Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The interior was entirely different from what the door implied. It wasnt grand and palace like, or strangely modern, as the adaptive dungeon had been. The walls were a washed out gray, incrementally textured in a pattern that seemed familiar. The floor was covered with liquid slightly too viscous to be water, black, aside from the reflection of green torches.

As Nick moved forward cautiously through the tight hallway, I reached out to touch the wall.

It was all I could do to bite back a shriek when the wall touched back. Tiny black threads no thicker than strands of hair clung to my gauntlet and the wall bubbled. A cloudy white bulb appeared on the surface.

I yanked my hand back and stepped away, careful to not to back into the other side. The white bulb disappeared.

The texture looks like the dead centipede.





I swore aloud, and relayed the same message Id typed in a whisper, with the addition that chat was offline. The others mindfully stepped away. Sae poked the wall with the toe of her boot, and looked mildly nauseous when she saw the results.

Well this place sucks, Sae said.

No kidding. Nick had made his way into the main room, and after confirming it clear, turned back to face us. And unfortunately, I think Matts on got it right on the bug count.

He pointed to the statue in the center of the room. It was a fierce looking wasp, immortalized in stone.

I felt uneasy. Gnolls and Flowerfangs were simple enough to manipulate, thanks to a combination of their simple minds and understandable desires. But using on something more autonomous and purely instinct driven? I wasnt sure how well it would work, if at all. There were no doorways

didnt trigger, so there were no traps. But it still buzzed mostly silently in the back of my mind, with none of the usual backtalk, which made me wary.

There are no doors that I can see, Jinny cast her light spell again, refreshing the glowing orbs that rotated above us.

Matt? Nick prompted me. You want to take the lead here?

After a moments consideration, I nodded. Fan out. Dont do anything particularly eruptive or loud without talking it over with the group first. When no one moved, I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. Treat it like an escape room. Attention to detail is the name of the game. Anything and everything could be a clue.

As the others spread out, Talia sidled up beside me, taking higher steps than normal as if to escape the water.

Well? Would the plant have been a better choice? The mental jibe was layered in sarcasm.

I didnt make eye-contact with her, but responded immediately.

You performed exceptionally well. I should have let you have more autonomy from the beginning.

Annoyed that Id been too busy counting syllables to notice such an obvious detail, I took in the statue, moving from one side to another to get a clear picture. Sure enough, there were eight legs in total. Four of them were held high in supplication as if praising some unseen deity, and the other four were planted firmly on the ground.

Four arms and four legs, I said aloud.

You smart people figured this out yet? Me and Sae are just kind of spinning our wheels here. Nick called over.

Hey! Sae snapped.

Working on it. I took out my burner and jotted down the clue. I could probably remember all of it, but that wasnt a risk I wanted to take. When it came to riddles, a single transposed word could change the entire meaning.

Sae, possibly annoyed at being lumped in with Nick, left him and joined us in the center. She cocked her head. The antennae look like theyre pointing at something. Little ripples in the not-water emitted from her feet as she crossed to the back of the room. Hey! I found a door.

My head snapped around, the situation in the elevator lobby of the adaptive dungeon all too fresh in my mind. Dont touch it!

Sae held her hands up in the air, scowling at me. Easy, control freak.

Beyond her, was the faint outline of a door. Incredibly easy to miss unless you knew what you were looking for, with a circle imprint placed vaguely where the knob would be.

Looks like the way forward. Nick glanced at me.

It looks like one, yes, I mused.

What are you thinking? Jinny asked.

You guys got the system notification text at the beginning, right? It said that as the first to enter the trial, all paths were open to us. Meaning theres multiple.

The paths might branch further in. Jinny shrugged. Theres nothing else in this room that looks like a door.

Wordlessly, I returned to the statue. Sae was right, unlike the typical splayed depiction the antennae were weirdly aligned, pointing directly at the outlined door behind us. So, if that was the misdirect

There. I pointed. The rest of the arms are pointing skyward, with one pointing to that wall.

Same with the feet, one pointing that way. Jinny observed.

Sure enough, she was right. There was a single foot pointing to the back left corner of the room. I followed the direction, looking back and forth to confirm I was on target. I withdrew my saber and poked at the wall. Just as before, black strands emerged. I kept poking. A strangely spherical hole appeared. Then another, and another.

When it was done, I stepped back, not terribly happy with what Id uncovered. Four holes were arranged parallel, roughly at shoulder height. Large enough to swallow up a small dog. Or accommodate a human arm.

Okay. Not liking the Saw vibes. Nick said.

I kind of like my door better, Sae responded.