The path leading to the second floor was much more winding than they had imagined.
The three of them twisted and turned, making no fewer than a dozen detours before they finally found the entrance to the second floor of the dungeon.
If the route map in their hands hadn't been somewhat reliable, it probably would have taken them more than half a day just to reach this point.
Descending the spiral staircase and pushing open the stone door to the second floor, all three of them immediately sensed that something was off.
There was no path; only a solid wall stood directly in front of them.
The first floor at least had fork roads to take, but the second floor seemed completely blocked off.
The passage clearly marked on the map simply ended here out of nowhere.
Walking at the very front, Loviki lightly tapped the dusty stone wall with the toe of her boot, her brow furrowing slightly.
“What's going on with this floor?” She looked around, her voice filled with confusion.
Just as she finished speaking, a low rumbling click-clack echoed from ahead.
The stone wall began to move. Blocks of various sizes slid past and rearranged themselves, like a giant puzzle being manipulated and assembled by an invisible hand.
“The walls... are moving on their own?” Flora stood behind Chen Mian, her eyes widening slightly beneath her cloak's hood.
“Yeah.” Chen Mian stared at the shifting, rotating stone blocks, the corner of his mouth twitching imperceptibly. “It's making a face.”
Where the dead end had just been, a passage slowly split open. A few floating stone slabs hovered above the entrance, crookedly piecing together a smiley face.
One eye was high, the other low, and the mouth was stretched so wide it practically reached its ears.
Loviki was somewhat stunned. “This dungeon... has definitely been tampered with by that witch, hasn't it?”
Just as she said that, the smiley face began to shift again. The stone blocks detached from the wall, disassembled, and merged once more. Within a few breaths, they formed a line of text in the Common Tongue:
“O adventurers who come after~ The monsters here have already been cleaned up! Forge ahead boldly! There are surprises along the way!”
Loviki stared at the line of words for quite a while, her expression turning highly complex. “Surprises? The ‘twisted sense of humor’ that uncle mentioned, could it be referring to this kind of thing...?”
“Probably,” Chen Mian agreed, looking at the words formed by the stone slabs before him.
Soon after, the wall returned to normal, leaving only the newly revealed passage.
In the next second, the wall returned to normal, with only that passage remaining wide open.
“Let's go,” Chen Mian said, taking the lead.
Loviki followed closely behind. As she walked, she examined the walls on both sides, suddenly freezing in her tracks.
“There seem to be words over there.”
She squatted down, her gaze landing on a stone slab near the ground. It was a line of neatly carved small characters, looking as if someone had scratched them out bit by bit with a fingernail: “The dungeon is all remodeled! I've worked so hard, so here's a little flower as a reward.” At the very end, a crooked windbell flower was drawn.
Loviki curled her lip. “It really was that witch's doing.”
Chen Mian glanced at the line of words a bit longer, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but he didn't linger.
The path that followed actually aligned with the route marked on the map. It wasn't until they reached a fork in the road marked on the map that things changed; according to the route, there should have been a left-turning passage here, but now, there was only a cold stone wall.
“Is the map wrong?” Loviki leaned in to glance at the parchment in Chen Mian's hand.
The stone wall in front of them moved again, the blocks piecing together a new line of words: “Want to pass through here? Answer my question first! Knock on the wall three times when you're ready. No running away, or a marvelous event will be triggered~”
Loviki's mouth twitched. “...Do we really have to knock?”
Chen Mian nodded. “Go ahead and knock. Let's see what she wants to ask.”
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Three knocks rang out. The writing on the stone wall faded, and a moment later, new words emerged:
“Question one: If a tomato could walk, which foot should it use to take its first step?”
The three of them fell into a collective silence for a moment.
Loviki lowered her head and seriously pondered it. “If it were modified... then it should start with its right foot like most people, right? It starts with its right foot.”
The stone wall lit up, and new words appeared: “Incorrect! The correct answer is neither! Tomatoes roll! Hahahaha! However, you have a very serious attitude, which is worthy of praise.”
Loviki looked utterly speechless. “Does this even count as a question?”
The stone wall continued to shift: “Question two: Suppose you are drinking a bowl of soup, and the soup suddenly starts singing. What should you do? Hint: I wrote the lyrics myself~”
Loviki's mouth twitched. “...Pour it out.”
Flora, however, spoke up softly, “Listen to it finish singing, and then praise it.”
Loviki turned her head, looking at her with a face full of question marks.
The stone wall lit up: “Wow! Full marks for the second respondent! Reward: The passage ahead will open directly! As for the first respondent...”
Rearranging: “...Your punishment is to sing and dance at the same time!”
Just as the words appeared, a circle of pale green light lit up beneath Loviki's feet. A gentle but irresistible force spread from her ankles to her entire body. Immediately after, her body began to move on its own, dancing a solo waltz. At the same time, her mouth opened uncontrollably: “O adventurers walking in the dungeon~ Do not worry, do not panic~”
Loviki's face instantly turned bright red.
Flora stood to the side, pressing her hand tightly over her mouth, her shoulders shaking violently.
The tips of her ears peeking out from the edge of her cloak's hood had turned a bit red.
Chen Mian leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on Loviki, an undisguised smile playing on his face.
“D-Don't laugh!” Loviki's voice squeezed out of her throat with great difficulty. “O adventurers... walking in... don't laugh... the dungeon~”
After about ten seconds, Chen Mian stepped forward and gently placed his right hand on her head. The pale green magical fluctuations silently dissipated, and Loviki's movements finally ground to a halt.
She lowered her head, her face flushing so red it felt like it was on fire.
“It's fine, it was quite cute.” Chen Mian patted her head, withdrew his hand, and looked toward the newly opened passage. “The position of this path is the exact opposite of what's marked on the map.”
“Is the map in our hands fake?” Loviki looked up, her face still carrying clear embarrassment and annoyance.
“Probably not. On the first floor, I saw the map Raylin and his group had, and their route was basically identical to ours.” Chen Mian put away the parchment and stepped toward the passage. “We'll know once we go in and take a look.”
Flora followed behind him, turning back to wave at Loviki. “Let's go, Loviki.”
“Flora... did I look incredibly silly just now?” Loviki looked utterly weary of life.
“Not at all.” Flora stopped in her tracks, turned around, and smiled slightly. “Even though the lyrics were a bit strange, you looked very pretty when you were dancing, Loviki. Mr. Chen Mian also said it was cute.”
Loviki froze for a moment. Her gaze chased after the silhouette ahead, and she subconsciously reached up to touch the top of her head, the tips of her ears quietly turning red once more.
She took a deep breath and quickly caught up.
Rate on N.U.
