Just like with the handprint, these locks were made out of sewed Aubility Power threads that were engraved onto the very surface of the obelisk.
The leftmost lock was the only one glowing right now. The other two were dormant, not giving any light at all.
What’s with this lock? Michael asked himself.
It was pulsating with light, like it was breathing.
But then, as the seconds passed, he noticed that the frequency of pulses were becoming faster and faster. Not only that, but it was accompanied by a high pitched ticking sound as if it was a... a timer!
It wasn’t long before the first lock was about to reach its end, releasing a bright light accompanied by a high pitched noise as if a bomb was about to go off.
Michael immediately retreated back and conjured a protected wall around him, expecting an explosion to go off.
But a few seconds later, nothing happened.
He peeked out of the wall and saw that the leftmost lock on the obelisk was still glowing with light, but it was no longer pulsating. It was static.
But that wasn’t the only thing different. He looked up and saw that just beside the upside down balcony, there was a spherical object floating in the black skies.
It was made out of some kind of dark grey stone the size of a watermelon.
It was just floating in the skies, not giving off any sense of danger at all.
At least it’s not a bomb...
Just like before, he used his Drone for reconnaissance. He piloted it to come closer to the spherical object and observe it in its entirety.
The first thing he noticed was the complete lack of power inside it. Unlike the obelisk, there weren’t any Aubilty Power threads anywhere on its surface.
Instead, there was a simple carving of what looked like an image of a leaf inscribed on the top.
What is this supposed to do?
He looked around the island and found nothing else of interest. This spherical object was the only thing that had changed after the obelisk was activated.
He also manifested a clone to touch the object, to no avail. And after a few minutes of thinking, he decided to touch it himself. But still, there was no reaction.
It took him thirty minutes of cluelessly fumbling around as he tried to
Harbinger, what kind of test is this?
He was prepared to fight off whatever alien-like monster that the obelisk threw at him. But instead, it just gave him a stone ball that did absolutely nothing.
The worst part was that the obelisk gave him no clue as to what he was supposed to do.
At least before, it gave him the courtesy of putting arrows at the handprints as a clue.
[Perhaps it is asking you to destroy the spherical object,] ChatJK5 suggested. [The designer would have conjured stairs if they wanted someone to touch the spherical object. And after numerous futile attempts earlier, it is safe to assume that they want you to destroy it.]
Maybe you’re right...
He raised his hand, his index finger pointing at the spherical object. His strongest attack was his [Unity Gun].
All eight elements gathered at his hand, combining to create a bright white light that emanated a destructive power.
A second later, an instantaneous light beam shot off his finger and hit the spherical object right in the middle.
Yet, it still floated there unbothered. The [Unity Gun] didn’t even leave a single scratch.
The spherical object was just hit by one of the most destructive power anyone had ever seen, yet it still remained intact.
Michael couldn’t believe it.
What the hell is this thing made out of?
Now, he was completely clueless on how to destroy this thing. That was his strongest attack! The only other technique he could think of was his ’Quantum Slash’, but that required an enormous amount of energy—three full batteries. He simply didn’t have that much on hand.
Wait... what was that inscription again?
He piloted his drone to move atop the spherical object, and there, he saw the image of a leaf carved onto its surface.
What if this isn’t a leaf? What if it means Earth mana?
It was a long shot, but he decided to try it anyway. After his [Unity Gun] proved useless, he knew that he had to try any idea that came his way.
He raised his hand, beckoning all the Earth mana in the air towards him. Invisible green blobs of light clumped atop his palms, manifesting as pure Earth energy. This was the purest magic he could conjure.
With the ball of Earth mana stuck firmly above his palms, he then turned and pointed it at the spherical object.
With a single thought, pure Earth magic shot outwards at a leisurely speed. It was slower than an arrow, but faster than a throw.
It hit the spherical object squarely on its surface, with the Earth mana shattering into fragments that covered the entirety of the object.
A few seconds later, the object emanated a neon green light!
Then, it began to shake violently until it exploded into a million pieces that dispersed into the wind.
All that was left was a green mote of light that floated where the spherical object was placed before.
TING!
Michael turned around and saw one part of the first lock suddenly glow green, followed by a high-pitched noise as if a bell was struck right in its sweet spot.
Soon after, another spherical object manifested out of the fragments that the previous one. This time, it was positioned a few meters opposite the green mote of light.
I think I know how to solve this puzzle.
He piloted his Drone to fly atop the new spherical object and saw the shape sculpted on its surface.
This time, it was in the shape of a flame!
Without even thinking about it, Michael conjured pure Fire mana in his palms, the same way he did with the pure Earth magic.
He pointed the red clump of pure Fire magic and shot it towards the spherical object.
It hit the object’s surface and shattered into individual Fire mana that surrounded the object in its entirety.
Struck with this energy, the object began glowing with a red light before starting to violently shake.
And just like before, the spherical object exploded into a million pieces, leaving behind a small blob of red light in its place.
"I knew it," he exclaimed.
After the explosion, a satisfying DING echoed from the obelisk before the next part of the first lock glowed red.
This was followed by the creation of a new spherical object in the black sky.
This puzzle is testing my ability to use all eight elements, he concluded.
Those spherical objects were invulnerable to any and all attacks, except for a single specific mana element that was inscribed on top of its surface.
He’d been so used to using his [Unity Gun] and his Ability Powers as his main source of attack that he completely neglected to think about his magic.
With the puzzle solved, all that’s left was to destroy six more spherical objects to complete the first lock.