Chapter 2828: Before
Truth be told, Roan did notice a specific pattern in the teleportation runes. The ones that had traps would usually have a set of extra connections on the edges, while the ones that led to safe rooms didn't. Of course, Roan wasn't certain of it, so he selected this room that was supposed to have a trap. He wanted to test it himself.
"I just didn't expect you would jump ahead and test the room for me," Roan spoke with a smile. "You sure know how to be useful."
Beelzebub used his energy to fight the effects of the room, returning to normal a few seconds later. "Useful, your ass! Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
"You didn't even give me the chance," Roan shrugged. "You simply jumped ahead, assuming I was taking a path without traps."
Beelzebub's mouth twitched, but he tried to calm down. "Alright, so be it. So, what were the patterns you were talking about?"
Roan approached another one of the Spatial Runes and showed Beelzebub. "You see? Doesn't it seem to have a few more connections than the other runes?"
Beelzebub paid close attention and then moved to the other runes. After checking the six runes in the room, he understood three of them had those connections at the edge while the other three didn't. "So if I select this one, there should be no trap on the other side, right?" He asked while pointing at a Rune without the connections on the edge.
Roan checked it and nodded. "That should be the case... but I can't guarantee it."
"Then go ahead and enter it," said Beelzebub. He didn't want to be the one to test Roan's theory again.
Roan didn't mind and touched the Rune before disappearing. Beelzebub waited a few seconds and followed, soon appearing in the next room. Roan was standing there, looking completely fine.
"Let me give it a try this time again," Beelzebub gained some confidence and selected the next run, obviously avoiding the ones with connections at the edges. Roan went right behind, not waiting at all.
Sure enough, both of them appeared in the next room, and no traps were found. "Okay, it seems to work," Beelzebub commented. "What now? Just keep selecting runes without connections?"
"I don't really see another choice..." Roan said as he thought about the situation.
Just like that, Beelzebub and Roan continued to go through the various rooms, teleporting from one to another and avoiding the runes that meant traps. However, that method wasn't 100% flawless. Although they rarely found traps, there were still runes without any connections on the edges that still led to rooms with traps.
Roan was caught by one of such and ended up with his heart exploding right there and then. Well, it wasn't that big of a deal. If he was in the midst of a battle, then it definitely would be a dangerous situation. However, he could simply spend his time using Rean's Instant Recovery. He had plenty of items with Light Element inside his spatial ring, exactly for moments like these when Rean isn't around, and so does Rean with Dark Element items.
"I saw it before, but it is still impressive how fast you and that brother of yours can recover..." Beelzebub couldn't help but comment as he watched Roan's abilities.
"Compared to that idiot, I'm quite bad at it. He would have rebuilt his heart two times already by now," He commented.
As Roan took his time to heal, Beelzebub pointed something out. "Have you noticed that all these traps aren't exactly fatal? No, that's not the right way to put it. All the traps are fatal for beings of low level. However, for beings like you and I, they are just annoying but not truly life-threatening. In fact, many of the traps we found on our way here could be defended against even for low-level cultivators."
"Do you mean this place wasn't built to receive experts like us?" Roan asked back as he got up, now with his heart repaired.
"Yes," Beelzebub nodded. "It feels like a test of some sort. A test to see if we can find our way out or not. Of course, it is just a theory."
"I think you are right," Roan agreed with Beelzebub, though. "Not only that, I would say this is a test aimed at various participants at once, not only two like you and me."
Beelzebub also thought that. "Indeed. I wonder if we can find an exit if we find out what it is trying to test."
"Hum..." Roan pondered a bit. "Discerning ability? Strength? Luck?"
"Luck?" Beelzebub was taken aback. "Is luck something you can test?"
Roan nodded. "Think about it. Although they were very rare, there were traps behind Spatial Runes that didn't have the connections on the edges. As far as I could see, there was no way to tell the previous runes would lead me to this room to have my heart destroyed. So... luck. There seems to be a degree of luck being tested."
"What a bullshit test!" Beelzebub snorted. "I make my own luck. I would never accept the results of this shit."
"On that point, I 100% agree," Roan commented as he cleaned himself of all the blood from earlier. "In any case, there is bound to be an exit. Otherwise, this test, if it is a test, would never be completed."
Beelzebub could only hope they were right. He then moved ahead and selected another rune without the edge connections and touched it. Roan followed right behind, and the room was
left empty.
This situation continued for several days in a row. However, they suddenly found something. Roan went to the corner of the room where the two had just arrived and waved his hand. In the next moment, a Black Light appeared and rushed into his body, disappearing without a trace. "It was the same Dark Element as your own, wasn't it?" Beelzebub asked.
Roan didn't hide it. "Yes. In every room we passed so far, I left a trace of my Dark Element from my body fused with a little of my Divine Sense. If we ever ended up in the same room again, I would know. Well, this is a room we have been before."