Chapter 816: Different Experience
Chapter 816: Different Experience
Eventually, Rynne spoke.
"Michael... stop."
Michael came to a controlled halt atop a cracked stretch of ruined stone rising slightly above the swamp waters. The mist rolled slowly around them again.
Michael released her waist and stepped back half a pace.
"What is it?" he asked calmly.
Rynne did not answer immediately. Her eyes scanned the distant swamp before she exhaled quietly.
"You were going too fast in an unfamiliar environment. If we cross into a Rank Four creature’s active territory, we will die. You wouldn’t even know what killed you."
Silence settled between them for a moment.
There was no two ways about it. Even Michael, with his many advantages, did not think he could hold a candle to a Rank Four creature.
However, Rynne was somewhat mistaken about him.
With his perception boosted by being in Wisdom State, Michael had been actively scanning his environment the entire time. Even if she had not spoken, he would have stopped eventually.
The only reason he had gone that far was because he had been looking for a quiet place, which for some reason seemed to be in very little number here.
The realization made Michael even more unwilling to remain in this layer.
"You mentioned earlier," Michael stated, "that you had a method to carry us quickly back to the First Floor of Hell."
Her expression relaxed slightly now that they had stopped.
"Yes."
Michael tilted his head faintly.
"What method?"
Rynne smiled.
Instead of answering immediately, she reached into her storage space and retrieved a small object.
It was a key.
Not an ordinary one.
The metal shimmered with a faint glow, its surface layered with intricate runic engravings that pulsed slowly like a heartbeat. The bow of the key was circular, divided into four segmented arcs, each one marked with a different sigil.
Rynne held it up between her fingers.
"This," she said, "is a Three Star Extraordinary Rank treasure."
Michael’s eyes lingered on the key for a moment longer.
"It allows its holder to switch between four specific floors in Hell."
"Which floors?" he asked.
Rynne answered without hesitation.
"The First Floor.
The Fifteenth Floor.
The Thirtieth Floor.
And the Forty Fifth Floor."
Michael’s gaze sharpened slightly when he heard that.
If this treasure only linked those four floors, and Rynne had reached the Fifty Sixth Floor, then it meant she had crawled the remaining distance manually from the Forty Fifth Floor downward.
Through eleven floors of Hell.
His eyes flickered briefly toward her before returning to the key.
Rynne, unaware of his thoughts, continued explaining.
"It was something my teacher gave me," she said casually. "A precautionary mobility treasure for deep layer expeditions."
Michael nodded faintly.
"How does it work?"
Rynne rotated the key lightly between her fingers.
"It’s not as convenient as it sounds," she admitted. "You can only teleport randomly within a chosen linked floor."
Michael’s brows furrowed slightly.
"Random?"
"Yes," she said. "You select the floor, but not the exact location."
She continued before he could ask more.
"And there’s a limit. Four uses in total."
Michael’s gaze flickered again to the segmented arcs on the key’s bow.
"One for each segment?" he asked.
Rynne nodded.
"Once a segment is consumed, it enters recharge."
"How long?"
Rynne answered plainly.
"Ten years. Ten years per teleportation charge."
Silence lingered briefly after that.
A Three Star Extraordinary Rank treasure.
Its recharge time alone made it clear why.
Perhaps if the cooldown time was lower or did not exist at all, it would have been an Epic Grade treasure.
Regardless of its rank, it was still an exceptional tool to have.
Rynne lowered the key slightly.
"So even though it lets us skip layers, it’s not something you waste unless necessary." She glanced at him. "I’ve already used one charge to descend earlier during my expedition."
Michael absorbed that information quickly.
So she had three charges remaining.
Michael gave a small nod.
"Understood."
Rynne lifted the key slightly as its runes continued to glow.
"If you’re ready now," she said, "I can take us straight to the First Floor immediately."
She paused briefly before adding,
"Or, if you still have any business left in Hell, I can take you to the closest linked floor instead. We can move upward from there manually."
She did not even finish speaking.
"The First Floor," Michael said instantly.
His answer came so fast it overlapped the end of her sentence. There was not even a second of hesitation.
Rynne blinked.
She had expected him to at least consider his options. After all, expeditions into Hell could provide rare opportunities. Many supernaturals tried to maximize their time within its layers before withdrawing.
Yet Michael’s response had been immediate.
Decisive.
Almost eager.
Rynne was slightly taken aback by that eagerness, but only for a moment. She did not question him further.
Michael, however, had drifted into his own thoughts.
What he had experienced in Hell since his arrival started to play like a movie in his head.
The Demon Lord incident.
The demonic supernaturals.
The Rank Four supernaturals who had been after his life, and many more.
Even recalling it now, he could feel the faint echo of danger lingering at the edge of his instincts.
He wondered if Rynne had any knowledge of what had been happening in the early floors of Hell.
But he did not ask.
Right now, he wanted nothing more than to leave Hell first. After that, other worries, thoughts, or concerns could come.
Also, from what he had seen so far, based on her possession of this key alone, Michael figured Rynne had likely used the treasure the moment she entered Hell.
Jumped directly from the First Floor to the Forty Fifth.
Then descended the remaining eleven floors manually.
Michael was right.
The moment Rynne had entered the First Floor of Hell, she had not lingered. After finding a secluded spot, she had activated the key without hesitation.
She went down.
Straight to the lower floors.
In doing so, she missed the entire incident with the Demon Lord. She also avoided other disturbances that Michael was not even aware of.
But that did not mean her journey had been easy.
If anything, the floors she chose were more dangerous than the higher ones in a different way.
The deeper layers were alive with powerful natives.
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