NOVPUBDaniel didn’t choose to start digging directly, but instead walked another round along the corridor.
However, he didn’t find any possible exits.
Did he have to resort to the most brute-force method?
Daniel didn’t think that was the case.
No matter who built the pyramid, they would surely leave an entrance and exit.
Who could have entered otherwise?
It couldn’t be that this level was specifically built as a closed loop just to keep Atelarxus’s avatar locked in, could it?
How did Atelarxus get in?
Daniel was certain that there must be an entrance and exit, he just hadn’t found them yet.
He continued to inspect the corridor, checking every room in each direction.
To avoid missing any hidden mechanisms, he even touched every stone in the room.
From south to north, until he reached the last corner, Daniel furrowed his brows, "This should be the last stone. If no mechanism appears, I’ll have to dig my way out."
He reached out and touched the stone on the wall.
The next second, the sound of gears turning echoed around.
Two hidden doors opened in the center of the north corridor.
Daniel was about to go and see what was going on when a beam of light shot down from above, piercing the two hidden doors.
Following that, an incongruous object slowly rose from the lower hidden door.
It was an elevator.
Daniel walked straight over and pressed the button.
The elevator doors opened slowly, revealing a spacious and bright interior, no different from those in high-end buildings.
Unfazed, Daniel stepped in without any fear of possible traps.
With the Echo Stone in his possession, he could always rewind time even if he died.
As it turned out, the elevator was perfectly normal.
Looking at the buttons inside, he saw that they were marked from -12 for the lowest level, to the entrance level, and up to level 33.
The labels were self-explanatory and easy to understand, corresponding directly to the depth below ground and the height above ground.
After a moment of consideration, he pressed the button for the entrance level.
If he understood correctly, this should be the level with the entrance corridor.
As the elevator doors closed, a sense of weightlessness came over him, signaling the start of the elevator’s operation.
The elevator moved quickly and before he knew it, he had gone from level -12 to the ground floor.
When the elevator doors opened, Daniel immediately realized something was wrong.
A fierce battle was taking place in the entrance corridor.
Hols and Taylor were in the forefront, firing wildly at the advancing enemies.
The Ghouls, showing no fear or pain, charged forward like a tsunami.
It seemed all twelve Ghouls were present.
With such a number, Hols and Taylor were utterly overwhelmed, and with their need to reload, the Ghouls had managed to close the gap in no time.
Taylor was shouting out loud, "I’m tired of coming back to life, just eat me for God’s sake!"
Hols, looking utterly defeated, was retreating while reloading his weapon.
As he turned around, he saw Daniel in the elevator.
Stunned, he blurted out, "Where did you get the elevator?"
Taylor also turned around, staring dumbly at Daniel. Daniel sneered, "If you guys want to die here, just stand still."
At those words, Hols snapped back to reality.
Seeing a Ghoul inches away from him, he pulled Taylor and dove into the elevator.
Daniel had already hit the close button, and fortunately, the elevator in the pyramid was of good quality and responded quickly.
The moment Hols and Taylor’s feet were inside, the elevator doors closed tightly. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
Daniel pressed a random floor to get the elevator moving, to prevent the Ghouls from ramming the doors and accidentally triggering the switch to open them.
Hols looked at Daniel, asking curiously, "Where did you respawn, and why did it take you so long to show up?"
Just as Daniel was about to answer, Taylor blurted out, "I really hate that damn Healing Crystal!"
"If it weren’t for that damn thing, I would’ve died peacefully by now, without having to endure so much pain!"
Healing Crystal?
Daniel was momentarily taken aback.
Taylor leaned on the crystal, saying nothing. Daniel slowly approached and observed the Healing Crystal.
Compared to the Echo Stone, the Healing Crystal seemed to contain many impurities; they were incomparable.
Could this thing, which looked like an ordinary crystal, truly possess the power to heal all wounds? Daniel was somewhat skeptical.
He laid his hand on the crystal, brushing it lightly. Suddenly, something strange occurred!
Daniel only felt a chill creeping into the palm of his hand, swiftly crawling up his arm, aiming towards his head.
He tried to retract his hand but found himself unable to move.
In his perception, more and more of this chill gathered in his palm, surging like a tidal wave up to his head, and rushing into his cerebral cortex.
What the hell was happening?!
Was something trying to control his consciousness?
That was Daniel’s sudden wild thought, but he didn’t have that kind of sensation.
All he knew was the chilling rush made his head swell, much like the feeling when you accidentally bump the back of your head against a wall and the echo lingers on.
The chilling sensation kept stirring his brain’s nerves, with a huge number of powerful electrical signals forcibly integrating into his brain.
Daniel suddenly understood that it was not the crystal itself possessing the healing ability, but the brainwaves stored within it!
For some reason, these brainwaves gave him a familiar feeling.
They reminded him of Atelarxus’s tone, its essence.
Could these brainwaves be the remnants of Atelarxus itself?
Recalling how that monster could regenerate a new body instantly, even when its flesh was torn to shreds, Daniel abruptly realized that perhaps that was its grotesque healing ability.
If it hadn’t been for his fortuitous discovery of its weak point - that foul, gaping maw - it might have continued its relentless healing indefinitely! This ability was a bit too grotesque.
But why were these brainwaves entering his own brain?
Could it be because he killed a clone of Atelarxus, and so these brainwaves were drawn to him?
Did this imply that he could also possess formidable healing abilities?
This could conflict with his rewind ability.
Before he even confirmed whether he’d gained a special power, he started to worry about potential conflicts.
Probably Daniel was the only one in the world to grumble about having too many abilities.
In the midst of these thoughts, all the chill had permeated his brain, giving the impression that any object could be restored to its original state at his mere whim.
Clearly, Daniel’s speculation was correct.
He had indeed obtained all the abilities of the Healing Crystal.
Interestingly, when Daniel reached out and touched the crystal again, there was no longer any hint of coolness.
This indicated that the brainwaves within had all disappeared, and the Healing Crystal had lost its healing abilities, turning into an ordinary crystal.
