Chapitre 210: Behind the Stone Gate
"As expected of a detective. I thought we hid it well…" Fani restrained her enthusiasm and echoed in a reserved manner.
Ebner wasn't pleased with the two ladies' flattery. After all, it wasn't a result of his inference.
On careful thought, ever since I became a "detective," my reasoning seems to be all about cheating through manipulation such as prophetic, retroactively, mind-reading, and eavesdropping…
However, the speed at which I digest my potion isn't too slow… Could it be that acquiring knowledge and information by any means is one of the principles of Knowledge keeper?
As his thoughts raced, he didn't continue the conversation. Instead, he asked with a smile,
"Do you still plan on exploring the room behind the stone door?"
When Miss Fani heard that, she was a little hesitant. Having come this far, she naturally didn't want to give up. However, she had her reservations about the possible danger behind the door, so she didn't dare to make a rash decision. She subconsciously looked at Ema beside her.
As she pondered, she habitually wanted to smooth her long hair, but she didn't touch it when she reached out her hand. Only then did she remember that she had coiled her hair up before entering the ruins…
Hence, under the surprised gaze of her friend and the hero detective, she awkwardly adjusted her lace collar and coughed before asking,
"Detective Bryan, as a Cryptologist, I don't want to give up on the exploration of the mysterious ruins… But our abilities are limited, and we can't protect ourselves… So, can you protect us in completing this exploration?"
At this point, she was afraid that Ebner would misunderstand that she was an insatiable person, so she quickly added, "Of course, the items obtained from the exploration will be yours. After all, without your protection, Fani and I might've already been killed by those monsters… I only hope that I can solve the mystery here… In addition, I'll personally prepare a gift to repay you for saving my life."
Fane nodded in agreement when she heard that. "My thoughts are the same as that of Emma… Hmm, if the room below has the potion formula of Barbarian, I only ask for a copy… I wonder if that's possible?"
After pretending to think for a moment, Ebner said with a smile, "I agree… But there's no need for any gifts. Perhaps I'll ask you for some help in the future… Just don't reject it."
In fact, according to the scenes he had "traced" back through the monsters, there shouldn't be any other danger behind the stone door.
"What help? As long as I can do it, anything is fine," Miss Fane replied without hesitation.
By the side, Miss Emma was a little helpless about her friend's straightforwardness. According to her original intentions, she would rather pay a large sum of money than help her friend with something she didn't know. Therefore, she could only bite the bullet and ask, "What do you want me to do, Detective Bryan?"
"This isn't a good place to talk about such topics. Let's talk about it when we get back." Ebner avoided the topic. It wasn't because he was keeping them in the dark, but it was indeed inappropriate.
If he had raised his request on the spot, it would probably make people suspect that it was premeditated.
It was safer to let this request settle down.
Neither of them had any doubts about what Ebner had said. After all, they were in the ruins and could be in danger at any time. It was indeed not a good time to communicate.
The three of them reached a tacit understanding, and then they arrived before the black stone door together.
Following that, Fani controlled a mechanical doll without any ammunition to pass through the gap. In just two seconds, the three heard a series of clanging sounds… It was the sound of metal rolling down and hitting the ground.
Clearly, on the other side of the stone door was a flight of stairs, and this model of mechanical dolls didn't have the ability to go downstairs.
Fani smiled awkwardly, then twisted a mechanical device on her ear before saying to the two of them, "There's no danger for now…"
Ebner nodded and rubbed his finger against the Band of Light ring and activated the Light of Purification. Following that, rings of golden light enveloped him and the two ladies.
This way, even if there were wraiths, dead souls, or other dark creatures launching a sneak attack, there was no need to worry.
With this in mind, Ebner signaled to the two ladies behind him with his eyes and walked through the stone door first.
Feeling the courage and warmth brought by The Sun, Fani and Ema looked at each other, then followed closely behind Ebner and stepped through the gap in the stone door.
The staircase behind the door wasn't long. It was about 100 steps, about 15 meters tall.
The three of them carefully arrived at the bottom of the stairs. With the light from the halo, they looked up, only to realize that there were no magnificent sculptures or columns, nor were there any murals or collections of masters' glory.
The only pieces of furniture were already rotten, and a large portion of them had been destroyed by Fane's bombardment…
This is just an ordinary basement that isn't even 300 square meters…
The only thing that had anything to do with mysticism was the cracked coffin in the middle of the room.
"This… This place doesn't match that thick stone door at all! It's not even worthy of the hundred stairs!"
The stark contrast made Miss Emma find it unacceptable as she couldn't help but grumble.
However, when he saw the layout of the basement, he pinched his chin thoughtfully.
Although many details were severely damaged due to the prolonged period of time, the general layout of the basement was obviously set up according to a ritual in the Book of Dead… Although it was only a small part of the ritual.
This place was probably built based on the blueprints left behind by the priest from the Fourth Epoch. However, something unexpected must've happened midway, so it was only dug up for such a small basement…
"Detective Bryan, what do you think we should do now?" At that moment, Fani's voice suddenly sounded, interrupting his thoughts.
She had learned a deep lesson previously, so she didn't dare to search for anything.
"First, find and store the Sealed Artifact with the powers of a Briber… Otherwise, it might continue to influence the retrieval of the item," Ebner said after some thought.
Upon hearing that, Emma merely swept her gaze across the items scattered in the basement before casting her gaze on the central shattered stone coffin. This was her intuition as a Cryptologist.
At this moment, Ebner had already analyzed the interior and exterior of the stone coffin through the White Eye. He couldn't help but sigh. "That Baron Conva from centuries ago is really a powerful ritualistic magic master. He actually connected the Briber Sealed Artifact to the entire ruin. It's used to seal his body, and it's also used to deal with any intruders… This line of thought is worth borrowing."
Having said that, he walked straight to the coffin and took out a pitch-black chain gauntlet from the bottom of the shattered coffin.
If not for the stone coffin being destroyed and the ritual losing most of its powers, I wouldn't have succeeded so easily!
At this moment, the confused Miss Emma couldn't help but ask, "Seal himself? Why did the baron seal himself?"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone