The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 148

18. Mermaid: Sweet Scoundrel

There are two Seven Stars in the Empire.

One is Hans, the Commander of the Knights who protects the Imperial Family, and the other is the Sage Orneo, who stands right before me.

“An impressive young man. Tell me, where are you from, and who are you?”

“I am Kahn, an adventurer from the Holy Kingdom.”

The Sage’s white eyebrows twitched.

That’s because I am currently the most famous adventurer on the continent.

I was promoted to Orichalcum [a high adventurer rank] in record time, subjugated the Guardian of the Demon Beast Forest, infiltrated the Holy Kingdom, and eliminated a Twilight executive.

The requests I’ve completed were all jaw-dropping achievements, so it’s no wonder the Sage is reacting like that.

“You’re quite the celebrity.”

“Not at all.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll skip the final test.”

“Of course.”

“The test is simple.”

Orneo drew a large concentric circle on the floor with the staff he held. A circle approximately 3 meters in diameter.

“If you can get me out of this circle, you pass the Gate of Power. You can use force or any other means to get me out, and you’ll pass.”

I appreciate that the test rules are straightforward.

I decided to take the test immediately.

I drew the Heavenly Demon Sword and pointed it at Orneo.

I heard from Zion that Sage Orneo is a water elementalist [a magic user specializing in water].

Following Lust, who controls ice, Karina, who controls fire, and Coco, who controls electricity, he is the fourth elementalist I’ve encountered.

First, I’ll start with a probing attack to gauge his power.

[Wind Control]

[Haste]

[Shunpo] [a technique for moving quickly]

I attempted to close the distance.

Immediately, a wall of water erupted from Sage Orneo’s body and began to swirl.

‘It’s hard to get close.’

The force of the water emanating from him was intense.

The suffocating water pressure was a given, and the rotation and compression were so great that it possessed a dense mass.

If an ordinary person were to graze it, their body would be torn apart.

The moment the Heavenly Demon Sword collided with the water wall, I heard a crunching sound.

It felt like putting a blade against a powerful rotary motor.

-You little brat! Who taught you to collide head-on with such a brutal defensive wall?

The Heavenly Demon Sword, suddenly bombarded by a shower of water, made a racket in my head.

I guess this method won’t work.

I stepped back to create some distance.

In the meantime, the water that the Sage was manipulating quickly rotated to form a spherical shield.

It blocked all directions—up, down, left, and right—leaving no opening to exploit.

“Is the attack over? Now it’s my turn.”

Shuuaaaak!!!

A stream of water originating from the water sphere formed a whirlwind and rushed toward me.

I drew out dual mana to its extreme and created a Mana Sword.

I slightly deflected the trajectory of the attacks coming from all directions with the Heavenly Demon Sword to avoid fatal blows.

“Excellent swordsmanship! But that alone doesn’t seem to be enough.”

The water streams became more diverse and stronger.

In response, my hands and feet grew increasingly numb.

If I continue like this, I will definitely lose.

In the end, I had to make a decision.

‘Let’s use Druid skills.’

[Crystal Control]

[Crystal Shield]

Ku Kwakwak!

A stronger crystal wall rose from the ground.

The water stream was strong but not enough to penetrate the crystal wall; only the surface was slightly scraped off.

If it had been a stone wall, it might have been breached.

I was relieved that I became a high-level Druid and came here.

“What!”

Orneo, who is said to possess the broadest knowledge in the world, must have never seen such a formidable defense method before.

His voice was filled with surprise.

“It starts now.”

[Wood Control]

[Crystal Control]

[Golem Summon]

De De De De

A giant golem appeared.

One Crystal Golem and three Wood Golems.

I could have summoned more, but I only summoned three because I was afraid the training ground would collapse.

The golems, occupying the east, west, south, and north, and approaching with heavy footsteps, were terrifying in themselves.

“Oh my···”

After fighting, I felt like I was starting to understand.

Sage Orneo and I had a significant advantage in terms of compatibility.

In close combat, archers are at a disadvantage against swordsmen, and in ranged combat, archers are advantageous against swordsmen, so even in battles between experts, there is a clear advantage based on compatibility.

Orneo uses water in all his battles, but Druid skills are mainly based on stone and wood, so they have strong resistance to water.

The Wood Golems, which would have been easily destroyed otherwise, stubbornly endured Sage Orneo’s water cannon.

“Heh heh… the power to be with nature.”

The golems began to relentlessly strike the spherical shield surrounding Sage Orneo.

I don’t expect to completely destroy it anyway.

I just need to create a small crack.

And the gap I had been waiting for soon occurred.

Twokwang!

A fist struck by the Crystal Golem created a small hole in the water sphere.

It was a very small weakness, but it was enough for me.

[Crescent Moon Slash]

I used a ranged swordsmanship skill that I had newly learned in the Holy Kingdom.

The sword wind that burst out from the horizontally drawn sword strike passed through the slightly revealed gap.

Orneo, flustered, raised his staff to block my attack.

Kwaang!!

The moment the staff and the sword energy mixed wind collided, an ear-splitting roar echoed.

The result afterward was surprising.

Unable to withstand the tremendous power, Orneo stepped back a whopping five steps.

His heels were outside the circle.

It was my victory.

“You passed. This is the first time someone has passed the test since the Tower of the Sage was built.”

Looking at the test content, I could see why there were no successful candidates.

The previous tests were also ridiculously difficult, but the final test was the most impressive.

If he were a normal swordsman, he would have been confused by Orneo’s unique combat methods and would have been defeated.

The reason I won was because I was much more unique than the unique Orneo.

“It wasn’t an empty rumor that you caught the Twilight executive. This power… seems to be Druid. Is that correct?”

As expected of a Sage.

He must have seen it in some record, but he recognized that I was a Druid at a glance.

“That’s right.”

“Adventurer Kahn was a Druid. Really amazing. You passed the test. Come in.”

Orneo invited me to his laboratory.

The interior was not much different from a university professor’s laboratory I had seen on Earth.

Thick books were scattered all over the floor, and the desk was filled with writing on paper with ink that had not yet dried, as if he had just been working on it.

Overall, it smelled musty.

“Have a cup of warm tea.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as I put the tea in my mouth, my face automatically frowned at the bitter taste rising from my throat.

Did he put poison in it?

There is no reaction in the status window.

“What is this?”

“It’s ginseng tea. It’s good for your body.”

Orneo smiled playfully.

He must have deliberately served ginseng tea to see my reaction.

Meanwhile, he drinks sweet honey tea instead of ginseng tea.

For some reason, I can smell the Heavenly Demon Grandfather [referring to someone mischievous] from Duke Orneo.

“So, what brings our hero to visit this humble old man?”

I told Orneo the situation.

It was easier to explain because he knew I was a Druid.

I confessed that I was on an adventure to find the Golden Branch, a fragment of the World Tree, and that I had received a related oracle [a divine message].

I also revealed the contents of the oracle.

‘The desired item is in the lowest place. Find the thirstiest person in the largest country.’

“···So I came to the Calon Empire, the largest country. However, I couldn’t figure out the lowest place and the thirstiest person, so I looked for the Sage.”

“Interesting. Very interesting.”

Before I knew it, the Great Sage Orneo, wearing round glasses, was sparkling his eyes.

He took a book from the bookshelf.

It seemed to be a very old book, with dust piled up on the top.

He blew on it to remove the dust, turned the page, and began to speak.

“Do you know the concept of causality?”

“I don’t know much about it.”

“The law that supports the world is causality. Water flows from top to bottom, the sun rises when you wake up in the morning, and these elements are all included in causality.”

The Sage’s explanation continued.

“The interesting thing is that even God is not free from causality. That’s why oracles always have a vague side. Therefore, Bellanus led you in a way that does not violate causality.”

Sage Orneo said that Bellanus mentioned it in the oracle because he wanted to lead me to the Calon Empire.

“If we analyze it from this perspective, we can find the lowest place and the thirstiest person. Why did Bellanus lead you to the Calon Empire?”

“I don’t know.”

“My guess is this. It’s to make you meet me. Anyway, I’m the most expert in this field.”

Sage Orneo’s advice had the power to tempt people.

“Therefore, the thirstiest person is likely to be me.”

“Are you thirsty, Sage?”

“I drink a lot of water, but.”

“······”

After a moment of silence, he burst into a hollow laugh, perhaps embarrassed.

“Of course, he wouldn’t have expressed it as someone who is thirsty because he can’t drink water literally. Looking back on myself… I guess I’m someone who is thirsty for knowledge.”

“Knowledge, you mean?”

“That’s right. I’ve lived for almost a hundred years. There’s no one in the Calon Empire who is thirstier for knowledge than me.”

Orneo continued to turn the pages of the book.

“If I assume that I am the thirstiest person… it means that I know the lowest place.”

He stopped turning the pages of the book.

Then he pointed to a part of the book with his finger.

“The lowest place in the world that I think of is right here.”

The letters written in the book were ancient languages ​​used hundreds of years ago, so it was difficult to recognize.

On the other hand, the picture drawn next to the squiggly handwriting came into view at once.

Houses and buildings built under the sea.

It was somewhat familiar.

“The lowest place mentioned in the oracle is definitely the underwater city written in this book.”

I was suddenly struck by a thought.

It felt like being splashed with cold water.

I have definitely seen that city before.

It was the city Merlin visited when I took the Golden Branch test.

If you think about it, it was obvious.

The Golden Branch is a fragment of the World Tree.

Part of Merlin’s soul is also sealed.

Where did Merlin, who imprisoned the Heavenly Demon, spread the Golden Branch?

Even if I were Merlin, I would have placed it in a place I had been to in the past.

Over the long period of a thousand years, some Golden Branches would have moved by human hands.

Even so, the branch placed in the underwater city was preserved as it was.

‘I can’t believe I didn’t think of this obvious thing.’

Now I understood the contents of the oracle.

And I was impressed by Duke Orneo’s wisdom in approaching the truth in an instant.

He was a person worthy of being treated as a Sage.

“I’ve told you all the answers, but it’s a pity.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s a city that is not even certain to exist. Besides, it’s unclear how to get there. I’m sorry, but my help ends here.”

I tilted my head as I looked at Orneo shrugging his shoulders.

“I know how to get there, though.”

“Don’t joke around.”

“I’m serious.”

Duke Orneo looked at me quietly.

His face gradually became filled with astonishment as he faced my serious expression for a long time.

“It’s not a lie. You really know how to get there.”

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m not the kind of person who would joke about this.”

“Oh! God! Oh oh!! God! How can this be!!!”

Even Sages look for God when their emotions get intense.

Memo.

Orneo, who had been calling out to God for a while, grabbed my hand.

“What is that method! Please tell me.”

He is indeed the thirstiest person for knowledge.

I drew blue mana from my dantian [energy center in the body].

Then, a bluish energy created a water droplet on my palm.

“Mana of the sea!! How can you have this in your body?”

“I was lucky enough to obtain it in the past.”

“Oh my… At this point, I’m confused as to whether I’m the Sage or you’re the Sage.”

I told Sage Orneo how to get there.

I said it exactly as it was in Merlin’s memory.

The endless sandy beach and palm trees.

The teardrop-shaped rock located at the end of the coastline.

The whirlpool in the sea that is created when blue mana is injected into the rock.

If you throw yourself in there, the underwater city will appear.

The Sage, who was listening with his chin resting on his hand, suddenly jumped up and rummaged through the bookshelf.

Then he took out a geography book.

The book contained a detailed drawing of the entire Arnia continent.

Orneo circled several points with an ink pen.

“The areas I just marked are places where long coastlines and palm tree vegetation overlap. If you look around these places, you will be able to find the place in your memory.”

It is a great harvest as the search area has been narrowed down.

I carefully put the map in my arms.

“Thank you so much. Your advice has been a great help.”

“Not at all. I feel like it’s my birthday because I’ve learned about a new world.”

Orneo waved his hand, picked up his teacup, and took a gulp of the lukewarm tea.

Then, unable to withstand the bitter taste rising from his throat, he coughed severely.

“Cough! Cough! What? Why is there ginseng tea in front of me?”

“Who knows? I guess the teacups got switched.”

I am grateful for what I am grateful for, and I must take revenge for what I must take revenge for.

I picked up the switched teacup and poured it into my mouth.

The honey tea was quite sweet.