Chapter 39: Crafting the Key
Ryan sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, the five Cracked Hourglass Pendants and the single Cracked Chronometer Shard arranged neatly in front of him.
They looked like the pieces of a very strange, very important puzzle. His system had confirmed it: these were the ingredients for the "Resonant Chronometer Key" he needed to get through the shimmering, time-locked door.
"Okay," he said to himself, cracking his knuckles. "Time to play arts and crafts. Spacetime arts and crafts."
He looked up at the giant, sealed door and the Chronal Barrier in front of it. Just then, the ambient light in the massive Labyrinth chamber began to shift.
The glowing moss on the walls dimmed, and the air grew colder, changing from a simulated "daylight" to a deep, dusky "twilight." As this happened, the Time-Locked Vault’s barrier pulsed with a soft, pale blue light.
It grew brighter for a moment, its ripples becoming more visible, before it settled down again, becoming almost invisible once more.
The god Warden’s voice chimed in his head with a helpful tip: "The Chronal Barrier is most vulnerable during ’Temporal Flux Periods,’ which occur during the Labyrinth’s simulated transitional cycles, such as dawn and dusk.
Its defenses are at their weakest during these times."
Ryan nodded. "Got it. I’m on a deadline." He had to craft this key and use it before the Labyrinth’s "night" fully set in and the barrier stabilized at maximum strength. There was a sense of urgency now. He couldn’t just sit here all day.
He focused on the task at hand. His "Ultimate Infinite Extraction System" was more than just a tool for sucking essence out of monsters.
It could also deconstruct items, breaking them down into their base components, and then re-weave those components into something new. It was like having a magical 3D printer in his soul.