Chapter 239 - 166: Hidden Passage and Treasure Chest
In the middle of these three toads was the base of the Bronze Palm’s arm. A triangular, twisting mechanism was clearly the switch.
Forgotten Dao tossed his cannon fodder up without hesitation.
THUD! THUD!
After the muffled sounds, two of the cannon fodder Living Corpses were instantly blown to bits.
[You have killed a Blast Poison Frost Toad]
[Acquired: Wax Oil ×32]
[Acquired: Explosive Poison Frost Eggs ×1]
One look at that inky green color, tinged with ice blue, was enough to know what kind of Effect it had...
After dealing with the monsters,
Forgotten Dao quickly approached, trying to turn the switch.
But it seemed he hadn’t noticed there were only two explosions earlier.
And so, his pupils could only contract as he watched helplessly while the remaining toad swelled up before his eyes and then—BOOM—exploded.
[Poisoned]
[Frozen]
Two status effects were instantly inflicted on him. As his health dropped, his body grew stiff, and his movements slowed.
For Forgotten Dao, however, it wasn’t a major problem.
He quickly managed to turn the mechanism before the Bronze Palm could strike.
In an instant, the long bronze arm gradually stiffened and came to a complete stop.
The other palm showed no sign of stopping, but Forgotten Dao directly swapped places with a Living Corpse, teleporting back to his boat.
After taking out a bottle of Antitoxic Potion and downing it, he pulled out his Banner and muttered a few words.
The two Living Corpses beside him let out wails as they were directly sacrificed, turning into a bloody essence that flowed into Forgotten Dao’s body, restoring some of his health.
He then repeated the process and quickly disabled the other Bronze Palm.
"No matter how disgusting you are, you can’t stop me!"
Forgotten Dao snorted.
After dealing with the two most troublesome Bronze Palms, Forgotten Dao leisurely steered to the center, arriving once more before the stone lids.
Just as the other player had said, there were seven of these things...
Pick one of seven... Who knows what unimaginable torment the first player to discover this place must have suffered.
At least subsequent players could learn from others, but the first person to find it definitely had no one to learn from.
Forgotten Dao felt a bit wistful at the thought.
He walked over to the second stone lid from the right and heaved with both hands.
But then, something strange happened.
[The stone lid is sealed shut and cannot be opened from here.]
"..."
’Wasn’t it the second one from the right? One, two... one, two, three, four, five, six... That’s right! What’s going on?’
’Could I have gotten the direction wrong?’
At this thought, Forgotten Dao scratched his head, took a breath, and went to the other side.
However, he got the same message as before.
’...Don’t tell me the position is different for every instance?’
The corner of Forgotten Dao’s mouth twitched.
He had no choice but to start trying them one by one.
He finally succeeded with the fourth stone lid—the one right in the middle—and revealed a passage below, concealed by a layer of bubbles.
After taking a deep breath, Forgotten Dao jumped down.
The bubbles seemed to be formed by some special design, preventing the swamp water from above from flowing in.
The square entrance was also very narrow; Forgotten Dao couldn’t even fully extend his arms.
Fortunately, the drop wasn’t high, only about three or four meters.
Once his feet touched solid ground, Forgotten Dao quickly lit a Candlefire and got a clear look at the hidden passage.
It was narrow, cramped, and damp. The sound of dripping water, DRIP, DROP, echoed intermittently, along with a faint CROAK. The croaking probably came from the swamp above.
’Looks a bit like a tomb?’
Having learned his lesson from before, Forgotten Dao proceeded cautiously along the passage.
The passage didn’t seem very long, either.
After taking just a couple of steps, Forgotten Dao saw a fork in the path: one way forward, one to the right.
Then his eyes lit up.
Because at the end of the path ahead, he saw a large, gold-trimmed Treasure Chest, shimmering faintly, just waiting for him!
A Treasure Chest!
As everyone knows, these things were also called "player traps."
And a madman player like Forgotten Dao was definitely within the target range for such a trap.
So, the moment he saw the Treasure Chest, most of the caution in his heart was involuntarily swept away, replaced by excitement and impatience.
He quickly ran toward it.
However, just as he was about to touch the Treasure Chest, a CREAK suddenly sounded from under his feet.
This made Forgotten Dao’s smile freeze instantly, and a bad feeling surged in his heart.
And his premonition was right.
RUMBLE!
The sound of grinding stone echoed, accompanied by croaking, as the space above his head and behind him was instantly filled with the same Blast Poison Frost Toads from before.
One Blast Poison Frost Toad just so happened to land on Forgotten Dao’s outstretched hand, its bulging eyes meeting his.
It was as if it were saying, "Hello."
"CROOAAK—"
The next moment, the Blast Poison Frost Toad began to swell violently.
Forgotten Dao’s pupils constricted.
BOOM!
The Sacrificial Living Corpse on the boat took on Forgotten Dao’s appearance.
*Phew...*
Forgotten Dao let out a breath.
’Using a Treasure Chest as bait! The nerve!’
’Good thing I kept an ace up my sleeve before going down, or I would have been pissed to death!’
Shaking his head, he popped a Recovery Wax Block into his mouth, then created a few more Sacrificial Living Corpses and entered the hidden passage under the stone lid once again.
By the light of the Candlefire emanating from his body, Forgotten Dao could still see the green-blue poisonous gas that hadn’t completely dissipated from the air.
After waiting for the gas to mostly clear, Forgotten Dao finally approached the Treasure Chest, his eyes once again filled with anticipation.
He rubbed his hands together, then prayed with Devotion for a moment before placing his hand on the chest.
[You do not have the key.]
Forgotten Dao’s face darkened.
Refusing to give up, he tried to break it open by force, but ultimately had to give up helplessly.
Like the bubble at the entrance, the Treasure Chest was clearly protected by some special Power. To break it open, his Attack Power would need to be strong enough to shatter that protection.
Forgotten Dao was clearly not up to the task.
’Whatever. It must be in the other path.’
Frustrated, Forgotten Dao could only turn his attention to the other path.
The layout of this hidden passage was simple, with only two paths. The key needed to open the Treasure Chest had to be down the other one.
Forgotten Dao was smarter this time.
He kept his eyes and ears wide open, sidestepping every trap on the ground, and finally reached the end of the path.
[Corpse at the end of the passage]
A skeleton with its head bowed was leaning against the wall, appearing before Forgotten Dao’s eyes.
And on its body, two dropped items were faintly shimmering.
𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
[Acquired: Treasure Chest Key ×1]
[Acquired: Letter from the Nameless ×1]
[Letter from the Nameless]
[Type: Letter]
[Content: "...Successor, I like your adventurous spirit. How did you like the mechanisms I so carefully crafted? I’m sure you loved them, haha. Go on, I’ve hidden everything in that chest. Remember to be careful! —I don’t need a name"]
[Explanation: Even if they left a name, it would be nothing more than a few cold characters. For him (or her), the mark they left behind is enough.]
’So those Bronze Palms and all these devious designs were your doing, you damn bastard!’
’No, wait. It must be that damn game designer!’
Forgotten Dao quickly figured out the key point.
’That son of a bitch designer, trying to shift the blame onto a virtual character in the game?’
’How despicable!’
Thinking this, Forgotten Dao snorted and turned back to the Treasure Chest.
The Treasure Chest Key opened the gold-trimmed chest with ease.
CREAK.
Forgotten Dao’s earlier anger vanished completely, replaced by endless anticipation. His face seemed to glow, as if illuminated by the golden light of a treasure...
But soon, his smile froze.
[Acquired: Manlak Coin ×1]
That’s right.
This large, gold-trimmed Treasure Chest.
Inside was just a single, pathetic Manlak Coin, and it was even covered in black grime!
Forgotten Dao thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed them, but nothing changed.
In disbelief, he stuck his hand into the Treasure Chest and rummaged around frantically, but his hand came out empty.
"..."
Forgotten Dao closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
「A moment later.」
A sorrowful roar of fury echoed through Gael Swamp.
"AAAAAH—"
"FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT GAME DESIGNER!!!"