208th Episode
65. Magical Beasts and the Magic Lamp
207 – Magical Beasts and the Magic Lamp #1
— I’ll crush you into powder! Gravity Reflection!
I swung my arm down with all my might.
Boom!
At that moment, a strong explosion sounded, and my body was flung up into the sky as if launched. I hit the ceiling, but hey, at least I escaped that bizarre blob of a swamp.
‘Having failed once, I’ve got a rough idea now.’
Creeeak.
Hanging upside down from the ceiling, my claws dug in like a spider’s, and I spat out flames mixed with my frustration.
“Gaaaaah!”
My anger ignited even the spirits of the gravekeepers. A nasty smell of protein burning filled the air as the blob-like creature shrank and twisted in agony.
Plop.
From the continuously shrinking monster, something metallic fell to the ground. I spotted it and widened my eyes, shouting urgently.
— Yingyi, put out the flames! We can’t let it all burn!
— Gyuuiing…
Yingyi seemed to be tired from all the evolution work and let out a weak sound.
— I’ll pet you later! Hurry!
— Yingyiing…
Finally motivated, Yingyi released moisture stored in its body onto the blob.
Szzzzt.
In no time, the flames evolved. Among the thick black ashes, the blob, now shrunk to the size of my forearm, was still alive, writhing in pain.
“There’s no way I can d*e like this… I can’t just give up this body…!”
The little blob clung to my back leg, trying to crawl up, so I whipped it with my tail and slammed it down hard enough to flatten it into the ground.
Thwack, Thwack! Thwack!
After a few sounds of air being torn apart, nothing resembling a talking blob existed in this world anymore.
— Truly an annoying little pest. Wasn’t there something about a high priest?
After brushing off the remaining blobs on my body, Jack approached and licked his tongue.
— The high priest? … I’ve heard of that guy before. It’s said his body was torn apart and scattered throughout the underground ruins. They say he appears as some monster that seeks life without any fixed form… but no one knows what he actually looks like. Those who met him all died, so they say. But this is what he looked like, huh?
— It’s a well-known legend that somewhere in his torn body, a significant secret is hidden. This must be that secret, the key…
Sand took the key I held in my paw and examined it closely.
— The sun symbolizes the ancient king Ojimann. Also, it’s a proof that various treasures exist. Looks like we’ve struck something extraordinary!
Spurred on by Sand’s excitement, Totuga reached out and grabbed the key. He then examined it closely, tapping it or measuring it with tools he brought.
“The keys of the ruins are usually valued based on the worth of their materials. This is plated copper.”
Totuga made a cold appraisal, and I wiped my body with the cloth Azidahaka handed me, raising a question.
— Copper? If it’s plated copper, doesn’t that mean it’s bad?
“Not at all. King Ojimann regarded copper as the best metal. It has excellent thermal and magical conductivity, along with many valuable physical and chemical properties. It was highly prized in ancient times for its tensile strength, ease of welding, corrosion resistance, plasticity, and ductility.”
— Oh.
As a Humanities major, I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but hey, it sounded like it was a good thing.
— So where do we use this key?
In response to my question, Totuga carefully scanned the dim room.
“There’s probably something around here.”
— Right, normally the usage isn’t far away. Just like Totuga said, it’s somewhere in this room. Let’s all search together. We’ll look for holes between the walls. You take a break, Jack. We’ll handle this.
Jack led Sand and Totuga as they rummaged through the corners of the walls.
“Gravity Reflection, using such absurd techniques. What would you have done if you failed again? It looked like quite a crisis.”
Azidahaka, while wiping my body, recalled what had happened earlier and posed a question. I looked down at my fluffy fur and responded nonchalantly.
— If I’d failed and ended up in a crisis, you or those guys would have helped me somehow. Isn’t that the charm of group hunting?
“True. Nevertheless, it was reckless. Please be cautious next time. Great strength comes with great burden, after all.”
— Understood.
I shook off my cramping right foreleg. After pulling off that ridiculous stunt of reflecting gravity, the muscles in my arm screamed in pain.
— Gyuuiing.
Yingyi, who had been stuck to the ceiling, let out a sound as if to get my attention.
— You found something?
— Ying.
Yingyi was pointing high towards the wall. Jack lifted Sand on his back, bringing him up to the top.
— Ah, it’s really there. There’s a small sun pattern and a keyhole.
“Take this and try turning it.”
Totuga handed the copper key over to Sand, who then inserted the key into the hole high up on the wall.
Click.
A sound of gears and mechanisms turning echoed as the wall itself began to rise.
— This massive wall was a door all along.
Kugugugu!
Watching the stone wall rise like a screen door, Jack’s eyes began to gleam with golden light. As the golden light spilled forth from below the stone wall, everyone else gasped in awe.
— Wow, it’s… it’s treasure!
Sand, who had been riding on Jack’s neck, gracefully leapt to the ground and dived into an avalanche of treasures, beginning to touch everything.
— Ancient treasures!
“High-purity materials. These gold coins and jewelry, if put on the market, could easily buy a building or two.”
Totuga pulled out his glasses, closely examining the treasures. Next to him, Azidahaka also moved in slowly, beginning to touch various rings and necklaces.
“Jewels from the Ancient Stone Dwarves. What a windfall… well, just to be safe, I’ll bring a few.”
‘Hmm.’
In this situation, only Jack and I maintained a calm demeanor. While it made sense for me to not be interested in the treasure, it was quite surprising to see the treasure hunter Jack show no interest.
— So this place was filled with ancient garbage. It’s practically a trap.
— Are these treasures a trap?
At my question, Jack simply nodded lightly.
— It’s to distract you. It’s designed to make you pull back. Since we’ve already taken enough coins and jewels, maybe we should head back before we face something terrifying ahead. It gives the feeling that we might lose out.
— Got it.
— And the existence of such things indicates that truly important treasures aren’t far away. They likely want to divert our attention with these.
Agreeing with Jack’s deduction made me think there was some merit to it. It seemed that the divine artifact of King Ojimann or whatever was indeed close to us.
Jack slowly moved toward the pile of treasures.
While he said that, I wondered if he was also trying to pocket a few coins, but he was digging through the jewels and gold as he strived to find something.
— What are you looking for? There’s plenty of treasures here!
— Sand, we came to find the king’s sacred artifact. The map I have only shows up to this room. This enormous pyramid can’t just end here. There’s bound to be something here that can assist us or provide hints.
Jack appeared to view this mountain of gold coins as nothing more than trash buried underground, indifferent to its allure.
I couldn’t fathom what compelled him to obsess over the artifact, but his eagerness was certainly welcome to me.
— Yeah, I shouldn’t get distracted by these jewels.
“Ahem, ahem, I wasn’t distracted. I merely tried a few on.”
Azidahaka jangled the necklaces hanging on her horn. I turned my gaze from her to Jack and asked.
— What should we be looking for?
— Anything. There should be something strange or suspect.
— Strange or suspect…
For a moment, I was taken aback by the broad and vague explanation. In my vision, I caught sight of an old, rusted kettle.
‘A kettle?’
It looked like something you’d see in an Indian curry house; I might as well have called it a lamp.
That battered, dented item, with blemishes all over, seemed completely out of place in this treasure room.
— Strange and suspect indeed.
I picked it up and, just in case, rubbed the sides with my fur.
Swwwwish.
Suddenly, a cloudy smoke began to flow out from the lamp!
“White One, what did you just touch?”
— Normally, you rub these sorts of lamps to activate them.
Swwwwish.
The mist continuously poured from the lamp in my hand, and it soon took on the shape of a bizarre human figure.
— What’s that! Is it the High Priest again?!
“I don’t know! What is it?”
Both Sand and Totuga, who had been engrossed in the jewels, were obviously bewildered by this unexpected turn of events.
“Laa Ilaha Illa.”
A thin-clothed upper body soon revealed itself. Its lower half, connected to clouds by the lamp, reminded me of the memories I had from Sunday mornings during childhood.
However, that upper body wasn’t a muscular blue spirit, but rather a beautifully toned figure with dark skin.
— So this is what a proper spirit looks like.
“After being released into the mundane world after so long, you’ve unsealed and awakened me. Impressive. Not everyone would rub the dust off an old and broken brass lamp among these jewels.”
The brass-skinned spirit spoke to me. I looked at the floating figure and asked.
— Who are you? Are you here to grant my wishes or something?
“Did you not hear my introduction? I am the Radiant One, Ra. And you, who are you? Why is my brother wearing the guise of a beast?”
Addressing me as his brother and acting friendly, this “Ra” seemed to be another fallen deity like Adonai. Referring back to the phrase I had seen upon entering this underground ruin, 【Sanctuary: Tomb of the Fallen Deity】, it struck me that this fallen deity could very well be him.
— It’s complicated. Is that why they call you Ra? Anyway, are you granting wishes or what?
“Wishes? Ah, yes. I did have such thoughts once. I was imprisoned in this lamp for a thousand years after being cursed by that despicable Ojimann. Initially, I thought that when someone appeared to rescue me, I’d grant them any wish and make them king of a nation. But no one showed up. Two thousand years later, I thought if someone freed me, I’d grant them three wishes and make them the ruler of the world. Yet again, no one appeared. Then do you know what I thought?”
Clearly irritated after being stuck for so long, Ra just rambled on without waiting for my response.
— What?
When I asked tersely, Ra frowned and shouted.
“Now all I have left is hate and resentment! Thank you for rescuing me, but you’re too late! You shall pay with your eternal flames!”
— What are you talking about, you crazy dude!
I was somewhat taken aback at Ra’s sudden hostility toward the one who freed him.
“d*e!”
Ra lunged toward us like a wisp of smoke.
— What, what’s this! Ugh, ugh, I feel… sleepy…
“Same here…”
— What is happening, brother?!
Sand, Totuga, and camel Jack all succumbed to the cloud engulfing the space and passed out. Azidahaka, with her robe covering her nose, shouted urgently.
“It seems we’ve awakened a dangerous one! Let’s join together to fight!”
— That seems necessary!
As Azidahaka and I prepared for battle, Ra narrowed his cat-like eyes like a crescent moon.
“Even in the guise of a beast, you are indeed my brother. You won’t faint that easily.”
— No more prattling! I’ll send you back into the lamp!
I leaped into the air, slashing at him with my claws. Yet, the mist-like figure simply dispersed like steam, leaving me without a hint of contact on my paw.
— What?! My attack doesn’t work?!
“I’ll breathe fire!”
Azidahaka opened her mouth, ready to unleash flames. The fire that could melt treasures surged toward the misty spirit Ra.
“It’s useless. Breathing fire with a scaly tail like that—just like the Laplace we raised. You were so cute when you were little, I could’ve waited for you to grow and then had you for a meal. So, are you perhaps a descendant of Laplace?”
The unleashed flames seemed pointless as Ra darted in front of Azidahaka like a gust of wind.
Writhing.
Azidahaka, gripped by her neck, was lifted into the air, flailing her limbs.
“Ugggh…”
“Indeed, you smell just like that lizard Laplace. I think I’ll take special care of you. What should I name you? A red lizard, hmm… how about Sky Dragon…?”
— You j*rk, let go of her!
I charged at Ra, who had turned his back to me, swinging my tail. But there was no way I could defeat an intangible mist. He casually regenerated his split form from my tail swipes.
“Brother, I don’t know why you’re trapped in the body of a beast, but I’m about to separate your spirit from your body. Just wait. First, I’ll deal with this lizard…”
“Ugggh.”
Azidahaka was struggling for breath. While I was furrowing my brows anxiously on how to deal with someone without substance… an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘He’s like mist or wind, right…’
I pursed my lips tightly, drawing on my daily-trained lung capacity to take a deep breath.
Swoooooosh.
“Wahhh, what, what is it! No, no! I’m being sucked in…!”
[Author’s Note] If you enjoyed reading, please press the recommendation button at the very top of the mobile screen! With just a two-second gesture, you can bring happiness to a writer’s day! Thank you to everyone who gave comments and coupons!
