Chapter 1209 Next level of the dungeon
As the rock statue containing the soul of the beast king Edros battled the adventurers, Gaya found herself in a difficult and unsavory position. The thought of sliding her hand inside the statue's butt to retrieve the key was disgusting to her.
"What in the world was Silvaris thinking?" Gaya grumbled about Silvaris, and upon seeing Michael trying to hold back his laughter, her irritation quickly turned towards him.
"If you weren't my husband and I didn't love you so much, I would've kicked your ass to hell," Gaya said sternly.
"It's the only way to get the key to the treasure chest. The longer we delay, the higher the chance someone else will discover where the key is hidden and take it," Michael explained calmly.
Meanwhile, the massive rock statue relentlessly attacked the adventurers. Although Lysandra and Elrion displayed impressive agility and struck the statue with precision, they could not inflict any real damage. Elrion managed to chip off a piece of the statue's arm with his long sword, but this only enraged the stone beast further. Driven by the combat experience and knowledge of Edros's soul, the statue seemed invincible.
"Fuck," Gaya exclaimed in frustration, stomping on the tree branch she was perched on.
"Fine, I'll do it. But you owe me big time," Gaya finally conceded, preparing herself for the distasteful task of retrieving the key.
"That's the spirit," Michael said with a chuckle, playfully pinching her cheek.
Despite her annoyance, Gaya couldn't help but crack a small smile at his gesture.
"You're going to pay for this," she teased, before activating her armor's cloaking ability and leaping down to the ground. Michael watched from above, using thermal vision to track Gaya's movements.
As she approached the battleground, the statue paused its assault, pounded its chest, and unleashed a volley of chilling frost projectiles at the adventurers.
The adventurers scrambled for cover. Some hid behind trees in the woods, while others desperately used dead bodies as shields.
"Quick, behind that tree!" yelled Lysandra, dashing towards a large oak. The frost balls whizzed past, turning the air icy cold as they flew.
"Is everyone okay?" called out Elrion, ducking behind another tree, its bark beginning to frost over from the cold emanating from the statue's attacks.
"We're good, but this is crazy!" shouted another adventurer, hugging the frozen ground. "How do we stop that thing?"
The area around them had grown noticeably colder, their breaths visible as puffs of mist in the air. The frost balls had turned the once green leaves into a crystalline white, the trees looking like sculptures of ice.
"I can't feel my fingers anymore," complained a younger adventurer, trying to rub warmth back into his hands.
Gaya, thrown against a tree by the blast, landed on the ground with the golden key in her hand. She spat out the blood in her mouth and grimaced in disgust.
"I wish I could fucking forget that ever happened," Gaya muttered, looking at the key with disdain. The memory of reaching into the statue's butt, even though it was just a rock, filled her with disgust.
"You did it!" exclaimed one of the elven adventurers, looking at Elrion, relief and excitement in their voice.
Some others rushed to help Elrion to his feet, mistakenly crediting him with the statue's defeat. However, Lysandra, from her vantage point, noticed Gaya standing behind a pile of rocks, holding the golden key.
The adventurers, still reeling from the statue's collapse, were struck with confusion and shock upon seeing Gaya holding the key. Murmurs and puzzled expressions spread among them as they tried to piece together the situation.
"Where did she come from?" one of the adventurers whispered to another, unable to hide his bewilderment.
"How did she get the key? Wasn't it Elrion who defeated the ape?" another voiced out loud, trying to make sense of the unfolding scene.
A few, caught up in the heat of the moment, began to shout accusations. "She stole the key!" one exclaimed, pointing towards Gaya. The tension in the air was palpable, as the group struggled to understand how Gaya ended up with the key while Elrion was being credited with the statue's defeat.
Even Elrion was shocked unlike Lysandra who remained calm. While the adventures were throwing accusations, Silvaris's etheral figure emerged from the ground and floated between gaya, the adventures and the pile of rocks that used to be the ape rock statue.
"Well done," Silvaris clapped as the soul piece of Edros that powered up the statue floated above from the pile of rocks, crystalized and landed into Gaya's hand. Gaya aken aback by surprise stared at the cglowing crystal in her hand and the golden key in the other. "You have the key, dear. Enjoy the contents of my treasure chest in the next level of this dungeon," Silvaris said with a hint of mischief and admiration in his eyes.
Suspecting that he might not have been the one to truly defeat the ape, Elrion stepped forward and demanded an explanation from Silvaris. "Silvaris, what's going on here? How did she end up with the key?" he asked, his voice firm.
With a sly grin, Silvaris laughed heartily before responding mockingly. "While you brutes were busy trying to defeat my minion, thinking with your muscles, that clever young lady and her partner used their brains. They thought like a thief, as I had advised. She pickpocketed the key from its... ass,"
The moment some adventurers heard Silvaris, they exchanged confused glances. "Did he just say 'ass'?" one of them asked bewildered.
Silvaris continued, unabashed and amused, "Yes, you heard right. She literally put her hand inside the ape's ass and pulled out the key. In my opinion, that takes more guts and cleverness than swinging your swords and spears around like a bunch of kids." His laughter echoed through the forest, highlighting the absurdity of the situation.
Gaya, though in possession of the key and the crystallized soul piece of Edros, was visibly annoyed. As all eyes turned to her, Silvaris decided to throw another curveball into the mix.
"But because I'm such a generous soul and put a lot of effort into designing this dungeon, I'll give you all another shot at my treasure chest," Silvaris announced, causing Gaya to frown, sensing another irritating twist was coming.
Silvaris then revealed the details of the next dungeon level. "In the next stage, each of you will become a mini boss of the dungeon. Your task is to hunt for this key that Gaya now holds. Whoever manages to take it from her, it's theirs. There's going to be a timer, and whoever has the key when time runs out gets the treasure chest," he explained, pausing to gauge their reactions.
"To spice things up a bit, I've scattered a few power-ups across the level. Boosts, spells, special weapons, you name it. Get your hands on these, and you'll have a serious edge," Silvaris said, his grin growing wider and more malevolent.
"A true thief knows how to guard his loot. So, let the best thief win," Silvaris concluded before snapping his fingers, transporting them to the next level of the dungeon.
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