booktalesy Chapter 4377 Speedrun
Chapter 4377 Speedrun
Chapter 4377 Speedrun
The evil spirit stretched out its withered, black hand with sharp nails and grabbed at the illusory figure.
It didn't grasp any entity, but passed right through it.
The evil spirit seemed stunned as well.
He froze for a second, watching helplessly as the illusory figure in front of him turned into smoke and disappeared.
Evil spirits have no subjective thoughts and cannot judge what is happening in front of them, but as long as the "enemy" disappears, within their limited reflexive dimension, it means that they have dealt with the "trouble" once again.
The crimson in his eyes slowly faded, returning to their grayish-white hue.
The overall feeling he gave off changed from violence to emptiness; he reverted to a wandering evil spirit, heading into the depths of the dense forest where the path ahead was unknown.
From beginning to end, he never once glanced at Uriel, who was lying unconscious on the ground...
Angell breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
After he used illusion magic to create "archers" to attack the evil spirits, his biggest worry was that the evil spirits would also regard Uriel as an enemy and take their anger out on him.
In retrospect, such worries were unnecessary.
Right.
When the caravan attacked the evil spirit, its retaliation was only directed at those who attacked; the bystanders were merely affected by the whispered curses and were not directly pursued and killed by the evil spirit.
The same thing happened at the Dead Tree stronghold; the reason why many of the Forty Thieves were able to survive was because of this.
It must be said that this is still an evil spirit with "principles".
Once the evil spirits were completely gone, Angor called Kermaine and Blanche back. From now on, it would be up to the two of them to protect Uriel's physical body.
Blanche brought out the "Travel Hut" and placed it in a nearby open space.
Then the two of them carefully carried the unconscious Uriel into the hut.
This was done both to provide Uriel with a safe environment to "sleep" and to test whether the Traveler's Hut's ability—"Want to rest?"—could suppress the Whispering Curse that had afflicted Uriel.
Unfortunately, the "Whispering Curse" on Uriel did not disappear after he entered the cabin.
This was actually within Ingres's expectations.
Although they keep referring to this as a "whispering curse," the Wonderland hints don't actually describe this ability of the evil spirits as a curse.
Its full name is "The Whispers of the Living Dead," a kind of woven fantasy.
In Angell’s view, it is essentially closer to a copy mechanism.
It's similar to a challenger encountering a wall of questions in a maze of questions. You have to answer questions; if you don't follow this mechanism, you can't get past the wall of questions.
The whispers of the living dead should be the same principle; they are a special mechanism set up in the dungeon.
Since it's a mechanism, it naturally won't be affected by "Do you need to rest?"
However, although "Do you need a rest?" did not lift the Whispering Curse from Uriel, another ability of the Traveler's Hut—"You've had a long journey"—was in effect.
As an ordinary person, and in his middle age, Uriel had already pushed himself to his limit by running back and forth in the Misty Swamp Forest. Even in his unconscious state, his exhaustion had not faded.
But after he entered the travel cabin, the weariness that lingered between his brows noticeably lessened.
If he can overcome the illusion and reach the end, when he wakes up, not only will the curse disappear, but his physical exhaustion will also dissipate.
"My lord, Mr. Uriel should have already entered the dream world, right?" After curiously looking around the travel cabin, Kemai sat down on the sofa and asked casually.
A moment later, Angel's voice came: "Hmm."
The information about the power swirling around Uriel confirmed that he had entered the cursed dream.
Ke Mai: "Is he in the dark space right now? When are we going to play 'Moonlit Haze'?"
Angell was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I don't know, it all depends on luck."
Uriel is different from the other challengers; he understands music, so the Dark Space certainly can't trap him. However, when he will be able to get out of the Dark Space remains an unknown.
After emerging, Uriel will arrive in the City Dream, a scene that doesn't really require the use of "Moonlight Haze".
Because they have confirmed that the sound is coming from the church, Uriel can clear the second dream scene by finding the church.
As for the corridor maze, since it involves a "maze", we might need to use the concept of "Moonlight in the Haze".
As for the pure white room that follows, and the unknown scenes that follow... if possible, "Moonlight in the Dark" should be played from time to time.
But no one knows when Uriel will arrive at the corridor labyrinth or when he will need "Moonlight".
Even Angell didn't know.
The sandbox perspective only shows a map on a material level, while the dreamscape is a map on a spiritual or even psychological level, making it completely incomprehensible.
Therefore, everything depends on luck.
"If even Mr. Angell can't solve it, then it seems we'll have to rely on our great detective, Raefel."
A glint of light flashed in Blanche's eyes, and her tone was filled with excitement.
Angel and Kemai both turned their gazes toward Blanche.
Kemai hesitated and said, "I remember Mr. Uriel said before that Raefel wasn't a detective?"
When did you become a great detective?
Blanche laughed triumphantly: "Isn't it reasonable that every great detective is also a great deductive reasoner?"
Ke Mai: "...That makes sense."
Blanche pushed up her non-existent glasses on her nose: "According to Leifel's deduction, after Darkman entered the dream, he wandered around the dark space and the city dream for nearly three hours before accidentally stepping into the corridor maze."
“But Mr. Uriel is different. He is musically literate and has made all the necessary mental preparations. He will not lose his composure in the face of absurd scene changes. Considering all the details, his puzzle-solving efficiency is far superior to that of Darkman.”
According to the calculations of "Rayvel".
In the dark space, if Darkman takes an hour, then Uriel will most likely only need 15 minutes, or even less.
Because the dark space is completely free of distractions and distractions, and only requires "listening" ability, it is entirely Uriel's comfort zone.
As for the City Dream, Darkman spent nearly two hours fumbling around because he had no idea what the answer was; while Uriel had a clear target to guide him, and didn't even need to listen to the sounds, he only needed to lock onto the location of the church with his eyes. At this stage, he might even be faster than the Dark Space.
"However, to balance some details that I didn't deduce, I'm assuming that the City Dream scene will still have a 15-minute margin of error."
"Therefore, according to the final deduction of the great strategist Raefel, playing 'Moonlit Haze' thirty minutes later would be the best time!"
As Blanche finished speaking, she narrowed her eyes, giving off a confident look.
If she were wearing Detective Conan's glasses right now, the lenses would probably be reflecting light.
Unfortunately, without the added bonus of glasses, and because Kemai didn't know Leifel and had no preconceived notions about her, he completely ignored the analysis after hearing it and instead looked up at the ceiling: "Sir, what do you think?"
Angell remained silent for a while, then said with a hint of a smile, "Officer Kruger said that I also had no idea. In this situation, we should just go with Revel's lead."
Angell actually felt that if Uriel really had a super talent for "sound localization", he might have made faster progress and could have passed the first two levels in less than half an hour.
But half an hour is indeed a fairly balanced median.
After all, they did not personally experience the dream. If there were any variables in the dream scene, or details that Darkman overlooked, it would naturally lengthen the completion time.
Half an hour is neither too early nor too late, leaving room for adjustment, which is relatively reasonable.
Hearing Angel say this, Kemai naturally stopped objecting: "Then in half an hour, I will control the illusion node and play 'Moonlit Haze'!"
……
Uriel floated over the city.
Although it was the first time he had used the drifting method to fly over the city, Uriel felt no discomfort whatsoever, as if he had flown there countless times before.
This feeling is like having a lucid dream; you want to fly or teleport, but you don't need to learn it, it just happens naturally.
Looking down at the city buildings, Uriel felt a sense of daze and nostalgia.
I never expected to return to "Evening Lights Harbour" under these circumstances.
However, this dreamlike city, although it copied the architecture of Evening Lights Harbor, was completely distorted and deformed.
Some were stretched infinitely long, some were wide and flat and strange, some were crooked as if struck by lightning... All the buildings seemed to have lost their gravity, floating in mid-air, exuding an indescribable grotesqueness.
Uriel gazed with curiosity at the city, which was both familiar and strange, while listening intently to the faint singing voice.
The thought of singing made his heart pound uncontrollably.
The female voice was hazy and ethereal, as if it were blocked by a thick veil, and the tone was also vague and distorted, which was unique to dreams.
Even so, Uriel recognized her instantly.
That unique habit of gently rising at the end of a note, the way the breath is paused, the subtle vibrato that is almost inaudible...
He was all too familiar with these subtle features that others would never notice.
That was a unique voice that belonged only to Rigota.
It can't be wrong.
Uriel was overjoyed at the thought that he might actually have a chance to meet Rigota.
He forced down his surging emotions, slowly regulated his breathing, and focused intently on following the ethereal singing voice.
Gradually, he became completely absorbed in the search, leaving everything else behind, with only that familiar yet distant voice remaining.
Uriel gently closed his eyes, letting his intuition guide him, and sped off in the direction of the song.
A moment later, he felt the light in front of him suddenly dim, as if he were shrouded in a huge shadow.
He suddenly opened his eyes—
The church he had visited countless times in reality, the church belonging to the Radiant Church of Evening Lights, now stood quietly before him.
"Not bad, this time it should have only taken two minutes... or three minutes?"
Uriel had no timekeeping devices at hand, but he spent years with melodies and rhythms, and his perception of time was far more acute than that of ordinary people.
He was certain that no more than three minutes had passed since he stepped into the City of Dreams.
In the first scenario, he has used less than five minutes so far.
Yes, he found the exit in just one and a half minutes in the dark space.
Even after clearing the game, Uriel was still a little puzzled.
In a pitch-black environment where you can't see anything, all your senses are useless, and you can only rely on your ears. In such a situation, even the most foolish person should be able to find a way out based on instinct.
He even felt that taking a minute and a half was slow.
By his standards, an average person is considered to be at a normal level if they can find the exit within two minutes.
Fortunately, this thought only flashed through Uriel's mind. If Darkman and the others had known, they would probably have all doubted whether they were "ordinary people".
Blanche probably didn't expect that Uriel would arrive at the corridor maze in less than five minutes.
He didn't even look for the "church" with his eyes the entire time.
Simply by listening, he reached the destination that "ordinary man Darkman" had painstakingly found, even with his eyes closed.
This is the talent and quality of a musician.
After entering the corridor maze, Uriel continued to follow the "song," but this time he opened his eyes.
After all, this is not an open space; there are side paths everywhere, and you can only avoid bumping into walls by keeping your eyes open.
Besides the inherent complexity of the "maze" itself, another challenge in this level is the ubiquitous robed dolls and their occasional eerie laughter.
But all of this was insignificant to Uriel, who was focused on finding Rigota.
Moreover, the ability to find tranquility amidst noise is a quality that musicians should possess.
Whether in a solemn and elegant theater lobby or a bustling street stage, the ability to block out noise is essential for a perfect performance.
If Uriel didn't even have this much self-control, how could he have gotten to where he is today?
While keeping an eye on the maze's layout, they also chased after the ethereal singing.
It took Uriel about five minutes to find the dark wooden door that Dakman had encountered when he used "Moonlight" to his advantage.
He pushed open the black door and stepped into the fourth scene of the dream: the pure white room.
He got there in just ten minutes.
Just as Darkman described, the moment he entered the pure white room, he began to shrink, while the room grew larger and larger in his field of vision.
Once he stood still, he was surrounded by a dense crowd of people.
They seemed to be looking at themselves.
Against the pure white background...
Uriel had the illusion that he had entered a courtroom and was being judged by the gaze of the crowd.
At that moment, he thought of a possibility that Angell had mentioned earlier.
If this dreamlike journey is everything Rigota experienced, then this pure white room may also represent a part of Rigota's journey.
"To be judged for sins in the church's tribunal..."
"Was that how you felt at the time?"
Uriel murmured softly.
Although pure white represents light, I sensed a deep-seated emptiness, fear, and indifference.
He was condemned by everyone, but no one sympathized with him.
Just like that corridor outside where black and white are reversed and right and wrong are indistinguishable, it is a reflection of what Rigota has experienced.
A flash of resentment crossed Uriel's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
The Tribunal's unwarranted trials are undoubtedly bad, but there are also good people here, such as... Father Sean.
Setting aside his chaotic thoughts, Uriel began to listen to the song, trying to find its source.
Then he discovered that, just like Dakman's conjecture, the essence of this was not to find the singing voice, but to find the person singing.
Because the singing voice always floats evenly in the air, regardless of distance or volume, it is impossible to determine its source.
To find the truth, we can only discern who is speaking by observing the opening and closing of the lips of those figures.
This was extremely difficult for Dakman.
But for Uriel, it is still not a problem.
The placement of sounds, which syllables should be light and which should be heavy, how wide to open the mouth and how to change the lip shape to produce the corresponding tone—these are all ingrained in his instincts.
He kept looking around.
Compare the opening and closing of the figure's lips.
Ten minutes later, he spotted a figure—a dark-skinned figure holding a boot in its hand… Its lips moved in perfect harmony with the singing that drifted through the air.
It was also at the moment I saw the pair of "boots" he was holding.
Uriel has confirmed that this is indeed Rigota's experience.
Because these boots undoubtedly represent the punishment Rigota was sentenced to—the Fire Boots!