Chapter 8: The Girl on the Log Bridge
Crossing such a log bridge would undoubtedly be terrifying.
It was like working at a great height, with an abyss ten thousand feet below… Lonis had a fear of heights to begin with, and at this moment, her tail felt a little weak from fear.
However…
(Hmph, Elus is just trying to scare me with her tsundere ways… I’ll cross it, after all, she wouldn’t really let me fall and become a meat patty!)
Lonis realized that although these traps were terrifying and frightening.
She had actually experienced them before at C. Academy…
During the Autumn Arts Festival’s escape room adventure, she had first passed through a hall filled with ropes, then crossed a log bridge with a pool of water below it, and finally arrived at a secret room filled with books.
This was just a slight increase in the punishment; the essence was the same.
Next to the log bridge, Lonis also found a stone tablet engraved with “The Path to Royal Audience,” which further solidified her thoughts – Elus had deliberately made her go through this just to scare her.
But she wanted to prove to Elus that she was no longer a timid girl and could clear the challenge!
So, Lonis stumbled her way onto the log bridge.
…
…
(It’s so high, if I accidentally fall,
In what way would Elus catch me?)
Would there be a safety net below that she couldn’t see, or would the black-haired girl suddenly appear?
But no matter what, she had failed last time, and she wouldn’t be so embarrassed this time!
…
Admittedly, Lonis’s large tail behind her played a significant role.
Even though she was wearing high heels, she could easily maintain her balance. The girl, with a mix of nervousness and lack of danger, passed the first 20 meters of the log bridge.
However, the journey ahead… became a bit complicated.
Due to the flexibility of the log bridge, the closer she got to the middle, the more it swayed. With just her tail, Lonis was already having trouble maintaining her balance.
So…
“Hmm, I’ll just crawl down.”
At this point, Lonis no longer cared about her pride. She crawled on all fours on the log bridge.
Her chest forward, her buttocks raised, and her tail swaying back and forth as her body tilted… The silver-haired girl crawling down was as stable as a rock, without a trace of deviation.
After all…
Elus had once teased her fiercely.
On the Time Shuttle, Lonis had worn bells and crawled shamefully at night. That’s why she could now perfectly maintain her body without any swaying.
(Okay, let’s go all out and get through this!)
Lonis’s heart was full of drive, but at that moment…
“Ah!”
Electric current suddenly appeared on the log bridge!
And this electric current was not weak at all. It penetrated Lonis’s long gloves, causing her to “gasp and pant.”
“Ah… no, it hurts! This… this is too much!”
Being shocked like that made Lonis’s eyes involuntarily water. But the electric shock didn’t stop… which left the girl in a difficult position.
Because she knew that electric current also needs a conductor.
This meant that if she stood to cross, she could pass safely thanks to her insulated high heels.
However, if she supported herself with her hands covered by gloves, she would feel a tingling, painful sensation.
And if she used her knees, covered only by stockings, she would feel an intense burning sensation.
So…
(I must quickly pass the middle section and stand up.)
…
Lonis’s decision was not wrong, but how easy was it to implement?
With every step she crawled, her body felt like it was being whipped, and her muscles trembled involuntarily.
Because her knees couldn’t touch the ground, her crawling posture looked particularly clumsy… Her tail had to sway constantly to barely maintain balance.
Due to gravity, her chest was conspicuously prominent.
And every time Lonis reached out her arms forward, she would subconsciously touch her chest, causing her chest to sway back and forth.
But the most uncomfortable thing…
was the sticky spider silk on her body.
Originally, they had already solidified, so Lonis hadn’t paid attention. Now, as she was sweating from the electric shock, some of the sticky silk began to warm up and melt.
It flowed down her hair, onto her cheeks.
It flowed down her buttocks, onto her thighs.
It was a ticklish sensation, like small bugs crawling, and Lonis had to crawl on all fours, unable to reach out and touch it.
So, she could only endure this tantalizing, almost unbearable ticklishness and continue crawling forward.
(Wuwu… Elus is such a bully.)
…
After crawling for less than ten meters, Lonis was on the verge of collapse.
This ticklish feeling was even more terrifying than when a certain “small prop” was activated… If Elus had activated that small prop right now, the silver-haired girl would have completely collapsed and turned into a puddle of jelly.
But fortunately…
She hadn’t.
Even though she was on the verge of collapse, Lonis still retained a sliver of rationality. Because she still had the courage of a boy, Lonis continued to crawl with all her might.
…
20 meters left…
Her arms were already sore and trembling uncontrollably.
10 meters left…
Although she wanted to stand up, her waist was numb, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.
5 meters left…
Her tail seemed unable to sway anymore, and Lonis’s toes were clenched tightly.
2 meters left…
Come on, just a little bit more!
Lonis’s vision was darkening; both her physical strength and mental state were at their limits.
And finally…
She reached the finish line!
The moment she crawled out of the log bridge, the girl collapsed completely onto the ground, weak.
She was drenched in sweat, panting, and even though she was out of the electric shock range, her muscles were still trembling violently.
However…
Lonis’s heart was filled with an indescribable sense of accomplishment.
Even though it was so difficult, hadn’t she made it through?
A heartfelt joy made Lonis’s face crack into a smile. She shouted upwards:
“Elus, did you see? I succeeded! No… it’s just a little torment, it couldn’t stop me~~ I succeeded on the first try!!”
…
Lonis was full of confidence, expecting to hear Elus’s tsundere reaction of being amazed but still trying to maintain her dignity.
However… there was still no answer.
The surroundings were silent, only a gate in front of her had opened.
A faint light leaked from behind the gate, and it was then that Lonis remembered she had arrived at the third trial.
The third trial in her memory seemed to be a puzzle-solving in a secret room.
And last time, she had barely passed with Elus’s guidance, but this time…
“Hmph, just watch. As long as I calm down, there’s no challenge I can’t overcome.”
…
…
After lying on the ground for a while, once her energy recovered, Lonis walked towards the secret room ahead again.
But she didn’t notice…
At the bottom of the dark canyon lay countless chaotic, white bones…
