Chapter 643 - Perfect Solution (Part 1) (2/2)

”Maybe if you tell us what you know about the Odi, we could better understand their way of thinking.”

”First of all, they were conceited, self-centered bastards.” Quylla said with a voice full of spite.

”Their laws allowed them to have slaves, as long as they weren't Odi, and they treated the other races worse than their cattle. The Odi would use their slaves as guinea pigs, infecting them on purpose with the illnesses they had yet to cure.

”When healing magic wasn't enough, they would resort to Body Sculpting, permanently altering their subjects' physiology in the attempt to make them immune to congenital diseases.

”Once they achieved perfect health, they moved on altering their appearance so that every member of their race would be born with what they considered to be perfect proportions.

”For decades they attained countless feats, uncaring for their cost since they weren't the ones paying for it. Then, they tried to defeat aging and failed.

”You know the rest. They were obsessed with the search for perfection in every aspect of their life. I mean, look at the arrays.” The word was enough to make Lith's head throb.

”The spacing between the runes, the way they overlap with each other, and the door at the same time. It's a seamless formation with no weak points.”

Lith reviewed his notes inside Soluspedia, comparing them with Quylla's words.

”It's indeed an amazing piece of work.” He said, his eyes fixated in a blank spot as he examined the runes one by one and forced himself not to puke.

”Even if there are five arrays covering the door, the resulting structure resembles that of a musical score. Each rune is perfectly placed, one flows into another and is reinforced by the other runes surrounding it as it in turn reinforces them.”

”Yeah, it's almost like… That's it! I think I know how to open that door!” Quylla stood up abruptly, flipping her plate. Only a well-timed use of spirit magic saved the innocent food.

She dragged Phloria and Lith to Professor Gaakhu's campfire to share her success with them. Gaakhu was the head of the expedition, her permission was required before making an attempt at opening the barrier.

”We got it all wrong, Professor. There aren't five arrays, just one and I know how to open it.” Quylla said.

”Nonsense, Mage Ernas. Any of us, you included, can detect five different structures and their unique power nodes. We have even identified the purpose of each one of them…”

”No, that's where you are wrong. You have identified the purpose they have when you take them separately and that's why there's no solution. Please humor me. What happens if you consider them as a single array? What becomes of their runes?”

Professor Gaakhu sighed, using water magic to write down the information about the different arrays on a single page.

'I can't just say no to Mage Ernas. At least she has shown initiative and confidence. The morale is already bad as it is. Trying and failing is better than letting yourself fall into despair.' She thought.

At least until the entire picture appeared in front of her eyes.

”This is amazing! The five arrays actually do combine into a single one with its own purpose.” She blurted out as her colleagues started to huddle up behind her back, looking at the piece of paper in her hands.