Why are all your skill bars full of weird moves?

Inside the passageway, Gauss noticed that approximately every two meters, there was a vertical crack in the wall, extending from the ground to overhead. The cracks were pitch black, and he couldn't see what was inside.

What are these gaps for?

Gauss couldn't help but ponder.

Is it some kind of mechanism? Or is it used for ventilation?

"Gauss, look!" Balk's voice interrupted Gauss's thoughts.

Gauss walked over and saw what looked like human finger and arm bones scattered on the ground, along with a few pieces of tattered cloth.

Mia quickly stepped forward and squatted down, tilting her head to examine her closely.

"These bones...it looks like the person has been dead for no more than three days."

"Come quick, I've found something else over here," Tilia's voice came from ahead.

Gauss frowned and quickly went to investigate. There were even more skeletons here, scattered all over the ground. Next to the skeletons was a black robe torn to shreds. On the other side, there was a leather armor and a double-edged battle axe riddled with nicks.

Gauss crouched down and noticed a badge of a seasoned adventurer next to the battle axe.

Could it be them?

Gauss recalled the three adventurers the farmer had mentioned earlier.

And what about the third person?

Gauss was reminded of the elven nobles he had encountered before.

He said he was going to the North Mountain. Could it be that a third person ran away and told the elves the secrets inside, which is why he hired so many mercenaries?

"Hurry," Gauss's voice was urgent, "another group might be on their way."

Everyone tensed up and looked at Gauss.

Just as Balk was about to ask a question, he saw that Gauss had already started walking, so he swallowed his words and quickly followed.

"How did you know?" Mia jogged up beside Gauss and asked in a low voice.

"It's just my guess," Gauss said without elaborating. Now was not the time to share information; maintaining the team's movement speed was the top priority.

The group quickened their pace as they walked through the passageway.

Just then, Balk, who was walking at the front, suddenly lost his footing.

"Damn it!"

"Balk!" Mia exclaimed, and quickly knelt down on the openwork floor.

"Damn it!" Ula immediately began chanting a spell, and a ball of light formed in her palm, which she threw into the hole.

The sphere of light descended, illuminating a vertical, bottomless passage covered in slippery moss.

Gauss crouched down and listened intently; all he could hear below seemed to be the sound of flowing water.

"He...he'll be alright, won't he?" Mia gripped the ground with both hands, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Gauss stood up and brushed the dust off his hands.

"We can't go down. It's too deep, and the rock face is slippery with no footholds."

"Then what do we do? Leave him here alone?" Ula questioned.

"We can only go forward." Gauss looked into the depths of the passageway. "Since there's a waterway below this path, we're very likely to find a rendezvous point ahead, or a staircase leading to a lower level."

Mia wanted to say something more, but Ula had already pressed her shoulder and shook his head at her.

The team continued forward, and after about ten minutes, the view suddenly opened up in front of Gauss.

Before me was a spacious, circular stone chamber with a soaring dome painted with faded star maps.

Directly opposite the entrance is a huge, tightly closed stone door, with a large crescent moon carved on the lintel.

The floor in the center of the stone chamber is paved with nine square stone slabs, forming a nine-square grid, with each slab engraved with a different pattern.

Gauss scanned the pattern. In the very center was the sun, in the upper left corner was a dragon, and in the lower right corner was a crescent moon, echoing the carvings on the door.

The other patterns are equally intricate: scepter, skull, chalice, ouroboros, pentagram, and sword.

"Something's not right." Tilia's nostrils twitched slightly, her pupils fixed on the stone door in front of her. "Behind the door... there seems to be some kind of strange energy surging out."

"Come and take a look."

Gauss turned his head and saw Ura standing in front of a stone tablet, gently stroking the inscription with his finger and reciting it in a low voice, word by word.

"The gates of the goddess of pleasure...only those who understand her heart can enter the realm of the gods."

"With the right steps, knock on the door of truth."

"The blasphemer will be stripped of worldly ties and eternally immersed in the breath of the goddess..."

"It seems to say that you have to step on the right squares before the door will open."

Gauss walked over and saw that Ura's cheeks were flushed with an unnatural blush, and her voice became somewhat unclear when translating the last few words.

"What does it mean to strip away worldly ties?" Mia asked, puzzled.

Gauss already had a bad feeling; these kinds of mysterious riddles are usually accompanied by a punishment mechanism.

Ula cleared his throat and explained somewhat awkwardly:

"According to the ancient records of the Mage Tower, this goddess of pleasure... is an ancient goddess with a very unrestrained temperament. Therefore, if we step on the wrong step, our clothes will be wiped off."

"What?!" Mia exclaimed, instinctively covering her collar with her hands. "My clothes... they're gone?"

"That's not all." Ula's face grew even paler. "The phrase 'eternal bliss' refers to the fact that once all the clothing disappears, the mechanism will release a hallucinogenic mist, causing us to sink into endless pleasure until we become empty shells without souls."

Mia's face turned pale instantly, and she gripped her priest's robe tightly, as if that would prevent it from disappearing.

"No! Absolutely not! We have to pass it on the first try!"

Ula nodded heavily, her face filled with shame and indignation. She didn't want to lose her life in such a humiliating way in this godforsaken place.

However, if that were the case, Gauss might have died before them.

Tilia, on the contrary, licked her lips with great interest, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"That sounds interesting."

"A clue..." Mia forced herself to calm down, her gaze sweeping back and forth across the stone chamber. "Look!"

"There's a moon on the door!"

"There's a sun here! And a dragon! The sun, the moon, the dragon..."

"Do you remember? We saw a dragon and a sun at our entrance, which corresponded to the moon here!"

"This is definitely the answer to pass the level!"

Mia's voice was filled with anxiety.

Gauss, however, sensed something was amiss.

Such an important level, guarding the secret of the Shadow Dragon, could the answer be such a simple combination of symbols?

However, apart from this seemingly reasonable speculation, there are no other clear clues at present.

Ula and Mia were clearly convinced by this idea and have begun discussing who will step on which square.

"I'll step on the moon," Mia whispered, "the Silver Moon Goddess will bless me."

"Then I'll step on the sun," Ula said. As a mage, she felt closer to the sun symbol, which represents the source of energy.

"Gauss, the dragon one is yours."

Gauss did not object.

Sometimes, verifying a wrong answer is a necessary step in finding the right one.

The three of them walked toward their chosen stone slabs.

click-

Nothing happened.

"Failed?" Ula frowned.

Suddenly, Gauss's black soft armor, Ura's mage robe, Mia's pure white priest's robe, and Tilia's magic robe all transformed into countless tiny specks of light.

"Aaaaah—!"

Mia immediately crouched down, clutching her chest tightly with both hands, her cheeks flushed red, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Gauss looked over and saw that Mia was only wearing a white corset.

Ula looked down in astonishment, her face flushed with shame and indignation. She turned around abruptly, leaving Gauss with only her snow-white, smooth back.

Only Tilia showed no shame or indignation, but instead moved her smooth shoulders with great interest, wearing only a black lace corset and trousers.

interesting.

Gauss pondered to himself.

Based on the original owner's years of experience spying on widows, it is known that women in this world almost never wear underwear for convenience.

This means that if you make the same mistake again, you'll be in for a treat.