Chapter 79: Chapter 53: The Mysterious Box
Translator: 549690339
As he spoke, Leonard Churchill pulled out a piece of paper.
On it, he drew a two-dimensional layout of a maze, then added a route. During their three days in the maze, besides noting the path, he also marked all the activity areas of thefSecret Keepers]they encountered.
While drawing, Leonard explained, “There is a confirmed[Secret Keeperion this route As soon as we walk by, it will undeniably become hostile and chase us. So, we must sprint through the tunnel with utmost determination, without any delays or looking back…”
This was the most dangerous aspect of the plan he proposed.
Camilla, already accustomed to Leonard’s meticulous mind, nodded in agreement without hesitation.1 Uh-huh.
On the other hand, Tracy Garcia was absolutely stunned by what she heard.
If she was astonished to hear about the ‘Rubik’s cube’, she was utterly amazed
now.
She watched as Leonard casually drew on the paper, creating an accurate route of the maze. It was a skill beyond the reach of ordinary people.
She had previously wondered why he had not made any markings, but he had actually memorized everything?
Along with the planning, Tracy held her attention with wide eyes; this guy had thought of everything when he finally spoke.
By the way she looked at Leonard, she clearly admired him.
He seemed as if he hadn’t done anything for three days, but in fact, he had meticulously thought out everything.
Once he finished speaking, Tracy couldn’t help exclaiming, “Mr. Leonard Churchill, you… you’ve memorized the entire maze?”
Leonard glanced at her and humbly replied, “More or less.”
Something occurred to Tracy, and she continued, “But…what if, I mean, just in case you remembered it wrong, won’t there be…
Listening to her prolonged implication, Leonard chuckled.
Made a mistake?
Of course not.
Mere puzzle-solving wasn’t particularly challenging for him.
Even without a photographic memory, remembering the route is a common
skill in these types of puzzle games.
When Camilla heard Tracy’s incredulous tone, she felt a familiar sensation as if
she was seeing her past self.
Because once upon a time in room 407, she had asked many similar questions.
But each ending proved that she had overthought.
That guy had already considered everything from the very beginning. Knowing already what Leonard would say, she responded directly, “There are no ‘ifs’. We only have one shot.”
Leonard smiled and nodded, acknowledging, “Exactly.”
Indeed, there was no room for ’if s’.
If they didn’t dare to take this risk, they would never leave the maze.
Hearing this, Tracy did not say much more.
Finally, Leonard warned, “If we get separated due to some unforeseen reasons, just follow this route, we should meet again. If a Secret Keeper confronts you, stick to the plan. Above all, don’t look at the creature, or else you’ll get polluted…”
Camilla and Tracy nodded slightly in acknowledgment, “Okay.”
After a brief discussion among the three, their eyes turned to the passage
ahead.
Leonard took a deep breath to regulate his breath and shouted, “Run!”
As soon as he finished, three figures instantly vanished from the scene.
Leonard’s physical fitness was far superior, his sprint speed was even faster
than the sprinters of his former life.
Camilla was even more formidable. She sprinted at full speed while carrying the physically weaker Tracy with one hand, without falling behind.
As Leonard had anticipated, once they reached a junction, an overwhelming pressure emerged from around a corner like a tidal wave.
Camilla sensed it and shouted, “It’s coming!
Leonard had already experienced thejSecret Keeper], this sensation of being stripped of one’s soul was all too familiar.
It was indeed that creature.
Anyone else would instinctively glance back upon sensing the anomaly. Tracy also had an urge to look back, but remembering Leonard’s warning, she turtled her neck and sprinted even faster.
The trio had no time to care about anything else as they dashed recklessly through the tunnels.
The monstrous tide raced after them.
The trotting sounds of the spectral warhorse like a ticking time bomb, its pace increasingly urgent.
It was closing the gap.
The cold and frightening sensation, as though a ghoul was blowing cold air on your neck, became increasingly distinct.
Leonard had already put on his clown mask, his eyes icy. Strong determination relaxed on Camilla’s face, gleaming against her head of silver hair.
Among the three, only Tracy was pale with fear, due to the pollution from the creature which emanated deep into her soul.
The creature was about to catch up with them, but they still hadn’t stopped, and instead sprinted forward headfirst!
As they continued running,
Suddenly, the scenery around them brightened.
It was as if they had darted from one side of the Rubik’s cube to another, into a
completely unfamiliar passage.
Behind them, the creature’s aura abruptly disappeared.
“We made it!”
Looking around, Leonard noted that there were no markings in the passage. He immediately realized they had entered a whole new corridor.
A few seconds earlier than the time he calculated.
At the same time, a prompt appeared: ‘Entered Hidden Dimension. Exploration increased by +20%. Additional rewards granted upon settlement.
Camilla also sensed something and alerted, “The monster’s aura is gone.”
Only then did the trio stop and let out a sigh of relief. Glancing back, they saw the maze’s corridor, which they had just come from, slowly shifting. Like the gears in precision machinery meshing and turning.
What a magical scene!
Seeing this, they were all taken aback.
So, this was how to correctly navigate thejGrand Cemetery Labyrinth], From this moment on, this meant that they had truly found a glimmer of hope of leaving the maze.
But before they could take another breather, Leonard noticed some scattered bones in the corridor and wondered aloud, “Has someone else been here before?”
Being a Spirit Communicator herself, Tracy was very familiar with the undead. She examined the bones she had picked up from the ground and confirmed, “The break on the bone doesn’t look old, seems to be only two or three days. There’s residual frost curse power. It should be the Frost Knight from the
Governor’s Mansion.”
Hearing this, Camilla also looked puzzled.
She hadn’t expected anyone else to reach this place besides them.
Leonard frowned slightly, thinking it was not surprising for the Governor’s
Mansion to have a puzzle expert.
But thinking carefully, two or three days ago?
Swarmed by all those monsters and surviving is one thing, but to have the peace of mind to decipher a puzzle? How did they manage that?
Leonard pondered for a moment but didn’t understand, nor did he think deeply
about it.
If he expected the worst, they may encounter countless enemies.
But on the bright side, someone had been here before and cleaned out the monsters, making it considerably safer.
The current situation might not be as bad as expected.
Of course, Leonard thought that those who entered three days ago might not
be alive now.
Although this new area differs from the previous labyrinth, according to the contents recorded in the adventurer’s notebook, the danger was not less than outside.
Besides, that professional adventurer called “Yuri” didn’t manage to leave alive,
so finding an exit wouldn’t be easy.
Overthinking is useless, the three of them now also need to find a way out. Leonard’s gaze shifted from the skeleton bones and scanned all around the stone walls.
Unlike the bare rock walls in the previous labyrinth, the corridors here were filled with all sorts of line drawings. Towering humans, human-bodied animal-headed monsters, various symbols…
The skills of the carvers were extremely sophisticated; they used simple lines to create vivid murals that drew people into the scene.
Leonard looked at the content recorded on it as they traveled along, it seemed to be the life deeds of a king – conquering in all directions, blessing the people, killing terrifying monsters, mysterious sacrifices…
Some content appeared historical, while some looked like incredible mythological stories.
Leonard walks, examines, and even noted down some symbols.
However, he suddenly saw a symbol with mysterious implications: C. Not only this moon symbol, but Leonard also saw many mysterious symbols that had appeared previously in the basement of Tailor Street!
“So, the wicked ritual in Tailor Street is directly related to the Ancient Taron
Country?”
Leonard’s interest grew as he watched.
The mysterious ritual on the wall seemed to point to an even more distant ancient secret.
But why did this ritual appear again in the murals of the tomb’s underground palace?
Sinless City didn’t have any historical records, and Leonard didn’t know much about the history of this world.
But he couldn’t find any clue after watching for a long time.
Camilla and Tracy Garcia, who were by his side, watched him focus intently on the murals and didn’t disturb him.
The three of them walked and observed in this way.
Suddenly, a strange noise came from the corridor.
The expressions of the three changed instantaneously.
The sound of battle?
There are other survivors!
Leonard’s eyes moved swiftly.
The sound seemed far away, but judging by the level of echoing, it would not take long for them to catch up.
Leonard shouted urgently, “Run!
The three of them immediately sprinted ahead.
Before long, Camilla sensed something and shouted in panic, “It’s the [Secret
Keepers]!”
As they ran, Leonard asked, “How many?
Camilla’s voice trembled slightly, “Three.”
But just as she finished speaking, she took a few more steps, suddenly her face turned pale, “Not good, there are some ahead too!”
They were blocked by monsters in front and chased by monsters from behind, collision seemed inevitable.
The situation immediately became dire.
Leonard also found it strange, since there were [Secret Keepers], on the sixth day already, how could someone still survive under their hands?
But the current situation was clear, if they kept running, they will certainly get
in trouble.
Leonard made a resolute choice and shouted, “Execute the original plan!” Camilla didn’t hesitate at all, the moment she heard these words, she stabbed with her mental power, and Tracy Garcia fainted once again.
She herself also immediately closed her eyes, blocked her hearing, and finally
said, “I’ll leave it to you.”
They had discussed the contingency plan in case they encounter [Secret
Keepers].
Only by blocking their own perception could they minimize the attraction of hostility and curse pollution.
Leonard didn’t dare to delay, he hoisted the two of them around the waist and fell into a dark corner of the corridor.
He put on the clown mask instantly, and started playing dead.
But this time, it wasn’t just one person, but three.
Because of their decisive actions, in just a few seconds, the sound of battle appeared behind them.
The “clanging” sound of weapons clashing echoed through the corridor. Listening to the noise, Leonard thought to himself, “Are there really survivors?”
Although it seemed like there was only one, it was still incredible.
How did this guy survive?
Without needing to guess, in an instant, he saw the person.
It was a frost knight fully clad in frost armor. He probably activated some secret skill as he was very fast. His body was cloaked in a foot-high flame of white and eerie curse power, resisting the tide-like black smoke erosion coming from behind him.
Behind him, three [Secret Keepers] riding skeleton warhorses were in relentless pursuit.
But from the knight’s actions, it was obvious he was running on fumes, utterly exhausted, and heavily wounded.
But what startled Leonard wasn’t anything else, but… This guy was actually engaging the three Catastrophes chasing him head-on?
What’s going on?
He clearly remembered that the attack method of the [Secret Keepers] was a mysterious type of curse, the people being attacked would have their spirit and flesh sucked dry.
But right now, this frost knight was actually in close combat? How did this guy resist such terrifying curse pollution?
Shortness of breath, in the darkness, Leonard’s eyes are filled with intense curiosity, and he had a hunch that the knight had found the way to restrain the monsters.
He didn’t dare to look at the Secret Keepers, his eyes swept up and down over the frost knight, immediately he noticed something unusual.
This knight was holding a great sword in his left hand, and surprisingly holding a black briefcase in his right.
Even at such a critical moment, this guy did not abandon the briefcase.
What’s in the box?
Why not put it in the storage ring but hold it in hand?
A series of questions emerged in Leonard’s mind.. However, he understood one thing, whatever was in that box could restrain the monster’s curse!