We climbed to the fourth floor, entering a chamber that immediately evoked maritime themes. Tide patterns were carved intricately into the stone walls, creating flowing designs. Faint salt crystals clung around a shallow stone bowl positioned at the room's center, and I could detect the subtle scent of ocean air despite being deep inland.

The academy had really worked hard on these shrines, they were very creative and unique. I wondered how the other shrines looked like.

The pedestal here was carved to resemble weathered driftwood, complete with rope-like patterns spiraling around its base. The inscription was etched in flowing script that mimicked the movement of waves:

"Where water forgets the weight of ships, I keep the knot of logs and nets. I speak in gulls' grammar and remember every dragged rope. Say my name: the long shore that keeps the sea's gossip."

I read the riddle aloud, and my team members immediately began analysing the maritime imagery.

"It's describing some kind of shoreline or harbour area," one observed. "Somewhere that deals with ships, nets, and ropes."

"The phrase 'long shore that keeps the sea's gossip' seems important," the other added. "It's asking for a specific term related to coastal areas I assume."

I examined the base of the pedestal and found a coast glyph carved into the stone, with markings that appeared to indicate the third and fourth letter positions.

After several minutes of discussion, one of my team members spoke up confidently: "Longshore. It's a maritime term for the shore itself, or work done along the shoreline. The riddle specifically mentions 'the long shore,' and longshore fits perfectly with all the nautical references."

"That reasoning sounds solid," I agreed. "Speak it."

He approached the pedestal and declared: "Longshore."

The chamber responded immediately, with the salt crystals beginning to glow and the tide patterns seeming to flow more dynamically across the walls. Another staircase was revealed, but as we prepared to ascend, we found ourselves facing a dilemma.

"We have the index clues from all four floors now," I said, reviewing our collected letters. "MO from the first floor, ON from the second, FA from the third, and NG from this floor."

My team members looked puzzled. "MONFANG? MONGFAN? None of these combinations make sense," one said.

"Maybe we need to rearrange them?" the other suggested. "Or perhaps they spell something when read in a different order?"

We spent several minutes trying various combinations without success. The individual letter pairs seemed meaningful, but we couldn't determine how they were supposed to connect.

"Let's go back to the first floor and examine each puzzle location again," I decided. "There might be additional clues we missed that explain how to use these letter combinations."

We descended through the shrine, stopping at each floor to re-examine the pedestals and their surrounding areas. The pattern seemed consistent - each riddle had given us two letters - but the purpose remained unclear.

"Maybe it's not about combining them," one team member suggested. "What if each pair represents something different?"

"Or perhaps there's a fifth floor that will provide the final piece," the other added.

After extensive discussion and examination, we decided to test one theory.

One of my team members said. "What if we're supposed to speak all the letter combinations together as a phrase? MONFANG might be some kind of activation word."

We returned to the central area where all four floors connected and I spoke clearly: "MONFANG."

The response was immediate and alarming. The floor beneath us cracked open in five different locations, and Elite-rank beasts began emerging - creatures similar to those we had faced earlier, but larger and more aggressive.

A disembodied voice echoed through the shrine with ominous authority: "Only one attempt remains."

Five Elite-rank opponents was a serious threat that required immediate action. I stepped forward decisively while giving instructions to my team.

"Each of you take one beast," I commanded, drawing my enhanced sword. "I'll handle the other three."

The battle began immediately. My team members engaged their assigned targets with the coordination they had developed during our previous encounters. Meanwhile, I activated my blood enhancement and charged toward the three creatures advancing on my position.

The fight wasn't difficult. I had just defeated nine peak-elite statues and a transcendent rank lion. Handling three elite-rank beasts was nothing in consideration. My sword carved through their carapaces with devastating power.

Within minutes, all five beasts lay shattered across the shrine floor. We had survived the punishment for our incorrect guess, but now faced the pressure of having only one remaining attempt to solve the final puzzle.

With the immediate threat eliminated, I stood among the beast remains and focused on the real challenge, solving the meta-puzzle before our final attempt.

"Let's think about this calmly," I said, gathering my team around me. "We have four letter pairs: MO from the first floor, ON from the second, FA from the third, and NG from the fourth. Perhaps we shouldn't skip the O's and actually read them all."

I traced the letters in the air as I spoke them. "What if we're supposed to read them in the order we encountered them? MO-ON-FA-NG."

"MOONFANG," one of my team members said, his eyes widening with realization.

I nodded. "That's it, Moonfang... I think I read somewhere that it's a legendary term from hunter traditions. A relic that is rumoured to have been forged under moonlight, used to bind hunting packs or unlock sacred vaults or so the ancestors believed."

The pieces clicked together perfectly. Each individual riddle had tested our knowledge of archaic terminology, while the meta-puzzle required us to understand deeper old lore about legendary artifacts.

"In the Academy's examination system, Moonfang would be a keyword that unlocks significant rewards. This isn't just about solving puzzles, I think it's also about demonstrating comprehensive knowledge of both linguistic history and magical traditions."

We made our way to what appeared to be the shrine's central altar, a raised platform that connected all four floors through an open shaft in the center.

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