Day 561-570/Day 569

Day 569 / 99th day 
　Just after entering the shaft tower, a white figure falls in front of me and lies on the floor in a large figure.
　This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing.
　In any case, the weight of the white figure, which seemed to be a bull-headed demon, was enough to match its huge frame, and the speed at which it fell may have added to it.
　Normally, it would not have been surprising if he had died instantly.
　Even the sturdiest of ox-headed demons would have exceeded the limits of what they could withstand.
　But the white shadowy bull-headed demon stood up a little while later, shook his head a few times to shake off the vertigo, turned back to me, and quietly disappeared.
　As if it was an illusion, it seemed to melt into space.
　I couldn't help but gawk at the sight.
　The way it appeared was shocking, but the way it left was also shocking.
　I just waited for a moment, and then the white shadow of the bull-headed demon fell again.
　As if it was replaying an event that had happened in the past, it kept falling and disappearing while I observed it for a while.
　At first, I was surprised, but when I examined it using the 【Knowledgeable Person's Simple Appraisal Glasses】, I found out that this white shadow was a vision of our predecessors from the past - 【】.
【Shadow of time】 is a peculiar phenomenon that occurs only inside this shaft tower- 【Shadow of time】 even in "Time History City Historia".
　This is because "Time History City Historia" is a realm created by the 【God of History】, and the histories of many challengers to the past are recorded here.
　It seems that some of the shadows of time are generated as an existence that can be observed even by those of us who exist in the present, and some of them are repeatedly replayed.
　I can't interfere with the shadow of time.
　I can only watch them, but each of their actions is a hint for us to attack the Shadow of Time Tower.
　There is a staircase that leads to the upper floor where a certain 【Shadow of time】 has advanced, a hidden room where treasures lie hidden, and traps that catch you off guard and try to kill you.
　There was also important information such as battles with the dungeon monsters that appeared, their weak points, and how to attack them.
　Now, there are three main types of these useful 【Shadow of time】.
　One is the white shadow that greeted us with a powerful fall.
　This seems to be the shadow of the last person who challenged it, and it seems to have passed by a few minutes ago, or maybe even a few years ago.
　It is possible that some of them are currently attacking, just because the time of the entrance/exit they entered is not the same.
　I've encountered them the least often, and except for the first white shadow, I've only seen a few.
　Next is the gray shadow.
　These seem to be shadows from a decade or so ago to a hundred or so years ago, and are encountered somewhat frequently.
　Personally, I have a strong impression that they are finding hidden doors and the like.
　Among these shadows, there seemed to be one that resembled the old hunter I had met before I came here.
　 　Finally, a black shadow.
　This was an old shadow that could not be classified as either white or gray, and I encountered it most often.
　I had a strong impression that the black shadows were caught in traps that would kill them instantly, and I couldn't help but think that it must have been difficult for them because they didn't have enough information to attack.
　I traced behind these grateful predecessors and moved forward.
　The Shadow Tower of Time has a tower-shaped structure.
　In order to proceed to the upper floors, we had to climb the stairs and move on.
　It would have been better if we could have flown through the atrium in the center of the tower, but when we threw a stone from the bottom to the top, the speed of the stone dropped visibly after it had risen above a certain level, and it continued to fly at a slow speed.
　Perhaps it was a trap that prevented me from proceeding illegally.
　Perhaps it's a trap to slow down the passage of time or something.
　Apparently, it's okay to fall from above, but not to rise from below.
　I was a little disappointed about that, but we kept climbing up.
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PLACE TRANSLATIONS ABOVE THE BAR. THESE ARE THE RAWS, LEAVE THEM HERE. CLICK EXPAND TO VIEW THEM.
 
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“九十九日目　／　五■六■九目”
　軸塔に入った直後に眼前に落下し、大の字で床に横たわる白い人影。
　頭部が牛頭という特徴的なモノから、恐らくはだとは思うが詳しくはないのでハッキリとはしない。
　ともかく、牛頭鬼らしき白い人影は巨躯に見合うだけの重量とそこに落下速度も加わったからか、硬い筈の地面は十数センチも陥没し、無数に罅割れ、その衝撃の凄まじさを物語る。
　普通なら即死していても可笑しくはないだろう。
　例え頑丈な牛頭鬼にしても耐えられる限界を超えている筈だ。
　しかし白い影の牛頭鬼は少ししてからムクリと立ち上がり、眩暈を振り払うように何度か頭を振り、俺の方を振り向き――静かに消えた。
　まるで幻だったように、フワリと空間に溶けるような消え方だった。
　その光景に思わず目を見張る。
　登場の仕方も衝撃的だったが、退場の仕方もまた衝撃的だった。
　ただ少し待つと、白い影の牛頭鬼は再び落下してきた。
　まるで過去に起こった出来事を繰り返し再生するように、しばらく観察している間もずっと落下しては消えてを繰り返す。
　最初は驚いたが、【知識者の簡易鑑定眼鏡】を使って調べると、この白い影は過去の先人達の幻影――【】だという事が分かった。
　【時刻の影】とは≪時刻歴在都市ヒストリノア≫でもこの軸塔――【時刻の影塔】内部だけで生じる特有の現象だ。
　≪時刻歴在都市ヒストリノア≫は【歴史の神】が創造した領域である為か、ここには過去に挑んだ数多くの挑戦者達の歴史が記録されている。
　【時刻の影】はその一部が現在に存在する俺達でも観測できる存在として発生するらしく、一部が繰り返し再生される。
　そんな【時刻の影】に対して、俺達は干渉する事は出来ない。
　ただ見ているだけしかできないが、その行動の一つ一つが【時刻の影塔】の攻略のヒントになっている。
　とある【時刻の影】が進んだ先には上階に続く階段があったり、財宝が眠る隠し部屋の発見や、不意を突いて殺しにかかってくるトラップの存在。
　あるいは出現するダンジョンモンスターとの戦闘、その弱点や攻撃法など、重要な情報がそこには詰まっていた。
　さて、そんな有用な【時刻の影】だが、大きく分けて三種類あるらしい。
　一つは落下という迫力満点な出迎えをしてくれた白い影。
　これは直近に挑んだ者の影らしく、数分前に通ったか、あるいは数年前に通ったかくらいのものらしい。
　もしかしたら入った出入口の時間がズレているだけで、現在攻略中の者もいる可能性がある影だ。
　遭遇する頻度は一番少なく、最初の白い影以外は数えられる程度しか見ていない。
　次が灰色の影。
　これは十数年前から百数十年前までの影らしく、遭遇頻度はそこそこ多い。
　個人的には隠し扉とかを見つけている印象が強い。
　そんな影の中には、ここに来る前に出会った老狩人に似た影が居たような気がする。
　 　最後に黒い影。
　これは白と灰のどちらにも分類されない古い影であり、遭遇する回数が最も多かった。
　黒い影は結構即死級のトラップなどに引っかかっている印象が強く、攻略する情報が足りないから大変だったんだなと思わずにはいられない。
　そんなありがたい先人達の後ろをなぞり、前に進んでいく。
　【時刻の影塔】は塔型の構造をしている。
　上階に進むには階段を登り、先に進まねばならない。
　本当なら中央に存在する吹き抜けを飛んでいければよかったのだが、試しに下から上に向かって石を投げた所、一定以上上昇したところでその速度は目に見えて落ち、次第にスロー再生のような速度で飛び続けた。
　恐らくは不正に進む事を妨げるトラップなのだろう。
　時間経過を遅くするとか系だろうか。
　上から落ちてくるのは良くて、下から昇るのはダメらしい。
　それは少し残念に思いながら、俺達は上に登り続けた。
 
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 4