"So they really were just golems?"
Dark walked forward and bent down to inspect the bodies of the two giant bears, wanting to see if there was any additional loot.
However, the moment his fingertips touched them, the giant bears suddenly disintegrated into scattered starlight. Even the core that Black Gatomon had crushed in its palm dissipated among the specks of light.
It was as if they had never existed at all!
But the stone pedestals on either side of the passage, and the shattered stone fragments scattered around, still remained.
"They weren't golems?"
Dark picked up a bit of stone dust to examine it closely, a doubt rising in his mind.
When he had first found this place by following the treasure map's instructions, he had felt something was off.
Now, thinking back, he gradually realized what the problem was.
He then quickly took out the map he had bought from Traveler's Street to check it. Sure enough, he found that although the map included the area he was in, it did not mark the two giant bear statues!
They were so conspicuous and would have been perfect as map landmarks, yet there was no trace of them.
"Does this mean that before I arrived, these two statues didn't exist?"
"No, that's not right. This is the third landmark on the treasure map, so it should have always been here..."
"Unless... it's tied to the treasure map itself."
"It only appeared because I have the treasure map."
"That would make sense."
Dark pondered for a while and felt that the treasure-hunting journey ahead was unlikely to be peaceful.
In that case, having only a DemiDevimon with him was not so safe.
He thought for a moment, selected a four-star Magic Guide Spirit card from his card pack, and performed a normal summon.
A little over a minute later, a white cat with a holy ring on its tail leaped out of the Magic Guide Card!
Gatomon, with its lips pursed, glanced at the Black Gatomon that had evolved from DemiDevimon, an unconcealable trace of disgust flowing from its amber eyes!
Holy-type and Dark-type Digimon have a natural aversion to each other.
Furthermore, Gatomon and Black Gatomon were like two sides of the same coin—light and dark.
If it hadn't known that this was DemiDevimon's evolved form, Gatomon would have probably sent it to heaven with a single [Cat Punch]!
"Meow~"
Black Gatomon, however, ignored Gatomon's hostility. It just straightened the scarf around its neck with a serious expression, and then, while the evolution's duration had not yet passed, it quietly hugged Dark's arm.
Dark stroked its head and took a light breath. "Let's keep moving!"
...
A few minutes later, Black Gatomon reverted to its DemiDevimon form and resumed its duties as a scout.
Gatomon, on the other hand, had begun to consume its own magic power to maintain its existence.
Although forbidden in duels, a magus could actually replenish a Magic Guide Spirit's magic by continuously infusing their own magic power into the card or through direct contact with the spirit.
However, unlike charging cards like [Energy Potion], a magus's replenishment of a spirit's magic was a continuous and slow process, and couldn't instantly restore several hundred points of magic power.
So, as long as he held the [Gatomon] Magic Guide Card, Dark could continuously replenish Gatomon's magic.
And with his current, extraordinary magic power recovery rate, it was more than enough to cover the consumption of a four-star Magic Guide Spirit.
But as the replenishment continued, a faint blush rose on Gatomon's cheeks. The warm current flowing into its heart made its body feel slightly hot.
Dark didn't notice Gatomon's slight abnormality. He repeatedly checked the treasure map against the other map, constantly adjusting his route, and finally, as noon approached, he found the fourth landmark!
It was a wall composed of 16x16-1 tiles.
The wall itself was very eye-catching.
But the hand-drawn picture on the treasure map was of a cat with its mouth wide open!
If Dark hadn't found a pattern resembling a cat's paw among the wall tiles, he wouldn't have been able to confirm for a moment that this wall was indeed the fourth landmark.
There were 255 tiles on the wall, and each one could slide.
Comparing it with the drawing on the treasure map, Dark quickly understood that this was supposed to be a puzzle stage.
The goal was to arrange the 255 tiles to form the picture of a cat.
Although it looked like a children's educational game, 255 tiles was a lot!
Moreover, the tiles higher up on the wall could only be moved by DemiDevimon.
What was even more terrifying was...
The landmark on the treasure map was drawn in a cute, moe style, but the mural on the wall was in a hyper-realistic style!
In other words, the two pictures were completely different!
...
Dark first tried moving the tiles within the frame to assemble the picture, but he soon discovered that the difficulty of this puzzle was absurdly high and simply couldn't be completed in a short time.
Left with no choice, he began trying to remove the puzzle tiles from the wall...
He didn't expect to actually succeed!
The tiles were apparently attached to the wall like magnets; if you pulled outward with enough force, you could take the whole thing off!
Holding a tile, Dark couldn't help but recall how he used to do the same thing with Rubik's Cubes.
When he couldn't solve it, he'd just take it apart and reassemble it...
With this method, the puzzle's difficulty was suddenly lowered by a major degree!
Dark simply took off all the puzzle pieces and then reassembled them based on the image in his mind.
About two hours later, he finally completed the entire assembly process. A mural gradually appeared on the wall—a lion roaring furiously in the mountain forest!
"You drew a lion as a cat? You've really got some nerve, Alvit!"
Dark looked at the lion picture, his expression darkening slightly.
If he hadn't found a way to cheat, he would have been completely stuck here today!
"Click!"
A strange noise suddenly came from within the wall.
Dark's expression shifted slightly as he saw a white light suddenly shine through the cracks between the puzzle tiles.
The next moment.
The roar of a lion pierced his eardrums!
The wall suddenly began to ripple.
A strong wind began to blow.
A foul stench rushed towards him with the wind.
Dark's gaze met the eyes of the lion, which was gradually closing its massive mouth.
A blood-like crimson stained its entire eyes.
Its furious roar transformed into a sinister, low growl.
Thick saliva dripped continuously from the corners of its mouth.
It crouched down and took a step out of the wall!
The first step gathered power, the second burst forth.
"Roar!"
Wrapped in a savage and ferocious aura, the lion lunged out like a bolt of lightning!
...
Dark leaped back several steps, but his expression showed no panic.
Although the mural lion coming to life was not something he had anticipated, if this was all it was, there was nothing to fear.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a white shadow from behind him suddenly shot into his peripheral vision.
With a flash of a familiar presence, the white shadow slid with exceptional agility under the lion.
In an instant.
The ferocious and arrogant lion was disemboweled!
Although no blood splattered.
Its body suddenly dropped, its life force rapidly diminishing. Even the tips of its fur began to turn transparent!
Born from a painting, back to the painting it shall return.
As it scattered with the wind, Dark saw Gatomon standing with its claws retracted!
And on the wall, a door was slowly opening.
"Next target!"
...
After DemiDevimon returned from scouting the path, Dark walked through the gate in the wall.
When he came out, he was already on a path not recorded on the map.
From this point on, the map drawn by students was useless.
Dark had to reconfirm his direction and make his own trail markers.
To deal with this situation, he had specifically brought a "fluorescent pen."
This pen, which used magic dust as "ink," could leave a magic mark on the walls that would last for at least a week.
After one to two weeks, the magic mark would automatically dissipate, so it wouldn't pollute the secret passage.
Dark stopped to eat something, then began to explore again.
Although the new map had no reference points, the distance between landmarks was clearly shorter.
If things went smoothly, he might be able to find the landmarks faster than before.
Originally, that's what he thought!
But he soon discovered that from here on, the secret passage's terrain and environment had changed!
After walking just a few steps, the entire secret passage seemed to merge with an ancient forest. The monotonous white walls gradually vanished, and the torches that guided the way on both sides also disappeared. In their place were the gnarled roots of ancient trees, vines winding around the ceiling, giant rocks scattered in the corners, and glowing moss everywhere on the rocks.
The ceiling grew higher and higher, and the ground was now covered with damp soil.
Colorful glowing moss illuminated a fantastical and bizarre world.
It was like delving deep into a magical forest from a fairy tale. His retinas were filled with sharply contrasting tones, and the bewitching aura of nature burst forth in an instant, like a drop of thick ink spreading!
Walking in this world, there was no longer just the sound of relentless footsteps.
The rustling of leaves, the roar of the wind, the chirping of insects...
The secret passage, it was as if it had suddenly come alive.
Filled with a bizarrely vigorous life force!
However, vibrant colors usually signify deeply hidden dangers.
Dark became even more vigilant!
...
Half an hour later.
Feeling a bit tired, Dark sat down at the base of a giant tree that would take six or seven people to encircle, and took a small sip of apple juice.
Gatomon dutifully stood guard by his side, while DemiDevimon was still scouting the surrounding area.
The fifth landmark was an anchor.
But in an environment like an ancient forest, how was he supposed to find an anchor?
Dark's first thought was to look for a water source. An anchor might represent a ship, and a ship would be moored by a lake.
But he hadn't found any trace of water so far.
This was very rare in an environment with such huge plants.
But one couldn't say whether this environment was a natural ecosystem, so it couldn't be judged by common sense.
He put the water bottle back in his bag, looked up at the dense canopy, and felt the forest-like tranquility that, while not complete, could still calm one's mind.
If one ignored the dangers lurking everywhere, this was actually a good environment for self-cultivation.
As he was thinking this, Gatomon's figure flashed. A mottled green snake that had blended into the tree's shade was sliced apart by its claw and casually tossed aside.
"Good job."
Dark stood up again, a hint of relief on his face.
If he didn't have Gatomon protecting him, he felt he wouldn't survive for more than ten minutes in this environment.
Gatomon crossed its arms, glanced at him, then turned its face away, a hidden curve appearing at the corner of its mouth.
Immediately after.
"Help me!"
DemiDevimon came fleeing back, screaming惨叫as if it had poked a hornet's nest.
Dark subconsciously reached his hand into his card pack, and a sharp glint flashed in Gatomon's eyes.
Both of them looked in DemiDevimon's direction.
"Damn!"
"Did it really poke a hornet's nest?"
Behind DemiDevimon, a swarm of flying insects with glowing tails, like fireflies, was in hot pursuit.
The number of insects in the swarm was countless. Their multicolored brilliance formed a torrent, like a colorful galaxy weaving through the forest, as if entering a fairy tale dream.
Dark had read about them in a book. They were a type of insect called "Firefly Wasp." Each one was as long as a finger, and the stinger fired from their tail contained a rare "light poison."
The poisoned area would absorb blood and convert it into light.
As the light spread, blood would be lost, muscles would wither, and eventually, the victim would become a glowing skeleton.
The Firefly Wasps would then build their nests in the skeleton and continue to multiply.
From the written description, it was a very terrifying poisonous insect.
The most common way to detoxify it was to cut off the glowing part entirely!
Because the area contaminated by the toxin would glow, it was extremely easy to identify.
As he considered this, Dark flicked his fingers and drew a Magic Guide Spirit card.
He held the card between the knuckles of his index and middle fingers and brought it to his lips to summon.
In just over three seconds, this normal summon was complete.
Popplio appeared in a watery blue light!
...
To deal with a large swarm of insects, it was natural to use a Magic Guide Spirit with a large area-of-effect skill.
Although Gatomon was strong, it wasn't well-suited for this kind of matchup.
Dark's other options included Sylveon and Umbreon.
But those were both four-star Magic Guide Spirits.
So this time, it was a perfect opportunity to let the new family member show off its skills.
This was Popplio's first battle!
"Momo!"
As soon as Popplio appeared, it wanted to snuggle up and ask for pets.
Dark quickly stopped it and commanded in a loud voice, "Use Alluring Voice on the swarm!"
Popplio couldn't help but tilt its head. "Mo?"
Dark: "Pets later!"
Popplio: "Mo!"
But Dark had already taken out the Sorting Card. "Don't worry, DemiDevimon never fears death."
A moment later, Popplio's eyes sharpened, and it opened its mouth towards the rapidly approaching swarm!
"□□□□～"
As the clear and melodious cry rang out.
Under the passive enhancement of [Liquid Voice], [Alluring Voice] transformed into layers of water waves, spreading out rapidly like ripples, covering the entire sky in the blink of an eye!
The power of [Alluring Voice] was not high.
But it was more than enough to kill the Firefly Wasps.
The alluring cry had completely turned into a sound of death.
Swaths of Firefly Wasps fell from the sky. Their tails still flickered with multicolored fluorescence, like brilliance falling to the ground, painting it in fantastical, rich colors.
Dark waved his hand, a ray of light retracted, and DemiDevimon was recalled into the Sorting Card.
After the dust had settled.
He released DemiDevimon again and asked, "What did you find?"
DemiDevimon said excitedly, "A cat, I found a cat!"
Gatomon: "Meow?"
DemiDevimon's cheeks puffed up instantly. "It's an anchor, not a cat!"
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin