Kade once again considered thinking things through before literally jumping into the unknown.
He flailed as he tried to stay afloat before using his [Soulrend] to anchor himself to the ledge. He thanked his exponentially increased [Strength] for enabling the use of the tip of the [Soulrend] as a support point to prevent him from drowning.
Kade kicked his legs and brought himself closer to the tunnel before grabbing the ledge and pulling himself out of the water.
He wiped his face before congratulating himself for jumping into the hole close to the tunnel. He might have been in danger of actually drowning if he had been further away.
Kade stood and glanced at the water before it clicked in his mind. This wasn’t just a random hole. This was a well the ritual building had covered up.
… I should have thought of that when I heard the rock fall into water.
He winced when he took a step and felt, and heard, how soaked his clothes were. He considered throwing them away, but he didn’t want to appear almost naked when he met Eliza… again. Doing that once was enough.
Kade squeezed out the excess water absorbed in his clothes before heading down the tunnel.
He kept an eye on his [MP]. The purple miasma was far thicker here than at the surface, and he had thought about this possibility. Thankfully, it didn’t penalize his [MP] further.
The tunnel expanded the more Kade walked. He was only several steps in when it started, and the exit to the well was still easily seen when the narrow tunnel had become a wide hallway.
There was ten feet of clearance on all sides, and he could see that it would get even more prominent the deeper he went. The purple miasma no longer filled the entire space. It hovered near the ceiling, becoming strangely more solid the further he walked.
Kade slowed his pace after several minutes. His hand tightened around the shaft of his [Soulrend]. There was now well over thirty feet of clearance on all sides. The purple miasma had disappeared and turned into solid, glowing purple veins built into the hallway’s ceiling.
He had assumed this brief detour would take him through narrow passageways and small hidden rooms with some monsters, but he had stumbled onto something far, far more significant.
Before him were two stone guardian statues on either side of the massive hallway. They stood about 10 feet tall, with bulky, muscular forms that resembled the karnathis, carved out of rough, dark stone, and had a weathered look.
They seemed ancient to his eyes.
The statues had a similar set of armor carved onto them that fascinated him when he saw them on the karnathis. The armor on the statues was complete, but it was still just a carving.
At least, it gave him an idea of what the armor should look like in pristine condition. He might piece together the set by the time he left the Rift Zone.
Kade was most interested in the glowing purple veins on the ceiling branching down to each statue. He had a gut feeling that if he moved any further, the statues would come to life.
That didn’t deter Kade. It made him more eager to move forward. Before that, there was one thing he was curious about.
“Can inanimate objects help me level up my Arcana Level?”
It will contribute to your growth if it has an [Arcana Level].
That was enough for him.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Kade kept himself on high alert and walked forward to put himself directly between the two statues. His gut feeling was right.
The purple veins on the ceiling pulsed, and the eyes of the statues lit up in a dull purple. If his ex-girlfriend were here, she would call it lilac or periwinkle.
She always had an annoying habit of labeling even the slightest shade of a color.
Kade frowned as he pulled himself out of the tangent his mind went into. The statue stared down at him but didn’t make a move.
He realized that the vague sense of uneasiness he usually had when there was a threat nearby was missing. For some reason, he felt the statues wouldn’t be able to challenge him even if they moved.
It was bold for Kade to accept that as fact with no evidence, but he trusted his gut feeling after it had been proven right so many times.
The dull purple eyes soon dimmed before returning to stone.
Kade stared at the statues dumbly before cursing, “This is some bullshit.”
His only choice now was to go forward. He did so, but frequently glanced back at the statues until they were out of sight.
The hallway didn’t get any larger, but the purple veins that previously only existed on the ceiling now had a presence on the walls.
This was all fascinating, but Kade was tired of the long walk. It had been well over thirty minutes since he entered the tunnel, and he had nothing to show for it other than sightseeing the alien architecture.
Kade narrowed his eyes when he saw something familiar at the edge of his vision. He got closer and confirmed that it was two more statues, nearly identical to the ones before.
… Did I somehow go backward?
He frowned when he thought about the possibility of being stuck in an illusion. Of all the things he could face as a challenge, illusions must be near the top of his ‘most hated’ list.
Nothing could be more annoying than having to think his way out of a problem. Mostly because he despised puzzles and all things that were related to them.
Kade just wasn’t any good at it.
There was a reason he didn’t go to college. Leaving aside the lack of money and, more importantly, motivation to go to one, he never had book smarts.
He didn’t consider himself stupid. But he also didn’t fool himself into thinking he was some kind of genius.
Besides, who cared when he could punch anyone that called him stupid?
Kade pushed aside the fond memories of some poor guy trying to bully him in school and the suspension he had received soon after.
He didn’t dawdle and immediately put himself between the two statues. The same process started, and he let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t an illusion.
The statues’ eyes were a darker purple than before. More importantly, he could feel a sense of danger emanating from them.
Kade was ready for either of them to attack him.
He tensed when he heard a deep rumbling sound as the statues moved one arm forward. The rumbling stopped soon after, their arms extended, and most of their fingers curled with a thumb pointing in opposite directions.
Kade looked warily between them, wondering why one was giving him a thumbs up and the other a thumbs down.
“⌿⟟☊☍ ⊬⍜⎍⍀ ⌿⍀⟒⎎⟒⍀⟒⋏☊⟒.”
His eyes darted around the hallway, trying to see who spoke that garbled sentence. It sounded like it came from everywhere, and there was nothing else near him other than the statues. It resembled the karnathi growl.
He eyed the statues warily and decided he was being far too cautious. For someone who jumped into a hole without realizing it was a well, this waiting around did not fit his original intentions.
Kade launched himself towards a statue and drove his [Soulrend] at its chest. He monitored its extended arm the entire way, but soon had his attention forced to focus on one thing.
A sharp metallic sound rang out when his [Soulrend]’s blade impacted the statue. His arms almost buckled at the backlash from the [Soulrend] failing to even make the slightest of dents. He lost his grip on his [Soulrend] for the first time, and it fell to the ground.
The karnathi’s blunt weapons flashed in his mind.
Kade instinctively used his only other option and slammed his fist into the statue’s stomach.
He somehow made a small crack.
“⎐⟒⍀⊬ ⍙⟒⌰⌰.”
Kade’s eyes widened as he landed on the floor, picked up his [Soulrend], and immediately kicked away. He successfully put well over ten feet between him and the statues and noticed a change.
The statue he hadn’t attacked slowly lost the purple glow in its eyes. As for the statue he somehow cracked with his fist, it rumbled for a moment before slowly sliding up the wall.
It revealed a stairway that led down.
Kade glanced at the thumbs down on the statue’s hand. He guessed that if he attacked the other statue, it would reveal a stairway leading up.
He shook his fist lightly to get the slight sting to go away. Punching rock did not feel great, but at least he had broken no bones.
Kade didn’t miss that only his punch worked on the statue, even when his [Soulrend] was far more powerful.
I can only guess this has to do with the karnathis. Maybe it is a training site.
The statues he had first seen must be for weaker beings. It must be why they hadn’t worked for him.
Kade shifted his [Soulrend] to his non-dominant hand and walked down the stairs. If weapons had no effect, using his right arm would be far more ideal for maximum damage.