Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Trying the Cave

Compared to the woods passing by on the way to the settlement, the woods in the north seem to be chilly.I only heard the melodious birdsong, but I couldn't see any animals at all, not even a butterfly dancing around the flowers. Moreover, there was no suitable branch like the wizard said, and only petals and leaves fell on the ground. Much more lonely than before.Being so sensitive, is it because I am timid? The road is really like the one drawn on the map, there is only one road, but the weeds are overgrown under the trees, not covering the path, making it difficult to distinguish.In some places, you can't see the road about ten meters ahead, so you have to turn around among the uncles to find it.In other words, compared to the road leading to the settlement, there are far fewer people walking here.

After walking for about ten minutes, in the cool forest, I came to a place where gray rocks bulged like tumors, and the road disappeared in front of the rocks.So you've reached your destination? However, there is no cave in sight. Gen looked around.The settlements are no longer visible, only the trees in the forest are in sight.With the wind rippling, countless leaves swayed along with it. Gen raised his hand and scratched the back of his head.Then, step forward and place your hands on the rock. Overhead a singing bird chirped: "Try it? Try it? Try it?" Gen raised his head in surprise, and replied, "Yes, I want to enter the 'Experiment Cave'!"

The surrounding trees are simultaneously emitting the sound of the goose flute.Similar to a quartet or quintet, they come together to form an excellent chorus. After the birds sang, another gust of wind picked up and the ground rumbled underfoot.Right in front of Heng's eyes, the boulder split into two. The entrance appeared.Is it a narrow dark hole that you can get in with great difficulty, and enter from this entrance? He was startled suddenly: I don't like it, do I have to go in?It feels a little bit cheated, has the protagonist of "Saga" entered such a place? Just as he was hesitating, a hoarse voice called from the depths of the cave entrance.

"If you wait any longer, the door will be closed." Gen was startled and shrank back. "Little guy, can't you hear me? I said the door is closing." The sound in the cave was scary.Wataru recalled the voice of his neighbor's uncle who owned a fish shop. "Hey, I don't have time to play with little fur kids until dark. If you are timid again, I will tell the guide, hurry up." "Are you—with a Kansai accent?" This place should have been the "Fantasy World". "Whether you want to come in or not, tell me!" "Is this really a 'Try Cave'?"

"That—well..." "Then you go home. If you don't believe what the guide says, it's useless to come in. You little brat." Wet pussy - what does it mean? "I see. I'll come in." "Should have been so blunt in the first place, idiot. Come over here." Take the first half step.Suddenly, a big dirty hand stretched out from the depths of the dark cave, and suddenly grabbed Gen's head. "Wow!" Gen was sucked into the depths of the cave, leaving only his exclamation echoing in the forest. Returning to the quiet forest, the chirping of goose flutes sounded again.

Who is this? Are you a warrior? Who is this? Is it a magician? Who is going home? The old mage just now walked through the woods, walking leisurely amidst the singing of birds, holding a stick in one hand and an ancient magic book in the other.When he came to the entrance of the suction hole, he stopped and tiptoed to take a look. "Oh, the passengers this time seem to have spent a lot more time than Meihe." He leaned his stick on the rock, knocked on his back, and sighed authentically. Okay, let's do it—the mage muttered to himself, he picked up his staff, muttered a spell, his body suddenly turned into a cloud of light smoke, and instantly turned into a bird-like blanket with the wind. Inhaled into the cave.

It is falling, endlessly falling into the bottomless dark abyss.He was shouting, but he had trouble breathing at any time, and he couldn't make a sound, but he was still falling.He wanted to take another deep breath and shout out, but because his head was up and his feet were down, and he was falling in a seat-like posture, he gradually regained his composure.Moreover, although it is indeed falling, the speed is average, and half of it feels like it is floating.I don't feel the need to shout anymore. He looked around and observed, but it was so dark that he couldn't see anything.With his own vague senses, he thought he was falling not in a wide area, but in something like a slippery hose.By moving your body a little, you can also change places during the fall.He stretched out his hands like wings, and the tip of his right finger touched something slippery, possibly a wall.

—Where did it end? During the fall, I felt the wind blowing up from below.The warm air blows into the cuffs of the shirt, and the falling speed slows down accordingly.Like taking an elevator, or an escalator, or walking down the stairs. Directly below appeared a flickering white light, something like a circular platform.It's big enough to touch the ground, so it must land on it. Gen stretched his hands and feet, skillfully controlled his balance, and landed on the round platform.After he breathed a sigh of relief and looked closely, the round platform was made of stone.Squat down on your knees and feel it with your hands. It is very slippery, almost like the artificial marble counter in the kitchen of your family.

Looking up, there was an entrance in the dark place just now.That's not a door, it feels like the mouth of the lake that was pulled in just now, and it's much bigger.He could walk in, but it was dark inside. Have courage!OK, step forward. Take one step, two steps.As a result, the surrounding scenery changed dramatically. This is - the temple.No, it's the corridor of the castle, right? The ceiling is high.Almost three stories high.The floor and walls are all made of stone, and a thick column is erected every few meters or so.There are countless candlesticks lined up on the wall, and the flickering candlelight is like twinkling stars.Even so, the road ahead is still dark and hard to see clearly.

Unexpectedly, Gen Xi looked back and saw that the entrance he had just walked in had disappeared without a trace, and only the road with the same scenery ahead continued endlessly. Don't be timid.Motivate yourself and move forward.After a while, a large statue appeared.It is a one-eyed colossus carved from the same stone as the building.Naked and wearing armor, the upper arm reveals the tattoo of exorcism.Shoulder against big axe. He stopped and looked up at the face of the statue. It was a sound like a ground song coming from under his feet, and the ground song turned into a human voice.

"I serve the Goddess of Destiny and guard the East, the General of the Dawn. Come and answer your questions." Stand tall. The voice continued: "What request do you have for me and my Dawn family?" I can't remember it all at once.How should I answer? In a panic, I suddenly remembered.Speaking of which, isn't there such a setting in "Saga I"?When you play the game for the first time, you have to make a request to the three gods who appear in the game and rule the three countries.There are various options such as "Wealth", "Fame", "Courage", "Beauty", "Wisdom" and so on.Then, depending on the kind you ask for, the stunts the protagonist can master subtly change. Gen took a deep breath, summoned up his strength and shouted: "I——I want the courage to move forward, so please give me courage!" After a while, a dull voice answered. "That gives you courage. You can pass." The giant's single eye was shining red, and the statue blocking the way disappeared without a trace.The road stretches ahead.Thousands of candles are flickering. Not long after walking, I met the same giant statue again.Gen stopped again. "I am the Twilight General who serves the Goddess of Fate and guards the west. Come to answer questions." "Yes, I will answer." Gen said. "You, what request do you have for me and my family in the evening?" "I want to gain wisdom." "That gives you wisdom. You can pass." The giant's single eye glowed blue, and the statue disappeared. Going forward, you will meet the third monocular giant. "I serve the Goddess of Destiny and guard the north. Someone will answer your questions." This time requires a healthy body.He hopes to have the experience to complete the long journey in the fantasy world. Upon hearing the answer, one eye glowed white, and the statue disappeared.Go ahead. The fourth statue is, as expected, "Sunshine General Guarding the South".Always ask to have "joy".It would be nice to have all kinds of pleasures during the journey. "Then give you joy, and you can pass." The single eye emits a golden light, and after the seat image disappears, there is no way to go.Straight ahead is a wall.It's over.Only the candlesticks flickered. Under the light, it can be seen that the position of the seat just now is connected with the steps extending down.He went down the stairs without hesitation.High-spirited and unafraid, he's the hero of the romantic Singleston saga. Down the stairs, there is a hall.Scarlet velvet curtains shaded the windows.High-backed chairs line the walls.The floor was so smooth that Wataru's face could almost be reflected.Tall candlesticks with three candles were placed here and there, and the smell of candles wafted. There are many paintings on the ceiling, but the lighting is not enough to see clearly.Animals, flowers, trees—hey, take a closer look, isn't that weird screw head a screw head wolf? While he was staring dumbfounded, someone spoke up. "Geng, come over here." Geng was startled, and looked around. By the innermost wall of the hall, the old mage was sitting alone in front of a small table with a candle burning. "Mr. Wizard!" He rushed over, he really wanted to pounce on the wizard who lied, what a joy and miss.However, when Gen approached, the magic fighter raised her bony hand again, and tapped Gen's forehead: "Use this." "Mr. Wizard?" The old mage rested his chin on his right hand, raised his left index finger and shook it, making a sound of "go go go go go go go go go". "Can not be done." "Oh?" "That's not enough. You are far worse than Meihe." why?My mind is confused and I am very unhappy. Didn't I answer the questions of the four generals very well! The old mage said impatiently as if he had seen through Gen's heart, "That look is too ordinary and lacks originality." "Independence—originality?" "That's right, and it's okay to hesitate at the entrance of the cave at the beginning. At that time, you have to make a quick decision, that is to say, you don't have enough preparation after careful consideration." That's right.He sat paralyzed on the ground. The old wizard took out a long quill pen and folder that came from nowhere.He thought he was dazzled by looking at it, so he wiped his eyes and looked again, it was indeed a file folder. "Give you a comprehensive evaluation." The old mage announced, and the quill pen about thirty centimeters long moved deftly in his hand. "Illusory world adaptability deviation value is thirty-five. Special skills are zero. The physical strength value is average. The bravery value is the lowest." "Hey, hey, hey..." He hugged the wizard's emaciated knee.He was tapped on the forehead again. "As a result, you will be designated as Prototype I of the Probationary Hero. Equip it for you." The mage clamped the quill to his ear, and stroked Wat's head with his free hand.Something like sparks flew. "Stand up and take a look." Gen Yiyan stood up, her attire had changed.Long-sleeved shirts in premium cotton—no collars or hems at the cuffs.Dark blue baggy trousers and sturdy high-waisted leather boots are the same as Ashikawa's. However, Wataru's waist is not tied with a belt, but something like a hemp scarf. "Are these—are my equipment?" "Exactly. Congratulations." "But what about weapons? Even a trainee brave should have weapons, right?" The mage put the pen and folder into the cassock, greeted them, and stood up from the chair. "I'll go back to the ground first." "Are you going back? What about me? Do you still have an exam?" The wizard's thin jaw grinned. "Well, if you achieve your wish, you have to pay a price, you know?" "Pay the price?" "It doesn't mean 'pay a big price'. It means that if you want to get it, you have to pay first." This is, I can feel the ground ringing, it's still far away, but it's approaching.Something heavy walked in "gudong, gudong"—— "The four great generals obeyed your wish, and as a price, they want you to exchange your life for it." The old wizard Richmond said indifferently. "Escaping is your victory. If you stay alive, you will finally get your wish. If you are caught, you will lose and you will not be able to realize your wish." There was a shrill sound of destruction, and the walls of the hall collapsed.It is the four great generals.They hacked through the walls with their axes and poured into the hall! "There are plenty of exits." The wizard pointed around the room.Indeed, not only unknowingly, many exits appeared on the four walls. "Find the real exit and just escape." "But...it's too difficult!" The four god generals waved their axes and charged straight over. "Fight hard." The mage smiled. "Recall the song of the birds in the northern woods." The figure of the mage disappeared into the air, leaving only a mist-like thing.The cloud of fog immediately turned into a little white bird, "swish" past the tip of the nose, and flew up to the ceiling. "Please, please wait!" The four great generals are approaching.Gen screamed and fled to the wall, stumbled and fell to the ground, the ax wielded by Feng Xueshen rushed ahead.It just happened to stab over, and after the stab was empty, an electric light was drawn on the ground. "Help!" I usually watch movies and comics, and I always find it inexplicable and disdainful to see a character who has been chased to a desperate situation yelling like this in a place where no one came to rescue him.However, it's wrong to think that way, even if you think no one is coming back, you can't help shouting, at a time like this. As soon as he struggled to stand up, the ax of the Dawn God slammed into the place where he fell down just now.The reason why the four great generals can still be distinguished at this critical moment is because the faces of the four great generals all have single eyes of different colors shining. - to escape?Where are you going? The room is shaped like a chocolate square, with numerous exits on the left and right walls.One of those exits is the escape exit, probably.How to tell the difference?Can I just open them one by one? Behind Gen, who was running away in panic, the four great generals chased after him relentlessly. The paving stones on the floor they ran on crumbled like barbs.Seeing this scene out of the corner of his eye, his hair stood on end. However, while running back and forth, he realized that once the giant Four Gods made a move with an axe, it would take a lot of time to adjust their facial expressions.Moreover, they have a characteristic, one statue makes a move, and the other three imitate it. Therefore, if you can skillfully avoid the attack of the first one, you can easily escape while the other three are also attacking the same place. it is good!He ran to the other wall of the room.The four great generals also followed with a "dongdong".The armor on their bodies rattled.Looking back, I saw the bright blue light reflected from the glowing eyes and the wielding ax blade of the Twilight God General who was chasing after him. Just one meter from the wall.Gen turned around abruptly, and jumped out in the direction of a series of doors.The Twilight God will swing his ax and strike at the place where he was originally.Taking advantage of this gap, he scratched the floor, stood up, and grabbed the doorknob in front of him. The door opened smoothly.He rushed into the door, and it was a small room with about four and a half mats. Under the dim light like moonlight, there was only another statue-like thing standing there alone in the center. Panting and looking closer, it really is a bronze statue.Touch it, it feels like metal, it's cold and cold.Is this—a bronze statue of a deer?Just like Bambi in the Disney movie. ——Why is this thing here? There is no exit.Stretching out my hand to feel the walls, I could only feel the chilly stone, not even a ladder or a rope leading to the outside.In other words, it's not right here.Have to find another door. He opened the door a little bit secretly, and carefully peeked outside.The four generals who couldn't find Heng gathered in the center of the hall, extinguished the light in their monocular eyes, and walked around in circles.Gen adjusted his breathing, summoned up his courage, and ran out of the hall. Immediately, the generals' eyes lit up, and they started chasing again. Tempting the god general to attack in the air, and when the god general struggled to adjust, he escaped from the side and opened the nearest door.This process is repeated.I opened one door after another, but I couldn’t find the door leading to the exit. The structure of each room is the same, only a bronze animal statue is placed in the center. The animals in each room are different, such as elephants, tigers, Big fish, birds, cows, even snakes or frogs. When returning to the hall, leave the door of the room you have entered open to avoid entering by mistake for the second time.Wataru gradually became exhausted from running so non-stop.He staggered not because of panic, but because of fatigue, and it gradually became extremely dangerous to escape the attack of the general.If it continues, I'm afraid it will collapse. However, all doors have been tried.There seemed to be so many doors open, but no exit could be found. It was too much——Waitu couldn't help but stop his staggering steps when he was panting desperately. This way, the gods were about to adjust their direction and rush forward.These guys are not tired at all.It's getting worse and worse.what can we do about it? —Recall the song of the little birds in the northern woods. The wizard said so.Like the melodious bird song of a goose flute, like the harmony of a quartet or quintet. Think desperately.What are you singing about? "Questions to answer" or "Mr. Tutor yawns"... "The way home should be 'home' (the sound of 'frog' in Japanese)". "'Go home' (frog)." Gen's eyes lit up: "going home" means "frog!" The way home is a frog! Struggle to move the legs dragged by fatigue, dodge the attacks of the four great generals, and run straight along the wall.Where is the room with the frog statue?Which one is it?While looking clearly into the room with the door open, Gen ran fiercely, gasping for breath with a "swoosh" in his throat. Have! It is the innermost small room on the right, and there is another angry toad.As soon as Gen rushed into the room, he rolled under the bronze statue seat. "Boom!" Head bumped. "It hurts!" He stared at the stars. Gen put his head in his hands and started doing it, there was a muffled "click", and the seat started to move.Just now, a cave appeared where the statue was, and a ladder entered the dark lower part of the bronze statue. Great!Get out of here.Gen gently rubbed his burning and painful head, and went down the ladder.The ladder is not too long, and the toes have already touched the soft ground until there are less than twenty steps. It was dark all around, like a cave—or a starry sky.Staring at it, the little things above the head, like the twinkling stars, move and change their positions from time to time.Now I understand.Huh, they must all be fireflies, something similar to fireflies in this world. With the faint light they emitted, it could be seen that the cave was still extending deep, and the two walls were uneven rocks, and the water was everywhere wet from the ground. The road is winding and winding, and it is a gentle slope upward.The feeling of walking towards the ground gave him the courage to quicken his steps.After a while, the road ended in a small square paved with gray stones.In the center of the square, a light came straight down from above.This light penetrated right through the center of the cyan star print drawn on the slate floor. Standing under the beam of light—the center of the star seal. He has a feeling that his body has become lighter and his feet are suspended in the air. He blinked vigorously and came back to his senses, but he was already in the woods.Now he is standing in front of the "Try Cave".The chirping of the birds can be heard.The sun has slanted to the west, and the forest has begun to be shrouded in mist. The entrance of the cave was closed, and the appearance of the giant rock was restored.If you touch it again, you won't be able to speak with the Kansai voice. Go along the path in the forest and return to the settlement of the five huts.The magic fighter did not show up, and the hut with smoking chimneys was not the first or the second, but the third.