Free Web NovelChapter 194: Chapter 191: Void Stone
Alevia’s report mentioned that the Void Anchor Stone was located deep within the Twisted Corridor, on the third level of the Underground Palace.
After Ian emerged, he continued to follow the sensation.
The fluctuations grew clearer. Along the way, he encountered two men in gray robes.
He’d had a good haul so far and was in a great mood, so he disposed of the two of them without a second thought.
He encountered more Demons along the way, avoiding them when he could. Suddenly, the sensation became clearer than ever before.
The fluctuations were coming from a fork in the path just ahead, a path that looked even dimmer and was flanked by reliefs even more twisted and menacing than before.
At the entrance to the fork, light and shadow twisted violently. The view inside was a blur, as if seen through a rippling layer of water.
The Energy at the entrance was highly unstable, and it looked extremely risky.
The dangers within were a complete unknown.
Ian hesitated for only two seconds before deciding to enter.
The Void Anchor Stone was the core material he needed most urgently.
It was crucial for the Abyssal Altar, and for his chances of contacting his homeworld—an Otherworld in some unknown location.
If he missed this chance, he had no idea how many more years he might have to wait.
He glanced at the dim fork in the path and felt the faint resonance from his panel.
"Gaga, get ready. We’re going in," he said in a low voice.
"Something’s really wrong in there, gaga."
Gaga’s voice was a little tight. "The shadows are twisting. I might not be much help inside."
"I know. Stick close to me and warn me immediately if something feels off."
No longer hesitating, Ian stepped onto the dim path.
The instant he passed through the layer of distorted light and shadow at the entrance, it felt like pushing through a viscous, ice-cold membrane.
He seemed to suffer an auditory hallucination—an incredibly sharp sound—and his vision suddenly swam.
But the golden speck of light at the core of his Sea of Spirit flared brightly.
The protection from his panel also surged to maximum.
After a brief moment of vertigo, he steadied himself.
Before him was a narrow, downward-sloping passage. The walls were rough-hewn Rock, looking as if they’d been torn open by immense force.
It was covered in a dark green moss that pulsed like blood vessels, emitting a faint fluorescent glow and a thick, putrid stench.
A thin, grayish-white mist filled the passage, obscuring his line of sight.
The faint Rule Fluctuation wafted from the depths of the passage, a little clearer now.
Ian clenched his fists. The Jade-like Radiance flowed beneath his skin as he focused his Spiritual Power, then took one step at a time deeper into the passage.
Ian stared down the narrow passage, his fingertips grazing the cold stone wall and dislodging a few slippery pieces of moss.
The deeper he went, the thicker the cloying, sweet smell in the air became. It felt sticky in his throat when he inhaled.
The passage grew progressively narrower. Broken Metal plates and scattered, scorched pipes began to appear underfoot.
After another fifty meters or so, the path suddenly opened up.
He was in a large hall, half of which had collapsed.
Half the ceiling had caved in, with massive Metal beams jutting from the floor at an angle.
They were covered in dark green vines that writhed continuously, as if alive.
The other half of the ceiling was barely holding up, revealing a few twisted, misshapen alloy doors behind it.
In the center of the hall stood a damaged, waist-high control console.
The console’s surface was cracked open. Inside, he could faintly see several grayish-black Stones, their surfaces covered in slowly flowing silver patterns.
Void Anchor Stones.
Ian’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t move.
He spread his Spiritual Power out like a spiderweb, meticulously scanning the entire hall.
Around the console, the floor was inscribed with a circle of Runes. They were almost worn smooth, but their Energy had yet to dissipate completely.
The Energy was faint and the structure ancient, but Ian recognized it: a compound-trigger Defense Array.
It wouldn’t trigger just by being stepped on. But if someone tried to take the objects from the console or touched the wrong node, the remaining Energy would detonate instantly.
There was something behind the pile of collapsed Metal debris to his left.
It wasn’t the heartbeat or breath of a living creature, but an extremely faint, rhythmic CLICKING sound, like a rusty gear slowly turning.
In the corner to his right, the shadows were deeper than elsewhere, and the air held a sweet fragrance like rotting fruit.
Ian took a small, discarded Metal part from his Dimension Ring.
He weighed it in his hand, then tossed it onto the floor about three meters to the front-left of the console.
CLINK.
The part landed. The Runes on the floor remained inert.
Ian waited five seconds, then threw a second piece, this time aiming for the ground directly in front of the console.
The moment the part landed...
HUMMM!
Three ghastly white beams of Energy shot out from cracks in the walls at three different angles, converging precisely on the spot where the part had landed.
ZZZT!
The part instantly vaporized without even leaving a wisp of smoke.
The Energy beams vanished, and the Runes faded back to obscurity.
’Pinpoint defense. The trigger is directly in front of the console.’ Ian had it figured out.
He glanced toward the debris on the left.
"Gaga, you take the left. Just stall it, don’t go for a direct fight."
"Got it, gaga!"
Gaga slipped out from the shadows, its form swelling to the size of a bobcat as it silently circled toward the side of the debris.
Ian, meanwhile, headed for the corner on the right.
The sweet smell grew stronger.
He was still five paces from the corner when a cloud of dark green mist suddenly HSST out of the shadows!
The moment the mist erupted, the air filled with a fine, skittering sound, like the crawling of countless insect legs.
’Living Poison!’ Ian’s heart lurched.
’And a dual variant at that—one with corrosive and Spiritual Erosion properties.’
But instead of retreating, he advanced. He activated his Furnace Body Tempering Skill at full power, and the Jade-like Radiance under his skin flared violently.
Simultaneously, he swept his left hand forward, unleashing three Frost Ash Beams in a fan-like arc toward the source of the mist!
SZZZZLE!
The beams, an Interweaving of Ice and Fire, collided with the Poisonous Fog, producing a grating, corrosive sound.
The Poisonous Fog was frozen and torn apart, but more of it immediately billowed out from the depths of the shadow.
Ian didn’t break stride. He made a grasping motion with his right hand.
A walnut-sized Gravity Collapse Ball rapidly took shape, and with a flick of his wrist, he hurled it into the deepest part of the shadow in the corner.
HUMMM!
A low thrumming sound echoed as the shadow distorted violently. Everything nearby was brutally seized and compressed by an invisible, titanic force.
"AAAAH!" a sharp, inhuman screech echoed.
The torrent of Poisonous Fog stopped abruptly.
Seizing the opportunity, Ian sidestepped the spreading Poisonous Fog and lunged for the console.
He had calculated his steps, precisely avoiding the trigger point dead ahead. His right foot landed on a slightly raised Metal plate on the console’s side.
It was a safe node in the Defense Array.
His left hand shot out, fingers curled into a claw, and plunged into the crack in the console.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the nearest Void Anchor Stone...
"CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!"
BOOM! The debris on the left exploded outward.
Three Alchemy Puppets, their bodies as large as Demon Bears and covered in dark, rust-colored Metal, charged out of the debris.
They were headless. In the center of each torso was an embedded, murky Blood Crystal that spun continuously.
Their eight metallic, jointed limbs scraped against the ground, producing a dense, grating noise that set one’s teeth on edge.
The Blood Crystal on the foremost puppet’s chest flashed, firing a dark red beam straight at Ian’s back.
Gaga was already lying in wait.
With a flap of its wings, it appeared unnaturally behind and to the side of the puppet.
It viciously clawed at the puppet’s joint, right where its most fragile conduits were located.
A piercing shriek of tearing Metal rang out as dark green lubricant and sparks sprayed from the wound.
The puppet stumbled, and the beam it fired grazed Ian’s shoulder before striking the opposite wall, corroding a deep pit into the stone.
The other two puppets immediately turned on Gaga, lunging at it.
Gaga didn’t fight them head-on at all, using its Shadow Shuttling to teleport and dodge within the confined space.
It would occasionally use Omen Eye to disrupt a puppet’s Energy Core or strike with a claw to throw one off balance.
It moved like a bolt of black lightning, weaving between the three enormous puppets.
Though unable to destroy them quickly, it successfully drew all of their fire.
Meanwhile, Ian’s fingers had already touched the Stone.
It was cool to the touch and heavy. The silver patterns on its surface emanated a distinct ’anchoring’ sensation.
With a hard pry, a fist-sized Void Anchor Stone broke free from the console and landed in his palm.
Almost simultaneously, a rapid beeping, like a countdown timer, sounded from within the console!
All the Runes on the hall floor lit up with a blinding red glow.
Ian’s pupils contracted. ’This Defense Array is layered.’
’Taking the stone triggers a second layer—an indiscriminate area-of-effect attack.’
He had no time to think. His left hand moved in a blur, prying the four remaining Anchor Stones from their recess and stuffing them into his Dimension Ring.
His right hand was a blur as he pulled out a vial of High Concentration Energy Neutralizer he had prepared in advance and smashed it into the center of the console.
The glass shattered, and the pale blue liquid splashed over the Rune core.
Amidst a SIZZLING, corrosive sound, the red light flickered a few times, then gradually faded.
The countdown stopped.
But the commotion had been too great.
Ian didn’t even have time to catch his breath before a clear, mocking voice drifted from the entrance of the passage.
"Tsk, tsk. You move pretty fast, don’t you?"
Three people were blocking the only exit.
The one in the lead was none other than the provocative Deep Red Wizard from the entrance.
