Expedition (4)

After a moment of silence, Marianne and Jane walked towards him, accompanied by Jack, Arthur as well as a few rank 1 acolytes who were aware of the difficulty of breaking a mana lock in so little time.

"You…Who are you?", Jane asked.

For some reason, Marianne treated Jane on an equal footing, whereas she completely saw Jack and Arthur as her underlings. It only strengthened Drake's conviction that Jane somehow returned to the past as a reincarnator, or was a prophet who experienced a possible future.

"Well, I don't know what you're expecting me to answer. I validated the deal, so I get to keep this ring. You're fully aware of how knowledgeable I am. Do you really think that breaking such a simple mana lock is above my abilities? My spirit might be lower than yours, but it doesn't mean that I am not strong", Drake said.

In truth, his growth in the spirit attribute was extraordinary. It was mostly thanks to his grade 5 talent, but his original meditation technique as well as his constant hunts that earned him the goodwill of the world consciousness had thoroughly multiplied his potential.

But none of his interlocutors were aware of his rank 2 acolyte status.

Inside their heads, everyone had different thoughts

'A monster…'

'A wisdom fitting a grade 5 talent…'

'He must really be killed as soon as he serves his purpose', Marianne thought while hiding her killing intent behind a broad smile

After a while, she said: "Let's move in the laboratory. Let the beastmen scout the area. Even if you see a treasure, notify me before you touch anything. We don't know how meticulous the wandering magus used to be. There might be traps or monsters we don't know about.

Upon entering, Drake scrutinized the walls of the endless hall that seemed to lead to the gates of hell. It didn't take long for the party to discover the identity of the Wandering Magus who used to conduct research in this laboratory.

Every few meters, skeletons of powerful Magus-level creatures, as well as some ghouls could be seen stored in huge tanks of a whitish liquid filled with an enormous quantity of mana. It was like there was an army stored in these towering devices.

The original owner of this lab was a Necromancer.

The hall went on for about several miles, and the more they walked, the deeper underground they were heading to.

From times to times, there would be jars filled with extraordinary treasures. To any acolyte who could appraise them accurately, it was a marvel: [Negative Energy sterilized fluid – Grade 3 Magical Material]

[Strengthened Ghoul – Rank 3 Magical Creature]

[Ghoul – Rank 1 Magical Creature]

[Skeleton Warrior – Rank 1 Magical Creature]

[Skeleton Knight – Rank 3 Level Creature]

[Poison Ghoul – Rank 2 Magical Creature]

[Skeleton belonging to a deceased rank 1 magus]

[Rubies – Grade 2 Magical Material]

[Enchanted Pendants – Grade 2 Enchanted items]

…

However, no matter how valuable these items were, no one dared to touch it. They were not in some light Magus laboratory. These items were most likely cursed and considering their low constitution and resistance to negative energy, they were not suicidal enough to touch them. The ghouls were terrifying creatures, but since the laboratory had been proven to have been created more than two thousand years ago, they were most likely dead.

At the end of the hall, there was a huge room, as big as a feasting room of a very wealthy lord. However, the room was filled with magus-related research devices, tube tests filled with unknown liquids, enchanted items, magical artefacts…

However, all of the acolytes' eyes were drawn towards a table

"This is…", Marianne muttered upon coming across a table.

138 scrolls and 24 grimoires were carefully stored on a table. The sheer size of the books was incredible. It was more than what an average Magus could write down in a lifetime. Without any doubt, this ancient Magus was very capable. But he died alone, judging from the Magus-level humanoid skeleton lying on a chair, lifeless.

An acolyte wearing a skull pendant who couldn't bear it anymore was about to pick up a book: it was Magus-level knowledge, one that fit his path perfectly. But Marianne didn't stop him. Upon touching the book, the rank 1 acolyte was overcome by greed and started to read it as if his life depended on it. A few minutes later, he began to twitch and scratch his head increasingly harder. At some point, blood began to pour out of his eyes and his pores while screaming in agony. Exactly 8 minutes and 58 seconds after he picked up the book, he died.

"These items are cursed, Marianne", Jane said in a low voice, "I already told you so"

Marianne smirked: "Whatever, I wanted to see it by myself. I guess you have a way to dispel them with your special…status, right?"

Jane answered: "My memories might not be complete, but I wouldn't have come to you and asked for help if the only thing I knew was the location of this laboratory. We won't be able to transport these items unless I dispel the curses on them individually. It will take several days, at the very least."

Marianne nodded and then shouted: "I FORBID EVERYONE FROM TOUCHING ANYTHING IN THIS ROOM! FROM NOW ON, THIS LABORATORY IS THE THUNDER TOWER FACTION'S PROPERTY."

Marianne didn't have to say it twice. After seeing the horrible death the bold rank 1 acolyte suffered, everyone had a lingering fear to touch any stuff in this room, a fear that would most likely never be forgotten.

Jane then proceeded to pick up the book and drew a magical circle around her after casting a spell that made her hand glowing. The magical circle was a complex hexagram that used otherworldly runes and expensive materials that were monopolised by the Church of Light, usually used to heal people.

Drake recognized [Holy Water – Grade 3 Material], a glowing liquid that seemed divine.

'Record everything…'

[Beep! This is most likely a holy array which is the most efficient way to dispel a curse. The Holy Church has mainly been tolerated in the Porfield Kingdom by the Magical Court because its priests are not aggressive and their magical power can mostly be used to dispel curses, heal and create miracles. Since they were not a threat, they have even been supported by the Magical Court at some point, making the Light belief the most widely spread in Barnolia. This is at least a grade 3 holy array.]

The mana waves were quite extraordinary, to the point that most of the rank 1 acolytes were experiencing headaches. Marianne seemed quite eager to get her hands on it, and so was Jane.

Unfortunately, the mana waves had somehow provoked an unwanted phenomenon after a dozen minutes: The Ghouls and skeletons that were stored in the Hall broke the glass. Their eye sockets were flickering in a red, murderous way, and they started to slowly march towards the research room.

Everyone was shocked. More than two thousand years passed since the laboratory was created. Even if the magical reserves of this hideout were huge, supplying ghouls and skeletons with mana required a proper necromancer acolyte controlling them with a spell. If there was no necromancer, then these were undead beings, but once again, even undead beings would gradually grow useless after two thousand years.

If undead could be roam freely without acolytes or magi controlling them, then Barnolia wouldn't be brimming with life. It would have turned into a graveyard a long time ago. Even in the books and memoires Drake scanned, there was no mention of such a phenomenon.

There were mentions of undead beings becoming independent after awakening their own soul, but this was usually the result of a forbidden ritual made with a lich or something like that. Or a result of…a necromancer's research.

Ruins were sometimes protected by arrays that controlled undead beings, but Drake knew that it wasn't the case here, since he didn't notice any rune inscribed on the walls or the undead's body.

Drake's suddenly flashed with anxiousness: 'Don't tell me…the [Negative Energy Fluid] they were stored in made them stronger and prevented them to wither over time?'

Something unprecedented was happening.

[Beep! Danger! The defensive mechanism of this laboratory has been activated. According to the corpses and skeletons recorded in the hall, Host's party is likely to have to fight 182 Rank 1 Skeleton Warriors, 24 Rank 2 Poison Ghouls, 16 Rank 2 Earth Ghouls and 6 Rank 3 Strengthened Ghouls]

The ground started to tremble.

It was the sound of an army of undead coming to attack them.

Three acolytes cast [Earth Wall], in an attempt to stop the monsters, but how could a weak rank 1 spell possibly stop such an undead army? After a few dozen seconds, the Earth Walls crumbled.

"What are-", an acolyte tried to shout but before he could finish his sentence, an axe struck his head, thrown by a skeleton. Obviously, these beings had their own sentience, and possessed a weapon mastery far exceeding the average knight.

None of these things made sense.

It was probably the most dangerous situation Drake encountered until now.