Chapter 359: Trials (1)
Chapter 357
"Uh... okay? That’s not ominous at all," Van gulped silently.
He tapped his bracelet, summoning his mechanical spiders, which quickly swarmed and formed defensive gauntlet suits around his hands as he scanned the massive hall.
Ray, too, was deeply unsettled.
The entire energy of the Spire irked him, putting his instincts on high alert, though he remained unsure of what their first move should be.
The floor beneath them was impeccably clean and spotless. No dust, no debris, and not a single drop of blood could be seen anywhere.
"Uh.... No beasts?" Chloe asked, already having nocked an arrow, her bow string pulled back in tense anticipation.
Their eyes scanned every shadow of the vast architecture, yet nothing had attacked them, nor had any entity descended from the spiraling staircase.
Ray studied the hall suspiciously.
Something was definitely wrong, and he needed to figure out the trick to this room.
But first, he turned his full attention toward the towering statues.
They were completely unmoving—which made sense, considering they were made of solid stone.
What else did he expect?
But still...
He stared at them intently, tracking their contours as if waiting for them to break their poses and lunge at the cohort.
They remained entirely motionless.
’Hmph.’
"Uh... what do we do? Climb the staircase?" Nebula asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
She shuffled backward, and for some reason, Felix immediately stepped in front of her, poised and ready to intercept any incoming danger.
Meanwhile, Caster positioned himself right beside her like a second shield.
Trisha glanced at the lineup, her brow furrowing with deep suspicion.
’Are they completely infatuated with her and trying to compete for her attention, or what? This behavior makes zero sense.’
Ray turned his gaze away from the group to study the structural layout of the hall better when—
’Huh?’
He immediately snapped his head back toward one of the massive warrior statues holding a spear pointed downward.
He waited, his eyes locked on the stone face for several seconds.
The carving still remained entirely rigid.
’Was I just imagining things? I could have sworn I felt it look directly at me just now.’
"Guys.... These statues give me the serious creeps," Van spoke up, his head tossing and turning as he tried to look in every direction at once.
Up until now, the group hadn’t taken a single step away from their initial starting point near the closed entrance.
They were worried that any sudden movement might trigger a hidden pressure plate or activate a trap that would instantly overwhelm them.
Ray stared at the smooth ground suspiciously, testing the weight of his footing, and then deliberately took a bold step forward.
"Careful!" Trisha shouted, her voice echoing with worry.
But nothing happened.
Ray took another step forward, and still, the room remained dead silent.
Seeing that the floor wasn’t rigged for an immediate explosion, the others finally breathed collective sighs of relief and decided to fan out, moving around the perimeter with cautious, deliberate steps.
Based on the blood-written journal entries they had read in the cave, the previous cohort had explicitly mentioned a trial.
If anyone in this hall knew anything about ancient ruins or tactical simulations, they knew that the central staircase in front of them was likely an absolute death trap right now.
If the rules of this specific level weren’t cleared first, attempting to ascend would be suicide.
Hence, everybody decided to investigate their immediate surroundings for clues.
Nebula moved slowly, casting her eyes along the polished walls and searching for items of interest while consciously keeping a safe distance from the stone figures.
Felix tracked her every move, remaining right beside her like an obsessive bodyguard.
The rest of the group split up.
Some scanned the glyphs on the walls, while others approached the base of the towering monuments.
Trisha condensed the moisture in the air, creating a sharp ice dagger.
She cautiously lifted it, extending her arm to lightly poke the stone foot of the statue in front of her to check its material density.
"Hey, you crazy girl! What the fuck are you doing?!" Kai shouted, his heart skipping a beat as he lunged forward to try and stop her hand.
But it was too late.
The dagger touched the statue, and everybody froze immediately, their hearts beating collectively in pure dread.
Several seconds passed, yet the statue didn’t move at all.
They all breathed collective sighs of relief, letting out the breaths they had been holding.
Ray finally reached the wall that had caught his attention.
Hung against the dark obsidian was a... a board?
’Hm?’
He moved closer, his eyes narrowing as he deciphered the ancient yet legible words written across its surface.
He silently read:
"Time to praise, worship, sing, and dance. Let’s get the party started."
[DING]
[Quest Alert: Host has made his way into the Obsidian Spire. The trials of the Spire are about to begin. Survive the trials for rewards.]
[Rewards: ???]
’Survive? Trials?’ Ray’s mind raced.
The moment he finished reading the prompt, Trisha turned away from the statue she had poked and took a step forward.
The exact millisecond her boot struck the floor, the tile beneath her lit up with a blinding, brilliant white light.
Everybody, including Ray, snapped their heads in her direction as the illumination snaked rapidly through the grooves of the ground, spider-webbing across the floor until it reached every single corner of the massive chamber.
Then, the hair on the back of Ray’s neck rose instantly as a terrifying pressure descended.
’Damn it. Damn it. I was right!’
A horrific sound like grinding tectonic plates echoed behind Trisha.
Then—
A stone spear shot toward her back with blinding, lethal speed.
BANG!
A silver blur of lightning arc-flashed across the room. Ray shot forward, grabbed Trisha by the arm, and pulled her forcefully out of the trajectory, spinning his body to take the brunt of the force.
But the projectile was too fast.
The jagged stone blade tore through his clothes and sliced his side completely open, splattering fresh crimson blood into the air before the duo went tumbling and bouncing violently across the flawless floor.
"Shit. Shit. Shit!" Ray cursed loudly, his teeth gritted in agony as he managed to plant his boots and stop their momentum.
But before he could even regain his footing, the warrior statue was already looming over him, its heavy spear descending toward his head faster than his eyes could track.
CLANG!
A brilliant flash of sparks flew into the darkness.
Kai stood directly in front of Ray, a solid crystal spear materialized in his hands, barely intercepting the crushing weight of the blow.
Slowly, the dust settled, and the horrific reality set in.
The massive statue had completely stepped off its pedestal, its stone joints fluid and alive, pressing down on Kai with immense physical power.
Before anyone could even blink, a chain reaction triggered.
One by one, almost all the towering monuments that held weapons began violently shaking, shedding centuries of dust as they surged to life.
In total, out of the fifteen statues holding weapons, ten completely unstuck themselves from their positions and slowly walked down the steps into the main hall.
The remaining five weapon statues didn’t move their bodies, but their stone eyelids snapped open, their glowing irises tracking the teens.
They were all alive.
Only the eight statues holding the musical instruments remained entirely motionless, acting like the inanimate carvings they were supposed to be.
Trisha quickly helped Ray stagger to his feet.
Blood was oozing heavily from the deep gash on his side, soaking his shirt.
However, it didn’t take long for a warm, white light to encompass the wound as his passive healing kicked in, mending the torn flesh at an impressive, visible rate.
Alas, there was no time to celebrate.
The entire immense chamber instantly descended into absolute chaos as the ten active stone guardians bolted forward, targeting every single member of the squad with murderous intent.
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