Two Players, But Sain Ancient City

Jia Paer can unleash four-figure Spirit Power each time he dies, making him the top-tier firewood currently available.

Elsa's death can drop several hundred items, which are quite valuable resources.

The Zane Dungeon now relies on its numerical advantage to generate a large amount of Spirit Power every day, and it doesn't really need to rely on retaining high-value individual characters to maintain its survival.

After all, the Spirit Power gained from killing eight or nine ordinary people is already greater than that from killing Elsa, and the former is undoubtedly easier. To kill Elsa, you either have to exploit the mechanics or overpower her numerically, which is quite troublesome.

However, Gong Qiying's intuition told him that he absolutely could not let go of a special character like the Brave once he encountered him. If this were in Yugi, the Brave might get a big exclamation mark above his head.

Such beings are usually the initiators of major events, like DC's Flash.

It's always good to pay more attention, but

"I still can't figure out what this person really wants."

As the saying goes, if you want to control someone, you need to know what they really want and use that to tempt them.

Just like the Farron Undead Legion to Da Er, the Tear Drop Larva to Jia Paer, and Topus to Si Telan.

Gong Qiying observed Elsa for a long time and felt that she was like a hardworking and dutiful tool. What did this child go through when she was a child to become like this?

Sally: She just had a Batman- like family relationship with the help of the demons.

"Since she prefers to be commanded by others, we should start with the people around her and make those close to her fall into her trap first."

"The Third Young Master of the Bede Family seems to be inseparable from her, practically an external brain, but this guy seems to have a deep psychological trauma related to my dungeon."

Ever since recognizing this place as part of the Zane Dungeon, Sally has never entered it again, probably because she's genuinely afraid.

"The other members of the Light Eagle Legion have been exploring this place quite enthusiastically lately, which might inspire Elsa as well. But aren't they mercenaries? Why are they so interested in dungeons?"

During this period, the Light Eagle Legion showed an enthusiasm for exploration that was no less than that of other adventurers. It's hard to imagine that not long ago they had no interest in anything related to adventurers.

"That kid named Ta Mi is worth keeping an eye on. It seems like the Brave has a good relationship with him, and he's also part of the Skyrim Strategy Team. It'll be easier to start with him."

Just for Ta Mi's genius idea of defecting to the enemy in the Painting World "Carthus Warrior", which is comparable to a rollercoaster of thought, Gong Qiying has to give him special attention.

The other person looks like a passionate and righteous young man. These kinds of people are most easily attracted to stories of great virtue and justice, and Sain has many such stories.

Overall, Ta Mi is like a sunny and cheerful version of Da Er?

"In short, let's get these two closer together first."

Gong Qiying thought for a moment, then immediately created a new Painting World by hand, and even used his Spirit Power to increase the number of people who could enter at the same time to two.

"If we're talking about building relationships, then playing Yugi is the way to go."

Coincidentally, he had a map that matched the name "Sion" that he had wanted to release for a long time, so he would release a stripped-down version for now.

[The Sain Ancient City, Painting World]

In the Zane Dungeon, Ta Mi and Elsa, who have already ventured deep into the lower half of the Catacombs of Carthus, have become the first to make progress in their exploration. They basically stumbled into this place by accident.

After what had just happened, the two walked hurriedly for a while, but now they were both somewhat silent.

Elsa obediently walked behind Ta Mi, knowing that she had changed in his eyes, so she tried to stay behind him and not provoke him.

But Ta Mi would stop and wait for her, a silent understanding between them.

The girl watched Ta Mi's retreating figure, her eyes flickering, and the atmosphere seemed to shift.

But in this atmosphere, only one word was on Ta Mi's mind:

Mom!

After his impulsive impulse subsided, he dared not look back at Elsa again, indeed because she had become the person he feared most—his mother.

Now, when he turns around, he can see a middle-aged woman covered in arithmetic problems, with a slightly plump figure, holding up two plates of dark, unappetizing food to him, and urging him to eat with a kind expression!

Everyone has different fears. It's not surprising that he's most afraid of his mother. He chose to become an adventurer to escape his studies and family.

So no matter how gentle Elsa's smile is, how moving her tearful expression is, or how captivating the atmosphere she exudes...

In short, Ta Mi completely missed the point; all he felt was fear.

Why is this the thing I'm most afraid of? It makes the atmosphere so weird!

He now has a "I might as well die" expression on his face, but when he encounters monsters, he can still see "Mom" wielding a giant sword and fighting the monsters back and forth, and at the end she even gives him a peace sign.

Are you kidding me? My eyes are going to go blind!

After defeating a monster, Elsa ran back looking for praise, her beautiful purple eyes sparkling with anticipation and excitement.

But to Ta Mi, it was a scene straight out of hell, and he was just figuring out how to politely decline.

[Invaded by a soul-sucking ghost saying "I Don't Like Rosemary!"]

This terrible naming style makes it obvious that the person is alive.

Elsa's face turned cold, and she immediately drew her weapon, aiming it at the intruder that was slowly taking shape not far away, vowing to tear it to pieces!

However, after solidifying its form, the intruder glanced at the two of them and muttered to itself with disdain, "Tsk, I've intruded into the wrong place again. Where did that Strategy Team go?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a broken Crooked Finger knife and slashed it in the air.

The intruder has left.

"What the hell? This is so weird!"

The little incident just saved Ta Mi; he quickly took a few steps to avoid Elsa, who had become a bit more enthusiastic.

At this moment, even the Skeleton Warrior who suddenly jumped out from around the corner seemed kind and friendly; at least he could use the excuse of fighting to hide for a while.

"Take this!"

He kicked the Skeleton Warrior's shield away and, taking advantage of the latter's momentary lapse in concentration, rushed forward and slashed at him several times.

Then, he was suddenly tapped on the shoulder, a very polite tap.

"What?"

Ta Mi turned his head and saw a transparent Ghost Hand emerge from the wall and slap a painting onto his face!

Wow!

Hearing his shout, Elsa rushed over, but Ta Mi was nowhere to be seen around the corner.

Looking again, he saw a transparent Ghost Hand on the wall waving at him, gesturing for him to come over.

Logically, a normal person would have slashed at it with their sword, but Elsa didn't. Instead, she asked Ghost Hand, "Have you seen Ta Mi?"

Ghost Hand waved the painting in his hand and made a few gestures.

"You mean he's inside, and you want me to go in and rescue him?"

Ghost Hand gave a thumbs up.

"If you dare to lie to me, I'll tear you to pieces."

The Ghost Hand trembled and obediently handed the painting to Elsa.

[The Sain Ancient City, Painting World]

[A painting depicting scenes from the Sain Ancient City, a favorite place of the undead, a perfect playground that has left countless warriors sighing in despair.]

Her vision shifted, and when she came to her senses, she found herself in complete darkness, with only the dim light of a fire providing a little illumination.

What appeared before them was a rather strange building, surrounded by bottomless abysses. Above the abysses was a brick path that could only accommodate one person at a time. The path was sometimes straight and sometimes winding, and there seemed to be some kind of mechanism in the darkness on both sides of the path.

Looking further into the distance, the road stretched into a massive building—was that the legendary Sain Ancient City? It had a rather eerie feel to it.

"Hey, Elsa, what are you doing here?!"

As soon as Elsa entered the Painting World, she heard Ta Mi's call.

The other person was very, very far away from her, separated by an abyss, and in front of Ta Mi was a road exactly the same as hers, both of which would eventually merge into the ancient city in the distance.

What kind of strange design is this?

Before she could even smile, she suddenly realized that her body was moving forward uncontrollably.

That's right, she was moving rapidly along a straight road, as if she had used both Levitation Spell and Swift Travel Spell at the same time, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop.

"Stop struggling, we can't stop. Watch out ahead!"

With Ta Mi's exclamation, Elsa suddenly realized that a giant pendulum made of boulder had appeared in front of her!

If you were hit head-on, your brains would probably be splattered!

Elsa sneered. "It's just a giant swing. Watch me push it back!"

"Wait a minute, your current power—"

Before Ta Mi could finish speaking, Elsa, who had thrown a punch at the giant swing, was violently slammed away.

She fell into the abyss in a perfect parabola, and two words flickered in her eyes as she died.

The left eye is "confused", the right eye is "forced".

"Well."

Ta Mi sighed and rubbed his forehead, then he was also smashed down by the giant pendulum that appeared at the same time.

A few seconds later, the two figures reappeared at the starting point of the road, their bodies moving rapidly involuntarily. Only then did Ta Mi hurriedly shout to Elsa, "Our strength has weakened! Don't confront the trap head-on, remember to dodge!"

The Painting World can elevate or lower the strength of those who enter, but there is no upper limit to elevating, while there is a lower limit to lowering. Ta Mi was weakened to an ordinary person, while Elsa, no matter how much she was weakened, still had Guaranteed Pull Silver Rank strength.

Elsa looked enlightened. She was somewhat unfamiliar with this weakened body, and it was difficult to make various movements flexibly while accelerating and moving horizontally. This Painting World was stranger than any she had ever been to before.

The giant swing came again, but this time she seized the opportunity to dive to the ground and successfully dodged the attack.

It doesn't seem that difficult!

She was about to share her joy with Ta Mi when she saw him get caught off guard and get smashed down by the giant swing again.

As he fell, even though Elsa was unharmed, she was still teleported back to the starting point to start over with Ta Mi.

This mechanism is just disgusting!

"This one's on me." Ta Mi felt ashamed at the thought of slowing down Elsa's progress, and at the same time, she vaguely guessed how to leave this place.

That is, the two of them must navigate through numerous traps and obstacles to reach the end without making any mistakes!

"Go for it!" Elsa's encouraging voice rang out. Ta Mi held his breath and, as the giant swing came crashing down again, seized the opportunity and leaped with all his might!

It was smashed down again.

"Oh no, I forgot my physical abilities have been weakened!"

He tried again, and this time he obediently lay on the ground, managing to pass through the first trap without any major incident.

He felt no joy whatsoever; the first trap alone had killed him three or four times, and the dangers ahead were likely to be even greater.

These mechanisms might not be too difficult for Elsa, but they would be a real challenge for him given his declining physical abilities. He needs to work hard and not hold anyone back.

Ta Mi had just loudly told Elsa about his discovery when a new trap appeared ahead.

They are three large blades that swing back and forth!

The swinging speed isn't fast, and there are regular gaps that you can squeeze through; it seems like as long as you time it right, you can succeed.

"But I can't stop!"

Ta Mi charged headlong into it, and before his body was torn apart by the blade, he finally realized something.

"So the translation speed can be adjusted."

Although you can't stop, you can slow down or speed up for a moment depending on your thoughts.

Thanks to the newly discovered rules, he managed to pass the giant blade after two attempts. Looking back at Elsa, he saw her nimbly jump up, lightly tapping her toes on the blade a few times before easily leaping over.

A mix of emotions—envy, jealousy, and hatred—appeared on Ta Mi's face. If he hadn't been weakened, he would have dared to play like that too!

A giant pendulum, giant blades, followed by a floor that is on fire/electrified/bursting with spikes/coated with lubricant.

Then, arrows shot from who-knows-where and explosive canisters thrown from who-knows-where all made their appearance.

Ta Mi took almost all the damage!

The road from the starting point to the ancient city didn't seem very long, but he felt like each day was an eternity, and his body and mind were so exhausted that he didn't want to speak.

Elsa's traps and mechanisms were more difficult and numerous, and her death toll had already exceeded double digits, so the smile on her face was gone.

Later, they even encountered traps that could affect each other's paths.

For example, if Ta Mi accidentally slips on a floor that is a slightly different color, the entire road on Elsa's side will collapse.

For example, Elsa didn't straighten a lever, causing metal spears to emerge from under Ta Mi's feet.

The most ingenious thing about these designs is that they seem difficult at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one can react in time and pass through unscathed.

What, you can't get through? Then it must be your own problem. Pay more attention to your surroundings.

Elsa's entire body was flushed, and Ta Mi thought with a sense of despair:

No wonder so many people hate Sion so much; he really can do something incredibly cruel and devastating.

When he started his training in Sain, guides for many regions had already been compiled. By following these guides, he suffered much less and did not experience the hardships that his predecessors had endured.

I've made up for all the classes I skipped before!

"We'll be entering the ancient city soon. I really hope it will be safe inside."

After countless hardships, they were finally about to cross the road and enter the ancient city's buildings when a familiar mechanism appeared before them—a large blade swinging back and forth.

"This kind of thing is no challenge for me anymore," Ta Mi said weakly, slowing down as he waited for the right moment to slip through the gap in the blades.

But just then, he suddenly felt a crackling sound coming from ahead, and the aura of lightning surged in the air.

Looking up, I saw a strange creature standing in front of me, like a snake with four limbs standing up.

A snake-man stood amidst the blades, raising his shield at him, while behind him, a snake-man mage was conjuring Lightning Spear!

This is an absolutely brilliant combination. The Warrior tank the front line while the mages deal damage from the back. They can even utilize the terrain. This combination is so good that even Jia Paer would praise it.

Ta Mi's lips twitched, and he let out an ultimate, desperate scream:

"No!"