Mirror Scroll

Except for very rare exceptions, it’s a fundamental principle of game level design to make higher-performing items or materials harder to obtain.

A prime example would be the Wingless Nightmare, designed perfectly to test the limits of a person’s blood pressure while performing a quest.

The Ancient Scroll series was no exception either.

If I were to pick the most prominent features of the ‘Mirror Scroll’ found in this dungeon, they would be the labyrinth within the dungeon, designed fittingly for its ‘mirror’ name, and the myriad of mirror traps placed throughout that labyrinth.

And then, it delivers the finishing touch with a final trick that thoroughly smacks the back of a new player’s head.

“Traps, you say? What do you mean by that, child?”

“If you look closely at that floating in the air, you’ll understand. I can’t see it, but Minerva-nim should be able to observe it sufficiently.”

At my words, Minerva and Pareunari’s gazes simultaneously turned to the scroll floating on the dungeon ceiling. Nyx was still busy hugging my waist and rubbing her face against my body.

By the way, that thing, at first glance, looks like it’s floating in the air, but it’s actually placed on a transparent bridge. You’ll find out if you break through the labyrinth spread out below to the very end.

After examining the scroll for a while, Minerva opened her mouth in a voice where her excitement had somewhat subsided.

“…It’s illusion magic.”

Her face, which had instantly regained its composure, turned calm again. It even seemed to be mixed with a bit of anger. It looked like she was furious at the fact that someone had played a trick with the scroll.

“If what’s floating up there is an illusion, then where is the real one?”

“Right next to it.”

“Next to it?”

Minerva made a puzzled expression. I led the three of them and turned towards the side of the dungeon entrance. At first glance, there was nothing there, just a place cut off by a cliff.

That’s how it looked at first glance. At first glance.

At that spot, on the wall closest to the entrance, there was a concave space. The concave space was located about 6 to 7 times my height.

It was a place that you would never notice unless you deliberately craned your neck to check, and at first glance, it was just an empty cliff, so there was no reason to even look there.

“The real scroll is hidden there.”

Players who first entered here were usually busy approaching the cliff in front of them and memorizing the labyrinth’s structure.

Because if an item is placed on the ceiling and a labyrinth is spread out in the center of the dungeon, it’s only logical to assume that the way to obtain the item is by breaking through the labyrinth.

Furthermore, due to the height of the concave space, if you don’t install separate mods, with vanilla FOV and camera structure, you can’t discover the space above, even if you move right up to the edge of the cliff before falling.

This was because the objects at the edge of the cliff restricted camera movement.

It was precisely here that the location was designed to prevent players from finding the concave space above, at least while they were on the cliff near the entrance, as it was subtly positioned outside the third-person view.

“…There’s something in front of it.”

Minerva, who was examining the concave space, lightly tapped the floor with her staff. Then, blue mana descended like snowflakes and settled neatly in the empty air.

As mana accumulated as if snow were piling up, the outline of a transparent slope was revealed.

It was a slope that was difficult to notice unless you were practically rubbing against the wall, as it was a method of climbing tightly against the wall, and its width was so narrow that only one person could barely ascend.

It’s a structure designed to prevent players from accidentally stumbling upon the slope while wandering around.

Because of this design, players only realize they’ve been tricked after desperately breaking through the mirror labyrinth, traps, and enemies to reach the scroll above.

When interacting with the scroll, the concave space glows brightly, a shortcut to the entrance appears, and at the same time, the transparent slope reveals itself.

‘Malicious bastards.’

Well, once you’ve been tricked once, it becomes overwhelmingly convenient since you just need to follow the transparent slope up to get the scroll and leave, without needing to enter the labyrinth.

And true to the B-Dark developers who avoid irrationality, they do give you a chance to notice this. If you reach about halfway down the path leading to the labyrinth and turn the camera back, you can see the concave space.

It’s just that most people see it and simply pass it by.

“You’re amazing. You know things like that too?”

Pareunari had a very surprised expression.

Minerva, who had seen me do this more than once, was completely engrossed in the scroll in front of her and didn’t pay any attention, while Nyx was still busy satisfying her own desires.

“It’s a bit ambiguous to explain, but you just need to get used to it. If we continue to meet in the future, you might see this side of me many times.”

“Get used to it, how?”

Just as Pareunari, who had tilted her head, was about to ask something more, Minerva stumbled like a madwoman and walked between the two of us, causing Pareunari’s eyes to widen and her words to be cut off.

The fact that the real one was up there meant, conversely, that an Ancient Scroll was right before her eyes. That meant Minerva was on the verge of losing her mind.

“Scientia-nim? What’s wrong?”

Minerva completely ignored Pareunari’s question and stepped into the empty air. Her sandal-clad foot trampled the void.

She wasn’t stepping on the transparent slope to go up. She was truly stepping on nothing but empty air and ascending.

I had seen similar symptoms when she discovered the Crystal Scroll, so I just let it be, but it seemed Pareunari couldn’t. Confusion was clearly visible on her face.

Minerva’s back disappeared into the concave space. Trembling pupils stared after her.

“Pareunari-ssi.”

“…Mm.”

Perhaps still unable to shake off the shock, her reply was quite delayed.

“I apologize for this right after you’ve become her assistant, but you might not be able to meet Minerva-nim for a while.”

“Can’t meet Scientia-nim? Why?”

“Because what’s in there is something Minerva-nim has long yearned for. She’ll be researching it.”

“Hmm… How long do I have to wait? A hundred years? Two hundred years?”

“…It won’t be that long. At most, it’ll be about a month, wouldn’t it?”

Pareunari tilted her head.

“A month is too short. You said she’s been yearning for it for a long time. At the very least, it should be fifty years.”

“……”

Perhaps because she was a dragon whose age could easily exceed four digits and even approach five, her concept of time seemed vastly different from ours.

I wondered if that’s why she so calmly accepted 300 years of being Minerva’s assistant, which was practically like being a graduate student.

Leaving Pareunari, who had a perplexing expression in many ways, behind, I lowered my gaze to Nyx, who was still clinging to my waist. Feeling my gaze, Nyx peeked her face up. A gloomy smile returned.

“Hehe, what’s wrong?”

“I just have one favor to ask. Could you teach me some dark magic later?”

A question mark appeared above her head.

“If it’s dark magic, I’ve already taught you, haven’t I?”

“Not just turning things to ash, but other things too. I want to learn all types you can teach, whether offensive or defensive. Why? Can’t you?”

“No, there’s absolutely nothing I can’t teach you… In fact, I’d welcome it… Hehe.”

Nyx, who had smiled timidly, glanced at me, gauging my reaction.

“Because last time you said one dark magic was enough. Oh, I’m really not trying to blame you. I’m just curious…”

“The situation has changed a bit since then. I’m trying to learn it because I think I’ll be able to properly use dark magic from now on.”

Judging by this reaction, it seemed Nyx couldn’t sense the explosive increase in my magical power, unlike Minerva.

“Hehe. I understand.”

Nyx nodded her head several times. I stroked her head, and with a giggling laugh, her face buried itself in my embrace again.

Somehow, I felt like I could hear a purring sound from somewhere.

“Aaaah…!”

A voice filled with deep ecstasy echoed. Pareunari, startled, flinched, then realized it was Minerva’s voice and returned to her original posture.

“Just now, Scientia-nim?”

“Who else could it be but her?”

Unlike me, who answered calmly because I had experienced it once before, Minerva slowly walked out, as if shattering Pareunari’s disbelieving thoughts.

Overall, her appearance was similar to last time: eyes lost in ecstasy, a gaping mouth, a twitching body, and arms clutching the scroll dearly.

Seeing that, Pareunari froze stiff on the spot.

“Scientia-nim… Why is she like that?”

“It’s her usual state. Just accept it.”

“Usual? That? Humans, strange…”

I comforted Pareunari, who had suddenly become convinced that humans themselves were strange. Honestly, even I thought mages who found Ancient Scrolls were indeed strange, so I had nothing to say.

Minerva was swaying and walking towards us. True to its name, Mirror Scroll, the surface of the scroll in her hand perfectly reflected the surroundings.

“Minerva-nim.”

Nod. Minerva nodded her head instead of answering.

“Please return to the magic tower with Pareunari-ssi first. I have something to do with Nyx, so I’ll stay here for a while.”

“……”

Nod.

“It won’t take long. If anyone asks where I went, you can just answer that way.”

“……”

Nod.

“And, once the scroll decryption is complete, I’d like you to teach me some magic too.”

“……?”

Nod?

Minerva unconsciously started to nod but then paused for a moment, and vitality slowly returned to her silvery-white pupils.

“Child, what did you just say…?”

“I asked you to teach me some magic later. Since I’ve gained magical power anyway, shouldn’t I make proper use of it?”

Minerva, who had been momentarily dazed, nodded with a smile.

“Leave it to me, child.”

While I was inwardly surprised, thinking, ‘Is she really coming back to her senses?’, the human and the dragon exited the dungeon. Once only the two of us remained, Nyx subtly moved away.

It seemed to be because Minerva had disappeared.

“Hehe, then shall we begin…?”

“Before that, just one question.”

The biggest reason I specifically stayed here with Nyx, under the pretext of learning magic. It was time to ask that question.

“I heard it directly from the God of the Holy Kingdom. Nyx, you said you crossed over here from another world, didn’t you?”

“……”

The corners of her mouth, which had been giggling and smiling amiably, slowly turned downwards. Her black pupils dully sank.

“I won’t ask how you crossed over. The Goddess must have handled it herself, as she always does.”

“……”

“There’s one thing I want to ask. The world you came from, it seems to be in my memories too. I have a rough guess.”

Nyx herself had mentioned centipedes, so I was half-certain, but I initially thought of saying ‘B-Dark 3’ and then vaguely phrased it just in case.

“In that world, who was the person who pacified all the humans possessed by immortal centipedes and determined the end of the world?”

In other words, the protagonist of B-Dark 3.

There was a reason I asked such a question. It was because I had been feeling that something was strange ever since.

The developers had clearly stated that B-Dark 1-3 and B-Dark 4 were completely different worldviews, but here, it appeared as if they were governed by the same gods, the Sun and the Moon.

At least as far as I knew, it shouldn’t have been that way.

“……”

Nyx, who had been staring at me with eyes completely devoid of light for a while, slowly opened her mouth.

“They’re right in front of me.”

“What?”