Gio sat propped up against the dilapidated banister, pen in hand, trying to come up with ideas.

“What if we tried to isolate a small area against the diseased air?” he asked, looking up from his paper.

“We would die of asphyxiation.” Chandrika replied, striking the idea down.

“Right.” Gio huffed, defeated. “I’m kind of out of ideas. Cleanse won't work on air, and even then, it isn’t really designed for long-term purification. I kind of wish I had picked up a book on simple enchantments…”

“Gio, that’s like… a specialty topic you can take as early as next year. I think you’re already putting enough on your plate as it is.” Jean replied.

“There has to be something we can do, you’re going to need to rest before we go in there. I can already feel the mana from this side, I think it’s a high-density zone in there.” Gio fumed.

“Don't worry about it too much. In the worst-case scenario, you two get some rest, and we hope for the best. I’m not out of juice yet.” Jean offered.

Chandrika looked up from her spellbook. “What if… you just gave one of us the spell? This is a life-or-death situation, certainly the academy would understand.” She said.

“I wish I could, but it’s a spell keyed to Castallane blood. You won’t be able to put any mana into it. It’s a common preventative measure. I’m sorry.” Jean replied grimly.

“Wait, can I see the spell?” Gio asked. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” Jean agreed.

Gio spent a few moments, comparing his [Cleanse] spell and Jean’s [Aspect of Purity].

“Well, I don’t suppose I can worsen the situation by trying. I’m glad I brought some ink. Chandrika, could you help me purify some bones from one of the spellcasting skeletons? I have an idea.”

_____

An hour later, Gio had laid out an array onto a piece of fine vellum from his pack. The work was hasty, but Gio had strained the limits of both [Multitask] and [Fledgling Knowledge Seeker] to achieve his result. Applying the purified bone dust onto the drying ink, Gio pushed forth a mixed stream of light, life, and purity mana into the borrowed sigil, solidifying his intent into the page.

It had taken some time to try and parcel out what elements of the spell did what, and Gio was near certain that he hadn’t perfectly managed to maintain its functionality while stripping out the protective measures.

Gio’s one solace is that it didn’t need to be perfect, it just needed to be semi-functional so that Jean could sleep.

He steadied himself after the ink had dried, hovering a hand over the freshly printed page, invoking the new magics with bated breath.

A dim bubble of white light burst forth from Gio, anchored to his palm. He waved his hand around, watching as the perimeter of the bubble followed his hand.

“Huh, well, I consider that a success, I think. The radius is certainly not as big as yours, but I think this works, even if I messed up the target area.”

“Whoa.” balked Jean.

“Whoa, nothing. I basically just plagiarized your house spell. I think I just broke several laws, it’s nothing that impressive.” Gio replied nonchalantly.

“No, it is. You’re already modifying spells. We’re only just about to end our first semester. You’re improving quickly.” Chandrika stated, allowing no argument from Gio.

.

“Oh. The system agrees, I guess. [Beginner Spellwright]” Gio blushed.

<[Purity Aura] created.>

“I named it [Purity Aura]. Pretty generic, and there are probably other spells out there with the same name. I hope that throws anyone off from noticing that it’s a copied spell… not that I plan on using it outside of here.” Gio continued.

“Anyways, go to sleep you two, I'll keep watch. Chandrika can take the next shift with the spellform. I'll make a new version that isn’t centered on the caster’s hand.”

After a less-than-stellar night’s sleep, the group prepared to open the door.

“What are the chances it just opens?” Gio asked, turning the ornate vault door mechanism.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

A series of rattling clicks rang out, and the vault door began to open. Instantaneously, a blanket of rancid, mana-rich fog began pouring out from the door. The vapor avoided the area in a perfect sphere centered on Jean.

“Well, I almost wish it didn’t.” Chandrika harrumphed.

Walking forward, the trio gasped as they witnessed the interior of the room beyond.

Every surface of the long room beyond was lined with an overwhelming amount of gold.

There were golden shelves, golden tile on the floors, display cases that were lined with gilding, and more. There was no place to look that didn’t glitter in the light of the skull lantern. Rows of glass cases lined the right side of the room, each of which was completely opaque, covered in dust.

“So… Gold Ring nobility,” Gio stated, sardonically.

“Not any of the current houses, I’d have recognized the house symbol, even with the decay” Jean replied.

Inching forward into the glittering crypt, Gio’s eyes fell upon a gaudy-looking statue of a familiar golden sun, carved with a beneficent smile. The bizarre statue had six long metal poles in the place of arms, each having a three-pronged metal grabber instead of human hands.

“That’s a construct. I give it three seconds before it comes to life.” Gio stated, unamused.

As if on cue, the figure began crackling. Dust shook from decorative joints, and gemstones popped out of their sockets. Thick, black fog roiled up from the ground, swirling towards the statue. The figure ripped itself off of the stand it was built onto and began teetering towards the trio.

Chandrika threw out a bolt of light, wrapping the construct’s legs in illusory threads of gossamer light. The creature skidded to a halt, writhing in its makeshift cocoon.

“Anticlimactic.” Gio quipped. Jean approached carefully, severing the mechanical monster into pieces.

Looking around, the group examined the surrounding area. Chandrika approached a display case, glass frosted over with grime and dust. Wiping away at the layer of obscuring detritus, Chandrika recoiled as she found a pair of inhuman eyes staring back at her, following her movements.

“Spirits!” she screeched.

As the trio rounded on her position, Jean spoke, voice firm: “Some kind of macabre trophy cabinet.”

Gio traced his fingers across a plaque above the metal case.

“The House of Antimony proudly presents the cutting edge of necromancy. By preserving the subject at the precise moment before natural death, we have succeeded in maintaining a state of perfect half-life. Reagents can be harvested with little to no decrease in potency, and the subjects are rendered completely harmless. Contact Count Beauregard Antimony for a consultation today.” Gio read.

“How… vile.” Jean sneered.

“Well, it looks like whatever these enchantments used to do, they have long since failed. These things are purely animated by mana, there’s no spellcraft here that I can see” Gio noted.

“I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. There’s some sort of preservation going on, maybe it’s alchemy-based, not enchantment-based.” Chandrika rebuttled.

“Wait… hold on,” Gio muttered. He focused his mana sense on one of the severed heads submerged in fluid underneath the glass, grimacing at what he found. “There are enchantments here, it’s just… on the inside of them. There are runes underneath the skin, and probably on the bone too. That’s horrible. This process must have been incredibly painful. Whoever did this figured out how to forcibly enchant living things.”

This is… a reminder of why not all research is a good thing. You need morals to guide you.

Gio walked away, needing to look at something else.

Gio looked over to the edge of Jean’s protective area, craning his head over to read another plaque on the destroyed column where the automaton came from.

“The future of automation. By embedding human remains in a preservation matrix, the next generation of crown servants might be the best parts of golemancy and necromancy at the same time. No longer will your golems be subject to regular recharges, or not understand your orders.” Gio read, dourly.

There's no escaping this. This whole place is a monument to hubris.

“So this place is some kind of showcase. They wanted to sell these things to people, I think.”

Said Chandrika.

“Well, It looks like whoever put this here isn’t around anymore. Let us keep moving.” Jean said.

The next room was lined with hundreds of glass cloches, all full of small creatures in various stages of decay, fruitlessly attempting to free themselves of their confinements. Tiny, batlike creatures flapped their wings in one display, while a large insectoid corpse suspended on some sort of metal scaffolding was unable to do much besides follow the movements of the skull lantern with its mantis-like head.

“Well, I’m glad that at least these enchantments are holding. I hope I didn’t just jinx us.” Gio joked, grimacing at the words as they came out of his mouth.

Striding forward, the three students had grim expressions on their faces. The next few rooms contained lounging areas, and the illegible remains of business ledgers, the papers having deteriorated with time, exposed to such a high degree of decay mana. There were gaudy desks, filled with trophies and mantles, as well as lounging chairs that had been stained and ruined by whatever black mist filled the space.

Coming to a stop before an archway, The group emitted a collective gasp at the sight beyond, illuminated by the light of Chandrika’s lantern.

A great mountain of gold, like the ones they had seen in picture books. Jewels glimmered in ornate necklaces, and curious idols glimmered about. All manner of chests, holding countless golden coins. The piles were practically vibrating with mana as if the whole room was a giant battery of some kind, filled to the bursting point with death mana. Wisps of black fog undulated out, coiling along the edges of jeweled crowns, and the telltale sign of old enchantment glittered on the point of a scepter sticking out from one of the piles. little stars of inky blackness floated about the pile, sucking in the light from the skull lantern, giving the entire room a murky haze, despite the soft light.

A snaking path through the piles was the only trace of ground not covered in the precious metal. The trio faltered in front of the room, feeling the density of the acrid energies even through Jean's aura.

“I am getting a particularly bad feeling about whatever comes next,” Chandrika whispered.