Chapter 231: Chapter 223: Full of Suspicions, Hidden Event: A Distant Elegy

Getting a stronger talent should have been something to celebrate.

But Jon couldn’t bring himself to be happy at all.

After all, every gift from Destiny comes with a price tag, secretly attached.

Compared to the all-too-familiar [Power Harmony], this [Chaos Body] was certainly powerful, but its strange origins made it impossible for him to accept with peace of mind.

This led to his thoughts uncontrollably drifting back to everything that had happened, even as he led his team deeper into the mostly-cleared Demon Forest Ruins.

’So, did I just receive a gift from that unknown entity? Could it be the Yino Goddess?’

’If so, what did She mean by having me witness the end of this world? Is She asking me to save it? From that eye?’

The mere thought of that colossal Starry Sky Giant Eye, so vast it crushed any will to resist, filled Jon with a sense of futility.

’They’re overestimating me... They probably just want me to die knowing why...’

He was just a tiny ant who had just advanced to the Official Level. Even if he one day became one of this world’s so-called Deities, it would probably make no difference against a being like that—he’d still die all the same.

So, his train of thought unhesitatingly shifted in another direction.

’If not to save it... then maybe it’s literally just to bear witness? Or perhaps lead the entire civilization to escape the giant eye’s influence, a real-life "Wandering Yino"?’

In comparison, he felt this plan was much more feasible.

Besides, based on the stories Mr. Claudio had once told him about the [Ancient Civilization], the [Spiritual Famine], and the [Unknowable Beings], the Yino Goddess who created this world must have known that She couldn’t directly confront those indescribable cosmic entities.

That was why She chose an Enlightener, the [Star-Holder], to isolate this world from the shadows that devoured civilizations.

In a sense, this was a form of refuge born from the fact that "the enemy is too strong, and we are too weak."

So, when faced with an even greater danger like the [Starry Sky Giant Eye], a danger where even hiding was a luxury, fleeing was the only option.

If he could one day master a way to traverse time and space, there was no reason he couldn’t take people to other worlds.

But could it really be that simple?

It was like that classic riddle: "How many steps does it take to put an elephant in a refrigerator?"

Open the refrigerator, put the elephant inside, and close the refrigerator.

The steps are there, but isn’t that a bit too much wishful thinking?

’Tsk... No matter how I think about it, it feels wrong. I have too little information... it’s all too vague... And of course, I didn’t get a Legendary Level quest or anything to give me a hint...’

’I need to hurry up and finish the Mage’s Advanced trial, then go back and discuss this with Uncle Sutton and Mr. Claudio...’

After this whole ordeal, Jon had completely lost the desire to explore the ruins carefully. He simply followed his memories and led his team toward the hiding place of the Demon Forest Ruins Dungeon’s hidden boss.

At this point, he couldn’t be bothered to hide his true strength anymore.

Under the Attribute buffs from [Chaos Body], his Intelligence and Spirit reached 68.6 and 69.6 respectively. The improvement to his spellcasting ability was on a completely different level than before.

Every Demon they encountered along the way was instantly killed the moment it appeared, leaving no time for any back-and-forth.

The Warrior siblings and Dolores all noticed Jon’s urgency, but they were wise enough not to ask questions. Instead, they focused on their job as tag-alongs—deftly collecting the loot.

Soon, the group arrived before a heavy stone door completely covered in thick vines.

"This is it."

Under the curious gazes of his teammates, Jon took out two crystals from his pouch.

One was a fist-sized, crystal-clear crystal dug out from the body of a Splitting Tree Demon, emitting the unique life-scent of a plant. The other came from a Demonized Ancient Tree; it was a wooden crystal as deep as black jade, with what looked like green veins flowing within, containing a vaster and more twisted Life Force.

He walked straight toward the stone door entwined with heavy vines.

The sides of the stone door were not decorated with ordinary carvings, but with two stone guardian beasts of unknown origin, half-embedded in the stone wall. They had their hollow mouths wide open, as if in a silent roar.

Without hesitation, Jon shoved the Splitting Tree Demon’s crystal into the mouth of the left guardian beast and pressed the Demonized Ancient Tree’s black jade crystal into the mouth of the right one.

"CLICK... HUM..."

The faint sound of a mechanism turning was heard.

Immediately after, a light interweaving ghostly green with dark green lit up in the depths of the two stone beasts’ hollow eye sockets, as if they had been infused with Life.

Their mouths were no longer empty. Instead, wisps of mist, so condensed they seemed tangible, began to spill out.

This mist wasn’t ordinary vapor; it was a vibrant, refreshing emerald green, full of vitality.

As the mist quickly spread and wrapped around the heavy stone door, the vines covering it seemed to meet their natural enemy. They emitted a faint SIZZLE, rapidly withering, shrinking, and turning to ash.

With the retreat of the vines, the heavy stone door, powered by an internal mechanism, slid silently inward, revealing a bottomless darkness behind it.

A cold draft, a mixture of musty soil, moss, and the fragrance of some strange plant, rushed out from the passageway behind the door.

Jon didn’t even hesitate for a moment. He tightened the pack on his back, strode forward, and was instantly swallowed by the thick darkness.

"Boss, wait for me!"

This completely lightless, dark cavern clearly reminded Dolores of some bad memories, but she gritted her teeth and followed closely behind Jon.

Meanwhile, Moon and Sati exchanged a look, seeing the gravity and a hint of helplessness in each other’s eyes.

This strange place, which was clearly beyond the scope of a normal ruin exploration, was no place for Adventurers of their level.

But Jon’s demonstrated power and mysteriousness left them with no choice—or rather, they didn’t dare to make any other choice.

The brother, Moon, silently adjusted the position of his Arm Shield. The sister, Sati, tightened her grip on her halberd. The two tacitly staggered their positions, one behind the other, and entered the unknown darkness while maintaining a Defense Stance.

The heavy sound of footsteps echoed in the narrow passage, sounding exceptionally clear.

The passageway was surprisingly not very long. It wasn’t perfectly straight, either, and had a slight downward slope.

In less than two minutes, the path ahead suddenly opened up.

A soft light, carrying a cool radiance like faint moonlight, dispelled all the darkness.

They had stepped into a massive underground space.

The ceiling of the space wasn’t rock, but a dome of gnarled, intertwining giant vines and roots that glowed faintly. They wove together into a vibrant "canopy" that covered the entire space, and the soft glow emanated from the Crystal Stones entwined within these vines and roots.

At the center of this space was an ancient altar carved from a single, enormous piece of warm, white jade.

The altar was circular, rising about two meters above the ground. Its surface was covered in complex and profound patterns, through which a silvery-white light seemed to flow like liquid, as if it were alive, emitting a sacred and serene aura.

The air here became exceptionally fresh. The sickeningly sweet smell of decay had vanished completely, replaced by the refreshing scent of plants and the unique, gentle aura of the jade.

"Whoa..."

Dolores and Sati couldn’t help but let out a low gasp of amazement, stunned by the beautiful scene that surpassed all imagination.

Moon’s eyes widened as well, and he cautiously scanned his surroundings but found no obvious threats.

But Jon showed no surprise at the sight before him.

It wasn’t like he’d never been here before. Whether it was during the initial exploration phase or later when he was guiding newbies, he had been here more than once. There was no novelty left for him.

So, he simply gave an order to his teammates behind him in a low voice.

"Stay put and protect yourselves. No matter what happens, do not approach the altar."

"Yes, Boss!"

Dolores immediately snapped back to her senses and replied, tightening her grip on her Short Bow and showing the vigilance expected of a Ranger.

The siblings, Moon and Sati, quickly stood back-to-back, crossing their Short Sword and halberd protectively in front of them, and nodded with solemn expressions.

They could sense the unquestionable authority in Jon’s tone and the hint of an impending battle.

Jon took a deep breath of the crisp air, suppressed the urgency in his heart, and stepped onto the smooth, white jade steps.

His footsteps were silent on the ancient altar. Only the flowing, silvery-white light of the patterns beneath his feet seemed to become slightly more active as he approached.

He walked straight to the most intricate Rune Array at the center of the altar, which was clearly its core.

According to his "memories" from running this Dungeon countless times, all he had to do now was extend a finger and touch the core Rune. The Fallen Guardian—the [Mysterious Singer]—which was hidden deep within the altar and shared the same origin as this Demonized Forest, would descend from the vine canopy, let out a mind-bewitching song, and attack.

Defeating it would grant the final Dungeon reward.

"Come on... let me end this journey..."

Jon held his breath and focused, slowly raising his right hand. A wisp of Frost Magic Power swirled around his fingertip as he prepared to trigger the expected battle.

However, just as his fingertip was an inch away from the core Rune with its flowing silver light—

HUMMM...

The air at the center of the altar rippled without warning, like the surface of a calm lake after a stone is tossed in.

A pure white figure, formed from countless soft points of light, materialized silently before him.

The figure was hazy and ethereal, radiating an aura that shared its origin with the altar but was even purer and more sacred, as if it were woven from moonlight and stardust.

It had no distinct facial features, yet it clearly conveyed emotion—a deep compassion and weariness that transcended the long river of time.

A long sigh, not transmitted through the air, echoed directly in the lake of Jon’s mind, carrying with it an endless sense of ancient sorrow.

"You have come..."

"The one of the prophecy..."

The voice was ethereal and fleeting, yet it struck Jon’s heart like a heavy hammer!

’The one of the prophecy?!’

First, there was Mr. Claudio’s talk of the "Enlightener." Then, there was the Starry Sky Giant Eye and the "witnessing of the end" shown to him by what he suspected was the Yino Goddess. And now, this mysterious being was calling him "the one of the prophecy"...

’Just how many secrets did this world hold that he didn’t know about?’

However, before he could react to the words of the pure white phantom, a new line of text, emitting an ancient and desolate aura, clearly appeared in his vision.

——

[A Distant Elegy (Unique Quest)]

[A sorrowful melody, sealed away in the dust of time, now plays again with the arrival of the one who fulfills the prophecy. Listen to it, understand it, and perhaps you will glimpse the foreordained ending, and... a faint glimmer of light?]

[Quest Objective: Listen to the ’Phantom of the Past’s’ tale (0/1)]

[Basic Reward: ???]

[Additional Reward: ???]

"Note: You cannot attack the ’Phantom of the Past.’ Upon quest completion, you will automatically receive the highest Dungeon completion reward."

——

’That’s it! This is the unique quest for the first clear of the Dungeon!’

It skipped the combat phase entirely and pointed directly to the true secret of the Demon Forest Ruins!

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