Zyrus came across a golden gate after climbing a hundred steps. As expected, another message rang out when his hand touched the door.
[Ding! You have reached the Pyramid of Tsaatan]
[Would you like to enter?]
Yes/no
“Are you guys ready?”
“Yes,” Ria replied as she once again checked the allied formation.
Hearing her reassured voice Zyrus clicked ‘Yes’ without further ado.
*creack*
The massive gate opened in the next instance. A surge of mana far denser than the outside flowed out from within the pyramid.
Zyrus was greeted by the sight of magnificent stairs leading downwards. There were golden motes of light hanging in the air that brightened the passageway.
Despite the beautiful surroundings though, Zyrus’s sense of unease was getting stronger with every step. Even with his Eye of Annihilation, he wasn’t able to detect anything abnormal.
After heading down another hundred steps Zyrus came across an intersection. In front of him was a massive chamber filled with statues of nomadic people.
“This is rather unexpected,”
“Yeah, it’s like someone swapped the interior of the pyramid with a shamanic tribe,”
Zyrus couldn’t help but nod at Ria and Kyle’s remark. The statues and the totems they worshipped seemed out of place with the surroundings. For now though, his attention was focused on the two paths that led above and below respectively.
Zyrus walked ahead and touched the barrier that shrouded the stairs leading upwards.
[You have discovered an event area!]
[Entry limit: 400]
On the other side, Ria also saw the same message as she touched the barrier that blocked the way below.
“Looks like we’ll have to split up,”
“Indeed.” Zyrus nodded as he looked at the ceiling of the chamber. Along with the golden motes of light, there were antique chandeliers hanging on the circular dome.
By now he had a vague idea as to why his senses were warning him of something ominous.
‘It’s like a dungeon,’ Zyrus came to a plausible conclusion as he carefully ruminated over the scenes he had seen so far. Pyramid, a nomadic tribe that practiced shamanism, and now these chandeliers that resembled the ones in the Palace of Versailles.
It was as if someone had picked up fragments of important structures from Earth’s culture in different time periods and stuck them together.
“How do you plan to divide the forces?” Ria approached Zyrus along with the other crown holders
“I’ll take the rats and goblins to go downwards, You guys go up,” Zyrus addressed the group in front of him and continued,
“Also, save as much of your SP as you can. It’ll be helpful later on,”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just use it and improve our strength?” Jacob asked in confusion as he looked at Zyrus.
“You’re not wrong in your thinking. However, if you want to obtain new achievements and break past the limits of your skills, then you’ll have to challenge enemies stronger than yourself. Only by fighting against enemies that force you to bring out your full potential would you progress by leaps and bounds. However, one wrong judgment, and you’ll die.”
“…”
“Do you think I’m contradicting myself? Maybe. When you take a risk, sometimes it won’t work out in your favor. The enemy you thought was slightly stronger than yourself, might be much more powerful than your calculation. What will you do then? Die?”
“You mean we should only use them in life-and-death situations?”
“Not necessarily. If you can amass more than 10 SP then go ahead and use them as you please. That saved stats might give you the agility needed to dodge a critical hit, give you the strength to deal the final blow, give the vitality to recover from grave injuries, and so on,”
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“I see,” Jacob nodded in agreement as he thought things over.
“Well then, wait for me after you clear the area.” Zyrus waved his hand and left with the Rats and the goblin riders.
It was time to figure out the secrets that lay beneath this pyramid.
…
The passageway was longer than Zyrus had expected. Even after walking for half an hour there was no exit in sight.
The only good thing about these monotonous stairs was that they were wider than before. Two rows of 10 goblin riders were able to follow Zyrus with ease. On the other hand, the burrow rats and scavenger rats formed their teams of 20 to survey the area.
Unfortunately, the ground was reinforced with mana, and as such, the burrow rat’s earth movement was restricted in range. Apart from a couple of valuable minerals, there was nothing much to be salvaged in the area.
After what seemed like an eternity of descending the stairs, a change in environment finally took place. The temperature went down all of a sudden and the glimmering motes of light lessened as well.
“Get ready,” Zyrus commanded his troops to get into a battle formation. The scouting teams returned and took their place in the middle of the scavenger rats.
Zyrus had ordered the scavenger rat king to protect the burrow rats. Only sawtooth rats were suited for a frontal assault.
He walked ahead in an arrow formation with the bloodspine spear in hand, while dozens of goblin riders flanked his sides with their taut bows.
Zyrus’s wariness wasn’t unfounded as they encountered their first enemies after descending another 100 steps.
[Ding! You have reached an event area]
[Defeat the corrupted lemmings to enter the cave of “Tetovaza”]
*Grrrrr*
In front of Zyrus was an oval chamber that spanned hundreds of meters. On the other side of the chamber was a stone entrance shrouded by a crimson barrier.
*Grrrr*
“These bastards are really eager to die huh,” Zyrus snorted at the rushing herd of corrupted lemmings and lunged forward.
His leading style was totally different from Ria's. He fought with his instinct and his troops had to follow his rhythm. This style was more suitable for monsters and other less intelligent species. They didn't have many complex thoughts to begin with, so it was easy for Zyrus to lead them.
On the contrary, he would have a headache if he wanted to lead unfamiliar humans.
'Anyway, what the fuck are these things?' Zyrus cursed as the monsters didn’t even resemble the rodents on Earth.
*Thrust*
-500
Exp +750
“Weaklings,” Zyrus taunted after killing a five-foot lemming corrupted by a purple energy. It looked hideous with ant-like tattoos crawling on its skin.
Sure enough, he succeded in drawing their agro.
'No matter the species, my trash-talking works on everyone,'
*Slash*
-458,-458
Zyrus was feeling good as he had finally found monsters that were perfect for improving his spearmanship. He imbued his spear with mana and swung it in all directions.
He had ordered the goblin riders to shoot their arrows in order to prevent them from getting surrounded. There were at least 100 of these corrupted lemmings, and Zyrus planned to kill them all to his heart’s content.
*Thrust*
-500
Exp +750
He kept fighting them one by one, while the goblin archers made sure that he wasn’t swarmed by them. Those that managed to slip by were taken care of by the sawtooth rat king and its subordinates.
*Sweep*
-236,-18,-365
Exp +750
Zyrus’s movements became more and more refined as the fight went on. Mana flowed through his muscles before making a full circulation with his spear tip. Basics of Sojutsu molded his strength and agility with the help of his mana, harmonizing all of his strength into the tip of the spear.
At this point, all other thoughts disappeared from his mind. He thrust, slashed, and swept with his spear, over and over again.
The corpses of the corrupted lemmings were piling up around him. But as they engaged in a dance of slaughter, neither side paid them any mind. Zyrus climbed on top of the fallen corpses and so did his enemies.
*Thrust*
*Sweep*
*Slash*
The gruesome battle went on and at long last, Zyrus’s understanding of spearmanship reached a tipping point. He was enlightened in the midst of this brutal slaughter.
His spear bloomed like a lotus in the mud, pure and beautiful despite the filth that surrounded it.
It was the state of becoming one with the spear. He knew at this moment that if he were to try, he could use his spearmanship skills with his claws and tail as well.
Of course, that wasn’t the only change.
*Slice*
Five speartips made from aura shot out from the bloodline spear.
-500,-486,-258,-500,-23
Exp +750
Exp +750
“Hahaha, this is great! Sweep up the rest,” Zyrus laughed in elation as he saw the new message.
[Congratulations! Your skill Basics of Sojutsu has advanced in rank!]
[You have obtained the skill “Master of Sojutsu”]
[You have obtained the skill “Spear aura”]
He jumped down from the pile of corpses with a satisfied grin on his face. On the other hand, the wolves and rats were just as happy.
The lemming’s corpses were like a gourmet buffet for them. Zyrus read the skills' descriptions as he leisurely watched his troops fight.
Well, it was more like a massacre than a fight.
[Master of Sojutsu (C+): You have mastered the art of spearmanship by stepping into a realm of your own]
[Originating from the basics of Sojutsu this skill has reached its full potential. Create your own style of spearmanship to break the limits of this skill]
Effects: ATK + 50, Crit rate +15%, Crit damage: +30%
CD: None
[Spear aura (C): By concentrating your physical prowess at the tip of your spear, you can shout out 5 aura blades to attack your enemies]
Effects: ???
CD: 5 minute
The first skill signified that he had reached the maximum level attainable by pure physical strength. Only by adding mana or other attribute could he advance in the skill. Although he was currently using mana, it was only to balance and concentrate his inner strength.
Arcane Lance was on a different spectrum as it was a complete magical skill. Spear aura, the active skill he got was similar to arcane lance as well. Instead of using MP is used Stamina.
Since the system won’t show those stats in the first ring of the sanctuary Zyrus knew he had to figure out its effects by trial and error.
‘It's a pity that I won’t have the chance to use it now,’ Zyrus shrugged and put his spear back into the inventory.
All of the cursed lemmings were dead, and not even their corpses remained.
“Let’s see what this cave of Tetovaza is all about,” Zyrus muttered to himself as he pushed the stone doors open.