With a reliable way forward.

Ronald and Katarina's quest goes smoothly.

They did not encounter a trap or the group of jellyfish that were by the river of digestion.

I walked in this spacious cavity for about half an hour.

After rounding a few undulating folds, a vein-like upward passage appeared in front of them, about thirty degrees in slope.

Before walking in, Ronald glanced at Katarina:

"Judging by the direction of the digestion river, this should be the direction that goes deeper into the body of the dust beast."

Without thinking, Caterina concluded:

"Since it covers the entire city of Hamono, the treasure that was originally protected in the center of the city is naturally close to the center of this guy's body. It's good to be bold and move forward! ”

At this time, the dialogue is not only to exchange ideas, but also to encourage each other.

Then Ronald and the two set off again, stepping into the tunnel ahead.

At first, the organs, which resembled the blood vessels of the dust monsters, were relatively stable, but soon there was the rhythmic vibration of the ground as before.

The road that was originally sloping upwards was not easy to follow.

Now that there is this kind of vibration interference, it will immediately make the physical exertion of the two of them a little bigger.

Fortunately, Ronald and the two coped quickly.

They immediately controlled their pace, following the vibrations of the dust beast's body.

So.

Not only has the problem of increased physical exertion been solved, but it is even easier than when I was on the road before!

Another problem was solved, Ronald was naturally in a good mood, and the rhythmic pace under his feet was also a lot brisker.

But this tunnel has undergone another noteworthy change.

As the two of them groped their way forward for some distance, and dealt with a few fork selections during the process, the white of the tunnel walls began to gradually change, and the color gradually darkened.

"It's the color that's changing this time......"

Ronald touched it curiously.

In fact, not only the color, but also the softness of the tunnel walls has decreased, and now it feels hard to the touch, almost like concrete.

Catalina has her own opinion on this:

"Didn't I go down and attack this guy's core before I entered this world? That thing was completely different from the white body in the other positions, it was not black, and the texture was quite hard! ”

Ronald raised an eyebrow:

"You mean- we're getting close to the heart of this guy?"

Caterina actually has a point.

The two of them had been in the body of the dust beast for some time, and in addition to rushing and cracking the maze, the rapid progress on the digestion river had allowed them to advance a considerable distance.

Even though the body of the dust beast is as big as a mountain.

But under this series of adventures, they have actually crossed a long distance.

Caterina nodded and replied:

"yes, that's what I thought."

Ronald expressed confidence in Katerina's judgment and did not forget to remind the details:

"Since we're getting closer to the core, we're going to have to be more careful."

"Don't forget what the voiceover said at the beginning, we have to face the difficulties of the blockers. Even though the previous labyrinths and dangers were brought about by its body, I don't think that was enough. ”

Stabilize your mindset, identify your goals, and then move on.

However, just a few minutes after this conversation, the slope of the tunnel under Ronald and his feet increased sharply, becoming almost sixty degrees upward. Even in some areas, there is a vertical zone at a 90-degree angle, which can only be passed by climbing.

Crawling around another corner, Caterina went up and sat on the ground.

This climb is second only to rock climbing in difficulty, and if you don't want to be unlucky because of sudden events, regular rest and recovery is a necessary choice.

Then looking at Ronald, who was also sitting next to him, Katrina quipped:

"Ronald, do you think this terrain is deliberately disgusting to us, or does it look like this?"

"I don't think the question makes sense, it's possible to do both." Ronald stopped, and although he didn't discuss this with Caterina, his attention remained around, "Wait, did you find out?" The walls of the tunnel we walked through did not continue to darken. ”

Caterina turned her head to see that the surrounding tunnels were now gray.

She reached out again and patted the ground.

The hardness of the firm tunnel did not change much, and the vibration in the body of the dust giant beast could still be felt every once in a while.

The corners of Katerina's eyes lowered, and her smile was bitter:

"That's not good news."

"The color and hardness have not changed, which means that the distance between us and the core of this guy has not changed significantly."

Ronald summed up this judgment in one sentence:

"So — we're not moving in the right direction."

“……”

The tunnel fell silent.

Only the breath of Ronald and Katarina, and the occasional vibration, spoke of the passage of time.

I've said it before.

After Ronald and the two entered the tunnel, they went through several forks.

In such an environment where there is no reference at all, it is easy to be misled if you cannot look at the tunnel itself, and it is even more dangerous to rely on your own sense of direction.

The two Ronald have a feeling right now.

Have they chosen the wrong path at a fork in the road before, so that now they are simply on the wrong path.

If that's the case—

Continuing backwards is not only draining the physical strength of the two of them, but also squandering their precious time!

What about turning back and choosing a new path?

Take advantage of the fact that it is still early, turn back early and go to other forks in the road, whether you can find the right way.

But what if the path you are taking now is the right one, and the situation you have discovered so far is actually just an obstacle to the maze itself, with the purpose of inducing people to abandon the right path with false information?

For a moment, Ronald's mind inevitably fell into chaos.

After all, the starting point of all problems is that there is no way to determine the direction at the moment, which is almost an unsolvable problem!

Smack-

Suddenly, there was a knock on Ronald's shoulder.

He looked up and saw that it was Caterina who reached out and patted himself on the shoulder.

"Katarina?"

The tower master of the astronomy department gave Ronald a confident smile back:

"Recovered from your strength? Let's get on. ”

Ronald immediately voiced his concerns:

"Katarina, the path we're on now isn't necessarily the right one. If the previous fork ......"

"Ronald, don't talk about this." Caterina interrupted Ronald's rational analysis.

The astronomy tower master grabbed Ronald with both hands and dragged him straight from the ground. Then, just as the two of them walked into the body of the dust beast, they locked Ronald with both hands, and then pushed forward and walked up.

"Since they have all chosen this path, they must go out of the hall."

"Ronald, courage! Guts! ”

"This labyrinth requires not only the wisdom of judgment, but also the courage to move forward boldly in the face of adversity!"