The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 163 The Fat Sheep's Hint and the Treasure Trove (13,000 words, please subscribe and vote!)
The rhythmic rush of the surging water was like a countdown, urging them to decide the outcome as soon as possible if they didn't want to be swallowed by the groundwater.

Now that things have come to this, Tang Qi has no need to hide anything anymore:

Did you know that 'rotten cheese can sell well if you use the right methods'?

Wendy held her longsword steady, feeling the air grow damp and cold:

"I've heard this idiom before, which means that bad things can turn into good things."

"That's right. It was precisely because I didn't have a map that I spent a lot of time using the 'exhaustive method' to figure out the way to the end—but in doing so, I also learned the whole picture of this maze."

Therefore, I know where the end of this labyrinth is, and I know which wall connects to the vast 'Earthsea'.

That was the 'reservoir' that Tang Qi noticed after being ejected from the fast lane—

The groundwater that nourishes the third layer of wetlands and the fourth layer of forest must have a circulating system to ensure that the water does not dry up.

Therefore, the water flow in those fast passages and the waves rushing between the second and third layers will eventually merge into the earth sea as part of the cycle.

He even speculated that this underground sea might be related to the inner sea of ​​Longjin City, but he couldn't draw a definite conclusion yet—after all, the circulating 'underground sea' was a freshwater body of water, while the inner sea of ​​Longjin City was a strange saltwater lake.

As the water flowed from the corridor past his feet, extinguishing the floor scorched by the fireball, Wendy still didn't understand:

"But how did you break through the wall? The material of this labyrinth is similar to that of the crystal golem, so it's not so easy to destroy."

"Damn it, could it be that dragon?"

The rubble, however, clearly understood Iu's true form and couldn't help but click its tongue in amazement.

"Did you really teach that hiccuping dragon?"

Tang Qi pointed to the surroundings, which looked like walls that had been gnawed on:

"【Spitting out】is, after all, a form of vomiting; just let it eat more."

Although it prefers to eat meat and organic matter, it is, after all, a gem dragon, and these crystal blocks mixed with magic are not unpalatable to it.

Fortunately, it's grown a bit bigger and has good teeth, so I don't need to spend time chipping the crystals off piece by piece.

"But I've been bombarding those crystals with magical energy blasts!"

Hope couldn't help but mutter.

As the child of purgatory, her body temperature is naturally scorching, giving her resistance to burning.

As a result, the heat wave from the Dawn Sword only made her feel a slight warmth, making her the one with the lightest injuries at the moment.

Her complaint stemmed from the fact that both [Magic Blast] and Iu's [Singularity Breath] belong to the category of force field energy, which is more likely to damage blocky structures like sand and crystals than energy such as fire.

So these days she's been spending time feeding Iowa.

This little dragon should really recognize itself as half a mother.

"But how long will it take for the floodwaters to inundate this labyrinth? In your condition, can you hold out until this place is submerged?"

Wendy waded through the water that was over her shoes and rushed toward Don Qi, trying to end the dispute as soon as possible.

But as the sword was swung away, Chenxi instead met it with the sword in his left hand.

"【Laughter Technique】".

With a flick of his finger, Xingchen drew a comical smiley face on the tip of his staff, about to be imprinted on Chenxi's forehead.

In a daze, Chenxi kept hearing Tang Qi's whispers in her mind. He seemed to be compiling the jokes he had told into a book.

And when the bright red face of the rubble appeared before her eyes, she was about to burst out laughing:

"Hold fast to the honor in your heart; she cannot make you laugh." Tang Qi swept away the music, extinguishing her laughter.

Yes, I am a knight who upholds honor.

How could you laugh at a dwarf friend?

He just couldn't hit his own forehead.

Oh, I don't have a head either.

Inspired by the poet, Dawn rallied, deflected Wendy's sword, and kicked her in the waist and abdomen.

Wendy's strength was far inferior to that of the boulders, and she staggered backward several steps.

The rubble behind them shouted:
"[Shield Charge]!"

But just as he was halfway there, Hope had already uttered the foul language, and a black, sticky octopus tentacle emerged from her sleeve and split open behind the rubble.

A wisp of pitch black emanated from the split tentacles, spreading across the corridor and forming a spherical black area with a radius of seven meters, which just enveloped the three of them: Shattered Stone, Rumi, and Wendy.

They were in darkness, the air felt damp and sticky, like the whispers of flies buzzing and the slurring noises of eating, penetrating their eardrums and striking their cerebral cortex.

There were sticky tentacles that seemed to be gripping their skin and enveloping their legs.

The man at the forefront of the rubble forcefully pulled his legs out of the mud. Even with his dark vision, his vision was still blurry. He could only let cold sweat soak his back as he tried to break out of this cold and filthy dark domain.

"Snapped!"

An invisible tentacle suddenly slammed into his shoulder:

"Have I walked into an octopus's den?"

[Hada's Desire], Third Ring Spell:

A portal opens, connecting to a terrifying, unknown realm among the stars, manifesting within a spherical area with a radius of 7 meters. No light can illuminate this area; it is completely blinding and impassable for any living being. Furthermore, tentacles within this dark realm will attack anyone within its range.

Hope only dared to use her few spells after confirming that the opponent had no counterspells.

This area can last for one minute. In the blindness, most people will have difficulty distinguishing directions and will try to buy as much time as possible for the groundwater.

Seeing that only the distant, suspended stars remained unaffected, Tang Qi circled around the darkness, closing the distance to them, while cursing:

"Look at your cumbersome ball, it looks more like a cow!"

"Humph."

The headache caused Xingchen to groan, and a spark of fire shot from the tip of his staff.

The third-ring spellcaster's [Flame Arrow] was more powerful, and Tang Qi, unwilling to worsen the burning on his body, tried to dodge to the side using [Awareness]. But the sudden gravitational pull from before dragged him back into the darkness—

Only now did he realize that the other party was a spellcaster who studied [gravity magic].

They wield the power to bring matter together or separate it, influencing the omnipresent force of gravity.

This allowed them to easily change Tang Qi's direction of movement, causing him to plunge entirely into the sticky tentacles.

As the flaming arrow and the tentacles simultaneously reached his chest, Tang Qi had no choice but to use his final [Guardian Sword Dance], wielding a flurry of blades to shatter them both in the darkness.

The brief pause did not allow the tentacles to drag him deeper. He then burst out of the darkness, stepping into the ankle-deep pool water, the back of his blade pointing directly at the stars above the floating dish, slashing at her waist and abdomen.

[Shield Spell] She blocked the back of her blade outside the milky white barrier, then extended her electric-flowing palm and touched Tang Qi's forehead.

The moment their fingertips touched, Tang Qi smelled a delicate fragrance.

The top notes are the fruity scent of pear, the middle notes are the aroma of wood, and the base notes are a blend of the sweetness of citrus and the fragrance of jasmine—that's the scent of iris.

Where did he hear this smell before?
In a daze, Anbi's question echoed in her ears: "Brother Tang Qi smells of perfume."

It's the [Mind Shield Ring]!
"It was you who cast the [Suggestion] spell on those people!?"

Tang Qi finally recognized the woman in front of him.

It was the "fat sheep" that the Red Scarf Gang had been talking about.

Stella Starlight lifted a corner of her wide wizard hat, revealing a charming and languid face to Tang Qi.

Her full, rounded lips parted and closed, using [suggestion] to utter a phrase only the two of them could understand:

“Leave what you really need, let the little dragon devour the other treasures, then come to the mage academy to see me—and then cover for me.”

Like a whisper in his ear, it was as if an indelible seed had been planted in Tang Qi's mind.

As he hesitated, the star seemed to vanish into a cloud of white mist. The blade sliced ​​through the mist, causing it to dissipate, and the opponent's figure disappeared without a trace.

"Zizi-"

The electric claw stimulated every pore of Tang Qi's body, causing him to convulse uncontrollably. The more he moved, the more the tingling sensation made him clench his fists, trying to dilute the numbness with the pain.

In a moment of hesitation, the rubble used brute force to break free from the tentacles' restraints and slammed the shield into Hope's body.

The moment she was slammed against the wall, the tentacles that had been binding Rumi and Wendy, along with the darkness that had been obscuring their vision, receded like a tide, until finally, she became a squid tentacle that had fallen into the pool.

Having just had her arm wrapped in suction cups, Wendy felt sticky all over, but as her sight returned and she looked around, she asked in bewilderment:

Where did Miss Xingchen go?

In his daze, Tang Qi had already forgotten the existence of the 'hint':

"She—maybe she ran away?"

"Huh!? Women are so unreliable, I'm almost done with them!"

"【Hellfire Roar】!"

As he gasped for breath, he suddenly realized his beard was on fire:

"Damn it, my precious beard, my precious beard!"

"[Magic Blast]!"

Two invisible force fields pierced through the rubble on their shoulders and struck Wendy and Rumi in the chest, forcing them to fly backwards and crash into the pool.

Wendy barely managed to stand up before realizing that the groundwater was already above her knees.

Through the telepathic connection of the [Ring of Unity], Tang Qi allowed Iu to blast a huge hole in the crystal wall with its breath, and then let it continue to gnaw at the crystals on the wall, causing the water level to rise extremely rapidly.

"If we delay any longer, the water level will reach our waists."

"Then let me smash your head first!"

The water level had actually reached the hips of the gravel, but he persisted, clearly not intending to let Tang Qi off easily.

As the shield came crashing down on him, Tang Qi resorted to cursing to buy time:

"I don't care, anyway I'll be walking and you'll be swimming!"

The pebbles stumbled and fell to the ground, then choked on seawater.

Seeing the water level rising higher and higher, and knowing they would all drown in the maze if they delayed any longer, Wendy couldn't help but ask curiously:

"You prepared underwater breathing agents in advance?"

Tang Qi pulled the hood of the [Manta Ray Cloak] over his head and pulled up the mask:

"I do not need."

"So this was part of your plan too?"

"Who told me I know more about the dungeon's structure than you do?"

Tang Qi was extremely grateful that he had survived the Red Turban Gang's bunker incident.
"So, should we continue playing? I don't mind."

Wendy sighed, took out the stone tablet, and tossed it to Tang Qi:
"If you use the right methods, even rotten cheese can sell well—we just weren't prepared enough."

She understood perfectly well that once the water level rose, it would be the Silver Medal that would face the greatest difficulties.

After all, there were two short people in her team.

So she quickly called for Rumi and the broken stones:
"We need to get back to the fifth level before the maze is filled with water!"

"Damn it, you've really made a killing this time, you foul mouth of yours—remember to buy me a drink when we get back to Earth!"

Sulphurous, he climbed out of the water, carrying along Kuru, who was completely unconscious and floating on the surface after being struck by the sword hilt and struck by the fireball.
"I took it with me!"

After all, they were teammates who had gone on adventures together, and he couldn't just leave the kobolds to their fate.

Seeing the others leave, Tang Qi quickly waded through the pool and pulled the heavily injured Hope up with him:
"Ready to open the treasure vault?"

(End of this chapter)