"... Nico, what do you think? Survival is our top priority right now, right?" Sophia inquired as she crossed her arms and turned to Nico.
Veronica shook her head. "We need to know more about the gods!" Veronica retorted as she pouted and looked into Nico's eyes with a gentle glistening to them.
Torn between two plausible options, Nico was caught in the middle. Whatever decision he made would decide the fate of the group.
At the moment, both parties seemed to have valid reasons as to why they wanted to do what they wanted to do.
As the middle ground holder, Nico had to be smart and responsible.
He wanted to know more about the gods and the possible secret that the Tower of Poseidon held. But, at the same time, he couldn't risk getting the other players killed for his benefit.
He sighed and looked at Veronica with an understanding facial expression.
"V, as much as I'd like to know more about the gods and the world we've been plunged into, Sophia's right," Nico admitted.
"For the time being, we need to think about those that want to get out of here as soon as possible," he added as he gestured towards a player who was shaking.
Veronica smiled faintly and nodded slowly. "... I understand, Nico... We'll find more puzzles to solve anyways, so it's alright..."
Nico smiled behind his mask and placed a reassuring hand on Veronica's shoulder, making her heart race.
"Thank you. And, I'm sure there'll be more puzzles to solve. I'm counting on you," Nico sang his praises while Veronica blushed.
{ +3 Charisma has been added! }
'The more Charisma points I earn, the easier it'll become for people to trust and follow my advice,' he said to himself as he turned to Sophia, who scoffed and walked towards the exit.
The other players followed behind her and exited the chamber.
As they stepped through the other side, they were inside another chamber. This one though, was far larger and spacious in comparison to the one they just survived.
"Is this the 5th floor?" Sophia asked as she looked at the tall ceilings.
"Could be a safe zone. We're almost halfway through this bitch after all," said Victor as he looked at the towering statues surrounding them.
The statues were made of stone and were cracked, each of them surrounding the circular hall. Each statue was carrying a different weapon.
"A shield, sword, bow, spear and... nothing...?" Veronica said as she rubbed her chin.
"Not nothing; hands," Victor corrected. "Look at his hands; they're scarred, meaning those are his weapons," he said with a smile on his face.
"I remember seeing this," said Jax as he stepped closer.
"Your opinion is the last thing we need right now, Jax," Sophia said in a hateful tone of voice.
"Nah, just give me a shot."
"Tell us what you know," Nico said as he allowed him to speak.
"These five statues are the pillars of Olympus, mainly focused on the warriors that the gods of Olympus had put their faith in. For instance, that bow is similar to Philoctetes's bow!" Jax explained as he pointed his finger at the statue.
"And that one with the spear!" he pointed at another enthusiastically. "That statue is similar to Hector, the Trojan Prince!"
"And the sword?" Nico inquired as the sword of the statue resembled his Voided Xiphos.
"Could be Theseus, but we can't just disregard Achilles as well. He was known for using both spears and swords, after all," answered Jax.
"His sword kinda looks like yours, Nico," said Veronica.
"Yeah..."
"Anyways, all these statues are of great Olympian warriors who are part of the cornerstone of the gods. This must be some sort of hall of legends," suggested Jax.
"Is this another puzzle?" asked Sophia.
"Unlikely," said Veronica. "Besides the fact that they're linked to the gods of Olympus, there's nothing significant about the statues that would suggest that they're part of a puzzle. At least, I can't see it..."
{ Welcome to the Hall of Legends! Here, you shall undergo trials that will grant you the right to walk amongst the legends in the statues!
Prove you are formidable, strong, tactical, quick and capable of adapting to any and all circumstances!
Good luck! }
After the system screen rang out, the room began moving and the ground shook. Similar to a spinning Rubix cube, the walls shifted in different sections.
Then, the statue carrying no weapons moved, flexing its shoulders before extending its arms. Then, it stretched and groaned, its bones cracking and the dust around it falling to the ground.
The players backed away and readied themselves for a possible battle.
The statue looked down at them and its white eyes glowed. "Let's see how quickly you can adapt to this, puny mortals..."
All of a sudden, the weapons the players had managed to summon returned to their inventories and locked themselves.
Without being able to access their weapons, some players were at a great disadvantage, just like Nico.
"Aw yeah! This is my kinda fight!" Victor shouted excitedly as he charged for the statue, his hands already crackling with a golden brown energy.
His red eyes turned gold as he jumped towards the statue and curled his hands into fists.
He then threw a powerful punch and sent a bunch of debris flying in all directions, causing smoke to cover the entire area and the ground to shake.
Without stopping, he threw a barrage of attacks before the statue could hit him. Then, with one last war cry, Victor landed a marking mana punch that tore through its skin.
The statue smirked and grabbed Victor, trapping him inside his palm. "You pass!" he shouted as he chuckled.
He then opened his palm and Victor was trapped inside a blue sphere, unable to punch his way out of this one.
"So that's what we have to do..." Nico said as he draped his entire body with his Dancing Fire.
"H-How are the r-rest of us supposed to land a h-hit on that?!" Veronica exclaimed as she stuttered.
"You're a phantom. Just phase through his hand and make him punch himself as hard as you can," suggested Nico as he dashed for the statue at incredible speed.
The statue began stomping around, trying to hi Der Nico from moving. But, all he did was allow him to drift through the dust and vanish way easier.
Without warning, Nico ran up the statue's leg and quickly appeared on the back of its neck. The statue swatted his arm violently, causing a gust of wind to follow, and he smacked Nico onto the wall.
Nico gagged and fell to the ground, but quickly recovered as he was about to become a human pancake beneath the statue's foot.
He took a deep breath and decided to use his head. He, once again, dashed towards the statue and ran on his body.
This time, however, he ran around him while lowering his centre of gravity. Then, he pushed himself off the statue, causing it to move a few feet forward.
He bounced off the wall while the statue was trying to find his footing. Then, he curled his hands into fists and surrounded his entire hand with the Dancing Fire technique.
Leaving behind a violent booming sound, Nico managed to land a clean hit on the back of the statue's head, causing his tough skin to crack and fall apart.
Fire and smoke surrounded the statue's head and only his laughter could be heard after the explosion. Before Nico could land on the ground, the statue grabbed him and trapped the player in his hands.
"You cheated... But, you're intelligent. So, you pass!" the statue declared with a loud laugh.
As he freed Nico, he found himself trapped inside his own blue bubble, that swiftly floated towards Victor's.
"I thought Sophia would be the second person to join me," Victor said as he smirked.
"Yeah, I've got tricks up my sleeve, meathead," Nico retorted as he smirked behind his mask. "Although I'm not worried about her, Veronica could be in danger..."
"Yeah," Victor nodded as he turned his attention to the battlefield. "And Jax doesn't seem like the type to be able to land a powerful hit on that thing."
"I don't know... Something about him doesn't feel right... I feel like he's hiding something..."
The statue turned his attention to the remaining players as he healed.
"My name is Antaeus, son of Poseidon and Gaia! Prove your worth! Show me your adaptability! Show me you're more than capable of landing a single hit on me!" Antaeus declared as he cracked his knuckles.
"Shit..." Jax said as his eyes slowly turned blue.