210 The Puzzle and The Missing Piece (1/2)
'Arden Gilardi?!' Leon was completely surprised by the name left on the stone tablet.
'How was that possible? Is this the same Arden from the diary, the one who couldn't cultivate due to his special constitution? How on earth did he survive the fall?'
Leon was filled with doubts regarding Arden's survival. Furthermore, his inheritance was found in such a shabby location. But upon further thought, it made some sense for the inheritance to be found in such an odd location.
Even if Arden did manage to survive the fall, unless he managed to find a way to cultivate and cultivate great success at that, he would still not live much longer after. The tree wouldn't have been as big as it was now as it was at the time the inheritance was built. The tree's growth must have been what caused the inheritance building to flip. Still, who would even build their inheritance in a tree?
Through the texts on the ancient stone tablet, Leon could guess that Arden had been a proud person. Perhaps, he was unwilling to let his lifelong accumulation of knowledge to die along with him, thus built the inheritance building in a place easy to find. But not just anyone can inherit his knowledge, thus the need for a test.
However, if Arden's inheritance truly lied on the other side of this sealed entrance, Leon had to get his hands on it at all costs. He couldn't imagine just how far the runic knowledge contained within would aid the advancement of the kingdom.
”What do you think, child? Think you can solve the puzzle the great ancestor left behind?” Elder Evergreen asked casually, seeing Leon lost in thought while staring down at the ancient stone tablet.
Leon did not reply immediately, but the elder was very patient. Elder Evergreen poured himself a cup of tea with the teapot he brought along and quietly observed Leon.
Although he doesn't believe Leon could solve the puzzle, he had a slight expectation that the boy could discover something that they haven't already discovered.
This expectation stems from the fact the elder saw the boy as someone extraordinary. Even among awakeners of their time, it was rare for a dual-element user to appear. This wasn't because it was difficult to become a dual-element user. It was simply because it was easier to master one element than to be a jack of all trades and a master of none.
Every person who had ever decided to cultivate dual elements usually fall into two categories. They were either an ambitious genius or a great fool. From their short exchange, the boy didn't give him the impression of a fool. Although the boy's cultivation was a little low, he was quite promising.
However, if Elder Evergreen was to learn that Leon wasn't just a dual-element user but a penta-element user, he would be utterly appalled.
”Where's the puzzle?” Leon finally said.
Looking at the seal entrance, it does stand out differently from the rest of the building with its special engraving and runic lines congregating towards a single point. It was thick and stacked upon layers of other engravings and runes, making it appear like a super lock. However, Leon didn't follow the same assumption and thought differently.
Having read Arden's diary of a lifetime, he could roughly guess the mentality of Arden Gilardi. The genius artificer of an era wouldn't make the puzzle painfully obvious yet set such a high bar for runic understanding that no one would be able to understand it. At least, it shouldn't be that simple.
When it comes to a master selecting their disciples, they don't look at their current achievements, but their character and talents. If the disciple's current achievement was already equal to or greater than the master, even if the master had the audacity, the disciple wouldn't be willing to acknowledge such a master with inferior skills.
Through the same thought process, Leon believes the hidden puzzle in the inheritance building is Arden's way of selecting his successor.
Leon sent out his divine sense and attempted to peer through the walls of the inheritance building. However, the moment his divine sense came in contact with the walls, it was bounced back.
'This inheritance is foolproof and had no loopholes. It's not going to be that easy to claim, huh.' Leon smiled wryly as he thought. Since his divine sense couldn't enter the inheritance building, he wrapped it around the building instead to study the exterior.
The runes on the seal entrances were too clustered and overly complicated for Leon to comprehend with his rudimentary level of understanding. However, the runes on each side of the building were much simpler. He was able to understand a few runes.
The walls were filled with an array of messy connector rune plates and chaotic rune plates that linked together like a single entity but also seemed out of place.
The connector runes allowed the free flow of energy, while the chaotic runes cause two opposing flow of energies to clash with each other. This reaction would then trigger the runic plates to shift like gears.