Magus Tech - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Riddle of Sphinx

He walked toward the study room connected to the bedroom. Five, maybe six, towering bookshelves stood against the wall, each decorated with stacks of books and scrolls.

With his narrowed eyes, Richard went to one bookshelf, stepped on the wooden ladder, and reached for the top. He pushed away a large number of books and scrolls and touched a cold black iron box that was about 30 centimeters long, over 30 centimeters wide, and 5 or 6 centimeters high. Its surface was engraved with tedious lines that exuded a wisp of mystery.

With a little effort, Richard grabbed the black iron box out of the bookshelf, stepped down on the wooden ladder, and placed it on a wooden table.

Richard touched the surface of the black iron box. It was cold. His eyes soon fell on the surface’s depression with twinkling eyes. The depression, combined with the metal lines looked like a cracked mouth. From a different angle, he could see lines of small words too small for the naked eye to see. But upon closer inspection, it said, “Wake me with magic and the truth of the world shall be revealed.”

It was a wizard book inside, Richard concluded.

He managed to find this black iron box in the deepest part of the royal library. Even the elderly librarian was unaware of what was inside and only knew that it was full of evil forces and vicious curses. If it was in contact with light, it would fall to sudden death.

Richard did not believe in the so-called curses and evil forces. In his view, it was nothing more than a volatile substance deemed toxic to the human body. So long as one pays attention to the circulation of the air can one avoid complete chronic poisoning.

But it was not easy to unravel the secrets of the book. Because of the exterior iron box’s outer shell, a special lock of some kind, Richard found it difficult to destroy. If he were to forcefully pry it open, there was a good chance of damaging the contents inside. So Richard thought he would need to find other methods to reduce the probability of any damage thus why he had gone on a rampage to search for wizards, magical creatures, and of those related to the supernatural.

And so at last, his mission was complete!

Richard took a deep breath, tilted his head, and looked at the golden liquid resting on the side of the table. “Right or wrong, the answer will soon be revealed,” He whispered. 

Richard picked up the bottle containing the golden liquid and twist the plug open and slowly poured it down onto the black iron box’s surface depression. 

Before long, the surface depression was filled. The sound “chunk” cried out, causing a chain reaction. The liquid on the surface depression quickly boiled and large numbers of bubbles fizzled. 

The iron shell began to vibrate.

“Pop! Bang! Pop!”

There seemed to be a trigger to its limits for the black iron box swallowed a mouthful of the golden liquid in one gulp. Soon, the vibration of the shell intensified, like a trembling human. Its vibrations quickly spread through the table. Richard had no choice but to hold it down. In the end, there was a “click” and the iron shell opened, revealing a wizardry book inside.

He gently took the book out of the box and placed it carefully on the table. He heard sounds like “who?”, “yes?”, what?” echoing from the book. 

“Hmm?” Richard cocked his brows and opened the book.

The first page was empty with only an acutely creepy skull painted in the middle. There was a blazing flame in the skull’s eyes, and as if true, Richard felt the temperature of the room rise, unsure if it was an illusion.

“Interesting…” 

The next moment, Richard bore witness to a shocking occurrence. The painted skull moved, its jaws opening. It coldly said, “Who is it? Who woke me up? Is it to peep at Master Munro’s treasure of knowledge? Answer me, or face harsh punishment!”

Many would be terrified to death upon seeing this sight, but it was not so for Richard. His eyes squinted, largely interested at the moving skull. “Who are you?” Asked Richard.

“I am the spirit of the book created by Master Munro. I must protect the book from dangers and screen any qualified readers.”

“What can you do?”

“Verification. Those able to read this book is smart enough. If not, he’ll pay the price for his own recklessness and ignorance!”

“At what cost?”

“Death!” The spirit of the book’s voice was deathly cold.

Richard smiled. “Oh? Interesting. How do you verify the smart, qualified readers?”

“A question. If he can answer my question correctly, he has proven himself smart and capable. He can read the book without fear of punishment.”

“So…” Richard’s eyes flashed. “What’s the question?”

“Are you sure you want to peek inside the knowledge of the book?” The spirit said with dignity.

“I’m willing to give it a try,” Richard said, “Whether a success or a failure, I’d still study the mechanisms of your creation.”

“……” The spirit of the book was silent for a moment, thinking about Richard’s words. Then he said in a half-loud voice, “Well, since you want to take the challenge, then solve this riddle: Four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon…

Richard was stunned. Was this not the Sphinx Mystery riddle from Greek Mythology? In the myth, the creature, Sphinx, sat on a cliff near the city of Thebes, stopping any passerby and asking them the same riddle. All failed, unable to guess the correct answer and were mercilessly eaten. Then, a man named Oedipus Rex guessed the right answer. Ashamed, Sphinx jumped off the cliff and died.

Richard cut in and did not wait for the book to finish. “Don’t tell me you’ll say, “What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, three legs in the evening, and no legs at night?” then proceed to ask me, “What is this creature?”

The voice of the spirit came to an abrupt end and fell into a deep silence for the first time.

Richard spoke again and said, “Well, if that is the case, the answer to the riddle is man because as a baby, they walk on all four limbs (morning) which he does so well ‘till he reaches adulthood (afternoon). Then, old age (evening) requires him to support himself with a cane, until finally, he dies (night). Simply put, man walks on four legs as a newborn, two in adulthood, three on crutches, and none in death.

“But is it really necessary to judge whether one is smart or not through riddles? Or is it that what you say is smart, and what I think of as smart is not the same? You prefer wit and I prefer wisdom.”