Chapter 12: Ancient Art
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We walked to Gaelith’s Tomb together.
Yana left to speak with Lady Mikaela.
I remained alone.
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An assassin approached me. He wore sleek, black leather armor, the kind that allowed for swift, silent movements. Twin daggers were holstered on a belt that crossed his torso diagonally, and a short sword rested on his hip. His hair and eyes were black as well, but what struck me most was his expression – familiar, as if he knew me – despite the fact that I had never seen this man before in my life.
Something else stood about him. The same dark aura that surrounded Yana clung to him and a message:
[This unit is marked by Darkness]
He stopped next to me, speaking casually. “I was thinking for this run, we could just rush at the Undead Wolves. You’ll probably die, but I’ll help you score as many kills as possible before that. I’m already pretty high myself, so I need you to level up faster.”
My heart pounded. His words - it almost sounded like he knew about the Déjà vu system. I remembered the name Goren from my conversation with Chronos and how he warned me about him and…a Dolos? Whoever that was...I couldn’t exactly recall the guy or what he had done, just that he also possessed the new system. With Chronos already mad at me, I knew I should follow his advice - for now.
“Goren?” I asked casually, trying to confirm if he was the one I needed to be wary of.
He looked confused. “Yeah?”
That confirmed it.
I wondered why he was speaking so freely with me. Did his system not reset his memories between loops? He clearly remembered me…was he already high-level enough to retain his memories completely? Did he think I remembered him?
“Let’s see how it goes.” I said, still thinking of how I could keep him away from me without making an outright enemy out of him, and without revealing the fact that I had no idea who he was.
“You already know how it goes.” He replied, then added. “But you’re still untrusting, I see…”
“Can you blame me?” I asked, feigning surprise, not having a clue what he was referring to.
He tsked loudly before speaking again. “Well, see you in team four.”
Then he turned and left.
***
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After an introduction from Stephan Lorren, we split into teams.
I was in team four.
We cleared the chamber. It was filled with Undead Warriors.
The chamber split into three additional ones. We cleared those as well.
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[Déjà vu System: Level 3]
[Loop Count: 4]
[Experience Points (XP): 384 / 1200]
I was still very far from the next level.
Goren had mentioned some Undead Wolves earlier. I briefly considered asking him about them but quickly decided against it. I had already ignored Cronos’ warnings once, and now Yana was marked.
“Here, take this.” Goren said from behind me.
Speak of the devil.
“What’s that?” I asked as I saw him reach out his hand.
“Pick it up and find out.” He replied, sounding a bit impatient.
[Item Acquired: Gethril Root (Consumable) – Added to Inventory #1]
“Gethril Root?” I asked, confused. “Is there any poisoning I should be wary of?”
He looked at me, dumbfounded for a moment, then his eyes lit up. “Ha, very funny. You know, your sense of humor is starting to grow on me.”
He walked on ahead, following Jax and the others, while I trailed behind, thinking about the item he’d just given me. An anti-poisoning consumable…Did that mean we were about to face enemies that could inflict poison? But wolves don’t usually inflict poison…
Maybe I should move it to my second inventory, just in case I didn’t survive long enough to use it in this run. Goren lived in his own timeline, and maybe next time he wouldn’t hand me this item. But having it in my second inventory will give me a heads-up about what was coming as soon as I woke up at the start of the next run.
But how do I even move it there?
I opened Inventory #1 and hovered over the new item.
[Selected Item: Gethril Root (Consumable) x1]
[Options: Use / Details / Discard / Transfer / Move]
A Move option, which had never been there before, was now available. I selected it, and the system updated.
[Transfer Complete: Gethril Root (Consumable) has been moved to Inventory #2]
Stolen novel; please report.
This was fairly easy.
Now, I just need to hope that future me will understand the message I left here.
***
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We were locked inside the tomb.
Just like Goren said, Undead Wolves attacked us, and I used Checkpoint before the battle.
I kept my distance from Goren, slew one wolf, and stayed alive.
Our leaders ventured further into the tomb.
Aric Kelltins was left behind with us.
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The uneasy feeling of Déjà vu surfaced again, and I couldn’t stop glancing at the ground, as if expecting danger to come from there.
“Kinda sucks you didn’t come with me when the wolves attacked.” Goren said behind me, once again showing his ability to sneak up on me completely undetected.
During the fight with the wolves, he showed exceptional strength, far beyond what I expected from someone of his level.
I shrugged. “Well, it was a dicey situation.”
“Dicey for someone who didn’t know it was coming - not for us.”
I cleared my throat, maintaining my knowing façade. “I wanted to stay with my friend.”
“Yana, right?” he asked, his tone shifting to something darker, sending a shiver down my spine.
“That’s right.” I nodded, turning to face him with a serious expression. If Chronos had warned me to avoid this man at all costs, then I had to be wary about the ways he could harm me - or worse, Yana.
He chuckled. “Don’t get so riled up now. We have a battle upon us soon.”
His words confirmed what the Déjà vu skill was warning me about, but I couldn’t act surprised in front of him, so I kept my cool, simply nodding.
Meanwhile, Aric Kelltins called for everyone’s attention to discuss strategies.
I though I’d use this moment to end this interaction with Goren and return to Yana’s side, but the man was relentless, likely because he’d experienced Kelltins’ speeches many times before.
“Ignore him. He’s of no use to us.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Tell me, how much XP do you have left until your next level up?”
I glanced at the Déjà vu system’s screen.
[Déjà vu System: Level 3]
[Loop Count: 4]
[Experience Points (XP): 702 / 1200]
“Slightly less than five hundred.” I replied.
His smile widened. “Do you remember how much XP a single Grave Mole is worth?”
Grave Moles? Was that the name of the creatures that were going to attack us?
“No.” I replied. This answer seemed like the safest bet.
I remained silent, expecting him to continue, which he did. “Five hundred and forty-four, spellsword. You need to keep track of this shit." he sighed. "That should be enough to level you up, right?”
I nodded slowly, realizing what he was about to suggest.
“Ignore Kelltins’ nonsensical strategies. We both know he’s the first one to die anyway. Instead, stick with me - I’ll help you land a kill on one of them again. Hell, I’ll even help you get two, so you’ll be set up for the next level as well.”
Why was he so desperate to team up with me? I understood we somehow shared a similar fate, but his attempts to help kept coming across as creepy, especially with Erebus’ mark surrounding him. And yet, accepting his help would let me level up faster…
No. I couldn’t trust him. Not after what Chronos said. Not after I’d already failed Yana.
“Let’s see how it goes.” I replied.
He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “You’ve already used that excuse.”
“Did I?” I said casually, removing his hand from my shoulder. I walked past him to join Yana, hearing him mumble something inaudible behind me.
***
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Goren was right again.
Aric Kelltins was the first to die.
I stayed close to Yana as we escaped the main antechamber.
She collapsed in the corridor behind us.
The survivors who followed us appointed her as party leader as we set out to find the guild masters.
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[Checkpoint: Anchor had expired]
This was the message the system displayed once we finally had a breather after the corridor collapsed. Checkpoint was now greyed out, and I realized the system considered the anchor setup as the skill’s use, not the actual revival, which might or might not happen.
We continued through the dark corridors of the tomb with Melissa, an enchanter, guiding us with basic illumination magic. Jax and Henry covered our rear, using fire magic to light the back of our formation.
Every now and then, we encountered Undead Warriors, whom we managed to deal with fairly easily. I was able to kill some of them, gaining 170 XP points in the process. They also dropped a healing potion and fifteen gold coins, which I stored in my second inventory, figuring it was best to keep them safe there, so they won’t get lost once I die. Who knows? If I die enough times, those fifteen coins might eventually amass into a thousand five hundred in the second inventory, making me rich. Sorta.
Some of the corridors we passed had murals on them, but whenever I stopped to look, my companions - Yana included - nudged me to hurry. Their concerns were legitimate, of course - the Grave Moles could easily dig their way to our location, so staying in one place for too long was dangerous. And yet, I recalled Chronos’ words: he told me I needed to learn more about the tomb and Gaelith himself, and studying the murals might help with that.
“Oh, would you quit stopping already?” Jax snapped after I paused again.
“Look at this.” I said, bewildered, as I pointed to the wall on our left. There, a large horizontal mural stretched across the entire corridor wall.
It seemed that everyone else had just noticed it too, and they were drawn to the image, which was difficult to interpret. It looked like a sea or an ocean, yet in some places, dark spikes rose from the so-called sea. In the center of the mural - and of the corridor - was a red circle. A sun?
What did this almost tranquil image have to do with this cursed place?
“Hey, Melissa, could you please light the upper part of the wall?” I asked, hoping to see the murals darkened parts as well.
“It all pretty and everything, but we’re literally wasting our time here.” Jax complained again. “We’re not in a museum! Do I need to remind everyone that we’re in grave danger right now?”
“I hate to agree with him, Aidan, but he’s right.” Yana added. “It would’ve been nice to stay and look at it more but it's simply too dangerous.”
I nodded, disappointed but understanding their concern. I knew that once I died, nothing that happened here would matter, but still, I couldn’t bring myself to disregard these people’s lives.
“What do you know about this place anyway? I mean before Gaelith was brought here.” I asked Yana, genuinely curious as we resumed walking.
“Not much, really.” Yana replied. “I think the Axul tribe lived here in Moonvale at the time. They were fairly secretive and secluded but also respected by the royalty of their time. Maybe they buried their own here.”
I heard of the Axul tribe once. They were believed to be heavy believers in the old gods of the world, but instead of preaching it, they chose a secluded lifestyle in closed villages.
“Oh, stop spouting nonsense.” Jax cut in. “The Axuls weren’t a tribe. They were a goddamned sect, and they weren’t respected – they were feared.”
“You sound like you know a lot about that ‘goddamned sect’. I wonder why...” Lena jabbed at him.
“Of course I do, but I don’t expect a novice, uneducated healer like you to understand why.” He shot back, his tone sharp.
We continued down the corridor until we reached an intersection. To the right, a path lay shrouded in complete darkness. The one on the left was also dark, but at a quick glance, it seemed the mural continued down that corridor, leaving me both intrigued and curious.
“We need to take a right here, Aidan.” Yana said, pointing to the right path. “I can feel human presence there.”
I nodded, but before following her, I activated the Temporal Trace skill for the first time, attempting to leave a mark, hoping that my future self - the one who’d grow tired of the constant resurrections and remaining completely in the dark - would take notice, ignore everyone else, and just explore this corridor instead. I wasn’t yet that version of myself.
I focused on the floor next to the left corridor.
[Temporal Trace: A mark has been set]
A small, glowing orb remained on the ground. Judging by everyone’s lack of reaction, it was clear I was the only one who could see it.
“Let’s go.”
As I followed Yana, I couldn’t stop thinking about the mural and what the sun and ocean could signify for the Axul.