#926 S-Rank Promotion Prelim Exams - Pyramid Arc

Ah, this is bad.

The S-rank adventurer promotion exam is underway at the farm today.

Having visited two out of the three main sites, here are my thoughts:

Bad.

Like, it isn’t even in the ballpark of what an exam should be.

All that’s happening is adventurers getting tossed about by the sheer madness of each dungeon.

Brutal, I say.

Because stationed in those two dungeons are Sensei and Veil.

They’re the World’s Two Greatest Calamities, and diving into their lairs is pretty much synonymous with a death wish.

Anyway, the two dungeons I’ve checked out so far were a complete mess.

I was about to head home and maybe start dinner, but then I remembered there was one more dungeon I hadn’t seen yet.

But wait.

I have zero recollection of this dungeon.

It is on the farm, right?

But all I know around here are Sensei and Veil’s domains, which have been around forever.

Yet they’re telling me there’s a third one?

Is my memory playing tricks on me?

To shake off this unpleasant feeling, there’s no choice but to check it out myself.

What on earth could this third dungeon on the farm be?

Upon arriving, it all became clear.

There it was... a pyramid.

“Ah, that...!”

The moment I saw it, it all came flooding back.

Pyramids. Right.

When you think of Egypt, pyramids are practically all that comes to mind.

But why is there a pyramid, typically found only in Egypt—though I’ve heard rumors of their existence in Central America too— doing here on a farm?

Turns out it was used for the graduation exam of the very first batch of exchange students.

They used the pyramid as the test venue.

It was built specifically for that purpose.

With its perfect power, this pyramid opened doors to various worlds, bringing deities from different realms to test the farm students' hearts, minds, and bodies.

...Ah, those were the days.

Even after the exams, the pyramid wasn’t demolished but preserved.

They said it’s going to be my tomb in the future. What, am I a pharaoh now?

But the pyramid’s power didn’t stop there. It erupted, transforming the realm.

The space warped, and just like that, the third dungeon on the farm was born.

Oh, I completely forgot.

I remember now that Silver Wolf ventured into the dungeon-turned-pyramid.

He was utterly thrilled by the adventure.

So, I should’ve known about it.

Yet, I forgot.

This is not a good sign. Memory lapses are signs of aging. I need to keep my brain active and maintain my youth.

However, isn’t this pyramid supposed to be the easiest, sort of a beginner’s course?

Compared to the other two dungeons, the absence of a guardian here is a huge factor.

A dungeon’s difficulty pretty much doubles with a guardian in it.

No dungeon guardian = easy mode.

That’s a fair assumption, right?

“Ha-ha-ha! Thinking it’s easy would be a mistake, Lord Saint!”

Was that Silver Wolf?!

The cause of all this?

“This pyramid, normally without a guardian, is indeed part of today’s S-rank promotion exam. But a temporary one has been invited just for today. It’s all thanks to Sensei’s cooperation!”

With Sensei the Lifeless King around, most absurdities become reality.

Can we not have such extravagant generosity?!

“A temporary guardian... who might that be?”

“Among the deities who once presented trials here, it seems a person with time on their hands has decided to grace us with their presence... What was their name again?”

Not a person but a deity.

Please, let it be someone tame!!!

Let’s avoid summoning someone whose mere presence could alter the fabric of reality!!!

***

“I am Yamantaka.”

“I am Tailokyavijaya.”

“I am Kundali.”

“I am Vajrayaksa.”

“I am Acala.”

“TOGETHER, WE ARE THE FIVE GREAT WISDOM KINGS.”

...

I have a feeling we’re in for something intense.

It’s suffocatingly hot in here, with each bearing flames on their back and visages of rage that could send demons and devils running barefoot.

The mere presence of one such deity is overwhelming, let alone five, all gathered inside the pyramid.

Their aura alone seems to threaten the structural integrity of the place.

Naturally, adventurers daring enough to enter are blown away, their skills and experience irrelevant, their souls nearly extinguished.

To face the highest-ranking and most fiercely enlightening incarnations of Buddhahood, one would expect nothing less.

But why are all five showing up together?!

Isn’t this overkill?!

“...Ah, once again summoned to this land by the ties that bind us. Well, we happened to be free anyway.”

Free, you say?!

“Those of us who transcend time are generally always free. There are even those among us who, like the Thousand-Armed Kannon or the Eleven-Faced Kannon, have physically multiplied their manpower. So, I thought, why not rally the troops and all head down together?”

You make it sound like you’re going karaoke!

How blasphemous! The notion of the Five Great Wisdom Kings descending for a mere mortal organization’s test!

In another era, such power could have reshaped worlds!!!

Look, the adventurers who dared to enter the pyramid are scattering in terror at the mere sight! Their will to fight has completely evaporated!

“Me, who faced dragons without flinching...!”

“My body won’t move...! My heart is in turmoil...!”

“I’m converting and taking refuge in the monastic life...!”

They’re converting adventurers just with their aura!

Stop this madness!

“Yet this space, it does invigorate us so by simply being here. I wonder why?”

“It must be because this pyramid structure absorbs and refines mana greatly. They call it pyramid power.”

“With us, the Five Great Wisdom Kings gathered, the refinement and elevation of mana accelerates.”

“Buddhas, when gathered in sufficient numbers, can form a universe.”

“That’s the Mandala. In other words, the Pyramid King Mandala...!”

What are they talking about?!

We’re done for. A new universe is forming before us. This goes way beyond any S-rank exam already!

Someone, stop them!

But is there anybody who can halt the Buddhas in this world?!

“Wait a minute, pweaseee!”

There is!

Who’s there?!

“How dare you do as you pwease on our turfff!”

“You do reawize this is our territoryyy!”

“The Stwiped Squad has awwiveddd!”

Those adorably drawn-out voices...!

Earth spirits?!

Spirits shaped like cute girls are reprimanding the fearsome Kings.

“If you start forming a universe here, it’s going to cause massive twoubleee!”

“Big Bang style, evewything go boom!”

“Pwease behave yourselvesss!”

And with a righteous punch, they admonish them.

“Indeed... We may have been rash...”

“On our turf, you follow our wules—that’s the way of honorrr!!!”

Thank goodness.

It seems the birth of a new universe has been averted, thanks to the earth spirits.

They were the true guardians of the pyramid all along. Come to think of it, they once holed up in the pyramid playing revolution.

With the earth spirits subduing the Five Great Wisdom Kings, the pyramid’s defensive system is now complete.

Now, adventurers seeking S-rank status must overcome this formidable challenge.

“We are the twue guardians of the dungeonnn!”

“Your mastersss!”

“The gweat kings, now our servants, shall be your opponentsss!!!!”

Somehow, this feels like a cosmic faux pas.

“The kings’ sword wooks so cooool!”

“This? It’s called the Kulika, crafted to slay the three poisons that infest humanity—desire, antipathy, and folly—to save them from delusion...”

“I wanna touch the cowww!”

“Stroke under its chin; it enjoys that.”

“What are you stepping on, uncle?”

“Shiva and Parvati.”

The scene shifts to the earth spirits and kings frolicking, forgetting all about the adventurers.

Unable to simply barge in, time ticks by as they watch this spectacle.

In the end, not a single adventurer managed to conquer the pyramid.