A Contest Of Wits (Physical)

I was conquering a dungeon in Fotiatuyah, together with my attendant Cherge.

After passing through a pitfall trap, we came to a place unlike any we had seen so far.

“This doesn’t really look like the inside of a volcano.”

“It appears to have the structure of an underground tomb, report.”

Bricks made from hardened sand were stacked up to form this room.

And then… the exit was blocked by a strange ornament.

That absurdly large object was…

“What’s that? A cat?”

“It has a human face, so perhaps a human-faced cat.”

‘You fools, how dare youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!’

““I-It taaaalked!””

The human-faced cat ornament raised its voice at us.

“Wait, what is this, it talks? Gross…”

“Master, that was too direct. You should say it is physiologically intolerable, report.”

‘That means the same thing, you idiots!’

The cat glared at us.

‘I am the Sphinx! The gatekeeper of wisdom who guards this great labyrinth!’

“Oho, a Sphinx. If you’re a gatekeeper, that means treasure is sleeping beyond there, right?!”

‘Just as you say… but I will not let you pass for free. The trial I present…’

“There.”

I threw an Explosion Potion.

BGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

“Did we get it?!”

“What was that?”

“It is a standard line, report.”

“I have no idea what that means…”

As the billowing blast smoke cleared, the unscathed Sphinx was still there.

“Oh my, to think even an Explosion Potion wouldn’t work.”

“It seems a magic-nullifying barrier has been deployed.”

“I see, so that’s why magic potions didn’t work.”

What a pain.

‘You there! I was still in the middle of speaking!’

“Huh? Wasn’t this the point where the battle starts?”

‘It was not! Did I not say I was the gatekeeper of wisdom? Then there is only one means of contest! Namely…’

“Cherge, snipe it.”

“Understood, report.”

Taking out a Mana Machine Gun from storage, Cherge opened fire on the Sphinx.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!!!!!

“Master, the standard line, report.”

“Huh, what was it again… oh right, did we get it?”

‘Yooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!’

Even after taking a rain of bullets, the Sphinx was unharmed.

Well now…

“It seems it can also deploy a physical-nullifying barrier, report.”

“A foe that nullifies both magic and physical attacks is pretty troublesome.”

It looked like it would take time to break through. Ugh, what a drag.

I hate troublesome things.

‘For the moment, listen to what I have to say!!!’

“Ehh. Fine, I guess. I’ll listen, so go ahead and talk.”

‘How arrogant… no matter. If you wish to surpass this gatekeeper of wisdom, you must compete with me in a contest of wits and win!’

“A contest of wits?”

What was that supposed to be?

Were we going to have some sort of math battle?

“We’ve got a robo-maid equipped with high-spec computational functions on our side, so I don’t feel like we can lose in a contest of wits.”

“Master. Please stop.”

“Oh? Did that bother you?”

“That is not it. I am embarrassed, report.”

“That again? You weren’t equipped with emotional expression functions, were you?”

Cherge silently fired a bullet at me.

Why though.

Well, even if it hit me, it would not work on me while I was in invincible mode from enhancement potions.

‘A contest of wits means answering the riddle I present.’

“A riddle… like the kind children do? Like, what kind of pan is a pan you can’t eat?”

‘Precisely! However, the riddle I present is not child’s play, but a genuine riddle! If your answer is wrong, death shall await you!’

“Hm, whatever. Just give it already.”

Right now, I was in the mood where I desperately wanted to get soft stones as fast as possible.

‘Then the question! What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at night?!’

“Hm. Cherge, what’s the answer?”

Time for the high-spec computer to do its thing.

Cherge closed her eyes, then opened them again.

“Search of all books in the present world complete. The answer to the relevant question is… nonexistent.”

“Exactly! There’s no way a gross creature like that exists!”

“At the very least, it is not a life-form that exists in this world, report.”

‘W-Wrong answeeeeer!!!!!’

Whaaaat?

Wrong answer?!

‘This is a riddle. It is not about an actual creature, but something that fits the question…’

“Shut up! I’m telling you it doesn’t exist! Eat this!”

I threw a potion bottle.

It struck the Sphinx on the head, shattered with a crack, and spilled its contents.

‘Hmph… futile struggling. My barrier is absolutely unbreakable…’

“Cherge, fire.”

“YES, ma’am.”

With the Mana Machine Gun, she shot straight through the Sphinx’s body.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!!!!

‘Bweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeegh!’

The bullets met no resistance at all and riddled the enemy’s body with holes.

‘Th-That cannot be!? My physical barrier did not activate!? Why!?’

“It’s simple. Because your barrier only works in one mode at a time.”

That thing could use a magic-nullifying barrier and a physical-nullifying barrier.

But being able to use them did not mean it could use both at once.

“In other words, while you’re nullifying magic, you can’t nullify physical attacks. What I threw was dissolving solution. It’s the base magical liquid used when making potions. This too has magic bestowed on it that dissolves things. It is continuously bestowed. So what does that mean?”

“While it is nullifying Master’s magic, it cannot nullify my physical attack.”

“That’s how it is.”

“I see. As expected of Master. Cunningly clever, report.”

“Don’t add the extra part. I’m just clever, right?”

We looked down at the Sphinx collapsed on the floor and riddled with holes.

It seemed it could no longer deploy either its physical barrier or its magic barrier.

Not after its whole body had been turned into swiss cheese like this.

‘Even though I said it was a contest of wits! You barbarians who do not follow the rules!’

“My, how rude. Oh, right. Then since it’s a contest of wits, I’ll give you a riddle too. If you answer it, I’ll repair you.”

‘Hmph! Fool. There is no way I would lose in a contest of wits!’

“Oh, yeah? Then here’s the question.”

I posed a riddle to the Sphinx.

“Question. What can be cut down and killed, yet you will never be charged with a crime for it?”

‘Fuhahaha! That is easy! The answer is breath!’

“Bzzzt. Wrong answer. The correct answer is… Cherge.”

The robo-maid took a Magic Chainsaw out of storage.

VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

“The correct answer is, an obstacle blocking Master’s path, report.”

‘That is not a riddleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!’

Cherge hacked the Sphinx to pieces with the Magic Chainsaw.

“This is the finishing blow!”

I hurled an Explosion Potion.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

““Total victory!””

Now then, since we blew that obstacle to smithereens, let’s hurry on ahead!