Chapter 551 Take Our Time

Adam, Azrynn, and Sylphy continued running through the newly opened corridor, their footsteps echoing against the ancient stone walls.

Behind them, a furious roar suddenly reverberated through the temple.

Adam glanced over his shoulder, then let out a quiet chuckle.

"Sounds like they really enjoyed my little present."

Azrynn gave him a sidelong glance.

"You sound rather pleased with yourself."

"Considering how enthusiastically they chased us, I’d say they deserved it."

"Then I should prepare a few surprises of my own."

Azrynn raised her hand, and several purple runes appeared between her fingers. They drifted toward the walls, attaching themselves to the ancient stonework. One by one, the symbols disappeared beneath the surface, concealed from anyone who might pass through the corridor.

Sylphy watched her work with growing disbelief.

"Wait! What are you doing?!"

"Preparing traps," Azrynn answered calmly.

"But this temple already has so many traps! You’re adding even more?!"

Sylphy fluttered around them, waving her tiny arms.

"You’re both terrible! This is supposed to be an ancient temple, not some horrible death maze! That’s incredibly cruel!"

Adam glanced at her.

"Quiet, flying lamp."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A FLYING LAMP?!"

"By the way," Adam continued, ignoring her outburst, "how exactly did you manage to get the previous puzzle wrong?"

Sylphy went still.

Her wings stopped fluttering for a moment.

"W-Well... that was..."

"Don’t tell me you forgot something again."

"I didn’t forget! I just... remembered it incorrectly!"

Sylphy huffed before finally explaining.

"The puzzle was about the cycle of life, right? I thought it meant birth, growth, and death. So I arranged the offerings in that order."

"And that was wrong because...?" Adam prompted.

"Because I misunderstood the symbols!"

Sylphy flew toward the altar chamber they had just left, gesturing excitedly as though she could still see it.

"The sun represents blood, yes, but it doesn’t represent birth! The moon represents tears, and the desert represents the final breath. I thought the order was based on the cycle of life, but the inscription was talking about the cycle of sacrifice!"

Adam shot her a puzzled glance.

"Sacrifice?"

"Iyupp! The sun sheds its blood first. Then the moon weeps over it. Finally, the desert takes the last breath!"

She crossed her tiny arms, looking rather proud of herself.

"So the correct order should have been blood, tears, and breath. But the vessels weren’t supposed to be arranged according to birth, growth, and death. They were meant to follow the order in which the offerings were presented!"

Adam stared at her for a moment.

"...You mean the answer was literally written in the inscription?"

Sylphy’s expression stiffened.

"Well... when you put it that way..."

Adam let out a long breath.

"Remind me never to let you handle ancient puzzles without supervision."

"HEY! I eventually solved it!"

"After nearly getting us killed."

"That was an accident!"

Sylphy puffed out her cheeks and turned away.

"Fine! I’m not helping you anymore!"

"Good. We’ll see how long that lasts."

Despite their bickering, Adam continued moving forward, his senses alert to anything lurking deeper within the temple. Azrynn followed closely, while Sylphy reluctantly led the way.

As Adam stepped into the next chamber, his All-Seeing Sovereign detected something beneath the stone floor.

"Stop."

Azrynn and Sylphy immediately halted.

Adam crouched and examined the floor. Several faint lines were carved into the stone, almost indistinguishable from the surrounding patterns.

"Pressure plates," he muttered.

He picked up a small fragment of stone and tossed it onto one of the suspicious tiles.

The moment it landed, several holes opened along the walls.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Dozens of arrows shot across the chamber, embedding themselves into the opposite wall with enough force to crack the stone.

Sylphy flew backward.

"See?! This place is dangerous!"

"Something you could have mentioned earlier," Adam replied.

"I didn’t know that one was there!"

Adam gave her an unimpressed look before examining the mechanism. After identifying the pressure plates, he carefully guided the others across the chamber, avoiding the dangerous tiles.

The next obstacle was a narrow passage with several stone panels protruding from the walls. As they approached, the panels suddenly began rotating, revealing rows of sharp blades that swept across the corridor.

Azrynn quickly drew a rune in the air, slowing the rotation of the mechanisms long enough for them to slip through.

Further ahead, they encountered a section of floor that collapsed into a deep pit filled with sharpened stone spikes. Adam detected the unstable tiles before anyone stepped on them, and the three crossed by carefully using the narrow sections along the walls.

By the time they finally reached a relatively quiet corridor, Sylphy was already complaining.

"Honestly, this temple has become much more dangerous than I remember!"

"Perhaps because you usually fly around without touching anything," Adam remarked.

"That doesn’t mean I don’t understand how dangerous it is!"

Azrynn watched their exchange with a small smile. However, after a few moments, her expression became slightly more thoughtful.

"Adam?"

"Hmm?"

"There’s something I’ve been wondering about."

He glanced at her.

"What is it?"

Azrynn hesitated briefly before asking, "Why don’t you ever approach me?"

Adam stopped walking for half a second.

"...What?"

The question had caught him completely off guard.

Azrynn continued, her golden eyes briefly shifting toward him.

"I mean, you seem quite comfortable teasing me and spending time with me, but you never really try to get closer. I was just curious."

"Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?"

"I don’t know. It just crossed my mind."

She looked away for a moment before adding, almost casually, "Am I not attractive enough?"

Adam blinked.

’What kind of question is that?’

Adam looked at her for a moment longer.

He couldn’t deny that he was attracted to Azrynn. Her yellow eyes, long white hair, and dark elf features had caught his attention more than once. There was something captivating about her, especially when her pointed ears twitched in response to something unexpected. And although he rarely admitted it, he found her presence rather pleasant.

But attraction alone wasn’t enough to make him take another step.

Azrynn still carried a considerable burden. Her people, their uncertain history, and their future all rested heavily on her shoulders. Adam knew how much she wanted to free the dark elves from the prejudice that had followed them for generations. He didn’t want to complicate her life by pushing his own feelings onto her before she had the chance to settle those matters.

Besides, he needed time himself.

He already had several relationships to consider, and he wasn’t particularly interested in making promises he couldn’t properly fulfill.

"It’s not that I don’t find you attractive," Adam finally said. "Quite the opposite, actually. I just think we should take our time."

Azrynn tilted her head slightly.

"Take our time?"

"You still have a lot to deal with concerning your people. I don’t want you to feel like you have to think about something else just because I’m standing beside you."

He gave her a small smile.

"And honestly, I need some time to sort out my own feelings as well. I’m not exactly in a position to make things simple."

Azrynn listened quietly before shaking her head.

"I don’t mind that."

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"I’ve already considered the possibility that things between us might take time. My people are important to me, but that doesn’t mean I have to put every other part of my life on hold."

She looked directly at him, her eyes carrying an unusual determination.

"Besides, I have my own reasons for wanting to get closer to you."

"Oh?"

Azrynn’s pointed ears twitched.

"If the dark elves are going to survive and establish themselves in this world, we need a strong future. I want my people to become stronger, and I want the next generation to have a better chance of surviving than the previous ones."

She paused briefly before adding rather matter-of-factly.

"And having descendants with someone of a powerful race would certainly be beneficial."

Adam stared at her.

For a few seconds, he wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

"...You’re already thinking about descendants?"

"Is that strange?"

"Not strange, exactly. Just..."

He rubbed his forehead, then let out a helpless chuckle.

"That’s quite a long-term plan, Azrynn. We’ve barely started getting to know each other, and you’ve already skipped several Chapters ahead."

Azrynn blinked before a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"I prefer to consider all possibilities."

"Right. And here I thought I was the one who tended to plan too far ahead."

"Isn’t that a good thing?"

"Depends. At this rate, you’ll probably start asking me how many children we should have next."

Azrynn’s ears twitched again.

"Have you thought about it?"

Adam nearly stumbled.

"...That was a joke."

"I know."

Yet the faint smile on her face suggested she had no intention of letting him escape that easily.

Adam sighed, though he couldn’t quite suppress his own smile.

’This woman really knows how to catch me off guard.’

Still, he found himself feeling a little more interested in where this might lead. He didn’t want to rush her, nor did he want to dismiss the possibility simply because his life was already complicated.

For now, getting to know each other was enough.

And perhaps, when the time came, he could give her a more definite answer.

A tiny voice suddenly interrupted them.

"Are you two done talking about romance? Because I think I found something!"

Adam turned toward Sylphy, who was hovering near the end of the corridor.

"Don’t tell me another trap."

"I’m not sure!" Sylphy said.