Gron checks the wall with the golden residue. The bas-reliefs are scenes of dunes, humans, camels, and castles on rocky mountains in the desert. There are also forests of broadleaf plants and lakes.
Battle scenes, caves with treasure guarded by abominable beings, and caravans in the dunes. People wrapped in shrouds and bizarre clouds under the rays of light of three stylized stars.
Ci-cin.
“So, this is it?” I rest my hand on the metal, and my snake tail insinuates to the folds of the wall.
“Yes. I'm sure.”
“What makes you say that? It doesn't seem that different from… Hm, it's quite anonymous.”
Gron nods and places a paw on the door.
“The difference is not in the structure, but in the artistic representation.”
“Okay? Do they know scenes?”
“They are different. Where I come from, there are no artistic styles similar to what is found in the Underwasteland. But the situations, the setting… these are things I have encountered in my travels. The three suns… look at this castle. The plateau on which it rests is in the Rhoymialka desert. I remember these environments. Prr.”
I nod, backing away from the wall.
“I hope you are right…” interrupting other meditations could cause damage to this place.
I do not tell Gron, but I am worried.
[Necromancy]
The [Fiend] re-emerges and vomits a throw of acid against the door. The interior emanates the well-known light of the hairy golden veins.
I make the [Fiend] disappear.
I take a look at the bell towers of the mausoleum. The lurking figures are not visible. They come out of the lighting of my fires. I will have to cut them down soon… what if I did it right away?
Hmm…
No. I want to avoid messing up the procedures. Already like this, I am groping and—
As I move forward, the notification appears to cut me off in the doorway.
WARNING
Cosmic meditation area.
[Empress] Access: Allowed.
Interrupt the meditation of the wise dead?
[Yes] [No]
Ci-cin.
This time, I am sure of the choice.
[Yes]
I enter and see Gron starting to follow me.
“Wait outside.”
“Prr. But, in truth, according to our agreements, I—”
“Don't worry, I will keep my word. It's for safety.” I raise my arm towards the roof.
Gron raises its head and nods. “Oh, I see…”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
I enter the mausoleum.
The interior of the building is no different from the previous one. Some veins protrude from the walls, the hairs that creep between the bones and emerge from the flooring.
The light is enveloping, and walking in this space alone has a different effect.
Suggestive.
Contemplative.
I run my tail over the bones protruding from the walls. I approach one skull among many. I caress it. I reach the end of the room.
There is nothing here.
I turn to go back. Creaking sounds come from the roof.
Ci-cin.
«Fsss.»
Here we are. It is time to prepare. I close my eyes and breathe in.
I look up at the ceiling. Golden patterns illuminate other reliefs that reflect the shapes on the wall door.
[Dungeon path]
I appear on the sloping roof. Under the sudden weight of my feet, a tile loosens, and the growls stop.
Ci-cin.
I do not lose my balance. But I feel different creatures moving around. Their claws click on the tiles and make grotesque noises.
[Blue jet]
[Blue jet]
[Blue jet]
[Poison cloud]
Even without toxin efficacy, [Poison cloud] is an optimal fog of war.
I fire my spells in bursts, and when the [Blue Jets] explode, arcs of electricity and blue jets are lost in the dark purple fog.
The two gargoyles in front of me were destroyed with the first shot, while the third on the side—glimpsed in the darkness, managed to dodge.
HA!
Ci-cin!
Its claw reaches my back. My tails wrap around it and immobilize its front legs.
The creature tries to leap back. I whirl around.
I raise my arm—
[Blue jet]
The being shatters, scattering charred off all around.
I release the steaming mass from the grip of the tails, and it rolls off the roof.
I check that no new creatures are lurking around. I cannot see the top of the bell towers, but it does not matter.
I no longer hear suspicious noises, and the poisonous cloud dissipates without anything happening.
“Is everything okay?”
“Be calm. I eliminated the gargoyles.”
While I answer, the screen that also appeared on the previous occasion appears.
POSSIBILITY OF SPECIALIZATION
Absorption of the Wise’s power is now possible. Having tamed his meditation, you can channel the energy obtained into a compatible field.
Compatible field:
Craft → Magic → [Alchemy]
[skills] available:
[Preparation of medicines: 1]
[Crafting: 1]
By choosing one of the voices, the energy accumulated by the Wise’s meditation will be dissipated.
To prevent the occurrence of errors, the Wise’s memory will be erased and the subject will be reincarnated into a being of [lv: 1] according to the balancing needs of the cosmic tree.
Do you want to continue?
[Yes] [No]
To otherwise interact with the wise, it is necessary to shed blood on this entry. The operation will imply the erasure of the memory and the reincarnation of the subject at the end of the transaction.
Other operations for [Empress] → [Necromancy]:
[Resurrection] → The corpse of the wise dead will come back to life in the original way. WARNING: If the cause of death has not been resolved, the wise dead will die again. Requires: [Interface Permission].
[Awake] → The wise dead lose [status: Otherworldly Meditation] and gain [class: Undead]. After that, it will wait to be judged like the other deceased. Requires: [Dry Flare-Oil] or [Flare-Oil].
[Obliteration] → Requires access to the Arena with debris from the mausoleum.
Oh, weird.
Convinced of Dal-Dazzer's divine abilities, I expected to encounter abilities related to System or, at least, [Necromancy].
Instead, the screen offers me to learn rudimentary alchemical arts. Hm…
Is it not him? Yet Gron is sure…
Hesitant, I select [Awake]. The screen dissolves and—
CLONG-CLAK, TLAK-TLAK-TLAK…
DONG!
…
DONG!
…
DONG!
…
DONG!
Suddenly, I search for the origin of those dark sounds. A heavy iron contraption must have activated. A hollow bell echoes through the valley.
“Gron…?”
“N?”
I lean out from the roof and notice the cat on the threshold of the building, illuminated by the internal lights and casting its shadow. Look up in my direction. It moves its tail and casts fleeting glances at the direction the sound is coming from.
“Did you manage to wake him up?”
“Well… I think so. By activating Awake, that bell rang…”
“Do you think it comes from the cathedral? Prr.”
Hmm… yes, that might be the case. The cathedral-like structures play an important, if unclear, role.
Cathedrals have their secrets.
Maybe I should ask Y about it, assuming the dungeon already had them.
The Organs of Wisdom are found in them. It would not surprise me to learn new functions.
[Dungeon path]
I emerge next to Gron.
It looks at me. “Can we get to her?”
I nod. I take it in my arms.
[Dungeon path]