Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 1219 - 1213: The Final Moment

The first door closes, the second door opens, and the wood in the stairwell extends outward.

Following this existing example, Ronald and Patricia start their attempt.

By now, they are well accustomed to solving the maze; the rules here are quickly grasped by them.

With all the doors on the first floor closed, they open the rooms on each side in even and odd sequences respectively, one by one, causing the stairs to gradually extend from the walls.

What Ronald and Patricia have to do is constantly repeat the action of opening and closing doors, allowing the stairs to gradually "grow" out of the walls.

...

With the rules in hand, the time consumption is still unavoidable.

As they repeatedly open and close the doors, the stairs reappear from top to bottom, and there is only about half an hour left before dawn.

At the current efficiency.

If they truly want to fully extend all the stairs, they will undoubtedly face failure in this challenge.

"..."

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Ronald quickly organizes the rules he just explored in his mind.

Soon, a bold idea is born in his mind:

"Patricia, let's change the door-opening method. Now follow the rule of 3, 5, 7…"!

Patricia is taken aback but quickly realizes Ronald's plan.

Opening and closing doors in sequence will ultimately restore the stairs completely. However, they don't actually need the stairs to be so perfectly intact to reach the second floor.

As long as there are places to step on every few steps, they can still reach the second floor!

Ronald's decision at this moment can actually save them more than half of the time!

The two work quickly with great coordination, but time continues to slip away.

Ronald counts the time in his mind; a quarter of the last half hour has already passed, meaning even if they solve the problem successfully, they will just meet the deadline.

And if they consider the time to reach the cult sorcerer's office on the second floor…

Time might still be insufficient!

"..."

Estimating the next situation, another bold idea comes to Ronald's mind.

Then, ten minutes later.

The upper stairs appear jagged and uneven while a large section below remains empty. Ronald immediately interrupts the door-opening process and rushes toward the stairwell:

"Patricia, that's enough, let's go!"

"But we haven't…" Patricia instinctively wants to ask Ronald for the reason to leave, but she cuts off her own question, her eyes turning extraordinarily serious, and she follows Ronald directly toward the stairwell.

Arriving one after another at the stairwell, they find that their calculations are correct. Here, two-thirds of the stairs above are sufficient to get through, but below, there's a height a person absolutely can't climb over.

But the fact remains—there are two people on Ronald's side.

"Patricia, give me a boost."

Ronald directly seeks help from the girl beside him, and Patricia understands his idea.

At this moment, Patricia recalls her experience in the Fortress Maze.

A hint of a smile involuntarily appears on her lips:

"Ronald, having a girl lifting you from below isn't exactly gentlemanly behavior."

Despite her joking, Patricia's actions are swift and without hesitation. As she speaks, she also helps push Ronald upward, allowing him to grasp the edges of the stairs on the wall and start climbing.

"Patricia, I remember you rarely make jokes with me."

As Ronald climbs up, he doesn't forget to talk to the girl below:

"I like this side of you too; you should try it more often."

"..."

Hearing this, Patricia's lovely face suddenly flushes red, and she quickly bows her head, no longer looking upward.

The queen Dantrian's assessment of Patricia is indeed accurate and insightful…

Feeling a little emotional, Ronald realizes it is not the time to continue chatting, so he says one last thing before focusing on climbing:

"Patricia, wait for me."

Patricia responds softly without raising her head:

"I know…"

"..."

Ronald climbs the stairs with full concentration.

Ordinary two-story staircases would not be this troublesome.

However, this place is controlled by the maze, making Ronald's progress particularly difficult.

Yet their previous efforts haven't gone to waste.

After climbing for a little over a minute, Ronald's right hand touches a stable step above. Using this stable point of support, he exerts a burst of strength to pull himself up, letting his upper body lie prone on this step. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Hiss—, whew—"

Ronald takes a deep breath.

Feeling his stamina recovering a bit, he confidently leverages his arms and waist to pull his entire body onto the stable step.

"Whew—"

Ronald exhales deeply once more.

But this time, he doesn't stop, because the path ahead is clear of danger.

——Time is surely running out.

Ronald knows this, so he immediately hurries across the regular stairs that appear, his figure soon vanishing within the stairwell.

"The voice that responded to me just now…"

Running on the second floor, Ronald recalls the previous scene in his mind.

To be cautious, he doesn't rely on his memory to open doors and check. Instead, he opens his Work Notes and stops at the doorway under the guidance of an arrow.

Bang—

Ronald pushes the door open.

In the information room in front of him, three bored casters sit slumped in various places.

Trapped here, they evidently have no intentions of moving.

Only when Ronald barges in do they look up in surprise at the door.

——It's you!

The movement of the three cult magicians raising their heads allows Ronald to quickly identify their appearances.

The cult magician, who was in the castle banquet hall, is now slumped on the floor near the window, and Ronald's focused gaze is spot-on.

However, it is precisely because of this position.

Through the window behind the cult magician, Ronald sees a cloud in the sky illuminated, symbolizing the arrival of morning light, soon to color the sky!

——Too late?

——Was he ultimately a step too late?

——How could he give up at such a time? Charge forward!

Various thoughts flash briefly in Ronald's mind.

But faster than his thinking was the subconscious action of his body, and he rushes directly towards the cult magicians in the room.

Bam—

The tactile sensation from his hand unmistakably indicates the body of the cult magician.

But just before Ronald's eyes, the first ray of morning light in the sky simultaneously brightens up the dark night sky!