BXBX NOVEL Chapter 167: Heroine and Lucan Facing First Trial
Maris nodded, "Ready as I\'ll ever be."
They stepped inside, the darkness closing in around them. As they crossed the threshold, Lucan felt a strange sensation, as if the air itself was pressing in on him. Suddenly, the magical energy that had always hummed within him, a constant and familiar presence, vanished. Lucan staggered, instinctively reaching out with his senses, only to find... nothing.
He turned to Maris, who had a similar look of shock on her face. "Our powers... they\'re gone," she whispered, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Lucan clenched his fists, trying to summon even a flicker of his magic, but it was no use. They had been stripped of their abilities, left as nothing more than ordinary humans. Lucan knew that the temple would seal their ability but he thought being Kingdom Class it might not affect him but it did. So the temple is more powerful than Kingdom Class.
Maris gripped her staff tightly, though it felt almost useless without her magic flowing through it. "We\'ll have to rely on our wits and our physical skills," she said, "We can do this, Lucan-sama."
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Lucan nodded, "Let\'s move."
They walked deeper into the temple, the corridor stretching out before them like an endless tunnel. The walls were lined with ancient carvings, depicting scenes of warriors and scholars, all of whom had undoubtedly faced the trials ahead. The air was thick with dust, and the only sound was the echo of their footsteps.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them shifted with a loud click. Lucan\'s instincts kicked in, and he shoved Maris forward just as the floor gave way beneath them. A massive pit opened up, revealing rows of sharpened spikes below. Lucan and Maris barely managed to cling to the edge of the pit, their breaths coming in ragged gasps.
Lucan pulled himself up first, then reached down to help Maris. "That was close," he muttered.
"Too close," Maris agreed, her face pale but resolute. She glanced at the pit, then back at Lucan. "We need to be more careful. The temple isn\'t going to make this easy for us."
They continued, each step more cautious than the last. The corridor narrowed, forcing them to walk single file. The walls closed in on them.
The passage suddenly opened up into a large chamber. The floor was covered in intricate tiles, each one etched with a different symbol. At the far end of the room was a massive stone door, adorned with carvings of creatures that seemed to twist and writhe as they watched.
Lucan took a step forward, then froze as the tiles beneath his foot began to glow. A series of arrows shot out from hidden slots in the walls, narrowly missing him. He quickly leaped back, his heart racing. "It\'s a trap," he said, stating the obvious.
Maris studied the tiles, her brow furrowed in concentration. "The symbols... they must be the key. Step on the wrong one, and you trigger the trap."
Lucan nodded. "But which ones are safe?"
Maris crouched down, examining the tiles more closely. "These symbols... they\'re from the old texts. I recognize some of them from my studies at the temple. The safe path must follow a specific pattern." She pointed to a series of symbols leading toward the door. "We need to step only on these."
Lucan followed her lead, carefully stepping onto the symbols she indicated. The tiles beneath his feet remained dark, the trap mechanisms silent. Maris followed, her steps light and precise. Together, they navigated the deadly floor, their breaths held until they reached the other side.
As they approached the door, it rumbled and slowly began to open. But before they could pass through, the floor beneath them shifted again. Lucan grabbed Maris, pulling her back just as the walls on either side of the chamber began to close in. Massive stone blocks, each one large enough to crush a person, started moving toward them.
"There\'s no time!" Lucan shouted, his voice strained as he looked for a way out.
Maris\'s eyes darted around the chamber. "The door—it\'s closing too fast! We\'ll never make it through in time."
Lucan spotted a narrow gap at the base of the door, just wide enough for them to crawl through. "There!" he pointed. "We can slide under!"
Without hesitation, they both dropped to the ground and crawled toward the gap. The walls were closing in fast, the grinding of stone on stone echoing through the chamber like a death knell. Lucan pushed Maris through first, then followed, just as the walls slammed shut behind them with a thunderous crash.
They lay on the cold stone floor of the next chamber, gasping for breath. The heavy stone door sealed shut behind them, trapping them in the room ahead. Lucan slowly sat up, looking around. The room was smaller, more confined, with a single pedestal in the center.
Maris slowly rose to her feet, her eyes fixed on the pedestal. "That must be the key to the next trial," she said, her voice hoarse from the strain.
Lucan nodded, but as he stood, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. The trials were taking their toll, and without their magic, they were vulnerable. He glanced at Maris, seeing the same fatigue in her eyes. They were strong, but they were still human.
"We need to stay focused," Lucan said, "We\'re not done yet."
Maris nodded, "Let\'s finish this, Lucan-sama."
Together, they approached the pedestal, ready to face whatever the temple had in store for them next. They had survived the first trial, but Lucan knew that second trial was more hard than first but he knew he could pass second trial.