'Again?'
Similar to the change that took place inside the mini-gates, the openings seemed to experience some changes. However, only two openings showed the phenomenon this time!
The first one to show change was none other than the opening I entered the mini-gate through. Exhibiting the same tendency as the openings inside of it, it quickly dissolved into 107 thin threads of black ink, disappearing as if it was never there.
While the ink threads mysteriously dispersed around as they merged into the rest of the openings, the openings themselves didn't show any noticeable change… except for one particular opening!
'Creative…'
The openings at the very center of the ground slightly increased in size, showing potential to be either the final gate or the path to the unknown trial of this demon base.
'Or just bored?'
Having seen all of this as I was landing back, I couldn't help but wonder if the one who created this mechanism simply had too much time in his hand.
Not to mention an old arcade game being the base for the main theme of the gate, even the openings moved around like a little circus show. Although I wasn't sure if this gate was better than the rest of the gate, it definitely won when it came to weirdness.
'Meh.'
Ignoring my inquisitive nature, I prepared myself as I jumped into a random opening to see the difference.
Unlike the last time, I didn't bother using 'Lightning Cloud' as a stair, having already expected the ground to be close enough for a safe jump. Of course, if it happened that the new mini-gate was different, my dragon wings were always ready for action.
Thud.
'Makes sense…'
Landing into the ground that was the same level as the ground of the mini-gate before it, I wasn't surprised to see that this underground cave was identical to the one I just visited earlier. However, there was one tiny detail that appeared to be different.
'They are slightly bigger.'
The positions of the openings remained the same, but the openings' diameter slightly increased just like the central opening had increased in the main underground cave.
'Let's see…'
Walking directly between the openings lettered on the ground, I started testing the effect of this small change…
`~~`~~`~~`
[ You have absorbed the blood essence of a 'Whack Mole', purification in progress… ]
[ You have obtained 81,499 EP! ]
"It's more or less similar to the minotaur mini-gates."
After killing the last mole around in the second mini-gate, I finalized my assessment of the change that took place. Disregarding the visual effects, the experience was almost identical to my first Demon Base Corruption Gate experience.
Of course, unlike the minotaur mini-gate which increased the enemy number by 1 each time, the number of the moles remained constant. However, what made the experience similar was the identical strength and level increase.
Naturally, the difference between one mini-gate and the one next to it wasn't very big, even after I finished this mini-gate, my suppressed strength was still excessive when dealing with the moles.
'It's better this way."
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Although the increase of my enemies' strength appeared to have a negative effect on my control training, that wasn't actually the case. In fact, I believed it had a beneficial effect instead.
Observing the minimal strength increase they experienced as I suppressed my strength to meet that level seemed to have worked wonders when it came to my control training. Despite the difference being small, the effect of my training in the second mini-gate was almost double that of what I experienced in the second mini-gate.
"Here we go again…"
Stepping into the only opening that remained after the little visual show finished, I immediately spread my wings once more…
`~~`~~`~~`
Having already understood the mechanism of the 'Mole Holes', I continued jumping through the mini-gates, completely putting my focus into training.
With everything progressing as usual, the training was proceeding as smoothly as possible. However, it didn't take that long for a change to take place.
'It's bigger.'
After going through the first nine mini-gates, I was immediately able to recognize the change in the tenth one even before I looked at the ground.
Although it wasn't at the level of the main underground cave, the underground cave in the tenth mini-gate was larger, almost double the size of the nine before it. It was a bit harsh to land with the increased distance to the ground, but it was still feasible.
'Is it doubling or…?'
Obviously, what really mattered was still the change related to the openings. Just like the size of the underground cave it was in, the number of openings also doubled, reaching 180 openings spread on the ground.
Considering the already high beginning number, it felt a bit strange to see that the number doubled after just nine mini-gates. However, that didn't particularly prove harder for me. If anything, it actually increased the efficiency of my control training.
Moreover, I had a different theory in mind, but since I couldn't exactly prove it until I was done with nine more gates, I simply went back to focusing on controlling my strength and speed which had yet to reach the optimal value…
`~~`~~`~~`
'Let's see…'
Having learned from my earlier experience, I didn't immediately jump into the 19th 'Mole Hole'. Instead, I first spread my wings out to lessen the impact of my jump.
'As expected!'
The possibility of the change was more or less confirmed at this point, but what met my expectation was none other than the details of the change itself!
The size of the underground cave didn't double this time, instead, it appeared as if it increased by only half this time. However, I could tell that it wasn't a case of doubling or halving…
'Another 'nine' reference…'
Just like the minotaur gate that emphasized the 9 especially with the 99 special ending, this gate also did so, increasing the number of enemies by 90 every 9 gates!
That was precisely the theory that came to my mind during my training through the second 'nine' mini-gates; the 270 openings spread on the ground of the 19th mini-gate only proved it correct.
'Interesting.'
Seeing the vague thread linking the two gates, I felt slightly intrigued, but I didn't spend any time pondering on the topic. Since I was already starting to feel close to reaching the primary target of my control training, I completely put my mind into it for the final push!