Chapter 317 - 318: Slow Acting Consequences

เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มี.ค. 2569 07:25

Knowing the monster they were about to face was in the same rank as them gave them some confidence… they could hardly think of a monster within the same rank they couldn't kill. Even so, they had learned caution from their days in the Whispering Forest. Most monsters in death zones were not like typical monsters—they were eldritch. Some rules might not even apply to them… one mistake could mean death. Luckily, they had a seer in the group. Sylvia had already gotten a map of the mansion and had determined there was only one monster. Leona poked at the copy Sylvia had created using a magic quill they had gotten from the Beldam's Nest. "Hey, if you can create a map of the mansion, why not the whole city…" Sylvia sighed… "Thanks, Leona, I'm glad I didn't think of that…" Leona looked away. "You're being sarcastic, right…" Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Obviously… think I didn't try that? I can't pay the price for the map of the city…" Damon looked at her. "What's the price…" Sylvia lowered her head a bit… "It's not a short-term price… just my ability to have children in the future. So basically, I'll be barren…" Damon nodded. That was a horrible price for a map they could probably get from a city library or one of the abandoned shops. Leona scratched her chin. "Sorry… I asked." "It's fine… if I don't ask something, it's probably because the price is too steep. Ever since the incident in the forest, this skill has changed. It now tells me some things for free and gives me the details of the price, rather than just taking… basically, I get a choice…" Damon nodded. "Didn't you get that before…" She shook her head. "No. Only a vague feeling…" Evangeline sighed. "That's enough… about that. Before we discuss how to kill whatever is in there… Damon, how has your arm been feeling…" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶 Damon shrugged. "I only got stabbed by a cursed sword. No big deal… I'm only slowly losing feeling in my arm…" Evangeline bit her lip. "My purge skill didn't work…" She had tried to heal him, her skill seemed to work. Sadly all it did was delay the spread of the curse. The curse was tied to his soul, she didn't have the finess to reach it without obliterating his soul. "No, it did. It's not spreading to my body—just my arm. That's a success in my book… worst case, I lose an arm…" Matia bit her lip, feeling her heart twist. "I'm sorry…" Damon looked at her, a bit confused. "Why are you sorry…" She pulled clenched her fist, a small chill spreading from her armor. "It's my fault. If I hadn't suggested for you to take the knight's sword, he wouldn't have stabbed you…" Damon sighed, smacking Matia on the back. "It's my fault… I said don't be careless but was careless myself. An arm will teach me never to let my guard down even when I think the enemy is dead." Matia lowered her head. "But still—" "But nothing," Damon cut her off. He glanced at Sylvia. "Shall we… kill a worm…" She nodded. "Its body can phase out of our reality… its heart is stored in silk cocoons in its nest… so unless you destroy the body beyond repair, it won't die… it can teleport, control space…" Evangeline narrowed her eyes. "Basically a space attribute fighter…" Xander crossed his arms. "So destroy the heart. Easy enough…" Damon clenched his fist around the cursed sword… soon he might lose the use of his right arm. The journey here had cost him something after all… no potion could fix him—he had tried. There was also a possibility he could gain a mastery that gave him resistance to curses….but he hadn't gotten any notifications from the system. 'Well, no matter… I'll just have to adapt… when the time comes…' For now, he still had his arm… He walked up to the mansion gate… He looked at the bars. The gate was slightly ajar… he held his sword, his party in formation. Slowly, they entered the mansion yard. This place had once been elegant—now the land was surrounded by ruin. The grass was green, yet uncared for, having grown long and spreading onto the mansion pavement and walls. The statues were covered in moss with faint, dying runes—most had long since lost their magic. 'Lysithara seems to have a lot of magic runes… the runes are inscribed almost everywhere…' Which was a contrast from Valtheron of the present day. Having runes was luxurious. Runesmiths and artificers were highly regarded. In fact, those who awakened the class related to runesmithing were well-regarded… even if it was a common class. 'A shame the knowledge of runes is hard to come by…' He walked closer to the door… when he reached it, he heard a buzzing sound. Biometric authentication not recognized… He heard the voice from a small display on the door. "What's that…" Sylvia looked at it with some curiosity. "A relic of Lysithara… their magic technology was more advanced. It requires a recognized magic signature…" Damon nodded, realizing he couldn't get in. The owner of the mansion was long dead—getting the right biometric signature was impossible. "No worries… I have the biometric signature right here…" He then proceeded to kick down the door of the mansion. With a boom, the door caved in on itself, swinging open. He scoffed. "What do you know… it wasn't even locked…" Evangeline sighed. "And it seems the worm also knows we're here…" Xander looked up into a world of pulsing white silk. A horrible worm-like creature with many tentacles and mouths filled with rounded teeth stared at them. The mansion was bright enough for the outside light to slip through parts of the windows the silk hadn't covered up. "A little hard to sneak in with that many eyes watching…" Matia looked up at the ceiling full of cocoons. "I had a feeling finding the heart wouldn't be easy…"

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