Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 205 - 178 Solar

Chapter 205: Chapter 178 Solar

"Hey, why have you all returned?"

Outside Bed City, Dal’s farmhouse.

Some members of the Fran Exploration Team who were not chosen to enter the dungeon were resting here.

They were fervently discussing what significant information Dal and the others would bring back, filled with anticipation, when suddenly they saw those who had entered the dungeon returning.

After a brief moment of astonishment, people quickly gathered around to ask about the situation, only to receive an unexpected answer.

"Only Dal got sucked into the painting?"

"Yes, when the light faded, Dal was gone, only the painting remained in its original place, we tried to take it out, but it was impossible to lift, the painting suddenly became heavier than a mountain."

"Did you just leave Dal there?" Someone counted and found that exactly nine people had come back, no one stayed behind.

"Wait a minute," the person who counted realized something was wrong, "What time is it now?"

Stars and the moon hung high in the sky, it had reached the time when the dungeon closes, these people did not come out voluntarily, they guarded near the painting until the dungeon closed.

"We thought Dal was also teleported out, but we didn’t see him near the teleportation gate, so we thought of coming back to check... You haven’t seen him either?"

Those staying in the farmhouse shook their heads.

People looked at each other, seeing thick confusion in each other’s eyes.

"Where did Dal go?"

At this very moment, Dal was still suffering.

According to legend, narrowly escaping death makes one stronger.

Then true death must certainly make one even stronger, especially dying repeatedly in a short time in the same place.

"Tap tap..."

He had lost count of how many times he had died; Dal skillfully took a detour to the back door, smoothly lured the monster out of a small room and cornered it to squeeze through the gaps between monsters, climbed up a ladder at the critical moment, caught the Flame Pot, and threw it back to blow up the monster, then ran along the path where fat brothers gathered, dodging attacks from time to time.

He directly skipped the elevator mechanism, which seemed to be the only upward path, and rolled against a wall at some point to open a hidden door.

A staircase built around the exterior of the fortress appeared before him, a fully-armed Soul-sucking Ghost was approaching him.

He calculated the distance, walked forward three steps, deftly dodged the Soul-sucking Ghost’s Slashing, then rolled backwards twice in a row and successfully lured the Soul-sucking Ghost into a sprint, causing it to step on the edge of the staircase, not enough to fall off.

But that part of the staircase was collapsible.

With a "boom", the wooden planks of the staircase suddenly broke, and the Soul-sucking Ghost executed a beautiful crash.

This Soul-sucking Ghost was elite, different from ordinary Soul-sucking Ghosts, this guy seemed to be specifically created for staircase fights, and besides fighting, it also kicked people.

Dal was kicked down by it three times, those big feet were more accurate and fierce than Patch’s, leaving no time to react.

Fortunately, he knew a sprinting stunt, and the stair treads were collapsible.

Dal had no time to rest, he took a running jump over the break, and the moment he landed, a fat brother’s large chainsaw landed where he had just been.

Seeing the obese monster unable to jump over the gap due to its size, Dal finally breathed a sigh of relief.

All along the way, he hadn’t drawn his sword, knowing this path like the back of his hand.

Every corner was stained with his blood, click to watch "Dal’s Hundred Ways to Die."

Initially, he worried that leaving bloodstains might get mocked by others, but now he didn’t mind, let it be death or mockery, if later adventurers could avoid some traps by watching his deaths... that’s pretty good.

For the fortress named "Ulashiro," Dal held profound aversion.

He now only wanted to describe this place with something that belonged in toilets.

"If this fortress were placed outside, absolutely no one would visit it, absolutely not."

But this was the Painting World, where people could choose to come.

Dal, while complaining, rubbed his shoulders, stood up, and walked up the staircase, reaching the end to see a new small door, turning into which led to the third layer.

He had entered here aiming for the Fog Gate, but instead, he kept going higher, which puzzled him.

From here, the city walls began, and he could feel the bright sunshine, warmly comforting him.

But thinking about the densely packed Abyss Monsters below made any comfort fleeting.

Dal stood at the entrance, taking deep breaths repeatedly, finally taking the first step.

The third layer, he died here only twice.

Not because it was simple, but because he had only managed to run up here alive twice.

The continuous cycle of death and resurrection scared him a bit. Everyone knew that resurrecting too many times in a short period could lead to unpleasant consequences, but how many times had he died today?

Why didn’t he feel any changes in his body? Could it be all the negative effects would explode collectively after he left?

He couldn’t imagine that horrifying scenario, only shaking his head, trying to throw out these messy thoughts, stabilizing his mind to continue exploring.

Moving carefully, minimizing the sound of footsteps, preparing mentally at each corner before peeking around...

If this continued, Dal felt he might definitely develop some psychological issues.

It seemed like a stroke of divine favor, after passing through a challenging route, he finally discovered an elevator, a direct elevator to the second layer!

This meant that if he died again, he wouldn’t have to run this disgusting path!

Tears welled up, Dal was so moved he wanted to cry.

But this emotion led to a moment of neglect, so...

"Awoo!"

A group of monsters chased after Dal, he sprinted desperately, constantly cautious of potential traps nearby.

Although being pursued by monsters due to a moment of negligence seemed unfortunate, oddly, he saw no traps along the way.

This layer felt surprisingly easier.

The monsters wouldn’t let him go, so he had to find his own way out, not far ahead was a balcony, near which was an observatory; if he could reach the observatory, he might try to jump to another building on the other side to shake off the monsters.

That’s the advantage of having knees!

It seemed the monster sensed his plan; a nimble monster suddenly dashed out, swiftly reaching behind him at lightning speed.

Just then—

"Get down!"

A strange voice came through, stern yet gentle.

Dal heard the "crackling" sound, a surge of heat coming from in front of him, and he lunged forward without time to think.

Just as he was about to get down, he saw what was bringing the heat.

It was a Thunder Spear!

"Awooo!"

Behind him, the Monster’s wails resounded, followed by more Thunder Spears, until the horde of Monsters retreated out of fear.

Dal stared blankly at the charred corpses of the Monsters, thinking to himself about the formidable power.

"Are you alright?"

He followed the voice and saw a stranger extending a hand to him.

The man wore a helmet like a bucket, with chain armor covered by leather, and on his chest was painted a face... Sun?

The expression on that Sun looked serious but became somewhat abstract the longer one looked.

Dal was momentarily stunned; he did not expect to find someone here until the other person pulled him up and he belatedly said, "Thank you..."

"Hahaha, no need for thanks, it’s the duty of a Sun Warrior," the stranger laughed heartily, his tone filled with immense pride, "Speaking of which, daring to venture into such a dangerous place alone, that’s commendable courage."

"Excuse me, who are you?" Dal asked cautiously, feeling the other was different from him.

"I am Solar, a Sun Warrior!" Solar stretched his arms upward, assuming a posture of stretching his body.

Is this some kind of ritual?

Dal awkwardly imitated the other’s actions, but it appeared quite awkward and disorganized.

Solar laughed heartily, not mocking his incorrect posture but delighted at meeting an interesting person.

He stood on the balcony, with sunlight casting behind him, only to hear him say troubledly:

"Embarrassingly, I was following the path of the Sun, and before I knew, I ended up here; I’m still looking for a way to leave."

"Mr. Solar, from where did you enter here?" Dal tentatively asked.

He thought Solar would mention some area of the Sain Dungeon, but Solar instead said: "Undead Town, have you heard of it? I was planning to ring the Awakening Bell when I got trapped here, a real nuisance."

The moment Dal heard his response, he understood.

He had encountered an [Event], just like the event with the Warrior Pot!

This Sun Warrior named Solar was clearly an echo from the past.

Similar occurrences also happened in other Dungeons; he recalled a dungeon that narrated the abusive love story of two Ancient nobles where projections of those nobles would give adventurers a series of tasks to complete.

Presumably, Solar was such an existence.

They were collectively referred to as [Residual Shadows], the remnants left by people of the past in the flow of time.

In dealing with a Residual Shadow, one detail absolutely must be observed, which is—

"Do you have a way to leave this place? I can’t feel the presence of the Sun here," Solar asked.

Don’t ever shatter the Residual Shadow’s worldview!

Dal showed a sincere face, saying, "Sorry, I also entered here by accident."

Solar expressed an expected tone, not the least bit discouraged, but rather cheerfully said:

"Hahaha, then we are all lost, what a peculiar experience."

He handed a White Marking Wax Stone to Dal, and said:

"As fellow wanderers, let us help each other. If you encounter difficulties, summon me, you can rely on me wholeheartedly."

[White Marking Wax Stone]

[Using it will allow you to see summoning marks from other worlds]

[Limited to use in the Painting World]

Other worlds?

Dal looked at Solar with surprise; the other was standing right in front of him, so why mention other worlds.

Solar saw his confusion and said:

"This is a place where space and time intermingle, our meeting here is indeed fortunate. Each step we take might separate us, but luckily this object can keep us connected."

"If you can see my summoning mark, do not hesitate, let us fight side by side."

He stood there, his helmet hiding his expression, but Dal felt that Solar must be smiling.

Even knowing this was just a Residual Shadow, he was still touched by the other’s enthusiasm. The brief interaction had already made him feel fond of Solar.

Eventually, Residual Shadow events come to an end, and he hoped this passionate person would have a fittingly good conclusion.

"May the Sun be with you!"

Solar’s vibrant voice came again; when Dal looked up, he found that the other’s figure had vanished.

Is this the influence of space-time disorder?

Meeting someone willing to lend a hand in a moment of despair was truly moving.

Dal bowed in the direction where Solar had disappeared, then turned to explore the fortress again.

It seemed that Solar had brought good luck; along the way, he always managed to survive by a hair’s breadth, and his number of deaths greatly reduced.

After who knows how long, he arrived in front of the Fog Gate.

With anticipation in his eyes, Dal used the White Marking Wax Stone.

"Buzz..."

Accompanied by a strange sound effect, a summoning mark of golden light emerged.