The plains of the Royal Capital with four dungeons. The wilderness to its western side. Mountains in the distance.
While I was admiring, a voice sounded from between the mountains.
The light that indicates the dungeon is turning red and is now blinking.
“This—”
“Shhhh”
Loki puts his index finger to his lips.
| ——us. |
Such voice resounded.
| ——Help us! |
Then the voice ceases.
On the map, the dungeon was located where the mountains were connected. The light, which had been flickering like a candle with the voice, had now calmed down.
Felix-san spoke.
“That place…… It’s Alvis.”
Felix-san told me as I tilted my head.
“It’s a mining town, famous for blacksmithing and crafting, and it supplies the Royal Capital with a lot of weapons through the river.”
Loki grinned.
“I see. That sounds just right.”
“Just right?”
“Yes. That location, according to my memory, is a dungeon where such beings are hidden.”
I was a bit stuck.
This kind of existence —it didn’t seem like a god at all.
“Dwarves.”
Mia-san’s shoulder jerked, then she exclaimed in excitement.
“Dwarves?”
The gold coin trembles at this moment. I can see that the other gods also want to come out. I decided to unseal them too.
When the seal was lifted, everyone jumped out of the gold coin.
Sliding across the light, Solana spreads her hands. She was doll-sized and had sparkling blonde hair.
“They are also known as demigods. Many of them were allies of the gods, and they created a variety of weapons and tools. Thor’s hammer, Odin’s spear, a boat that can go anywhere…… The dwarves who excelled not in strength but in technology were the ones who created such divine tools.”
My heart raced.
This will be my first time leaving the Royal Capital.
It’s hard to be away from my family, but maybe my destination had already been decided.
Felix-san pressed his coronet.
“It’s a long way from the Royal Capital, and the enemy doesn’t know what we’ll do next. In this case, if we dare to go to a place away from the Royal Capital with all preparations done, we may be able to get ahead of the enemy.”
Solana asks me.
“Rion, what do you think?”
“Yes……!”
God’s Wake-up caller’s next stop.
It’s the land of the dwarves full of technology –Alfheim.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
Yume Neiji's Works 