Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 856 - 120 The Nonexistent Wager

Chapter 856: Chapter 120 The Nonexistent Wager

"Szzt szzt, szzt szzt," in the deserted temple, the eerie sound persisted.

After the groups of four disappeared from the hall, dozens of glow orbs supported by Victor’s mana immediately dissipated due to the loss of energy supply, plunging the hall into absolute darkness. However, this did not bother Muir and the girls in the hall. With a few waves of her arm, Freya brought forth mechanical creatures with mechanical legs on the lower half and Crystal Energy lamps on the upper half from her backpack. They slowly climbed out and automatically ascended the columns of the temple, finally constricting in place like fixed decorations.

Leveraging the light source provided by Freya, the remaining people were busy conducting a thorough search of the vast, empty hall. Each person was responsible for a section, starting from the entrance, they virtually turned the temple upside down. Unfortunately, besides the architecture, there was nothing to be found in the great temple, not even the Divine Throne, which was fixed to the ground, integrated with the hall. There appeared to be no living quarters within the entire temple, no other rooms, and only one door—there were no other passageways to be found. After a while of fruitless searching, the group had to retreat, returning to the center of the temple to leave the continued search to Freya.

Freya didn’t need to search on her own. With everyone watching, the princess of the Holy City released a dozen metallic spiders from her pack. These spiders, only the size of a palm, had no offensive capabilities, but their eight legs allowed them to climb agilely over any terrain, even upon vertical walls. Whenever they encountered any suspicious objects or spaces, they could transmit the information back to Freya for the humans to inspect more closely.

The metallic spiders crawled through the darkness, making a continuous szzt szzt sound, resembling real spiders. Occasionally, metallic reflections flickered by the light source, making the girls, despite knowing they were allied machines, feel chills of danger. However, as time went on, Freya’s chubby face grew more serious. According to the group’s original guess, if Victor had never left this place, then the temple must connect to his living area, as it was unlikely he would be standing in the hall to eat and sleep every day. The inability to find his living space implied that he had another dwelling, where secrets possibly hid within the unknown residence.

"No good, can’t find it," Freya said with a stern face, shaking her head at Catherine. "It doesn’t make sense. His existence can’t be exposed; he couldn’t possibly roam around outside every day, or his identity would easily be seen through by familiar mages. I don’t believe all the mages who know him are in league with Sands of Time. Hence, to hide his identity, he surely can’t leave this place too often, and his residence must be here."

"But we can’t find it," Catherine sighed. "Could it be along that corridor outside the hall?"

"No, I don’t think so," Freya shook her head. "When we entered the door earlier, I paid special attention. If his residence was outside, he would frequently come and go, and the door would definitely not look like it does now. So, there must be some place that we haven’t discovered, otherwise, none of this can be explained. The thing is, I’ve almost dug into the ground; if there was a place, we should’ve found it no matter what."

"Who says we must dig deep into the ground?" Lina, holding a thick novel in her embrace, nodded towards Ava, who silently stood beside her, gazing upwards, and said, "Why only consider a hidden space underfoot and not think it might be above our heads? Don’t forget, we’re underground, and the chances of it being underfoot are no higher than overhead."

"Above our heads?" Freya looked up with difficulty at the ceiling shrouded in darkness above her and said, "With such a height, tens of meters tall, and no ladder, how would he get up there if he lived above? Oh, right, a Demigod Mage can levitate and fly slowly. I did indeed overlook the top during my search. Wait a moment, I’ll send my pets up to check."

The szzt szzt sound of crawling once again filled the temple. Due to the height of the light source, the temple’s ceiling remained enshrouded in darkness, the silhouette of the ceiling vaguely visible only with the aid of the light from below. However, the spiders’ exploration mainly relied on touch, and even in darkness, they could accurately survey their surroundings. Soon after, a soft rumbling came from above.

"Found it, it’s truly up there," Freya clenched her fist, invigorated. "I’ve sent my pets in to check for any danger. If it’s safe, we’ll figure out a way to get up there together."

Before the echoes of her words had died away, the energy fluctuations around them suddenly changed, and space began to twist rapidly. In the next instant, four people appeared out of thin air, staggering back into the temple. It was clear that these were the four who had entered the battlefield earlier, though now they appeared to be in dire straits. Vivian’s twin short ponytails, one of them now badly singed at the ends, showed large burnt patches beneath her mage robe. Fortunately, she seemed to have avoided any physical injuries. Pannis’ left arm, however, had been cooked to a medium degree, and the charred surface still emitted the aroma of roasted meat. His golden hair, which used to lie flat on his head, now stood on end like that of a porcupine, giving the illusion that it would prick one’s hand upon touch. His face sported a few charred marks, though they looked more like the results of a lightning strike rather than burns from fire.

However, although they were nearly falling over, at least Vivian and Pannis were able to stand on their own power. The other two weren’t so fortunate. The once-red-robed mage Felic had lost his life, half of his body scorched by intense flames. Yet, the truly fatal wound was the spiral ice arrow still embedded in his chest. At the sight of him, everyone, Muir included, could barely recognize him; had it not been for the half-remaining red robe on his body, no one could have imagined this was the same man in his thirties, once stern and solemn. His hair had not only thinned but had turned completely white. His skin was covered in wrinkles and spots, and his lips were sunken in—probably due to a significant loss of teeth. To the eyes, his, or rather his corpse’s appearance, differed little from those victims who had had their time plundered and ultimately died from organ failure.

As for the demigod mage Victor, he was still alive, and there were hardly any marks of injury on his body. But he looked even older than Felic’s corpse, no longer able to stand, just lying on the ground gasping. With each breath, a hissing sound emerged from his throat, so weak it seemed he could stop breathing at any moment.

"Hehehehe." Vivian stumbled backward until she fell into the approaching Catherine’s arms, tilted her head back to stare at Catherine’s worried face, and let out a series of inexplicable, foolish laughs before gasping for air and speaking, "It’s over, hehe, big sis, guess who won in the end?"

Catherine rolled her eyes exasperatedly, pinching the mage girl’s childish cheek as she said, "Still laughing, still laughing, you can’t even stand up straight, and you’re still giggling away. And you, Pannis, how are you hurt?"

Although Pannis’ wounds were clearly more severe than Vivian’s, Catherine didn’t rush to his side immediately, because upon his appearance out of nowhere, he had regained his balance after just two steps and did not seem to need anyone’s support, unlike Vivian. Moreover, Lina had already gone to him at once, ready to administer treatment. But just as he steadied himself, he waved his fragrantly charred arm as if tempted to bite into it and taste it, a gesture that made Lina, who had almost reached him, recoil in disgust and once again keep her distance from him.

"Your Time magic is indeed very strange and potent, but in the end, we won." Although Pannis was fooling around, Lina ultimately couldn’t bear to watch him continue to toy with his cooked arm. She clenched her teeth and sternly began to heal him. Meanwhile, Pannis, extending his arm, said to Victor, who seemed on the verge of death, "It’s a pity, but in the end you’re still a mere human, you didn’t become a deity, and your dream has thus shattered."

"Yes, we lost," Victor’s voice was weak, halting, needing careful attention to discern clearly, "The teacher was right, you are very powerful. With our strength, defeating you was indeed difficult, and we didn’t even manage to kill her. We have no regrets about this loss."

"Since you have admitted defeat, then as professional gamblers, it’s about honoring one’s bet," Pannis said dispassionately, "You should fulfill your promise and hand over the blueprint of the wager to us now."

"Hehehehe, professional gamblers, especially those who are desperate after a loss, you shouldn’t trust a single word they say." Victor, growing weaker by the moment, laughed happily, "To do something like that and leave behind a blueprint is simply too foolish. That you actually believed there would be one is surprising to me, hahaha."

Pannis’ face remained calm, showing no sign of surprise; from the beginning, he had never believed in the existence of the blueprint. He had accepted the duel merely on the faintest hope. Now that hope was dashed, he felt no disappointment, just quietly observed Victor’s face, which resembled a withered tree.

"Our plan will eventually succeed, and the secrets of time will reveal themselves before us." Victor’s gaze lost focus as he stared at the ceiling, murmuring his last words, "We have returned to the River of Time, but the future will surely come to the world again, hehehe, through the river of time, I have already seen that day’s arrival..." (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)