Jean walked up the tunnel until she encountered a cave-in that narrowed the path. The foul smell of corruption became so strong that Cursed Manage was barely able to contain it. The dense reddish miasma present was to blame.
Cursed Healing began to rapidly deplete her mana. Multiple sores and small pustules on the skin called for it. Whispers insisted for her to retreat and find another way to the relic, but Jean refused to budge.
For more than forty minutes, she advanced and backtracked several times to a safest area in order to regain mana. As if that wasn't dangerous enough, a group of six undead loomed in the distance. They all had interrogations on their level.
[Hunger for Evil and Pupil of Evil have increased to level 1. Rank 3.
The acquisition of attributes and knowledge increases considerably.]
[Cursed Search has increased to level 1. Rank 2. Now you can:
◦ Increase the range of your exploration.
◦ Know more information at first glance.
◦ See up to five marks.]
[Cursed Perception has increased to level 1. Rank 2.
Your senses are 25% more effective.]
[Cursed Healing has increased to level 5. Rank 2. Your healing is now three times more effective.]
[Cursed Manage has increased to level 6. Rank 2.]
[Chameleon has increased to level 1. Rank 2.
Allows 20% presence concealment. In the shadows it's twice as effective and quadruples if you are standing still. High mana consumption when moving.]
»Ancient Corruption«
Level: ??
Details: You’re unaware of the evil that plagues him.
“What level must an enemy be in order for interrogations to appear on their level?”
“[At least 20 levels above yours.]”
“Holy shit! How am I going to fight that?”
“[Don't even think about it! Don't get overconfident just because you can't withstand this low density of miasma. It's nothing compared to the one concentrated in their bodies! Being close to them is impossible right now.]”
Jean clenched her fists. They had made it very clear to her that she couldn't even take on just one. What was she going to do against 6? She needed to get out of there, but where to? To the depths?
She opened the map and concentrated on the relic. New paths appeared in the direction of several crevices that had gone unnoticed until now. Most of them were too small for her, but one in particular caught her attention. When she touched the wall to inspect it, she chanced to feel the echo of a strong stream of water in the distance. Curiosity forced her forward, but she quickly reached a bottleneck. Rocks didn't block that passage, but corpses of which only bones and clothes remained. The rats had feasted there.
Jean pushed the skeletal corpses to get through, only to discover a small, slightly wide area blocked by another cave-in. Dozens of corpses hindered the path, especially near a small passage at ground level. The numerous corpses led to a small passage at ground level. It was also crowded with corpses that had tried to crawl across.
Was there something on the other side to risk their lives? Maybe not. Maybe they only sought to escape from their own companions or simply believed that they could take shelter there. “Poor devils!”
After activating Soul Collector, Jean noticed that not all the souls were there. It had to be the work of a cleric, and not too long ago. Maybe a couple of months.
As she crawled to clear the passage, she noticed that the last ones had no head, it was several meters apart, on the other side.
Two corpses with metal armor and weapons on both sides confirmed her assumption. The quality of their equipment suggested that they must be veteran paladins. Probably the ones who purified the souls of the undead.
Jean walked over to the pieces of metal armor and placed them close to the armor.
[Cursed Armor has increased to level 4. Rank 2.]
She blocked the entrance again with the skeletal remains so that no undead would follow her. She wanted to leisurely explore the new section of the cavern.
Both the walls and the floor were riddled with faintly glowing blue mushrooms, probably due to the moisture coming from a waterfall visible in the distance.
Jean noticed crystals forming near some of their roots. They weren't very large, about the size of a fingernail, but there were plenty of them.
She immediately walked over to them after noticing the faint purple hue that indicated corruption. If she had been able to improve from one surrounding her, nothing would stop her from doing so from the crystals. The 20 plus minutes of exposure were painful, but at least she gained a new skill that improved rapidly.
[You have learned Source's Link — Level 6. Passive Skill.
Problems with mana? Not anymore. Your ability to extract mana from planes improves by 100%].
It took her forever to absorb all the corruption from all of them, but she couldn't miss the opportunity. That skill was too good to ignore.
[Hunger for Evil and Pupil of Evil have increased to level 5. Rank 3.]
[Cursed Manage has increased to level 8. Rank 2.]
[Source's Link has increased to level 5. Rank 3.
Your ability to extract mana from planes improves by 300%]
“[Stop! You can't keep upgrading the skill until you reach level 26. Besides, crystals don't level you up.]”
She didn't need to walk much further to reach the waterfall. It was huge, at least 8 meters in diameter, and fell from a large crack in the top into a huge hole carved by erosion in the rock. Its waters were transparent, and shone with the already known blue tone that could be seen in the miasma-free zones.
“What the hell! There's no way out!”
Jean sighed in exasperation as she opened the map. The mission arrow pointed beyond the waterfall. “How am I supposed to cross it?”
She identified the waterfall, but no relevant information appeared. She looked around and spotted small ledges behind the water. They ran along the waterfall in a spiral shape, but were quite far apart from each other. There were also ropes placed as a railing, tied to hooks that served as supports.
She peered down. Maybe if she ran with all her might, she could reach one of the ledges, but they seemed to be covered with moss.
“I pass from an eternal bath!”
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After carefully analyzing the waterfall walls, she noticed a rope hanging from a rock upwards. A short rope tied in a remote place. Although the rope was in good condition and had several knots to facilitate the grip, she didn't want to test if it would hold her weight. She couldn't shake off her head that something was odd.
“Hello?”
After waiting for quite a while, nothing was heard apart from the sound of the waterfall. She sat on a rock near the edge and sighed. Was it ridiculous to try?
“Can I speak with Dih? I feel terribly lonely in this place.”
“[I don't think this is the right time.]”
Jean reached for her sword and shield. She was about to get up when whispers alerted her of an attack coming from behind. She was still processing it when an intense pain struck her in the back of her head.
She put her hand into the wound and realized that it was an arrow. It had sunk almost 10 centimeters. Fortunately, it hadn't hit the spine and the armor was already absorbing it. Could it be that she had been mistaken for an undead? Who could be such an idiot? The undead didn't speak.
She got to her feet as fast as she could and tried to hide while raising the shield. However, she wasn’t fast enough. Another arrow landed, this time in her back. There had to be more than one enemy.
Jean sought refuge in the darkness of the nooks. The two arrows hurt a lot, but something unknown made her writhe in agony.
“[A very toxic substance has entered your body.]”
Isolating it with Cursed Manage and healing it was no easy task. The pain multiplied every second she didn't intervene. It was spreading so fast that she was barely able to cope with it. She didn't know what it was, but it was very resilient. If she hadn't exposed herself repeatedly to increase her skill, she would have possibly died.
Two new arrows flew in her direction. This time she was able to evade them. She changed to the spear and endured the pain of the remaining poison, looking for another nook to hide.
The two individuals talked to each other. However, the intense sound of the waterfall barely let her distinguish a few words in an unknown language.
Without finishing the conversation, one of the individuals jumped down to one of the ledges and descended to the same level as her. He tensed his bow and ran in her direction. However, he stopped short after a shout from his companion. “Have they already located me?”
The other individual descended as well, but she didn't realize it until she heard the drops of his wet body falling to the ground. He was so stealthy that not even his footsteps could be heard.
As she prepared to attack, she was startled by a flash. A magical circle appeared on the surface in front of where she was hiding.
Jean pulled out a superb interpretation of agony. With her tongue blocking her throat, she simulated drowning in her own blood. “It hurts! It hurts so much! Mercy, please! I beg you!”
One of the individuals advanced briefly until his companion stopped him. They talked among themselves, but since Jean didn't understand them, she assumed her trap had failed.
They resumed their approach, so Jean tried again. “H-help! Please, help!”
When one of them was less than 3 meters away, she tried to impale him, but they were already waiting for her.
After blocking two shots aimed at her legs. They both jumped back, making clear her chances of hitting them. They drew their bows again, this time holding the string at full draw.
Jean ducked, warned by the whispers. Both arrows struck the shield at leg height. “I haven't started this, but you can be sure I will finish it!”
“We already know your kind, monster! You will die soon too. They will come for you.”
Jean peeked out just enough to see two silhouettes in the distance. The one talking was much more muscular than the one keeping his distance. Two pointed long ears protruded on both sides.
»Dark elf«
Level ??
Name: Auruth
Marks: [Human Killer], [Thief]
Details: Warning! This aspirant’s attributes make him a challenging opponent for you.
Highest attribute (Dexterity): 53
Not only was he competent, he was also dangerous. "How do you know that? You spy on me?!"
Both remained silent, confirming her doubts. “So you watched us suffer and did nothing!”
“Yes! We don't help humans!”
Jean raised her voice indignantly. “So you admit that you could have helped us! … You are no better than those bastards!”
“You don't get it?! We don't want to get involve with the sacrificed! And even less with the Cursed One!”
Her eyes widened. "What...?”
"We don't want any trouble, monster!"
Jean clenched her fists and teeth. “Stop... calling me... that! I'm not a monster just because you say so! If I'm going to kill you, it's because you tried to kill me first!”
The slim one stepped forward. From the tone of her voice, she sounded like a female. “You've been happily absorbing humans for hours. Even your friends! What did you expect us to do?!”
Jean froze for a few seconds and then stepped forward. "H-humans? Those weren't humans anymore! Those creatures were just...!”
Jean grumbled under her breath. “Hold on a minute! Did you lie to me? Was there a way to reverse their condition?”
The whispers remained silent, which agitated her even more. “Then I've... I've killed dozens of humans."
She covered her mouth, holding back the urge to vomit. She couldn't shake the image of all those innocent souls imprisoned in undead bodies from her mind, slowly and mercilessly being absorbed by her.
The female dark elf lowered her bow and gestured to her partner to remove the magic trap. The latter didn't seem too happy with the idea, but agreed at the female's insistence.
The female approached slightly, keeping her distance. Meanwhile, the other dark elf jumped over the gap and grabbed the rope to reach the other side of the waterfall.
“Calm down, Cursed One! Turning undead is irreversible!”
Those words helped her breathe again. "Why did you say that? It was..."
"Cruel, yes! But revealing too, right?" She pulled an object out of a small pouch at her waist. Its shape was spherical and the size of a marble. It glowed due to a floating rune inside. The object vibrated in her hand as she approached Jean. That surprised both of them, but the elf disguised it very well. "Take it!"
Jean's distrust was at its peak. “What are you up to?”
The female dark elf said nothing more; she simply gestured to her with her arm outstretched.
Jean didn't put away any of her weapons. “Whatever it is, put it down! I'll pick it up when I see you're far enough away! You may not have noticed, but you look like a backstabbing bitch.”
“You leave us no choice. We can't let you approach us.”
“Fuck you! If you attack me again, my spear stuck in your skull will be the least of your worries!”
The dark elf smiled and carefully placed the marble on a stone. After that, she jumped the more than 8 meters of the waterfall gap without any running start, as if taking a simple step.
“Holy cow with these dark elves!”
Despite seeing them leave, Jean advanced with her shield ready. She kept an eye on her surroundings, focusing especially on the darkest nooks and crannies. A little caution wouldn't hurt after all.
The marble vibrated more and more with each step she took.
»Nuehm’s Relic or Master’s Relic (Legendary)«
Details: Belongs to the set of cursed relics. It grants multiple skills related to the creation of bodies linked to the Cursed One.
Jean smiled. She hadn't expected to find it so soon, let alone in the possession of those treacherous dark elves, but it was finally in her possession. She was one step closer to bringing her companions back. She only hoped it wasn't to drag them into a new hell.
There was no need for her to bend down, when she was close enough, the relic jumped straight at her, merging with her body. Jean soon became dizzy and lost consciousness.