Ch.320At the End of the Crossroads

After finishing the battle with the stone golem horde, we encountered two more skirmishes before reaching the problematic fork in the road through a wide corridor.

But those battles ended so easily compared to when we first entered the ruins that it was almost laughable.

In a way, it was only natural. We had teleported directly into the stone golems’ stronghold and managed to survive without major issues, so dealing with one or two stone golems that appeared while moving through the corridors was child’s play.

“This is the fork in the road we were talking about.”

At our destination, where we were collecting magic stones and materials from the stone golems, there were two stone doors installed on the left and right.

Right in front of each door was a slightly protruding floor section. Apparently, the doors would open when a certain amount of weight was applied to these sections.

“We don’t know the exact weight required, but when we investigated before, at least three people had to stand on each side.”

“What about when we leave?”

“There are identical platforms on the inside of the doors too. We confirmed they also need three people to activate, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Then we’ll take the left path. Four Sisters, please take the right.”

“Got it. We’ll communicate through our devices from here on.”

As previously agreed, we split our party in two and entered through the left door.

Our formation was the usual cross shape with Setty at the front and the rest of us protecting Mina in the center.

“There don’t seem to be any stone golems… but let’s proceed carefully.”

“There’s a mural over there on the inside.”

Being cautious of traps, we approached where Setty was pointing and saw a large mural painted on one side of the corridor wall.

It depicted a woman in pure white clothes sitting in the middle of a lake park surrounded by forest, radiating a halo, while women in colorful clothes prostrated themselves around her.

“This picture also only shows women. Is the woman in the center a goddess or something?”

“That seems to be the general idea. Is there anything else that catches your attention?”

“Not particularly.”

Here, “catches your attention” is code for referring to Arcane Words.

We couldn’t freely mention that term with the communication devices constantly connected.

Jessica checked with Becky, the Four Sisters’ leader, about the situation in the opposite corridor.

“…They say there’s an identical mural on the other side too. If we go further in, there should be a floor switch in front of a door.”

Why divide the same corridor into two? For what purpose?

That’s what I was thinking, but when we arrived at the switch in question, I understood why.

“Ancient text. What does it say?”

“Unless trusted friends join forces, you cannot proceed beyond this point.”

“From the nuance, it seems like we need to step on both switches simultaneously for something to happen.”

“Yeah. Four Sisters? Jessica here. We’re ready on this side… Yes, stepping on it now.”

After communicating once more with the Four Sisters on the other side, we all stepped onto the platform together. After about 2-3 seconds, the door opened.

As Mina had guessed, both switches needed to be pressed for the doors on both sides to open simultaneously.

Behind the second door was a long staircase leading upward.

While climbing the stairs, female stone golems attacked us twice, but we defeated them without much difficulty. After climbing for about 10 minutes more, we reached a square room.

On the floor were four small magic circles about 50cm in diameter, and ancient text was written on the wall directly in front of us.

“What does it say?”

“It says four people must stand on the magic circles to open a path for one person, and that one person must then open a path for everyone.”

“It’s as if they knew five people would enter this room.”

“Maybe the device was designed to require five people from the beginning. If that’s the case, the other side would be problematic.”

“That’s true. They only have four people over there… Let me check their situation first.”

When Jessica contacted the Four Sisters through the communicator, they replied that they were still in battle with the second stone golem.

We took a short rest while waiting for the Four Sisters to finish their battle and reach the room at the top of the stairs. About 10 minutes later, Becky contacted us.

“They say there are three circles on the floor on their side.”

“So both sides were given tasks that match our exact numbers. It seems too convenient to be coincidental.”

“There must have been some device that counted how many people entered. This ruin can even determine the gender of those who enter, right?”

“I suppose…”

Whatever the detailed mechanism might be, we needed to follow the instructions in the ancient text to continue our investigation.

This meant sending one person ahead from each party while the other members waited in the room.

In case stone golems appeared, I would go ahead from our side, and Susan, who could read ancient text, would go from the Four Sisters’ side.

“I’ll activate the magic circles now.”

When the four people each stood on a magic circle, the wall with the ancient text completely disappeared, revealing a gently sloping downward passage.

The passage curved to the right about 20 meters ahead, and there didn’t seem to be any stone golems or Arcane Words on the way there.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“If it seems dangerous, don’t push yourself and retreat immediately. Safety comes before investigating the ruins.”

“Understood.”

Contrary to Jessica’s concerns, nothing particularly happened while I was going through the passage.

From the point where the path curved right, the downward slope became level ground, and after advancing about 20 more meters, it curved left and led to an elaborately decorated door.

‘Am I not going to meet up with the Four Sisters’ side along the way? If there’s ancient text in this room, I won’t be able to read it…’

Thinking this, I opened the door and couldn’t believe my eyes.

Inside was a small room with a display stand in the center holding a gem the size of a soccer ball.

I’m not an expert on gems, but it must be worth at least hundreds of thousands… maybe even a million.

Just as I was thinking this and stepped into the room:

*Swoosh*

“Whoa! You startled me.”

Suddenly, a translucent woman appeared in the middle of the room.

She looked less like a ghost and more like a holographic image. As she moved her lips, her voice echoed throughout the room.

‘Take what you desire.’

“Take? What do you mean?”

‘If you desire wealth and glory, take the gem. If you wish to proceed forward with your friends, take my hand.’

Hearing those words, my interest in the soccer ball-sized gem instantly vanished.

Choose between companions or treasure.

I realized this was the same base test I had already experienced in the Stone House dungeon.

“Geez, you really gave me a scare.”

Without hesitation, I grabbed the translucent woman’s outstretched hand.

It was fascinating that I could grasp her despite her hologram-like appearance, but she also looked at me with an expression of curiosity.

‘You have not a moment’s hesitation?’

“I’ve already been through this test where you’re asked to betray your friends for treasure.”

‘If the woman on the other side chooses the treasure, you too will be abandoned along with your friends, you know?’

Oh, that statement gave me a bit of a shock.

It meant that if either Susan or I chose the treasure, an unfavorable outcome awaited the remaining eight people.

But that wasn’t reason enough for me to betray my women.

“My choice remains unchanged. If Susan made an unfortunate choice, that can’t be helped… but I’ll have to trust in the friendship of the Four Sisters on that matter.”

Fortunately, the Four Sisters’ members know about the relationships in our party.

That means as long as Susan believes I wouldn’t betray the other women, she wouldn’t make the foolish choice of betraying her companions first out of fear that I might choose the treasure.

And this expectation of mine was brilliantly fulfilled.

‘Both you and the woman on the other side chose your friends. Women with noble souls. You are worthy of being invited to paradise.’

As the translucent woman said this and kissed the back of my hand, I was transported to another location in a flash of dazzling light.

It was a clearing in a forest with a beautiful flower garden and a calm lake. Everyone who had been waiting in the room, including my companions and the Four Sisters’ members, had arrived there.

“Where is this…?”

“It looks similar to the place in the mural.”

“Looks like Will and Susan succeeded. What was inside the passage?”

“Ah, actually…”

Susan and I explained to the others what had happened inside the passage.

When we mentioned the soccer ball-sized gem, Mina and Anna’s eyes sparkled simultaneously, and when they heard about having to choose between the gem and companions, they both sighed at the same time.

Mina and Anna, similar names and identical reactions.

If they weren’t different races, someone might have joked about them being separated twins.

“Paradise… so this must be the final destination of this ruin.”

“It certainly is a beautiful place, but it’s hard to believe they built an entire ruin just to preserve a park like this.”

Many people nodded at Kate’s observation.

A place that could only be entered by women, that tested the friendship of companions, and that they went to such lengths to protect.

Considering the majestic scene depicted in the mural, this couldn’t possibly be just a beautiful park.

“Let’s investigate the park interior. Be careful not to damage the scenery.”

Just as Jessica said this and took a step into the park, white light began to gather on the surface of the calm lake.

*Whoosh*

“!? Everyone, prepare for battle!”

At Becky’s command, we quickly formed our battle formation, but no fight broke out.

What emerged from the light was not a fierce monster or alien race, but a beautiful horse as white as snow with a long horn protruding from its forehead.

*Snort*

“That’s…!!”

A unicorn.

The legendary creature that only pure maidens could approach had appeared before our eyes.