Looking at the bells again, from this perspective, it was flipped. From left to right, it was iron, crystal, brass. But from when they entered, it was brass, crystal, iron. Kyle smirked. Goddamn, he's so fucking smart. If he released this smartness on Aur, he'd be living like a king. But everyone knows that smart people get taken advantage of with no extra pay. Screw that.
Turning to Lily, he tapped her shoulder. Need you to ring bells in this order and strength and duration: crystal loud and short, brass soft and long, crystal again soft and short, iron loud and long, iron again soft and long. From right to left, it's brass, crystal, iron.
Got it. Direct me, Lily signed.
Kyle guided her forward until she stood directly in front of the bells. He glanced back, finding Rachel had finally stopped licking the air. Ollie stood perfectly still while Clyde had sprawled on the floor again.
The fuck are you doing? Kyle thought.
Wallowing in despair. You think Rachel will let me wipe her face so I could eat the remainders of the 2053 vintage twinkie? Clyde thought.
When we get back, we're doing an intervention, Kyle thought.
Fuck you.
No, fuck you.
Bells are right in front of you. Feel for them first. Kyle tapped against Lily's shoulder. First bell is crystal. Hit loud and short.
Lily felt for the bells in front of her. Each one was the size of her head. She felt for the leftmost first, iron. The middle was crystal. The rightmost was brass. She nodded, confirming she's ready.
Need me to tell you the order again? Kyle tapped.
Lily nodded again.
Crystal loud and short, brass soft and long, crystal again soft and short, iron loud and long, iron again soft and long, Kyle tapped once again.
Lily did an O-K with her fingers.
She tapped the crystal first, short pause, tapped brass softer than the crystal, long pause, crystal again but soft, short pause, tapped iron hard, long pause, then iron again softer then backed off. The long pause at the end didn't need an actual pause.
As expected of Lily. She memorized it just by Kyle telling her the combination twice. The nerd of the Blue Witches. That's not a name yet, but might as well start some rumours once they get back.
With the sequence completed, Kyle waited. That should've worked. Then why wasn't anything happening?
Lily looked back towards him, completely missing his direction but still signing, the fuck is happening? Was that correct? We're fucked, aren't we?
Mental sweat beaded on Kyle's brain. That should've worked.
We're completely fucked, aren't we? Clyde thought.
Suddenly, the room shuddered. Kyle's vision turned black, and he felt his whole body falling.
"AAAAH," Rachel shouted.
Kyle heard her scream. His hearing was back, which meant it worked. It fucking wor-
His butt hit a hard surface, making his eyes wince. At least his sense of touch was back. Opening his eyes, the white room disappeared. They were transported to an opulent lounge with the same white-marble-not-marble pillars. Artistic floral sofas that looked like they cost thrice his apartment's rent laid in front of them. A coffee table sat in the centre of the living room set.
Looking around, everyone was back to normal. Lily felt for her face, sniffing and blinking her eyes. Ollie had his usual poker face with a bored look on his face like he already knew that they'd finish the puzzle. And then there was Clyde.
The man was staring at Rachel.
"What are you looking at?" Rachel asked.
"Rachel. I'm being completely serious," Clyde said. "Let me lick your face."
"THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Rachel shouted, the temperature shot up, and the crumbs and cream on her face started burning.
"Look, Rachel, stop getting angry. There's 2053 vintage twinkie on your face. I need to salvage it," Clyde said.
Rachel glared at Kyle as the cream and crumbs burnt off and dropped from her face. "2053 twinkie? What the fuck, Kyle. What if I get food poisoning?"
"Don't you dare say that!" Clyde shouted. "Twinkies never expire, everyone knows that!"
Kyle shook his head. "Hey, that was the only way I could get you to get your guard down. The fuck are you attacking for when we're in a puzzle?"
"I thought that was a monster!" Rachel shouted.
"GUYS, stop arguing. Puzzle room is done, and there's a set of sofas waiting for us. Let's just sit on it and clear this shit," Ollie said.
Lily already sat up from the floor and walked across the room to sit on the sofa. "You guys coming?"
Kyle followed immediately, sitting beside Lily on the left end. Ollie sat on the right end of the sofa. Rachel got up and pushed Ollie away from the end. Clyde walked to the sofa, shoulders drooped, sitting to the left of Ollie, still glancing at Rachel.
[Congtratulations Challenger squad.]
[You have completed the defense hall of Prosperity Sector.]
[Do you now have an appreciation for the luxury of having senses?]
[Do not answer that. Of course you do.]
[As you have completed the Propserity Sector's challenge, you will be rewarded with two items.]
[Reward 1: Prosperity stamp. You may come and go to the Prosperity Sector as you please within 10 stars.]
[Reward 2: Sense Advancement Tea.]
Rays of light cast out from who knows where, hitting the backs of their left hands. Kyle saw no mark appear on his left hand.
However, he felt something from it. It was similar to Ether, but not Ether. It was denser, maybe mana or prana, though he knew what those felt like. This one was even denser than prana. A new type of… energy.
He looked to his right, and everyone also examined their left hand, except for Rachel who seemed to show disinterest in what had just happened.
A bell rung in the lounge that came from everywhere at once. Everyone looked around to see where it came from. Once the ringing stopped, their attention turned towards the coffee table where 5 tea cups appeared. Each cup contained a liquid that looked like tea.
It did say that reward 2 was a tea of some sort.
"Are we going to drink it?" Lily asked.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"It said it's a reward," Ollie said. "Let's get this over with and get the core after."
Everyone drank the tea and a choice appeared in front of Kyle; a transparent UI that looked like something out of a video game.
[Choose one of the senses: Vision, Hearing, Taste, Smell, Touch.]
Now whatever the fuck this was, it was probably some kind of level up of his senses, whatever that meant. Vision would give him visual acuity. Hearing would either allow him to hear sounds from further away or hear things that could not normally be heard. That one was a gamble, and both were good options. Smell had a similar utility to hearing, but fat chance he'd choose to be a dog. Touch was also a gamble. It could allow him to do things that Lily could do with her monstrous control, or just make him feel things much more, a gamble between a good effect or a bad one.
And the last one, taste. Not even going to think about that one. It was flat out the most useless one.
Vision was the overall best one. It had the most concrete level up. Tapping his finger onto Vision, suddenly his vision sharpened, causing him to slightly squint. For a few seconds, he kept his eyes closed as tears ran down the side.
Opening them back up, he could see the inlay details of the wall as if he were standing in front of it. With that much detail, he could probably see the needle in a haystack if it were on the surface.
Although hearing would've been better for intelligence gathering. Too bad it was a gamble.
"I got vision. What'd everyone else get?"
"Vision," Clyde said immediately.
"Hearing," Ollie said.
"Hearing," Lily said.
"Taste," Rachel said, causing everyone to look at her.
"Seriously?" Lily asked.
Rachel's face reddened. "I mean... I'm starting to learn to cook, so maybe it'd help?"
"We're in a goddamn rift mission. How's cooking going to help?" Kyle asked, shaking his head. Some parts of Rachel were smart, but she was just an airhead most of the time.
"I should've chosen Taste too," Lily muttered.
"Seriously, you too?" Clyde asked.
"It's not everyday you could get the taste of a master chef. Hearing, touch, vision... all of that kind of sharpens whenever you increase a stage."
"Fair point, but still stupid," Kyle said. "I would've gotten hearing too if it weren't for the gamble."
"You missed out. I could hear the droning of the equipment all around this room," Ollie said, smirking. "There's a slight constant tapping far away 6 o'clock from us. Sounds like something needs maintenance."
"Fuck! I knew I should've gotten that one," Kyle grumbled.
"Shit man. I wanted that one too," Clyde said. "Fuck you, Ollie."
"Easy for you to say. I should've gotten taste. Hearing will just make me even more jumpy," Lily sighed.
Rachel clapped her hands. "Now what? How do we get out?"
At the mention of exiting, a rectangular outline appeared on the wall opposite them, glowing faintly before solidifying into a door. The familiar shape of the rhombus with a circle inside was etched into the centre of it.
"That's our ticket out," Ollie stood up. "Defense hall access door. Should lead straight to the Core Chamber."
"Thank fuck," Clyde pushed himself off the sofa, glancing at Rachel. "I'm done with this sector in more ways than one."
Kyle got to his feet, feeling the difference in his vision already. There were still tiny little burnt crumbs on Rachel's face that were left from the aftermath of the puzzle. Clyde noticed it too, even clenching his fist. Idiot.
Apart from that, he noticed the distinctive rough edges of the inlays that were probably put in as intended flaws to contrast the beauty of this place even more. If he had a pickaxe right now, he'd probably be hacking away at everything. Either this race didn't care about gold that much or had too much of it.
The team crossed the room, Ollie in the lead with Rachel close behind. When they reached the door, Ollie pressed his palm against the rhombus. It flashed green immediately, and the door slid open with a hiss.
As they filed through the door, the Core Chamber came into view. It had the same layout as Harmony sector's, except with the same material as the defense hall instead of the bare metal look. In the centre of the chamber was the Core, a house sized orb that had protruding pillars.
"Same shit, different sector," Kyle said.
Ollie gestured toward it impatiently. "Hack at it already. So we can get out of here."
"Chillax, bossman." Kyle stepped onto the platform, hacking off enough of the protrusions to get a clear placement on the actual Core.
Last time, he wasted time trying to find a seam or an access point that didn't exist, according to Erin. This time, no bothering with manners. He pulled out his dagger from his belt and sank the blade straight away into the metallic surface that surprisingly gave easily.
Dragging it downward, the dagger created a jagged tear. The sound of metal parting and creaking from Kyle's dagger filled the room. He worked methodically, smartly, amazingly, since he was the only one with a dagger that didn't need his hands to tear up this thing, unlike the uncouth idiots behind him.
Shut up, idiot. I can literally hear you think like an idiot, Clyde thought.
Shut up, let me have my moment, Kyle thought.
Kyle's fingers brushed against something solid inside. He grabbed it and pulled. There was resistance at first, then a series of snapping sounds as whatever connections held it in place gave way.
He yanked his arm back, pulling out what looked like the familiar human spine. Translucent glowing lines and wires dangled from it. Jumping down from the Core, he tossed it to Ollie, who caught it with one hand and put it into his storage box in one smooth motion.
"Two down, none to go," Ollie turning himself back to the defense hall's entrance. "Let's get the hell back to the train."
The team filed back through the door where they'd entered the Core Chamber. Ollie pressed his palm to the rhombus, which flashed green, sliding the door open with a familiar hiss.
The fancy-ass lounge greeted them again, with its too-rich-for-you furniture that Kyle couldn't describe other than as a flower sofa. The rest filed in after him.
"You think you can take those sofas into your storage box?" Kyle asked.
Without even answering, the two sofas disappeared, earning a glare from Ollie at the front. Kyle smirked. Half of that would go into his savings.
They crossed the lounge, and another door materialized on the far side, complete with the same rhombus and circle. Ollie didn't waste time, striding across the polished floor and slapping his hand against it. The panel flashed green, the door sliding open to reveal the white room where the puzzle had started.
Kyle's boots clicked against the hard floor as they entered. He had half expected to be put into the sensual bell room again, but this one looked to be the corridor they entered the challenge from. It was just a straight corridor with double doors at the far end, which would be the entrance to the transit hub from the defense hall.
"All right," Ollie said, gesturing toward the doors. "Form up. Lily, scout ahead."
Lily nodded, drawing her deagle and moving forward with quick, light steps. Her blue witch jacket barely made a sound as she crossed the room to the double doors.
When she reached them, she pressed her back to the wall beside the door, whispering something under her breath. A sigil materialized above her head, glowing faintly. She pushed the door open slowly, not a sound escaped the sigil's silencing field. Lily's head poked through the gap, checking both directions before pulling back.
She turned, signaling, Clear. Come.
Rachel moved forward, keeping low as she crossed the room. Kyle followed next. Ollie came next, with Clyde bringing up the rear who still had his shoulders drooping down. When they reached the door, Lily was already peering through the gap again.
Transit hub entrance, she signalled. Still empty like when we came in.
Good. Ollie signalled back. Lily, lead.
Lily slipped through the door into the vast transit hub. Those oversized, expensive marble-not-marble pillars stretched into 6 storey ceiling.
Next rift run after this, we always going to be bringing a pickaxe, Kyle thought.
Clyde snickered in the back, earning an elbow from Ollie. Shit, that actually hurt. But yea, you right. I would've mined this whole place down.
Lily moved quickly to the nearest pillar, pressing her back against it, her eyes scanning the surroundings. She signalled, still clear, next pillar.
The group moved again, following Lily to which she immediately moved on to the next pillar. Another signal from her said clear, and the group moved once again.
For the next thirty minutes, they repeated the same slow advance. Pillar to pillar. Check. Move. Check again. The train grew closer with each stop, sitting bright and pristine against the platform.
Finally, they reached the last set of pillars before the train platform. The bloody footprints they'd followed earlier had long vanished, probably cleaned up by the same magic cleaning system that had zapped away the flesh pounds. That kind of scroll or tech could make bajillions back on Earth.
Moving forward closer to the hub, Ollie pulled out his phone once they reached the platform, still keeping an eye on the surroundings. He tapped the screen a few times before speaking.
"Erin, mission complete. We have the core. We're boarding the train now."
"Go ahead. Board the train. Once everyone boards, the train will move immediately back to Protection Sector."
Everyone boarded, Lily first, then Rachel, Kyle, Ollie, then Clyde. Once the last person entered, the train shuddered immediately and began flying through the transit tunnel on the single floating rail. The team walked through the train single file, moving to the front.
Hey, what if Rachel wipes the crumbs on her face with a tissue? Would you eat that tissue? Kyle thought.
For a minute, no response. Idiot was probably still moping about his vinta—wait. Kyle couldn't feel Clyde in the train.
He immediately spun back, looking behind Ollie. Nothing there except emptiness.
"Where the fuck is Clyde?" Kyle asked.
Ollie looked back. "What the fuck? He was just here."
"You sure he's not just back in the previous cars?" Rachel asked, putting a hand on Kyle's shoulder.
Kyle shrugged her hand off. "No. I fucking can't feel him in the train. Where is he?!"
"Search the back. Now," Lily said.
He ran down the train, shoving Ollie to the side. Running down the next car, and the next car, and then the next car until he reached the end as the others followed him. But there was no Clyde.