Chapter 243: Chapter 241: Even a Gatling Gun Isn’t This Insane!
Boom!
With a violent explosion shaking the entire sixth floor, Hilia’s second-layer [Wall of Bearing] was shattered, and even the ice wall behind it cracked apart.
But fortunately, it held.
As the final wave of attacks ended, the whole sixth floor gradually brightened.
The vanished chandeliers reappeared, radiating blended light.
The fireplace, weapons rack, paintings... all the things that had become weapons slowly emerged from the smoky aftermath, returning to their original forms.
Yet the terrifying and chilling feeling was gone; the lights cast a warm, cozy glow throughout the room.
The portrait of the smiling middle-aged noble, was just an ordinary smile now, no longer giving off any uncanny vibe.
"It’s over?"
Hilia looked around warily.
She didn’t notice anything amiss.
Just in case, she raised ice walls around herself and Elina, scroll in hand, ready to cast Shield of the Earth at any moment.
Elina was much the same.
She gripped her Magic Staff, while the Magic Puppet’s hands glowed faint emerald, prepared to unleash Magic in defense.
Creaaak—!
Suddenly, there came the sound of a door opening behind them. Both stiffened, turned around, and saw two large doors slowly swinging open.
Behind the doors were the familiar stairs leading to the upper floor.
Both let out a breath of relief.
"Though the attacks are wild for a short burst, compared to the drawn-out bombardment below, I actually prefer it here." Hilia laughed.
Elina nodded, then shook her head: "This all-at-once explosion is nice, but honestly, it’s easy to lose control. If it weren’t for our Combination Skill, we wouldn’t have gotten out of this so easily."
"Before heading up to the seventh floor, let’s see if the sixth has any treasures!"
"Alright!"
The two started searching the sixth floor carefully.
Half an hour later, they returned to the doorway, faces glowing with smiles.
Elina exclaimed, "This place really is the Magic Crystal headquarters! Not only are there tons of Intermediate Magic Crystals, we even found an Advanced Magic Crystal!"
Hilia nodded, "Besides Magic Crystals, the sixth floor has other materials too. That’s an unexpected bonus."
They had combed the entire sixth floor, found the hidden Advanced Magic Crystal, and with Rose’s hint, discovered the most, most, most concealed treasure chest—
A bundle of thread material hidden inside the weapons rack’s array of arms.
Yep, every weapon on the rack was hollow, stuffed with threads possessing extraordinary toughness and strength—you couldn’t snap them no matter how hard you pulled.
Plus, their magic conductivity was superb.
Hilia immediately thought of its use—drawing runes onto clothes, turning them into comfortable battle robes.
She didn’t recognize the material, nor did Elina.
The school had a [Materials Science] course, but first-year Materials Science couldn’t identify all materials; anything above Tier Two wasn’t covered.
And the ruins had no access to the Star Spirit Network, so searching wasn’t an option.
As for Rose...
"Don’t ask me, I don’t know either. I only recognize a handful of Intermediate items. I dabble in forging and tailoring, but not in-depth. Still, I can tell this is a Tier Four item. For clothing, you can ignore the tier gap, but if you want to use this thread yourself... it’ll be tricky."
Hilia nodded.
She could sense it.
When she injected Magic Power into this material, it was like a drop in the ocean—the thread’s magic depth compared to a lake, and her Magic Power was a tiny pipe; the amount she poured in might not even match what evaporates.
"I’ll ask Ms. Ailina back home if she knows any tutors specializing in magical garments, and have a mentor make one for me."
With the enemies getting stronger, Hilia was gradually realizing the big flaw of not wearing any defensive gear.
Especially in ancient ruins like this castle maze, who knows when sudden attacks could happen?
She couldn’t always rely on an ice wall around her, could she?
No, even one ice wall isn’t enough, since it’s a Tier One Magic—a high-tier Magic attack would require layering, and reinforcement with Forest Silk to withstand it.
If she had a mage robe with Tier Four Defense... who needs multiple ice walls?
She could probably charge through the whole ruin with her eyes closed, then even mock the owner: "Did you skip breakfast or something?"
As things stood, she was always lugging around a thick ice wall, looking like an idiot.
Elina saw Hilia’s longing for the threads, though she didn’t realize they were Tier Four, and decided to let Hilia have them.
In return, Hilia gave Elina the Advanced Magic Crystal.
There weren’t many threads—even after breaking down all the weapons, it was just a bundle, not enough for even a close-fitting undershirt.
"Looks like the most valuable thing from floor six and up is this. Wonder if we’ll have enough threads by the top floor for a snug vest..."
The amount was too little for a mage robe—if she could just get a vest out of it, Hilia would be satisfied.
Of course, if there were plenty more upstairs, that’d be a different story.
After the treasure hunt, the two happily made their way to the stairway leading to the seventh floor.
Rose’s figure appeared, watching as they dropped their guard and headed up, a smile on his face.
The very next second, a barrage of arrows erupted from above, each with power rivaling Tier Three Magic, instantly raining down on Hilia and Elina.
The arrows were so fast, they shattered layer after layer of ice wall, rushing toward the Magic Puppet in front.
Hilia’s face changed; she quickly took out a Shield of the Earth scroll and ripped it open.
"Fall back!"
She shouted, immediately running down the stairs, giving instructions to the Magic Puppet to retreat as well.
After the two and the Magic Puppet successfully retreated, they saw the Shield of the Earth—without being layered into the Wall of Bearing—had been turned into a pincushion and swiftly pierced.
The remaining arrows flew onward, brutally punching through the sixth floor’s stone walls, turning the once impenetrable walls into another pincushion.
The Gatling-like enchanted arrow barrage lasted about three minutes before ceasing.
The two exchanged looks, still shaken.
Hilia cast a glance at Rose, who was watching from the side with a "spectator" attitude; she immediately realized he’d purposely withheld any warning.
She promptly apologized, "Sorry, Lord Rose, I got too excited and forgot there might be more traps here."
Rose was a bit surprised, "Interesting, I thought you’d blame me for not warning you."
Hilia replied, "No, it was totally my own carelessness—why would I blame Mr. Rose for not reminding me?"
She winked, "Lord Rose, please help me out!"
Her decision to attack the portrait had triggered the sixth floor’s rampage—she knew puzzling was out of the question for her now.
Still, from the first floor to now, she hadn’t seriously sought clues for any puzzle; moving on to the next level was all thanks to Rose’s guidance.
This was the first time she realized just how ruthless the staircase traps could be.
"That was scary!"
