From Player To Npc

Chapter 186: Gatekeeper's challenge

They had found less than a dozen of Sky Giants, as also some Stone Giants, which shouldn't be here. Those were full Giants, not like Volig, who was half-giant. Their size where a little bigger than the largest size Shingi had seen Volig being able to take with its size-changing ability he got from L'liw.

Stone Giants had a greater defense but were slower than the Sky Giants; even if there was a Sky Giant at the fight with the Stone Giants, he would try to increase the speed using Air-Based Spells.

After each fight, Shingi tried to gather materials from the corpses of the Giants and keep them in the Ice Mana box to keep them fresh. He and Hineko could try to make Giant Strength Potions like the one they found in the past, and Wild Tycoon still had.

They didn't have the recipe for creating one, and Shingi didn't know how to create them, but they could experiment a bit with all the materials they just collected. They already had one potion, made by a Stone Giant, so they could try to reverse engineer it to make more. Unfortunately, the reason hadn't tried this tactic in the past since they didn't have the materials so that it would be a waste then.

Shingi noticed that Dark Shadow seemed interested in consuming parts of the Sky Giants, mostly their hearts. The reason seemed to be because of their mana. They had an innate Mana Pool that was actually residing in their heart, which could be why Dark Shadow showed that preference. On the other hand, he never even tried to touch the hearts of the Stone Giants, most likely because they had Earth Mana.

Shingi couldn't allow him to eat all the hearts as they were important for their potions but let him have a few since they showed signs of benefiting him greatly. He even got some exps for the first one that raised his level once.

Shingi had kept track of its leveling up and had an idea how much exp he would need for each level, and it seemed not to be as bad as he thought. The number was close to three-quarters of what he would need, which was an extensive amount but could be worse. However, he had leveled up close to level 60, and they had faced weaker monsters, so Dark Shadow would reach them soon enough.

Dark Shadow wasn't part of their party, as it was considered as a Pet of Shingi. The exps it took were from its battles, or Shingi could give it a share of the exps he would earn. Shingi could change how much that share would be, though, but it should be over eighty percent because of the difference in their levels. The share would decrease the closer their levels got.

They made it through many corridors and finally reached a huge golden door, with a little goblin sleeping at the side, and next to it to be a bell hanging from a short wooden pillar.

The goblin was actually a female one, which was rare to see, and she was pretty well dressed, at least for a goblin. She seemed to be like the servant of the king that made the announcements when some noble arrived. She actually had a similar instrument like what they used to play for the announcement, but this ones wasn't metallic but made of bones.

The door was close, and its weight was fitting its size, making it impossible for even Wild Tycoon even to try to push it open. If she drank the Giant Potion, maybe she would make it, but they had other options for now.

Shingi signaled to keep their distance while he got closer to the sleeping goblin. They could hear her snoring, which was unwoman-like but not ungoblin-like.

"Come on, Valyra. Stop acting like you sleep." [Shingi]

The snoring stopped, and the goblin opened one of her eyes to check on Shingi.

"This name, you shouldn't know it. State your business and the reason you have this knowledge." [Valyra]

Valyra was actually an elven name, but it was the only name that this goblin had ever given when she introduced herself. Her looks weren't as ugly as a goblin, and if she was taller and her skin wouldn't be yellow-greenish, she could pass for an Elf or at least a half-elf as her eyes were pointy but not as much as of Elves.

She actually worked for the floor's Boss, but she never was against helping adventurers fight the same Boss. She was the only one to provide entrance to the Boss's throne room unless people that the STR to open the door themselves.

"People spread rumours. So why don't we save some time and let us in? Of course, I don't expect you to do it for nothing." [Shingi]

Shingi summoned one of the expensive wine bottles from his Spatial Ring and presented it to her. She grabbed it right away, opened it, and smelled it. Her eyes widened as she looked towards Shingi and then back to his group.

"That guy there was here in the past but never brought gifts. You seem to know your stuff, but you seem both unfamiliar and familiar. Why is that?" [Valyra]

Valyra was a survivor, and since she never tried to fight the Players, she rarely was among the deceased of the floor. She had some abilities to run and hide, though, in case things went wrong.

"Because I was here in the past but not like how I am no. It used to be someone else, but you can see the similarities. And yes, my friend over there had been here in the past, but the others never had the chance. So there goes your one question. Open the door now." [Shingi]

Valyra looked towards him, and she started hitting herself on her head.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could you fall into a trap like that so soon?" [Valyra]

The way to gain entrance was quite simple. One had to make Valyra ask a question that she had never asked before and for the person needing entry to answer it. You could also ask her a question that she had never heard before. Normally it would be hard to do so, but she seemed not to had seen anyone for a long time, so she was out of practice. She looked quite young, but Shingi knew she was over 20 years old, which for a goblin it was like being a middle-aged human. But she wasn't aging normally as she wasn't a normal Goblin, but one created by the Tower.

Her mind worked the same as Kelvin's, meaning she kept her memories after respawning, which many people wondered why this was the case. Maybe because she was a gatekeeper, so she should remember everyone that passed and the questions asked.

"Ok. It seems like you know what you are doing, but your friends need to pass the test. We don't allow groups like that anymore." [Valyra]

In the past, a party only needed to make her ask one question and would count for all of them. Shingi knew she was doing it on purpose, but for now, he would play along.

The rest of the party joined them, and Shingi explained what needed to be done for them to get access but didn't tell them what to ask. Instead, he wanted to see what kind of questions they would come up with by themselves and if they would work.

Valyra had been asked millions of questions, and Shingi was lucky that she hadn't encountered a situation like his. Her face showed how serious she was, and she paid attention to what she would say from now on.

Price was the first one to move forward in front of her to take a chance.

"So it's been a while since I last show you. Is the boss alright in there?" [Price]

"They probably drink, eat, and doing other activities. The current Boss seemed to like the flying chicks. Also, this question had been asked 125483 times." [Valyra]

Price wasn't disappointed as this wasn't his planned question.

"Flying chicks? Oh yeah, you mean the harpies. I remember now. Weren't you eating some of them with some special sauce? Or was it eating with them?" [Price]

"Yes, to both. Also, 25717 times and 157 times. You are getting better." [Valyra]

"Then I guess Teresa is still around. Probably eating with the Boss or filling other needs?" [Price]

"Who is Teresa?.. shit. That was a new one." [Valyra]

This was the plan of Price from the beginning as he did some random questions to make her think like he didn't know what he was doing, but in reality, he just was building up for his real question.

"So that's two. You still need six more." [Valyra]

"Wait, five? But our group has only six members, not seven" [Price]

Valyra pointed towards Dark Shadow and then towards Syra. Normally they didn't count as part of their group since one was a spirit and the other was a pet monster, but it seemed Valyra wasn't following those rules. Syra asking a question wouldn't be difficult as she was pretty smart, but how would Dark Shadow do something like that when the only one that could communicate with him was Shingi's sword.

The others progressed and followed a similar tactic like Price's but took them more time as Valyra became more careful.

Everyone except Dark Shadow had made her ask them a question or asked her a question she had never had heard before.

"An interesting pet you have there. You know you can just leave it with me, and I will let the rest of you progress. Hadn't had chicken for a long time." [Valyra]

"But he isn't a chicken. He is a Kicnech." [Shingi]

"What is a Kicnech?" [Valyra]

A mana hand appeared out of nowhere, but it wasn't in the shape of a human hand, but of a wing, similar to Dark Shadow's wings. This was him casting MANA HAND, although it should be called MANA WING in this case. The MANA HAND was clearly pointing towards Dark Shadow.

"Damn, this was a trap. *sigh* You got me." [Valyra]

In the rules, it didn't state who would ask the question, as far as the one who answered it was the one needed to pass the trial or Valyra. Also, the answer didn't have to be words but should be understandable. Dark Shadow answered that 'he was a Kicnech, 'which was true, even if Valyra didn't want to know just that. Therefore, the answer was valid enough for the trial.