Chapter 648: Another ancient memory?
Kyle sauntered into the trial ground next to the ice enchantress statue alongside Bia and Asher, reaching a vast chamber strewn with shattered furniture and branching pathways. Kyle cast a brief glance at the paths laid out before him.
"Yue, Jian, Nox, Nine, and Susan are in this trial ground."
He had already sensed the exact location of the treasures in this trial ground earlier when his senses and scent perception skills got better. So, he just aimed to find precisely where the group was.
Asher also extended his senses and moved toward one of the paths to his right.
"I can sense they're on this side-!"
His words were cut off by Bia.
-"Where do you think you're headed?"
The half-dragon blinked and glanced back, rendered speechless upon noticing Kyle standing before a portal the latter had crafted. A dry chuckle escaped him.
"I almost forgot you could just conjure a portal straight to their location..."
Kyle shot him a look and entered the portal, with Bia following suit. Asher swiftly joined them, reminding himself mentally to start learning about arrays.
'This is so handy... I really should pick up portal crafting skills at least! I will ask Kyle to teach me once we're out of this tomb!'
The trio entered another chamber that was vacant and instantly sensed the gravity around them intensifying tremendously.
Bia's eyes widened as her floating form plummeted, but fortunately, Kyle caught her before she could hit the ground.
Asher's brows furrowed as he felt like a heavy mountain was weighing down on his entire body. He attempted to float, but his feet could scarcely lift off the ground.
"I have been in this trial ground before, but this place is unfamiliar to me. The gravity here is incredibly strong. It might be bearable for those above the divine rank, but I reckon those below wouldn't even be able to stand under such pressure."
He looked over at Kyle and observed the human casually placing the phoenix on his shoulder, showing no signs of being affected by the pressure at all.
He let out a sigh and shook his head. What was he even expecting?
As they moved forward in the empty chamber, suddenly they felt like they were crossing through a layer of energy, and in the next second, a slender golden bridge appeared in their vision, stretching to the other side of the chamber.
Below the bridge, numerous rock creatures with glowing eyes were present, exuding an aura of peak trancendent rank, the tips of their sharp weapons aimed skyward.
Kyle's eyes sparked with amusement when he noticed Jian desperately clinging to the narrow bridge, crawling towards the other end where Yue, Nox, Nine, and Susan were waiting for the red-haired man.
Jian let out a groan when his hand slipped due to sweat, barely saving himself from falling down the bridge.
"Ugh... the pressure is making it hard for me to advance."
He groaned silently, cursing the person who created this chamber.
Asher chuckled at his condition. Jian's ears perked up at the sound. He turned around and recognized the familiar faces.
"What a bad day..."
The red-haired man cursed quietly. Now, even Kyle and Asher catch sight of him in this embarrassing moment!
Nine was already mocking him from the opposite side of the bridge.
"I seriously need to improve my strength. I never want to go through this again!"
Nine and the others caught sight of Kyle and Asher. Relief washed over the Yue's face when she saw Kyle unscathed.
The group quickly called out to Kyle and Asher to come across the bridge too.
Kyle glanced back at them.
"I am a bit surprised."
Bia tilted her head.
-"Why?"
He chuckled, waved at Yue, and stepped onto the narrow bridge with Asher.
"In the entire trial ground, this place was the most dangerous, nearly in the opposite direction of where the treasures are. How did they end up here of all places?"
Bia pointed one of her wings at Jian without hesitation.
-"You know, it's because of that guy!"
Kyle glanced at the red-haired man on the bridge in the distance. He had noticed over the past
few months that Jian's luck was incredibly low, but why so down?
He didn't think someone's luck could naturally be so low. He was certain it was due to
something influencing him.
'Could it be because of an artifact he carries or something he holds with him?'
He pondered inwardly. Both he and Asher could easily navigate the pressure, unlike the red- haired man. So, it didn't take them long to reach Jian's location.
Jian raised his head to glance at Kyle and extended his hand, hoping the man would help him stand up and cross the bridge. But his expression turned deadpan when Kyle raised his long leg and jumped over his body to go towards the other end.
Nine and Nox burst into laughter at the scene. Everyone was tense after Alec told them the tomb would explode soon, but for some reason, after seeing Kyle, a sense of relief washed
over them.
Jian muttered a curse and sharply turned his head back to Asher, who tried to stifle his laughter but couldn't.
The red-haired man was ready to fight Kyle once he reached the end of the bridge, but the silver-haired man before him paused, looked back, and then extended his hand.
"Get up."
Jian grunted and rolled his eyes. He grabbed Kyle's hand, sensing the coldness radiating from the man's body. His legs shook as he fought against the pressure pushing down on his body
but eventually stood on his feet.
Kyle glanced at him with a sigh.
"Your physique is quite weak. You should also focus on training your body."
Jian grabbed his back for support as Kyle started moving.
"I am a mage and mages are usually weak in strength! Don't blame me!"
Kyle ignored him and glanced at Bia.
"You're training Nox, right? Include Jian in the training with the lynx. I'm sure you know the
ins and outs of physical training after watching me train."
Bia's eyes flickered with a dark smile as she looked back toward the red-haired man.
-"Don't worry, leave it to me! I am the best trainer in the world!"
Jian blinked. It took him a few seconds to understand what was going on. However, when he understood, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Asher, who was behind Jian, placed his hand on his shoulder with a sigh.
"Hoping you make it through in one piece."
Jian wanted to slap his hand away but had no strength due to the pressure on his body. They
soon reached the end of the bridge, and Jian immediately collapsed on the ground with a
sweaty forehead.
Asher joined Nine and Susan, and Kyle moved toward Yue. The elven woman's hair was disheveled, just like the others, probably due to experiencing the same pressure while
crossing the bridge.
Kyle surprised her by moving behind her, gathering her hair and securing it neatly behind her
back.
"Why have you all gathered again? Alec and the others are also exploring the other two trial grounds circling the rock formation."
Yue looked at Nine and the rest who were watching them, and her face turned slightly red due
to Kyle's actions. However, she didn't stop him.
"We gathered because something big is about to happen..."
Worry flickered in her eyes.
"Alec mentioned that the tomb we're in is going to blow up soon. So we are trying to find an
exit out of this place."
Asher struggled to keep his composure upon hearing her words.
"Why would the tomb suddenly explode? I'm sure Alec made a mistake. No, wait, the real question is how does Alec know that the tomb is going to explode?"
Kyle's eyes flickered with surprise briefly. Once he secured Yue's hair behind her back, he turned to address the group, to learn more about what she had just mentioned.
His reaction was different from Asher's because he was already aware that the tomb was going to explode. Since he was the one who would trigger the explosion, that's why he had already begun preparing to evacuate everyone from the tomb in time. So no one would be
harmed.
He listened to Nine and the others who were trying to convince Asher that Alec would never lie. If the blue-haired man had somehow discovered that the tomb was going to explode, it meant that something significant was about to occur.
Kyle furrowed his brows, then posed a question similar to Asher's.
"The main question is, how did Alec find out about the tomb going to explode?"
Nine glanced at him with a strange expression. Kyle should be aware of the artifact Alec has,
or maybe he isn't? He didn't want to disclose it in front of Asher, as they hadn't known the half-dragon for long, but he sighed.
"Alec possesses a powerful artifact that can detect future threats."
Kyle nodded and didn't ask further. He glanced around the chamber they were in and created a
portal directly leading to where the treasures were located.
"Let's head to the treasure chamber; perhaps we can uncover some clues about the tomb's
exit there."
Nine and the others' eyes lit up when they saw the portal. Finally, they wouldn't have to
endure the tests in the trial ground! They promptly followed the silver-haired man after he
entered the portal.
Kyle was surprised when he saw a familiar man already standing in the center of the space
where he emerged.
It was none other than Elijah. The burly human he met a few days ago in the rock formation. Elijah was staring ahead with a serious expression on his face.
Kyle advanced towards the human with Bia sitting on his shoulder, while the rest emerged
from the portal behind him.
He followed Elijah's gaze, and the air around him chilled dangerously when he saw an eerily
familiar face in front of him.
"Aze...?"
He appeared much younger, but Kyle recognized him instantly. Kyle would have probably
attacked the man if the person in front of him was real. But it was just a moving image made
of light. Elijah was startled at the sudden icy chill in the air, even more so when he caught sight of the nature's favorite standing behind him with a dark expression.
Nine and the rest stopped beside Kyle, all slightly taken aback by the cold, dark aura
emanating from his body.
They followed his gaze, and Jian, Yue, and Asher's eyes flickered with surprise as they
exclaimed in unison.
"Another ancient memory?"