The wall before Tepo blurred, waves spreading on it as it slowly turned illusionary. Meanwhile the young man turned around in surprise. A massive body stood in the door. With a burly build and a long black ponytail, who else could it be but Lao Ru?

The older man had an awkward expression on his face as he looked at the wall next to Tepo. He coughed awkwardly before he entered the room.

Tepo stayed apprehensive. He took a step to the side, granting Lao Ru access to the wall as he watched the warrior’s movements closely.

Suddenly though Lao Ru stopped. He eyed Tepo with intelligent eyes.

“Did you just join?”

“Yes.”, answered Tepo after a short hesitation.

“Hmm. You’re quite lucky. You directly became a core member. Many would give everything for such a chance.”

“It’s not that impressive.”

A grin suddenly former on Lao Ru’s face.

“This only means you haven’t seen much yet. You were probably even recruited in the Carrying Winds World. If you travel more, you will understand how naïve those words of yours are.”

Tepo frowned faintly. Lao Ru was incredibly perceptive. The older warrior gathered a lot of information from a few sentences.

“Are you one of those hoping to become a core member?”

“No.”, answered Lao Ru decisively. “I’m content with my current situation.”

“Which is?”

Lao Ru chuckled faintly as he answered:

“I’m an external ally. I’m not really considered a member. But I can sell information or materials and gain some contribution points.

But I’m also obliged to help members if needed.”

Looking at Tepo’s contemplating expressions Lao Ru calmly added:

“External allies are carefully chosen. Most of them owe a lot of favors and are very loyal. You don’t need to doubt me.”

Tepo deliberately softened his face. He realized that Lao Ru was difficult to deal with. The older warrior was too perceptive.

Tepo put on a neutral expression as he decided to trust the warrior for now. But he didn’t show his feelings outwardly.

“That’s good to know.”, spoke the younger man. “Then let’s work together and solve the dungeon.

“That’s what I had in mind.

I know that your lot aren’t after artificial cores. If we get our hands on it, me and my brother would take the core. You can have the Ahiluscendum.”

Tepo took a second to contemplate before nodding.

“Great. Then we can start. Let’s open this door.”

Averting his eyes from Lao Ru, Tepo put his attention back on the spot where the wall vanished. A heavy wooden door had appeared there. It had no handle, but an obvious indention could be seen at eye level.

Tepo rose his hand and put his ring there. It fit perfectly. Suddenly a low rumble echoed. With some squeaking and cracking the heavy door moved by itself revealing a small, dim hallway to the two warriors.

An odd smell wafted out of the hallway. It was a mix between dry stone and a strange… spice? Tepo didn’t recognize it, but Lao Ru had a contemplating expression.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Should we go in?”, asked the younger warrior without turning his head.

“After you.”

Dim light illuminated the hallway. It came from some stones inlaid in the ceiling. Tepo could only observe a few meters in.

Here goes nothing.

Tepo took a deep breath as he entered the hallway. It was rather tight. Maybe even built specifically for the petite maid. Fortunately, Tepo wasn’t that tall himself.

After a few steps the young warrior wondered how Lao Ru fared with his burly body. As he looked over his shoulder Tepo’s brow twitched in surprise.

Lao Ru’s body blurred strangely. It looked like water was splashed on the edges of a painted figure. The warrior’s outline oddly melted. He easily adjusted his contours this way.

Tepo rigidly turned his head towards the front again. He was reminded of the ghosts which had been sent by Lao Ru. Although the older warrior looked like an intelligent, upright person at first glance, his abilities were too eerie.

Shaking his head, Tepo directed his focus towards the front again. He advanced carefully, fearing for traps or loose walls. Luckily no danger appeared even after a few minutes.

Soon the two men reached a broader path. Even Lao Ru could advance here without issues.

Emerging from a hole fitting a single person the two men decided to head towards the right. Their sensible senses told them that the source of the odd smell was towards this direction.

On the way Tepo analyzed his surroundings. He found many scratches on the grey rock surface. From his judgement something heavy had been transported through here. The young man had all kinds of wild theories but none of them could be proven yet.

A short while later Tepo and Lao Ru arrived before another wooden gate. It was big enough for five men to pass at the same time.

Lao Ru got closer to the door. He put his hand on it, as there was no sign of any opening mechanism. The warrior pushed heavily.

The gate cracked but it held on. Suddenly Lao Ru gritted his teeth. His muscles bulged. Veins protrude on his legs. The older warrior gathered all his power as his feet cracked the stone floor.

Tepo watched from the side. With a deep groan the heavy gate finally moved. Gradually a slit wide enough for a single person to slip through opened.

“It appears the people in this palace were pretty strong.”, commented Tepo as Lao Ru took a deep breath to recover.

“Yes. Definitely. If even I have to use all my power to open a single gate…”

“And yet they all died.”

Lao Ru stayed silent as his face showed a solemn expression. But thinking about the beast still sieging the energy barrier outside, this empire once had to have been filled with powerful creatures.

“Well, at least the palace is temporarily save.”

With those words Tepo passed Lao Ru and entered through the gate.

Immediately a big room opened up before Tepo. The warrior was taken aback as his eyes took in the sight.

The room was dominated by a massive platform. Strange devices stood all around it, most likely some kinds of tools. The platform was metallic, built on a wooden foundation. Tepo guessed that it probably could be rotated.

Along the walls were two big workstations. Metallic components, scarp metals, tools, and force crystals were widely scattered on them. Whoever worked here wasn’t particular about a clean workplace.

The walls were inlaid with illuminating stones as well. All but the wall opposite the gate, as a massive image took up most of the space there.

Tepo’s eyes lit up as he noticed the strange drawing. By now Lao Ru had entered the room as well. Together the two men approached the drawing, studying it closely.

“Can you read this language?”, asked Tepo after a few seconds.

“Unfortunately not. Seems to be a local one.”

“What a pity.”

“Yes. But we don’t necessarily need the notes. We can still understand a lot from the schematics.”, reminded Lao Ru in a thoughtful tone.

Tepo nodded slowly as his eyes roamed the drawing.

“Yes. It seems like some kind of manned weapon.”

“Right. This contraption above the chair should be some kind of aiming device.

“Do you think they managed to construct it? Or did they fail?”

Lao Ru turned around, studying the platform as he contemplated Tepo’s question.

“I guess they at least built something. The tools look used and there are not many materials left.”

Tepo agreed with his ally’s conclusion. Apparently, the empire was ready to put up a fight. But why did it fall anyways? Were they too late?

With many doubts in his mind the young man asked another question:

“Form what we know the emperor shouldn’t have been weak. Can this weapon be even more powerful? Is this possible?”

“Of course.”, answered Lao Ru confidently. “There are many legendary weapons throughout the thousands of worlds. Some rumors say that entire nations got together to create weapons which were even feared by gods.

But even if those exist, they haven’t been seen in a long time. Maybe those will just stay legends forever.”

Tepo drew a sharp breath as he listened to Lao Ru’s explanation.

Such strong weapons exist? I have to take this schematic with me! Anvil will surely be delighted. Maybe she can learn something from it!

Suddenly though, Tepo had a feeling. Another hour would soon pass.

“We have to go back.”, reminded the young warrior.

“Oh. You’re probably right.

This time I’ll try to get everyone to leave. We should monopolize the palace. I’d like to use this weapon to open a path towards the statue if possible.”

“Not a bad idea.”

After forming a plan, the two men left the big workshop. They retraced their steps and reemerged in the maid’s room. The door vanished behind a wall once more.

A few minutes later all the warriors gathered in the dining room, ready to share their clues. Maybe for the last time.