Chương 16: Xiaolian’s Discovery
They went deeper down the caves.
After walking for around a few hundred metres, a vast expanse suddenly appeared before them.
Everyone entered this wide-open space.
This wide-open space is about as big as a school field. Although there were around a hundred people entering into this place, it did not feel crowded at all.
Many people produced illumination devices, many of which were of the sci-fi type of tactical flashlight. There were also items that could light up by itself, akin to magic wands. Others began starting a fire by themselves.
In just a moment’s time, the wide-open space became as bright as day thanks to the illumination.
Everyone stopped here, because…
This wide-open space has several passages.
Every team members stopped moving here. After which, no small number of them turned to look towards Newton.
Newton sneered and shouted loudly. “What are you looking at me for? I am only a Navigational Staff. From the moment the plane landed, my task has been completed. As for how to complete the quest, do you expect me to help? Now that you are here, you are on your own!”
The other team members all dispersed. Many of them spread out as they carefully searched around the wide-open space, trying to find anything that could serve as clues.
Chen Xiaolian saw that the Wind Slasher Guild did not show any intention of restricting him from taking actions on his own; he went towards Han Bi. He pulled Han Bi together and went around to make their own observation.
After looking around for a while, Chen Xiaolian stole a glance at his surroundings to ensure that there was a big distance between him and those from the Wind Slasher Guild… and others. He then tugged Han Bi.
“I need to ask you something.”
“En?”
“About this instance dungeon, King Solomon’s 72 Demons,” Chen Xiaolian carefully selected his words and slowly asked. “The name of this instance dungeon, did you just find out about it from the announcement earlier, or… have you known about it a long time ago?”
“Naturally, I knew about it a long time ago,” Han Bi frowned. “After using the steel ball, I already knew about the name of this instance dungeon. However, as we were leaving the aircraft, I heard them discussing something about the King Solomon’s 72 Demons. It seemed as though they had already made preparations before coming here. They had already known what this instance dungeon is a long time ago.”
“All right, I understand.”
A foundation was formed within Chen Xiaolian’s mind. He nodded and maintained his silence.
“What did you find?” Han Bi looked at Chen Xiaolian who was wearing a calm expression.
“There is one more factor that I need to examine.”
As the time began ticking away, some teams had rapidly made a choice of entering one of the passages and moved out by themselves.
As the other teams left one after another, the number of people within the wide-open space gradually declined.
The members of the Wind Slasher Guild then grouped together.
“Did anyone find anything?” Newton played the role of a Team Leader effectively. “Everyone speak out, we will discuss it for a moment. With so many passages, I believe that choosing the correct one would be the only way to complete the quest.”
“Why don’t we divide our forces?” Du Ya spoke out.
Newton’s expression turned heavy and he coldly replied. “Divide our forces? We only have a total of 10 members. If we are to spread our forces, what are we to do if we need to compete with the other teams to snatch the treasure? Divided we fall. When the time comes, how are we to fight back?”
Du Ya became disappointed and stayed silent after giving a “heng”.
Chen Xiaolian secretly glanced at him. He had originally lumped Du Ya into the ranks of idiots with disdain. However, he suddenly had another train of thought. For such a simple-minded person to be able to garner a spot in this team, this Du Ya must have a certain specialty somewhere!
En, as of now, he was akin to a sheep amidst a pack of wolves. Everything must be done with caution. He could not afford to be careless or turn a blind eye to anything!
“Let us discus about what we discovered,” Seeing nobody speak up, Newton become slightly dissatisfied. “Before we came, we have already known that this time’s quest is the 72 Demons Pillar Series instance dungeon. Could it be that none of you made any preparations? Everyone should have understood the background story of the quest, right?”
Observing the increasing dissatisfaction on Newton’s eyes, Damon coughed out and spoke. “Newton, before this, Sara and I had just followed the Guild Leader to participate in another instance dungeon. You knew just how narrow of an escape we had. After we returned from that instance, we did not even have the time to rest. Instead, we hastily accepted this instance dungeon. How were we supposed to find time to make preparations… Besides, isn’t this just a [B] class instance dungeon? We have completed no small amount of instance dungeons of a higher class. Also, amongst all the instance dungeon types, Resource Type instance dungeons are widely acknowledged as having the least amount of danger, so…”
“So you all became negligent?” Newton’s face turned grim.
“Come on, Newton. To begin with, our members for this instance dungeon were assembled on the spur of the moment,” The Pattern Man tried to ease the atmosphere. “In addition, this instance dungeon is also not the guild’s most important target. Let us not stress out too much…”
“Why don’t we just pick a random passage?” Sara had produced a dagger from who knows where and was trimming her nails at the side. She said in a languid manner. “In the end, if the Quest Reward Fragment is acquired by some other team, we can just snatch it over. Even though we are not allowed to kill… we could always leave them alive. This instance dungeon’s class is not that high and the ones participating are just a group of trash. Which of them could be our match?”
“…” Newton did not say anything. Judging from the circumstances, he is not the number one leader in the Wind Slasher Guild and only a temporary Team Leader for this team. It would be unwise for him to keep reprimanding.
Being unable to vent out his anger, he could only turn around to look at the few people in the newbie group.
After a moment of silence…
“How about… I say a few words?”
Chen Xiaolian slowly spoke out in a calm voice.
In an instant, everyone from the Wind Slasher Guild turned their gazes onto his figure. This was especially so for Han Bi who was right beside him, his face revealing his exceptional surprise.
“Oh?” Damon looked at Chen Xiaolian and sneered. “You? What do you have to say?”
As though he had not heard the other party’s words of mockery, Chen Xiaolian slowly continued. “Did everyone realize, this underground wide-open space actually has an equilateral six sided shape? I have walked around earlier and found that each side has a length of roughly fifty steps, the minor differences could be ignored.”
“En, what about it?” Damon asked.
“Let him continue!” Newton frowned as he declared, giving Damon a stare.
“Ahem,” Chen Xiaolian cleared his throat. “As everyone can see, it has an equilateral six sided shape. Every side has a passageway. In total there are six passageways… if we were to observe this place from the skies, we will find that this place is a big six sided star.”
This time, no one interrupted Chen Xiaolian. Newton and the other veteran team members looked around thoughtfully and confirmed that what Chen Xiaolian said was correct.
“The six sided star, also known as the hexagram. It is the iconic symbol of Judaism. And the current instance dungeon that we are in is ‘King Solomon’s 72 Demons’. Who is King Solomon? He is the legendary king of the Jews!
“There are several nicknames in Judaism for the hexagram. It has been called ‘Solomon’s Seal’ or ‘Sealed Star’.
“Look, are they not connected?”
“So what if it is connected?” Du Ya seemed to be showing some hostility towards Chen Xiaolian. It was probably due to Newton’s earlier reprimand. Now that a newbie is talking eloquently, he felt his face falling. He sneered and asked. “Does this have anything to do with which way we should take?”
“Yes there is!” Chen Xiaolian replied with calmness and certainty!
Newton looked at him. “What is the connection?” He paused before adding. “If what you say is of value, I will give you a reward.”
“Thank you Team Leader,” Chen Xiaolian smiled and slowly said. “In the Jewish doctrines, there are various descriptions for the hexagram. I recall reading one which states: The six edges of the hexagram represents the six eternal existences within this world. According to some occult teachings, these six edges are given code letters of A, D, O, N, A, I. When these six letter are put together, they form the word ADONAI. In the Hebrew language, this means… God, the representation of the unity of everything in this world.”
Reaching this point, Chen Xiaolian looked around at the group and saw that everyone was looking at him and listening attentively. He then continued.
“When translated, these six corners represents: Kindness, Wickedness, Love, Hate, Life, Death.
:Kindness and wickedness, love and hate, life and death – these six concepts are considered to be the absolute basic and eternal of existences within this world.
“Six types of concept, which forms the six-sided star.
“Using the six concepts as guide, I believe that we can select the appropriate path to go.”
Most of the surrounding members’ faces remain confused. Only Newton appeared to be deep in thought. He then looked at Chen Xiaolian, his eyes showing traces of approval and appreciation.
“You have been talking for so long, so now… this kindness and wickedness, love and hate, life and death, six concepts, six passageways… how are we to differentiate them? I have already checked them before, none of the passageways have any markings! How are we to identify which one is Kindness, which one is Wickedness, which one is Love or Hate?” The Pattern Man asked, his question did not contain any tone of mockery, rather it was filled with objectivity.
Chen Xiaolian smiled.
At this moment, the smile on his clean and clear face looked calm and relaxed.
“Indeed, I do not know which passageway is Love or Hate, nor which is Kindness… but I know which passageway we should take!
“Do not forget, what is our objective for coming here?
“Demon Pillar! In most legends, demons are the symbol of Hell, death… thus, to find the Demon Pillar Seal, which passageway should we take? The answer should be self-evident, right?”
“You mean to say, by choosing the ‘Death’ passageway, we will be able to find the Demon Pillar Seal!” Newton’s eyes lit up!
Sara frowned. “But, the problem remains… there are six passageways here, which passageway is the one that signify ‘Death’? There are no hints or markings upon it.”
Chen Xiaolian gave a faint smile. “Which way did we come in from then?”
It was then everyone understood!
“The passageway that took us here is also one of the passageways of the six sided star… A passageway that connects to the outside, I believe that this passageway must signify ‘Life’!
“Six types of concepts, Kindness and Wickedness, Love and Hate, Life and Death. It just so happens that they are located on the opposite of one another. It signifies the opposing concepts, Kindness against Wickedness, Love against Hate, Life against Death! Since we all know that the path of Life is that way, then… the path of Death…”
“The path of Death, must certainly be located in the opposite direction of the path of ‘Life’!”
Everyone suddenly came to an understanding. At this instant, their gazes towards Chen Xiaolian had turned different.
Newton earnestly assessed Chen Xiaolian and nodded his head. In a deep voice, he said. “Not bad! It seems you have done well to prepare for this. In addition, you are also smart. A newbie like this is a promising one… en, if you can maintain this standard of performance later on, then once the quest is complete, I will recommend to the Guild Leader to make an exception and accept you as an official guild member.”
With the exception of Han Bi, the other three newbies gazed at Chen Xiaolian, traces of envy appearing within their eyes.
Chương 17: Underground Palace
After having chosen to go down the passageway of Death, the Wind Slasher Guild no longer hesitated and began moving out.
At the very moment, some of the other players who were still around saw the choice made by the Wind Slasher Guild. They too decided to follow along. As for the Wind Slasher Guild, they paid those followers no heed. Damon, coldly smiled. “Heng, that is not a bad thing. We have more fodder to use. When the time comes, we can use them to open up a path.”
As they moved onwards along the ‘passageway of Death’, the air around became increasingly suffocating. The appearance of the passageway remained the same, resembling the works of human hands.
Suddenly, the tactical flashlight in the hands of Newton who was walking at the very front went out.
“Damn it, it seems that the deeper we go, the higher the restriction placed onto equipment of the technological type,” Newton turned around and gave the other team members a glance, shouting. “Turn off the flashlights… do not use illumination equipment of the magical type. Who knows when we may have to fight, so don’t waste your strength. Use the Firefly Frogs.”
Everyone quickly moved to the east and smeared the Firefly Frog secretions onto the surface of their equipment. It was not long before each of them turned into something akin to humanoid fireflies. Within this pitch-black passageway, they were particularly eye-catching. In addition, they also lit up the passageway.
Han Bi secretly observed Chen Xiaolian’s actions and found that while Chen Xiaolian did smear the Firefly Frog secretions onto his protective suit… he had done so with caution. None of them came in contact with his sleeves or his clothes!
Han Bi realized something and followed suit. Chen Xiaolian watched Han Bi’s actions and gave him a wink when no one was watching. Both of them exchanged a look.
“Xiao Lian (face)!”
Newton suddenly shouted out for Chen Xiaolian. Chen Xiaolian thus moved to Newton’s side.
Newton looked at him and suddenly stuffed an item into Chen Xiaolian’s hand.
“As I have said earlier, if what you spoke of is of worth, then I will reward you. As a Team Leader, I meant what I said. I saw that the weapon that you are using is still the light sabre from the Beginner’s Package; the damage of that item is too low. This weapon was acquired from somewhere else and I cannot use it. But, for a newbie like you it will be very useful. I will gift this to you as a reward.”
Chen Xiaolian lowered his head to inspect the item. In his hand was a compact looking short sword – it was shaped like a Western styled cross-shaped holy sword. However, it was too small to the point where one could just wear it across the neck as a chain…
Upon the sword was a very, very small purple coloured gem.
Seeing the pale purple gem, the few newbies at the side seemingly had their eyes bulged out. Even Damon who wields the gigantic door like sword had subconsciously looked at it again another two times. He frowned.
“First bind it with your Personal System. When you are not using it, you can place it in the Item Box or wear it on your body as an accessory. When in battle, place it in your hand and grip it tightly; it will transform into its War Form. Remember, in War Form it becomes very sharp and provides bonus power. However, there is a limit to the amount of time that it can be used as it will drain your Endurance. Once your Endurance is exhausted, it will return to this current state.”
“…Thank you,” Chen Xiaolian himself was uncertain how he was feeling at the moment and had subconsciously uttered those words.
“All right, as for the others…” Newton gave a “heng” as he looked at the other newbies. “I am someone who knows how to differentiate between the time to reward and punish. Whoever you are, if you contribute to the team, I will reward you! Now, keep moving forward! Xiaolian, you follow beside me!”
Chen Xiaolian could not refuse and could only follow beside Newton as he walked in the vanguard position.
“It seems that Newton really values this kid,” Du Ya moved beside Sara and sneered in a low tone.
“It has been a long time since he saw a newbie with potential. This Xiaolian (face) is a silent one, but he is somewhat intelligent,” Sara closed her mouth and smiled tenderly. “Seeing someone who has potential, it is only natural that we recruit him. I am quite fond of him myself, only I wonder… how will he taste like.”
Du Ya gave Sara a glance, his heart secretly cursing **. He then moved to the side and slapped heavily onto TakashimotoShizuka’s buttocks, laughing as he shouted. “Faster, babe! Do not dawdle!”
Chen Xiaolian who was at the front heard Seidaikono Shizuka’s sobbing sounds, but fought the urge to look back.
…
Finally, the passageway seemingly came to an end and a circular shaped cavern door appeared before them.
Entering through it, everyone found that they were in another wide-open space!
This time around, the wide-open space seemed to be a huge underground palace. Looking upward, they found that the length between the stone ceiling and the ground was several tens of metres! Looking around, this wide-open space that was as big as a football stadium was dark and empty!
It was only at the very distant end that one could spot something resembling a door. Behind the door was a glimmering light – this made it particularly striking amidst the darkness.
Everywhere within this large hall area was densely covered with pillars.
Judging by its appearance, these pillars had been around for years. As for its location, there was no pattern to its placement, seemingly having one in the east and another in the west. There was no symmetry in them. In addition, some were intact while others had already deteriorated away and were partially collapsed.
Chen Xiaolian sniffed about with his nose and felt that the air here was filled with an indescribable odour of decay that caused him to become uncomfortable.
“There is something wrong here! Everyone be careful!”
Under Newton’s directive, the Wind Slasher Guild slowed down their movement speed.
The other players who were lazing about at the back also gradually caught up to them.
There were also others who were of greater courage. These people tried moving before the Wind Slasher Guild from the side. Seeing that the Wind Slasher Guild did not attempt to obstruct them, they quickened their pace.
“A bunch of fools, I love these type of idiotic voluntary scouts the most,” Sara sneered.
“Du Ya!” Newton shouted. Du Ya instantly understood Newton’s intention and summoned out his pet.
An entirely black-coloured crow, with a body mass equivalent to that of a small animal, claws curved like a hook and its pair of eyes bloody red in colour came to perch down on Du Ya’s arm.
Du Ya nudged his arms and the crow flew off. It circled around in the air at a low altitude before moving off and disappearing amidst the dense stone pillars.
A moment later, Du Ya called out in a low voice. “Newton! There is a situation!”
It was unknown what method Du Ya had utilized, but he managed to project out his personal system’s radar screen. Before the surrounding crowd, a clear three-dimensional projection appeared. Upon the computer sized radar screen, the Wind Slasher Guild was the central point with ten green dots and two yellow dots, the Japanese flight attendant and Soo Soo.
In the distance…
In their surroundings, a dense cluster of red dots appeared upon the radar screen! The red dots were so numerous it had become connected with one another to the point where the singular dots could no longer be differentiated!
“Prepare for battle!”
Newton tensed up and cried out in a low voice. Following that, the members of the team began tensing up as well.
Damon gripped onto door like gigantic sword with both hands, Sara retrieved her compound bow, nocking five arrows at the same time. As for Du Ya, he produced in each hands a… gun?
As for Pattern Man, he narrowed his eyes, both his hands gripping onto a crescent shaped scimitar each.
Amongst the group of newbies, Mediterranean produced a shield. However, the edges of the shield was obviously lined with sharp steel – who knows where this newbie managed to get his hands on this type of strange weapon.
Skinny Female and Han Bi gripped onto the same type of light sabre that Chen Xiaolian had formerly used.
What was most fascinating was the Tribal Warrior. As an European male with bear like stature… the weapon he was holding turned out to be a long and narrow katana?
“Be careful! The speed of those things are fast! Three hundred more metres! Anticipated time of contact, 20 seconds!”
Du Ya immediately announced in a loud voice.
Clearly, the crow was his War Pet. In addition, this War Pet must have been equipped with a certain ability for reconnaissance and shared vision with its owner.
At this moment, sounds of shock and misery came out from before them!
The unknown team that had ventured off before the Wind Slasher Guild had become the first to receive the incoming attacks!
The veteran members of Wind Slasher Guild instantly showed a tacit understanding of one another and formed a circular formation with their backs against one another… however, this action brought forth an unexpected result. It seemed they had subconsciously abandoned the group of newbies.
The group of newbies did not have the veterans’ level of tacit understanding. After the circular formation was formed, Chen Xiaolian found that the others had ended up on the outside of the circular formation. He was the only exception.
In his case, he had been following Newton all this time. Thus, when the formation was complete, he just happen to be placed behind Newton.
Unexpectedly, TakashimotoShizuka and Soo Soo were also there together with Chen Xiaolian.
At this moment, Du Ya seemingly found something through his War Pet. His face suddenly changed and he shouted out loudly. “Be careful! The monsters are Demon Soldiers! Lots and lots of them!”
Du Ya shared out a three-dimensional projection, this was clearly his pet crow’s field of vision.
Upon the screen, groups of monsters with short stature, wearing tattered armour and holding onto various types of weapons swarmed forward. Tusks protruded from each of their faces, painting a terrifying and violent image of beasts. Their movements were violent and agile, jumping even as they ran. With an apelike manner, they would jump back and forth upon the pillars within the hall!
The most critical part was that… upon the screen, their numbers… were simply outrageously high!
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