Chapter 2537 Changes in the Secret Chamber <TOC> Chapter 2539 Rabbit Hole’s End
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel turned to Daus: “Aren’t you going to try going inside?”
Yawning and leaning against the door, Daus replied: “Who knows what you’ve been up to in there? I don’t want to end up being a test subject.”
Angel suddenly raised his head. When their eyes met, he understood that Daus had likely sensed something.
Daus didn’t know the exact details of the room, but his ability to be so accurate probably relied on his special skill——intuition.
Seeing Daus look completely relaxed, Angel sighed: “Strong intuition indeed lets you act with impunity.”
Daus raised an eyebrow, wearing an “I knew it” expression.
Not wanting to trick Daus any further, Angel spoke directly: “Since we have so many people going inside, I can conduct comprehensive tests on this magic formation and observe the final feedback.”
Pausing for a moment, Angel then looked at Daus: “After I finish recording this data, we’ll leave. You can wait for me outside or come along.”
Daus replied: “I’ll come along.”
Angel said: “You’re not hesitating this time?”
Daus grinned: “This magic formation is clearly intriguing. If you, the one who set it up, are still collecting data, then there’s sure to be something worth watching inside. I wouldn’t want to miss out.”
“If anything, you’re even craftier than I imagined,” Angel remarked with a hint of irritation before turning to head through the door.
Daus quickly followed.
As the two passed through, the door promptly closed, and glowing text appeared: “Current number of participants: 12.”
After a moment, the message faded, replaced with: “Game begins, no entry.”
Inside the chamber, aside from Angel and Daus, everyone had dispersed upon entering.
Old Porter looked around the vast, empty space with a surprised expression.
He had stayed in the room previously and knew its dimensions well. How could such a cramped room suddenly seem so spacious now?
Was this an illusion?
Old Porter paced left and right, unable to detect any trace of energy fluctuation. Either it had truly expanded, or Angel’s illusion magic was so powerful that it left no trace.
Old Porter couldn’t guess which one it was, nor did he care to. What he really wanted to know was which direction to take.
This problem puzzled not only Old Porter, but everyone who ventured through the gate. After fruitless exploration, the same question echoed in their minds.
Yet soon, their doubts vanished as a row of glowing letters suddenly floated before them, spelling out——”The Twelve Zodiac Palace.”
Simultaneously, a voice, exaggerated and somewhat comedic, echoed in their ears:
“Welcome to Tea Tea’s Twelve Zodiac Palace. For each Zodiac Palace you pass through, you’ll earn a tool to unlock Tea Tea’s favor. Pass through all twelve, and Tea Tea will be waiting for you at the end.”
Twelve Zodiac Palace? What in the world was that?
Everyone wore puzzled expressions. They’d heard of the zodiac, an astrological term, but this was the first time they’d heard of the Twelve Zodiac Palace.
Or could it be a random selection from the countless celestial constellations?
Among them, only Angel knew the full story, as he was the one who had informed… Tea Tea.
“The challenge is simple. Battle? Impossible! Tea Tea dislikes fighting. The challenge is to answer questions! Each palace has five questions. Answer three correctly to pass the stage, and answer all five to receive an extra favor tool.”
“The questions aren’t difficult; they’re all common knowledge!”
“Tea Tea can’t wait to see you! Whoever arrives first will receive a special surprise. Hurry up and start!”
After the voice faded, a glowing pathway appeared before them, guiding them toward the destination.
At the same time, a magnificent circular clock emerged on the horizon, visible to all. Instead of hour and minute hands, it featured the twelve Zodiac Palace marks and a rose-shaped hour hand pointing toward the Twelve Zodiac Palace.
Currently, all marks indicate the starting point. Each stage passed would advance the rose hour hand by one step.
“It seems like a simple quiz game. I was worried it might require obscure extraordinary knowledge, but it turns out to be common knowledge questions. Shouldn’t be too difficult,” Old Porter muttered as he stepped onto the path of light.
Nearby, Daus stood next to Angel and voiced almost the same thoughts as Old Porter. However, after speaking, he considered it couldn’t be that easy and asked: “Are these really common knowledge questions?”
“Yes, they’re common knowledge questions,” Angel nodded.
Daus smirked: “What’s so hard about that? If you wanted to test the talents, you should’ve made it harder.”
Angel said quietly: “Who said I wanted to test the talents… I just wanted to set up a hidden magic formation, but things went awry.”
“Is the obstacle course game malfunctioning?”
Angel sighed and replied: “Yes, it’s an unintended outcome.”
As he and Daus stepped onto the path of light, Angel asked: “Have you heard of the ‘Hidden Box’ magic formation?”
After a moment of reflection, Daus replied: “Isn’t that a combination of the Sealing Rune and Binding Rune used to hide energy signatures and prevent detection?”
Angel nodded: “Yes, I originally planned to inscribe a Hidden Box, but while inscribing, inspiration struck. I felt that just a Hidden Box was dull, so in addition to the Sealing and Binding Runes, I added the Death Rune, the Growth Rune, the Frost Rune…”
Daus looked stunned: “Was that inspiration or self-destruction? What kind of rune wizard messes around like that?”
“Leaving the rest aside, why did you include the Death Rune?”
The correct answer would be for preservation. But Angel, having learned a lesson from his recent encounter with Mandara, decided to respond righteously: “To nurture lost souls. If someone dies, their soul can be preserved here.”
“That sounds plausible. Fine, I’ll accept that. But what about the Growth Rune and the Frost Rune?”
Angel explained: “After considering the dead, I had to think about the living too. The Growth Rune releases life energy to heal the injured, and the Frost Rune… this region is adjacent to the Laxum Duchy, where it’s often hot and dry. The Frost Rune can provide cooling.”
Daus observed Angel intently and said seriously: “I’m sure you’re making things up.”
“…”
Angel indeed was fabricating an explanation. He had likely been influenced by —Dance of the Metals— and added the Growth Rune for growing crops and the Frost Rune as a refrigerator.
If he were to admit the truth, how would he maintain his dignity?
“If you don’t want to explain, fine. But you haven’t told me why the formation malfunctioned. These formations seem fine. Was there an issue with the illusion?”
Angel replied: “Hmm… they all malfunctioned.”
“All of them?!” Daus was shocked.
“Well, even a horse can stumble, and a person can lose focus. My mind wandered, and a chaotic mess of inspiration surged forth, leading to the current situation.” Angel quickly reassured him: “But this isn’t too bad. You’re right that it can test these talents. Life can be dull, and it’s good to experience something interesting.”
Daus gazed deeply at Angel but ultimately said nothing. After all, the first Zodiac Palace was already in sight.
The palace was designed in the style of a grand temple, imposing and majestic, radiating a sense of sacred solemnity.
“Is this an illusion, or did you expand the space?” Daus asked, puzzled as he gazed at the Zodiac Palace. He was aware of the chamber’s size, and no trickery should make it appear this vast.
“Everything went wrong, so everyone is affected,” said Angel, beaming with pride: “How about that? Even though things went south, the space clearly got bigger.”
Daus silently gave Angel a side glance and stepped into the Zodiac Palace.
Their footsteps echoed through the empty halls of the palace.
Not long after, Daus and Angel stopped before a girl dressed in a pure white priestess robe, exuding a sweet scent.
The girl looked like a nun but, upon closer inspection, her entire body gleamed with an unusual luster, more like… porcelain.
She appeared unable to move, her perfectly crafted eyes staring blankly at them.
“Welcome to the first chamber of the Sweet Zodiac Palace,” a familiar yet flamboyant voice announced: “This chamber’s quizmaster is Sugar Cube Girl right here. Please wait patiently as she can only handle six participants at a time. You came a bit late, so there’s a slight wait. But don’t worry, she only asks simple questions.”
Daus asked: “…So, she processes six people together?”
“No answer for that. If you want to know, you can ask Tea Tea after the quiz.”
“Who’s Tea Tea?” Daus pressed.
“When you reach the end, you’ll see her,” the voice replied after a pause: “Sugar Cube Girl has finished with the other participants. What a pity, only one out of the six answered three questions correctly. Seems like none of them had much common sense.”
“Now, it’s your turn, contestant! Answer the questions!”
Daus wasn’t interested in playing this guessing game, as he had joined Angel to take the “off-path” shortcut.
But what about Angel?
Daus glanced around, realizing he was alone. Angel had vanished.
“What the heck…” Daus cursed. Angel had bolted, left him behind.
When had he slipped away? And how had Daus not noticed?
Suppressing his irritation, Daus asked: “Where did my companion go?”
Neither the flamboyant voice nor Sugar Cube Girl answered. Her blank expression suggested she was just a mechanism designed for the quiz.
In other words, she was a question machine. Apart from that, she couldn’t do anything else.
Daus took a deep breath: “Alright, let’s answer the questions.”
With Angel missing and this magic formation malfunctioning, he didn’t dare wander off randomly. He would follow the rules and go through the quiz.
As soon as Daus agreed to the quiz, Sugar Cube Girl’s vacant gaze instantly shifted, and her porcelain-like dark eyes began to sparkle brightly.
“Question time begins now. Contestants, listen carefully.”
“First question: Gryffindor, Stianfen, or John Rich, which one is my real name?”
Daus: …
Daus now just wants to smash a cup. This is common knowledge?
“Ten seconds, ten, nine, eight…”
Suppressing his anger, Daus closes his eyes and thinks for a moment. Just as the countdown is about to end, he says: “None of them.”
As soon as he finishes speaking, an exaggerated voice immediately replies: “Congratulations! You’ve answered the first question correctly! Out of the eight people who have attempted this question, only four got it right! You’re doing great!”
Eight people… Daus remembers that Sugar Cube Girl can handle only six at a time, which means there are probably others answering the questions with him.
Sugar Cube Girl doesn’t stop and quickly moves to the second question: “So, what is my real name?”
Daus’ fist tightens abruptly.
The first question was multiple choice, and he managed to deduce the answer with his spiritual sensitivity. But now they’re asking directly for her real name, who would know that?
No matter how strong his spiritual sense is, it can’t just reveal a name. Especially when she’s not even human. She’s just a tool inside Angel’s magic formation, how could she have a name?
Daus suddenly pauses and realizes: “Exactly! She’s just a tool person, she wouldn’t have a name.”
Answering questions isn’t completely blind guessing; it requires some skill.
With this thought, Daus confidently replies: “You don’t have a name.”
A sorrowful melody begins playing in his ears, and the previously exaggerated voice lowers: “Wrong answer. How could I not have a name? My name is Karolus Andalufi Sugarcube Kirie.”
“How could you get such a simple common knowledge question wrong? Tea Tea will probably be very disappointed.”
Daus exhales deeply, forcefully swallows the curse at the tip of his tongue, and suppresses his anger: “What kind of common knowledge question is this?”
No one answers.
Sugar Cube Girl moves on to the third question: “What is my favorite candy?”
Daus: “…Sugar cube.”
Again, the mournful background music starts: “Alas, wrong again. Although my name is Sugar Cube, it’s just a name. I don’t like eating candy at all. Out of those who’ve answered so far, only one person got this question right, and it’s not you.”
Daus smiled, energy gathering in his clenched fist.
“You’ve already answered two questions wrong. You can’t afford to get the next two wrong, or you’ll face the consequences.”
Ignoring the voice in his ear, Daus approached Sugar Cube Girl with a grin, slowly raising his fist: “I won’t entertain you anymore. Answer to this, my fist!”
He swung his energized fist toward Sugar Cube Girl.
However, before he could reach her, she vanished.
Footsteps sounded behind Daus.
Turning, he saw Angel, who had disappeared earlier.
After confirming that this Angel was not an illusion, Daus scowled: “Where did you run off to?”
Angel answered lazily: “I went to cheat.”
“Cheat?”
Angel continued: “If I followed the usual process, even I would have to answer questions in every Zodiac Palace one by one. So, I decided to cheat. In each palace, I disabled the magic formation. Once done, we can continue.”
“You couldn’t just change them all at once?”
Angel sighed: “There was a problem… I had to modify each one separately. Don’t worry, I adjusted them all. It won’t waste time. Let’s head to the second palace.”
Daus squinted at Angel: “Are you sure you’re telling the truth?”
Angel maintained a serious expression: “Absolutely.”
Despite lingering doubts, Daus ultimately believed Angel. But he didn’t realize Angel had intentionally slowed down the process of disabling the magic formations. Watching Daus answer questions had been quite amusing.
“No matter if you’re lying or not, didn’t you say these questions were basic knowledge? How is this common knowledge?” Daus demanded.
Angel cleaned out his ear: “I didn’t say that. If you ask me these questions, I wouldn’t know either.”
“Besides, you should have noticed that Sugar Cube Girl’s questions are indeed common knowledge, just not from our Southern Region. In her country, everyone probably knows these things.”
Chapter 2537 Changes in the Secret Chamber <TOC> Chapter 2539 Rabbit Hole’s End