The third room thankfully didn’t contain anything too wild, it was another table but this time it was a series of puzzle cubes like I had done with training. There were six in total to complete, this challenge seemed to like that number so far. The puzzle cubes themselves weren’t too difficult, but each one as I completed it seemed to feel empty, like they were without purpose or didn’t have value in being completed.
It was a bit of an uncomfortable feeling but nothing too unmanageable, and as these were puzzles that were quite easy for me I wondered if it was a lack of a challenge plus my skill creating that feeling.
Getting to the door I spent a good few minutes considering it this time, I knew I needed to do the extra challenge as I didn’t know when I would get another reasonably manageable chance to gain additional rewards again. Yet despite that there was still a sense of unease after realising I wasn’t as well prepared as I could have been.
With a deep breath to steel any loose nerves I put my hand on the left side with the sword again, and pulled out my weapon to make my way forward. This time I was on edge as soon as I stepped into the small tunnel, and before stepping through the doorway I looked into the room, seeing two smaller slimes with central cores visible, and then looked around the ceiling and corners I could see. I spotted another smaller slime on top of where the exit doorway was, and assumed another would be above my doorway.
Aiming carefully I shot rapidly, starting with the slime over the exit doorway, and then the middle slimes. All three broke quickly and easily, however nothing else moved. Letting my heart beat settle back down, and breathing steadily trying to ensure my nerves were settled, I accepted the need to walk into the room.
Creeping forward slowly I stuck to the right side of the tunnel, and stepped out against that wall and ducked while quickly rushing over toward the wall with the exit as I had been able to see that wall was clear.
Looking over where the entrance was I saw there were no other slimes or creatures at all, and as I got close to the exit door it started to open as the others had. While I definitely felt a little silly for being so paranoid, after having my heart almost burst when I was jumped on I still felt it prudent, and a good lesson that paranoia is more a friend then arrogance in this situation.
Challenge update: For completing an additional challenge you are rewarded with a bonus reward added to your final reward on completing the challenge.
Bonus reward pool: D4 Stat Dice (1 x Strength, 1 x Dexterity, 1x Intelligence)
Entering the fourth puzzle room I dismissed the prompt, now sure it's granting stat dice in the order they display in my status, which at least convinced me there should be at least six changes for additional dice. Looking at this room's table I was confused for a moment before I realised what I was looking at.
Instead of a table there was a large box, and at the top of the box I could see a maze of pathways along with a smaller box attached containing a bunch of small balls. The box was only about a metre high, but it was broken into four coloured bands at the side. It started with Bronze, then Silver, then Gold, then a white metal I was unfamiliar with.
Once I got close enough to touch the box I got a prompt explaining the puzzle at least, although I had no idea how well this would go.
Box of mazes:
Each ball can be infused with a piece of a challengers mana. This will allow you to sense its location and navigate the maze with access to mana sense provided by the orb that will be translated to a suitable sense for your origin species. Once a layer is completed you may leave the ball at the exit to that layer to earn a point, but the ball cannot be reused. If you cannot complete a layer in its time requirements the ball will also be lost and no points gained for it.
Each layer grants increased points at a rate of 1, 2, 4, and 8 points respectively.
You must obtain at least eight points to progress past this challenge.
I was assuming the timer would show once I got started, and looking at the box while walking around it I couldn’t see anything other than the box of balls which seemed to have six balls in it, seemingly to avoid someone only passing enough balls through layer one to get a pass, and the drop hole where I would be putting a ball I was about to use.
Picking a ball up I felt the connection click, but it was inactive and no amount of prodding would trigger any changes. Once I put it on the hole however I felt it start to open up, and once I dropped it in I had to sit down on the floor for a moment. It was like I had a second layer of vision overlaid on my normal vision but without any of it conflicting.
Taking a few moments to adjust, and then another few minutes when I started moving the ball and felt myself rotating but also not, I was about to start making progress in the maze. Once I started moving I felt the connection provide a timer, which was fifteen minutes for this first layer. Moving around I found it was a simple maze with a standard layout, so it only took four minutes to find the centre which had another drop hole.
Once the ball dropped in I felt the connection pause, and got a prompt to continue or to preserve this place for one point. I decided to continue, hopefully I could get as far as possible on the first ball but as long as I kept four available and could reach the second layer I had a chance to pass.
The second layer was manageable, it was another standard puzzle but it followed the same principle the training puzzle had where every time I went past a multichoice intersection the walls would shift, but it wouldn’t ever actually block off a way to the middle so I managed to get through it in just over nine minutes leaving a bit over five spare.
Now I had to properly consider, do I push with the first ball or do I bank four balls here for my required eight points then push the last two. If I pushed early I had a better chance at a higher score, but if I played it safe I was limiting that.
Almost as soon as the thought sparked across my brain I realised how smooth brained I was. There was no prize promised for a higher reward, and the final layer was most likely a trap. It would bait you into using balls in an unsafe way until you weren’t able to make enough points to pass, due to a bit of sunk cost fallacy.
Banking my ball I claimed my two points, and grabbed another ball to repeat the same again.
It didn’t take long to get four balls banked at two points each, and with my fifth I decided to continue into the third layer.
This third layer was largely open with twice the width for each corridor, however when the connection provided the time I panicked. This floor only had four minutes to find the end, eventually I got my way though as thankfully the walls didn’t move on this one, but I failed to get anywhere near the exit before the time was up and my connection was lost with the ball, as I felt it dissolve into nothingness.
At least I was right that the further layers were a dramatic difficulty scale up, and as much as I wanted to feel I could beat that layer as it didn’t feel that difficult just something that would require learning the path through, so it was definitely possible if I hadn’t already banked my points with the earlier balls that I could have overstretched and lost multiple balls.
Knowing the outcome I still grabbed my last ball and got it ready to go, and when I reached the second layer I decided to push to the third layer, I had my requirements to pass already met so I may as well see if it's possible to pass.
As soon as I reached the third layer I started to rush through the same pattern I had followed previously, and found the walls had definitely changed. Before I could find the correct pathing again the time ran out and I found the ball I was working with dissolving.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Looking up I saw the door shift away to show the two options again as was the norm for this challenge, and looking at the cube I wondered how many people would fail here trying to complete the whole thing or not find the underlying risk and mitigate it early.
Pressing the challenge side, I wonder if the sword and bag were common symbols. I would see if other challenges for the same thing with how consistent it had been, and drawing my weapon again started to move through into the next room.
Getting to the entry to the next room again I could see an absolute swarm of slimes, easily a dozen of them across the floor. If it wasn’t for the cores being a rather dense black colour amongst the blue slime it would have been hard to even get a vague count like this.
Each time I had only been attacked on entering the room, and they had only responded after I had shot. Staring down the hallway I tried to work out a solution, and resolved that I should spend some of my training time on some kind of short sword or mace or whatever was compatible training because no close range options was starting to become a pain quickly.
Going over what I had, my general clothing and my Mana-Morph, I realised the only plan was one straight out of a B rated action movie and had a real risk of causing my pain then help. But what would life be without risk and lessons?
Moving forward until I was within arms reach of the entrance I put my hands out and confirmed the tunnel itself was only about twice as wide as my shoulders were, giving me not a huge amount of space. Looking up I judged it was about seven feet high in total, which while tall for a person is very small for a tunnel.
Hopeful this would work, I put an arm on each wall and a leg, and started to try to climb my way up, before promptly falling on my ass three small hops up.
Staring at the wall from the ground I put my feet out against the wall, and feeling it push my back into the wall on its side, I realised I was going about this completely wrong. Standing back up I put my back against the wall, then raised one foot followed by the other onto the opposite wall.
In this manner I was able to shimmy my way up the walls until I was at about as high as it was possible to climb, then aiming carefully I made sure I still had a good line of sight on most of the slimes. Either through providence or because this was the expected ranged user solution, the entrance to this combat space went all the way up to the top of the tunnel as well, so it left fairly unrestricted sight. Taking aim I started to fire at the cores I could see, and which caused a surge forward from the slime swarm into the tunnel looking for the threat.
By the slime the slimes started to climb the walls; they were down to four, and I was able to deal with the two on the side my back was against before they got even a third of the way up. Quickly I shot the slime on the opposite wall whose core I could see most easily, giving the other a chance to reach up and grab onto my boot.
I was able to shoot the core and let the slime drop, however by the time I got back to the floor it was still mostly covered in bits of corrosive slime. Looking at my boots I accepted that they were cheap enough, only seven mana for the pair from the system, and I had kind of fully expected to lose them sooner or later anyway.
Walking out into the next entry area I automatically went to turn left again and bumped into a wall, at the same time as getting my updated reward prompt, after looking around I realised this time the tunnel went right. Following it along I reached the next puzzle room, and just had to accept either my mental map was horribly off or physics was a bit more flexible in this challenge regarding rooms occupying the same space.
Challenge update: For completing an additional challenge you are rewarded with a bonus reward added to your final reward on completing the challenge.
Bonus reward pool: D4 Stat Dice (1 x Strength, 1 x Dexterity, 1x Intelligence, 1x Wisdom)
Looking at this room I was a bit puzzled, ironic considering the room, as this time there were three doors and a small statue of what I could only describe as a dwarf owlbear, hopefully that wasn’t just racist to think but, it was definitely a small feathered animal shaped like a bear with an owl like head but at most three feet tall.
Walking forward I almost shit myself, as suddenly the Owl-bear turned to face me more directly, tilting it head up, and started speaking in a voice that sounded like it was crossing from some place I shouldn’t be able to hear. “Behind are three doors, and for each door I have a question, for each question I shall give knowledge of each door and once you know all you earn knowledge of you will decide. Listen to the question of Fargy and answer to her statue to move forward. No question may be answered twice, but a question in kind you can ask each time.”
If someone named this little girl Fargy then it isn’t my fault I immediately had a need to pet it, like it was tiny, looked like the feathers in real life should be super soft surely, and it had an adorable name even if its voice sounded like it broke dimensional laws just by being present and the sounds echoed heavier then they should in the wrong directions.
“First question is to select a door, any door that pleases you to decide on”
Looking for the catch I decided questions were meant to be used, “Fargy, will the door I decide matter at all, or is it simply the set up required for a further part of the challenge?”
“Not to stupid, not too slow, yes the door does not matter. Second question will answer and solve the problem.” Okay that was a relief at least.
“Okay Fargy, I select the middle door thank you.” Hopefully being polite and repeating its name would help humanise and build a relationship with me and the being, although the book I read that in was meant to be about interviewing tips so I wasn’t sure how helpful that would be here.
“Now Fargy will share knowledge, for the correct answer. Behind the first door leads to an exit to the challenge but a forfeit of all rewards. The challenge will not be completed, and another lesser soul must try again.” As Fargy spoke the image of an open door and two hands open holding nothing etched themselves into the leftmost door.
“Now the second question, you must answer. Now you know what is behind one door, is it best to change doors or keep your original door?” As soon as the question left the statues mouth I couldn’t help but start to laugh, it was a damn problem that had cursed my small group of friends for months until one of the guys sat everyone down with a whiteboard and explained the maths properly.
“Fargy, is this the monte hall problem? Cause if it is I swear, this thing is a curse and even in death I can’t escape it.” Watching the head tilt one way then the other I got the impression that she was thinking over my question, hopefully there was a way for her to understand the name of the problem I mentioned despite obviously having different origin worlds.
“Fargy has checked, the gambit says that her problem is the same as the one you mentioned. Leather covered soul should tell Fargy who steals her questions sometime yes? Yes, now I have answered. You should answer.” It seemed Fargy was a little possessive of her riddles, though it did raise a concern in my mind that this creature might be one I run into again if she was truly alive rather than a simple part of the system, but at least this meant I knew the answer.
“I should swap doors, because the odds are now one in two instead of being one in three. So I will swap my door to the rightmost door, thank you Fargy.”
“Last question, you have done well, would you like to know what is behind the door you have not selected?” Now this one seemed like a trap, but well curiosity killed the cat and all of that.
“Yes I would like to know what is behind the middle door thank you Fargy.” At least this was challenge five over, and knowing it either worked or didn’t was a bit of a relief, this while unusual was a nice bit of social interaction to break up the mild insanity that had been the challenge so far.
“Behind the door no longer selected is the end of challenge, but with bonus rewards. Door came with extra dice for clicky and clacking to give things. Now go, go through the door and leave Fargy to find new questions.” Knowing a dismissal when I heard one, and a bit gutted knowing I had missed a chance to boost my rewards further and also skip a challenge I made my way over and pressed on the remaining door.
Challenge room passed: Due to resolving without violence, magical assistance or any charm skills one bonus stat die is added to the reward pool.
Bonus reward pool: D4 Stat Dice (1 x Strength, 1 x Dexterity, 1x Intelligence, 1x Wisdom, 1x Endurance)
While not as nice as the middle door, ironic considering mathematically I did the right thing in swapping doors, at least I didn’t have to deal with a swarm of slimes again to earn an extra die this time.
Looking down the tunnel I was glad I wasn’t too far off the end, this can’t have been more than four hours in total but it had been incredibly exhausting so far. Hopefully this next challenge wasn’t going to be to bad, or at the least something interesting, as not having gained any levels in my skill for puzzle solving so far had been a minor annoyance despite the work I had put in so far on the various puzzles and challenges.