Chapter 67: Echoing Through Space
As Frosttusk let his power loose, an echoing trumpet reverberated throughout the lava chamber and began to travel through whatever exit it could find, accompanied by a bone chilling frost that thankfully got weaker the further it traveled away from it’s source. Granted, it was still powerful enough to have unforeseen repercussions elsewhere with a series of scenes that were rather similar to this…
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“Shit, is there seriously no way out?!”
“Oh gods, we’re going to die!”
“We’re surrounded!”
It should come as a surprise to no one that not everybody who deeps dive into a wandering ruins will be able to come escape them with newfound wealth, sometimes it might just kill you.
For example, this particular group of participants had stumbled upon an insidious trap room that consisted of an obvious piece of treasure resting on a pedestal, a shrinking platform that activated the moment someone touch said treasure, and a pool full of Glutton Scallops and Strangle Weeds.
With their current strength, this team of young would-be heroes would be dead in seconds if they fell in.
And unfortunately, they were just about to run out of platform.
“Well guys…it’s been fun,” one of the Acolytes began to say, “Hopefully we get to be brothers again in the next-”
pao…
“Huh?”
“Why’d you stop? We were about to get emotional.”
“You guys don’t hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Pao…
“That. It’s like a trumpet or something.”
“A trumpet? Who’s playing a trumpet in a-”
PAAOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
“HOLY SHIT!”
A sudden burst of sound shot through the room in a moment, disorienting the team and knocking them to the ground. By the time the warriors got their wits back together, the sound wave was long gone.
“Ow. That was…loud,” one of them complained while rubbing his eyes and temples, “anyone see what caused it?”
“Don’t know…ears still ringing…”
“Uh guys, weren’t standing on a significantly smaller platform? How are we spread out like this?”
“Huh? Whoa!,” the warrior who was just rubbing his eyes exclaimed,” Where’d all this ice come from?!”
The warriors stood up in shock as they just realized that the entire room, which was originally a stoney grey with a surprisingly deep pool in it’s center, was now icy white as frost had covered everything. Most disturbingly of all however, was that the pool of death that was beneath their feet, was now frozen solid all the way to the bottom.
“Was that…a miracle?”
“That or the prelude to a nightmare…”
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As Frosttusk’s waves of sound traveled throughout the wandering ruins complex, it had inadvertently saved countless lives and brought all manner of fortune.
Death traps were frozen solid or broken due to the sudden temperature drop.
Several beasts stopped dead in their tracks, frightened by something clearly stronger than themselves.
Even the locks of several hidden chambers suddenly broke open due to the force of the sound.
None of the people who witnessed these things knew what was the exact reason, all they knew, it was the sound of someone or something…powerful.
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“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Try me bitch! Fuck around and find out!”
Deep within the bowels of the wandering ruins’ inner tunnels, a familiar stand-off was happening between the Zhen-Corrada alliance and the Wolfe Family team. The former had managed to catch up with the latter just as they were about to exit the tunnel, by virtue of not having to lug a large Ifrit Fire Heart Crystal through a narrow ass tunnel and up several ramps. Granted, it was because of this crystal that this stand-off was happening at all.
“Don’t move, or I’ll smash this thing and bury you all in rubble!,” Donovan threatened while holding aloft a tangerine sized piece of Ifrit Fire Heart Crystal.
Donovan was pretty certain that the people he had just screwed over would attempt to bum-rush him and his team while they were still in the tunnels. He didn’t have the number advantage nor power advantage, so he had his accompanying digger identify a weak point in one of the ore chunks in order to break off a smaller piece. While this small piece wasn’t enough to cause significant damage to three enemy Aether Acolytes that were at or near their respective peak strength, it was enough to collapse a tunnel on top of their heads.
Granted, Donovan probably would’ve still threaten with a tunnel collapse even if he did have the number and power advantage.
“Boss! We got the last of the loot!,” Richter, the big subordinate armed with a hammer, called down the tunnel, “We’re just waiting on you!”
“Well this was a fun bit of deja vu…of course, it wouldn’t be completely deja vu until I do…this!”
“You whore!”
Like a dramatic villainous asshole, Donovan proceeded to throw the tangerine-sized piece of Ifrit Fire Heart Crystal at the ceiling directly above the Zhen-Corrada team’s heads and fired off a shot of aether that would detonate it just as it reached it’s destination…or that was the plan at least.
PAAAOOOOO
“What the hell?”
“Bah! Cold!”
“My face!”
Just as the piece of crystal reached the apex of it’s travel arc, a loud trumpeting sound accompanied by incredibly cold air, suddenly blasted through the tunnel and covered the entire hall, and somehow the airborne crystal, in a thin yet sturdy layer of frost.
*Clink*
The once dangerous piece of crystal fell to the floor while making a harmless clinking noise.
The Zhen-Corrada warriors stared at the crystal chunk for a brief moment before turning their gazes upward. They were expecting to see Donovan Wolfe to be standing there with a flabbergasted look, but he apparently had more brains than they thought and bailed while they were distracted.
“…”
Zhen Yue proceeded to wordlessly and quietly pick up the frozen crystal chunk as everyone else just sorta stared forward.
A literal second later, Zhen Hai took lead.
“What are we standing around for? Let’s GET HIM!”
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Outside of the Wandering Ruins, back at the starting point
The four great leaders of Stone Claw City sat upon their seats on the observation platform, slightly bored at being unable to see what was going on inside of the ruins, when the Grand Miner suddenly stood up from his seat.
The other three leaders looked a bit confused at his action.
“Something’s coming,” Orgo said while readying his hammer, “Something big.”
The other three leaders were all set to chide and quip against him, when the sight of a giant hand swinging towards them accompanied by a very timely elephant’s trumpet interrupted them.
“Wait…I know that sound!”
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
Mizako
Fun fact here: scallops swim like birds.
Secondary note: So I’m officially contracted, so yay!
I have no idea what this means for…premium stuff? but I’ll see if I can make it not suck…BUT! If y’all so help bankroll this thang, I can use the funds to get some sweet kaijin designs, like the one in the cover.
