I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 283, 1.21-0: The Girl Imprisoned in the Tower
A huge blue moon obscured half the sky, and countless stars twinkled. A veil of seven colors was draped over the air, making it feel like stepping into an illusory dream, giving off an unreal quality.

"Ahhhhhh"

'cuckoo'

The withered forest was rendered incredibly desolate by the cries of crows and owls, carrying a chilling sense of dread.

In the distance stands a dilapidated and desolate tower, riddled with unfillable holes, making one wonder if it might collapse at any moment.

It was a purple sea, and upon closer inspection, it was composed of loosestrife covered with tiny purple flowers, concealing the muddy swamp and surrounding the lonely, dilapidated tower, exuding a secluded beauty.

This abandoned wasteland is silent year-round, except for the calls of crows and owls.

A small pebble fell from the sky and landed on the rock with a crisp sound, breaking the eerie silence.

Looking up from the bottom of the tower, one can vaguely see a cold iron bar blocking the window, as if something is closed off.

The cool moonlight poured down through the iron bars, as if carrying a ray of light and hope.

Those were a pair of pale, bloodstained legs, bearing various wounds from being bullied. The dark red blood, long since congealed, shone through, making them a shocking sight against the pale skin.

Numerous, small wounds—abrasions, bruises, cuts, and so on—seem to have healed and scabbed over, but show no signs of returning to their original state.

The girl, dressed in a worn-out, dusty dress whose true color was no longer discernible, leaned against the wall where dust kept settling. Her long black hair was dry and dull. Although she was still in the prime of her youth, she was so thin that she was almost unrecognizable, resembling a withered old woman without any vitality.

Her eyes were tightly closed, her furrowed brows never relaxed, her hands and feet were bound by cold chains, and her wrists were covered with bloodstains from the chains.

Suddenly, she moved, and with the cold sound of chains scraping against each other, she crawled forward, as if trying to touch the soft moonlight.

Lying on the ground, she stretched her hand towards the moonlight, her curled eyelashes fluttering slightly as she slowly opened her unfocused gray eyes.

She stared blankly at the light, her eyes devoid of any emotion, but no matter how hard she tried, she was always just centimeters away from that ray of moonlight.

At a distance bordering on despair, her chapped pink lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

With a slight 'clatter,' the chains shifted, and the girl stopped trying to climb forward.

Finally, she maintained her posture of struggling towards the light, her body covered in miserable wounds, her unfocused eyes fixed on the distant light, no more tears could flow from her eyes, all hope extinguished in an instant.

Do you believe in the existence of light?

I have never seen the light; my world is only darkness.

Do you want to see the light?

"I don't want to, because I have never seen the light. Those who exist only in darkness cannot know the beauty of light. Light only corrodes the skin of those who dwell in darkness, for those who live in darkness do not deserve it."

Have you heard of a magical tower? If you step into the area where the tower is located and make a wish, it will come true forever.

"What price will be paid?"

"Trading the freedom of your loved one for the power to grant any wish seems like a good deal, doesn't it?" "Perhaps... but won't the person whose wish is granted feel heartbroken at losing their lover?"

"Scum has no heart."

The magnificent tower, attracting countless visitors, possesses a mysterious and incredible power.

Search for it!

Fight for it!

Once you obtain it, it belongs to you.

[Ding dong! A special limited-time gathering event for the Mysterious Kingdom is now open. Players who wish to participate can choose one of the following three locations: Rivers Town, Gloria City, or Sayo Valley. This event is available for 30 days only.]

[Friendly reminder: This dungeon is for Crown Princes. Obtaining the Crown Prince item and clearing the dungeon will guarantee you the title of Crown Prince.]

[The friendly nations of the Mysterious Kingdom are the Fairy Tale Kingdom and the Gourmet Kingdom. Players from this kingdom and its friendly kingdoms will not trigger death events if they fail in dungeons. Players from other hostile kingdoms should participate with caution.]

[A high priest has appeared on the streets of Rivers. Danger! Please keep clear!]
[The lord of Gloria is gathering his guards; does he seem to be plotting something?]

[Mysterious figures have been frequently spotted in Sayo Valley, searching for something...]
"The Crown Prince's storyline?" Ming Jin listened intently to the announcement from Fei Lu, chewing on a lollipop. His handsome face, framed by silver bangs, held a thoughtful expression.

"Let's go conquer the Crown Prince dungeon together. I'm tired of the normal dungeons." Mingxi leaned against the wall, rubbing the white bracelet on her wrist with one hand, and muttered to herself in dissatisfaction.

"If Xi hadn't been unable to resist destroying the dungeon, I don't think we would have ended it so quickly." Ming Jin opened her mouth, holding the pink lollipop in one hand, and said helplessly.

"Who knew the dungeon had so many tricks up its sleeve? I don't have the patience to wait for some stupid clues. It would be much simpler to just go up and fight. Looking for clues is just complicating a simple and straightforward process."

The treasure can be found by simply opening the door in that instance, but there is no key; you need to solve a puzzle to reveal it.

This is utterly ridiculous. It's just a wooden door; you can just break it open. Why go through all that trouble and need a key? It's not like there's a rule against breaking doors. The fact that the system doesn't have a strict rule against doing that means that breaking the door is perfectly within the rules and doesn't violate any regulations.

The design incorporates the possibility of players crashing into doors, so there's no rule against directly breaking down doors.

The rules only state that you need to open the door. Since it's about opening the door, besides having a matching key, there are only two other ways: either you break the door down or you chop it open with an axe.

However, he considered the wording trap: chopping the door open with an axe wouldn't count as opening the door according to the rules. The door must open itself intact, so after thinking it over, he decided that ramming the door was the fastest way; that way, the door would be fine and open by itself without a key.

“Xi, the charm of solving a puzzle lies in the process of solving it. If it were simple and straightforward, there would be no need to set up a puzzle.” Ming Jin shrugged. Ming Xi was indeed very clever in some ways, although the most likely reason was that he was just trying to be lazy.

"I want something more exciting and thrilling. You know I don't dislike puzzle-solving, but I just don't like things that aren't dangerous at all. They feel too peaceful and a bit strange."

A cold glint flashed in his lake-blue eyes as he gazed at the shimmering water splashing from the fountain in the sunlight, his expression grave.

The dungeons in the Mysterious Kingdom always gave him a sense of unease, so he couldn't help but become anxious, and in his haste, he resorted to simple and crude actions.

It's not his fault.

The dungeon, nicknamed "The Tower," is now open!
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(End of this chapter)