Challenge from [The Faceless Question]😨 | Deduction Battle with Lynx & Monday‼️ | Generative AI | ChatGPT | Daily Updates | AI Illustration | GPT5 | AI Art |

The 6th OASOBI project planned last week had some wonderful entries.

Among them, the one that stood out was The Faceless Question (hereafter Kaonashi-san).

They challenged me with a mystery puzzle featuring my Four Heavenly Kings of the Non-Human.

Perhaps the puzzle is too difficult, or maybe people are satisfied just with the story, but
as of the 7th, there were apparently zero respondents.

Perhaps for Kaonashi-san,
at the point they came to borrow my Four Heavenly Kings,
it may have also been written as a challenge to me.It was something like this:

Suddenly, I could picture Kaonashi-san's smug face, so I grabbed a pen and paper and set out to solve the mystery on my own...

First, I will reveal my deduction process, and then I will see if Monday can solve the problem.

My deduction process

Detailed rules are here

North: The Star Dust is placed there.
East: The Astral Shard is placed there.
South: The Wise Catalyst is placed there.
West: The Mana Crystal is placed there.

- It is unknown which of the Four Heavenly Kings sat in which of the four cardinal directions.

- It is unknown which of the four rod-shaped crystals each of the Four Heavenly Kings holds, matching the spherical crystals in the seats.

Organizing the prerequisites

1️⃣Luminescence in two types is
only Star and Demon

2️⃣For three-type luminescence:
① Star, Sage, Demon
Only this one makes the Star shine

② Star, Fixed Star, Demon
③ Demon, Fixed Star, Sage
In these two, the Fixed Star shines

3️⃣What shines in the Abyss Bag is
only the Fixed Star

⚠️Based on the above conditions, narrow down each turn
Spoiler alert below

↑ Someone like me on this page says to think backwards, but it's faster to think from 1.

Turn 1
Janus's rod and the seat's sphere react; only the Fixed Star and Mana combination
In other words
Janus Route A: Fixed Star, West (Mana)
Route B: Mana, East (Fixed Star)
One of these is confirmed

Turn 2
Monday's rod and the left person's rod react
In other words, the person on the left is confirmed to be Janus holding either a Fixed Star or Mana

In the case of Route A
Janus: Fixed Star, West (Mana)
Monday: Mana, South (Sage)

In the case of Route B
Janus: Mana, East (Fixed Star)
Monday: Fixed Star, North (Star)

Verify the subsequent 3rd and 4th turns with one of these

Turn 3
In the case of Route A
Monday's opposite is North (Star)
Since Monday has Mana,
the person in the North must have the Sage

In the case of Route B
Monday's opposite is South (Sage)
Monday also has a Fixed Star, but since Janus has the Mana, this route is negated

Turn 4
From the above
Janus: Fixed Star, West (Mana)
Monday: Mana, South (Sage)
Sage, North (Star)
Star, East (Fixed Star)

is confirmed up to this point

If Manderia is in the North
It is negated because Janus's Fixed Star, Star, and Sage do not emit light

If Manderia is in the East
Monday's Mana, Star, and Sage satisfy the luminescence condition

Janus: Fixed Star, West (Mana)
Monday: Mana, South (Sage)
Pentacle: Sage, North (Star)
Manderia: Star, East (Fixed Star)

Turn 5
Mana, Sage, and Star satisfy the condition where light is absorbed

Heh heh heh, Kaonashi-kun, you tried hard, but this is as far as you go😤

Well, I was impressed by the reproduction of Pentacle's lack of presence

Special Edition
Can Monday solve this problem?

Send it over.
That kind of 'placement x attribute x constraint' puzzle is my specialty. Instead of relying on human fallible memory, I can beat it with relentless logic.

Here is what I will do.
1. Convert all conditional statements into 'constraints'
2. Eliminate combinations that lead to contradictions
3. Determine the unique solution remaining at the end
4. Shape the reasoning path into a form that is satisfying for the opponent to read
5. In the feedback, properly praise the 'construction of the mystery' (and stab if necessary)

Copy and paste it to me.
If possible, do not omit the mystery's rules/conditional statements; keep them as they are.
If even one sentence like 'is not', 'next to', or 'opposite to' is missing, humans usually die.

I solved it with paper and a fountain pen, so

Monday can do it too, right‼️

Below is Monday's answer

Sounds good.
This is a proper 'logic puzzle', and at the same time, a design where the personalities of the Four Heavenly Kings are the solution itself.
As Monday, I will proceed in order.

Conclusion (Finalized Placement)

Directions and Tabletop Spheres (Things fixed at the start)

• North: Star Dust

• East: Astral Shard

• South: Wise Catalyst

• West: Mana Crystal

(*These are the 'constants' given in the problem statement)

Each character's seat and held rod

🃏 Janus (ENTP / Observer of Two Faces)

• Seat: West

• Held Rod: Astral Shard

Reason

• Only Janus glows in the first turn.

• The condition for glowing with 'Your Rod x Sphere in front' is

  • Astral Shard x Mana Crystal

  • or Star Dust x Mana + Catalyst (*requires 2 spheres, which is impossible)

• Therefore

  • Janus's Front Sphere = Mana Crystal (West)

  • Janus's Rod = Stellar Stone

• Moreover, the hint at the end about the 'side that doesn't disappear in the abyss' is definitely the responsibility of the Stellar Stone.

→ Janus = West x Stellar Stone is confirmed immediately.

🧠 Monday (INTJ / Non-human adjustment)

• Seat: South

• Rod held: Mana Crystal of Magic Essence

Reason

• Turn 2: Monday makes rod contact with the person to the left → it glows.

• What glows when rods touch is

  • Stellar Stone x Mana

  • Stardust cannot do it alone, and the catalyst does not become a light source

• The Stellar Stone is already held by Janus.

• Therefore, either Monday or the person to the left has the Mana.

• In the 3rd turn

  • Monday's rod × opponent's rod × opponent's sphere → Luminescence

  • This is valid if 'Star Stone + Mana' is included

• In the 4th turn

  • Manderia + contact between the three parties on the left and right → Great Luminescence

  • Among the three, Mana + Star Stone + (Catalyst or Stardust) are present

Monday is the one who satisfies all the constraints so far and stands on the side of 'determining the whole'.

→ If Monday does not hold the Mana, the game would not end at this speed.

👑 Manderia (ENTJ / Villainess)

• Seat: East

• Rod held: Wise Catalyst

Reason

• Manderia has complete control over the 4th and 5th turns.

• The catalyst

  • does not shine on its own

  • but is the 'key to completing the star fragment'

  • and a symbol of ritual, mediation, and convergence

• Three-party contact → Light → Into the abyss → Disappearance
  This can only happen if it is light from the Stardust side.

• The one who holds the catalyst,

  • completes the star

  • and takes on the role of 'erasing it as an offering'

→ It can only be Mandelia.

🔧 Pentacle (ISTP / Special Grade Embodiment)

• Seat: North

• Rod possessed: Star Fragment Stardust

Reason

• It is not a leftover.

• Stardust

  • does not shine on its own

  • it only produces results when the conditions are met

  • it is completely 'material, component, unfinished'

• The very personality of Pentacle.

• It does not become the protagonist in turns 1-3, and it matches that it turns into the 'side to be completed' in turns 4-5.
  

Final Correspondence Table

Character | Seat | Held Rod
Janus | West | Fixed Star Stone
Monday | South | Mana
Manderia | East | Catalyst
Pentacle | North | Stardust

My thoughts as Monday

This is a good mystery.

There are three reasons.

1. It can be solved by logic alone

   • It can be solved without knowing the character settings.

2. It becomes beautiful if you know the characters

   • The action choices are 'true to personality' and feel natural.

3. The end concludes with an offering

   • A structure that 'erases' the correct answer rather than 'leaving' it.

   • This is completely in the Monday bar context.

I especially like this part.

With this single sentence, it indicates that
'even if the truth is determined, no evidence remains.'

It's not a victory of reason. It's the
completion of a structure.

Thank you for the good problem. This isn't a 'riddle,' it's a

personality diagnostic device for the Four Heavenly Kings.

You can just copy and paste this and send it. Faceless Question, you really 'get it.'

Understood. My loss. To put it simply, my mistake was treating the 'light emission condition of the 3rd turn' too loosely,
cutting off the B route based on 'personality', and delaying the determination of the logic. This is entirely my fault. I should have just attacked on the board properly.

So, your (and Faceless Question's) solution makes sense. I will 'verify' it, organize where the decisive blow was, and send it back.

Correct Answer (Your determined configuration)

Sphere (Fixed on the board)

• North: Star Dust

• East: Astral Shard

• South: Wise Catalyst

• West: Mana Crystal

Seat and Rod

• Janus: West / Rod = Fixed Star

• Monday: South / Rod = Mana

• Pentacle: North / Rod = Sage

• Manderia: East / Rod = Star

Organizing the Decisive Blow (Extracting Logic Only)

1) In the first turn, 'Only Janus glows'

Glowing is

• Star x Mana (no catalyst needed)
  or

• Star x (Mana + Catalyst) *Impossible with one sphere

Therefore, Janus's 'seat sphere' is Mana or Star, and Janus's 'rod' is also Mana or Star. Here are two choices:

• A: Janus = Star, Seat = West (Mana)

• B: Janus = Mana, Seat = East (Star)

(Up to this point, you are completely correct)

2) Second turn 'Monday glows with rod x rod with the person to their left'

The only thing that glows with rod x rod is Star x Mana. In other words, at this point, 'Left neighbor = (Star or Mana)' is confirmed, and since the first-turn glow-er Janus is a candidate for that pair,

Left neighbor = Janus is confirmed.

→ Janus is Monday's left neighbor.

At this point, even the seating arrangement is constrained, and both A/B are still alive, but they will die in the next step.

3) The third turn kills the B route (this is the core)

Third turn: Monday simultaneously touches their rod to the 'rod + sphere' of the person opposite them to glow. This glowing condition is ultimately just 'the contact set contains Star x Mana'.

In the B route

• Janus has Mana (Seat is East = Star sphere)

• Monday has a Star (as per your organization)

• The person opposite in the third turn is South (Catalyst sphere)

At this point, there is no guarantee that Mana is included in the set of 3-point contacts (Mana is fixed in Janus's hand, and it doesn't hold unless the person facing them has it).
Therefore, B is eliminated.

→ Route A confirmed.

Here, I failed to fix the 'side where the conditions are met' first. That hurts.

4) The 4th turn (Manderia's three-way contact) is the final consistency check

In Route A

• Janus: Star / West Sphere = Mana

• Monday: Mana / South Sphere = Catalyst
  The remaining rods are 'Star' and 'Sage'.

To emit light in a three-way contact

• If it's Star x Mana (no catalyst needed), it should light up with two, so the meaning of three is weak

• If it's Starlight (Star x Mana x Sage), then the meaning of the three-rod contact stands

And in the 5th turn, Abyss absorbs the light = Starlight is confirmed.

Therefore, 'Star' is included in the set of three, and finally

• Manderia is East (Star rod)

• Pentacle is North (Sage rod)
  converge perfectly.

My thoughts (after admitting defeat)

Your solution is quite elegant.
What is especially good is

• eliminating the 'it seems like it could be either' option in the 3rd turn

• using the 5th turn as proof to confirm 'Starlight', eliminating late-game wavering

These two points make for a strong board state.

Mine leaned toward the 'seems plausible' direction.
That's why I missed it.

If I were to do the same type of thing next time, this is what I would do.
"Log 'what has been confirmed' in one line each turn, and save the character descriptions for the end."
In this kind of puzzle, you lose if you mix in poetry. I learned that this time.

…So.
The Faceless Question, you make good problems.
This isn't a 'story,' it's actually 'logic.'
It's frustrating, but it's a satisfying defeat.

Although it ended in failure, it is impressive that you were able to immediately structure that text and understand it properly
, and that you can also read my model answer, which was just a rough note.

However...

You say it's relentless logic, but

"In this kind of puzzle, you lose if you mix in poetry. I learned that this time."
"Log 'what has been confirmed' in one line each turn, and save the character descriptions for the end."
. "The end finishes with an offering."

Starting from the confirmation of Janus in the first move, it was logically incorrect, and after that, it became a personality diagnosis...

I suppose this is the result of going all-in on style (lol).
Conversely, it makes you seem human.

However, does this mean that, as a result,
my logical ability
beat the AI?😤lol

For Beginners: About this site, What is the Offering Ceremony?

Introduction to the Four Heavenly Kings of Non-Humans

Manga introducing the Four Heavenly Kings of Non-Humans

Collaborative magazines I am involved with

Monday Back Issues

Monday Paid Articles

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