The Rich Cultivator
Chapter 172 - 171. Tyler vs Captain Silver Eye

Chapter 172: 171. Tyler vs Captain Silver Eye

Tyler stood in the surreal cloud maze, his eyes fixed on Captain Silver Eye, whose entire body radiated an ominous silver glow. He knew he couldn’t afford to let his guard down. Captain Silver Eye was a dangerous opponent. Tyler’s mind raced as he considered his options. Attacking outright would be a mistake—one that could cost him his advantage.

If he attacked, Captain Silver Eye might gauge his true power level, and that was something Tyler couldn’t allow. His real strength was too low, concealed beneath his mask, and he intended to keep it that way for as long as possible. The maze, with its fluffy, bouncy walls, provided an ideal environment for evasion, and Tyler planned to use that to his full advantage.

Captain Silver Eye’s hands shimmered with a metallic glow, transforming into silver as he dashed toward Tyler. His movements, fast and agile, seemed comical in the cloud-like maze as he hopped across the bouncy floor like a rabbit. From a distance, it looked less like a deadly pursuit and more like a strange game of tag.

"As I said before, you feel less intimidating because of this maze," Tyler remarked, a smirk playing on his lips as he dodged Captain Silver Eye’s first punch by jumping onto a bouncy cloud platform.

"Fight me, coward!" Captain Silver Eye bellowed, his frustration evident in the force behind his words.

"Chase me," Tyler replied with a smirk, taunting him as he disappeared further into the maze.

Captain Silver Eye’s silver eyes glowed ominously, and suddenly, Tyler found himself surrounded by an illusory fire—white flames licking at his body. But Tyler remained calm. He had already anticipated this. The one being engulfed by the flames wasn’t the real him.

As the fire subsided, Captain Silver Eye scoffed in irritation, realizing that he had only managed to melt another Ice Substitution—a clever decoy left behind by Tyler. "Tsk... Another trick," Captain Silver Eye muttered under his breath, the strain from using his ability becoming more apparent as a faint trail of water leaked from his silver eyes. His power came at a cost, and Tyler had noticed this early on.

Tyler smirked again, standing a few feet away from where the illusory fire had raged moments before. "Looks like that ability of yours takes a toll on you," he remarked casually, his voice carrying a hint of mockery.

"Tsk..." Captain Silver Eye clicked his tongue in irritation. His legs turned silver as he powered up again, this time moving at an even greater speed. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between them, his first punch shattering Tyler into ice once more.

But Captain Silver Eye wasn’t fooled this time. "There," he muttered, eyes tracking the real Tyler, who was trying to stay one step ahead. He took a Speed charm.

In that instant, Tyler’s instincts screamed at him to move. Without hesitating, he reached into his robe and secretly activated multiple Wind Boost Charms, a set of enchanted charms which is also designed to enhance speed. As the charms activated, a surge of wind energy coursed through his body, making him much faster than before.

In a flash, the Captain was upon him again. Tyler’s instincts kicked in, and with a swift transformation, red scales began appearing across his skin.

Mode Dragon.

Tyler’s entire body hardened under the scales just in time to meet the force of Captain Silver Eye’s punch. The blow connected, sending Tyler flying through the maze with immense force. But instead of crashing helplessly, Tyler used the bouncy surface to his advantage. He ricocheted off the fluffy walls and floor like a pinball, moving farther and farther away, disappearing into the distance with each bounce.

He disappeared into the maze’s fluffy expanse, his figure becoming nothing more than a blur as he used the momentum of Captain Silver Eye’s punch to escape further.

Captain Silver Eye, panting slightly, watched in disbelief. "What just happened?" he muttered, momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected Tyler to use his attack as a means to escape rather than to fight back.

His anger flared up, and he prepared to chase after Tyler, silver flames beginning to ignite around his body again. But before he could move, his vice-captain appeared, stepping into the maze with urgency.

"Captain... It’s time," the vice-captain who just appeared said.

Captain Silver Eye growled, his gaze lingering on the direction Tyler had disappeared. His fists clenched, and he could feel the urge to continue the chase burning inside him. But he has other things to do.

With a final glance at the maze, he clicked his tongue in frustration. "Next time, Blackwood... Next time, I’ll kill you."

With that, Captain Silver Eye turned and left with his vice-captain, his silver form fading into the misty, surreal environment of the maze as the echoes of Tyler’s escape faded into the distance.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Tyler sat in the Lotus position, his red dragon scales shimmering faintly in the maze’s dim light. His mind, however, was far from calm. As he continued bouncing around, his eyes were closed, deep in thought.

"Hmmm... When am I going to stop?" Tyler muttered to himself, still bouncing through the cloud maze without a clear destination. The soft, springy floors beneath him continued to propel him upward and forward with each bounce, leaving him floating in limbo.

Suddenly, with no warning, his trajectory shifted. The fluffy clouds disappeared, and he felt a hard, jarring impact as his face slammed into cold, jagged stone. His body crumpled forward as the pain rushed through his skull.

"Ouch! That hurts..." he groaned, rubbing his forehead and wincing. His dragon scales had taken the brunt of the impact, but it still stung. As he shook off the disorientation, he blinked and looked up, only to find himself in a completely different environment.

The maze of fluffy clouds was gone. In its place, a strange, stony expanse stretched out before him. Tyler’s eyes widened as he took in the sight. He was standing at the foot of something impossible—Penrose Stairs, an optical illusion made real. The stairs looped endlessly in a square, defying the laws of physics. Each step looked perfectly normal, yet no matter which way he turned his head, the stairway seemed to circulate indefinitely, without ever leading to a real destination.

Tyler stood up, brushing the dust off his scales as he stared at the stairs. "What the...?" he whispered under his breath. His mind struggled to grasp what he was seeing. It was an illusion brought to life, and yet he could feel the solid ground beneath him. The impossible structure seemed both real and unreal at the same time.

Curiosity piqued, Tyler began to walk toward the nearest set of stairs. "How does this even work?" he wondered aloud, his voice echoing in the eerie silence. As he placed a foot on the first step, he felt the stone beneath his boot, solid and firm. He continued upward, step by step, expecting at any moment to break the loop or reach the top. But no matter how far he climbed, the stairs only led him back to where he started.

After what felt like minutes of climbing, he found himself right back at the bottom. His eyes narrowed. "This thing really is endless..." Tyler murmured, stepping back and observing the structure again.

He sat down on the edge of the steps, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Okay, so it’s a trap," he concluded. The Penrose Stairs weren’t designed to get him anywhere. They were meant to confuse, to make people waste time endlessly climbing with no real goal. A clever trick, but not one that could stop him for long.

Tyler stood at the base of the infinite Penrose stairs, gazing upward, deep in thought. The endless loops and impossible geometry of the staircase played tricks on the mind, but Tyler knew there had to be a way out. After considering his options, he made a decision. Without hesitation, he jumped straight into the hole at the center of the staircase.

His body plummeted downward, surrounded by the dizzying, spiraling illusion of the stairs. Wind rushed past his ears, but Tyler didn’t panic. He kept his Dragon Mode active, scales still covering his body, ready to absorb the impact of whatever awaited him at the bottom.

But the hard crash he anticipated never came. Instead, Tyler felt a splash as his body hit water. The sensation of cool liquid enveloped him, and he quickly swam to the surface. As he emerged, he took a deep breath, shaking the water from his face. He floated in a vast, dark lake, the surroundings quiet—too quiet.

Suddenly, a voice broke the eerie silence. A soft, anguished cry echoed through the water. "Nooo... This is not real... This can’t be real..." The voice was filled with despair.

Tyler’s eyes widened. He recognized that voice immediately. "Lutz?" he muttered to himself, scanning the area for the source of the sound.

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