“Why are we playing word chain here of all places?!”
At this moment, Li Xiuman felt like the world had become completely unrecognizable to a skeleton.
“The lamp is dry!”
They didn't answer Li Xiuman's question, simply continuing their word chain game.
“What on earth is going on? I'll go take a look!”
As the only other person still standing outside the recessed stone wall alongside Li Xiuman, Mia the Light Priest spoke up.
A dumbfounded Li Xiuman wanted to stop her, but it was already too late.
Mia leaned forward and sneaked a peek inside the recess. Her body froze instantly, and she blurted out:
“Dry as a bone!”
So even homophones work. Looks like it's not a strict word chain.
Damn it, I almost got dragged into it.
Is this some kind of trap? A trap where anyone who enters is forced to play word chain...
This kind of trap, this kind of trap...
...is actually incredibly cool!
“Hey! Can you guys say anything other than the word chain?!”
Li Xiuman shouted toward the recess.
He didn't dare to step forward blindly. He even turned his head away, completely avoiding looking in that direction.
Just now, Mia had only poked her head in for a single glance, yet she had instantly fallen victim to it.
Because of this, Li Xiuman deduced that triggering the effects of this trap spell might not even require stepping inside; a mere glance could be enough to set it off.
“Bone-chillingly long.”
Someone inside called back to Li Xiuman.
Alright, looks like they really can't answer me normally.
But if I can't communicate with those pure-brained simpletons inside, there's no way to resolve this situation.
In that case... how do I communicate with them?
“Can the people inside hear me?!”
“If you can hear me, stretch out the syllables on the next word!”
“Long... drive... straight... in...”
They can hear me.
By the way, these guys really have an impressive vocabulary. As expected of nobles from the royal capital.
Is this the value of an elite education?
“Listen up. I'm going to ask you some questions next.”
“If the answer is yes, drag out your syllables. If it's no, make them fast and abrupt.”
“Do you understand?”
“In... the... grave... we... rest...”
That's a yes.
Their brains are working pretty fast. But if they're this quick-witted, why on earth did they squeeze in one by one like lemmings marching into a trap?
Alright, no use overthinking the logic of these simpletons. Business first.
“Is there anything moving in there?”
Li Xiuman asked.
“Resting place!”
A no.
“Is there anything alive in there?”
Li Xiuman asked again.
...
A heavy silence fell.
“Place... of... eternity!”
What was with that tone?
There was a brief hesitation, as if the system itself lagged for a second.
But they still ended up expressing a negative with an abrupt tone?
There are two possibilities now. First, there is something alive in there, but it's threatening them.
Or making them hesitate.
Yet their previous answer confirmed there was nothing moving inside.
If so, there are two potential scenarios inside: either there's nothing alive, or there is something alive but unable to move.
And this thing is either threatening them, or its very existence is terrifying them.
“If you stop the word chain right now, will you be harmed?”
“Eter...nal... pil...grim...age...”
That's a yes.
“Is the way for me to resolve this situation inside?”
Li Xiuman thought for a moment before asking.
“Age... of... in...no...cence...”
Another yes.
So the method to save them is inside.
But is that statement true?
If there is something alive in there, is it possible they were forced to say this under threat?
Or perhaps their survival instincts are driving them to fabricate a lie just to get me to save them.
Wait, is it possible...
“Alright, next question.”
Li Xiuman spoke.
“When we first met, Brad gave me five thousand gold coins.”
“Is that true or false?”
...
Another silence.
“In...to... the... heart...”
Stretched out? Expressing a "true"?
Li Xiuman went silent, and the word chain inside stopped as well.
“You bastard inside, you can mimic other people's voices, can't you?”
“It looks like my companions who went in have all been controlled by you.”
“And the range of your movements is restricted only to that recess, right?”
“Or if you leave it, your abilities are weakened and limited?”
“That's why you're trying to lure me in.”
“Wait...”
Li Xiuman stared at the unresponsive cavern, paused for a moment, and then continued.
“Actually, you might not even be mimicking their voices.”
“Rather, you're directly controlling their actions, forcing them to play the word chain.”
“And using that to lure me in.”
“So, how are you controlling them?”
Inside the cave, Brad and his companions stood frozen like wax figures, unable to budge an inch.
Their eyes were locked onto a crystal statue deep within the cavern.
The statue was carved from a single solid block of crystal, devoid of any signs of life.
Yet, embedded in the statue's eye sockets was a pair of fleshy eyes that rolled around from time to time.
“Xiuman, don't be misled...”
Unable to move, Brad was currently drenched in sweat.
It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so impatient, we wouldn't have ended up like this.
Li Xiuman's deductions weren't entirely accurate.
When they first entered, they indeed couldn't move, but they had still been playing the word chain of their own free will.
They had to keep the word chain going; whoever failed to continue it would have a kilogram of their flesh sliced off.
But the moment Li Xiuman asked, “Is there anything alive in there?”, every single one of them was instantly taken over.
And forced to give a negative response.
They hadn't been controlled from the very beginning, as Li Xiuman had assumed.
“Damn, this is getting bad.”
Standing outside, Li Xiuman was starting to run out of options.
There was no other way.
“Golem Creation!”
A stone fish was created and tossed by Li Xiuman toward the cavern.
The moment he controlled the stone fish to swim into the cavern, his connection to it severed.
“That doesn't work either?!”
Should I use Number Zero?
No, absolutely not. If I lose Number Zero, I'll literally cry myself to sleep from the pain.
But walking away like this just feels too frustrating.
Brad still owes me twelve thousand gold coins. If I just watch him kick the bucket here...
I'll also cry from the pure agony of the loss.
Which means I'm officially backed into a corner!
Whether I go forward or backward, save them or abandon them, I'm going to end up crying either way.
Think. Think!
Li Xiuman, use that brilliant skeleton brain of yours! There has to be a way out of this!
Ultimately, Li Xiuman made his decision.
Rate on N.U.
