The Amber Sword

Chapter 237 – The catacomb

The entrance to the catacomb was located near the lowest point of the valley. Several broken pillars stood in the dense foliage with vines creeping all over them. If one did not observe them carefully, they would have thought the pillars were green boulders.

Brendel studied the passage that was dug by the mercenaries and gave a faint nod. The youth thought the latter was professionals. He previously dug tunnels in the game as the physical work was left to the warriors and he was quite good at it, so he could tell how the mercenaries performed.

His eyes turned back to the pillars for a second look.

[The corrosion of the pillar’s rock material is very deep. Are these pattern-like things actually words? No, not Kirrlutz or Elven. Perhaps the native Highlanders of the old? They were the ones lording over this place before the King Erik or even the Silver Elves. If this bit of history can be tracked all the way back to the War of the Holy Saints, then this tomb is really old.]

Brendel turned on the system in his eyes but the patterns were showing up as question marks. The points in his side profession, Scholar, was unfortunately insufficient. He initially wanted to pass himself off as a noble but he now thought it as a waste of skill points.

The magicians working for Alistair were starting to chant and create magic orbs of light, and everyone moved into the catacomb. Though the stale air within the catacomb had been let out for quite some time, there was still the odor of decay. The rays of light were a little dim as they proceeded through the dark catacomb. Recesses in the wall could be seen with skeletons laid in them. Some of the skeletons’ bones were broken.

The mercenaries informed Brendel that the card was found in these grave niches. The youth tried sensing if there were anything in them but he did not detect anything, though he felt a mana signature emitting from the front and it caused a tremor in his mind.

“Six….. Seven, eight, there are eight of them!”

The apprentices started chanting, but the Tomb Ghouls moved in a deceptively quick manner unlike their sluggish climb earlier, and they pounced onto the apprentices’ midst. Several men were pushed down, but the Tomb Ghouls’ sharpened fangs were temporarily unable to pierce through their protective measures.

Terrified screams filled the chamber.

Scarlett glared at the monsters and tossed her spear at them, nailing three Tomb Ghouls to the wall, while Jana was already rushing in to get the creatures off the apprentices. She was an intermediate Silver-ranker and though she was not particularly outstanding among Brendel’s subordinates, she was more than a match for a mere level 27 Undead. It only took a few seconds for her sword to pierce through the heads of the Tomb Ghouls holding on to the apprentices.

The final two Tomb Ghouls cowered and retreated deeper into the chamber, but there was no way that Ciel’s apprenticing wizards would allow them to flee. Various colored rays of light lit the burial chamber, and the remaining two monsters were struck by countless magic spells of ice, fire, electricity and Magic Arrows.

The spectacular fireworks even made Brendel open his mouth a little in surprise.

Ciel wiped away the perspiration on his forehead.

The battle started quickly and it did not take long to end. There were a few skeletons that rose slowly after the Tomb Ghouls, but they were eliminated as well.

Brendel took a moment to sigh, casting his thoughts back on how he had trouble dealing with these skeletons when he arrived in this world for the first time, but now even his worst mercenaries and apprentices could deal with these skeletons in a few strikes.

After the battle was over, the apprentices found a few magic talismans based on Brendel’s instructed locations, which were nothing fancy and at a level where an ordinary Alchemist could produce. At best these talismans could ward off minor evil things, and they did not interest him at his level. He told the apprentices to distribute the talismans amongst themselves and the latter cheered intermittently.

The final thing that was shown to Brendel was a magic longsword, and the youth looked at it with a little surprise. The longsword was completely red in color and gleamed like a cornelian gemstone. The longsword’s guard was a pair of Fire Raven, and there were rune-like patterns on both sides of the blade. One look at it and anyone could tell that it was a rare treasure.

[The Fire Raven’s Tongue? That’s one grade below the ‘legendary’ grade. It’s not bad in terms of stats and it can cast a spell that resembles a whip on fire. It’s considered rare equipment in the early stages of the game.]

Brendel’s eyes shifted to Jana’s longsword in its hilt and he told her to take the magic weapon.

“My Lord?”

Jana replied in a puzzled manner, not comprehending the situation until she received the magic weapon with both hands. It was common for low-grade magic weapons to appear in the market, but the longsword in her hands was definitely a real treasure. It was true that Brendel had no use for this longsword since he had Halran Gaia, but he could still have kept it for his closer subordinates.

She truly did not expect that Brendel would give it to her without any hesitation. She caressed the blade with loving fingers. There was no swordsman who did not love swords, especially when it was such a good one.

“Thank you, My Lord. I will definitely treasure it,” Jana spoke with a solemn expression that was rarely shown.

The youth really did not think much of his action. In his eyes, the Fire Raven’s Tongue and other ‘Brass’ rated weapons were ordinary artifacts. Jana was his subordinate, and even if it was a ‘legendary’ rated weapon, he would not hesitate to give her one if it was suitable.

One of the apprentices who went off to scout for any hidden areas came running back and spoke with a pant:

“M-my Lord. There’s a room ahead of us.”

Ciel clicked his tongue in disapproval and turned his face away to pretend he did not see him. These subordinates of his were actually exhausted with just a single battle, and he wondered if he was too lax when he taught them. He decided that he needed to drill them hard when they returned to the city.

“Room, you say, hmm?” Brendel did not really mind the apprentices’ performance.

The truth was he was in even worse shape compared to them during his first adventure in a tomb, and he instead felt a kinship to them like he was watching the newbies running around in a game, who even appeared in high-level areas as though they were lost rabbits.

“Yes. We checked the room but we didn’t find any other passages, My Lord!”

“Huh, that’s the end of the catacomb?” Brendel was slightly surprised and he muttered under his breath: “I didn’t think that it would be this small, but there were indeed quite a lot of mini catacombs like this in the game……”

It was a catacomb, not a labyrinth. The biggest catacomb in the kingdom was in Ampere Seale, and it was really more of a dungeon. Any player who conquered it reached a true milestone in the game.

“Is there anything in the room?” He asked.

“A grand coffin, and many of the cards that you seek.”