Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 197 Climb to the summit at the throat of the world?

In the end, Olvera successfully passed all obstacles along the way and reached the end of the second-floor corridor. She saw the black iron door leading to the rulers' room and picked up the key on the ground.

Logically speaking, this process should never be simply summarized in one sentence. It should be an inspirational story of continuous struggle, continuous progress, and unyielding even in the face of failure, and making persistent efforts to forge ahead. However, considering that the Princess of Berman was not in an stable state of mind at this time, for the sake of the harmonious and friendly atmosphere of the team, everyone tacitly kept their mouths shut, as if the above-mentioned things had never happened.

As for the abyss at the entrance, he watched the princess jump over him seven times, and his expression gradually changed from excitement to frustration, then to anger, and finally to numbness. Of course, I can't go into details about this.

Anyway, after arriving at the end, everyone looked at Olvera squatting in the corner with her hands on her knees like an abandoned doll. The light of the lantern on her waist was so dazzling, but her whole body was still shrouded in a gloomy and low atmosphere. There was a faint dark mist lingering around her, and she kept muttering incomprehensible words: "Uncleanliness, corruption, despair... They are all the paradise of life, hehe...", and her smile was eerie and weird, giving people a feeling that she might turn evil, crazy, and even sick at any time.

In short, it's terrifying.

Alice, the instigator, is now very scared and dares not even make a sound. Her mind is full of various restricted scenes that are not suitable for children, such as being chopped into pieces by the blackened Ovira's holy sword, blasted into slag by the magic of the holy book, or tied up and whipped with holy chains...

It's very scary when a literary girl becomes yandere. Alice, you must not understand?

Fortunately, Olvera's despair did not accumulate to the point where she changed her personality. In the end, she relied on her strong and cheerful character to overcome the shadow brought by the maliciousness of the game developer. She let out a long breath, stood up from the ground, patted her cheek, and showed a smile that was not very forced, but at least made people feel distressed: "It's okay now, let's move on."

Everyone who saw this smile had the same thought in their mind: Alice is truly a sinful woman.

The princess nodded gently: "Yes."

……

The surroundings were still pitch-black darkness, like an endless sea that would devour anyone it could. The princess moved forward cautiously, and at the same time, Lingge's calm and even voice rang in her ears: "According to the rules of the previous three levels, the guardians among the rulers are all phantoms born from your past memories, each symbolizing a negative emotion: cowardice, pain, loneliness... I think this level is no exception. But they are all distorted memories and cannot fully represent your emotions at the time. Therefore, as long as you are not deceived by your memories, they cannot pose any threat to you. You should understand, right, Miss Avra?"

Olvera, sword in one hand and lantern in the other, stepped forward through the door.

These are very scary enemies, because the memories that gave birth to them are real, and the emotions that led to their birth may not be false at all. If memories and emotions are all similar, the difference between them and oneself will be like the world inside and outside the mirror. If you don't touch it with your own hands, who can know which side is the illusion and which side is your true heart?
If it was me before entering the castle, I would not be able to tell them apart, right? Fortunately, I am not fighting alone now. Whenever I encounter danger or difficulties, I have reliable companions to help me. They are like the compensation given by fate after many years of owing me. The princess begins to have some expectations for this world again.

The giant wolf on the fifth floor tried to distort the courage taught by her father by using "cowardice" and "escape" to induce the princess to escape the responsibilities she should bear; the magician on the fourth floor turned the starlight in the sky into a weapon and stabbed the princess's fragile heart, trying to make her believe that it was because of her that her loved ones were suffering and sinking in pain; the giant tree on the third floor tempted her to indulge in false warmth and give up the possibility of a future in order to escape loneliness...

She naturally understood, or should I say, understood better than anyone else. After all, unlike Lingge and other audiences who were just watching stage plays, she was the one who witnessed all the stories and felt those deep emotions in them. Although she had forgotten them for a time, as long as she recalled them, these correct memories, the emotions from her relatives, teachers and friends, would become her strength to bravely fight against the darkness.

Using the key, he opened the doors made of black iron and watched them push heavily inward. Due to their age, they made a creaking sound, shaking off the dust and gravel in the air. At the same time, they opened a path for everyone, inviting them to enter among the rulers of the second floor and face those phantoms born of memory once again.

At this moment, the courage to "surpass oneself", the desire to "overcome pain", and the will to "melt loneliness" all shine in her attribute panel, urging Ovira to challenge the next enemy and defeat it.

We will definitely win!

Olvera was thinking confidently, when suddenly, there was a slight tremor under her feet, as if she had stepped on something. The princess looked down and found a round stone slab with a rough and majestic relief carved on the surface. The stone slab seemed to be a trigger device of some kind of mechanism, originally slightly higher than the ground, and when Olvera stepped on it, it just happened to be embedded in the pattern of the floor.

The princess' mind immediately emerged with flamethrowers, arrow machines, bomb machines, iron ball machines... In short, all kinds of machines in the corridor. Her body trembled subconsciously, and she quickly raised the holy sword, looking around with alert eyes, guarding against attacks that could come at any time.

However, the expected attack did not happen, but suddenly a fire appeared.

The long white candle seemed to be awakened from a deep sleep, burning fiercely, swaying orange-red flames, and constantly licking the surrounding void. The light of a single candle was undoubtedly weak, not enough to illuminate the darkness of the entire room. But the candles extending upward layer by layer on the circular wall, a rough glance would reveal thousands of them. The flames of thousands of candles illuminated the space between the rulers like daylight, and the burning flames were like endless tides, engulfing upwards and spreading downwards, giving people a sacred feeling of infinite progression in space.

Between the rows of candles are often gray reliefs of consistent style and simplicity, which complement the towering walls. The main body built purely of pitch-black obsidian has not undergone any carving, retaining its rough and original bread, demonstrating the proof of strength. At first glance, it makes people feel that the appearance of a palace is carved on the black cliff.

Each relief around the building is tens of meters long and wide, and needs to occupy a large area to show its presence. If you look closely, you will find that the carvings are all scenes of fighting, fighting and hunting. The people who carved the reliefs deliberately used full and expanded lines to show the power and momentum of the characters in the reliefs in an almost exaggerated way. When people face the dead stone creations, they will feel that they are alive, and the next moment they will break away from the picture and roar towards them, showing their power that shakes the world.

Opposite the entrance, the circular arch supported by 120 huge steps is like an infinite corridor, with layers of stone doors at the end that are nearly 100 meters high, making it difficult to look up at the top. It is a display of grandeur and magnificence. The solemn black columns are arranged intermittently along the edge of the circular temple and the gap between the circular arches. Walking through, similar scenes and reliefs pass by continuously, which will give people the illusion of being trapped in repetitive time; the pointed arches guide people's sight upward, passing through the layers of flame rings formed by the candlelight, and finally solidifying in the cold and severe nothingness, as if the sky itself is its dome, accommodating an endless and infinitely broad vision.

This is a temple, a miracle, and perhaps the most glorious arena. It is so magnificent that it does not seem like any human creation. Every brick, every relief, every stone pillar and even every arch are so majestic and magnificent that it seems as if they have never considered any tiny creature. Only the greatest souls can gain their recognition, appear in this arena, show off their bravery and gain their own honor.

Was it the giant who was said to have uprooted a mountain? Or the arrogant dragon in the legend? They both seemed to be slightly inferior and unworthy of the title of the Lord of the Arena. Even the giant wolf on the fifth floor, as the Lord of the Arena, seemed to be slightly inferior in front of this master and had to retreat three feet.

Is the arena owner who has not yet appeared the enemy he will face next?

Looking at the circles of flames rising up, surrounded by majestic walls, huge pillars and huge reliefs, Olvera felt as if she had strayed into a giant kingdom magnified a thousand times, and once again realized how small and humble she was. Even though she had already realized that she would win, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva, feeling quite nervous.

At this time, from the opposite direction, at the end of the arc-shaped arch supported by 120 steps, a powerful and deep voice came from behind the tightly closed majestic stone door. Even through the rock block, it was clearly heard by the princess: "Dear guest with both courage and bravery, welcome to my arena."

"This is the throat of the world, the pinnacle of power."

"Come and fight with me—"

"At the throat of this world, reach the pinnacle of power!"

As the words fell, there was a loud bang.

The stone gate opened, and the owner of the arena revealed his true appearance.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)