They walked further inside the cave, arriving at another tomb similar to the first one. The air was even thicker and more ominous than the first tomb. The tomb was big and grandeur, signifying the importance of the person buried inside.
The ground shook as they approached the middle of a room. They both knew what would happen in that room, seeing the number of bones littering the floor.
Their back met each other's as countless skeleton formed all around them. The skeletons were all Lv.1, but their number was far too great to count. "Sorry Ed, guess I have to steal some experience from you." Said Theo. He unsheathed his long sword. "Don't move too much."
Theo charged forward at the horde of skeletons. With each swing of his sword, at least three skeletons perished while another three were being pushed back. Ed, not wanting Theo to hog all the fun, began to shoot multiple bolts of magic at the skeleton.
The skeleton retaliated back and began marching on them, but their sheer number and small space made their movement slow, some even tripped on each other. After destroying several skeletons, a message popped up in Ed mind. Power surged inside Ed's body. His fatigue washed away as he felt his stamina and mana restored to maximum.
[Edmund Lion Level Up to Lv.5]
[Intelligence, Attunement +2. All other attributes +1]
[Level five reached. Unique magic gained: Dragon Breath: Fire]
The knowledge of a spell appeared inside his mind. He couldn't describe it, he just knew. Excitement and curiosity took over him. The situation of him being surrounded by skeleton was the perfect opportunity to test his new skill. "Theo!" He called his friend who was wiping the floor with skeletons. Theo turned his head to face him. "Move!"
Theo didn't know what Ed was planning, but he trusted him and moved out of the way. Ed opened his mouth wide and fire spewed forth from it. The fire spread wider than he thought, covering a large area and consuming countless skeleton caught in its path.
He didn't expect it to do anything, knowing that skeleton has a high fire resistance, but his new unique magic surprised him. The fire burned with such intensity and at such high temperature that the skeleton that caught in it turned to ashes and those that stood near had their bone charred and weakened. He turned his head while still activating his magic, setting the remaining skeletons on fire.
He stopped his magic and shut his mouth. His head light and his knee weak. He would have fallen to the ground if not for Theo caught him in his fall. "What the hell was that?" Theo asked in amazement.
"My.. Unique magic." He answered.
"Your unique magic?.......AT LEVEL 5?!!!" Theo shouted. He shook Ed's shoulder. "You know what that means right?! Right?! You're a Class 5 mage! CLASS 5 MAGE FOR FUCK SAKE!! You were never meant to be a knight or warrior or whatever you damned father wanted you to be, ED! You were meant to be a mage!"
"Don't shout too loud... I'm tired....." Ed lost consciousness after spending all of his mana on the dragon breath.
Theo slowly laid Ed down before checking the skeleton that was now ashes. Even the stone melted when hit by Ed's flame.
"Turning bone to ashes and melting enchanted stone, only Dragon fire can do something like this in such a short amount of time." He took a look at the sleeping Edmund. "Just when I think I'm the best one around here........The world always finds a way to surprise you."
'Dragon fire.' He thought. No human should be able to replicate it. Except maybe a Class 5 mage. As far as Theo knew, there was only ever 20 [Class 5 mage] in the history of the continent. Well, 21 now.
------
Theo sat next to the campfire he made, waiting for Ed to wake up. Ed body jolted up. Theo saw Ed turned his head left and right as if in a panic. "Welcome back. Have fun in the dreamland?" Theo asked.
"How long did I sleep?"
"Quite some time, but not too long." Theo stood up. "I scouted ahead and by the look of it, the next room is the boss room. Let's go! I rather spend the night in my bed with Mary or some other girls than here."
"Yeah, let's..." Ed tried to stand up, but wasn't strong enough yet.
"Here princess." Theo grabbed his arm and helped him stand.
The next room was huge. The ceiling was so tall that it was hard for them to see it. Four statues of an ancient warrior stood in each corner of the room facing the sarcophagus in the middle. Theo tried to open the sarcophagus to no avail, the cover was heavy and sealed with magic. "We must do something first." Theo said. Hoping that Ed would ask him what to do.
Contrary to Theo's expectation, Ed instead, approached the wall on the opposite side of the entrance. He slid his hand across it while reading the carving of an incomprehensible ancient language. "You could read that?" Theo asked. Ed ignored him, or maybe he didn't hear him.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
When Ed reached the end of the carving, light filled the room for a second. A huge sound of an explosion echoed as the cover of sarcophagus shot up high into the air. A huge man came out of it. His pale white skin sticks to his bone as if there was no muscle or meat below it. Jewels and Gems hung in his neck by a necklace.
Miasmas of death poured out from the sarcophagus. The air thickened, making it hard for Ed to breath.
[Ragnar, Revenant Priest Lv.17]
Ed body froze in fear as his eyes met the Revenant's deep blue eyes. It felt like staring at an endless ocean. Ragnar opened his skeletal jaw and a ghastly eerie voice came out of it. The ground turned to ice the moment his feet touched it and the air froze as a pure white mist came out of his mouth.
Sweat broke out all over Ed's body. The priest was far too powerful for him to do anything. At level 17, even a group of guard and soldier won't be able to take it down.
"The Final Age has arrived. The end is coming. The world will converge. Giant rose from their slumber as dragon returned from time immem-"
A fist flew directly to the Revenant helmet and threw his body into the wall.
Before he could even stand up again, Theo grabbed his head and bashed it multiple times against the wall. "AW! AW! AW!" The Revenant screamed in pain each time his head met the wall. "Stop! Stop! Stop! It hurt!"
"Don't be stupid! You think I let you do what you want?" Theo asked.
---------
"Sorry!" Ragnar prostrated in front of Theo and Ed with a shaking body. Ed was surprised by the turn of the event. Seeing this, a level seventeen undead prostrated in front of him. It was just too ridiculous for anyone to accept, especially since he was spouting some strange prophecy before. "Please let me finish the prophecy I carry. Then you can kill me!" He begged Theo.
"Idiot!" Theo kicked Ragnar's head. Even though that kick wasn't meant to hurt Ragnar, he still held his head as if he was in pain. Theo sat down and took out a paper and a quill. "Who can remember such a strange prophecy when you spoke it that fast. Speak slowly!"
"I'm sorry." Ragnar sat straight. "Giant rose from their slum-"
"Start again from the beginning you stupid ass Revenant!" Theo swung his sword.
"A-apologize" Ragnar coughed to clear his non-existent throat. "The Final Age has arrived. The end is coming. The world will converge. Giant rose from their slumber as dragon returned from time immemorial. Monster will rise and civilization will fall. Fire will scorch the sky and fire will burn the earth. The great gate will fall and the demon breaks loose. The great gate will fall and the demon breaks loose!"
"Is the last part supposed to repeat?" Theo asked while pointing his quill.
"Yes." Ragnar nodded his head rapidly. "My master said the last part have to be repeated for extra dramatic effect. I didn't understand what he meant though."
"O..kay!" Theo finished writing and fold the paper. He stood up. "Now it's time to finish this dungeon."
Ragnar also stood up. "But I won't go without a fight!" Ragnar pulled out two daggers from his belt and cast a frost spell on it.
"[Serene slash]"
Before Ragnar could even swing his dagger, both of his hands flew off. Theo skill cut both of his hands without him even noticing the slash. "Impressive. Cutting through enchanted iron like a butter." Ragnar complimented him.
Theo pointed his sword directly at Ragnar's neck. "Tell me, old revenant. This is a unique dungeon right?"
"Indeed. I won't return after this. The sarcophagus will remain empty."
Theo pulled and sheathed his sword. He walked to Ed and tapped his shoulder. "I leave this to you."
"Master Mage, I watched you from before. If I have any right to demand, at least let me die in a Dragon fire. Such a glorious end is not worthy of me, but still, I hope for it."
Ed hesitated to end the Revenant. He had killed numerous skeletons and animals before, but this is the first time he is going to kill something close to a human. No, he was a human. Even with his undead appearance, he was still human inside. There was a human consciousness inside the skull.
He gritted his teeth and steeled his will. Sparing the old Revenant won't save him. "May you rest in peace old Revenant." Said Ed.
He opened his mouth and the dragon fire consumed Ragnar. There was no scream, a painless and quick death.
A message appeared in Ed mind.
[Unique Dungeon Boss Ragnar the Revenant Priest defeated][Reward: 100 silver coin. Necklace of Revenant Priest Ragnar]
[Low-level bonus added][Reward: 10 silver coin. Ring of the Revenant Priest ]
[Small party bonus added][Reward: 10 silver coin]
[Hidden Ancient Tomb Dungeon cleared][Reward: Bone dust]
[Low-level bonus added]
[First-time clear bonus added]
[Discover The Ancient Tomb Secret Quest Completed]
[Low-level bonus added]
Two chests appeared out of thin air in front of them. One large in front of Ed and one small in front of Theo. Theo promptly opened the small one. "Only 1 silver coin? The high-level penalty is really harsh." Theo said to himself as he took out a single silver coin from it before the chest disappeared into thin air. "What are you waiting? Open yours."
Ed took a step and open the chest in front of him. He already knew what was inside and took it all. Two gained his interest, the necklace, and the ring.
[Necklace of the Revenant priest Ragnar][Unique magical item][Increase magic resistance by 10%]
[Ring of the Revenant Priest] [Rare magical item] [Increase frost damage by 5%]
While the bonus from the item might look small, the one from the necklace was pretty high. Enchanting an item with a general magic resistance of any form was difficult, but enchanting a necklace cranked the difficulties up to eleven. A necklace that could increase magic resistance by 10% in the market could cost hundreds of gold coin. If not thousands.
"Some pretty neat item you got there!" Theo looked at Ed's item.
"I wonder why the coin didn't devalue so much if Coin magically appears in dungeons."
"Didn't you know that all the coins that we use today as money all originated inside a dungeon?"
"Didn't you mine those gold, silver, and copper?"
"As far as I know they're different. The one that appears in dungeons have a unique property and are not replicable even with today's magic, though this fact is rather not well known. And I tell you before right? With each subsequent dungeon run, you get less reward. Not to mention the high-level penalty."
"You can take the coin." Ed tossed his coin pouch. "Just take it as a payment for guarding me."
"More like babysitting." Theo opened the pouch and counted the coin inside. "You sure you don't need it? I mean, right now, you won't need it, but later when you decide to leave home..."
"Nah. I would have died if not for you. It's only fair."