Nino: Hey, there's an orange book there... check it out?

• Nino: Why is that book on the highest shelf anyway?
• Meimona: Need a booster, Nino?
• Reed: I don't think that's going to be high enough to reach.
• Nino: Yeah. We need SEVERAL boosters to get to it.
• Meimona: Flying is out of the question, so don't even ask!
• Aria: Oh, I know! Let's do it like this...

Party: Stack. Like PANCAKES.

• Five: Woooow, Five is so tall now!
• Aria: Get the orange book, Five!
• Five: Okay! Ummmm...
• Nino: Urgh... did you get it yet?
• Five: Ooouh, almost! Almost there!
• Aria: You can do it, Five!
• Reed: Could you all hurry the HELL up.
• Meimona: Huhu, what's the matter, weakling?
• Meimona: You can't lift much, eh? Admit it!
• Reed: ...You know what, yeah.
• Reed: Now what does that imply about all of you?
• Nino: Whoa, HEY!
• Nino: ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?
• Reed: It's not me who implied it.
• Nino: ...That means you're calling Aria heavy too.
• Reed: Wow... I can't believe Mei would say that.
• Meimona: Hey!!! K-keep your balance!
• Meimona: And don't put words in my mouth!
• Five: Uuuugh... got it!
• Aria: There we go! Well done!
• Five: Nino! Here, I got the book, Nino!
• Nino: Great job!
• Reed: Awesome. Now get the hell off my back.

Nino: Check out the suspiciously orange book from the shelf full of yellow ones.

• Nino: Uhhh. What the heck is this?
• Aria: It's all garbled gibberish...
• Meimona: Why's every two pages of this the exact same gibberish, too!?
• Reed: ...That kind of looks like coded text.
• Meimona: Whoa! Do you know how to read it?
• Reed: No, uh, I know nothing about that, really.
• Reed: I just recognize the structure of a processed block of text, I guess.
• Meimona: Really? Where'd you see it before?
• Reed: Uhh, well...
• Reed: Headquarters sometimes has stuff like this on a monitor.
• Nino: A monitor? So it's code made with a computer, then?
• Nino: To me, it looks like text that has been ciphered.
• Aria: Ah, there are some ciphers you can easily do by hand on paper...
• Aria: But this amount of text looks a bit much to be created like that!
• Reed: Definitely not something you'd do manually, yeah.
• Reed: Unless you were an unbelievably patient person, I guess?
• Nino: Welp, we definitely can't sit down and crack the code now.
• Aria: Mhm, I wouldn't even know where to begin with it.
• Meimona: Then this big fat tome is utterly useless to us!
• Nino: Let's get back to what we were doing.
• Five: What about... book? Nino, do I put it back?
• Nino: No. We'll take it with us for now, just in case.
• Aria: Hold onto it carefully, Five!
• Five: Oh! Okay! I will take VERY good care of it!

Mei: Just start yanking books off the shelves. Maybe it'll do something.

• Meimona: You think any of these carbon copies could be useful?
• Reed: "Carbon copies"?
• Meimona: Yea! They've all got the same blank golden cover!
• Meimona: So? Are these books any use to us, Nino?
• Nino: Maybe, maybe not. Likely not. But...
• Nino: Why are you doing that exactly?
• Meimona: I dunno! Checking for anything hidden behind 'em?
• Meimona: So far, there's a big fat load of nothin'.
• Aria: I could skim through them really quickly, if that'd help?
• Reed: I'm not sure I believe the "quickly" part.
• Nino: Well, we can come back to them if we run out of options.
• Nino: For now... I'd like you guys to take a step back.
• Nino: I think we missed something on the way here.

Party: Return to the middle room and move the vase there.

• Nino: So Reed... if the path forward is a straight line,
• Nino: Then we're not supposed to go in either of those rooms.
• Nino: The path should continue in the center, right here. Is that right?
• Reed: Yes. That's what the detector is showing me.
• Five: Huh? Gotta walk to, middle of wall...?
• Meimona: Well, there's no door behind the vase!
• Aria: And There's nothing inside of it, either...
• Meimona: I'm tellin' you, that detector thingy is sooo broken.
• Reed: ...I wonder if it's actually malfunctioning.
• Nino: Oh! Uhhh, guys? You don't suppose that...
• Nino: There's some kind of puzzle we have to solve to move forward?
• Aria: A puzzle? What do you mean?
• Meimona: Ooooh...
• Reed: Ah.

Realization: Finally set in.

• Meimona: You're so right, Nino!
• Reed: Damn. Why didn't I think of that.
• Nino: Oh, you guys totally get it, don't you.
• Aria: Wha...
• Meimona: Secret doors are usually revealed by solving puzzles...
• Meimona: I bet that's exactly what we're gonna have to do!
• Reed: I suspect the very same thing too.
• Reed: I've seen this plenty before. Should've recognized it way sooner...
• Meimona: Yeah! I just realized why this feels sooo familiar too.
• Aria: Huh? Um, I've never heard about anything like this before.
• Aria: Is it something common in the monster world?
• Meimona: Oh, I dunno about this world specifically, buuuut...
• Meimona: It's a very common thing in action-adventure comics!
• Aria: ...What.
• Meimona: You know, comics! Even the monster world has those, right?
• Meimona: There's always a secret door in big ruins like these!
• Meimona: And a whoooole lotta puzzles you gotta solve to find it, of course.
• Reed: It's in video games, too.
• Nino: Yeah, it's pretty much a given in any dungeon level!
• Aria: Huh. Um. You guys. Um...
• Aria: I hate to break it to you, but listen.
• Aria: That's fiction, and this is reality.
• Aria: You all know that... right?
• Nino: Well, in games, it's only a fun level for the player to solve, but...
• Nino: In reality, what we're seeing might be some sort of security mechanism!
• Nino: Isn't figuring out something like this basically the same as solving a puzzle?
• Aria: Uh, maybe? Maybe so, sure. I'll give you that one.
• Aria: But comparing real world security measures to puzzles inside of a video game?
• Reed: The two of them might have more in common than you think.
• Meimona: Yeah, c'mon! There's a reason fiction depicts old ruins the way it does, no?
• Aria: Uhh... I don't know about that, really...
• Nino: Fine, then. We'll just have to SHOW you what we mean.
• Nino: It's time to prove that gaming skills ARE useful in real life!
• Meimona: Huhuhu, you've underestimated my insight, silly old temple!
• Meimona: I've witnessed these rather COMMON tricks before in many a tale!
• Meimona: Now that we're onto you, we'll solve your puzzles in noooo time.
• Reed: So this is the culmination of every game experience I've had since childhood...
• Nino: First things first: check all of the pots!
• Nino: Inside, outside, and underneath each, of course.
• Reed: Don't forget to look under the rugs, too. That's a common spot for hints.
• Five: Woooow! I feel like, everyone is treasure-hunting! Hehehe!
• Aria: ...Video games, and... action-adventure comics... was it?
• Aria: I can't believe that's what makes you guys feel prepared for this.
• Aria: In that case, I'll give it a shot too, I suppose...

Nino: SMASH THE POTS! SMASH THEM BOY!!!!

Meimona: Hey look, there's a hole in that one giant vase. You can totally get in there without breaking it.

Meimona: Don't listen if the others try to stop you, they just need to believe in you harder!

• Nino: Mei. What are you doing.
• Meimona: Finding a clue.
• Aria: By... sitting inside the vase?
• Meimona: Yeah! I'm checking if it's a magic vase.
• Meimona: There's one that turns you into a mummy in Ninnian's Golden Trek.
• Aria: A... what? It turns you into a what?
• Nino: In who's Golden... whuh?
• Meimona: YOU PLEBS DON'T KNOW THAT? IT'S A CLASSIC!
• Five: Mei's gonna be a mama? :o
• Reed: That's not what she... oh, who cares.
• Meimona: If you break the VASE OF GLOOM you turn into an EVIL MUMMY!
• Five: Mei is... an evil mama? D:
• Reed: She cooks her bird kids for breakfast.
• Nino: Hold on, what the heck!? What did you do to the vase!?
• Nino: You seriously ignoreed my warning just because of a stupid comic!?
• Meimona: Whoa, I didn't break anything!
• Meimona: It was already like this when I saw it! Promise!
• Aria: I can vouch for that, actually... I was going to point it out earlier.
• Aria: But, um. Seeing Mei climb inside it rendered me too speechless to do so.
• Reed: Fitting in without disturbing the existing cracks is kind of impressive.
• Meimona: Yeah, I'm innocent! And Golden Trek is NOT a STUPID COMIC.
• Aria: I wonder what broke that vase. And why they haven't replaced it yet...
• Nino: Okay, so? Did you find anything in it, Mei?
• Meimona: Noooo, unfortunately not.
• Nino: Great, then get outta there already!
• Nino: You look incredibly ridiculous.
• Meimona: Aaaw, fine. :[

Meimona: GRACEFULLY exit vase.

Party: Inspect paper.

• Nino: Huh.
• Aria: What do you suppose this means?
• Meimona: Uuum, I haven't the sliiightest clue.
• Reed: Sounds like something deep.
• Nino: ...Guys. We just went over this.
• Nino: It's OBVIOUS what this is.
• Nino: THIS IS HINT TEXT!
• Meimona: Ooooh... so that's why it's all vague and ominous!
• Reed: Oh wow. We found our first direct clue.
• Aria: Whoa, someone actually did put a hint inside of a vase...?
• Reed: Damn right. That'll teach you to doubt video game logic again.
• Meimona: Hey, hey, where's North from here?
• Nino: Uhh, I couldn't tell you.
• Nino: Didn't think to keep track of that kinda thing on the way here.
• Aria: Do you have a compass on your arm-thing, Reed?
• Reed: Yeah. Uh, it looks like...
• Reed: North is in the direction of the rift.
• Nino: That means it's pointing to the middle of the two doors!
• Meimona: Ah-hah! I knew it!
• Meimona: Nino, I think that wall is our "North star"!
• Meimona: So in order for us to move forward,
• Meimona: It has to collapse!
• Nino: Wooow! That's a really good catch, Mei!
• Meimona: Hehehe, I know. B)
• Meimona: Now let's BLOW IT UP, gang!

Nino: Smash through the wall, Kool Aid man style.

Everyone: Try the room on the left.

Meimona: PUSH.

• Meimona: Hiiii-YAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! PHEW!
• Meimona: There we go!
• Reed: Impressive.
• Nino: Wow! You didn't even break a sweat, huh?
• Meimona: But of couuuurse!
• Meimona: To a Mei, this is only a light workout.
• Aria: Thank you for your hard work!
• Aria: But... uhhh...
• Meimona: Aw, what!? There's nothing here?

Mei: PUSH SOME MORE.

• Meimona: ...What the heck!!!
• Meimona: Every bookshelf here turned out to be a dud!
• Nino: Looks like we'll have to check the other room, then.
• Meimona: Maaan, I did all of that work for nothing.
• Aria: Sorry to disappoint you...
• Reed: What are you apologizing for?
• Aria: Well, if I had recommended we take the other way first, then...
• Reed: You couldn't have known anyway, could you.
• Reed: Mei's just throwing a tantrum.
• Meimona: >:T

Nino: There is a kind of odd gap between the books... maybe try filling it with something?

Nino: Put the orange book in the gap.

• Meimona: OH MYYYY... Did you hear that?
• Aria: Hear what?
• Meimona: WHY, LUCKY FOR YOU, I TOOOOTALLY did!
• Meimona: My precious, my beautiful, glittering, golden...

---->

• Meimona: TREASURE CHEST is open!
• Aria: ...Oh! Is that so...
• Nino: How were you able to identify that noise so fast!?
• Meimona: What, the sound of a lock opening?
• Meimona: That's simply unmistakable to my trained ears, boy!
• Reed: At this rate, I don't think Mei's ever completing that redemption arc.
• Five: Meimona! I can get... treasure, now?
• Meimona: INDEED!
• Meimona: COME, MY TINY COMRADE!
• Meimona: WE SHALL REAP THE SPOILS TOGETHER!

Meimona: OPEN THE CHEST NOWWWW

• Meimona: Oooooh.
• Meimona: It's a key!
• Aria: Huh.
• Meimona: What a pretty key!
• Meimona: I bet it'd fetch a nice price on the market.
• Reed: Who the hell would buy a key without having its lock?
• Meimona: Oohohoh, you'd be surprised!
• Meimona: The antique market is made just for weird, cool oddities like these.
• Nino: I guess you obtained your treasure fair and square this time, huh...

---->

• Meimona: Here, Five! Keep this beauty safe for us, 'mkay?
• Five: Oooh... key is like... pretty necklace!
• Five: Thank you, Meimona! I will keep it safe! Just like, the book!!!
• Nino: Yeah, do keep a good eye on that.
• Nino: 'cause we're DEFINITELY going to need it for some kind of gate later on!
• Aria: ...I suppose that makes sense, even outside of game logic.
• Aria: But what doesn't make sense to me is why a key is inside of a chest.
• Aria: And also, how placing the book in the gap unlocked the chest, apparently!?
• Meimona: Oh, I know how that happened! It's simple - there was a weighted tile!
• Meimona: Putting a weight on those does stuff! Like, opening gates!
• Reed: And you can't just press it. You have to keep it held for the gate to stay open.
• Aria: Ah, so the book weighed the tile down, basically!
• Aria: But then, that means the table this chest is on is somehow, um...
• Aria: Connected to the opposite room via an underground mechanism of some sort?
• Aria: Which somehow still works even if the bookshelf itself is moved. Hmmm...
• Reed: I wouldn't waste brainpower trying to figure it out.
• Reed: If it works, it works.
• Meimona: Yeah! At times like these, you should just take the treasure and run!
• Aria: Um... if you say so?
• Aria: (I think associating this place with fiction is making them disregard the logic of everything around us... that's a bit worrisome!)

Party: Check for secret tunnels behind the second set of bookshelves.

• Meimona: Ooooow... there we go!
• Meimona: And, heeey! Would you look at that?
• Nino: Woah, there's actually a tunnel!?
• Reed: Damn. Nice one, Aria.
• Aria: Oh! Wow, I'm glad I was right after all...
• Aria: Now I'm thinking like a proper Gamer!
• Nino: ...Egh.
• Meimona: Aria, umm...
• Meimona: I kinda don't wanna hear you say that out loud.
• Reed: I agree wholeheartedly.
• Aria: H-huh? D:

Party: Enter tunnel.

---->

Party: Emerge.

• Meimona: Woooow, this room is huuuuge!
• Reed: ...Damn. This much of the temple was just hidden away here?
• Nino: That's crazy. I wonder what they need such a large hall for, anyway?
• Aria: Since the temple used to be open to the public at some point,
• Aria: Maybe this spot was used for congregations in the past?