Ye Chui and Debbie seem to possess an innate ability to leave people bewildered.
Under attack from three sides, they chose to flee towards the ruins. Then, the old wizard Merlin discovered that the spatial gate he had been trying to open had cracked open on its own. Ye Chui and Debbie rushed headlong into it, accidentally dragging the innocent Green, who was preparing to flee the battlefield, along with them. As soon as the three disappeared inside, the gate automatically closed again.
The others, stunned for a moment, hurriedly gathered around. “Argh!” Thorn, the president of the Bullhead Magic Guild, let out a few furious roars and aggressively questioned Merlin, “Did you deliberately let them escape? Open the portal again!”
Merlin was more bewildered than anyone, but at Thorn’s words, the old wizard’s face darkened. He lightly flipped a few pages of his magic book, looking at Thorn, “What did you say?”
Mayor Cass, who had always regarded Merlin as a mentor and respectfully called him teacher, quickly stepped forward to Merlin’s side, glaring at Thorn with some anger.
Thorn’s fury subsided instantly, his tone softening slightly. Old Merlin, who guarded the Magic Book Tower in Stan Town, held a special status. As a senior spatial wizard, his combat abilities were unfathomable. Neither Thorn nor the others wanted to clash with him, especially since Cass, the town’s acknowledged top swordsman, always treated Merlin with great respect.
“I just want to know what happened,” Thorn lowered his voice, bending slightly to appear respectful.
Merlin gave a soft hum but did not pursue the matter with Thorn. He flipped through his magic book, his brow furrowed with deep confusion. Slowly, he said, “That portal wasn’t opened by me, or rather, not by my will. That gate leads to the Ruins of the Gods. When those two kids rushed over, I suddenly sensed a trace of energy, and with that energy, the portal opened…” He paused, a smile appearing on his aged face, “Interesting. That girl must have been to the Ruins of the Gods before, which is why she carries that trace of energy!”
“Debbie isn’t from Stan Town. In fact, she only appeared here a week ago, right around the time the Temple of the Wealth Goddess collapsed,” Cass said softly. He had been investigating Debbie and Ye Chui over the past few days, but only now did he connect Debbie’s appearance with the temple’s collapse.
“It seems this girl has quite a background…” Summoner Bilis said in a cold, eerie voice, asking Merlin, “Mr. Merlin, can you reopen the gate?”
Merlin pondered silently for a moment, magical symbols appearing around him as if he were performing complex calculations. Under the expectant gazes of the others, he nodded, “This spatial gate is far more complex than I imagined, but since it opened once in my presence, mimicking the energy on Debbie to open it again isn’t difficult. However, I’ll need to decipher it from scratch, which will likely take a week.”
“A week?” As the town’s most powerful spatial wizard, if Merlin said it would take a week, then it would indeed take a week.
The others began discussing in low voices. Bilis and Thorn exchanged a glance, each seeing hatred in the other’s eyes, hatred for Ye Chui and Debbie.
“Then let those two live for another week,” Bilis said, delicately adjusting a strand of blue hair falling over his forehead with an effeminate gesture, “If they can survive a week in there!”
…
In a dark corridor, a dull thud suddenly echoed, accompanied by cries of pain, “Ouch!” “Ah!” The spatial gate didn’t open onto the corridor floor but at the ceiling. Entering through it, gravity seemed to reverse, causing the three to crash to the ground. However, Ye Chui quickly realised he wasn’t injured.
Holding Debbie in his arms, he asked, “Debbie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, you?” Debbie replied as she got up.
“Seems I’m fine too, lucky us…” Ye Chui said with relief.
Then Green, pinned beneath Ye Chui, roared in anguish, “That’s because both of you landed on me! Ouch, it hurts… I think my arm’s broken.”
Ye Chui quickly jumped up, groping in the dark to see the ground. He realised why he and Debbie were unharmed: Green had been at the bottom, cushioning their fall. They helped Green up. In the pitch-black surroundings, Green summoned his spatial magic book and took out a piece of equipment, a magic lamp worn on his wrist, its light illuminating the area.
“This looks like a corridor in a castle…” Ye Chui observed, feeling a strange familiarity. He glanced at Debbie.
Debbie nodded, “This is the place you pulled me from.”
“What are you talking about? Pulled from where?” Green, confused, asked. His right arm hung limply, clearly broken, his face twitching in pain as he spoke.
“No time for questions, this place is dangerous, follow me,” Debbie said quickly, taking Green’s magic lamp and leading Ye Chui and Green down the corridor. She continued, “This castle is extremely complex, and there are patrolling magic guards in the corridors. We must be careful.”
Green’s face grew grimmer, his heart filled with sorrow. It seemed ever since meeting Ye Chui and Debbie, he’d been plagued with bad luck, now dragged into this terrifying adventure, exploring the Ruins of the Gods. This might be a thrilling experience for other wizards or swordsmen, but not for Green, who preferred a quiet life.
He had thought befriending Ye Chui and Debbie was a good bet…
“Wait!” Debbie whispered suddenly, pulling Ye Chui and Green to a stop by the wall, turning off the lamp. Ahead was a corner leading to another corridor, faint light spilling from it. A steady “tap tap” sound rang out, and Ye Chui glimpsed shadows on the floor, as if an entire army was marching past.
“Those are magic guards,” Debbie whispered, “They patrol constantly, each with formidable combat strength.”
“No way! The Ruins of the Gods are five thousand years old. After all that time, these guards are still active?” Green said in disbelief.
Debbie turned on the lamp, her young face showing disdain as she looked at Green before switching it off again. She continued, “Do you know what the God Clan is? They mastered eternity. Let alone five thousand years, their creations won’t stop running even after ten thousand or a hundred thousand years.”
“And yet their entire clan was wiped out?” Ye Chui interjected. Over the past few days, Debbie had explained much about this place, so he knew some details. He asked, “Where do we go next?”
