Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

Chapter 233: Mysterious Stone Platform

[To...the...to the...choice....no, that is chosen.

Argh! Who in the world would scribble away the centre of a large stone portrait?!]

D's lament was unanswered. Lee was closely observing the words, and his deduction was close to that of D. But, Hudson found the culprit of the vandalism.

[It was not scribbled and deformed, but set up to deform itself in the duration of time.]

Lee frowned at once.

["What?"]

Both Lee and D sounded their doubt in unison. The words of Hudson never appeared in their wildest investigations.

[Both of you did not notice the fact that the central stone in which the words are etched are different from the surroundings. Take a good look.]

It was then both lee and D closely observed the central stone. The hexagonal piece of stone was slightly darker than the surrounding stones.

Because of its one and a half inch miniature radius, it only appeared that the words are given a different background.

After a few seconds, Hudson spoke again.

[Before you do anything, take a look at what lies below the platform, through the Map.]

The words carried surprise, distress and seriousness in it. Lee promptly summoned the Map. What they saw was only an outline, but that was enough to leave them flabbergasted!

"A coffin?"

Be it Earth or Utopia, the shape of a coffin was more or less similar. Due to its specific function, the six-foot-long box was easily recognisable.

[Suspicious. The object is made out of something that obstructs detection and scanning.]

D could not see into the coffin. Though the Map surpassed even the highest detection technique, the space inside the coffin was restricted from exploring from the outside.

The reason for the awe-inspired faces of Lee and D was not the coffin alone, but the entire stone platform. It was at least 12 metres deep and was a hexagonal container with 2 metres thick wall. The carving was found to be slightly thicker than two metres.

What astonished their minds were the fact that it was a single structure!

And the coffin rested inside this hexagonal stone box.

But, how did it end up inside?

This question haunted Lee, D and Hudson as they walked around and continuously scanned the entire structure. No matter how many times they search for it, the astonishment remained undissolved.

"We have searched every side of this platform. This object is one big stone construct, and is sealed tight."

The conclusion was quickly drawn without much difficulty.

[Search the portrait. Maybe it contains some clues.]

Promptly, Lee climbed on the portrait and walked over it cautiously. He had taken off his footwear so that his feet could feel the irregularities of the surface. The uncommon sturdiness of the three-dimensional carving of the war scene supported Lee's body weight.

Because of his extraordinary Guard value, he was confident that traps could not harm him. To affirm his faith, he did not see any such hidden contraptions through the Map. Not that there was none, but there was no space left to integrate a trap into the block.

[Nothing. This is just a simple portrait.

If there was any, then we would have seen it already.]

Like a skilled dancer, Lee moved from one point to the other. His eyes and legs continuously searched for a clue or contraption.

It took a second for Dnekewy to reply.

[Not all clues are readily available. Sometimes we need to stitch the facts and figures to get the clue.]

Rubbing his chin, Lee stepped left and right on the platform. After going in circles for about an hour, the next hourly notification came up.

=====

10 AM.

471,600 Essence harvested.

=====

The updated Essence count in the Foresight interface gave Lee a sense of relief.

'The shortage of Essence is solved. Now let us solve this mystery.'

Lee twirled on his left leg and took a U-turn to scan for a second round. As soon as he placed his foot touched the surface, the platform faintly vibrated for a second and then became silent.

Lee had jumped up into the air and levitated himself with Flight at the first sensation of tremor. He was inwardly startled with the sudden disturbance. Alertness skyrocketed in his heart and his senses became heightened.

[You stepped on a soldier's axe. That is the only axe apart from the central carving in the whole portrait. Coincidence? I think not!]

A single glance of this high morale portrait was enough to make a normal person dizzy. The complex and complicated carving skillfully executed by a grandmaster was beautiful and jaw-dropping too.

Lee quickly spotted the aforementioned soldier. The tiny figure with a hunched back was standing next to one of the skeletonised king. The non-militant was wearing simple clothing made of leather. The pointed hat over his head was spooky and the hideous facial features were repulsing. In his hand was a concealed miniature axe.

In that particular triangular portion, only he alone was a human. The soldiers were beastly in nature and the king had claws in his arms. He found D's observation true as the rampaging soldiers had spears and swords in their hands. The hunchback was smaller than the spirited soldier waging war.

Lee swiftly spotted the other five kings and scanned their premises. To his wonder, such a hunchback was not seen anywhere near them. Instead, they had commanders and army generals which fought bravely and inspired the hearts of the infantry.

[It moved.]

In front of their eyes, the hunched back figure's axe sunk into the platform. A minuscule wedge appeared in its position and the hexagonal stone construct began to tremble violently.

Lee quickly moved away from the platform and maintained a distance while closely observing the changes. For about half a minute, the tremors maintained their vigour and then began to weaken. When a minute had completely passed, the platform was stable and silent.

CRACK!

A thunderous crack resonated across the chamber and it was deafening! Lee wrapped his arms around his head at once and guarded his ears. The momentary loudness quickly vanished and the portrait was gone!