prynovel Chapter 178: The Trials Are Full of Intricacies
Chapter 178: The Trials Are Full of Intricacies
Chapter 178: The Trials Are Full of Intricacies
Publicly campaigning would not only demonstrate Maya's determination and legitimacy, but also create better conditions for Eric's team to conduct their covert investigation.
Surrounded by an ever-growing ceremonial procession of dwarven citizens, Li Ang and his entourage arrived in a grand procession at the Ancestral Library, located on the top floor of Ironforge.
The atmosphere was solemn and respectful in front of the magnificent library gates. Amid the cheers of the onlookers, Mei Ya took a deep breath and stepped onto the steps first, followed closely by Li Ang and the others.
Upon entering the outer layer of the library, they did not go into the reading area, but instead, led by Maya, turned into a side passageway.
As the group walked through the passageway, their path was soon blocked by a huge stone gate.
Maya took a deep breath and pressed the runestone she had obtained from Regent Gron into the groove in the center of the stone door.
"Buzz"
The runestone fit perfectly into the groove, instantly emitting a soft glow.
The patterns on the stone door were lit up one by one, emitting a heavy rumbling sound, and slowly opened inward, revealing a not-so-long passageway behind it.
Maya put away the runestone and explained, "The entrance to the Trial of Wisdom is at the deepest part of the library, but to get there, you need to pass some minor tests on the outer layer first."
Then she pointed to a seemingly ordinary metal door at the end of the passageway.
"That was the first small test, which is said to be open only to those who truly thirst for knowledge and have pure minds."
As the group approached, they saw that the metal gate had no obvious keyhole, but only a complex turntable made up of several concentric rings, with the rings engraved with fine dwarven runes and constellation patterns.
"This is a Star Lock," Rudick said, pushing up his glasses and leaning closer to examine it closely, a look of interest on his face.
"I read in 'A Brief Analysis of Ancient Mechanical Arts' that unlocking this kind of lock requires turning the rings in a specific celestial order. If you make a mistake, the door will be completely locked. Moreover, the dwarves' celestial constellations are different from our common celestial constellations. They have always used the ancient sayings."
He took out the newly purchased "Common Dwarven Vocabulary and Grammar" and his notebook, and, referring to the runes on the door, he pointed his finger in the air and muttered calculations.
"Hmm—starting with the Forge Star, corresponding to the trajectory of Corona Borealis, and then passing through the Light of Silverbeard"—
Then the ridge of the mountain range—
He carefully reached out his hand and began to slowly rotate the outermost ring.
As he moved, the runes on the ring lit up in turn, emitting a soft "click" sound.
At this moment, everyone except Olivia was on tenterhooks, fearing that he might make a mistake.
A moment later, as the last rune returned to its place, a soft "click" sounded, and a gentle white light shone from the center of the Star Lock. The heavy metal door slid open silently inward.
"It worked!" Helena breathed a sigh of relief.
Rudik wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled shyly: "Luckily, I didn't forget."
Olivia replied nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? Even if the door is really locked, I can break it down."
Behind the door is a spiral stone staircase leading upwards, and every few steps on the wall is a magic lamp.
After walking for about five minutes, a spacious stone chamber appeared ahead.
On the floor in the center of the stone chamber, a huge and intricate grid pattern is carved, with different colored lights shimmering within the grid.
"This is the second trial, the Path of the Wise." Maya's expression was solemn.
"It's said that you have to step on the correct square every time, otherwise you'll trigger a trap. But the specific rules—I'm not quite sure."
Looking at the road, Li Ang wondered to himself if he could fly across it.
However, their brooms were not with them at this time, because Gwen had hidden them in the hotel in shadows for fear that the brooms would reveal their identities.
He glanced at Olivia again, thinking that she could fly there by herself, but he wondered if she could take them with her.
Rudik stepped forward again, squatted down, and carefully studied the pattern and color changes of the grid. He then looked up at the corresponding constellation murals on the ceiling of the stone chamber.
"This is like a gacha puzzle based on mathematics and astrology—look, the color changes are regular, and there seems to be a mapping relationship with the movement of the Big Dipper at the top—but I need some time to figure out the pattern—"
Just as Rudik was fully focused on solving the puzzle, Olivia yawned widely, her red vertical pupils scanning the shimmering grid with boredom, and muttered, "Is solving this so complicated? Why don't I just fly you guys over there?"
Before anyone could react, the air around her distorted as soon as she finished speaking.
Then, a pair of enormous, shimmering, and magnificent red dragon wings unfolded behind her with a "whoosh".
Seeing Olivia offer to lead everyone over, Li Ang felt much more relaxed, like a pillow appearing just when he was sleepy.
Olivia first looked at her own hands, then at the living people and the five motionless shadow clones present, and frowned.
"Tsk, only two can be brought at a time—that's a bit of a hassle."
Li Ang was taken aback, then realized that Olivia in her human form could only carry people by hand and fly, so she could only carry two at a time.
Olivia's gaze first fell on Leon and Maya. "Captain and Little Bean, you go first."
She grabbed Li Ang by the back of his collar with one hand and Maya's shoulder armor with the other. With a flap of her wings, she easily swept over the complex grid below, creating a strong gust of wind, and landed steadily on the opposite side.
Maya gasped in surprise at the sudden airlift. She was still a little dizzy after landing, her bright green eyes wide open.
As for the nickname "Little Bean," she felt it was at least better than the previous nickname "Little Dwarf."
After dropping off the two, Olivia didn't linger and immediately turned back.
This time, Helena and Ludick were brought along.
Rudick was clearly not used to this rough way of moving, and his face turned pale with fright.
After transporting all the living team members, Olivia looked at the remaining six shadow clones opposite her, put her hands on her hips, and sighed: "These shadow people are really exhausting for the great Olivia."
Despite her complaints, she resigned herself to taking off again, carrying two people at a time, like a porter, and bringing over the members of the Eighth Squad and Celia's shadow clone one by one.
When the last shadow clone was safely delivered, Olivia folded her dragon wings, clapped her hands, and looked at Li Ang with an expression that said, "Praise me!"
"All done. How was it, Captain? The great Olivia did a pretty good job, didn't she?"
Looking at her slightly smug expression, Li Ang nodded: "Very good, Olivia, thank you for your hard work."
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Li Ang didn't hold back his praise, after all, although Olivia could follow orders before, this was the first time she had offered to help on her own initiative.