Chương 10: The Mystery Log (Arc 1: The Isolation Arc - Completed.)

The walls appeared and nozzle started spraying gas. THE GAS ACTIVATED: 00: 01: 00 No… this can't be. I thought… My eyes widened and jaw tightened. Everything inside me went numb. I was wrong about this cave. The flames started flickering, getting weaker. Smaller. Then smaller again. It was dying. That moment I knew that I was wrong, and the cave was filled with gas that would kill me. My hands reached inside the inventory and grabbed the mask. And held my breath until I put it on.

My heart was beating so hard, I could hear it in my ears. A dull thud drowning out everything else. I couldn't help, my hands were shivering, badly, and the mask slipped right out of my grip, it hit the ground. No… I stared at it for half a second, just lying there. The thought of dying made me panic in that situation, at any moment I could have exhaled and breathe in the gas. My chest screamed at me just breathe, only a little bit, only for once.

I snatched the mask back before I let myself think about it any longer. I calmed myself, forced my hands to slow down and put the mask on properly this time. Then I exhaled deeply… The front of mask fogged instantly with steamy breath thick enough for a second, I couldn't see anything through it all. I had barely made it somehow. It's good that I kept my eyes on fire at all time. If I would have missed even for a second, I could have died here.

I finally figured out, the pattern wasn't the properties or the elements nature, it was how they would react to the gas. I got lucky there in the last cave, and I am pretty sure the next cave is safe… It has to be. The door opened, I walked in. The cave blinded me for a second, I covered my eyes with back of my forearm. It was bright, clearer than the other caves. The mystery log appeared again, this time it was the last. THE LIGHT WILL GUIDE YOU. CHOOSE WISELY.

TIME REMAINING UNTIL ACTIVATION: 00: 02: 00 Next clue and the final one, was the light. To my surprise, I saw the lights were unique in some way. This wasn't something I expected to see. It was some kind of glowing crystals. I had never seen this type of light emitting crystal before. 01: 39 I went closer, to look at them properly. I noticed there weren't some kind of wires attached to it, I'd assume they were powered by electricity, but no it was something else entirely. As I predicted…

Judging by the pattern, the light does not react to any of the gasses, and the gas can't affect light. This cave is safe…

"Huh…" I exhaled and let my shoulder drop an inch.

"I can't wait to get out of this cave." Those light emitting crystals were scattered across the cave, sitting there and glowing. I had the tool require, to just mine it. I figured; those would be useful somehow. I should just mine one of this crystal, if it keeps glowing like this that would mean it will be handy in dark places. Especially at a place like this where I don't even know what lies ahead of me. 00: 57 I pulled out the pickaxe from my inventory and started mining.

The first wing barely chipped it, the crystal was harder than it looked, denser. Come on. Second swing, this time I put more power behind it and a crack run along its edge. and then I kept striking on the part where it was weakened… I think that should do it. 00: 06 If I had more time I would have mined bigger chunk of this crystal, but for now this will do. 00: 03 If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I covered my mouth and hold my breath.

Even though I knew this cave was safe. Better safe than sorry. 00: 00 THE GAS ACTIVATED: 00: 01: 00 The walls appeared and nozzle started spraying gas. This is the last one, just hold on a little longer. A minute went by nothing had happened. Just as I expected, I finally exhaled and the final door opened my legs started marching towards it, towards the exit.

"Huh… finally. That was my worst nightmare. Before I go further ahead, I sat down for a second, right there on the cold stone and let my shoulders drop. My hands were still trembling, a cold shiver down my body, it was the aftereffect of that stress and exhaustion. My throat felt raw and thirsty, it was likely because I'd been holding my breath longer than I actually had. After few seconds, The display changed. MYSTERY LOG: QUEST: PROVE YOUR MIGHT CHALLENGE 2: COMPLETED THE USER HAVE UNLOCKED A NEW SKILL.

UNIQUE SKILL: POISON RESISTANCE"Wait, did I just unlock another skill!" Did clearing all those caves unlocked this skill? Poison resistance… huh.

"So, this means I can't be poisoned?" UNIQUE SKILL: POISON RESISTANCE CREATES A DEBUFF EFFECT AGAINST ANY SORT OF POISON THAT CAN AFFECT THE USER. USER IS NOW PRONE TO ANY POISONOUS EFFECT.

"Well, that's something you call a reward." I laughed.

"I got a reward and I beat those caves. How do you like that huh…" I said loudly. I was expecting some kind of reply from the log, but… … It didn't reply. Figures. Alright, let's move on, can't sit here the entire day… As I walked ahead, everything was getting dark. I took out the crystal from my inventory. It's good that I mined a small chunk of it. The crystal I took from the cave glowed in the dark cave. I just hope that there isn't a hidden battery inside of it. Well, that is impossible, right?

When it comes to this world, nothing here seems impossible. I held that crystal in my hand and started walking deeper inside. Looking around, carefully checking for traps. The stats choices that I'd made were logical for this mysterious place. I'd increased my perception and intelligence, each by one point. Afterall, I hadn't known what existed in this mysterious cave. Figuring a way out and avoiding the danger was the right choice. If I hadn't increased my intelligence back then, I wouldn't have reacted in time.

And each of those caves, would've been the end of me. As I walked deeper inside, I noticed the cave was awfully silent.

"I don't feel good about this." I whispered. One of my hands stayed on the wall at all times. I had to move carefully… Walking through the middle of a cave in the dark, not knowing what could attack me. Would've surely become a problem. Thanks to my perception, I could sense the area within my vision of reach. It works like a radar, that could scan anything within its radius. All my senses had heightened. I could see better, hear better and sense better. So far, I hadn't found any kind of danger around me.

The cave stayed silent. My hand touched the rougher surface of the wall.

"Huh… What is this." My eyes stumbled upon the small carvings on the walls. I pointed the crystal towards that carving and it became clear; I could see it.

"Wait…. This is like the picture I saw in those ruins… in that forest, but different." The edges of those carving felt rough at my fingertips. The picture was definitely old maybe few centuries before. Did the same person come to this cliff all those years ago? If that's true that means this cave had already existed all those years ago. And someone had come to this place before me. More and more questions popped into my mind.

I focused towards those carvings, just like the last time, this one was also telling a story. The first picture carving, showed a picture of a person and something that looks like a dog. A person and a dog? The second showed a group of people doing building something. Hmm… are they building something, but what? My hands touched the third picture carving and it showed the same dog and a person but going separate direction.

"What does this mean." I looked closer, tracing the shape with my eyes. Trying to understand what each carving meant. Judging by what was back there in those ruins, these carvings had to be some kind of message that I hadn't understood yet. I went back to the first picture, looked at the shape of that dog, closely. Then I realized something important. I understood what the pictures meant. I stepped back, to look form an angle. How could I have missed that. The picture is not of a dog; it is of a dinosaur.

All of these pictures pointed towards one thing. It all started to make sense to me. This was a plan. A plan where dinosaurs and humans can coexist. But what am I missing here the second one doesn't make any sense? The second carving is showing the construction. But what were they building? My eyes gazed at the next picture and I immediately understood what it meant…

"The separation." The separation of humans and dinosaurs, something that's separates them. Something that keep them away from each other. Something that protects both species.

"The cliff." The cliff was not a nature's gift, it was built. Made by people living all those years back. But how can this be… The cliff has to be fifteen thousand feet or even higher. How can a group of people build this cliff. … For a moment I hadn't understood what it meant. But something else did caught my attention. Wait… It somehow makes sense; The Pterosaurs could only fly ten to fifteen thousand meters height. If they go any higher their body won't support flying and they will run out of oxygen.

The people knew about this and that's why they built the massive cliff. But who were these people? And how did they build it? I walked further to find out more clues. But there was something else was waiting. A flicker The display changed. MYSTERY LOG: QUEST: PROVE YOUR MIGHT"No… no, not Again!" The words left right at that moment. My face dropped and body went cold. I couldn't understand why this kept happening? Those words came back to me.

'I got a reward and I beat those caves. How do you like that huh…' I jinxed it. Should've just kept my mouth shut. Now the log would hate me even more. I don't know what kind of quest is this one. All sorts of thought came rushing in my mind. How many more are out there; I would surely die at this rate. No, I can't think like that… I have to get out of here, escape this place anyhow. As I walked two steps ahead. The light from the crystal cleared the dark path ahead, it revealed the two giant figures standing.

Opposite to each other. The figures were made up of stones. They looked like the knights wearing armor. Holding down the swords. Guarding something behind them. MYSTERY LOG: QUEST: PROVE YOUR MIGHT THERE ARE TWO DOORS PROTECTED BY EACH KNIGHTS, ONE LEADS TO THE HIGHLANDS, THE OTHER TO A TRAP. ONE OF THESE KNIGHT WILL ALWAYS LIE AND ONE WILL ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH. YOU HAVE ONLY ONE QUESTION TO ASK AND TO ONLY ONE OF THE KNIGHT. IF YOU FAIL TO CHOOSE ANY OF THE DOOR BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT, THE KNIGHTS WILL KILL YOU.

(NOTE: THE KNIGHTS CANNOT SPEAK AT ALL) YOU MUST CHOOSE AND PROVE YOUR MIGHT. CHOOSE WISELY. TIME REMAINING: 00: 03: 00 The two knights stood their ground, perfectly still. My legs locked in place. Those giant knights were terrifying, their swords were five times bigger than my height. One step from them was enough to crush my spirit. I know I wouldn't survive a single hit. One of these doors would get me out of this place. I had to get out of here anyhow. But the problem is I don't know which door is which.

The time was already ticking down. 02: 25 No matter what I asked, one of them would lie or tell the truth. I can't know which one is telling the truth. But the bigger problem here is, that they can't speak. So, how the hell am I supposed to know what they are saying. There has to be someway… I can't die after coming this far. Come on think, think. My Hands curled into a fist; the time was running out faster than I expected.

01: 22 I can't ask them which one of them is telling the truth, no matter what one of them would always lie to me. whichever one I ask, they would point at themselves and simply claim that they are telling the truth. That gets me nowhere. … 01: 02 Wait they would speak, but they could still point... They would surely point towards themselves or the other one, if I asked them a right question. 00: 53 I need to ask one of them a question. But the answer should point towards the right door.

But what can I ask, I still don't know which one is lying and which one is telling the truth. Think, Think… … I got it! I walked towards a giant knight guarding the massive door behind him. This has to be the right question. 00: 37"Hey… You!" The knight gaze dropped, looking down at me. A cold shiver slid down my spine, I clenched my teeth as he watched me through that armor helmet of his. I forced a breath out and looked back at him. 00: 25"If I were to ask that knight, which door leads to the highland.

What door would he point to?" I asked. The giant knight lifted its sword upward. He extended his hands and pointed his sword towards the other knight. Towards the door behind the knight. 00: 11"Then, I will choose this door." I had chosen the door which the knight wasn't pointing and chose the opposite door. 00: 07 The door behind the giant opened. It led to a path. It doesn't matter to me, who is telling the truth or who is lying. I know Beyond this door, beyond this path is a way to The Highlands.