A few minutes passed in silence, the only sound being Axis's steady breathing as he composed himself.
'System, is the bothersome lady gone?' Axis asked mentally, waiting for the familiar ding.
{Ding!}
{The individual named Mathrilda Hccede has left the premises.}
{It is safe to stop pretending now.}
A smirk tugged at Axis's lips. "Ha!"
He quickly straightened his clothes and stretched his arms. "System, gather every piece of information you can about the path we need to take to reach the door seen in the awakening while I get ready."
{Gathering data...}
{0%... 12%... 54%... 86%... 99%... Done.}
{Host, it is recommended that you do not take any weapons along.}
Axis frowned as he picked up a sword he had found laying around earlier. "Why?" he murmured, his fingers tracing the hilt.
{Based on observations and the gathered information, it is safe to assume that the room in question has a protective mechanism.
{If the Host were to approach with a weapon, the mechanism would likely detect you as an intruder.}
"Reasonable, I guess," Axis muttered, reluctantly placing the sword back where he found it. He knew better than to question the system's accuracy at this point.
He moved towards the door, opening it slowly and peeking outside. As usual, no one was around, not even a guard in sight.
'System, start navigating.'
{As you wish, Host.}
The familiar interface appeared in his vision, guiding him step by step through the mansion's intricate hallways. Axis moved with a calm yet deliberate pace, making sure to follow the directions precisely. The hallways were eerily quiet, but he had grown used to it. The servants rarely lingered this late in the evening, and Mathrilda's sudden departure gave him the perfect opportunity to execute his plan.
{Proceed to the left, down the staircase, and take the third door on your right.}
Axis nodded, mentally noting every direction. He moved through the mansion's winding passages, his footfalls light and careful. The mansion's grandeur was unmistakable, but Axis hardly cared for it—his thoughts were entirely focused on the goal ahead.
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Eventually, he reached the staircase, descending it as quietly as possible. At the bottom, the third door on the right seemed like an ordinary storage room, but Axis knew better. This was where the hidden passage lay, one that the system had identified earlier during his awakening.
'This is it.'
He placed his hand on the door, pushing it open with a creak. Inside, it looked like a simple, dusty storage room filled with old furniture and forgotten trinkets.
'System, where's the hidden mechanism?'
{Move to the back corner and look for a lever under the desk.}
Axis did as instructed, crouching down to feel beneath the worn desk. Sure enough, his fingers brushed against a small, metallic lever. With a firm pull, the back wall of the room shifted with a low rumble, revealing a secret passage behind it.
"Perfect," Axis whispered, stepping into the dark corridor. The air felt colder here, and the walls were lined with ancient runes that glowed faintly as he walked past them.
{Host, please be cautious. The mechanism is likely enchanted to detect any suspicious behavior. Proceed steadily but without hesitation.}
Axis nodded, his focus sharpening. The deeper he ventured into the passage, the more intense the atmosphere became. It was as though the air itself was alive, pulsing with ancient magic. Finally, he arrived at a grand stone door etched with complex sigils—the very door he had seen during his mana awakening.
'So this is it.'
The door towered before him, but unlike before, Axis felt no fear. He had come this far, and he wouldn't back down now.
"System, any final advice before I open it?" he asked, his hand hovering over the door.
{Remain calm. The door will react to your mana, but as long as you are unarmed and do not engage aggressively, it should open without issue.}
Axis took a deep breath and placed his hand on the door. The sigils began to glow brighter, reacting to the touch of his mana. Slowly, the door rumbled and began to open, revealing a room bathed in a soft, ethereal light. Inside was a pedestal, and on it lay a single, gleaming orb.
The orb pulsed with an otherworldly energy, its glow filling the room.
'This is it…' Axis thought as he stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the orb.
Axis's frustration grew as he stood in the dense mist, completely disoriented. Just moments ago, he had been standing before a powerful door, one he had painstakingly unlocked after what felt like an eternity of preparation. Now, nothing made sense—everything had shifted in the blink of an eye.
The cold, damp mist clung to him, and he could barely make out anything in his surroundings. The soft light, though comforting, was barely enough to illuminate his path. He called out again, his voice echoing into the void.
"System! System!" There was no answer.
The realization hit him: the system either couldn't reach him here, or it was being deliberately blocked. A new wave of anxiety washed over him. For so long, he had relied on the system's guidance—without it, he felt more vulnerable, more uncertain.
"Fine," he muttered to himself, clenching his fists. "If I can't rely on the system, I'll figure this out myself."
In the quiet of the mist, Axis tried to remember a piece of wisdom someone had once told him. The words came back faintly, like a distant whisper.
" When the path is unclear just Take one step forward... then another, and another. The path may not make sense now, but it might when you look back."
It wasn't the clearest advice, but it was something.
Axis inhaled deeply and began walking. His steps were slow at first, unsure of what lay ahead. The mist seemed endless, and with each step, the surroundings remained unchanged. It was as if he were walking in place, but he kept moving forward, hoping for some kind of sign or clue.
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