Chương 26: The Sound of Time

Xia En led the way, his longsword occasionally parting the weeds along the roadside.

Frillie followed behind him, unfolded the old map provided by the Adventurers' Guild, and began to draw new information on it.

The riverbed, which was originally marked on the map, had dried up. Xia En dug at the silt at the bottom of the riverbed and estimated the approximate time when the river had dried up.

This is crucial information as it relates to whether adventurers can find water in the wild in time.

Frillie recorded the facts as they were.

The two continued walking, passing a patch of thorns that had been burned.

Frillie went over to examine it and confirmed that it was a poisonous thorn that had been completely destroyed by magic and could not regenerate.

It must have been cleared away by some kind-hearted adventurer who happened to be passing by.

After confirming that no potential hazards had been left, she crossed out the original danger markings on the map.

Near the maze, Shane discovered a strange stone.

The stone looks like a potato, but it's entirely dark brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped, leading him to suspect it's hollow inside.

Frillie tried hitting him with a [Normal Attack Magic] spell.

Unexpectedly, the entire rock exploded, spewing out a thick black smoke-like powder that could reach two or three meters high.

Luckily, Xia En ran fast, otherwise he would have turned into a little black doll.

After checking the map, it was discovered that this was not a rock, but an aggressive spore-bearing plant.

If you accidentally step on it, you'll be sprayed into the sky.

He quickly moved away from those stones.

But Frilian suddenly became interested. She waved her staff, and with a crackling sound, the surrounding stones spewed up high plumes of black smoke, one after another.

bang bang bang...

After walking for two hours, we unknowingly arrived at the entrance to the maze.

The original temple has long since collapsed, leaving only a few thick pillars standing alone amidst the weeds.

Xia En stroked the intricate carvings on the pillar.

These carvings have long been eroded by wind and sand, becoming mottled and unclear, but their former glory can still be vaguely seen from the delicate patterns.

"Frilian, can you tell what story these carvings tell?"

"It seems to be a story about a dragon blessing the dwarves."

Frilian stepped forward, ran her hand over the mottled patterns, and continued, "I've heard Azer mention the legends of their dwarf race. Many dwarves still believe they are descendants of dragons."

Descendants of dragons?

A dwarf?

That's hard to imagine...

After a brief inspection of the stability of the area around the entrance, the two entered the temple via the remaining stone steps.

……

The entire Ancient Dragon Temple is divided into two parts: the above-ground ruins and the underground secret chamber.

The ruins on the ground are relatively simple. When the adventurer team first went to explore, they successfully wiped out the monster "Three-Headed Lizard" that was entrenched there. After that, no other low-level monsters appeared.

The underground secret chambers are more complicated.

This place is divided into two directions, left and right. The left leads to the "Dragon's Tomb", and the right leads to a dead end full of traps.

Xia En glanced at the description on the map and couldn't help but smile.

"The dwarves' thinking is really simple and crude; they just offer an either/or choice."

If this were in other dungeon instances, wouldn't it result in ten or eight wrong routes being designed for you?

"Let's go, let's go straight to inspect the dragon's tomb."

"Wait a moment……"

"?"

Frillie looked at the old map in her hand, which had been updated with a lot of new information.

She thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "The left and right passage markings on the map shouldn't be wrong, right?"

"!"

Xia En was shocked.

Is it even possible that this is wrong?

After you said that, I suddenly felt a little insecure...

He looked again at the two dark tunnels, his previous nonchalance vanished instantly, and his expression turned serious.

pick one of two.

If you choose the wrong path, the end of your destination could be a dead end filled with traps.

Left or right?

"Shall we go and take a look to the left, as shown on the map?" Frillie suggested.

Shaun was torn: should he trust the map or his intuition?

Taking a deep breath, he decided to entrust his fate to [Strong Luck]. At times like this, nothing beats believing in luck!

He took a coin out of his pocket, placed it on his thumb, flicked it quickly into the air, and caught it. He silently recited, "If it's heads, go left; if it's tails, go right."

Upon opening it, it turned out to be the right side!

"Since we've already started to have doubts, let's begin exploring from the right side."

Frillie nodded, and the two of them entered the right-hand passageway one after the other.

……

The passageway was dark and visibility was poor.

Frillie infused magic into the gem at the top of the staff, and the entire staff lit up like a light bulb.

Everything in the passageway became clearly visible.

After carefully walking a short distance, Frillie suddenly stopped.

"etc."

"There are other mages hiding nearby."

One sentence made Xia En's heart jump into his throat.

"How many people?"

"one."

A solitary mage, appearing deep within this low-level, already-conquered labyrinth?

No matter how you look at it, it's not a good thing.

Shaun gently drew his longsword from his waist, held it protectively in front of him, switched places with Frilian, and, using the light from the staff behind him, slowed down and continued forward.

They hadn't walked far when they saw a pile of fine iron arrows lying haphazardly.

Clearly, someone has triggered the trap.

Some of the arrows were embedded in the wall, some in the ground, and others seemed to have been knocked away by external force and scattered on the ground.

Xia En crouched down and touched the temperature of the feathered arrow.

The arrow was cold, indicating that the battle here had ended some time ago.

He scanned all the arrows, finding no bloodstains or pieces of clothing on them. He could roughly deduce that his opponent was quite skilled.

He gave Frillie a wary look.

The two continued walking forward, and at the next corner, they saw many strangely shaped stones scattered on the ground.

"It was a gargoyle," Frilian whispered from behind.

"It was shattered."

Xia En nodded.

Having reached this point, he could roughly determine that the unknown mage hiding elsewhere was indeed a very powerful mage.

He sincerely hoped that the other party meant well.

Otherwise, fighting in such a confined underground space could easily result in mutual destruction.

Just as he was pondering these things, a light suddenly flashed in the passageway ahead, followed by a noticeable tremor.

At the same time, there was a hoarse, deep roar filled with anger:

"Foolish human! Look at what you've done!"

The two exchanged a shocked glance.

Frillie teleported instantly and disappeared from the spot.

Xia En also activated [Swiftness], transforming into a blur as he sped forward.