Chapter 688: Guiding Key
At dawn in a desolate wilderness of Faraluo, atop a fragmented mountain, a powerful and durable gold stone demon, which had remained unscathed for centuries, was facing its end as the rapidly deteriorating battle situation brought about d*ath.
When Frederick saw Dorothy firing her second electromagnetic cannon, he had already started protecting his weak point while desperately trying to escape, aiming to directly dive into the mountain body, descending to a lower level where no one could reach him. However, neither Frederick nor his mechanical intelligence could have anticipated that Dorothy’s target this time was not himself but a floating hat.
After the scorching orange beam entered the black top hat, it passed through a special space link and emerged from another hat located inside Frederick’s body, within what he considered his heavily guarded “treasure vault.”
No matter how strong a fortress is, it can be breached from within; this principle applies not only to military strategies but also to extraordinary battles involving Extraordinary Beings. A powerful impact burst forth from within Frederick’s body, breaking through his already slightly damaged “treasure vault” shell and his relatively fragile internal structure.
Ignoring all attempts at evasion and defense, the core impact from within instantly shattered the fragile outer wall of his “treasure vault,” breaking through his chest cavity and throat from the inside out, erupting from his wide-open mouth. From an external perspective, it looked like Frederick was spewing a large mouthful of scorching flames.
After the flames erupted, the “treasure vault” inside Frederick, serving as his power core, became extremely unstable. The various elemental forces stored within began to run amok uncontrollably. Elements clashed violently within Frederick’s body, and his mechanical intelligence tried to control them but with little effect. Eventually, the chaotic elemental forces reached a critical point and exploded.
“Boom!!!”
With Frederick’s tough skin cracking, he exploded in a violent flash. Different colored lights burst forth from his body, flames, ice, storms… vast amounts of disordered elemental forces surged outward, mingling with the fierce shockwave, engulfing everything around them.
Dorothy knew about the phenomena resulting from Frederick’s elemental vault going out of control. After firing her second electromagnetic cannon, she quickly flew away with Neve, but even after retreating hundreds of meters, they were still affected by the elemental forces. Fortunately, the elemental forces had been sufficiently weakened, and Dorothy used magnetic forces to control various metal barriers for their protection.
After the massive elemental explosion ended, Dorothy removed her magnetic defense and looked towards where Frederick once stood. What she saw was a scene of devastation.
The mountain body Frederick had been hovering near was now blasted open, creating a huge crater nearly three hundred meters in diameter. This was clearly caused by the eruption of fire elements stored within Frederick. Around the crater, there were countless sharp cracks extending far and wide, resembling sharp knives slicing the earth, which were obviously marks left by wind elements. Water and ice seemed to be less abundant and largely evaporated or melted during the explosion, leaving minimal residue, except for the snowflakes drifting in the sky, marking their presence.
Looking at the devastated scene before her, Dorothy extended her hand to catch a falling snowflake. As the snowflake melted in her hand, she couldn’t help but sigh.
“This world has lost another Red Tier.”
…
After completely defeating and ending Frederick, Dorothy immediately began the usual battlefield cleanup, checking for anything salvageable.
Although Frederick was very wealthy, the explosion caused by the elemental chaos scattered his remains and destroyed many treasures and extraordinary items within his vault. This made Dorothy feel somewhat regretful; so much wealth could have been a significant sum if she had managed to seize it all.
While Dorothy’s spoils were few, she did manage to salvage some items from the intense elemental explosion, such as Frederick’s incredibly sturdy metal shell.
The metal exoskeleton of the Gold Stone Demon was extremely durable, far stronger than the treasures and internal structures in its vault. Even though it had been torn apart internally by the elemental explosion, most of it was still intact, scattered around the blast site.
In Dorothy’s eyes, these fragments of the Gold Stone Demon’s metal exoskeleton were invaluable materials. She collected every piece, planning to ask Beverly to forge suitable equipment later, such as shells for her electromagnetic cannon. This material was much tougher than ordinary steel and could withstand the output of a Red Tier electromagnetic cannon.
Apart from the fragments of the Gold Stone Demon’s exoskeleton, Dorothy also salvaged two extraordinary items: Frederick’s giant war hammer and his mechanical intelligence. These items survived the elemental explosion, albeit being flung far away.
However, despite surviving, both items were severely damaged, to the point where Dorothy’s identification technique temporarily failed to work on them. Nevertheless, Dorothy decided to collect these items, hoping Beverly might be able to repair them later.
Besides these, Dorothy unexpectedly found a strange crystal at the center of the blast site. This crystal was about the size of a finger and glowed with multiple colors, appearing very beautiful. Upon using her identification technique, she discovered it was an elemental crystal storing various spiritual elements.
Though the identification technique didn’t provide any functional descriptions for this strange crystal, indicating it was unusable in its current state, Dorothy chose to take it back, planning to show it to Beverly later and see if she could figure out its potential.
…
After collecting all valuable items, Dorothy immediately led her team away from the scene. They eventually stopped in a remote small town far from the incident location and began resting. During this process, Adele approached Dorothy.
“I never imagined I would one day participate in a plot against a Red Tier, let alone one not associated with the Amniotic Sac.”
During the day, Adele, dressed in a lady’s coat, and Dorothy, wearing a thick overcoat, strolled together in a park in the small town. As they walked, Adele admired the blooming flowers in the roadside grass.
“So you seem to undervalue yourself. You’re among the top in White Chalk. Have you never considered one day reaching for Red Tier power?” Dorothy responded with a counter-question, and Adele shook her head.
“I am indeed a remarkable White Chalk. It’s rare for someone my age to become White Chalk in the entire Secret World. My achievements deserve the title of genius. But so what? This world doesn’t lack geniuses; there are far more geniuses than Red Tiers. There are countless Extraordinary Beings in this world, but those who become Red Tiers are exceedingly rare.
“To acquire Red Tier power, one needs talent, opportunity, and background. I am confident in my talent, but unfortunately, talent is the least important factor among the three. Few people have opportunities and backgrounds.
“Especially background… this is the most crucial factor, and it’s something I lack the most. My teacher was merely a White Chalk and long gone, and the Church only views me as a tool to deal with the Amniotic Sac cult. My path is extremely narrow, thus I never dared to dream of reaching the Red Tier realm, just like many other Extraordinary Beings, who look up to the power of the Red Tiers.”
With a tone of emotion, Adele spoke, and Dorothy thought for a moment before responding.
“So you also think the Red Tier is unattainable? But you weren’t surprised when I ascended.”
“Because there’s no need to be surprised. Red Tiers are rare, and you, little detective, are even rarer. I’ve said before that the key to Extraordinary Beings ascending is background, the support of a vast and powerful force. You are the continuation of the ‘Enlightenment’ path in this world, a thousand years extinct, and the representative of the mysterious deity Akasha in practice. No one can catch up to your background. I’ve long been amazed by your ascent, so I’m not surprised by your ascension to the Red Tier or higher.
“More surprising to me is your attitude toward me. You are willing to put in so much effort to help me ascend the Red Tier. This is something I never expected. Compared to me, you should have chosen a more suitable or powerful ‘friend.’ ” Adele said, looking at Dorothy beside her, and Dorothy shrugged.
“Helping… is that how you feel? I always thought we were mutual supporters.”
“Mutual supporters with the forces behind you… hah, I really don’t feel worthy. Forget the backing, our current statuses aren’t equal either. Although I haven’t interacted with other Red Tiers, according to the rules of the Secret World, I should address you as ‘Mister’…” Adele laughed lightly, and Dorothy waved her hand.
“Forget it… I’m not used to those titles. Call me however you’re comfortable. By the way, you’ve finished helping me with what I asked. What are your plans next?” Dorothy continued asking Adele, who looked up at the sunny sky.
“I plan to return to Prit and begin the next two steps of my ascension ceremony. I will seclude myself for a period to complete the dance for myself, and then find a way to prepare for the second dance for others.
“So, for a while, if you need help again, I may not be able to assist directly.” Adele said lightly, and after hearing her words, Dorothy nodded silently, also looking up at the sky.
“In that case, I wish you a smooth ceremony.”
…
After bidding farewell to Adele, Dorothy returned to the hotel where she was staying in the small town, sitting in a comfortable room. She sat in front of a desk, a peculiar golden artifact, which was the golden base obtained from the Faraluo National Museum.
After examining the golden base, Dorothy took out a small bag from her clothes, retrieving four transparent crystals. These crystals originally belonged to Queen Maria of Faraluo and the ancient First Dynasty, stolen by Frederick but ultimately recovered by Neve before the final explosion.
Now, Dorothy’s task was to return these crystals to their original positions, guiding her forward.
With great seriousness, Dorothy placed the four crystals into the four slots of the golden base, fitting them perfectly. Once all the crystals were in place, the previously incomplete golden base transformed into a delicate and intricate artwork. The gold and crystals shone brightly under the sunlight, making the once-ugly base look exquisite.
This was the correct name of the artifact: the Guiding Key. Holding it in her hands, Dorothy carefully examined it. After using her identification technique, she spoke plainly.
“Reveal the direction to the Prototype Realm along the path of Pure Reason.”
Dorothy whispered slowly. After she finished speaking, the Guiding Key fell silent, and then the four crystals on it began to emit a faint blue glow.
As time passed, the glow grew brighter, gradually filling the entire room with an ethereal blue light.
Under the illumination of this strange blue light, numerous precise lines appeared in the air. These lines continuously spread and intertwined, forming complex three-dimensional shapes, reminiscent of rapid 3D modeling software.
With the lines outlining, tall buildings rose from the ground, majestic walls extended endlessly, and lifelike statues of deities were constructed. Majestic temples were supported by towering pillars, and countless suspended structures appeared in mid-air.
In an instant, a miniature model of a grand city without color but with structural lines appeared before Dorothy’s eyes. Calculating the proportions, the city’s scale far exceeded that of Tivyán and Froz.
Dense buildings spread across the land, extending far into the distance. Structures with the distinct style of the First Dynasty were distributed throughout, and countless suspended temples towered above the city. Giant obelisks circled and stood around the city, and at the center of these obelisks stood a pyramid-shaped building, the tallest structure in the city. On the top of this pyramid-shaped structure, a large stone depicted a clear, open eye symbol.
After the magnificent city model was completed, a series of General Language texts appeared in the air, reading:
“Land of Divine Revelation—Heoperis”
