prynovel Chapter 4126 Falling to the ground
Chapter 4126 Falling to the ground
Chapter 4126 Falling to the ground
"They were wiped out in just five minutes?" Ifda looked at Muda in surprise.
Faced with Ifta's gaze, Muda looked somewhat ashamed, lowered her head, and nodded slightly.
"Who killed you? Was it the angels on earth?"
Muda shook her head: "It wasn't an angel on earth; it was killed by something called terrestrial spores."
Unlike the situation at the police tower, the area where Muda's team was located was inside the building, where each room contained some visible "information".
Food, water, books, supplies...
To understand this level, the Muda team began searching the building for any relevant information.
During this process, they unearthed all sorts of supplies, and even found some undamaged weapons.
But just as they were happily "picking up trash," suddenly, everyone felt a force pulling them downwards. Then, they felt as if the ground had turned into water, easily dragging them to the ground. They fell layer by layer, and finally, after a sharp pain, their vision went black.
—They were kicked out of the checkpoint.
As they were bewildered, the text bar flashed for a moment, displaying relevant information about the attack.
"You have suffered the 'fall to the ground' of the terrestrial mycelium."
"Based on our assessment, your body could not withstand this power; you are dead."
"Death protection has been activated."
"The 'Earth Angel' level is now on cooldown."
Cooldown countdown: 23:59:59
Cooldown countdown: 23:59:58
"Cooldown countdown..."
“It wasn’t just me; everyone was killed by the ‘Groundfall’ skill of the Earth Fungus Spores. No one could stop it.” Muda said, a hint of fear still lingering in her eyes.
On the other side of the police tower, perhaps because Nereid's attack overflowed too much, the police tower was hit and protected earlier, so they did not feel much pain of death.
But Muda's team clearly felt "death." The intense pain made her unable to forget the moment of life and death even after she had left the checkpoint.
However, with everyone watching her, she forced herself to suppress her discomfort and continued talking about the circumstances surrounding her "fall to earth".
"You can also view further information about 'fallen' through the text bar..."
"Falling to Earth: After the spores of the earth fungus erode the soil and rocks, they will mimic the appearance of soil and rocks. If any living being stands on it, it will be pulled underground and strangled there."
"Note: Based on the assessment, this ability is considered an instant kill ability for you."
After Muda finished explaining the "Fall to Earth" ability, she said softly, "After our team came out, we did a simple debriefing."
"Based on the description of the 'Fall to Earth' ability, we suspect that while we were searching for clues, the terrestrial fungal spores secretly invaded the floor beneath our feet."
"Unbeknownst to us, the floor was eroded by them, and they then simulated the floor, launching a trap and attack against us."
"Therefore, if we are to enter it again tomorrow, we cannot stay in the same place for too long. Otherwise, the ground beneath our feet may very well be replaced by terrestrial fungal spores."
The above is Muda's speculation, and it is also the only clue they obtained when they entered the "Earth Angel" level.
After Muda finished speaking, she lowered her head in shame.
The police tower squad at least saw the final dragon Nereid, but they didn't even get to see the face of the "earth angel," which made her too ashamed to look up.
At this moment, Angel suddenly spoke up: "According to you, you think the reason why the terrestrial fungal spores didn't attack you in the first five minutes of the game is because they were secretly eroding the floor beneath your feet?"
Muda nodded: "Yes."
"Have you ever considered that the entire building has actually been eroded by fungal spores long ago?" Angell asked.
Muda looked puzzled and hesitated, saying, "That shouldn't be possible. If the building had already been corroded, wouldn't that be a dead end?"
"If it's truly a dead end, you won't have five minutes to survive safely."
"Besides, you weren't on the first floor at the time, were you?"
Muda nodded: "We should have been on the ninth floor at that time."
"According to the description of 'Falling to Earth,' you must be dragged to the ground before the geomycete spores will perform a strangulation test on you. In other words, you will fall from the ninth floor all the way to the ground."
“Throughout the process, you went through at least nine floors, and you were even searching for supplies separately.”
"Can the spores of *Geomyces cerevisiae* really completely erode the floor beneath your feet in just five minutes?"
"Also, when the fungal spores erode the floor, they can really do it silently, without you noticing at all?"
Angel's series of questions left Muda speechless.
Although information from Wonderland indicates that the spores of the fungus can simulate earthen and stone floors, its erosion can be so seamless that it is completely undetectable.
After thinking about it carefully, Muda also felt that it was unlikely.
Thinking about it this way, it seems that Angell's guess is actually quite possible.
Perhaps the spores of the fungus had already completely eroded the building, and the floor they were stepping on when they entered was already simulated by the spores.
This explanation is actually more reasonable.
However, there is a problem that needs to be solved: if the spores of the fungus had already invaded the entire building, why not attack them in the first place?
In response to Muda's question, Angel shrugged: "I didn't go in myself, so I don't know either. But like you said, a level can't be a dead end right from the start. Maybe the fact that you weren't attacked for the first five minutes was a safe period granted by the power of the fairy realm?"
The rabbit girl then offered her own guess: "It's also possible that the terrestris spores were initially dormant? Did your movements on them awaken them?"
Angel glanced at the rabbit girl and affirmed, "I think your guess is more reliable than mine."
The rabbit girl tilted her head: "If that's really the case, then wouldn't we be unable to move once we're inside, or else we'll wake them up?"
“Not necessarily…” Angel muttered under his breath, “There must be a solution.”
However, Angell actually had a guess about the specific solution, but he didn't say it aloud.
Gray Porcelain suddenly muttered, "It seems that Gabriel won't be affected by the Fallen if he enters this instance..."
Gray Porcelain's words startled everyone, and then all eyes turned to Gabriel.
Gabriel was quite large, and there was no seat provided for it; it simply floated quietly to the side. But it was this "floating" feature that caught Muda's eye.
"That's right! Fallen creatures are only attacked by ground fungus spores when they're standing on the ground. If they can fly, this problem will be solved!" Muda exclaimed.
But after she finished speaking, her expression turned dejected again: "But our team doesn't have any members who can fly, and besides, the team leader has to enter this level with us..."
Muda herself is the leader of the group. She is just an ordinary Crystal Eye Clan member. After entering this level, it is impossible for her to suddenly sprout wings and fly.
"Not being able to fly isn't a problem. You can recruit more team members who can fly," Gray Porcelain said in a low voice. "Besides, even if you can't fly, you can have someone who can fly take you with them."
Previously, when Gray Porcelain was in the Heroic Dungeon, he was being chased by the townspeople. He couldn't run anymore, so Gabriel carried him out of the pursuit range.
So it doesn't matter if a person can't fly, as long as they find someone who can fly to take them with them.
Gray Porcelain: "If you don't want to recruit more flight crew members, you can rent or buy flight equipment."
I've seen gray porcelain before; it's a magical prop that allows people to "grow wings and fly."
There are also some flying fairy pets...
In short, from Gray Porcelain's perspective, there are many ways to make something fly, and this should be the easiest problem to solve.
Muda was also awakened by Gray Porcelain's words. Her eyes flickered; she had something to do during this cooldown period. As the team leader, solving the flight problem was her duty.
Gray Porcelain: "But then again, the flight problem is easy to solve, but you haven't even seen the angels on Earth yet, that's the hardest thing to solve..."
Muda's expression was blank as she lowered her head again.
"Ahem." Angel coughed twice. "Alright, let's stop here for now."
"Regardless, thank you Muda and Jingta for sharing."
Police Tower and Muda stood up and bowed, saying, "It is our honor to be able to help everyone."
Having said that, Eveta judged that the next step should be an internal meeting of the Dream Mirror organization, so she took the initiative to say, "Then I'll take them away first, and then see if any other teams come out."
After Eveda finished speaking, she gestured for the police tower and Muda to follow her.
However, before they left, Angor asked, "By the way, did you... see any NPCs?"
According to the rules of the Sandbox Wonderland, each level has a special NPC who will give a score based on their level of approval of the team.
But neither the police tower nor Muda mentioned any outsiders during their narration.
Police Tower and Muda exchanged a puzzled look.
They shook their heads, and the police tower said, "No, I didn't see any NPCs at all."
Muda felt the same way, though she was a little embarrassed: "Our activity area is too small, just inside the building, and only on the ninth floor. There might be NPCs, but we didn't encounter any."
Police Tower and Muda followed Eveda away from the Word Manor.
Now, only the Dreamers remain in the manor.
Everyone was now pondering the question Angor had raised about NPCs.
Since the NPC is going to acknowledge the team, they must observe the team; in other words, the NPC should be present.
They should at least appear when challenging the final boss.
But the police tower squad has already started fighting Nereid, and none of the NPCs have shown up. What's going on?
Does this mean the NPCs operate on a "surveillance" model, only revealing themselves after the battle is over?
It's even possible... they won't show up even after the battle is over?
As for the so-called NPC recognition, is that also a tacit recognition?
Everyone was a bit confused, having no idea what this NPC was all about.
At this moment, Laplace suddenly spoke up: "You didn't see any NPCs either?"
Gabriel and other later members did not understand Laplace's meaning.
But the rabbit girl understood what she meant: Angor has a God's-eye view and had previously used it to see the situation inside the level. Logically speaking, Angor should have seen the NPCs.
Angell shook his head slightly: "I didn't see it, and..."
Angel paused for a moment, trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts.
"...I suspect there's more than one level."
Everyone was puzzled, but Gabriel, controlling the puppet, said, "Aren't there six levels in total?"
Angell shook his head: "What I mean is, there might be more than one of the same level."
With so many teams taking on the challenge simultaneously, there will inevitably be some overlap.
For example, in the case of "Nereid," it's possible that not only the police tower squad is challenging it, but other squads are also challenging it, yet they haven't encountered each other in the level.
This actually proves that there is more than one level for the same task.
Angell had indeed viewed the levels in the six-layer puzzle from a god's-eye view, but the levels he saw were all empty, with no challengers or NPCs.
This is also a key reason why Angell suspects there is more than one checkpoint.
“Indeed, there’s definitely more than one of the same level.” Laplace nodded. “This must be a special mechanism of the Sandbox Wonderland.”
This view was accepted by everyone.
Angel: "Because there is more than one level, I suspect that the reason why the police tower team and the Muda team did not see the NPC is because the NPC is not in the level they are trying to clear."
Gray Porcelain's eyes lit up: "That makes sense!"
"Maybe the NPC can determine which team is progressing faster, and then he'll appear in the level where the fastest team is!"
Although this is just a guess about gray porcelain, Angell actually agrees with it.
In the level he saw from God's perspective, there were no NPCs. Perhaps the level was too slow, and the NPCs went to other levels where the teams were progressing.
Thinking about it that way, it actually makes a lot of sense.
“We can put the NPC's question aside for now. We should have the answer once you enter,” Laplace said. She was confident that Angor leading the team into the level would be the fastest way to progress. If Gray Porcelain's guess was correct, then the NPC would naturally be drawn over.
"Now we need to discuss which level to choose for the challenge first?"
Laplace steered the conversation back on track, and everyone began to think.
Even Gray Porcelain was pondering. He hadn't dared to enter before because of cowardice, but now that he discovered the checkpoint had a death protection system, especially the police tower squad, who "died" without even feeling any pain, his courage had grown.
"Currently, there are six levels, four of which are completely unknown dungeons, and no one knows the inside story; therefore, I personally suggest that these four levels be postponed for now." Gray Porcelain: "It would be better to choose from the known 'Nereid' or 'Earth Angel' first, especially since we have obtained first-hand information from the Crystal Eye Clan!"
After Gray Porcelain's analysis, Gabriel said quietly, "You're actually just afraid of the unknown."
Gray Porcelain's eyes snapped shut as it stared at Gabriel.
Gabriel continued, "But then again, it's an improvement that you've come to this point. Before, I would have given you zero out of a hundred, but now, I can give you twenty."
Gray Porcelain pursed its lips, too lazy to bother with her.
Laplace ignored their argument and looked at Gray Porcelain: "So, of the two known levels, which one should we choose?"
Gray Porcelain thought for a moment and said, "Let's go with Nereid..."
The main reason for choosing Nereid is, as the police tower mentioned before, that he didn't react at all to his "death," and it didn't hurt; only his clothes were slightly dirty.
Therefore, Gray Porcelain chose Nereid, so even if the challenge failed, it wouldn't hurt too much.
(End of this chapter)