Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 750 - 644: Infinite Penrose Staircase

Tap.. tap.. tap..

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed continuously in the pitch-black world, with not a trace of echo returning. The profound darkness seemed capable of completely swallowing all sounds and light.

In this boundless space seemingly devoid of anything, under the extremely dim range of the Lighting Technique, at the feet of the five-man team was only a stone staircase with no start or end in sight.

This was the fourth layer of the [Clock Tower], where the adventure team arrived after regrouping entirely on the third layer.

Like many Mysterious Side structures, the [Clock Tower]'s design also employed the magical number "seven," comprising seven layers from the outside in. Furthermore, the spaces increasingly expanded, and the strength of power rose with each layer.

After three exploratory attempts, the deepest reached is the sixth layer by later challengers, while no one has ever set foot in the seventh layer, and what treasures lie there are utterly unknown.

It's only through various means of the Extraordinary that its existence can be vaguely sensed.

According to Jelos' notes, the location of the [Ocean Treasure: Ancient Scroll] is in the sixth layer's space known as the "Sea in the Tower—Eye of the Giant."

"Aiven, are we just going to walk all the way up like this? Why does it feel like we've been walking for so long?"

Anita, who was at the rear of the team and responsible for covering, suddenly spoke. Her voice was clearly beside them, yet in this peculiar environment, it seemed like it was far away, evoking a strong sense of dislocation.

Especially for Aiven and Angie, it felt as if they had returned to the "Forgotten Desert" in the [Netherworld]. The oppressive atmosphere, where even their heartbeat could be heard clearly, was a bit unsettling.

But Aiven didn't know how to answer his sister's question.

Firstly, in the darkness, human instinct drives one to ascend rather than descend. Secondly... glancing at Milan, who was walking beside him, he could only trust the judgment of this professional "Prophet."

Before this, neither the [Lighting Technique], [Low-Frequency Pulse], nor the Great Wizard's [mental force field] or the Cosmic Dragon's [Spatial Perception] could extend beyond the stone stair's boundary.

Moreover, whenever Aiven entertained the idea of flying to find the boundary of this space, a huge fear would repress that notion, compelling him to lead the team obediently on this stone staircase wide enough for two carriages side by side.

This seemed to be a specific rule appearing after entering the core fourth layer. Under the suppression of an entity comparable in essence to a demigod like the [Clock Tower], hardly anyone could resist.

Suddenly.

When Aiven used "Data Visualization" to precisely measure the journey distance of his team and had walked about ten kilometers, a new change finally appeared ahead.

"That's a... turn!"

Olivia's voice carried a hint of excitement. In this oppressive atmosphere, any new change was enough to fill one with excitement.

However, at the moment when the turn came into view, Milan, positioned second in the formation, suddenly drew her gun, with the revolver [Black Steel] roaring like an enraged beast.

Boom!

At the same time, a grotesque creature, somewhat resembling a large dog and others a mutated lizard, suddenly leapt from the 90° corner, only to have its head blown off by the powerful bullet.

After instinctively shooting the creature, a trace of confusion surfaced on Milan's face.

"Really? These guys actually chased us here??"

Yet this was only just the beginning.

More "Dalos Dog Demons" started leaping out from the void at the corner, with each one ignoring everyone else to charge directly towards Milan.

Woof woof woof...

Endless like a tidal wave, standing in the front of the line, Aiven faced those flower-like bizarre heads, gleaming canine teeth, and long dripping tongues most intensely.

He wondered if every Dog Demon in the entire [Clock Tower] had rushed here in frenzy. What enormity of hatred was this?

His actions, however, did not hesitate. He stepped forward and swung his hand hard.

Whoosh—!

Using the power of the "Storm Dragon," he whipped up a terrifying storm, hurling the "Dalos Dog Demons" incessantly leaping from the corner into the darkness beneath the steps.

The sound of landing was never heard.

"Quick, let's charge through!"

Not until he led the team away from the corner and out of the "Dalos Dog Demons'" sensory range did the situation gradually calm down.

At this moment, Aiven couldn't help but direct his gaze towards Milan:

"What's with you? Did you steal someone's wife?"

Milan coughed awkwardly a couple of times:

"Maybe, probably, something like that.

On the second layer, I was on the water surface, so there wasn't any angle less than 120 degrees. After regrouping on the third layer, we barely lingered. Although there was a warning in my spirituality, I didn't expect them to chase across several spaces to hunt us down here."

As he spoke, he took out a Magic Book from his Magic Pocket, with a large mechanical clock face on its cover. On the cover was inscribed in Spiritual Text its name—"Echoes of Space-Time".

Then, under the light of the Lighting Technique, he slowly opened the book's directory, explaining:

"I also don't know why I ended up with such a troublesome thing after passing through!"

The other three Wizards in the team simultaneously leaned over, and after seeing what was written in the directory, they collectively gasped: "Is this... the 'Clock Tower School's' legacy Magic Book???"

Previously.

From the "Wandering Mysterious Source: Clock Tower," they had long known that the "Prophetic School" likely inherited part of the knowledge from the "Clock Tower School" (Chapter 635).

And aside from the ability of the "Clock Tower School" to navigate the long river of history, they established the mysterious source "Eye of All-Seeing," which discards most attack witchcraft and is used only to glimpse the present and future.

That significance is akin to the "Life Tree School" having a greatly simplified "Crown of Miracles" before the ultimate mysterious source [Life Tree].

This should also be the main reason why Milan volunteered eagerly after knowing the destination of the expedition.

As of now, the "Prophetic School" has spread even more extensively than the "Alchemy School," with their presence in almost every country on the continent.

Compared to the "Gem School," which also has a significant influence on the continent, the "Prophetic School" now has Tier 4 Crowned Wizards, capable of paying the price to harness the powerful force of the mysterious source "Eye of All-Seeing" at critical moments.

Moreover, this inherited magic book "Echoes of Space-Time" from the "Clock Tower School," has also solidified a general witchcraft [Space Jumpboard], from which Milan is no longer the weakling he once was, but rather a...very fast weakling.

His survival ability has greatly improved.

The most important thing is that, given that the entire "Clock Tower School" had perished, this magic book might be a valuable opportunity to inherit the largest legacy of the Wizard World! Enough to make one soar to success at once! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

But first, it is essential to understand why the "Clock Tower School," having completed the embodiment of the "Mysterious Source," failed at the last stage of fusion, swallowing all members of the school.

Without clarifying this point, hastily embarking on this path might very well lead to a disastrous result.

Especially under the control of the [Clock Tower], right after sending out this precious inherited magic book, which is one of the school's foundations, they dispatched the "Dalos Dog Demon" that can constantly leap across various spaces to pursue, which logically makes no sense.

Unless, the two contradictory actions were fundamentally taken by...two different wills!

After temporarily analyzing the current situation for Milan, Aiven patted his shoulder:

"The situation is unclear, so let's hold back for now. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. We'll see after getting out of here. But from now on, everyone should pay attention to corners smaller than 120° to prevent being ambushed by the 'Dalos Dog Demon.'"

"Okay."

At this moment.

After passing the first corner, this space seems to have reached a certain turning point.

Chirping chirping chirping...

There are increasingly loud insect chirps, starting to sound continuously in the darkness around the staircase. As they keep moving upward, the sound is also getting louder and louder.

Staring at the staircase beneath his feet that extends continuously upward into the darkness, seemingly endless, Aiven couldn't help but recall a theory - "Impossible Penrose Staircase."

This theory states that four stairs connected by four corners are all directionally upward, thus can extend indefinitely. But such a thing can only exist on two-dimensional paper and is impossible in the regular three-dimensional world.

However, in the [Clock Tower], which is dedicated to space-time research, it might not be impossible to achieve.

Except that Aiven felt that they were not moving upward or downward in the conventional sense but were striding forward into a deeper, darker space.

Essentially walking in another dimension outside the three-dimensional world.

Soon enough.

As if to confirm Aiven's suspicion, after passing four 90° corners and defeating several waves of "Dalos Dog Demons" that leaped out sensing Milan's aura, theoretically, they should have returned to their original point.

Yet what appeared before them was still an endlessly ascending, long stone staircase with no end in sight.

Chirping chirping chirping...

At this moment, it was as if two parallel lines finally converged. The frenzied insect chirps broke through an invisible and intangible membrane, speeding from the darkness to them.

Click click click...

Led by a tall insectoid with a human skull-like head and two-footed, four-armed stature, a large swarm of oddly shaped insects surged from the darkness on both sides of the staircase, climbing up this branchless rocky staircase along a path invisible to humans.

It seemed as if beneath this continuous staircase was actually connected to a gigantic insect lair.

The four-armed insectoid's angular, bony exoskeleton distinctly reminded Aiven of humans equipped with powered exoskeletons. It felt like the [Integrated Circuit] polluted by chitin he had previously obtained had traveled from the future to the present.

In fact, by this point.

After pooling together everyone's experiences, they realized that the [Clock Tower] likely encountered an unknown contamination, probably related to insects.

As they progressed from the first layer to the second, third, and now to the fourth layer of the [Clock Tower], this bizarre contamination became increasingly evident, with incredibly bizarre-looking insects continuously emerging.

For now, the hidden secrets behind are set aside.

The paramount task they face now is—to kill the bugs!

Standing at both ends of the team, Aiven and Anita, the two top Tier 3 combatants, opened their mouths simultaneously.

Boom—

[Flame Dragon Breath!]

[Frost Dust Breath!]