CHAPTER TWENTY: THE FORBIDDEN TRAPS
The deeper he went, the more dangerous the structure beca.
The passages were lined with traps—ancient chanisms designed to kill intruders. Spikes that shot from the walls. Floors that collapsed into pits of darkness. Blades that swung from the ceiling with deadly precision.
Shen Chen moved carefully, his senses on high alert. The System's guidance was sporadic, unreliable, but it was enough to give him a fighting chance.
[Warning: Pressure plate detected. Step to the left to avoid activation.]
He stepped to the left, and a series of spikes shot from the wall where he had been standing. He felt a chill run down his spine.
That was close. Too close.
He continued on, his body tense, his mind focused. The traps were becoming more frequent, more deadly. He could feel the weight of the ancient structure pressing down on him, the malevolent intelligence that seed to guide the traps.
This place wants dead. It's been waiting for .
He entered a large chamber, its walls covered in ancient runes. At the center of the chamber stood a pedestal, and on the pedestal rested a small, glowing orb.
[Warning: The orb is a trap. Touching it will trigger a massive explosion.]
Of course it is.
He studied the chamber, his eyes scanning for an alternative path. The walls were smooth, the floor unbroken. There was no other way forward.
I have to find a way to bypass the trap.
He crouched down, studying the runes on the floor. They ford a complex pattern, their lines intersecting and overlapping in ways that made his head spin.
The runes are connected to the orb. If I can disrupt the pattern, I might be able to deactivate the trap.
He reached out with his spiritual energy, feeling the flow of the ancient power. The runes pulsed with a faint, rhythmic light, like a heartbeat.
If I trace the energy backward... follow it to its source...
He closed his eyes, his mind focused on the flow of energy. The runes were a maze, a labyrinth of power that twisted and turned in ways that defied logic.
There. The source.
He found it—a single rune, hidden beneath the others, its light dim and flickering. He reached out and pressed his finger against it.
The chamber shuddered. The orb's glow flickered, then faded. The trap had been deactivated.
Shen Chen let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
I did it. I actually did it.
He crossed the chamber, his footsteps echoing in the silence. The pedestal was empty now, the orb's glow gone.
But as he passed the pedestal, sothing caught his eye—a small compartnt, hidden beneath the stone. He knelt down and opened it, his heart pounding.
Inside lay a scroll, its surface covered in ancient characters.
[Item Found: Fragnt of the War Chronicles.]
[Contains information about the ancient war between the realms.]
Shen Chen tucked the scroll into his robes. It wasn't the treasure he had been hoping for, but it was sothing. A piece of history. A clue to the mysteries of the Western Desolation.
He moved on, his steps more confident now.
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