[139] The Time-Space Maze (3)
Shirone grasped the situation. The rules were far more restrictive and dangerous than he'd expected. Getting a majority of opinions to coalesce into one decision was much harder than it sounded.
Whatever was in Kergol might be worth risking lives for, and that could easily provoke infighting.
"What? That's it? How about this—take care of the four rookies and then we go in. I didn't know there was an easier way like this."
The leader turned to Shirone with a grin. He wanted to see fear on his face, but Shirone only felt contempt.
Now that he'd heard the rules, cooperation—even if he hated it—was the right move.
A leader who led by feeling alone would only doom the organization and endanger his comrades' lives.
'This guy has no right to be a leader. At least some of the others seem halfway competent.'
As expected, the others began to object. If they completed the achievement they'd automatically pass, so worrying about sacrifices could wait.
"Fine. Let's get started. How long are we going to stand here?"
"Tch! Count yourself lucky, kid."
The white-tattooed man moved to the altar's side and folded his arms where he could see all eight orbs.
"My explanation ends here. One by one, step forward and prove your ability."
Shirone's group and the mercenary gang exchanged looks, each trying to calculate who would benefit from going first.
The leader drew a steel sword and pointed it at Shirone.
"Hey, you go first. I'm not expecting much, but try your best so we at least get a feel for it. Maybe we'll even take you to Kergol."
"No thanks. Why are you deciding that on your own?"
"What's that supposed to mean? You really piss me off! Maybe I should just kill you and go in!"
"You keep stirring up trouble. From now on we have to unify our opinions. Didn't you hear—if even one person refuses, no one can go in? There may be no limit to attempts, but those who try might get handicapped, or traps like anti-magic could trigger. Since everyone's a first-timer, we need to be cautious when we set the order."
"Y-you insolent brat…!"
The leader was losing his composure. It wasn't just Shirone's calm retorts that infuriated him; it was that they were undeniable.
But the female mage had a different view. Even if there were no special constraints, it was better to consider every conceivable variable.
"That kid's right. Let's decide the order. How should we do it?"
Shirone glanced around Miro's Space-Time on the altar. Having experienced a phenomenon called a spot, he had a rough idea of the situation.
"Those orbs probably absorb energy approaching Infinity. You'd put high-damage mages later and have the warriors go first—that's the orthodox way."
"Does it have to be so violent? Why assume that?"
"Because it's the best specialty a descendant of warriors can prove. And looking at the altar, it seems structurally designed to act on a predetermined target. So it's reasonable to think it's meant for strikes."
"Agreed. Let's set the order. Shall we start with swordsmen?"
The mage said this and turned to the leader. He shook his head in displeasure.
"No, I'll go later. What could that brat possibly know? This is a simple game. Just go in and smash it."
"Phew, so your leader says. What are you going to do?"
"Fine. Then we'll send our swordsman."
Shirone looked to the swordsmen on his side. Both Rian and Tess were swordsmen. Even without watching, he could guess who would go.
The first attempt would yield a lot of information. It was a heavy and dangerous task, so Rian wouldn't send Tess first.
"I'll go first. It might end on my turn, but oh well. Hahaha!"
"Don't be overconfident. Be careful—don't let your guard down."
With Tess's encouragement, Rian stepped to the center of the altar and surveyed the area.
It felt different from the outside. The surrounding orbs seemed to be staring at him from every direction.
"Hey! Hurry up! Scared already?"
Rian ignored the leader's taunt. From the moment Shirone had pointed him out, he already knew what to do.
'Think of me as the vanguard. I have to get as much info as possible on my turn. Right, Shirone?'
Rian walked to the northern orb. It wasn't as transparent as it had seemed from afar—more like it was filled with a pale mist.
"Hmm, they said there's no limit to attempts, right?"
He brought his face close and tapped the orb twice with the back of his hand. When nothing happened, he repeated the taps with increasing force.
At one moment the mist inside vanished and the transparent orb displayed the number 1.
"Huh? A number?"
Shirone remembered the white-tattooed man's explanation.
"Oh—so the god-language is numbers. Rian, step back just in case."
Rian took a couple of indifferent steps back. After a moment, the orb glowed red and lit up the hall.
It meant failure.
Shirone wondered what would happen, but that was all. He watched for another three seconds, but nothing threatening occurred.
"Aha, so white light means pass?"
Having understood the rule, Rian returned to the altar center and finally drew his blade.
When the mercenaries saw the true size of the sword that had been hidden by Rian's large frame, they flinched. If it were all iron, no one but a Skima user could have lifted it.
"Rian! Hit it with everything you've got!"
Tess's tension eased and she spun her arm in encouragement. Just knowing the device wouldn't harm the tester was a huge relief.
"Don't worry. I'll break it in one strike."
Rian gripped the sword with both hands and lowered his stance. Embarrassingly, his heart pounded.
But wasn't this the perfect moment to start with the sword his grandfather had given him? And with both hands, swinging with all his might.
"All right! Here goes!"
He charged at full speed and brought the greatsword down. Instead of the thunderous crash they expected, a dull, low thud sounded.
Miro's Space-Time didn't budge, and there was no recoil. It was impossible to achieve without the device absorbing all his force.
"Uuuuu!"
Rian held his stance into the device. He could vividly feel his strength being drained.
More than anything, he was curious what number would appear. Pass or fail?
The orb cleared and displayed 241. Compared to the impact when 1 appeared, it seemed he'd done fairly well.
But the orb regrettably emitted a red glow.
"Ah, what a pity! Shirone, can I try one more time?"
Rian was riled. At first he'd been content with investigating, but after the fail verdict he felt insulted.
"You okay? Your legs look wobbly."
"Oh, this? It sucked all my strength. It doesn't harm the body, so it's not dangerous. I'll recover in a bit."
Shirone nodded at the new information.
"Aha, so it's a handicap but not serious. Hmm."
"Still, this is annoying. If only I could've used Skima I'd have passed."
At Rian's remark, the mercenary band's warrior burst into a boisterous laugh.
"Puhahaha! You've been strutting around without even being able to use Skima? Ridiculous. Move aside, I'll try this."
When the warrior stepped forward, Rian reluctantly left the altar. Even as he walked away he muttered, "Just one more time."
"That brat got 241, right? Then I'll aim for about 2,000."
The warrior rolled up his sleeves and swung his main weapon, a flail, with a whoosh. He also carried a hand axe, but from Rian's attempt the flail looked most suited to deliver impact.
He drew a deep breath and flexed every muscle. His muscle fibers didn't bulk massively, but his whole body visibly swelled.
"Tess, that guy…"
"Right. He's a Skima user. Looks like a strength-enhancement build. Makes sense for a warrior."
"Waaaaa! Here I go!"
He charged with a roar, spinning the flail rapidly.
Though not a true two-handed weapon, adding rotational force produced comparable destructive power.
The warrior brought the flail down as if killing his mortal enemy.
A deep thud sounded and his motion froze. Like Rian, he felt the draining of force render his body useless.
"Huff! Huff! Done! That was a real hit!"
The warrior panted and stepped back. His flashy technique drew anticipation from the onlookers.
The number 248 appeared.
"What, what? No way! 248? Only seven points better than that brat? Is this thing broken?"
Tess adopted a ready stance and walked to the altar's edge.
"Do you think this is some roadside stall toy? Get down! The red light's already on!"
"No, I won't accept it! One more time, just once more!"
"Fine, just get off! Recover your stamina and try again if you want!"
The warrior twisted his face in grievance and turned away. He couldn't fathom it.
He'd never lost in strength contests since childhood. Even with a strength build, 248 was absurd.
"Huh? Wait a sec."
The warrior looked at Rian in confusion. Didn't that kid fail to open Skima?
But he'd scored 241. That meant, by physical strength alone, he'd produced nearly the same power as the warrior.
"What, what? No way! You really can't use Skima? You lied, didn't you?"
"What kind of brag is that? If you failed, shut up and let the next person go."
Rian didn't want to chatter after failing. What interested him now was how far his friend Tess could go.
Tess stood at the altar's center and drew her sword. A cool sound, like sliding across ice, rang out. Her textbook-perfect movement left people spellbound.
"Hmm, I wonder if this will be called a rapier?"
"No, maybe not. It absorbs all your force. When you struck with a straight blade there was no recoil at all. The sword might not even bend."
"Really? Then should I stab with everything I've got?"
"If you're nervous, use my sword. It's heavy, but with Skima you can handle it, right?"
Tess set her blade and curled her fingers. The slender sword snapped forward with a ting, vibrating as fast as a hummingbird's wings.
"No, I want to use my sword. Honestly, this is pretty interesting."
Tess moved to the altar's edge and took a diagonal position relative to Miro's Space-Time.
Acceleration of focus through Skima. The orb might have no weak point, but compressing the body's motion into speed converts directly into force.
Tess dashed with a silence more terrifying than a shout. True to her perfect balance from the trials, her body formed an almost horizontal angle to the ground.
The moment she reached the target, her body flickered with afterimages and the slender sword that had skimmed the earth rose and flew like a blade.
At the instant her sword pierced the orb in a perfect point-thrust, Shirone felt the illusion of a flash erupting at the tip.
Ordinary swordsmanship reaches maximum acceleration around the midpoint, but Tess's thrust-centered style peaks at the sword's tip velocity.
That trait was amplified through Skima, producing an electrifying optical illusion.