The portals had increased from three to four, and their destinations had also changed.
This was not good news for Bai Shi.
Among the three remaining portals, it was now uncertain if Farum Azula and the Eternal City were still options.
To make matters worse, the only Stonesword Key he had was the one from Sellia.
In other words, if he wanted to open all the portals at the Four Belfries, then Bai Shi would not only have to find the Stonesword Key that was supposed to be in Raya Lucaria, according to the game, but also pull another one out of some unknown corner.
However, it certainly wouldn't be like the game, where there was one key for every portal.
Bai Shi believed there had to be a fair number of other Stonesword Keys in the Lands Between.
Because the Four Belfries was likely some kind of transportation hub.
Using the portals at the Four Belfries, one could travel to various places across the Lands Between.
Such a vast system couldn't possibly be for the service of just a few people; the Stonesword Keys must have been mass-produced at some point in the past.Hopefully, he could dig one up from some corner in the future.
For now, Bai Shi wasn't in a hurry to use the Stonesword Key he had.
After all, with only one key, there was no way to determine the destinations of the remaining portals.
With the situation unclear, it would be better to wait until he got the key from the academy before trying again.
At least then he could determine if there were still portals leading to the Eternal City and Farum Azula.
Since he was already here, Bai Shi decided to explore the portal the Cuckoo Knights had opened first.
It was filled with glintstone crystals, so it might be somewhere in Liurnia.
Bai Shi was very curious about where it led.
This time, Bai Shi brought Slude along with him.
There was nothing for her to do here anyway, so he might as well bring her in.
If they needed to split up and scout, she could help explore one path, increasing their efficiency.
Given the skills of a Black Knife Assassin, there shouldn't be any mishaps.
—
He returned once more to the cavern filled with glintstone crystals.
But now, Bai Shi was no longer certain this was still Liurnia.
Because the temperature inside the cavern was quite low.
It was normal for a cavern to be colder than the outside, and even if Bai Shi went to other caverns in Liurnia right now, the temperature wouldn't be high.
But the cold here was definitely not a temperature that would normally be found in Liurnia.
When he teleported over earlier, Bai Shi had only stayed for a moment, so he hadn't noticed the strange temperature. Now that he had been inside a little longer, he finally perceived it.
"Where in the world did this portal send me? Is this still Liurnia?"
Bai Shi glanced at Slude. The dancing dress she wore was rather thin; he wondered if a place this cold would affect her.
However, Slude didn't seem to be affected at all.
That made sense. Not to mention that the Numen were descendants of an eternal line, with cold blood flowing through their veins. Her constitution as a hero-level individual alone meant that ordinary cold was nothing she couldn't handle.
As long as it wasn't an extreme environment like the mountaintops or a volcano, it wouldn't have a significant impact on her.
Still, Bai Shi asked her just in case. After she replied that she was fine, he stopped worrying about her and began to explore the cavern.
At first, Bai Shi and Slude moved together.
But they later discovered that this crystal cavern was simply too vast, so the two of them split up.
Bai Shi carefully observed the surrounding glintstone crystals.
Some of the glintstone crystals had smooth cut marks on them.
The Glintstone Cutter he'd previously found in a chest was probably obtained by the Cuckoo Knights from here after they teleported over.
However, the Cuckoo Knights had paid a heavy price.
There were many skeletons of Cuckoo Knights in the cavern, with gauntlets scattered here and greaves scattered there.
Some unknown creature had hung the remains of the Cuckoo Knights on the crystals, and there were bite marks on the corpses.
Judging by the degree of decomposition of these remains, a considerable amount of time must have passed.
He didn't know if the Cuckoo Knights had managed to eliminate the creature; he hadn't seen what it looked like yet.
As Bai Shi searched for an exit, he also observed the various types of glintstone crystals growing here.
The color and purity of the glintstone crystals indicated their quality.
The most common were large chunks of pale gray glintstone crystal, which were the most worthless and had little use. A large amount of them also grew in the Lake of Liurnia, having no mining value whatsoever.
Pale blue glintstone crystals contained a bit of magic, but their quality was poor and they were fragile, so sorcerers looked down on them.
These were also the pale glintstones that could be directly crushed to release a magic projectile to attack enemies.
As for higher-quality crystals, those with a deeper blue or green color could be used as materials for weapons.
The staves of both Caria and the academy used this type of glintstone.
The glintstone was imbued with magic, which could enhance the power of sorceries.
As for the highest-grade glintstone crystals, they were also blue and green, but it would be more accurate to call them priceless gemstones rather than glintstone crystals.
The most typical examples were the gems growing on the bodies and staves of the semi-petrified Master Lusat and Master Azur.
The boost those glintstone gems provided to sorceries, as well as the power they contained, was immeasurable.
The blade of the Sword of Night and Flame was inlaid with precisely such a deep green glintstone gem.
At the end of the path he had chosen, Bai Shi now found a deep blue glintstone crystal the size of a human head.
Stormveil had been trying to train sorcerers, but there had been no results so far. Besides the lack of teachers, a shortage of staves had always been a limiting factor.
If he took this glintstone crystal back, he could supply many sorcerers with staves.
Bai Shi took out the Glintstone Cutter he had just acquired, infused it with magic, and used its skill.
It was a good chance to test out his new toy.
The axe blade of the Glintstone Cutter was coated in pulsating magic, and it began to cut as soon as it touched the glintstone crystal.
"Zzz~"
Accompanied by a faint cutting sound, the glintstone crystal was easily sliced off, leaving a surprisingly smooth surface.
Bai Shi stored it in his spatial disc. Just as he was about to switch to another path and continue exploring, a crisp sound suddenly came from the distance.
"Clang—"
Bai Shi reacted immediately. It was the sound of a blade clashing with something. Slude had encountered an enemy.
Since this path had reached a dead end anyway, Bai Shi headed straight for the source of the sound.
The path here was a bit winding. Bai Shi passed through a maze-like corridor and took some time to find Slude.
At that moment, Slude was leaning against a glintstone crystal, holding her short blade in a defensive posture, but the attacker was nowhere to be seen.
Fragments of glintstone were scattered on the ground, and there were several strange wounds on her shoulder and arm.
None of the wounds were serious, and her short blade was stained with blue blood, likely from the brief clash just now.
But from the way Slude looked now, she didn't seem to have a good way of dealing with the attacker and could only wait in place for it to reappear.
This kind of defensive stance was not what the Black Knife Assassins excelled at.
What the Black Knife Assassins excelled at was assassination, wearing their form-concealing assassin's armor and wielding black knives infused with Destined Death.
However, because of Bai Shi, she now had neither of those things and had to rely on her skills and physical prowess.
"What's the situation?"
Slude wiped away the blood flowing from her wound.
If she'd had a Black Knife just now, that one counterattack would have been enough to kill that thing.
"It's a strange giant lizard covered in glintstone crystals. A creature I've never seen before. It's not strong."
"It seems to have excellent camouflage in this area. I can't find it. It'll take some time to deal with."
Bai Shi surveyed his surroundings. This area was also filled with glintstone, but it was different from the previous location.
Here, the glintstone crystals formed a circle, completely enclosing the area except for the corridor they'd come from.
Reflected in this circle of glintstone, Bai Shi could even see his and Slude's images on the smoother crystal surfaces.
Relying on sight alone, it was impossible to tell where the lizard was hiding with its camouflage; he couldn't see any trace of it.
It seemed that upon seeing its prey had a helper, the creature hid itself away, looking for an opportunity.
Naturally, Bai Shi had no intention of waiting for it to come out on its own. He summoned a gentle wind and began to search for the lizard's trail.
He still didn't know the condition of this crystalline land; casually summoning a storm to attack might cause the cavern to collapse.
After discovering his shortcomings in enemy detection and reconnaissance, Bai Shi had been trying to develop his abilities in this area.
Now, by using the flow of the wind, he could already perform simple functions like mapping the terrain and locating enemies.
As the wind passed through the walls formed by the glintstone, Bai Shi discovered what was special about this place.
This place was very similar to a hall of mirrors. It was enclosed by layers of glintstone, making it seem completely sealed off, but in reality, there were many passages leading out.
Because the area was inherently dim, with no other light source besides the giant surrounding glintstone, it was difficult to notice anything unusual.
And before anyone could notice anything unusual, the lizard living here would attack first, catching them off guard.
The lizard that had ambushed Slude earlier was hiding behind one of the glintstone crystals, concealing itself.
The moment it realized Bai Shi had found it, it immediately displayed a beast's decisiveness.
The lizard darted out from behind the crystal and began to run swiftly, weaving constantly between the glintstone crystals.
Its constantly changing position was hidden among the countless reflections on the glintstone, as if it were a beast in the mirrors.
Then, two seemingly identical large lizards darted out side-by-side from behind the glintstone.
This was the first time Bai Shi had gotten a clear look at the large lizard's appearance.
It was a rather large lizard, estimated to be three to four meters long from head to tail, a beast in a heavier weight class than a giant crayfish. However, due to its slender build, it didn't reach the weight of a Runebear.
It had rather long, slender limbs, its back was covered with pale blue crystals, and its skin was pitch-black.
Faced with the two lizards charging from the left and right, Bai Shi didn't try to guess which one was real. He simply drew the Sword of Night and Flame and swept it in an arc of fire, engulfing both lizards in flames.
But the two lizards immediately dissipated with a shattering sound—both were fakes.
The real attack then came from behind Bai Shi.
Hearing the movement, Bai Shi immediately turned, but a blinding flash of light temporarily stole his vision.
Immediately after, something with astonishing weight crashed into his chest—it was clearly the crystal lizard.
It had curled its body into a ball, exposing the crystals on its back, and was rolling like a wheel. The blinding light from before had also been released from its crystals.
After crashing into Bai Shi, the sharp crystals continuously scraped against his armor, creating sparks.
In the past, any enemy hit by this move would inevitably have their flesh torn open and be crushed into a pile of mush on the ground.
But today's enemy felt completely different to grind against.
It rolled until it couldn't roll anymore and came to a stop, but it still hadn't managed to grind Bai Shi into a pulp.
After it had crashed into him, Bai Shi had pushed the creature away with his hands, stopping it from continuing to scrape against his armor.
A storm gathered around his body to form a layer of wind armor, reducing the damage and hindering its rotation.
Even so, the razor-sharp crystals managed to leave a few scrapes on Bai Shi's face and chin.
Seeing that the creature had stopped rolling, Bai Shi let out a cold snort and wrapped both arms around the lizard's back.
"You like burrowing into people's chests, do you?"
"My embrace is not meant for a beast like you."
Because of its earlier rolling posture, when Bai Shi hugged it, the lizard was lifted up with its head facing down, its four limbs unable to touch the ground, flailing uselessly in the air.
Bai Shi tightened his arms, hugging the lizard tightly. Some of the glintstone crystals began to pierce his flesh, but he ignored them and continued to apply force.
The crystal lizard spat bone-chilling frost from its mouth, coating Bai Shi's legs in a layer of ice. Its long tail also thrashed about wildly, shattering many of the surrounding glintstone crystals.
No matter how it struggled, Bai Shi showed no signs of stopping.
The crystal lizard's abdomen was continuously squeezed. Gradually, it could no longer exhale frost, because all the air in its chest cavity had been forced out.
A moment later, the crystal lizard's internal organs, along with its blood, were all squeezed out of its mouth and splattered on the ground. It couldn't have been more dead.
Bai Shi shook the blood from his hands and picked up the Sword of Night and Flame from the ground.
With a vigorous life force of over fifty points of Vigor, the small wounds would soon heal on their own if he left them alone.
"Can you please not use such a barbaric fighting style in the future..."
"You could have easily finished it off by dodging, but now you've gone and gotten yourself hurt."
Melina's feignedly cold voice suddenly sounded in Bai Shi's ear.