Chapter 462: Engraving Puzzle
Having confirmed the engraving was a mechanism that would descend further upon a trigger, Xu Feng realized his luck was truly rotten.
There were four types of possibilities in the Fallen Swamp, the easiest being the straightforward passage where all monsters were spawned in the open.
The second and third types were a bit complicated, but not that difficult as long as one could navigate the path properly.
Finally, the fourth type was the most tedious and ridiculous type to ever exist.
Numerous underground layers were here and players needed to repeatedly find clues with little to zero hints on how to descend further to kill the monsters.
In the worst-case scenario, there could be a total of 10 underground layers and unlucky individuals would have to descend so far down just to kill a slumbering elite monster to reach the oppressive pillar.
'It's like the System didn't want anyone to complete this raid so early.' Xu Feng knitted his brows, finding it baffling that he got the lucky charm, Carmen's presence but still ended up with the fourth type.
While he remained unmovable, Carmen subsequently hopped down and glanced at the engraving.
"Hmm, the engraving seemed off." She muttered. "It feels like we need to inject mana and rotate the engraving to form a picture of some sort."
Within the engraving, it appeared as if it was trying to depict a person in a crown with some golem soldiers, but it felt extremely off.
A golem soldier's head was centered on the person with a crown at the stomach area.
Without needing to be a genius, anyone could discern the order was wrong.
However, Xu Feng was still impressed by how fast she figured things out, especially the injection of mana to rotate the engraving.
'A genius really doesn't need any cheats.' Xu Feng thought to himself, feeling a bit inferior when compared to Carmen, who was destined to be the greatest.
Sometime later, the group gathered up as Xu Feng informed them. "Just like Lunar Wraith said, we'll need to fix the engraving here using our mana. And unfortunately, only one person may move it at a time."
"That's simple, we just take turns trying to rotate it." Iceheart shrugged and commented, not finding it a big deal.
"Be patient and wait till the Raid Leader finishes his explanation." Carmen rolled her eyes and interrupted.
"If it's simple, then the Raid Leader won't even bother explaining it. Unless you take yourself as a toddler and always believe people will need to clarify even the tiniest detail for you." She added, seemingly annoyed at her constant hostility.
Sure, Iceheart might have dwindled down her behavior and attitude, but her tone was still irking to the ears.
"Okay, let me explain. The engraving here is randomized each time the person stops injecting mana. The difficulty would also gradually increase upon failure." Xu Feng revealed, allowing the rest to realize what he meant by his last statement.
Although there were numerous attempts, they could be stuck here for an extremely long time until the engraving was connected to its right place.
Think of it as a 100-piece puzzle but with multiple possibilities and outcomes.
Outcomes such as you could be left with one piece, but that one piece could not fit anywhere into the puzzle, meaning you would have to redo the entire process.
Of course, you won't really have to redo the entire process in a real puzzle-solving, but in this particular circumstance, the engraving would be reset and randomized.
This meant that even the previous method wouldn't work and they would have to rethink and calculate again.
"So, do we have any takers?" Xu Feng inquired, seemingly looking for volunteers to attempt. Truth be told, this wasn't his forte and he hated this type of puzzle the most.
One might think that with his constant scheming, this should be an easy cake for him to do, but that was a big misconception.
After gazing around for a few seconds, Xu Feng mused, "No takers eh?"
Just as he was about to take the mantle and attempt it himself, given that stalling won't help much, someone else voiced their desire to try.
"I can give it a try, Raid Leader." Veronica raised her hand and offered to volunteer. There was a bit of nervousness in her tone, but from her expression, Xu Feng could detect a trace of confidence and determination.
'Am I that scary?' Xu Feng wondered silently, feeling it baffling that she was nervous. 'I recall Carmen mentioned her friend was outgoing and confident.'
Despite the circumstances, Xu Feng nodded and gave her some space.
"Just inject your mana in that line to trigger the rotation. And remember, there's no pressure. If anyone dares to laugh or reprimand you, then they will have to answer from me." He continued, warning everyone in the scene to mind their behavior.
However, the atmosphere turned visibly awkward once he finished his statement. Their eyes were all gazing at someone, and upon closer look, they were all looking at him.
Confused, Xu Feng turned to Carmen, seemingly trying to get an explanation for this awkward scene.
Carmen sighed softly and explained, "Raid Leader, I don't think you noticed this, but Vortex Viper is tense because of you and not others."
"But I never gave her any pressure or yelled at her?"
"You never did, so maybe that's why she's even more nervous, afraid of messing up and causing you to be disappointed. In case you haven't noticed, your aura is similar to a major conglomerate president."
"..."
Speechless, Xu Feng seriously couldn't fathom why Veronica would be nervous in front of him.
Sure, in the past timeline, he indeed evoked such presence and domineering aura, but he didn't behave or exude any of that in this current timeline.
He even tried his best to accommodate Veronica and ensure she wouldn't feel pressured by the atmosphere.
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"There's nothing we can do about it then." Xu Feng ultimately shrugged and ignored the matter.