Eugene came for the rope ladder for the second time.
He carefully touched the edge of the stone platform. This time, there was no air wall to hinder his fingers. However, as they climbed up the rope ladder, the gravity around them instantly reversed, causing the rope ladder to stretch straight upward.
It was almost a clear sign for them to continue ascending.
In the darkness of the night, the stone platform above them was nothing more than a pitch-black silhouette, as quiet as a graveyard. Who knew whether ascending would bring them face to face with even more outrageous monsters.
Such scenes were fine in a game, but now faced with this unknown, Nol felt genuine displeasure—he had the feeling of being toyed with.
Eugene jumped down from the vertical rope ladder, which still stood erect, as if in defiance.
Unable to contact the personnel below, Eugene's expression was rather unpleasant. Sensing the shift in mood, Damori couldn't sit still. "How about… I mean, why don't we regroup here for the night? When the sun is up, we can try to send a message."
Nol sighed inwardly.
If the Lord of The Manor was really following the logic of a game, he would definitely not leave behind a mechanism like "game characters defending the original map". In floating maps, the designers favorite method was to use—
The stone platform began to tremble with a thunderous vibration, and a chilling, terrifying cracking sound came from within. Numerous cracks swiftly spread under their feet, and the once-solid ground became unstable, fluctuating up and down.
The limbless corrupted monster still lay where it was, mechanically biting at the air.
Its giant mouth opened and closed, rhythmically making a "clack, clack, clack" sound, like a countdown timer.
The collapse came very suddenly.
Eugene grabbed Damori, who was closest to him, and with his other hand, he grabbed the cloak of the female knight next to him. He only had time to glance at "Drake" before his figure disappeared into the rolling smoke and shadows.
Just seconds before, the knight named Dia had run towards Eugene, but he wasn't fast enough and failed to touch the hem of Eugene's robe. His eyes reflected the starry sky and dust, filled with terror.
The next second, Knight Dia's cloak tightened. He was pulled upward, and though the position didn't allow him to look up, he knew who had lent a hand—in addition to himself, only the skillful Mr. Drake remained.
The night belonged to the shadows. Thick dust laid the path of shadows, and Teest mounted the shadow wolf, stepping on shadows to ascend. He held Nol around the waist, and Nol clutched Dia as they leaped upwards together.
By the time they reached the upper stone platform, Dia hadn't had a chance to utter words of gratitude before he passed out. The last thing flashing before his blurred vision was a huge black nose.
"We were almost able to have a perfect world for just the two of us," Teest complained, retracting the hand that had knocked the man out. The shadow wolf curiously sniffed around Knight Dia, ending with a sneeze.
"I've looked through the list of Investigation Knights. His full name is Dia Blanco," Nol said. "Strictly speaking, he's a distant relative of yours. I couldn't just ignore him."
"Yeah, a handsome young man, with long hair too," Teest hummed.
"What a pity. I only take in followers that are mentally ill. This one is too normal," Nol hummed back, helping Dia onto the back of the shadow wolf. The situation here was strange, and he had no expectations for the cowardly Ben to lead the way.
"You think that kid Eugene is dead?" Teest asked hopefully.
"It depends on whether his prophecy includes an image of him dying from a fall. The Temple of Life values him so much, so I guess his prophecy must be something special." Nol took Kando from his chest and placed it back on the Staff of Sacrifice.
"I'll bet a gold wheel that the kid has jumped onto the stone platform below." Teest kicked the pebbles under the platform.
Feeling the cold night wind, Kando opened its eyes, and its eyeballs spun wildly. Nol was waiting for it to curse, but it remained silent and slowly closed its eyes again.
"Be careful," it warned them wearily. "I've never seen this formation before."
"Really? Then you should take a good look." Teest forcibly opened Kando's eyelids, and it beat him with a stream of wax tears.
"Ah, we were so close to having a perfect world for just the two of us…" And so, the Mad Monk let go of Kando and started muttering again.
Why are you saying that in a loop?
Nol sighed and took the initiative to grab Teest's wrist. "Let's go."
"Aren't you going to have some late-night snacks? I just found a piece of wreckage." Teest didn't move, almost writing "I'm not motivated" on his face.
"It's not appropriate. Someone might be watching us."
Nol tugged at the corner of his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the pitch-black platform. "Teest, it seems you're not looking forward to what's coming."
"I want the truth, but I don't like the process." Teest yawned while propping one arm on Nol's shoulder. "Throwing people into an enclosure, then throwing in a monster, only the victor gets to leave alive. I've been fighting like this since I was a kid. It's a bit tiring aesthetically."
Thinking of the possible experiences of the young Teest, Nol's expression stiffened.
Teest glanced at him without a trace and continued casually, "The opponents here are just like puppets—not even as fun as fighting the shadow wolf. Compared to this mess, I prefer your 'game'."
Nol's expression relaxed a bit, and his mouth involuntarily curled up. "You don't want to fight this?"
"Mm."
"Then we won't fight." Nol cleared his throat. "Let's find something interesting to do."
Teest raised his eyebrows at him and slapped the freshly formed air wall. "But there are invisible walls here—"
Nol smiled at him. "As long as magic still works here, I have a way out."
He sat down on the spot, patting beside him. Teest understood and leaned over, stretching out comfortably.
Mr. Lich clearly had no intention of approaching the center of the platform. Nol took out "The Complete Recipe Book" from his bag. His pen briskly swept across the paper, writing down a series of incomprehensible characters.
Teest's gaze couldn't help but follow Nol's hand—from the ink-stained fingertips to the trembling wrist, and then to the slightly contracted pupils.
He was surprised to find that even without the unique blue color, those eyes were still as perfect as he remembered them in his memory.
The two didn't explore deeply, and the platform didn't respond. Under the starry sky, everything was exceedingly quiet and peaceful. Ben let out a yawn and lay down beside the two. For a moment, the atmosphere was actually quite serene and pleasant.
About an hour later, Nol completed the calculation. Teest propped his eyelids and watched the ink marks shimmer and turn into a brand-new magic circle.
[The Eye of the Bat]
Nol scribbled, writing down its name and function—this magic allows the caster to see through the terrain within a radius of 10 to 1,000 meters. The farther the viewing distance, the higher the magical power consumed.
It looked like an extremely degraded version of the [Eye of Truth], with a little bit of modification. After completing the magic, Nol closed the book and raised his head with a smile, his eyes twinkling faintly. Teest remained silent. As Nol observed above, he watched Nol's profile. It was hard to say who was more focused.
"Okay." Nol stood up, reaching out his hand to Teest, his eyes still in the state of magic activation.
"Just like that?" Teest grabbed his hand, his eyebrows raised high.
"Hold my hand tightly," Nol said "Ben, keep up!"
The shadow wolf quickly stood up, accidentally knocking off the knight who was unconscious on its back. It then annoyingly picked up the tin can again, saliva streaming down from its mouth that wouldn't close.
Nol waved his staff, and a circle of blue flames opened up in front of everyone. Nol tightened his grip on Teest's fingers, pulling him forward.
Teest curiously extended his foot, thinking they would travel upwards layer by layer. Who would have thought that his god wasn't as honest as he imagined—
The Mad Monk saw such a crazy scene for the first time.
One circle of fire was extinguished, and another lit up. It was as if they were traveling through a tunnel made of circles of fire. And between these tunnels were psychedelic scenes of the world turned upside down.
Teest stepped over broken tiles on one step, and the next step was in the midst of stars, stepping into the void. After falling through the circle of fire, he found the ground reappearing under his feet, surrounded by thorny bushes with dried flowers.
The white stone platform was bathed in moonlight. Descending monster's spine; the cold water surface smooth as a mirror… While the blue fire burned, the tips of their toes brushed over even more things.
Their footsteps added prints to the frost-sealed bridge, the surface of the lava-flowing river rose with a cold wind, and the fog that filled their vision tumbled endlessly.
The roar of monsters mixed with various noises. Strangely, Teest thought, the clearest sound was always Nol's heartbeat close at hand—and his own. His heartbeat had never been so fast—loud enough to burst his eardrums.
Right in front, Nol was always holding Teest's hand. To prevent slipping, their fingers were tightly interlocked.
Teest looked at the figure in front, his fingers getting tighter and tighter.
Regrettably, this beautiful and chaotic journey had to end. The last circle of fire extinguished, and the two stopped at the end of the stone steps of the castle at the top.
"Pity, the final boss can't be skipped directly," Nol muttered.
It turned out that Eugene's speculation was completely wrong. At the top, the effect of the anti-magic crystal was even stronger. Even the low-level [The Eye of the Bat] couldn't be activated normally here.
No matter how this castle was floating in the air, it must have nothing to do with Tahe's magic.
This discovery didn't please Nol—if he couldn't see the destination, he couldn't use Kando to connect spaces. This meant that his "speedrun strategy" was over, and he could only rely on his own feet going forward.
"I thought you would go to see that siren," Teest said, not letting go of Nol's hand.
"I took a quick look just now. His condition is still okay." Nol pursed his dry lips. "Rashly going to see Fischer might let the people of The Manor notice something unusual, and it might even turn him into a hostage."
After speaking, he glanced strangely at Teest. "I thought you were familiar with these things."
"Well, I am usually the one who notices something unusual and takes hostages." The Mad Monk shrugged. "I will try to adjust my mindset."
"Thanks. I feel much safer now."
After a bit of joking, Nol finally relaxed a bit. At least he was now in the mood to carefully observe the "final level".
In front of the two, the long stone steps were covered with black dust. At the end of the stone steps, the huge castle was brightly lit. Its stone was even stranger than the stone platform below, with a moist texture, nearly black in the night.
Between the bricks and stones, the web-like black-red flesh was denser than below, emitting a faint smell of decay.
The aura of the Demon King grew stronger, as if this place had been blood-washed by countless corrupted monsters. That breath deeply penetrated every crevice of stone. Just standing there, Nol could feel a chill creeping up from the soles of his feet.
The buildings here were relatively well preserved, and the wind made a sharp wail through the crevices. On both sides of the castle's spires, two full moons were hanging.
Maybe it was the environment, but from here, all four moons seemed to have a hint of blood color.
'Just add some spooky music, and it would be perfect,' Nol thought. As the final battle zone, this map was entirely qualified.
Nol also didn't let go of Teest's hand. The "Betrayer" longsword was unsheathed, and the Staff of Sacrifice blazed with flames. The shadow wolf, carrying the unconscious knight and looking confused, was half-hidden in the shadows of the two men.
Feeling the other's dry and warm palm, Nol steadied his mind and stepped onto the first level of the stairs.
At that moment, the ground trembled, and the gravel on the edge of the stone platform hissed as it slid into the darkness. Nol's knees became weak, and he knelt on the stairs. If it weren't for Teest holding on to him, he would have tumbled down.
"What's wrong with you?" Teest's leisurely expression completely vanished, and his speech sped up. "Hey, Nol, can you hear me?"
Nol covered his mouth. Something warm touched his fingers.
It was blood. He smelled the scent of blood, Nol thought somewhat dazed. Drops of fresh blood fell on the stone steps, blending instantly with the dark stone surface.
In that instant, after the tremor, the Demon King's aura burst forth violently. There was no White Night here, yet the Demon King's aura was so intense that it could rival the phenomenon of the White Night.
It was as if he had plunged into the deep sea in an instant. Everything around him was pressing on him, vowing to completely eject him, this "foreign object", from this place. Nol's whole body was in pain, and his energy and strength were rapidly leaving him, as if being wrung out alive.
"Nol!" Teest grabbed his shoulders. His voice was muffled as if it was covered by a layer of water. "Nol, let's go back right now."
[Warning.... Abnormal status @#¥%...]
[Abnormal power system… Source rejection reaction... You are not recognized. Your level is insufficient... Your power is insufficient....]
In Nol's somewhat blurry vision, the system pop-up struggled and flickered.
[Warning...... Abnormal status @#¥%...]
[Please leave as soon as possible... Please leave as soon as possible... Please leave as soon as possible...]
How could they possibly leave?
They had finally made it here. They had to take something back, no matter what.
Intelligence, data, knowledge…. Anything at all…
Faced with the exceptionally active Demon King's aura, Nol instinctively activated [Lost Last Wish].
That terrible sense of oppression seemed to freeze. The crushing pain around him stopped, and countless tiny voices drilled into his ears.
Don't hurt me… Don't hurt me… Don't hurt me... Don't hurt me...
Save me… Save me...….. Save me...….
Save me... Save me...
Save me...…
.....
[Source rejection reaction stopped… You are preliminarily recognized…. Your level is insufficient… Your power is insufficient… It is not recommended to proceed…]
The system's intermittent voice echoed in Nol's ears.
Nol's vision finally focused, and he realized that his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears were all stained with damp blood, and his robe was soaked with blood. His internal organs were in stabbing pain, and his limbs felt boneless, completely devoid of strength.
He looked at his hand placed on his chest. The back of his hand was paler than a corpse that had been dead for three days.
The surrounding scenery was bumpily retreating—he seemed to be held in Teest's arms, and Teest was striding forward in the opposite direction of the castle. A pale golden protective shield surrounded the two of them, and the air inside was much warmer than outside.
"I'm okay now." Nol tasted a strong metallic blood flavor in his mouth.
"We'll find a place to rest, and then we'll go back," Teest said without looking down.
"This opportunity is rare. We might not be so lucky next time." Nol exhaled tiredly. "The system just prompted something about an 'abnormal power system'. Our guess was right. There's definitely something wrong with this place."
"Whether it's the building itself or its power, it doesn't belong to Tahe… This is a big discovery. You wanted to understand the true nature of the world, right? The Lord of The Manor must know something…"
"Don't talk about that. I'm not in the mood to listen." Teest clicked his tongue. "If you die here, we'll end up with nothing."
"I really am okay."
Nol struggled to get down to the ground, but alas, with his power halved, the Lich was no match for the terrifying strength of the Death Knight.
"I wouldn't be able to put you down even if I didn't use Kando," Nol admitted, resorting to his trump card.
Teest grunted, took Nol's magic staff with one hand, and shook it vigorously. Kando, without even opening its eyes, said faintly, "Let go, you. Fish shouldn't spend all day pondering how to fly."
With a snap, Teest gritted his teeth hard.
"Even if I don't go with you, you wouldn't be foolish enough to seek death on your own." Seeing that the magic staff was ineffective, Teest stubbornly persisted.
The two faced each other, neither willing to give in.
"I won't tell you any intelligence," Nol threatened.
"I won't make you supper then."
"A Lich can't starve to death."
"Then would you have the heart to watch me starve here?"
"…Alright." Nol pinched the bridge of his nose hard. "Let's compromise. We'll rest here tonight. If by tomorrow you still think I'm not in the right state, we'll go back."
"That's more like it." Teest lifted his head in triumph.
Nol resigned. "First, put me down…"
"No."
With their backs to the castle, they found a remote part of the ruins. After a rudimentary setup of spells, the two hid in the shadows. Teest quietly set up a pot and began to cook some recently obtained monster remains.
Concerned about being discovered by outsiders, he kept the fire low. Honey, strange pasty medicine, and scraps of the remains were stewed into a soft, mushy syrup, eventually shrinking to the size of half a palm.
Teest sprinkled some sugar on it, wrapped it in a grape leaf, and placed it under Nol's nose.
"Eat it. Any added attributes are good." Teest stood up. "I'm going to cook some honey milk."
"Thank you… What are you doing?!"
Teest walked over to the still unconscious Knight Dia, beat him around the head with a clatter, and then naturally sat back down as if nothing had happened. Nol watched, dumbfounded.
"Oh, just increasing his unconscious time," Teest muttered.
"…I still prefer the world of just us two. What about you?"
The author has something to say:
The explanation refers to the middle part of the story as described in the previous chapters—
The beginning, middle, and end each make up one third of the story. Since the beginning has certainly passed, it is now in the middle phase. <-∑(>w0)b
Kinky Thoughts:
Speedrunning is the act of playing a game, or section of a game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible, for those unaware of the term.