Why are all your skill bars full of weird moves?

Gauss chuckled inwardly.

He crouched down and drew a nine-square grid on the ground with an arrow. Then, he marked the path sequence according to the lines on the stone gate: top left → top center → top right → middle right → bottom right → bottom center → bottom left → middle left → center.

Once the path is determined, the problem becomes simple.

The original engravings in each groove represent the shape of a "keyhole," while the pattern on the stone cone represents a "key."

Keys don't require cultural interpretation; they only need to match the shape.

The snake-bite tail ring is a closed circle, corresponding to a circular groove pattern; the split eye is longitudinally symmetrical, corresponding to a groove with longitudinal engravings; the swirling vortex is a spiral pattern, corresponding to a spiral groove.

The direction of rotation of the stone cone is determined by the direction of travel along the path.

When passing through from left to right, go clockwise; when passing through from right to left, go counterclockwise; when passing through from top to bottom, face outwards.

Gauss stood up and walked to the three stone cones.

He first turned the first one, making sure the snake-biting-tail ring was facing forward.

Turn the second one over so that the eye is facing left.

The third one, with its swirling vortex facing upwards.

Finally, walk to the lever, grip it with both hands, and press it down.

"Click."

A dull thud came from deep within the stone gate, and dust rustled down from the cracks in the door.

The three stopped arguing, turned their heads in unison, and their eyes widened suddenly.

The two stone slabs began to slowly move to both sides, and the air was filled with a damp, musty smell and a slight stench of urine.

Balk emerged from behind a nearby tree and hurriedly fastened his belt.

While the three women were arguing, he went around and urinated everywhere to mark the way. His exact words were, "In case I get lost, I can find my way back by the smell."

"How...how did you open this?" Ura quickly walked to Gauss's side, her expression full of disbelief.

"It's very simple." Gauss patted the mud off his hands. "Those symbols don't need cultural background to be interpreted; the lines connecting the grooves are the answer in themselves."

He pointed to the nine-square grid path diagram drawn on the ground.

"The entire question doesn't test astrology, theology, or dimensional secrets."

"The test is whether you can avoid complicating simple questions."

Ula opened her mouth, then closed it again, her face turning slightly red.

Tilia simply smiled and clapped her hands twice.

"Gauss was so smart."

Mia looked down at the path map on the ground, her cat ears twitching, and muttered something under her breath.

"How come we can never keep up with your way of thinking?"

Balk scratched the back of his head, leaned over to look at the diagram on the ground, and couldn't understand it at all, but that didn't stop him from patting Gauss on the shoulder.

"Dude, you're amazing!"

Gauss ignored all of that and instead looked at the stone door that had been opened.

Behind the door is a stone pillar passageway that extends forward, wide enough for three people to pass side by side.

There was some natural light deep inside the passageway, and a strong wind blew out, causing Tilia's cloak to flutter wildly.

Gauss took off his shortbow, nocked an ordinary arrow, and prepared to fire at any moment.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Gauss stepped inside and found that the entire passageway was surrounded by stone walls.

Every few steps on either side, there are horizontal grooves containing rotten coffins with blackened and cracked edges.

The white candles on the left side of the groove were mostly melted, and the wax dripped down the surface and solidified into white, nodular protrusions that had been hanging on the stone wall for years without being cleaned.

The air was cold and damp, carrying the musty smell of lime and rotten wood.

Balk's head swiveled from side to side, his Adam's apple bobbing, and he said tremulously, "I said... does anyone else feel that something's off about this place?"

"Why are the tombs built on either side of the passageway? Shouldn't normal people bury the dead underground?"

"Balk, how do you know this isn't underground?" Ula teased. "Besides, none of the three of us women said a word, only you were making a fuss."

"How can these be the same?" Balk's tail was tucked between his legs, his voice lowered but sounding even more panicked. "Mia is from the Church, Tilia is a vampire."

"And what about you?" Balk looked at Ura. "You spend all your time in the mage academy researching arcane magic; you could even break human bones apart to use as experimental subjects."

"When have I ever broken a human bone?" Ula turned around, a vein throbbing on her forehead.

"Shut up," Gauss interrupted their argument. "Keep an eye on both sides of the passageway, and speak up immediately if you see any strange symbols or markings."

Based on fantasy-themed online games that Gauss played in his previous life, such as the 250GB "Girl's Roll" and "The Witcher 3"...

The most annoying thing about these games is never the boss, but the interactive objects hidden in the nooks and crannies.

Sometimes missing something means missing a side quest, or even a mechanism leading to a hidden room. Older games are better off; at least you can look up a walkthrough. But with new games, you have to explore on your own.

Since there's no rollback function here, you have to be careful.

After walking for about five more minutes, the team arrived at the end of the passageway.

Gauss was the first to step out of the passage, and the stone bricks under his feet turned into a natural rock platform.

After walking a few more steps, a broken valley appeared before us. The distance between where we stood and the opposite bank was about thirty meters. Looking up, sunlight shone through the cracks in the top of the valley.

The wind rushed down from the top of the crevice, compressed into a fierce gale between the narrow rock walls.

The wind made everyone's clothes flutter, and even Mia had to crouch down and press her hands against the hem of her robe.

"This wind..." Balk squinted, turned to the side to reduce the area exposed to the wind, and half of his words were blown away.

Suddenly, Gauss also noticed that there was a wooden bridge spanning the gap between the two platforms.

The wooden planks of the bridge were intact, but the entire bridge was suspended from the middle by a thick rope.

The wind stopped howling.

Everyone's hair and robes fell down at the same time.

1 seconds.

The wind began to howl again.

"Look up there," Gauss said, braving the strong wind, pointing to the suspension bridge at the top. "If we just knock down the ropes, the bridge can be lowered."

"My magic missiles can only reach fifteen meters," Ula shook her head. "Besides, with this wind... the trajectory deviates by at least two to three meters, making it impossible to hit."

"I'll just turn into a bat and fly over there," Tilia interjected, speaking casually as if flying over a thirty-meter cliff was no different from taking a stroll.

"No," Gauss interrupted her directly.

Why?

"After you turn into a bat, your weight will decrease, and your wind resistance will be almost zero."

Tilia's expression changed from indifference to confusion, and then from confusion to thoughtfulness.

Finally, he could only move his lips and sigh.

The main problem is that her "Shadow Walk" skill only has a maximum range of fifteen meters, which is far too short to reach the opponent.

Balk crossed his arms and grinned.

"Brother, if that's the case, then only your arrow can hit that rope."

Ula nodded and continued, "That's right, even if I cast a levitation spell on you, you'll still be blown away by the wind halfway through."

Everyone looked at Gauss, their eyes filled with expectation and trust.

From the streams of Elk Forest, to the underground palace of Bullhorn, and finally to the fire rain that wiped out the cannibalistic Darkkin in the plaza, the journey continues.

Whenever the team was at its wits' end, whenever all conventional methods failed, Gauss would always step in to solve everything.

It is clearly the profession that is most looked down upon and most easily despised among professionals.

Yet, it is precisely this marginal profession that has consistently carried the entire team.

Everyone subconsciously felt that as long as they followed Gauss, they would be safe no matter where they went.

Gauss faced the fissure, remained silent for a few seconds, and finally spoke:

"My arrow hit the rope on the other side, no problem."

"but……"