Free Web NovelChapter 229: Chapter 227: Rose’s... Old Friend?
Hilia was tallying today’s gains.
Last night, treatments and information sales brought in 30 Gold Coins; today, repeating the sales earned another 40 Gold Coins. As for treating the mercenaries, since they weren’t particularly wealthy, Hilia charged less, capped at 20 Silver Coins, with most around 10 Silver Coins, ultimately earning about 500 Silver Coins.
Finally, distributing the total, each person received 35 Gold Coins plus over two hundred Silver Coins.
After counting the Gold Coins, Elina exclaimed: "It’s fast to earn money from the wealthy!"
Stashing away the Gold Coins, Hilia picked up her Magic Staff: "Let’s go, continue the adventure, see if we can collect another batch of Gold Coins from the rich!"
Elina’s enthusiasm for exploration was kindled as well, and the two quickly arrived at the entrance of the ruins and entered.
As the mist dissipated, Hilia realized they appeared inside the gate of the ancient castle’s wall.
The gate wasn’t open and carried a grayish mist, meaning they could directly pass through the mist to leave the ruins.
This design made Hilia even more certain that the ruins were specifically crafted by a Legendary Mage.
In Rose’s words, Hilia felt like she was playing a game, "running a dungeon."
Complete with real-time strategy progress.
"This castle is so large."
Both Hilia and Elina were scrutinizing the ancient castle before them.
The sky within the ruins was gloomy, the light dim, only the silhouette of the entire castle could be seen vaguely.
It was immense, as if it was built for those ten-meter-tall statues outside.
In comparison to the castle, Hilia and Elina looked as small as ants.
The massive castle structure had 12 spires, some spires extended corridors from others like they were floating in mid-air.
Atop the central spire of the castle, a weak golden light was emanating, catching Hilia’s attention.
"That’s probably the core of the whole ruins; get that glowing treasure, and the conquest is complete, owning the entire ruins!" Elina showed a look of longing.
Hilia had a different opinion: "I think, according to the previous maze, that might not be the ruins’ core, it might be a trick, deliberately drawing people up."
Elina considered this argument and found it plausible.
But she looked at that faint light and felt a premonition arise within her.
There was the endpoint she had been seeking.
Observing Elina still staring, Hilia said: "Such an obvious bait, anyone would want to check it out, but considering past traps, they might think it’s bait and avoid it, only for it to actually be real... Anyway, let’s go take a look."
Rose’s voice chimed in: "Elina might have some connection with these ruins."
"What?"
Rose chuckled: "She crossed the Star Spirit Tree, traveled from the Elf Race’s inland over the Southern Border City to get here, and stayed in Southern Border City for a long time for these ruins. That’s unlikely behavior for a typical ruins explorer."
"Is there something inside these ruins she needs?"
"No idea yet, once you reach the tallest tower, you’ll find the answer."
"So we need to go to the central tower, I got it!"
Following the stone slab road, the two gradually approached the castle gate.
Outside the gate were two statues, but not human-shaped, rather beast-shaped, resembling two cats.
As they drew closer, a sensation of being watched settled in.
The castle gate was tightly shut, showing no signs of opening.
As Hilia approached the two cat statues, the feeling of being watched intensified, carrying a hint of dread.
The crisis feeling from danger sensing slowly enveloped Hilia’s mind as she advanced.
Hilia stopped and said: "Can’t move forward anymore, or we might have to battle these two statues."
Elina kept walking, "I know how to open the door."
Under Hilia’s gaze, the Elf Maiden stepped between the two cat statues, with the cats’ heads already turned towards her, eyes glowing red.
The Elf Maiden didn’t proceed further but instead crossed her hands before her chest, adopting a prayer stance, and her body began to emit a faint green light.
The faint light shone on the gate and the two cat statues, with the red glow in the cats’ eyes gradually fading, then as if sensing Elina’s rhythm, they emitted a faint green light too.
Silently, the gate suddenly opened, revealing the pitch darkness inside.
Elina’s glow faded, and she turned back with a smile: "The door’s open, let’s go."
Hilia was silent for a moment and asked: "Is this door opening your special privilege, or the Elves’ privilege, or can anyone open it this way?"
Elina shook her head, "I don’t know."
Hilia: "?" freewēbnoveℓ.com
Elina said: "This was guidance I received when blessed by the Elf Elder Pavilion; I only know I can open the door this way, don’t know if anyone else can."
"Uh..."
It was clear now that these ruins have a connection with Elina.
Or perhaps... with the Elves?
Curiosity sparked in Hilia.
She remembered Rose had once mentioned the Elf God and inquired of him: "Lord Rose, were these ruins left by the Elf God?"
Rose shook his head, "The ruins left by the Elf God were conquered by me long ago, and these ruins were formed less than a millennium ago, everything about them is new; maybe a familiar acquaintance of mine built them."
With Rose’s Spiritual Power, he could scan the entire castle, possibly identifying the creator after several scans.
But he opted not to.
This ancient ruin, filled with game levels, intrigued him to see what surprises awaited ’players,’ using Spiritual Power to scan a few rounds to know the backstory and details was like playing a cracked version immediately knowing the spoilers; it lost its intrigue.
Like reading a detective novel where the murderer is revealed at once, it kills off the interest in reading.
He only scanned the 10-meter vicinity around Hilia with his Spiritual Power.
And didn’t disclose any potential traps within that range to Hilia.
"The door opening method isn’t exclusive to Elina, but, she obtained the ’key’ before coming, skipping the puzzle-solving stage."
"That’s good, I was afraid these ruins were exclusively meant for Elina."
If it were an exclusive ruin for Elina, it would be boring, might as well become Elina’s tool person.
Feeling Hilia’s intent, Rose chuckled: "To be honest, you might really have to be Elina’s tool person; she is the protagonist of these ruins."
"... Then I’m not playing."
"But you can take the most important treasure, remember the agreement you made with Elina before coming?"
"... But then again, being a tool person isn’t necessarily bad after all."
The puzzle before the gate was bypassed directly as the two stepped into the castle.
Right after entering, a heaviness enveloped their feet, rendering them immobile.
Elina’s expression turned as unpleasant as having swallowed a fly:
"What ruins put a swamp trap right behind the door, damn it!"
As they fell into the trap, other traps set off in a chain reaction!
