Tales of the Legendary Magus

Chapter 222: Solving A Clue

"Well, let's split up and look around then, the faster we get this done, the better," Villin said after the duo arrived on the third floor. The third floor consisted of a myriad of rooms. Nearly half of them were gym-related. Various devices and objects to help you strengthen yourself. Additionally, there were lanes where you could test your magic, as well as safe rooms to try new enchantments without too much danger.

The second half of the floor consisted of small living areas, some relaxation spaces, and a library.

The floors truly were large and searching them would take a long time. It was here that Villin felt rather glad to have met Golmi, someone who knew the same transfiguration technique he did. He would be able to search close to as thoroughly as he could. They split the floor up into the different rooms and decided to each start at another end. Checking any paintings, moving movable furniture, and using transfiguration to find a clue. Villin also told him not to do anything if someone else was looking at him, they could revisit those rooms later. If there were other players, it was best they couldn't identify them as competition.

Just a minute later, Villin found himself within a 'lane'. Lanes were a very popular method of testing the strength of certain spells. A lane would generally only be two meters wide and they would be around a hundred meters long. The sections close to the door would be full of enchantments that would try to keep the person within it safe from their own spells. 

At the other end of the lane would be a humanoid target, even though Villin had to admit, they looked more like scarecrows than anything else. These scarecrows were enchanted beyond belief. They were capable of regeneration and taking a large amount of damage. If it was a piercing spell you tested out, you would be able to most easily test its power by seeing how many layers of the scarecrow were penetrated, each layer being an entirely different color.

There were a total of ten layers in one of these things until you got to the center. If you got past the tenth layer, the necessary runes would be damaged and the scarecrow destroyed, rendering it useless. Other types of spells were harder to test on these targets but they were still often used to see if they can have a decent effect.

The average magus to finish school (finish does not mean graduate) could make it through three to five layers with their best spells. 

On this floor, there were five separate lanes, each with its own scarecrow. Two of the lanes were currently in use while three were available. 

Villin quickly made his way inside of one of the free lanes before locking the door.

He slowly walked through the lanes, past the safe zone, and carefully checked out his surroundings, and, even more so, the ground below him.

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He made it all the way to the scarecrow without finding anything, at which point he looked at the thing more carefully.

It was clearly a large magical object and was impossible to control using transfiguration, Villin looked at it from every side but couldn't find anything useful, it was then that he thought of something, "If they want to find qualified people to put more resources into, then it would be logical if one of the steps was getting through a certain amount of layers of a scarecrow!'

When Villin thought of this, he figured that there would be no harm. He began walking back towards the beginning of the lane but stopped when he was hardly twenty meters away from the scarecrow. After all, power would be better the closer he was and who cared if he didn't play it fair.

Realizing he didn't have to play it fair since there was most likely not a way to really stop him from doing so, Villin also decided not to use a single powerful spell to try and get to the potential clue.

Instead, icicles began gathering around him, first, there was one, then two, then five.

These five didn't come from five different spells, he simply used a derivatory version of 'Icy Pike' five times.

Still, Villin did wonder how he would do with just a single spell.

A singly icicle shot forwards at full speed and quickly made its way into the scarecrow with a loud bang. Villin looked at it carefully and saw six layers had been pierced, nearly seven. If he were to have shot the spell from the actual starting line it would probably be nearly six, or just about six. It was a decent bit above the average of average magi, definitely so considering it was a spell he didn't generally focus on all that much.

After seeing the result though, Villin didn't give the scarecrow time to repair itself and a second floating icicle sped up and went into the already made entrance, easily piercing through the seventh layer and nearly through the eighth. Villin was about to send out the three other icicles he had prepared but spotted a hidden box within the eighth layer, it was the bit that stopped his previous icicle from making it through eight layers.

"Oh, that was rather easy," Villin mumbled, slightly disappointed as he walked forward and ripped out the small box before the scarecrow repaired the hole.

Since he was in a locked lane that was rather safe, Villin looked at the box right there. It was a little deformed in general, most likely because of Villin's previous spell, but there was no problem opening it.

Inside, Villin found a piece of paper. He took in a deep breath, excited in what he may find, and then opened it, quickly reading its contents.

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There you go, you found the beginning.

Harry you should find, for he has the answer.

I don't know who else it may be.

Ron seems possible, but he is untrustworthy as could be.

Dean, on the other hand, has never told a lie.

Farming lives, the opponents aren't kind.

Lovers get separated and children killed.

Over dinner, you should not talk about such horrors.

On the hour one dies, an exception is made.

Run now, for time is short.

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"DAMNIT!" Villin cursed before throwing the piece of paper on the ground. 

His excitement of finding another clue immediately disappeared when he realized that the text was one he had already read.

It wasn't the next step in the puzzle, it was just another starting point.

This did give a bit of information though. It seemed that some of the starting points were the same, but not all of them. If they were all the same, the group that held the penthouse would've also gotten this as the first section, which they didn't since they went to find a clue in a cafeteria shortly after the battle for the penthouse concluded.

Of course, it was possible that the box in the cafeteria held this very same letter but Villin didn't think so since getting the penthouse was already a serious first test.

"So what now" Villin thought as he opened the door and went out of the lane after taking the duplicate letter and box. Searching the entire floor would take very long, he couldn't help but think that there should be a different way.

At this very same time, a woman that had been using one of the other lanes, cautiously came out. Even though Villin was thinking deeply, he always paid attention to his surroundings and noticed the lady looking around cautiously while holding a crumpled-up piece of paper within one of her hands.

She noticed Villin but since he looked like he wasn't paying any attention to her, her gaze didn't linger and she quickly began moving through the floor.

It seemed that she also managed to get the clue from one of the scarecrows, whether she cheated like Villin or played fairly was unsure. What was noticeable though was that she was walking with a purpose. She didn't hesitate in her steps, only pausing to make sure nobody was paying attention to her.

This was curious to Villin, he didn't know how long she had been in the lane for but it seemed that she either might've figured something out or had teammates. If she worked with the penthouse, Villin would have to rethink his plan.

For now, though, he sneaked behind her room after room. She looked behind her multiple times but never caught the elusive Villin that always stayed one step behind.

After a while, Villin found out what her destination was, she had made her way to the library.

Once she arrived here, she finally paused to properly look around. She began looking through the rows of books that were there, seemingly skimming over the titles.

For now, Villin spectated and ten minutes later, it seemed that she might've found something. For the first time, she grabbed a book off of the shelf and looked at it. She then checked the piece of paper she still had, visibly sighed, and put the book back before returning to skimming the titles.

Curious, Villin waited until she moved to another aisle before she grabbed the book she was looking at earlier. It was titled 'Methods of Relativity'. Seeing the title, Villin wondered why the lady picked up this book, then he saw the author's name, 'Harrey Gold'.

Immediately, Villin knew what she figured out and he felt beyond stupid. She was most likely looking for three names. Harry, Ron, and Dean. The three names mentioned within the riddle. He had been stupid to think that all the text was just filler to hide the actual, extremely basic clue. There seemed to be more to it, he just hadn't thought of it.