Chương 305: Puzzel
[Level 22]
A cavernous terrain, shrouded in darkness, with the only illumination provided by the faint glow of magical lights. The walls of the cave stretch miles apart, and the ceiling is lost to the shadows above. The air is thick with the musty scent of damp stone and the occasional echo of distant growls.
"Here, you look like shit," Bein mumbles, handing Cora a pair of enchanted shades. Her eyes are shadowed with fatigue, pain, and a flicker of irritation. "Thanks..." she mutters, sliding them on. The relentless grind of restrictions is taking its toll on her.
"How many are you on?" Bein asks, slashing his sword to flick off the remaining blood before leaping down from the corpse of the five-story Cyclops.
"Over 30," she grumbles, kicking the fallen monster's body with enough force to splinter its bones. "Damn it, I can't believe this thing was giving me trouble."
Bein taps his chin, exhaling deeply. "This is a problem. If this continues, you'll become an easy target. The others are doing fine; why don't you take it easy and let them handle the threats?"
BOOM! Another Cyclops appears behind them, only to be swiftly cleaved in half. "We haven't had any accidents," Bein mumbles, sheathing his sword.
"Tsk, how did I end up becoming the burden," Cora sighs, stabbing her sword into the ground and leaning heavily on it. 'It's not like I can't fight, but every damn floor these monsters become more resistant to my attacks.'
[Restriction: Monsters gain 10% resistance to heavy sword attacks]
[Restriction: 20% reduction in stamina regeneration]
[Restriction: Magic usage costs 15% more mana]
[Restriction: Movement speed decreased by 10%]
[Restriction: Physical attacks are 15% less effective against monsters]
[Restriction: 25% more susceptible to elemental damage]
[Restriction: Healing spells and potions are 20% less effective]
[Restriction: 10% reduced perception in darkness]
[Restriction: Mana regeneration reduced by 15%]
[Restriction: Can only use one type of attack or magic per encounter]
[Restriction: Monsters gain 5% health regeneration every minute]
etc...
"Most of these aren't a big deal. I've been in worse situations," Cora thinks as a Cyclops head falls in front of her. 'This one right here, this one's the one causing me to fail.' She hovers her finger over the holographic screen.
[Restriction: Energy waste increased by 21%]
'Dammit, all my techniques use large amounts of mana. Include the fact that I have three separate mana reduction restrictions...' The guild master exhales, pushing her messy crimson-black hair back. 'Energy waste is by far the worst possible restriction. There's no way anyone can live with this on. What is wrong with this dungeon? I can't do shit with this restriction, I'm glad it's not any higher.'
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
"Hahahahahaha!" Itto laughs, each attack leaving a shockwave. "There you go, boy. I sliced them up making sure not to damage the eyes." He turns to see the mess of blood and smiles with a satisfied nod.
"WoW sO aMaZiNg," the prince scoffs with a laugh. "Now you'll be able to pay your child support." He smirks maliciously.
"Thanks, Itto, I'll pay you once we're out of here." Kael mumbles with a grin as he butchers the monsters, carefully saving the Cyclops eyes. 'These babies are damn hard to get, with their insane compatibility to all magic they've been endangered for eons.' He lifts one up and looks at it carefully. 'I bet Oliver and Eira would love to get their hands on this. Most high-ranking adventurers know their worth, but they don't know exactly what makes the Cyclops expensive. So when someone commissions them, they give the whole body.' Sitting up to look around, Kael smirks. 'No one here seems to care. I mean, they're all technically rich, so I guess this wouldn't really interest them. They're all here for the artifacts.'
"Start moving, we're heading to the next floor," Bein speaks with authority, pushing his glasses into place. "This area is clear, the entrance to the next floor is up ahead. If you need to eat or take a dump, now's the time."
Meanwhile, Leena's eyes sparkle. "Wow~" She circles Oda like a child. "So cool! You went like this! and that! and bang! and pow!" she says, pretending to be fighting. "Hey hey hey, how did you get so strong???" she asks with a smile on her face. 'If I could be as strong as him, I'd be able to live!'
"Hmm..." Oda scratches the back of his head. 'This child... she's loud.' With an exhale, he gives up. "There's no secret technique, no cheat-like skill. It's hard work. To get stronger, you need to train, train, train. Experience, evaluate, learn, train, repeat, and eventually, you'll reach new heights," he mumbles in his husky voice.
"Pfff, oi little girl, don't listen to this bozo." Rotû giggles, walking over. He pushes his shades back and his chain rattles. "Oi, not everyone can get strong like you two," he says, turning to both Oda and Ryua. "Listen kid, to get stronger, you need to understand what you're good at. Once you figure that out, just become the best at that and you'll naturally become stronger, like big bro here." He grins, pointing at himself.
"Ooooh, you're also strong?" Leena asks with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Strong?" both Oda and surprisingly Ryua as well say simultaneously.
"That would be an understatement. Despite being stupid, this moron is responsible for training with the guild master," Baya exhales, walking up to them. Her golden-green eyes glow in the dark.
"Hmm... I guess by that standard he's considered strong," Oda mumbles, turning to Baya. 'For her to be sent here...' He turns to look ahead. 'It seems like the guild master is having trouble up ahead.' Turning to Ryua, she nods calmly in silence before vanishing.
"Where did she go?" Leena asks, looking around, trying to solve a new mystery. 'All these adventurers sure are strong.' A grin spreads on her face. 'This will make things easier.'
"Guild master," Ryua says with a respectful nod as she appears next to Cora.
"Oh, you're here," Cora replies.
BANG! The clashing swords shake the ground, sending cracks throughout the place.
BOOM!
BANG!
POW!
BOOM!
Shockwaves spread through the area, cracks and crevices continuing to expand. Bein clashes swords—BOOM!—he jumps back and vanishes mid-air. His opponent, a bony skeleton holding a sword, stands out with black vines wrapped around its bones, threading through the skull's eye socket and the sword.
BOOOM! The skeleton slashes down, sending vibrations through the cave. The twins blink in unison with expressionless faces as the skeleton's attack is blocked by their glowing golden barrier.
"This skeleton..." Ryua mumbles, glaring at it. 'The mana it's emitting is equal to that of a giant.'
"Yeah, this pile of bones isn't normal. It's copying the attacks I've used on other floors," Cora sighs. "To think a dungeon would do this. Bein can't kill it since it has a field around it that debuffs whoever gets near." Walking around the constant destruction, she points. "Here's the plan: Bein is going to make an opening, and you'll shoot at its core from a distance."
'Blazing Flare,' Bein thinks with an exhale, extending his hand. A massive amount of fire blasts through the area.
BOOOOMMM! The skeleton is blasted into the ground, creating a massive crater, but it doesn't falter. Its bony legs grind as it slides against the ground, pushed by the force. It tilts its head and swoosh! vanishes.
"Ugh..." Cora rubs her eyebrows.
Bang!
She counters the sword strike with a flick of her sword. "Don't try fighting me with my techniques," she mumbles, kicking the skeleton in its torso as it tries to attack. "Go fight them," she sighs, punching it across the cave.
'Tsk, I guess for now I'll have to focus on internal circulation to enhance my attacks. My skills aren't restricted, so if it comes down to it, I'll use them.' She looks up to see Bein clashing with it. 'How strange, Bein comes second in power. For a skeleton to be fighting him, it needs to have insane defense. Debuffs alone aren't enough to fight Bein,' she scratches her hair.
"You act awfully cocky for a brainless skeleton," Bein mumbles as it tries to use Cora's 14-strike technique on him. 'To think an attribute restriction would be applied. This is the first time I've heard of a dungeon messing with attributes.'
"Next time, copy someone else." 'Sonate sword, echoes of the final resistance,' he thinks before exhaling and swinging his sword. He doesn't strike the skeleton but the air. A visible ripple can be seen, like still water when a pebble is dropped in it—a calm, soothing wave. Yet as soon as the wave hits the skeleton, visible cracks appear on its bones. 'The guild master was right, I shouldn't use any other techniques.'
BANG! It happens too fast for the skeleton to react. A bullet flies straight between its bones in such a tight fit, yet it doesn't touch a single bone and shatters its core. Who else but Ryua can achieve this?
Appearing before the pile of bones, Bein's eyes widen as he scans every possible thing in sight. 'Good, it's dead,' he exhales before giving a thumbs up. 'But this...' He looks down and sees the sword. It's silver, dirty but a silver beauty with roses engraved on the metal.
"It's an artifact for sure," Cora mumbles, crouching down. 'Too bad it's not a long blade.' She exhales. "Hey, can you two check it out?" The twins blink simultaneously and walk up to the sword. Extending their palms, they close their eyes, casting layers of magic circles over it.
"It's an old relic," one of them says in a toneless voice.
"An elven sword from the past," the other says.
"It enhances spirit magic," the first one says again.
"Only an elf can use it," the other states. They talk in turns, yet it's almost as if one person is speaking.
"Shit... Hey, can you cast a visibility formation?" Bein exhales, clearly annoyed. 'I hate these dungeons the most. There was no puzzle beforehand; what the hell is this?'
The twins blink and raise their palms, casting massive magic circles. Electricity crackles as an area is revealed. It's a towering wall, covered in hundreds of sigils that pulsate with a soft glow. Intricate lines spread like a web over the stone, converging at the center, where a cluster of words is framed by an elaborate pattern.
"Fuck, I hate puzzles. Someone bring Rotû here," the guild master groans, rubbing her eyebrows. 'This better not be a pain in the ass.' After waiting for a while, everyone in the guild arrives at the place.
'Huh, this is interesting. I've never seen a puzzle like this,' Kael thinks, rubbing his chin. Walking up to the guild master, he smiles, "Hey guild master, have you ever seen a puzzle like this?"
Cora looks at the wall. "Never, this is new to me." Before she walks away, she turns back. "Ah, you're probably smart enough to know, but don't touch anything." She turns around again and glares. "Get over here," her tone is cold and demanding.
"hzhzhzhmhmhm, no need to be angry, guild master~" Rotû grins, looking at the wall. "This is a pain. What the fuck, do you expect me to solve this?" he asks, pushing his hair back.
"Yup," both Cora and Bein say in the most natural tone possible.
'Ugh...' Rotû scratches his head, looking at the wall. 'Let's see... 300 sigils in total. These sigils are written in the streo runic language.' He turns to see Kael closely examining it. "Pfff, hey kid, don't hurt your brain. Leave this to me."
Turning to him, Kael sighs and points up. "300 sigils, hmm..." He taps his chin. "I don't think they're written in streo, though it looks like it. The sigils are all electric type and the runic symbols are all labeled by a sequence of numbers."
"Huh? Huh? Wait? What the fuck," Rotû's eyes widen. 'Wait, he's right. The number sequence is a code... that means...' He uses all his brainpower possible. "Thundering Liaos," both Rotû and Kael say simultaneously. Rotû smirks, "Hey boy, you wanna help me solve this?"
"Sure," Kael responds, focused on the wall.
"It's written in old Elvish," the prince yawns, looking at the writing on the wall.
"Old Elvish?" Kael mumbles.
"Yeah, I'll translate it," the prince sighs. "God, I have to do everything around here," he sighs exaggeratedly.
Betrayers of words,
Enslave their own kin,
Mauwer of books,
End bringers,
Seek faith,
For I will return.
"That's what it says," the prince mumbles, writing it down.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
QTV
QTV Can anyone notice the restriction Kael is familiar with?
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