Elven Domination: Reincarnated with a Cloning System-Chapter 40: Solving the Riddle
Chapter 40: Solving the Riddle
Chapter 40: Solving the Riddle
The red transparent screen appeared in front of Arthur’s eyes.
[Name: Arthur]
[Age: 17]
[Race: Lower Human???]
[Class: None]
[Title: Owner of Ethelarion Replisis]
[#Authority: I am the shadow that walks with you,
Not quite the same, but near and true.
Half the strength but all your face,
Absorb me to reclaim your grace.]
[Talent: None]
[Bloodline: None]
[Physique: None]
[Skills: (Pain Tolerance (Rank 3) – Common | Passive), (Indomitable Spirit (Rank 4) – Rare | Passive)]
[Strength: 3(+3)]
[Agility: 2(+2)]
[Stamina: 4 (+4)]
[Mana: 1]
[Vitality: 3(+3)]
[Intelligence: 4(+8)]
[Defense: 3 (+3)]
Arthur, before trying to decipher the riddle, first chose to check his stats, and seeing they were the same, he didn’t feel dejected, as he hadn’t imagined them to increase only after one day of training.
Now then, he finally focused on the riddle, which he had even forgotten he hadn’t read with much interest the last time.
’Authority... from what I know from playing games, authority should be a level above everything like talent, bloodline, race, skill, and spell... or I must be wrong. But that is what I can think of.’
’I am the shadow that walks with you.’
’Not quite the same, but near and true.’
’In the first line, ’I am the shadow that walks with you’...’
He looked at his shadow for a minute, trying to see if there was any difference in it.
"..."
’It all started with a green, ancient-looking gemstone. After I swallowed it, I got the system—or that’s what I would call it.’
’The time Ivy used her mana to scan my body, she wasn’t able to detect the stone at all, and I also remember reading a message earlier that the Ethelarion Replisis is completely bound to my soul, which could be the reason she can’t detect it.’
’Does ’I am the shadow that walks with you’ refer to the ancient treasure merging with my soul, or is it something else?’
Arthur’s head hurt thinking about it.
’Fucking hell, this shit is so confusing!’
’Argh! I have to do this if I want to become stronger.’
Taking a few deep breaths, with new determination, Arthur once again started to solve the riddle.
’Let’s just continue and see what I can find.’
He read the last three lines in his mind.
’Not quite the same, but near and true.’
’Half the strength but all your face.’
’Absorb me to reclaim your grace.’
After reading the whole thing with a clear mind, it didn’t seem like it was a hard riddle.
’I can already think of a few things.’
’I had first thought the shadow was referring to a literal shadow, but after reading the whole riddle, there’s a thing that perfectly fits the description.’
’Shadow, near and true, half the strength, all your face, absorb me...’
’It’s a clone, isn’t it? There is nothing else I can think of that fits better than a clone.’
’Does that mean the Authority would give me the power to create a clone? But the question is, how?’
Arthur decided to read the riddle once again, but this time he kept the word clone in his mind and tried to decipher more by linking it to the rest of the riddle.
’Am I a genius, or does this riddle seem too easy?’
It’s definitely the latter case, because Arthur knew that even when playing games, if a puzzle came his way, without even trying to solve it, he would watch a walkthrough video online. He was sure he wasn’t good at this.
’I feel lucky for the first time in my life.’
But he didn’t celebrate too early and decided to hold it off until he completely solved the riddle.
’I am the shadow that walks with you,
Not quite the same, but near and true.
Half the strength but all your face,
Absorb me to reclaim your grace.’
’If I think of it as talking about a clone, what could I get?’
’In the first line, ’a shadow that walks with me must be referring to the clone. On the second line, a clone that is not the same must mean that it’s not a clone of myself, especially when I look at the fourth line, which refers to absorbing the clone—this confirms that it’s definitely not my own clone.’
’I am weak either way. What difference would it make if I absorbed a clone of my weak self?’
’And on the third line, it says that the clone it would make would have half the strength of the person I am making the clone of.’
Arthur felt very satisfied with the information he had gotten after linking the riddle to the word clone. He was 95% sure he was correct, as the riddle was definitely very easy.
’So I would have the power to make a clone, which could have half the strength of the person I’m making the clone of, and if I absorb the clone, I would be able to become powerful.’
But there was one thing that bothered him the most.
’I think I’ve solved the riddle, but even in the riddle, it doesn’t say anything about how I should be able to make the clone.’
A terrifying possibility entered his mind.
’What if I did solve the riddle, but I was never able to figure out whom to make a clone of and become powerful using it?’
The thought did terrify him, but Arthur didn’t let it get to his head. He had already solved the riddle, according to him, and it took about 15 minutes, so he thought optimistically.
’Surely I would be able to figure out how to make the clone in a week.’
’Yes, I would. I just have to try everything I can think of.’
Just now, suddenly, out of nowhere, a message in the form of a red transparent screen appeared in front of him, which made him jump in excitement.
You have unraveled the riddle woven by the Ethelarion Replisis for mere sport. Now, you stand but a single step away from attaining one of the most formidable authorities in the cosmos.
[The Authority of Transcendent Genesis is yours to claim.]
