Search and destroy...

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Vajra POV...

Man, this crypt sure is amazing. So... unique and not just a really long stone tunnel. Yep, very nice.

I decide to just pull out my spear and channel some mana, using what little fire magic I know to conjure a flame orb to use as a torch. My mana affinity is fire, and lightning is simply a specialized subject.

My path is now more illuminated than before as my footsteps echo out through the crypt. I hear a crunch beneath my right foot and stop walking, looking down towards the stone.

It's a piece of a bone, dusty and now broken. Kinda looks like a bit of a pelvis, I think. I'm no doctor though, so I could be wrong. I kick it off to the side before looking back up and resuming my walk.

As I move forward, I begin to hear what can only be described as a ghastly groaning from beyond the grave. A very distant clank of metal scraping against the ground, as if a rusted corpse had once again seen life.

A white barrier forms behind me, keeping me from turning back.

[Scripted encounter Imperial Crypt triggered.]

[Clear the Imperial Crypt in search of the Relic.]

[0/1.]

"Joyous..." Before I can stop myself, I audibly and sarcastically respond. I didn't plan to get locked in here, it's irritating.

I could dismantle some people right now and hopefully I get to. The stone on the ground changes patterns to something more square and like tile, as if it were a better place than the prior walkway.

I step down and feel a shift of the stone, a heavy grinding before a quick snap of some kind of rope or string. A trap, likely.

A whistle of something passes through the air before I sidestep, an arrow whizzing past my head. I hear a different tile shift, something in the ceiling swinging down at me.

This time, I lean back as far as my spine will let me before an axe throttles past my face. My eyes slightly widen before I stand back up and begin sprinting, disregarding the potential danger of any traps. 

One, two, three, four... I stop counting after a while, concentrating on simply making it to the other side. I feel a wave of fire mana be released from my right, likely a large flame.

I raise my hand before attempting to diverge the flames away from me and towards any projectiles behind me. It works fast enough for me to look back up, a speeding wire approaching my ankles.

Just for a bit of flair, I decide to do a little flip before continuing to sprint. There are still more traps triggering. Now the very wall closes closer in a segment, tightening into a hole of spikes with a narrow entrance.

I pluck the flame orb from my spear before throwing it at the wall, demolishing it in a blow before recasting a new flame orb and continuing to run.

The grounds finally stops making noise beneath me as I turn and expel a chain of lightning mana, striking down many different projectiles. A poison dart, an arrow, etc... lightning chains between all of them.

Man, that was draining. I plant my spear against the ground, leaning against it and wiping my brow of any sweat. I'm tired, but I didn't get hit by anything.

With a smooth turnaround, I begin walking once again whilst hoping for no traps. To my dismay, I'm met with a skeleton. I would be happy if it was a normal skeleton, but it looks like one of the summoned skeletons from that guy on the roof.

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Arthur Ishviel POV...

Valory left 20 minutes ago, causing me to be alone with my thoughts. It was a good talk, mainly just about how I should take time for myself. I haven't really found it in me to stand yet, especially since it's raining outside. 

Nevertheless, everyone else it putting in the work and I'm just sat here. Patting my cheeks in an effort to get back in the game, I stand up and begin marching out of the sewer. Me and Valory got the easy places.

I got the Cathedral and she got the auction house, two relatively nice places in comparison to a graveyard and literal fortress. I'm so fortunate today.

Sword grandpa is walking besides me, his arms crossed as usual. I wish he would leave me alone for once, but whatever.

"So..." He starts, looking towards the ceiling as we walk. "The church, huh?"

"Yeah," I respond, shooting a glance to him. He doesn't usually start conversations, much less in such a manner as this. "What about it?"

"Nothing, young man. I just didn't consider you a religious person, is all," He says, looking to his left instead of at me. It's like he's trying to avoid eye contact. "... If I were you, I would probably leave the sword outside the Cathedral somewhere."

I narrow my eyes a little, turning to look at him. We finally exit the sewer tunnel, the rain now hitting my face and dampening my white hair. At least I don't have to deal with the sewer smell anymore, so that's nice.

"And why is that?" I question, looking forward once again.

My feet splash some water from puddles before it redistributes into its sedentary position of puddling, like rain often does. He twiddles his thumbs slightly, as if to buy himself time. It's an awkward while of silence as I wait for him to speak, which he eventually does.

"I just think it's a bad idea," He restates, once again skirting away from the topic.

"Why is that?" I ask once again, refusing to let him avoid the topic.

"I just think it's a bad idea," He states it a third time, refusing to address it.

"Dude, are you cursed or cursed-cursed?" I ask, directly confronting him about it. Cursed is just a stigma, but cursed-cursed is the whole 9 yards.

"..."

He just stays silent for a while, looking off to the side again for a while before disintegrating into mana particles. Asshole apparition! IT'S NOT EVEN THAT TOUGH OF A QUESTION!

I kick a rock, continuing to walk despite my slight frustration. I hear a church bell ring in the distance, likely the Cathedral. I wonder what could make me think that?

Admittedly, I should've seen the cursed-cursed "twist" coming with all that vessel talk he was saying, but I figured I might be reading too far in. Nope, I was reading to the perfect level required.

The old man is definitely evil and definitely very cursed, which is actually really obvious in hindsight considering how mean he is. 

Going to the Cathedral means that I'm allowed to get away from him for a while, at least. Maybe this can be the start of all that me-time everyone's been suggesting...

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