CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 272 - THE WALL CHALLENGE.

The "creepy corner" wasn’t so much a hallway as it was a throat.

The walls curved inward, slick with some glistening moss that made every step squelch unpleasantly.

The deeper they went, the more the shadows seemed to shift, almost like they were following along.

Then the whispering began.

At first, it was faint—like water trickling—but then words started forming.

"Nice boots."

Everyone froze.

"...Was that the wall?" Rufus asked, glancing at Raven.

"Is that leather? Mmm. Fancy."

Jessy’s brows furrowed. "That is definitely the wall."

Graye grinned. "At least it’s polite."

"Not you," the wall corrected. "I’m talking to the tall one with the smirk."

Raven arched a brow. "Me?"

"Mmm-hmm. You look like you ruin lives for fun."

Selena, without missing a beat: "He does."

"And you," the wall continued, focusing on Siris, "you look like you’d stab someone for complimenting the wrong person."

Siris smirked. "Depends on the person."

"...Dangerous. I like it."

Lia raised her hands. "Uh—hi—please don’t like us. Just let us through?"

The wall ignored her completely.

Instead, the moss on its surface began wriggling, shaping into cartoonish faces that seemed to leer at each of them.

One face with an exaggeratedly large nose squinted at Rufus. "Iron suit? Bet you still can’t open pickle jars without it."

Rufus sputtered. "That’s unprovable slander."

Alex was doubled over laughing—until one of the faces turned to him.

"You. Lava boy. Does the squirrel do all the thinking for you?"

Nibbles, on Alex’s shoulder, held up a tiny sign: Yes.

"Traitor," Alex hissed.

Meanwhile, Omni’s voice came from Raven’s arm, wheezing with laughter.

"Yo, these walls got no chill, man. I like ’em."

Raven took a step forward. "Alright, Wall. You’ve had your fun. What’s the toll to get through?"

He had already realized that the last spirit they talked to had sent them on the wrong path, or more like, one of the worst paths leading to their destination.

After all, in the plot, the protagonist hadn’t gone through anything like this.

The mossy faces on the walls, on the other hand, all glanced at each other the moment they heard Raven’s question.

Then one smirked.

"A dance-off."

There was dead silence.

Jessy blinked. "...A what?"

"Dance-off. One minute. Your best dancers versus ours."

Siris tilted her head. "Uh... how does a wall dance?"

The stone began to ripple like water, and the moss twisted into arms, hips, and—unfortunately—what could only be described as a thicc moss butt.

The wall cracked its... stone knuckles.

"Choose wisely."

Nibbles hopped down from Alex’s shoulder before anyone else could volunteer.

The little squirrel adjusted his imaginary tie, cracked his knuckles, and stepped into the moss-lit "dance floor" with all the confidence of a champion.

"Oh no..." Jessy muttered. "He’s actually doing it."

The wall rolled its mossy shoulders, and a vaguely humanoid moss figure detached from the surface with a smug smile.

The beat started—no one knew where from—and Nibbles launched into a series of rapid spins, tail whipping like a fuzzy propeller.

He moonwalked across the slimy stones, flipped midair, and landed in a perfect pose.

The wall-dancer’s smirk faltered.

Graye punched the air. "Let’s go! Squirrel supremacy!"

The moss-dancer tried to mimic the move... and slipped.

Laughter erupted from the group.

Nibbles won the first round.

But the wall wasn’t done.

With a wet schlup, two more mossy figures peeled off the stone and joined the first.

"Oh, come on!" Selena said. "That’s not fair."

Nibbles tried to keep up, darting from move to move—robot, spin, worm—but the synchronized moss trio started surrounding him, cutting off his flow.

"Cheaters," Alex called out. "You’re cheating!"

The wall laughed. "Nah. This is just the second level."

Cluckles suddenly strutted forward, chest puffed out like a disco king.

Nobody asked him to—he just did.

Then... they danced.

The chicken and the squirrel fell into perfect coordination, executing a surprisingly impressive duo routine.

Cluckles handled the high jumps and flashy wing flaps, while Nibbles controlled the ground spins and tail flick flourishes.

The moss trio staggered back a step, impressed.

Then the wall’s smug voice echoed again.

"Final level."

The stone trembled, and a third dancer emerged—bigger, thicker, and somehow wearing moss sunglasses.

Jessy groaned. "We’re doomed."

Raven glanced at the others. "Who’s next?"

Everyone exchanged looks. No one moved.

Then, from the very back, Jake—the quietest guy in the party—stepped forward. No expression. No hesitation.

"Uh..." Rufus blinked. "Jake? You... dance?"

Jake didn’t answer. He just walked to the center, dropped into a low stance, and the moment the beat dropped, he exploded into motion.

It wasn’t dancing. It was war.

Air flares, windmills, head spins—Jake was a breakdancing hurricane. His footwork blurred. His freezes looked like he was defying physics.

"Holy—" Alex’s jaw dropped. "We’ve been sleeping on Jake."

The moss dancers tried to keep up... and failed.

Jake spun low, Nibbles leapt onto his shoulder mid-spin, and Cluckles hopped onto his head like a feathery crown.

"Finish them!" Siris shouted as if it were a gladiator match.

Jake did.

With a triple spin and a simultaneous squirrel-chicken pose, the moss dancers were knocked flat. They melted back into the wall with defeated groans.

The wall sighed. "Fine. You win. Path’s open."

The moss receded, revealing a dark, yawning hallway ahead.

Selena smirked. "Well, that was unnecessarily ridiculous."

Raven started walking. "Ridiculous or not... it worked."

Nibbles high-fived Cluckles. Jake just went back to his usual silence like nothing happened.

"Seriously," Rufus muttered. "Where the hell was that skill during every tavern night ever?"

No one had an answer. They just followed Raven into the dark.

..............................

The narrow throat of the mossy hallway spat them out into something so absurdly bright and open that everyone squinted.

It was a clearing—no, a hoarder’s fever dream.

There were mountains of gold coins glittering under the flicker of strange torchlight. Silver chalices spilled gemstones like candy.

Piles of weapons—spears, swords, bows, some glowing faintly—were scattered between ornate chests.

To the left, a buffet table literally groaned under the weight of steaming roasts, fresh bread, wheels of cheese, and enough desserts to make a grown man cry.

Graye’s eyes practically became twin spotlights. "...That’s a lot of shiny."

The corrupt panther beside her made a strange, eager chuffing sound, its tail swishing like it had just spotted a laser pointer made of meat.

Alex’s mouth watered so hard he had to wipe it physically. "I’m just saying... we deserve this. After the wall? This is practically a gift basket."

Nibbles’ telekinetic powers twitched, already reaching for a donut.

All four of the foody people were ready to jump into action.

Raven, however, didn’t even flinch. He just extended one arm in front of the group like a parental seatbelt. "Rule number one: if you see treasure, you don’t charge in. Ever."

Alex groaned. "Why not?"

Selena’s voice was calm, but her tone carried the weight of someone explaining fire to a toddler. "Because there’s always a guardian."

Clara crossed her arms, nodding. "This isn’t just a few coins scattered in a hallway. This is an ’everything you’ve ever wanted’ pile. That never comes for free."

Alex waved a hand dismissively. "We literally did defeat a guardian. It was the wall. Remember? With the—" He mimed Jake’s breakdance spin.

Nibbles and Cluckles both nodded sagely in agreement.

After all, they had both contributed as well.

They felt like this was a well-deserved gift for them.

Clara didn’t even blink. "That was not a guardian. That was a warm-up. A comedic distraction. We haven’t felt a death threat yet."

Raven looked at Clara, raising a brow, wondering when she got so smart.

He had expected this of Selena, but Clara came in as a surprise.

Graye, however, tilted her head at Clara’s words. "What about that time Siris almost stabbed—"

"That was Tuesday," Siris interrupted.

Before the argument could escalate, the sunlight above them blinked out.

A shadow—massive, crawling, alive—passed over their heads. The air went heavy, the heavy that makes your stomach think gravity’s suddenly doubled.

No one moved.

Then came the sound. Not a roar, not yet—just a whoomp of displaced air as something enormous swooped past.

It landed ahead of them with the ground-shaking weight of a god dropping in for a visit.

Coins cascaded down the treasure mound in glittering avalanches as the creature settled in, scaled, winged, and vaguely Godzilla-shaped, with molten cracks running along its hide like veins of lava. Its eyes were half-lidded, like this was just its afternoon nap spot.

It yawned once—showing teeth like jagged tombstones—then slowly closed its eyes again.

No one breathed.

That was until Nibbles, who had been trying to control it for a while, sneezed.

The sound echoed like thunder, and then—

They moved.

Graye was the first to vanish from sight by ducking behind the corrupt panther.

The panther, for its part, immediately went rigid, lifting one paw and freezing like a lawn ornament that had been doing this for centuries.

Alex decided to try the same tactic with Nibbles.

Unfortunately, unlike the panther, Alex did not look like a convincing statue. He just crouched awkwardly in the open, clutching Nibbles to his chest like a decorative vase.

Jessy had already flattened herself behind a toppled chest, muttering something about "not dying for carbs."

Selena, Clara, and Raven slid back toward the hallway entrance, using one of the gold mounds as cover.

Siris ducked into the shadow of a huge statue, only her eyes visible like a cat plotting murder.

Rufus crouched behind his own armored arms, as if hiding behind himself was a valid strategy.

Lia turned into her Leafy form, while Jake, well, he was already hiding in the shadows.

Cluckles, somehow, froze mid-step, one wing extended, pretending to be part of a marble carving.

The only sound was the occasional tink... tink... tink of a stray coin rolling down the pile beneath the creature’s tail.

Just like that, everyone had become part of the scenery.