189 – 189 – The Mage and the Iron Sentinel # 1
189 – The Mage and the Iron Sentinel #1
Emerald City.
I was wondering why it got that name.
The city of the underworld that I actually encountered was so wonderful that there was no awkwardness at all even though it was named emerald.
“It’s like Ondoshi is shit… !”
… … .
I thought you were cursing for a moment
Although Arnoy’s evaluation is a little intuitive.
In fact, the buildings in this city glittered as if they were made of melted taffy.
Should I say that it has a touristy feel?
However, there was one big difference from tourist attractions.
“It is very quiet here.”
Like Nike’s evaluation, this Emerald City was quiet.
How can this huge city be so lonely?
There is not a single person.
In response, the Wizard of Oz sighed slightly at the city visible from under his white beard.
“There was a time when this place was noisy. At least 200 years ago. But when the players leave this land, the only thing left here is this old me… ah… ! The cookies must be baked!”
The old man walked towards somewhere at a fairly fast pace.
We had no choice but to follow him.
“This is my home.”
It was Oz, the wizard who smiled and entered a building that looked more ordinary than he thought.
While other buildings and houses were all quiet, smoke was rising from the only chimney in his house.
“Excuse me.”
I lowered my head because of the lower door than I thought and went inside the house.
The inside of the house was more ordinary than I thought, but there were things like books and carpets, and there was a stove.
For an elderly person to live alone, it feels more ‘clean’ than I thought.
Soon an old man with thick gloves on his hands served us hot steaming cookies on a plate.
We sat on a sofa that was harder than expected and shared cookies.
I was surprised that it was more delicious than I thought because it had chocolate chips in it.
“The taste is very stable.”
Is this about age?
The old man laughed at my praise.
“So, I want to hear what happened to this place. I don’t even have a key, so how did I get to the door… ?”
we all noticed
I must be the one to explain this situation.
“It literally went over the wall.”
“I honestly don’t understand what that means. Can we just understand that he didn’t open the sealed door made with the players’ incomprehensible knowledge with the key?”
“maybe.”
“Uh huh… .”
The wizard Oz seemed quite heartbroken.
While he was stroking his beard and immersed in deep thoughts, Nike, who was watching with his eyes rolling, spoke cautiously.
“Rather than that, there are rumors that it grants wishes… . Can you grant our wishes?”
“It is a wish. it’s possible However, at the same time it is impossible. My magic orb is in the area under the city. You have to meet ‘him’ to get it out.”
“Who is that guy?”
Victoria asked politely.
Then the old man’s face moved slowly to look at the rusty armor decorated nearby.
“That guy was my friend. Now, I wouldn’t even have the will left. I hid the key to find people who could give him a ‘heart’… .”
Uhm… It was an old man who took a deep breath.
At this point, it would be right to ask.
“What is going on here?”
“that’s… . I guess I can’t tell you guys yet. It is a story that cannot be accomplished with your level of achievement.”
oh
this is it
‘You can’t accept the quest because you haven’t reached the proper level’.
However, Nike asked impatiently if he thought that the hardships he had endured all the way here could not be wasted.
“… Ooh, we’re so strong! I don’t know what’s going on, but wouldn’t it be okay if I told you?”
“It’s not like that. By the way, the pink haired lady is really short. Are all kids these days like that? No, well, this is not important.”
An old man who thinks hehehehe.
Arnoy said soon.
“We’ve solved a lot of problems so far… ! Breaking the curse of the sirens, defeating the terrifying monster Scylla, or defeating the Minotaur or Manticore… !”
“The Minotaur… ?”
“That’s it… ! When defeating that bull monster, Arnoi’s performance in particular was very impressive… !”
Although it was impossible to say that the Minotaur was a ‘degraded copy’ that was not real.
The name seemed to be known to the wizard Oz as well.
“They don’t look that strong… . The same goes for crossing the wall. Maybe there is some kind of wisdom I don’t know about… . great.”
Oz seems to have made up his mind.
His gray eyes opened vaguely, as if he were starting to recall something.
* * *
“That’s how it happened.”
The story of the Wizard of Oz ended with that.
At the same time, we are all bewildered.
It was because he ended by saying, “So it happened,” without giving any explanation.
If others see it, there was a long explanation, but they’ll think I omitted it.
Soon Nike said to me, “Victor, you grandfather. It must be a little sick,” he whispered.
Around the time I was seriously thinking, “Maybe I’ve become senile too.”
Hmm – asked Victoria, who cleared her throat.
“We haven’t heard any explanation.”
“Ugh? Did you? look at my mind did you forget By the way, who are you?”
“… … .”
“Ah, I remembered. yes, yes I was talking about the watchman. When you get older, you blink like this. Anyway, the watchman stayed with me in this city.”
I thought the explanation was a bit sloppy.
Here’s a rough summary of it:
The day the players left this Emerald City for a place called ‘Heaven’.
It is said that the wizard Oz remained in the city as the manager to wait for players and residents who might return one day.
And what is left to assist him is the existence called the steel watchman.
“By the way… . The desolation and loneliness of having to protect this old city ate away at his heart. His ‘mind’ is broken. I need to fill my ‘heart’ anew.”
It fills the heart – D.
Metaphor?
Or the literal meaning?
One thing is certain, however, that the ‘Steel Sentinel’ is running rampant.
That there is a high probability of having to defeat it by force.
“However, it still looks difficult with your skills. However, if you defeat a real bull, how will you see hope… .”
And I also found out that it would be a boss battle similar to the Minotaur.
It must be a quest with a level limit of around 70.
If that’s enough, you have to progress through Act 9 or more and have everything from party member item setting to skill collection to break it.
“So, why did you guys say you were looking for me?”
The wizard asked again.
I’ve talked about this before, but it seems that I often forget.
Getting old is a scary thing.
Arnoy said.
“This Arnoi, how can I evolve from a nymph of gutter water to a nymph of university water… . And I want to get a diploma… !”
“That’s it, I can tell you easily if you just find my [Magic Orb].”
“Perhaps… . Do you know what to do to make the world peaceful and prevent war? If you have those marbles.”
Victoria asked cautiously.
Then, the eyes of the sleepy old man, Oz, shine dimly.
“I might be able to tell you. But miss. I don’t think that’s what the lady really wants to know. You must not lie to your heart.”
“… What did you say?”
When Victoria is slightly embarrassed.
The old man’s eyes were now on Enio.
“What does the lady want from me?”
“It’s not fun to say now, so I’ll talk about it later.”
“Yes, yes. waiting for something that you expect. It’s tamed and it’s fun. Okay, so what’s left is this strange pink-haired girl.”
“I… . I… .”
It was when Nike was about to say something.
creak, creak-. Kikii Iik-.
A terrible sound resounded through the desolate city, like rusty nails scratching glass.
“Ah, what is it!”
Victoria, who covers her ears.
I managed to tolerate it even without covering my ears, so the Wizard of Oz shouted “Again…” .” I could hear him sigh.
After hearing the sound of the world tearing apart.
We hurriedly ran to the place where we assumed the sound had been heard.
There was a part of the emerald-colored house that was literally torn apart.
It was as if an enormously huge lion or tiger would scratch the house with its claws.
“Is this what the watchman did?”
I touched it with my hand, showing signs of being torn off.
There are five marks.
Did you tear it by hand?
To be precise, it would be better to say that it was torn with “steel claws”.
“Iron Claw.”
“Victor, what did you just say?”
I answered again to Nike’s trembling question.
“This is the trace of Iron Claw.”
It’s a skill used by steel attribute monsters and the main character, Luke, who has mastered the steel attribute.
It is impossible not to know because an effect similar to this scar appears.
To this the Wizard of Oz nodded.
“You are right. This is a trace of steel. My old friend Nicholas suffered from the Curse of 《Steel》. It is a terrible and terrible curse.”
Then Arnoi trembled.
“It’s the same as Chef Viktor… !”
“Is it the same?”
“Chef Viktor suffers from the same quirk… !”
At Arnoi’s fuss, the old man’s wrinkled eyes turned to me.
There seemed to be quite a bit of sympathy in those eyes.
“The quirks of 《Steel》 are like calluses in the heart. You still look young, but your heart is already hardened. That’s fine.”
“… … .”
“I’ve been a little dubious until now, but maybe this is a guide to fate. Did you say Victor? Follow this trail to find Nicholas.”
Soon, Nike reacted loudly.
“But, you seem like a very dangerous person. Didn’t you get hurt just by looking for it? Us? what to do?”
Nike’s concerns were fully understood.
He is the one who leaves traces of steel nails on such a jewel-like house.
it won’t be normal
Was the person right in the first place?
“ah.”
The old man added one more word, perhaps trying to help him.
“Tell me your name, Amy. If Nicholas still has a piece of his heart left, he will react at least a little.”
what name is that
I thought I was cursing for a moment.
But.
I knew it was a special name.
“Are you a lover? Of that man named Nicholas.”
“It was. So, would you like me to take this? This is ‘mind’. If possible, put this in Nicholas’ chest.”
That ended our conversation.
All we have to do is return a new ‘heart’ to a man named Nicholas, the Knight of Steel.
“But this is the heart… .”
Nike didn’t seem to understand something.
I just move my feet
If you follow the walls marked with claw marks of steel, will you be able to face the words of the eccentric 《Steel》?
I wondered what kind of guy he was.
After walking for a long time, I came across a beautiful park in the Emerald City.
It was an impressive park with water rippling through aqueducts and fountains.
but.
The gray armor sitting on the bench in the middle was quite dull.
There were a lot of sparsely rusted parts, so it looked like you would get tetanus just by brushing against it.
The curious thing is that something similar to an ‘amulet’ is tatteredly attached to his chest.
That’s probably the ‘mind’.
A worn out and rusty heart.
shhh. shhh.
Only the sound of breathing through his armor made him know that he was something like a ‘life’.
through.
Red eyes flashed on the face guard soon.
At the same time, he stood up from his seat holding the huge ax spear that was slung behind his back.
Crunches, creaks.
The behavior of the knight in rusty armor towards us was clearly ‘hostile’.
Goooh-I hope we too will hesitate for a moment under the considerable pressure.
Arnoi said as if he remembered something.
“Are you Nicholas? We’re here to give back… !”
“… … .”
creak.
is there a response?
Does the nymph’s cry work?
Kwaaang-!
Something powerful flew towards my head.
“hehehehe… !”
“A sudden attack?”
If I hadn’t hastily drawn my sword, I might have been split in half and died with Arnoi behind me.
Kagak, kagagakak-.
When the demonic sword Tyrbing and the rusty ax spear burst into flames.
The iron knight with red eyes shining in his posture without even a slight movement spoke.
“I. Nicole. Lars. of the city. wave number. Cheat. the intruder. exclusion. do.”
Is this a conversation going on?