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A bright light illuminated Tafel’s face as she put the chisel back into the face of the pyramid, leaving the last side of the tetrahedron unlit. If there was a reward for clearing the temple’s trial, how would they split it? Kax provided the answer to one riddle, and Garlic provided the other. Tafel pursed her lips as she walked around to the dim side of the tetrahedron. It’d be nice if she could solve the final riddle without anyone’s help.
“Are there hidden pieces found inside temples?” Vur asked, turning his head towards Kim Hajun.
Kim Hajun blinked. “Yes,” he said. “It’s certainly possible. Hidden pieces are located everywhere. The tower appreciates it when you think outside of the box, and it wants to encourage that kind of thinking.”
Vur nodded and approached the pyramid. “Maybe there’s a fourth riddle hidden here,” he said and pointed at the base of the structure. “All the faces are the same size, including the base.”
“You think there’s another riddle on the bottom?” Tafel asked. Instead of reading the riddle on the last unlit face, she placed her hand on the structure and pushed, checking the sturdiness of the pyramid. It didn’t budge. “It’s stuck. You try.”
Vur grunted and squatted by the base of the pyramid. His brow furrowed as he pressed his fingers against the seam where the pyramid met the ground. There was simply no space for his fingers to gain purchase, so he snorted, and his hands transformed into paws, his fingernails turning into claws. He jabbed his polymorphed-into-a-dragon-paw hands against the seam, a clear cracking sound echoing through the room as his claws pierced through the ice, slipping underneath the pyramid.
The temple shook, and bits of ice dropped from the ceiling as Vur grunted and heaved, the muscles on his body flexing as he exerted himself. Cracking sounds reminiscent of trees falling down echoed through the large, empty space, and with a massive bang, the tetrahedron split into multiple pieces, blasting outwards as if an explosion had occurred. A large chunk of the riddle pyramid was launched straight into the ceiling by Vur as he stood up and stumbled backwards from the sudden loss of support.
The group stared at the half of the tetrahedron embedded in the ceiling. It was clear it wasn’t going to come down any time soon. Tafel lowered her head and stared at the remains of the riddle-holding structure. It had been reduced to a pile of rubble, none of its pieces glowing any longer. A small chunk of the ground had been ripped out as well. Tafel rubbed her chin. “I don’t think we were supposed to do that.”
Kim Hajun scratched his head. “Not if you wanted to pass,” he said. The blank line where the answer to the third riddle was supposed to be written had been split into multiple pieces, and the riddle on the unsolved face was completely unreadable.
“What do we do?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kim Hajun looked around. Everyone was looking at him, causing his expression to darken. Just because he claimed himself to be a prophet, when no one had any answers, they all expected him to know something. “I don’t know how it’s like on Erde, but where I come from, we believe in turning things off and turning them back on again,” he said. “If we leave the temple and reenter, it might restore itself.”
“But before we do that…,” Lindyss said while clutching her shoulder. A shard of ice was stuck there, causing a steady stream of blood to flow down. “Let’s collect the rubble, shall we?”
“Auntie?” Tafel asked, her eyes widening. “You’re injured?”
Lindyss rolled her eyes. “I’m surprised I’m the only one who got hit by the shrapnel blast,” she said, sending a glare at Vur, who scratched his head before throwing a blob of green light in her direction. The ice shard fell out of her shoulder as her flesh stitched itself back together. She bent down and picked up the shard, putting it into her pocket. “That”—she gestured towards the rubble in the center—“thing isn’t made of normal materials. It’s worth taking.”
Tafel squatted by the rubble and picked up a piece of ice. A blood-red flame blazed from her hand, coating the shard. Instead of melting, the ice turned orange. “Huh. You’re right,” she said and raised her head. “If we can get the temple to reset by leaving and entering, couldn’t we gather as much of this stuff as we wanted?”
Lindyss nodded. “I’m not sure what we could use it for, but it’s better to have it than to not have it,” she said and went over to Tafel’s side. The two picked up the rubble, placing the pieces into Lindyss’ dress pocket. After moving a few pieces, Lindyss raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
“What’s up?” Tafel asked.
Lindyss grabbed a blue orb the size of a tennis ball and held it up. It looked similar to the green orb Tafel had absorbed to learn rudimentary wind magic. “Is this a hidden piece?”
Kim Hajun cleared his throat. “No, I think that’s the reward you’re supposed to get after solving all the riddles. You can check it with your root bracelet.”
Lindyss placed the orb against her left wrist. An amber light shone from her wrist, engulfing the blue orb. “Nope,” the cursed elf said. “It’s a hidden piece; it contains the skill Diamond Ice.”
Kim Hajun swallowed and stared at the blue orb in Lindyss’ hand. “Diamond Ice? Are you sure?”
“No, I’m illiterate,” Lindyss said and rolled her eyes before lobbing the orb to Tafel. “Ever since you obtained that phoenix imprint, your ice spells have been trailing behind your fire ones. Learn it.”
Tafel caught the orb and raised her head. “Would that really be okay?” she asked and looked at her companions. Jeffery and Kim Hajun were staring at the skill orb in her hands with undisguised longing in their eyes. “I seem to be getting everything.”
“Well, yeah,” Lindyss said and continued picking up pieces of rubble, putting them into her pocket. “If you ever want to accomplish your dream, you’re going to need it.”
Tafel’s expression hardened, and she nodded. The orb broke into motes of blue light that swarmed around her body before surging inside of her all at once. Tafel turned her head to the side to look at Vur. He was holding a piece of rubble up to his nose, giving it a sniff. When he noticed her gaze, Vur smiled at Tafel and said, “We can make shaved ice with this.”
Thanks for the chapter!
Tafels dream may happen if she gives it up and just does her best. Competing puts people into a win lose mindset that is for losers. True winner mindset ignores winning or losing. Just do stuff and have fun. Grow and learn. Figure stuff out. No fear. Just having fun.
Vur has that winning mindset… and lots of luck.