The Secretly Rich Man

Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1911

Understanding that staying here for any longer would only spell more trouble, after resting for a bit, Gerald got to his feet before saying, “Alright, let’s leave this place while we can!”

With that, the duo made their way back to the sealed main entrance…

Once they were there, they quickly realized that there wasn’t a mechanism to open the doors at all, at least not one they could easily see… The pitch darkness of the place certainly didn’t help…

Understanding the fact that they didn’t even know where to start looking for the mechanism, Rey couldn’t help but stare at the massive stone wall—blocking the cave’s entrance—before looking at Gerald and asking, “…How… should we leave, Mr. Crawford…?”

“Well, since there was a mechanism outside that allowed us to enter, I’m sure there’s another one in here that will allow us to leave! Since the Yin and Yang sides—based on the layout of The Eight Diagrams—was the key to opening the door from the outside, I’m assuming that the mechanism in here can be found opposite of that!” replied Gerald after thinking for a bit.

Following that, Gerald began searching the opposite areas… and after feeling around the stone wall, he managed to find a mechanism!

Immediately twisting it, Gerald and Rey’s eyes quickly widened as the floor beneath them began to crumble! To think that the mechanism would cause this!

Regardless, unable to react in time, both of them soon found themselves sliding down an inclined path!

While Rey screamed all the way down, Gerald himself could only think about how badly he had messed up this time. As it turned out, things weren’t as easy as he had expected…

Whatever the case was, it was quite a while before the slope suddenly ended, sending both of them shooting out and landing on a soft pile of dirt.

Groaning as they got up, the two quickly realized that they seemed to have entered another cave… Aside from the fact that there was a pond in the cave—that had water so clear that one could easily see its bottom—there was not much else to note at first glance… “Holy cr*p… Where even are we, Mr. Crawford…?” asked Rey as he dusted the dirt off his clothes.

Naturally, Gerald had no clue of where they were either. Even so, to think that there would actually be another cave under that cave… What a special place…

Simply shaking his head in response, Gerald and Rey then began investigating the surrounding area, hoping to find an exit. Unfortunately for them, no matter how hard they searched, there didn’t seem to be one. They were trapped once again…

“Well that’s just great! I guess we’re stuck here!” said Rey as he sat down while heaving a heavy sigh.

Frowning slightly, Gerald then took Tye’s map out before giving it a good look. Something had to be wrong here… Thankfully, Gerald was right.

Now that he had managed to find something significant, Gerald quickly called out, “Rey!”

Hurriedly getting to his feet, Rey then raised a slight brow as he looked at the map while asking, “…Yes, Mr. Crawford? Did you find something?”

“Indeed! See the Officer Viewing Deck where we started from? While we’ve changed course several times, I retraced our steps… and here! See that other cave on the map? I have a feeling that we’re currently here! And that cave clearly shows an entrance!” exclaimed Gerald, pointing at the map the entire time.

While Rey definitely felt that Gerald’s words made sense, he couldn’t help but say, “That’s fine and all… But we’ve already made a thorough search of this place! Forget an exit, we haven’t even managed to locate anything resembling a door opening mechanism!”

Though Gerald saw where Rey was coming from, he was sure that there definitely had to be a way out. After all, there was a high chance that they simply hadn’t looked in the right direction.

With that in mind, Gerald simply replied, “I’m sure the exit will appear soon! Keep calm, we’ll definitely find a way to leave.”

Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1912

Following that, Gerald got up and began feeling around the walls again…

Since the stone walls were quite uneven, it made finding mechanisms—to potentially lead to a way out—even harder than usual…

Regardless, after hearing what Gerald had to say, Rey was motivated to give it another shot. With that, he began doing the same as Gerald, hoping to finally find a way to get out of this place…

While continuing to feel the walls, Gerald’s ears perked when a crisp ‘click’ was heard. Eyes quickly widening, Gerald could only stare as the stone slab—that his foot was currently on—began sinking in…

Lifting his foot, he watched as the slab continued sinking deeper and deeper… And by the time it stopped, a part of the stone wall had shifted open! Both surprised and delighted, Rey couldn’t help but turn to look at Gerald while calling out, “M-Mr. Crawford…!”

Though Gerald himself was surprised by all this, he quickly snapped out of it and walked through the newly formed entrance…

To the duo’s dismay, they quickly realized that all the entrance led to was a flight of descending stairs that appeared almost bottomless! The fact that it was pitch dark down there certainly didn’t help…

“Where do you think this leads to, Mr. Crawford…2” muttered Rey as he turned to look at Gerald.

“Only one way to find out!” replied Gerald, prompting the duo to begin descending the stairs…

As they walked on, a sort of mist began appearing and the lower they went, the denser it became…

It was about half an hour later when Rey couldn’t help but cry out, “… There’s just no end to these stairs, Mr. Crawford! We’ve been walking for almost thirty minutes now yet the end is nowhere in sight!”

Gerald himself was starting to find all this weird. This place really was too mystifying…

After thinking for a while, Gerald eventually sighed before saying, “…Alright, since we don’t seem to be getting anywhere, let’s just return to where we came from!”

With that, the duo began ascending the stairs… However, another half-hour later, the two youths finally realized how serious their current dilemma was. After all, no matter how long they walked, the area where they started from was simply nowhere to be found! “Seriously?! We should have reached the entry point by now! Where the hell is it?!” cried out the increasingly distressed Rey.

To think that even their return route would end up changing!

“It’s important to stay calm during such situations! With that said, let’s think about it first!” replied Gerald as he began racking his brain…

Looking closer at the stairs, Gerald noticed that the steps appeared to be numbered… Were the numbers there for a reason…?

After thinking about it for a while, Gerald’s eyes suddenly widened as he exclaimed, “I got it!”

Surprised by Gerald’s sudden shouting, Rey quickly shook his head before asking, “G-got it? You’ve figured out how we can get out of this place, Mr. Crawford?”

“Indeed! Essentially, we’ve been trapped by an Eight Diagrams puzzle ever since we set foot into this place! If my guess is correct, in order to get out of this loop, we’ll need to solve The Eight Diagrams puzzle of the stairs! If you look closer, you can see numbers on the steps, right? I’m assuming that by utilizing The Eight Diagrams chart on them, we’ll be able to finally escape!” explained Gerald.

Despite the explanation, Rey wasn’t too familiar with The Eight Diagrams, so very little of what Gerald had just said made sense to him…

Seeing that his point wasn’t getting across, Gerald decided to just try his theory out instead…

Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1913

“It’s fine if you don’t get it. Whatever the case is, I’m going to be having an out-of-body experience now

to check if my theory is correct! With that said, be sure to guard my body well in the meantime!” said

Gerald.

“Got it, Mr. Crawford! Do be careful!” replied Rey as Gerald nodded before lying down…

Shortly after, his ghost form shot out from his body before diving downward!

Continuing to dive deeper and deeper, Gerald eventually came across the source of the duo’s plight… True to Gerald’s guess, there really was a giant mechanism underneath them this entire time!

With that mystery solved, Gerald knew that in order for them to escape this hellish loop, they would need to take a literal leap of faith after finding a specific number on the stairs… If they didn’t, they could very well end up living the rest of their lives on these stairs…

Regardless, now that he had learned all this, Gerald bolted back to his physical body… and upon re- entering it, he instantly yelled, “Bingo!”

Since Gerald had made such an abrupt return, it scared the living daylights out of Rey!

Once the youth finally calmed down, he could only look helplessly at Gerald as he muttered between pants, “D-d*mn it, Mr. Crawford…! You almost gave me a heart attack…! Don’t go shouting so abruptly…!” To be fair, being all alone in such darkness would make anyone feel utterly terrified…

While even Gerald was momentarily stunned by Rey’s reaction, he quickly snapped out of it before saying, “…Got it! Anyway, listen, I think I’ve found a way to get out of this place!”

the way!” replied Rey, instantly forgetting about being scared half to death just seconds earlier. After all, Rey’s priority was to leave this place as soon as possible since he felt that he would go mad from anxiety if he had to stay

down the stairs again… and eventually, he found the exact spot they needed to be

had stopped, the confused Rey couldn’t help but ask, “…Um… Mr. Crawford…? Didn’t you say we were leaving…? We’ve been descending

Gerald turned to face Rey before saying, “This is it.

his jaw instantly dropped, unsure of whether he had heard

determined Gerald’s following nod was, the worried Rey immediately replied ina fearful tone, “P-please don’t joke about this, Mr. Crawford… We can’t even see the

couldn’t help but gulp as he stared down… The longer he stared at the abyss, the more terrified he got… Gerald himself simply raised a brow as he said, “…Rey, do you

was sure that Gerald wouldn’t, his master’s order to leap into the

Rey was being, Gerald couldn’t help but sigh as he added, “…Fine, I’ll be jumping first then. However, if I

Gerald’s absurd suggestion, Rey could only stare wide-eyed as Gerald leaped off the stairs without even

panicking, Gerald himself had made a safe landing atop another set

loop was by hopping

in mind, it wasn’t a surprise

Crawford: The Secretly or

was for his safety, Gerald couldn’t help but smile subtly as he looked up while

not only was Gerald still

this, Rey mustered up his

utter terror soon turned into confusion when he realized that his feet were already on the ground. The fall had barely

scream that loudly…” grumbled Gerald whose ears were now

himself was so overjoyed—that he was still alive—that he immediately exclaimed, “I-I’m alive! And to think that

being, Gerald simply

time, Rey’s eyes widened as he called out, “W-wait

awaited them was nothing

help but exclaim in awe, “H-holy cr*p!

all, who wouldn’t be amazed and shocked to find ancient ruins out of the

Gerald was first to break the silence by saying, “…Come on, let’s have a

Rey then began exploring

taken a few steps forward when both of them stopped dead

skittering sounds seemed to be quickly approaching them, and they could immediately tell that something

whispered Rey

prompting Rey to do the same… and the second they saw

from a hoard of giant scorpions! “H-holy cr*p! Why the hell are those scorpions so massive?!”

so much!”

wasn’t afraid of them at all. After

wasn’t the case for Rey. He was completely frozen in fear as he watched the

quite venomous, so Rey didn’t even want to begin imagining how potent these large scorpions’ stingers were… In fact, from how large and sharp those stingers looked, one would probably die from the

The Secretly or invisible

gulping as he stared at all the giant scorpions around them. No matter how hard he tried,

around,

before Gerald spotted a large door leading out of this area. With their escape route in his sight, Gerald quickly whispered, “Rey, do you see that large

look in that direction, Rey then nodded before

listen up. The plan is simple. You rush over to

and clear!” replied Rey, knowing that that was their best bet of

drew his Astrabyss Sword before pushing

himself began channeling his energy into the Astrabyss

that chance to get a bit closer to Rey. He made sure to stick close

the duo’s teamwork, they were able to get Rey to

it stood

stay calm. I’m sure there’s a mechanism to open it!” replied Gerald who currently had his

Rey knew that it was all up to him now. If he failed to find the mechanism, then this would be their end…

himself before starting to search for the mechanism… and not long

mechanism itself resembled a circular door handle, and after

could only stare wide-eyed as the door finally swung open

“M-Mr. Crawford, come

for the exit… and moments later, both of them found themselves

retreating, prompting the confused Rey to ask, “…Huh? They’re… not chasing after us…?” Staring as they scuttled off,

Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich

turned around and began exploring this new place

a spring of sorts that had crystal clear water that splashed

duo. To think that there would be a spring

Rey as he walked over to the body of flowing

the second he gulped down, Rey couldn’t help but turn

tasted such sweet and refreshing spring

the water truly was rather sweet. The fact that a spring with such sweet water was down here in

the water suddenly began bubbling, causing the youth to freeze

after before the entire spring was filled with bubbles, and

hell? How did all the water suddenly disappear!” exclaimed Rey in an

could even theorize, however, a crisp ‘crack’ could be

their gazes on the source of the sound, the duo simply watched as a slab of stone suddenly began rising from the

as the stone slab shifted to the side… revealing what appeared to be a darkened entrance that

Rey’s first reaction was to stare at Gerald in disbelief, Gerald himself was already

upon seeing that, Rey

itself led to a flat path, and the duo walked on until they eventually came across a huge chamber… Seeing that there was a golden casket in the middle of the chamber, Rey couldn’t help but exclaim, “…I- is that what I think it

how the hell their expedition ended up becoming a tomb exploration, Gerald

later when the candles in the chamber suddenly let

well lit, Gerald noticed that there was

over and seeing that ancient script had been carved onto the tombstone, Gerald turned to

that Rey was a top student, which was why he felt that Rey

Rey quickly jogged over before having a

eventually, Rey replied, “Well… It contains information about this tomb’s owner, Mr. Crawford! From what I’ve gathered, the owner of the tomb goes by Talias Yah, and he was a general in an ancient country called Zanekh… To think that the tomb of such

surely spell their doom… As he was thinking of that, the corner of Gerald’s eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar symbol on the golden casket… Where had he

The Secretly or invisible

eyebrow, Rey couldn’t help but ask, “Is…

it somewhere before…” muttered Gerald as he continued flipping through his

suddenly yelled,

fished the map

when he finally realized that the exact symbol—on the casket—could be found on the map, Rey immediately exclaimed, “…Holy, is that… Then… Instead of going after the treasure, Tye was

a hundred percent sure that Tye was up to no good. But

wondering about that, Tye and

Gerald taking pity on them and allowing them to live, Tye wasn’t about to give up on his goals that easily. Still, without the map, Tye and his men had remained

foot into the village, Stanton—who just so happened to see them—immediately rushed over before

why he was

slight brow, Tye then glared at the old man before replying in an annoyed tone, “That isn’t important. Regardless, have you recently come

as he replied, “…I’m afraid not! It’s been ages since anyone from the outside world came to our village! Speaking of the

hearing that, Tye squinted his eyes at the chief, wondering if the old man was

while yelling,

that statement, Tye and his men immediately frowned. Now fully aware that Stanton had

words. That young woman truly

man by his collar before roaring, “Enough games! Where the hell

was beyond words… Tye himself had even sworn to show Gerald no mercy the