Chapter 97
Enoch, unexpectedly, quietly assisted Asdal and helped me.
“So, this is what it means to have a lot of potential but no talent.”
After staring at me for a long time, Asdal sighed and very harshly and coldly assessed my power.
It was very embarrassing to hear such words from the person who had been stuck to me all day, explaining how to manipulate Mana. However, I didn't intend to show him that I could handle Mana well right away, so I remained silent.
“I’ve never done it before. I’ll get better with practice.”
Even at my answer, Asdal shook his head with a skeptical look.
“Well, what can we do? You’re the only one who can use Mana, Lady Flone. There’s no other way, so keep practicing.”
At Asdal's words, I nodded obediently.
That's how we continued to practice Mana manipulation until Luzef, who was sulking, came down from the second floor to prepare dinner.
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Several squirrels were caught in the traps I had set up, so we were able to have a decent dinner.
We sat huddled around the fireplace, tearing at the meat. Luzef, who was picking at his food as if he had no appetite, opened his mouth with a sigh.
“If someone intentionally trapped us on this island, there must be a purpose, right? But no matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out the reason.”
At Luzef's muttering, Asdal, who was elegantly tearing at the meat, nodded. He put down the meat, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief made from tearing his clothes, and then opened his mouth.
“Indeed, it almost feels like a prank by God.”
A prank, a prank by God…
Hearing those words, a memory hidden in the depths of my consciousness suddenly surfaced.
“Dice game…”
“What?”
I muttered in a very small voice, and Asdal, who heard it, asked back, and Enoch and Luzef looked at me.
However, I was in no state to care about such gazes. Suddenly, the meaning of the word Alea, which I had studied in physical education class, came to mind.
“Maybe…”
I was deep in thought for a while before raising my head.
“Alea might not be a person’s name, but the name of this island.”
“Alea is the name of this island?”
Asdal asked back at my words. I blankly raised my head and scanned the men looking at me.
“The word Alea means ‘dice game’ in a minority language of the Eastern Continent. A dice game is entirely governed by fate, regardless of my efforts… What does it mean that a word with such a meaning is engraved all over the island?”
I felt like a storm was raging in my head. I clutched my head. Luzef, who was quietly watching me, opened his mouth.
“So, what Lady Flone is saying is…”
“It seems we’re being experimented on. If Alea isn’t the name of this island, it could be the name of some experiment.”
This time, Asdal asked.
“Who dares to experiment on us?”
“I don’t know. I think we need to find out from now on. The other party is fluent not only in the common language of the Western Continent but also in the language of the Eastern Continent.”
To be exact, the common language of the Western Continent, Korean, and English. If there is a designer who designed this island, could it be that he knows both the languages of this world and the languages of that world?
“If it’s an experiment, there might be someone watching us inside the island.”
At Enoch's words, I nodded.
“That’s the most likely possibility.”
After my answer, silence flowed for quite a while. Everyone was silent with a face lost in thought.
They were clearly retracing their past memories, wondering if there was anyone who would want to make them experimental subjects.
I also recalled the original story, but since I hadn't read the novel to the end, I couldn't remember anything more.
Then, I shifted my thoughts to Margaret's Mana.
“Come to think of it, don’t we all have another thing in common?”
At my words, everyone’s gaze turned to me again. The three men looked at each other with faces that said they had no idea. I looked at them and said.
“We all have ‘tremendous’ power that is several times what ordinary people possess. That’s the common point.”
Not everyone is born with Mana or Divine power.
Only a very small number of people are born with Mana, and those gathered on this island were people with very powerful Mana and Divine power among them.
Kaiden goes without saying, and Enoch and Diego are among the few swordsmen who can use Sword Aura based on Mana.
Luzef was the youngest Archbishop with tremendous Divine power, and Yuanna was also a Divine power holder who appeared once in a hundred years.
Asdal's Mana possession is not widely known, but it was known to the Hestia Kingdom Academy colleagues, so Enoch in the original work mentioned it.
At first, I thought they were kidnapped because of their social status and position, but in fact, there was no benefit to gathering some high-ranking people on a deserted island.
Unless it was for the purpose of war.
This is because the kidnapped people were key figures from different institutions and different countries.
“If this island is an island for experiments, and the kidnapper brought us to this island for experimental purposes, then it seems more logical that it’s because of Mana.”
Enoch nodded in agreement with my words.
Of course, even if it was a kidnapping for experiments, it was highly likely that each country would not know the reason for our disappearance anyway.
If so, the latter would also provide a cause for a continental war to break out.
“But there’s another unresolved problem. What kind of experiment are they trying to do with our Mana, even at the risk of a continental war breaking out?”
Luzef pointed out the core issue.
While listening to his words, I suddenly thought.
Could the fact that there are modern items on this island and that the kidnapper can speak Korean and English be a clue? Could it be that the person who kidnapped us is from Earth?
If so, they don’t need to worry about a continental war or anything like that. Then, they wouldn’t bother with status or anything like that and would just kidnap the people with the strongest Mana.
But this kind of reasoning was also something I couldn’t share with them, so I closed my mouth with a frustrated heart.
If I were to tell them this fact, I needed to have solid evidence that I could convince myself of.
If I mentioned it with poorly understood information, even the trust I had barely built could collapse.
“If our common point is ‘powerful’ Mana, then another question arises. Why is the kidnapper gathering those with powerful Mana and then preventing them from using that Mana on the island, and why is only Lady Flone able to use Mana?”
This time, Luzef pointed out the most important part again.
“The way I see it, leaving Margaret's Mana intact might have been a mistake by the Experimenter. And sealing the Mana feels like they’re experimenting with our limitations in a state without Mana.”
Enoch said with an annoyed sigh. His words also sounded quite plausible.
“Experimenting with the limitations of a state without Mana, that’s plausible? In fact, it’s very difficult for the subject to accurately grasp the Experimenter’s purpose.”
Asdal, who was sitting with his arms crossed and leaning back, agreed with Enoch’s words and added.
I watched them speculate and then opened my mouth.
“Then, it might be good to look for common points in the things that have the word ‘Alea’ engraved on them.”
Seeing question marks appear on the faces of the three men looking at me, I took out the Flares. And I pointed to the word Alea engraved on the side of the Flares.
“It seems like the word Alea is engraved on things that the Experimenter has touched.”
At my words, everyone looked at the word Alea engraved on the Flares and was lost in thought.
“Come to think of it, Lord said that the word Alea was also engraved on the bodies of the Monster.”
At Enoch’s words, Asdal frowned.
“So, the Experimenter is also controlling the Monster?”
“Ah, there was also this word on the window in the corridor on the second floor.”
Luzef, who had been listening to the conversation quietly, added.
Only then did I remember that Luzef, who had been sulking earlier, had gone up to the second floor. It seems that he found the word then.
If so, this cabin was also touched by the Experimenter.
“If the word is engraved on things that the Experimenter has touched, then such things might continue to appear in the future, not just in the past.”
“For now, there’s nothing we can do but watch.”
Enoch answered at my words. I nodded. Then, everyone sighed at the same time.
“It would be good to hear information about the Key when the scouting party returns and come up with a plan.”
Anyway, Yuanna and the others need to come back quickly to come up with a proper plan.
As the long meeting came to an end, everyone looked at me. They were all looking at me with meaningful eyes at the same time, which was even embarrassing.
“Why?”
“I think I know why Banhwang tried to put Lady Flone on the scouting party.”
At Asdal’s muttering, Enoch and Luzef nodded repeatedly with proud faces.
Ah, that’s what it meant? How anticlimactic. I smiled, pushing the hair that had fallen to my chest behind my shoulders.
“I’m pretty good at grasping the situation and I’m decisive.”
When I readily admitted it and showed it off, Asdal shook his head as if he was disappointed, and Enoch and Luzef avoided my gaze for a moment.
What, these days, a proactive person is more popular than someone who pretends to be humble.