Artifact?

Something was different in that tunnel. The mine tunnels were long and deep, but usually straight, with only occasional deviations when the miners needed to collect specific mana ores, but nothing too abrupt. However, the tunnel Nolan was in, besides being deep, went directly downwards, as if whoever had dug it had the intention of reaching the underworld. What was most impressive was the fact that the mana ores were still on the walls of the tunnel.

'The person who dug this didn't even bother to collect them. How did the guards not see this?' Nolan thought as he descended the tunnel.

That only reinforced the strangeness of the tunnel, and Nolan was increasingly intrigued by the red light.

'What could it be?' he thought with each step he took towards the depths of the tunnel.

Something inside Nolan was telling him that it was dangerous and that he should turn back, but his life was so miserable that he didn't care. Nolan wanted to see what the red light was, and even if it was something dangerous, he didn't care. He just wanted a chance to change his reality.

After walking for about 15 minutes without stopping for a second, Nolan reached the end of the tunnel. He came upon an open room with some old coffins inside.

'What is this? A tomb?'

There were about 3 coffins down there. It was unusual since they were deep within the earth, and a tomb shouldn't be there. The entire structure was made of stone and was holding up, which was quite impressive. And besides, there were more people in that room!

In front of one coffin stood two people. Nolan didn't recognize either of them, but it was easy to tell from their clothing. One was a miner, and the other was a guard. Now Nolan realized how the miner had dug that huge tunnel without anyone noticing.

'They still haven't noticed my presence; I'll stay hidden,' thought Nolan.

The two men stood in front of the coffin emitting the red light, seeming undecided.

"Are you sure it's safe to open this coffin? This artifact is ancient, and I'm not sure we should try to retrieve it," the guard-dressed man said.

"Of course it's safe," replied the miner. "Or are you going to tell me you made me dig all this shit for a whole year to be scared at the end?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that we have little information about this artifact."

The miner walked over to the coffin standing against the wall and began to open it. "Actually, we have no information at all. The only thing we had was the location of this artifact. We don't even know what it is or what it does. But an artifact shouldn't be dangerous, so let's take it for ourselves."

From that brief conversation, Nolan got some information: the red light was emitted by an artifact, and those two individuals somehow obtained that information. But that was all.

'An artifact? It would be great to get something like that for myself, but since I can't even use mana, it would be stolen within minutes.'

When Nolan heard about an artifact, he became excited, considering the possibility of having something so incredible. However, he was also realistic.

There was no way he would have the power to keep a powerful artifact. There were much stronger people in the world who would certainly steal it. They might even kill him.

Anyway, Nolan remained hidden, observing the miner and the guard as they opened the coffin. Inside was a mummy, somewhat preserved.

'How did it not turn into a skeleton or dust?' Nolan thought.

That alone was strange, but even stranger was the red stone inside its forehead. It was as if someone had inserted it there.

Nolan didn't move, but he was prepared to run if necessary.

"So it's a stone! Do you want to grab it or should I?" asked the miner.

The guard said nothing and gestured for the miner to take it. With a smile on his face, the miner reached out and took the red stone, pulling it from the forehead of that mummy.

For a brief moment, they were both very happy, looking at each other. "We did it, hehe. With this, we'll either get rich or become very powerful," the miner said.

It was then, at that moment, that something strange began to happen. The miner's hand started to lose vitality, becoming just like a mummy's hand. "What the hell is this shit," shouted the miner, throwing the stone away.

He looked at his hand and realized the damage would be irreversible. "Damn, man. Thank goodness I noticed quickly, or I'd be screwed."

Nolan saw all of that, and his mind could only think of one thing, 'Don't go near that red stone.'

The miner and the guard were thinking similar things, but they weren't as lucky. The stone, now on the other side of the room, began to float and flew straight toward the miner.

"What the hell is this!?"

The stone seemed to have a life of its own and entered directly into the miner's body. In a matter of seconds, he became a mummy, devoid of any trace of vitality within his body.

The guard was close to the miner, and upon witnessing that dreadful scene, decided to run away. He didn't want to stick around to find out what would happen to him.

He began to run towards the tunnel he had just entered, but mysteriously, everything around started to shake, and some stones collapsed, sealing the tunnel shut. Nolan was hiding behind one of the coffins, and not even he could escape. The tunnel had closed, and they were trapped inside.

"Damn it!" exclaimed the guard.

From that moment on, there was no point for Nolan to remain hidden. He emerged from behind the coffin and confronted the guard.

"So, we're screwed, aren't we?" said Nolan, scratching his head.

The guard was taken aback by Nolan's presence and quickly assumed a defensive stance, but then realized that Nolan was dressed like a miner.

"What are you doing here? Did you see what just happened? We're going to die here!" said the guard.

At that moment, the red stone began to float again.