Chapter 454: Chapter 454 You Jump, I Jump

“So you’re saying, no matter which way we go, we’ll end up back where we started?”

Iyas angrily crossed her arms,

“That Maze Guardian actually deceived us. He said that crossing the log bridge would lead us to the sixth floor. Turns out, it’s like this.

Hey, Guardian, can you come out and explain?”

Iyas tried to communicate with the Guardian watching them but received no response.

“This might just be the content of the trial.

Finding the way out of this closed loop signifies that we have passed the trial.

As the maze’s Guardian, it’s unlikely he would give us any more hints.”

Bai Jin gave Yang Yu a confirming look, to which Yang Yu nodded affirmatively,

“It appears we have no other choice.”

“Then, Yang Yu, do you have any idea how we can get out of here?”

Facing Iyas’s inquiry, Yang Yu nodded and pointed towards the bottomless Abyss,

“The sixth floor lies beneath this Abyss.”

As Iyas attempted to illuminate the bottomless Abyss with the Holy Light in her hand, the light simply vanished into the endless Darkness.

Without sufficient information at hand, nobody could lightly claim that by jumping into the dark Abyss, one would reach the sixth floor.

“Are you sure the sixth floor is within this unseen Abyss?”

“No matter how we detour, we’ve already been unable to escape this closed loop. This is the only way I can think of to break out of this loop.”

“Only way?”

Iyas clutched her hands tightly. It was not that she didn’t trust Yang Yu, but the worry evident on the faces of Hake and Qing Shi, who were forced to follow Yang Yu into this Underground Maze, was plain to see.

In order to soothe their nerves, Iyas hoped Yang Yu would clarify the circumstances.

“I know what you’re worried about.

I remember telling you that the purpose of the Underground Maze is to be tamed.

To me, the Underground Maze is like a dangerous game.

Since it is a game, winning in the manner approved by the game’s creators is normal.

The Underground Maze was designed to select the Tamer that aligns with the maze creator’s intentions, allowing them to receive the creator’s Gift.

Since that person put in place the only method to clear this floor, and we have no other means to break the limitations he imposed, we can only proceed in the way he envisioned.”

As he spoke, Yang Yu turned to address Lotcar, Qing Shi, and Hake,

“Beneath the Abyss is the sixth floor, and I know it’s a difficult reality to accept. But in real life, such things are quite common. No matter how much you think about it, the same conclusion is the only reasonable one.

Endless cycles are meaningless; we must be brave to break the norm. Perhaps, this itself is a trial of Courage.

To stop or to proceed, we’ve had no choice since we entered this Underground Maze.”

Qing Shi tightened his grip on the fur on Lotcar’s back, nodding his head. At this point, he wouldn’t blame himself for leading Yang Yu and the others here, forcing them to go forward.

All he could do was to trust these adventurers who had repeatedly turned dangers into safety.

As for Hake, he simply smiled fearlessly. He had already experienced Hell once and being reunited with his sister was his greatest Luck, and he was also willing to trust Yang Yu.

Lotcar remained silent, simply nodding slightly.

After confirming that Qing Shi and Hake were emotionally stable, Yang Yu began to lay planks on the logs to create a platform, organizing everyone to use available materials to make simple parachutes.

In another three to four hours, Yang Yu had prepared parachutes for everyone, and, taking the lead, he strapped on a parachute and jumped from the platform.

The inflated parachutes perfectly caught the wind, allowing Yang Yu to descend slowly; the others calmly opened their parachutes, following Yang Yu into the bottomless Abyss.

Lotcar, being rather heavy, had numerous balloons tied to him by Yang Yu, making him the slowest to descend.

All that could be seen was the invisible Darkness, and despite Yang Yu’s reassurances, a subtle unease still rose in their hearts.

After drifting through the Abyss for half an hour, Yang Yu’s body was the first to touch the black clouds.

As soon as his body passed through the black cloud, he felt as though something was pulling him up, slowing his descent.

Due to the extreme slowness, Yang Yu simply shed the parachute, dropping down like a duck without a life jacket with a “thud” into the cloud layer.

The black clouds gradually lightened, finally transforming into pristine, cotton-candy-like white clouds, slowing Yang Yu’s descent until he landed softly in a white space.

Without any warning, the scene before Yang Yu changed, turning into a chess board from the third floor.

But this time, there were no disgusting spider corpses; each chess piece was neatly arranged on the board, solemn and sanctimonious, silently waiting for the chess player to arrive and command the battle.

And the place where Yang Yu stood was precisely at the King’s position; the King’s piece had already disappeared, and the opposing King’s piece had vanished as well.

At the seventh floor, the Guardian sitting on the throne silently stood up, and the next moment, he appeared on top of the King’s piece opposite Yang Yu.

“Next, I will explain the rules of this floor.”

Yang Yu quickly recognized this voice—it was the same one that had echoed numerous times in his ear, and the person on the opposing King’s spot was indeed the Maze Guardian.

“This game is called Chess. The rules are somewhat cumbersome, but please listen carefully to each rule and understand how to play this game.”

“If that’s the case for the game’s mechanics, I know them. Just tell me the additional rules.”

“Since you say so, watch carefully as your companions have gradually arrived.”

The Guardian waved his hand forward, and in the center of the chessboard appeared Iyas, Bai Jin, Qing Shi, Hake, and Lotcar, who looked around and, upon seeing Yang Yu, seemed to want to speak but couldn’t make a sound no matter how they tried.

With a slight tap from the Guardian, Iyas and the others were uncontrollably lined up.

“Each chess piece has a corresponding number; you pick one of your companions, then choose a chess piece, and your companion’s soul will be split into the number of pieces corresponding to that chess piece. Once that type of chess piece is destroyed, your companion will also perish.

For example, to decide the outcome, one must capture the opponent’s King, and the King piece is yourself.

Once your King is captured, you will die here.

Now, let’s select the Queen.”