Chapter 199 - The Demon Princess (1/2)
The huge desolate ruins were situated out of the wasteland not too far from the forest and the elf folk's village. In the past timeline, it was the main topic on what is the main purpose of the ruins. Since the place is just full of puzzles and a labyrinth maze but no monsters to kill made the community theorizes the main purpose of the place.
When it was conquered and found out the bottom of the labyrinth is just an empty room without anything even a single common chest that contains the most common items made the players who were invested in solving the puzzle got angry and said that the time and effort they did for cracking all of the puzzles are just a big waste of time. It was kind of pitiful since their efforts were not even rewarded.
Who would have thought that the main purpose of the ruins was the tomb of the demon princess that is not even mentioned ever in any of the main stories and this secret quest is the first time the demon princess was ever mentioned. So that means, this princess was forgotten over the course of the story.
Since the solution of all the puzzles was already in my mind, I didn't need to wack my brains just to solve them. The only problem is the ruins and the labyrinth structure inside. Yes, there are 20 puzzles to solve to proceed to the last floor but with the solutions all printed in my head, that isn't a problem at all. The main problem that made this place time-consuming is the changing hallways and different places that would suddenly shift while you are walking. It is very frustrating especially if you are bad at directions since this will further cause you to get lost.
Even I who has an eidetic memory will have one or two troubles along the way. It is frustrating to some extent.
...
Around 2 hours later, I finally cracked the last puzzle. If I didn't know the solutions to the puzzles beforehand, I might have been stuck in the 4th puzzle to the 10th puzzle since even with solutions, it took me a few retries before I managed to solve it due to how tricky some of its mechanics just to trigger the lock from opening. Thank goodness I am now able to break through the last puzzle.
Descending on the long staircase that appeared after the last puzzle crumbled, Atlas appeared from my summons area. I didn't forbid him and allowed him to descend the stairs with me.
”Master, I sense a great dread at the end of these stairs.”
”Is it the same as those times when you detect a demon?” I asked.
”Twice the intensity, Master. It seems not only does the energy of dark matter really strong down there, it seems to be sealed.”
”Sealed huh... maybe due to the fact that the demon princess was asleep that is why you sense the dark energy to be ”sealed”? That might be the main reason you seemed to feel the power of it differently.”
”Perhaps, Master. Unlike the usual demon aura that I detect, this dark energy seems to be much more chaotic and destructive. Be careful Master, even I can't guarantee your safety in this dungeon if something comes up unexpectedly.”
”Don't worry, I can handle things on my own and I am a tough nut to crack, I won't be broken that easily.”
As we arrive at the bottom of the stairs, the same room where the stream in the past timeline visited appeared before my eyes and I can tell that the intricate design of this place is much different compared to some dungeons I have seen so far. This place is made so intricately I have a hard time believing that this place doesn't have a purpose.
Not only that but the feeling of heaviness is also getting more intense here too. It seems like you are experiencing an increased amount of gravity while in the area alone.
”Master, be careful, there seems to be something in here that I can't pinpoint. Be vigilant and keep your guard up.”
Atlas looks around the place and observing the situation. Meanwhile, I look around the place and started looking for the mechanism that will reveal where the demon princess was located. If it wasn't here when we arrive, then it must be a hidden mechanism that is easy to dismiss as a design of the place rather than a trigger to the hidden place.
While investigating the pillars, all of a sudden, a flying weapon came straight to me and you can only react to it in split second. Thankfully, due to my training in katana, it wasn't troubling at all to block it.
PENG!
The weapon was deflected and it went straight to the wall, destroying it completely. The walls broke down, and a hidden chamber appeared.
”The f*ck?”
”Master, there was a hidden chamber in the walls.”
”I can see that and it seems like it was a deliberate attempt to hide this place since I never suspected this place to have a room behind it.”
”Not only that, Master. The dread that I am feeling since we came down from the stairs seems to come from this area. Since the feeling earlier seems to circle down in this room, it seems the hidden room has a way to disguise the aura of the chaotic energy on where it was coming from.”
”Let's investigate it right away.”