Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 219 - 73: Tempest Corridor_1

Chapter 219: Chapter 73: Tempest Corridor_1

Chapter 73: Tempest Corridor

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"What will happen if I stick my head in there?" Lina wondered, her two eyes blinking as she stared curiously at the teleportation light curtain. "Will anything bad happen?"

"Um, if it’s a two-way portal, there won’t be a problem," Vivian explained. "You can exit it at any time."

"What about a one-way one?" Lina asked further.

"Heh, take a guess." Vivain smirked. "Guess how many unlucky souls have died like that before?"

"Their death?" Lina gasped quietly. "Can’t be that exaggerated, right?"

"It’s like laying your neck on a blade and pushing down forcefully. Eventually, you’ll have to say goodbye to everything below your shoulders," explained Vivian. "That’s why this type of teleportation array was abolished. With the new teleportation array, firstly, the teleportation happens all at once, there’s no such problem of leaving the body behind; secondly, there’s regulatory protection during the teleportation process, no matter how strong the force is, it can’t harm the teleportees; there’s no such thing as getting halfway there and finding someone on the other side trying to cut you. Thirdly, with the new teleportation array, you can roughly detect the terrain and environment on the other side. It eliminates the situation where you get there and find out you’ve been teleported into a tiny secret room and get squashed to death. It is for these three reasons almost all mages support this new generation of teleportation array. You should know that there’s always some stubborn, conservative mages out there that resist new technologies."

"The more you say, the less I dare to go." Lina swallowed hard, looking suspiciously at the portal. "The way you put it, it seems like it’s certain death going over."

"Stop fooling around." Catherine knocked on Lina’s head. "Prepare quickly. If Vivian says it’s okay, then it’s okay."

"Vivian, you’re sure the target location is no more than two kilometers from here?" Pannis asked.

"Absolutely." Vivian nodded. "Although this teleporter’s technology is dated, its minimum teleportation distance can still be analyzed."

"That’ll do." Pannis pulled out a Resonance Crystal. "I’ll go first. If there’s no issue, I’ll notify you all through the crystal. Lina, you’re second, then Elrad, Vivian follows, and Catherine comes last."

"You should understand, this is the safest method." Seeing Catherine wanting to say something, Pannis raised his hand to immediately halt her. "In this unpredictable situation, it’s most appropriate that I, with my invincible nature, go first."

"Alright." Having been a squad leader for several years, Catherine’s judgment was indeed accurate. Like Pannis said, considering his displayed trait of being unkillable, he indeed was the most suitable one to enter first. Therefore, she could only hand him the illuminator from her bag. "Turn it on once you get in, don’t save Crystal Energy. Notify us immediately when it’s safe."

"Don’t worry, there won’t be any problems." Holding the illuminator, Pannis took a deep breath before the teleportation portal and walked straight into the light curtain.

Catherine didn’t say a word, holding the other half of the Resonance Crystal and staring intently, but after a few minutes, there was still no movement from the Resonance Crystal.

"There won’t be any problems, right?" Lina looked nervously at the quiet light curtain which had swallowed Pannis. "This thing is almost seven hundred years old. Are you sure it won’t malfunction?"

"If it can be activated, it won’t malfunction. If it was broken, it wouldn’t activate," Vivian gave a baffled glance to Elrad, shaking her head in confusion. "Theoretically, there should be no problem. But why hasn’t he signaled yet?"

"It’s here, the signal’s here." Relief crossed Catherine’s face. "It’s a bit late, but at least there’s no problem. Follow the plan, Lina, you’re up."

The remaining four, with their bags, walked one by one into the light curtain. When Catherine was the last to step into the light curtain, she was taken aback.

The teleportation portal was attached to the side wall of a narrow natural cave. There must be minuscule cracks in the cave because the air wasn’t stale and breathing was normal. However, despite airflow, no light penetrated from the outside world, leaving the cave completely reliant on the goblin illuminators for light. As soon as she got in, Catherine noticed immediately the damaged tracks close to the portal. The tracks were very fresh, obviously just damaged.

"What happened?" Catherine asked puzzledly. "Pannis, were there traps?"

"Nothing, really, it’s just for scaring people." Pannis shrugged. "That’s why I wasted some time disarming the trap."

"What exactly happened?" Catherine furrowed her brows. "This should be a treasure room prepared for the royal descendants, why would there be a trap?"

"That’s why it’s not a lethal trap," Pannis explained. "If you’re prepared, then it poses no threat at all."

"What kind of trap is it?" Catherine was full or questions.

Pannis stood a couple of steps in front of the portal and pointed to the wall on the other side. "The trap is just dozens of sharp, concentrated metal spikes that suddenly emerge from the wall opposite. The spikes will stop at my current position and won’t harm those who teleport."

Despite Pannis’ nonchalant explanation, Catherine’s face grew increasingly grim. One could easily imagine an unsuspecting person, holding a light source and walking cautiously into the teleportation array. At such a moment of heightened tension, a sudden, terrifying row of spikes thrusting forward would likely elicit an instinctual retreat. But the timing is such that the victim is half in and half out of the array. Any attempt to retreat could result in the person being ripped in half by the twisted space.

"That’s nasty," Catherine said, letting out a heavy breath. She looked horrified. "Such traps were probably set up to deter outsiders from coveting the treasure. The true heirs of the Naren Kingdom should know about these traps and wouldn’t be harmed."

"We will have to be careful from now on, then." Vivian approached the wall, looking at the holes where the metal spikes retract and emerge like a honeycomb. She crinkled her nose with distaste and turned to leave. "Let’s move, we don’t have time to waste here."

Pannis stepped up to Vivian, leaned into her ear, and quietly asked her a few questions. Vivian nodded in a peculiar way, and responded in a whisper.

"Darling, what are you whispering about?" Lina hurried over. "You two are being quite mysterious."

"Nothing much, just minor stuff." Pannis said mysteriously, shaking his head with a smile, "You’ll soon find out."

"Ah, never mind." Lina huffed dismissively, waving her hand. However, she quickly reinstated her spirited demeanor. "Hold up the light. Luckily, you bought the illuminator before we left, it’s indeed handy as it brightens the surroundings."

The goblin illuminator was indeed very useful. Its diffusive light was capable of illuminating the entire cavern. The cavern was narrow. One side was a dead-end, and the other was a winding tunnel leading to an unknown location. Lacking any diverging paths, it was straightforward — albeit convenient — to traverse.

"How long have we walked?" After a long period of silence and vigilance, Catherine nudged Pannis with her elbow. "I feel like we’ve been walking for quite a while, am I wrong?"

"No, it’s been a long time indeed." Pannis shook his head. "From the distance we’ve covered, we’ve traveled about five kilometers."

"So far?" Lina jumped, surprised. "This tunnel doesn’t seem to have been carved manually! We’ve been walking in this naturally formed tunnel for so long without any other passages? What if we end up walking out of the forest?"

"Your imagination is a bit too wild." Pannis forced a smile. "Actually, in terms of straight-line distance, we haven’t travelled that far, no more than five hundred meters. We’ve been going around in circles here. Just five hundred meters have us going around for five kilometers. Ahead... wait, there’s a sound."

A faint humming sound came from the depths of the tunnel, sharp as a needle, and piercingly clear in the silence.

"Is this... the sound of wind?" Catherine asked, uncertain. "It sounds like wind, but how is that possible? Fresh air is already scarce in this enclosed tunnel. Even if there’s a canyon wind, it shouldn’t be this strong? This sharp sound of wind cannot merely be from a canyon wind, I dread to imagine how strong it must be."

"Yes, it’s strong." An exasperated Pannis said, "It’s really noisy. Let’s go see what’s happening."

As they proceeded through the tunnel and turned a few corners, the sharp sound of wind grew louder, more piercing. The thunderous howl echoed constantly in their ears.

"Catherine!" Pannis yelled at the top of his voice. "Be very careful ahead!"

"What did you say?" Catherine, walking in the forefront, yelled back. "Say it again, I didn’t hear you."

"I said!" Pannis increased his volume. "Be careful!"

"Careful of what?" Catherine shouted. "Speak up; I can’t hear you clearly."

"Be careful...never mind."

Before Pannis could finish, Catherine had already turned the last corner. At the very moment she made the turn, an immense force struck Catherine sideways, causing her to fly up before pinning her against a rock wall like a painting. The massive force continued to compress her from behind, pinning her securely against the wall.

"Damn it to hell." Catherine muttered curse words, gathering her strength. She pushed against the wall and slowly moved sideways. With great might, she finally tumbled free.

"Bloody wind pressure." Catherine got up, her face soiled and her hair blown into disarray. She yelled angrily, "Is this what you wanted me to be careful about?"

"Uh, yes." Pannis nodded guiltily.

"Okay, thank you." Catherine rubbed her aching forehead, groaning, "But next time, could you warn me a bit earlier?"