Chapter 498 The Brilliant Ancients
Seeing the spray of ancient arrows ruthlessly shooting at the spaces now everyone couldn't help swallowing hard.
Death to those who disturb their slumber.
The words echoed within their hearts like warning bells.
"This..." Lieutenant Harvey paused, throwing his head behind his shoulders. "Doc, do you think that's it?"
Taking out his handkerchief, Ashaku wiped the pale droplets of sweat on his forehead. "I'd say 3 times is the charm, wouldn't you, 'Leftanant'?"
"Fair enough... Better safe than sorry."
(*Ashaku and several others pronounced Lieutenant as Leftenant.)
Taking out several more perfectly weighted and rounded rocks from one of their backpacks, several people handed them to Harvey one by one.
3 times is the charm, but why not test a higher number?
The rocks they used were made of cement for good weight.
Although heavy, if it can save their lives, why not pack enough?
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!~
The 2nd ball rolled down without fail, triggering several other traps the first one missed.
Though this time, only a handful of arrows darted out.
"Oh well, 3rd time's the charm... Bombs away."
Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam!
Nothing.
They waited another 3 whole minutes and nothing happened.
Phew~
"Everyone, the stairway floors should be good. So as of now, no one touches the walls or pushes against them!"
As Harvey spoke, Ashaku translated to Cygyptian for the locals.
Time for the ultimate test.
Cautiously taking the first few steps down, Harvey paused with a hunchback, looking left, right, up, down and center.
"Nothing.... It's all good doc." Just as he thought.
Earlier, he noticed the weighted balls would sink slightly when touching some stairway stony blocks.
Those must be the triggers to the many hidden traps earlier.
No one knows how many times Harvey's heart skipped a beat when using himself as a Guinea pig to test if it was safe or not.
.
1, 2, 3...
"All Good!"
Everyone felt the stones in their hearts drop again, as they followed Harvey down the layering of stairs.
Always to their left was an open space that gave them a glimpse of the dark abyss below.
There were railings knee-high, keeping them from going over the edge and falling through the open dark space.
"Raising his yellow glow stick, Harvey cautioned again. "Remember, DO NOT touch anything.... even the railings."
Who knows if pressing them down would set off some unprecedented accident?
After what he just saw, he wasn't about to take any chances.
With careful monsters everyone including the locals, moved very cautiously.
The scene was so quiet that it affected those watching outside.
Hell!
Even Eldora now had her loud mouth zipped up.
Soon, everyone could see glimpses of the bottom drawing and closer.
Well, it seems they have traveled roughly 7~9 floors down give or take.
That was how lengthy the whole process was.
Harvey reached the very last step and dared mute touch the sandy grounds just yet.
"Doc? Any ideas?"
Ashaku thinned his lips. "Old boy, what do you think?"
Miguel outside adjusted his glasses with squinted eyes.
(*□v□)
[Harvey, shine the light on the walls and the surroundings again.]
"No prob."
The place was small like a broom closet with no murrells or clues around.
All that lay in wait was a lone, narrow double-sided door about the size of a small closet...Though its height shot out over 9 feet tall.
Beside the doors were 2 skeletal corpses wearing ancient robes.
They had rusted swords in their hands and died in seated positions beside the door.
It was normal for Pharaoh to die and be buried with their guards.
Looking around, there were no other memorable scenes that caught their eye.
[I don't think there'll be any traps waiting there.]
Ashaku nodded. "Same here. The ancients were strategic and wouldn't put all their eggs in one place. Rather they would like us to get comfortable.... very comfortable before urging any wave of attacks our way."
"I think so too," Harvey added, gesturing between the floor and the 3 balls that rolled off in different directions.
Look! Nothing happened.
There isn't a single hidden weapon thrown on the ground.
The ones they found were those around the stairway that were probably picked up by the balls when rolling down.
Once again, Harvey chose to be the lab pig, making the first move.
Well... so far, so good.
Everyone was pleased with the progress made so far.
It was funny that their journey had just begun yet they felt they had been doing this for 10 hours already.
Standing before the grand but narrow gated doors, Harvey took out an extendable staff wanting to push it from a distance to test if it was safe.
Poke. Poke.
Again, there weren't any traps here.
"Good enough for me."
Nodding to his men, he had them try pushing the door.
But either it weighed a million times or something was missing here.
Try as they might, the door just refused to budge.
Ashaku stared at the simple no design double-sided doors wondering what they were missing, until someone else from the outside quickly solved their worries.
It was another professor and archeologist on the team.
[Hold on!... Isn't that a Bayachum Door? Look at its simplicity. Pay attention to the artwork. When designing, the wood is saved upwards, leaving fine and gentle strokes of lining behind.]
[Yes, yes, yes! I remember now. Bayachum Doors were popularly used by the rich to confuse the enemy and hide treasure too]
Ashaku's eyes lit up in a twinkle, as countless forgotten knowledge flooded his mind.
"Yes! Yes! Why didn't I think of it sooner?!"
(*0*)
.
Reaching for double-sided doors, Asahku quickly maneuvered his fingers across them, while explaining the rest to Harvey and the others.
"In the early days, the door was invented by the famous Bayachum Incretancus, a proud but young architect with unique designs that marveled all of high-class society."
"Well... the doors, although made of wood, were 7 times heavier and thicker than normal wooden doors. Why? Because they held secret compartments in them."
"For you see, the door has no handles on either side, yet... it can always open and close seamlessly at will."
Harvey nodded in understanding. "So, he made contractions inside each door?"
Ahsaku smiled. "Engineering, my dear Wattson... That was the trick. He combined his love for architecture with his love for inventing to produce uniquely designed doors."
"None of them were the same. No client had the same door as the other.... but, his works though difficult to spot, could be recognized by his way of carving the wood."
"To the untrained eye, it looked like a regular door carved by an ordinary carpenter.... But like any artist, they love to leave clues on their works."
Everyone held their breath, mesmerized by the ingenuity of Bayachun.
As Ahsku spoke, his hands were slowly and carefully running through the lines on the thick wooden piece.
"Find the odd one out, and we would have found the key to unlocking... Ahh!--- Here it is!... Our little odd friend out."
Everyone saw a line that looked exactly the same as the others.
Excuse them, but are you sure?
[Don't hurry to judge. Ashaku is right.] The scholar outside commented.
Although it was hard to see, that one was slightly bigger by probably 0.00002 inches or even less.
Don't underestimate the ancients.
They were the true masters of illusions, creating proxies that made the 12 Wonders of the World and even artifacts and objects that could not be recreated by modern technology.
For example, do you know there is an ancient Forging technique that has been lost for centuries now?
If not for the swords forged by these methods existing today, everyone might've sworn the forging legends were all hocus pocus.
The swords forged by that mysterious technique were stronger than any forging technique currently existing.
That's why if they sold any of those 3 swords forged with those methods, each sword might be auctioned for no less than 50 million.
The ancients were insanely smart.
It was indeed amazing what they accomplished with no internet, no high-tech devices... just their brains that did it all.
....
As they began pointing out the differences between each line, everyone couldn't help opening their eyes in shock.
Too powerful!
These ancient people were just too powerful, right?
(>>*□*)
Following the line chosen, everyone now saw it came to a dead end, slowly fading seamlessly into the background.
"Here!"
Ashaku wasted no time pressing it, and soon, everyone heard a clicking noise, followed by the grinding of gears within the door.
Soon, a rectangular piece the size of a book opened sideways out like a window.
[>>>>>○□○]
Awesome!
They didn't even see any signs on the door that that part could open up.
That was how good the door design was, as everything blended so seamlessly.
Bayachum...You have their respect.
Oh My God!
Ashaku almost liked the door with relish when seeing Bayachum's work in action.
Although Bayachum was famous, he didn't love designing these doors as he found it beneath him
It was reported that he designed only a handful of them... many of whom were destroyed and lost.
Only one was found in the 18th century and proven to exist.
Sadly, some bastard stole and destroyed the great door from Britannia National Museum in the 19th century when trying to recreate its glory.
Looking at the opened portal on the door, Ashaku bravely sent his hand in and pulled a lever from within.
"Open sesame."
Bam!
Like magic, the double-sided doors opened, revealing a room that blinded their titanium dog eyes.
This... This...
Is this real?
(◇O◇)
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