“This… this is more than I expected!”

Scholar Venzo Fekhyr was over the moon, his face flushed with happiness as he touched every little thing in the path. The innumerable symbols on the walls and the ground, the strange black vines were intersecting under his feet, or even the slightly suffocating air.

He didn’t seem to care about his protector’s absence or the presence of Sulong, Jack, and Arbert.

“He’s a lunatic, Sulong. Should we really follow him?”

Jack was hesitant and fearful, especially when his claustrophobia kicked in within this narrow and dim corridor.

When they had passed the monolith, they were transported into a long corridor devoid of beasts. It was safer than the swamp, but that didn’t make any of them feel better as Zeke was missing and they could only rely on the scholar.

“We’ll keep close to him until Zeke catches up.” Responded Sulong as he studied his surroundings, feeling trapped and weakened for some reason. Even the usually nonchalant Arbert was frowning and sticking close to his adoptive father, seemingly affected by the invisible and ominous energy lingering in the air.

Within ten minutes of walking, they reached a big intersection; three paths laid before them, one leading straight forward, one leading left and the last one was blocked by rubbles and vines.

“This should be a good place to stop.” Declared Sulong, but Venzo furiously shook his head while pointing at one of the available routes,

“Time is of the essence! I must uncover the secrets buried here and retrieve a valuable item.”

“Well! You can go on your own, then. We’re not budging until our friend arrives.”

Sulong coldly snorted, crossed his arms, and sat down. However, Venzo didn’t seem to care as he unceremoniously waved his hand and soon merged with the darkness covering the left path.

“Papa. We need to leave.”

Arbert was getting more and more restless, his body sweating profusely and his hands shaking ever-so-slightly.

Sulong pulled him closer and patted his head while reassuring him.

…

Bran and Zeke weren’t taken to the same corridor. Instead, they appeared in a spacious and unexpectedly clean room made of an exquisite dark golden material.

“This appears to be a… bedroom?”

There was well-placed furniture and even some abstract paintings hanging over the intact walls. The room itself was cozy and quiet, but that only made the knight and the youth worried and on guard.

“Be alert. I don’t know much about this place but Venzo deemed it necessary to come in secret instead of informing his colleagues.”

Zeke glanced at the stoic Bran, who became more talkative and friendlier.

“Should you even be telling me this? I thought you were friends.”

“Friends?” Bran shook his head and clarified, “I was commissioned. Since he offered a generous sum, I accepted. I take my job very seriously, so I will protect him the best I can… but do be careful, Zeke.”

“Careful?”

“Venzo Fekhyr isn’t exactly the trustworthy type. He has… quite the reputation. Just be careful.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

Bran nodded and proceeded to tour the large room, looking at the scrolls and trying to find something of import.

Meanwhile, Zeke walked to a shiny emerald desk and opened one of the books, hoping to find a useful hint. However, much to his surprise, the language used in the books was the same he ‘read’ in that dream, when he was transported to that majestic mausoleum.

‘Could this be related to the System? Or its prior users?’

[You have found Roenyr’s private chamber.]

[You obtained the Survival Skill ‘Ancient Elven Tongue]

[Proficiency of ‘Ancient Elven Tongue’ has increased by 10%]

The characters and symbols distorted for a split second before some of them became readable to the shocked Zeke. Unfortunately, he was able to comprehend the letters but not the whole words, thus making it impossible to understand the content of the book.

Still, the System Notification startled him and ascertained his prior guess. Whoever Roenyr’s was, he definitely had something to do with the System or else this wouldn’t have happened.

As much as he wanted to learn more, Zeke felt he had delved into an extremely dangerous place.

“I recognize some of the things here. They were made by the extinct Elven Race.”

“Elves? I thought their civilization, along with everything in it, disappeared into nothingness.”

“Yes, that’s what most general history books claim. The reality is that what little was left of the Elven civilization was excavated and hidden in isolated places. The Elves used heavenly artifacts that could raze cities to the ground. Naturally, secret organizations and governments alike would hide any new discoveries from the public, not only to avoid conflict but to keep the Elves forgotten considering their bloody history.”

Alas, Zeke’s knowledge regarding the extinct Elves was lacking, if not non-existent. The most he knew was that they were the original inhabitants of the Aether Planet, and that their extinctions preceded the arrival of the Earthling here.

“I think I now know why Venzo wanted to come here alone. He wanted to be the first to enter these Elven ruins.”

Bran clicked his tongue in disapproval and didn’t dare to touch anything remotely resembling a mechanism or an artifact.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Don’t recklessly touch anything. Elven Artifacts are notorious for being traps or protected by dangerous Charms.”

Zeke’s attention was still focused on the dark brown leather book. Its archaic appearance notwithstanding, it was harmless and relatively thin, containing barely a hundred pages.

There were, however, some black and white illustrations depicting either a handful of weapons, undecipherable magical formations, or distinct pictures of some Elves.

Zeke wished for the System to offer some sort of an explanation, but it remained silent, as was its wont.

…

Venzo continued walking on his own, mumbling and laughing. He rejoiced over the fact that he would become a High Scholar thanks to his discovery. If he could bring back even a single artifact from here, his fame would triple and he would no longer be looked down upon.

“To think I wasted all that money for a Knight who’s not even protecting me. Ugh..”

He didn’t forget to complain about Bran’s absence, which was entirely due to Venzo going off on his own without having the patience to wait.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the scholar reached the end of the path; He was welcomed by a clean and gloomy room. It was made of equally-sized brown tiles, had a cubic shape and had a singular massive tomb at its center.

The tomb itself was closed, but Venzo spotted two shiny items on top of it. The first was a sword embedded in it. It was a curved sword with a dark handle and a light green one-sided sharp edge.

The second he laid eyes on it, Venzo forget to even breathe. His pupils constricted and his face turned into a shock and unbridled excitement.

“Th--..t-that’s the Elf King’s sword!”

Right next to the sword was a less remarkable blade, one which contrasted its neighbor. It was made of a bronze-like material, broken, and rusty from top to bottom. It oozed a thin fog which was instantly extinguished by the other sword’s brilliance and immaculate aura.

Although Venzo expected these ruins to be better than the average ones that hid no treasures whatsoever, he was rendered speechless when he saw that enticing curved sword.

He was a scholar, so he immediately realized that he had not just ventured into normal ruins but the very tomb of the Elf King.

Venzo literally shook from jubilation, barely holding back the urge to cry in happiness. He seemed to have forgotten about the possible danger of barging into a sacred place as his eyes were glued on the prize.

With rapid steps, Venzo Fekhyr hurried toward the tomb and climbed on top of it, salivating as he inspected the sword. He paid no attention to the rusty one, thinking it was put here by mistake. Then again, such an assumption was due to his greed and thirst for power.

Before pulling the Elf King’s curved sword, Venzo looked at the open entrance of the tomb and formulated a simple plan.

He was fully aware that there would be a reaction once he pulled the sword, so he was about to make a run for it.

“One… two… three!”

At last, he held the sword with two hands and pulled it with ease, then he hastily jumped down and sprinted toward the exit.

Surprisingly, by the time he left the tomb, there was no reaction or mechanism that automatically activated. Thus, Venzo halted his feet and tentatively looked back, noticing no change.

“If it’s like this…”

He grinned and slowly walked back to the tomb, hoping to retrieve the shallow and rusty broken sword. Although it wasn’t as remarkable as the other one, he still wanted to take it.

Alas, that was the scholar’s biggest mistake. The very second he lifted the blade, the whole tomb was assaulted by a violent earthquake.

All the tiles turned upside down and Venzo fell to the ground as the tomb was slowly opening. Panicking and pale-faced, he got to his feet and run away, not even daring to look back.

He felt a pair of eyes land on his back, giving birth to despair and dread.

Venzo continued running for minutes, but that fearful sensation was getting strong even though he had crossed a considerable distance. Soon, he saw Sulong, Arbert, and Jack, who seemingly went after him.

“Run! Run away!”

His warning, coupled with his distress and shaky voice, were fortunate enough to make them turn around and spring into a desperate mad sprint. Even Arbert was stricken with fear, shooting forward like a bolt of lightning.

When they reached the intersection, they saw Bran and Zeke coming out of the central path, but before they could say anything, a chilling aura spread across every corner of the ruins.

Bram was the first to act; He leapt behind them and unsheathed his sword, a burst of icy energy bursting forth and forming a thick wall of ice.

His timely intervention was fast enough to block an invisible and deadly aura that came from the left path. The wall of ice resisted for half a breath then disintegrated into tiny little pieces while its caster, Bran, was flung to the back.

His shoulder guards and the right side of the chest area of his armor were destroyed, leaving a nasty and grievous wound.

“Go go!”

Zeke urged Sulong and Jack, who had stopped, to keep running while he run to Bran’s side.

The middle-aged knight was barely holding into his consciousness as blood gushed out profusely.

Left with no choice, Zeke poured the Healing Elixir into the man’s mouth then, once the wound closed down a bit, helped him stand up.

“T-thank you…”

The force of that attack had shaken the strong-willed Bran, so much so that his voice was trembling.

Zeke didn’t speak, he supported the knight as they chased after the rest while the looming danger was getting closer and closer.

Zeke, especially, could keenly feel the unknown presence creeping toward them. He subtly felt emotions of anger and rage.

Furthermore, dozens of beastly howls were echoing across the ruins. All the dormant Black-scaled Crocodiles and Blight Toads were awakened, which only made the situation worse.

“It’s going to kill us all!”

Zeke couldn’t keep his calm as he ran as fast as he could with Bran at his heel. When they reached the end of the corridor, they saw Venzo circling the familiar monolith, trying to get it to open so they could leave.

Jack was in tears as he tapped his foot on the ground while frantically looking back. Arbert was covering his ears and continuously shaking his head, and Sulong was gritting his teeth and resisting the overwhelming aura.

“What did you do?!” Shouted Zeke as he noticed the two swords holstered around the scholar’s waist.

Venzo didn’t reply, instead of concentrating on his task and soon triggering the mechanism and causing the way out to appear. He was the first to pass through, followed by Arbert and Jack.

When they reappeared, they were at the side of the big swamp, a couple of meters away from the white van.

Regrettably, Zeke didn’t have the time to question Venzo again. Sulong signaled for all of them to get into the van as the swamp were like a raging tsunami.

Black-scaled Crocodiles and Blight Toads were coming their way, screeching and growling monstrously.

“What are you waiting for! Go go!”

Venzo saw that Jack was stupefied as he held the steering wheel and stared at the incoming beasts.

A voice came from the top of the van. It was none other than Bran, who, instead of joining them, jumped on top and was planning to help them cross the swamp, which was arguably the safest place.

After all, the enemies were coming from all directions, especially from the gloomy forest in the rear.

“What? Are you crazy?!”

“Do as he says! Quickly!”

Once he heard Zeke, Jack closed his eyes and slammed the pedal, causing the van’s engine to roar as it dove straight into the murky waters.

Thankfully, Bran was there to offer assistance using his ability. Before the vehicle’s wheels could touch the waters, a narrow ice bridge was formed.

“We’re going to die… we’re going to die… we’re going to die…”

Jack kept repeating the same words as he clutched the steering wheel and accelerated. The van was unsteadily rocking up and down as it crossed the ice bridge while Bran stabbed his sword into the roof to stabilize his body.

Meanwhile, Zeke and Sulong kicked the backdoors of the van and blasted any enemies chasing after them. Lightning and Fire fused together, melting the bridge behind and scorching the enraged beasts.