CHAPTER XXIV

The trap of the Hell Crystal

"I, I ......" no one thought that when he was about to get on the platform, Rachel, who had the most non-existent feeling, had a problem. At this time, she stood outside the platform door with trembling legs: "I'm a little afraid of heights." ”

"It doesn't matter. Vivien knocked on the metal baffle: "People are afraid of heights only because their eyes see that they are getting farther and farther away from the ground, this layer of baffle is prepared for people who are afraid of heights, and they can't see the outside when they come in and squat, which is very safe." ”

"Really? But I was scared at the thought of going to a high place. Rachel said with a sad face, "And my legs are too weak to jump now...... Ah. ”

"Now you're not going up. Lina clapped her hands, not at all sorry for her act of throwing people up: "As soon as you bite your teeth and close your eyes, you will rise in a while." Anyway, it's only forty or fifty meters high, even if you fall, you have the fighting spirit and you can't fall to death, at most you will break your leg again, there is a priest in you are afraid of something. ”

"Shut up, don't scare people. Catherine knocked Lina on the head from behind: "Hurry up, don't lose time." ”

Seeing that the ladies all jumped onto the platform in turn, Pannis also got into the door of the platform and closed the door with his hand: "How can this be recycled? ”

"How is it possible, how can something that costs 100,000 gold coins be a one-off. Sister, don't be impulsive, I promise to recover you, don't jump down. Vivian stopped Catherine, who was about to jump down when she heard the words of 100,000 gold coins, and explained as quickly as possible: "When recycling, find two platforms with great strength to lift the upper layer on it, and then activate the recovery function, and the base below will naturally be folded up and put away." Alright, are you all ready, let's go. ”

I don't know what to press, there was a clicking sound at the junction of the upper and lower metal cylinders, and the platform shook slightly, and began to rise in the slight metal friction sound.

"Well, the lubrication of the joints needs to be improved, and the current sound is prone to attract some creatures who are sensitive to sound. Vivian took out a notebook and bowed her head to record: "Good stability, slightly slower speed, good uniformity of climbing speed, no fallback, well, it is better to add the upper platform size adjustment function to prevent inability to enter the narrow space." Eun, that's basically it, what else?"

"It's too energy-intensive. Catherine's complaining voice sounded: "It's four thousand gold coins to use once, it's too distressing." ”

"They know this and are working hard to improve it. Vivien folded her notebook: "That's pretty much it." Actually, it's pretty fast, and before you know it, it's almost there. Rachel, you can stand up. ”

By the time Vivien recorded the results, the platform had already penetrated into the vertical atrium with the sound of metal rubbing, and the five of them could already see the horizontal passage at the top of the atrium under the illumination of the crystal lamp.

"Stop. Vivien activated another control circle, and the lifting platform, which was not fast, slowly stopped, and opened the door just to enter the horizontal passage.

"It's better to add one. Pannis opened the door and stepped off the platform: "The door is open inward, otherwise if the place is not big enough, the door will not be opened at all, and you will have to climb out." ”

"Yes, that's a good question. Vivien made another note in her notebook: "Now it's time to recycle." Catherine, Lina, you two help hold the bottom of the platform, yes, that's it, lift the platform a little bit and lift the base below off the ground. Okay, it's ready to begin, first of all, the lower level of the recovery circle, it should be this circle. ”

There was a shudder from the platform, and the sound of metal grinding sounded again, and after four or five minutes, the shaking stopped, and Catherine and Lina raised the platform, and they could see that the lower metal box had returned to its original appearance as a metal block, firmly fixed under the platform.

"Here, put it aside. Now it's the upper layer of recycling, this circle should be activated, ha, you see, it's already starting to shrink, it's really good, it's very practical, it is said that the maximum height can be raised by 200 meters, so the thin connecting rod can actually rise to a height of 200 meters, it's unbelievable. Looks like they're not a bunch of stupid guys in the Mechanics Guild. Well, finally it's the top and bottom separation, done. Vivien took down four tarnished hedron fragments from the upper and lower metal boxes, and said regretfully, "It costs four hedrons to charge once, and you can only use them twice, which is too cost-effective." Oh, big sister, don't look so sad, it's not our own, don't feel distressed. ”

"Put it away, don't let me see it. Catherine turned around angrily: "It's time to go, don't bother." ”

"Okay, okay. Vivien put away all her equipment, looked up and asked, "Pennis, what's the place ahead, are you almost there?"

"It's almost there. Walk through the Hell Crystal Jungle in front of you and you'll be there. Pannis pointed to the horizontal passage: "Follow the passage to the hell crystal jungle, there is no fork in the road. ”

"Hell Crystal Jungle?" Lina rummaged through the light as she rummaged through the books, "I remember hearing the name Hell Crystal. Found it, well, it was formed by the singing crystal absorbing the demonic energy. Singing crystals? Isn't that the kind of crystal that makes a very pleasant sound? It's expensive to make an ornament. ”

"It's the Singing Crystal, but after the Singing Crystal absorbs magical energy and transforms into a Hell Crystal, the sound it makes is very harsh. "Be careful, it's one of the most dangerous places in the entire lower cavern." ”

"Why is it dangerous?" Catherine asked, puzzled, "Does the crystal still kill?"

Pannis explained as he led the way, "The characteristics of the Singing Crystal and the Hell Crystal are resonance, and when there is a special sound from the outside world, they will resonate and make a sound. And the hell crystals, if they are gathered together too much, they will resonate with each other continuously and repeatedly, and the sound will become more and more sharp, and finally it will be high to a certain extent, and it will directly shatter the **. ”

"So powerful?" said Catherine, surprised, "Then we are going to keep quiet and not make a sound?"

"It's not that simple. Pannis stopped a dozen meters away from the end of the passage: "The Crystal Jungle of Hell is inhabited by a group of monsters that live in symbiosis with the Crystal. These monsters are very weak and have no attack power at all, but they have three characteristics, one is that they can make a sound that resonates with crystals, the second is immune to sound wave attacks, and the third is that they can simulate the characteristics of undemonized creatures to attract nearby monsters to attack them. So this is their natural predatory ground. They simulate the energy of ordinary creatures to lure monsters over, and then use the resonance of crystals to kill monsters for food. Even the overlords of the lower cave of the Legendary Rank were not willing to come here easily, it was too dangerous. ”

"Pennis, you must have something you can do about it. Catherine frowned and said, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have taken us this path." ”

"There's only one way. Pannis replied in the affirmative, "Run." Open the Fighting Shield or the Magic Shield and run with me, the faster you run, the better. The Hell Crystal began to resonate to the point that it would eventually have the power to kill people, and it would take at least a minute, and after the power reached the level of death, everyone's own shield could resist it for a while. But be careful, the ubiquitous sonic attack does a lot of damage to the Douqi Shield, unless it is a demigod who is not afraid of consumption at all, even a Legendary-level shield will not last long here. ”

"Terrible place. Catherine said with some embarrassment, "What if, what if the entrance to the institute is here?"

"That's a lot of trouble. Pannis smacked his lips and said, "It's limited to two minutes, and it's going to be probed bit by bit many times." One minute to probe, the next to run out. In any case, the time inside cannot exceed two minutes. ”

"Is it safe to run out?" Lina's question was sharp: "The voice can be heard." ”

"This can be assured, although I don't know the principle, but after entering a few passages for one meter, the sound has no lethality in it at all, at most it is a little harsh. ”

"Okay, we get it, so let's rush now?" asked Catherine.

"Wait. Pannis stopped, "Vivien, how long does your illumination last? two minutes is okay?"

"Yes. Vivien calculated: "Three minutes, ten minutes of cooling, enough." ”

"Okay, before you go in, you put a light spell in the cave, and then you run after me, and never stop, no matter what happens. I don't think with everyone's strength, there won't be such a thing as a sudden twist of the foot. ”

"Huh. Rachel smiled awkwardly and said nothing.

"You don't count that time, it's strange that you ran for a day in a row, and you didn't have a problem. Pannis shook his hand and explained, and then said to Catherine, "I suggest you run with Vivien on your back, although I don't know why, but I am afraid of what happened to the River of Fire again." ”

"Okay. Catherine was right to think about it: "Vivien, it's okay. ”

"Well, then trouble the eldest sister, hehe, I'm relaxed. Vivien didn't mind, pinching the spell mark in her hand, and turned back to confirm one last time, "Are you ready? I'm going to cast a spell." ”

"Prepare. Pannis and Catherine stayed by Vivien's side, and Lina and Rachel took a slight step back, "Let's go." ”

"Light element, strong light. A brief chant broke the silence in the crystal jungle of Hell. A bright ball of light flew up to the top of the cavern and was suspended in the air under the power of magic, illuminating the cavern.

Countless strange bright red crystals are erected in the middle of the cave, more than ten meters high, two people can not hug each other, but the short one is only one or two meters, less than the thickness of the wrist, under the strong light, the bright red crystal reflects a strange light. On the ground under the crystal jungle, countless corpses were scattered, and dozens of black shadows stepped on the bones through the shadow of the crystal, and they couldn't see the whole picture clearly. The bones creaked under the trampling of the black shadows, as if to tell the misfortune of the living. There are three openings on the rock wall opposite the cave, and the height is so high that it is dark and difficult to see inside.

"Be vigilant as you run, and don't forget the two mysterious mages. I believe that even if they get here, according to Edilan, they don't have the breath of living beings, and they won't trigger the attack of these monsters, so it's very likely that they will sneak up here, so be careful, okay, run. At the exit of the running word, Pannis jumped out like an arrow, and ran forward without stopping: "Don't stop, keep running, the hole on the left hand is the end, fast, fast, fast." ”