Chapter 123: Resurrection

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Resurrection

After a short rest, the group continued onward.

These stairs had a wall on only one side; the other opened into a bottomless abyss. Because of this, they trod carefully, feeling as if they were crossing a narrow wooden bridge over a cliff.

Seraphina Sinclair’s face was tense, her hand gripping the Sunflower’s pot tightly. She still hadn’t figured out why this instance required them to carry the Sunflowers.

So far, the Sunflower hadn’t just been useless—it was a complete burden.

This was especially true for a survivor like Milo Shaw, who needed both hands for his weapon. The Sunflower was impossible to put down, but just as impossible to hold.

Seraphina Sinclair raised a hand to rub her temples. ’There are too many things I don’t understand. Instead of wasting energy on these questions, it’s better to press on.’

The flight of stairs was long again. After walking for over ten minutes, they finally saw light spilling in from the next area.

One by one, they stepped into the new area.

Seraphina Sinclair immediately spotted it—the Stone Tablet she had heard about in the area channel, the one that recorded information about the instance.

It was quietly embedded in an extremely conspicuous spot.

In the very center of this area, a statue stood in the middle of a triangle.

The statue’s appearance was utterly bizarre.

It stood in the center of the triangle, its surface rough. It was about two people tall, its form twisted and grotesque.

Though it was a statue of humans, it completely defied human anatomy.

The main body of the statue was composed of several entangled human torsos, crushed and fused together, like countless souls struggling in agony.

It was impossible to count the number of arms, but they were clearly human limbs, their fingers twisted open, with tips as sharp as claws. There were no clear boundaries between the torsos; the muscle lines were gnarled and contorted, as if in the process of melting together.

The statue’s base was seamlessly connected to the triangular pattern, and the Stone Tablet carved with text was embedded in this base.

Seraphina Sinclair stood directly beneath the statue, looking up at it.

It stood silently in the light, yet it sent a wave of palpitations through one’s heart.

The others also remained silent, staring at the strange object. They were clearly terrified by its horrifying appearance. Fearing this would be the next thing to come to life, they felt the urge to retreat, some even thinking of just ending it all.

Only Seraphina Sinclair was different. She was silently counting the arms in her head, and when she found it was truly impossible, she simply looked away.

[Water Stopping] triggered again, clearing Seraphina Sinclair’s thoughts. She began to examine the text on the Stone Tablet.

It was worth noting that the text this time was also written in Chinese.

The world was rather thoughtful in this regard.

[O, survivors! Place the Sunflowers of your companions into the slots! This is the proof of your teamwork, and the only way to awaken dormant life and allow your fellow travelers to return to this path!]

[Note: If you have no need to resurrect a teammate, you may end the instance directly!]

’What? Resurrection?’

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze swept over the words on the Stone Tablet, then slowly moved to the twisted statue’s base.

On three sides of the base, facing the three points of the triangle, were three indented slots. Each one perfectly matched the shape and size of the bottom of the flowerpots they held.

’It all makes sense now. This is the way out the system left for us.’

’As for why there are three slots... it’s because there were only three trials. The monsters stop attacking after someone dies, so the maximum number of people who can be sacrificed is three!’

’And as for other accidental deaths...’

Seraphina Sinclair could almost picture the system’s smug face, saying, "Sorry, idiots like that aren’t covered by our resurrection program."

’No wonder the instance was so difficult. No wonder the monsters stopped attacking immediately after one person died.’

’Sacrifice, appeasing the monsters, and then resurrection... it’s all connected.’

’With this, the death rate is brought way down. But by how much?’

’Resurrecting a teammate isn’t just about making a choice. You have to backtrack to retrieve their Sunflower.’

’And besides... no one would volunteer to be sacrificed, would they?’

’Other teams, after discovering in the first trial that a player’s death could appease the monsters, probably started scrambling to push out their weakest members, right?’

’And would those survivors, the ones who forced others to give up their lives, really be willing to go all the way back to resurrect the ones they sacrificed?’

’Not a chance.’

The only one who had died in their group was Magnus Barrett.

Risking their lives for Magnus Barrett...? The very thought was laughable to Seraphina Sinclair.

Hannah Morgan and the others had also finished reading the Stone Tablet. Their breathing grew shallow, and the air seemed to freeze.

Their gazes involuntarily fell upon the potted Sunflowers they had been so carefully cradling the entire way.

’So... this is what it’s for.’

Resurrection.

The word made everyone’s heart skip a beat, followed by an even heavier, suffocating pressure.

’What should we choose?’

’Go back? Or end the instance right now?’

If they ended it now, it felt as though they would all become Magnus Barrett’s murderers.

In a way, this was truly a masterful case of moral blackmail.

Hannah Morgan was the first to break the silence.

She avoided the word "resurrection" from the tablet, her voice crisp and tinged with a detached calm, as if it had nothing to do with her. "His Sunflower is back in the second trial. Going back is too risky. It’s not worth it."

She didn’t even say Magnus Barrett’s name, referring to him only as "him."

Milo Shaw’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just ran a hand through his hair in frustration and muttered, "He’s the one who couldn’t hold on. Can’t blame us."

He hugged the Sunflower in his arms a little tighter, as if that could lessen the strange feeling in his heart.

Chloe Reed’s face was pale. His eyes darted about, not daring to look at the words on the Stone Tablet, let alone imagine returning to that horrifying swamp.

He mumbled, more as if trying to convince himself, "Right, right... there was nothing we could do... We have to survive..."

Everyone’s gazes, some overtly and some covertly, eventually landed on Seraphina Sinclair, waiting for her decision.

Seraphina Sinclair’s face, however, showed no emotion.

Her eyes swept past the twisted, agonized statue, but her mind was pondering why the system would present such a choice here.

’Is the reward different depending on whether we save him or not?’

Yes.

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t care whether Magnus Barrett lived. More than that, she cared whether the reward for this instance would change because of this choice.

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze moved from the three slots on the statue’s base, slowly swept across the faces of Hannah Morgan, Milo Shaw, and Chloe Reed, and finally returned to the cold prompt on the Stone Tablet.

[Note: If you have no need to resurrect a teammate, you may end the instance directly!]

’End it directly?’

Compared to the path of saving a teammate, this ending was far too simple.

’With such a huge difference in difficulty, could the rewards possibly be the same?’