I woke up and felt better. So, I take the opportunity to wash up and get ready.
I found Zéro in the shop, surprised to see me. He quickly greets me and suggests having some tea. I accepted his invitation and later told him about what happened to me the previous day. He quickly understands that the situation is not optimal but remains confident that I will find a way to the surface, especially if I've found a tunnel dug and refined by humans.
We discuss the recent events at the Void Mall. He explains that Gor'Lhemakgney returned with his disciples during my absence, and they prayed for hours before each buying a potion of every kind. After his brief summary, I informed him that we had a visit from a new customer: Mordakus the Lich, and I told him about his first visit. Time flies, and we finish drinking the tea. I ask Zéro if MT is in the alchemy department, and Zéro nods, so I get up to see him and ask for updates on the progress of the mechanical golems.
I find him sitting at one of the stone tables in the workshop, with multiple pieces of metal scattered around him. I asked him how the development is going, and he indicated that it's going well. He has managed to create about ten mechanical golems so far.
Curious, I ask him where they are, and he points me to a section of the department I hadn't explored. There's a slightly transparent door near the main interface. It leads to a room that seems to serve as a warehouse. I can see the golems all lined up. Their appearance is shocking; each of them resembles a human being and has their own features. If you ignore the numbers inscribed on the middle of their foreheads and the lines dividing the pieces that assemble them, it would be difficult to tell that they are not alive. MT has really done a great job; I think to myself as I look at the result.
Happy with this good news, I thank him and head back to my private quarters.
Upon arriving, I look inside the small storage room in my chamber and find the bodies of the lizards I transported there after my battles.
"System, I would like to exchange all these bodies for gold coins," I say, pointing at them with my hand.
"Calculating," resonates the cold voice of the System for a few seconds before giving me an answer. "Exchange successful. The total amount is 23,000 gold coins."
"Can you tell me the state of my savings at the moment?" I ask, curious about the state of my wealth.
"The current state of your finances is exactly 91,023 gold coins, 14 silver pieces, and 47 copper pieces."
Wow, nearly a hundred thousand gold coins, that's incredible. I return to my room to ponder the next steps to take.
I open my status window and am pleasantly surprised by the number of levels I've gained. Clearly, the shop must play an important role, especially since the alchemy department opened, I reflect, thinking about how Mordakus spent a fortune their last time. Seeing that my stats are low, I decided to invest some points to increase my overall power since I noticed during the recent battles that I was lacking. I was getting exhausted too quickly, lacking speed, and my recharge time was too slow due to my low mana, etc...
Name: Heolstor Xel'Mourndor
Level: 25
Profession: Void Merchant (Ordinary)
Talent: Void acquisition
STATS: ● Strength: 30+16
● Agility: 20+13
● Intelligence: 20+5
● Mana: 25+5
● Dexterity: 20+3
● Luck: 15
● Constitution: 20+9
STATS TO DISTRIBUTE: 1
Skills:
● Previous skills ●
● Adaptation ● Barrier ●
● Flash Step ● Wyrmoterra's Wings ●
● Fire Breath ● Strength ●
Void acquisitions:
Acquired (7str/8agi/4int/4mana/2dex/6con)
● Slimes (1str/1agi/1int/1mana/1dex/1con) ●
● Cave lizard (2agi) ● Appartiel (2str) ●
● Maccaterro (3str) ● Wyrmoterra (2agi) ●
● Bell-Turtle (2con) ●
Adaptation (Passive):
Allows adaptation to almost any environment.
Barrier (Cost 3 mana):
Forms a protective barrier around the spellcaster. Consumes 1 mana per minute. The resistance of the barrier varies according to intelligence stats.
Flash Step (Active):
Allows movement four times faster for a short duration but exhausts the body four times more.
Wings of Wyrmoterra (Active-Passive): Summons wings of Wyrmoterra, granting the ability to fly at low altitudes and glide.
Fire Breath (Cost 5 mana):
Concentrates mana and fire elements to summon a breath of fire. The range and power depend on intelligence and affinity to the fire element.
Strength (Passive):
Passively increases strength by 3.
After allocating my stats, I can already feel that my body and mind are twice as powerful. I feel like I can think faster, jump twice as high, and recover my mana almost three times faster! From now on, I'll be more capable of exploring the caves. Feeling fatigue suddenly arises, I decide to go to bed...
...
I was sipping a cup of tea when Gor'Lhemakgney appeared at the entrance of the shop. This time, he was alone, not accompanied by his disciples. Apparently, he had established a cult worshiping my own person and the Void Mall over the past few months. I find it a bit strange, but after all, I saved his life, and his profession is that of a Cultist. So, it seems logical to me that with his somewhat extreme personality, he decided to dedicate himself completely to me.
I welcome him and inquire about his well-being, curious to know if his cult is growing:
"Things are progressing well. We recently welcomed about thirty new followers, all eager to discover the mysteries of the Void Mall and join our quest for transcendence. Their devotion to you is unwavering," he quickly adds, suddenly becoming nervous.
"That's good news. Congratulations," I tell him, thinking that the more followers he brings, the more transactions I make and the more gold coins it brings in. A question arises in my mind, and I ask him how he manages to convince people to follow him.
"The new followers are primarily tormented spirits, seeking to escape the chains of reality and embrace the void in any way possible. They are drawn to our message of ultimate freedom through madness, oblivion, and fear. Since some of them have experienced terrible trials, heart-wrenching losses, they see our cult as a means to transcend their pain.
This call of the void is an open door to the abyss, an opportunity for them to find peace within chaos. I must guide them with wisdom and compassion, showing them the path to enlightenment. After all, darkness can be frightening, but it also offers a complete liberation from all the constraints of this world."
After his monologue, I was astonished. I had no idea where he was going with all this or how it had come to this, but I thought to myself, "Well, good for me," and smiled.
"Interesting. Do you have anything special planned soon?" I responded, wanting to change the subject.
"I plan to organize a ceremony to celebrate reaching level 90. Additionally, we intend to expand our activities to other regions to recruit new members."
Still sipping my cup of tea, I choked on my sip. Level 90, this guy. I'll have to change my perspective on customers.
Congratulating him once again, I moved on to the serious matters and asked if he needed anything.
The morning passed quickly, and now it was time for me to continue my exploration of the caverns.
......
The large room where the lizards had nested is filled with ashes. The Ocean Flame Potion is highly deadly and dangerous, not a weapon I can use lightly, I recall as I look at the soot-covered floor beneath my feet.
Surveying the surroundings, I noticed that no monsters were nearby and took this opportunity to draw out my blade musket. I employ my Object Animation and Link skills. The musket trembles and begins to levitate at my side. Strangely, I can sense the presence of the blade musket in my mind. I think about moving it in a circular motion, and it follows the command. Surprised, I continued to test it and commanded it to shoot a small rock over two hundred meters away.
The musket fires and hits the target without any issue.
I ask it to repeat with different rocks that I've placed at a distance. Luckily for me, the weapon reloads for about a minute after each shot, accumulating ambient mana instead of requiring me to inject it myself. Every shot hits its target, which greatly pleases me, as from now on, the animated weapon can accompany me and take down enemies that I don't have time to kill or small ones that would waste more of my time than anything else. Most importantly, if I sustain damage and it's near me, the animated weapon will receive half of it, providing me with additional protection.
.....
As I ventured deeper into the corridor, I slowly saw a faint glow emerging in the darkness. Approaching the source of light, I noticed intertwined pieces of serrated moss clinging to the ceiling and walls. Pulsating slowly with a pale blue glow, I examined more closely and realized that the secreted mass consisted of tiny phosphorescent spores resembling blue specks of dust. I recalled reading a passage in one of the books in the Mercenary Association's library about a monster resembling fluorescent lichen. According to the information in the book, this monster, known as Carfuns, was often mistaken for cave moss, a benign organism as they are a collective of small monstrous life forms sharing sensations. With minimal cognitive abilities, Carfuns spent their time peacefully positioning themselves above inhabited sections of caves. However, unlike cave lichen, this particular monster was carnivorous and possessed a highly subtle hunting technique.
When disturbed or aware of prey beneath them, the emitted light changed to a reddish hue. The spores they released would then adhere to living beings, implant themselves within them, and gradually utilize them as nutrients, allowing them to grow. However, this process was very slow and could take several weeks. Despite this, most underground inhabitants understood the dangers of this monster and sought to eradicate them when found. Seeing no issue with letting them live, I continued my journey with a brisk pace, accompanied by the musket with a floating blade by my side.
As I advanced, the corridor grew increasingly dusty, as if fewer and fewer creatures roamed there. The presence of lizards at the beginning of the corridor and Carfuns thereafter must be sufficient to deter any other creatures. The corridor continued, and once out of reach of the Carfuns, the pale red hue faded, and it plunged back into darkness.
After several hours of walking in total darkness, I suddenly caught sight of light, and the corridor widened enough to accommodate five men. Relieved to have finally arrived somewhere, I pressed on and reached a door blocking the passage. It was made of dark blue stone and adorned with a faded fresco. After examining it to ensure it wasn't trapped, I attempted to open it, but without success.
I decided to return to the Void Mall to seek the assistance of MT and the Iron Servants. We all returned to the stone, the mechanical golems positioned themselves, and I took my place as well. Together, we pushed, and the door began to slide slowly, eventually opening with a dull scraping sound.
Once the path is open, the corridor leads to a large cavern. A gust of wind blows on my face, forcing me to close my eyes. When I open them again, I catch sight of a gigantic castle in the distance. Suspended high up and propelled by a foundation of black clouds crackling with constant thunder.
At the top of the enormous storm cloud, the castle consists of eleven round towers, each fifty meters tall. Each tower is connected by high and expansive dark blue stone walls. The walls and towers blend with the terrain of the cloud island, as if the castle were an extension of it. Strangely, each tower is topped with a giant bell lying on its side. In the center is a one-hundred-meter tower with ten levels, judging by the windows. Large windows, as well as pale blue battlements, are finely dispersed around the walls and towers in fairly symmetrical patterns. In the center is a massive building of a myriad of colors, all shades of blue and white. Outside the circle formed by the towers and walls, toward the back, is a square tower, isolated and surrounded by cliffs, but still connected to the cloud island and walls by a stone bridge made of the same stone as the walls.
I can't help but marvel at the castle; it is worthy of the legends one reads in books. But the most surprising aspect is the enormous bones scattered across the fields outside the castle, like a white ocean. Only a small part of the cloud island emerges, like a lost little boat. This part serves as an entrance, surrounded by high walls. Large doors frame a white metal gate and a blue drawbridge. The drawbridge is lowered, providing access to a raised mound like a dock, where a gigantic ship is moored.
Based on the bones, I deduce that the castle has existed since ancient times, but it doesn't seem to be on the verge of collapsing anytime soon, I think to myself as I gaze at the castle from afar, filled with wonder.
Iron servants clear the way in case there are traps or monsters, while the thunder constantly rumbles. I thought navigating through this sea of bones would be more difficult, but they are so big that it's easy to pass between them. It makes me wonder what happened here. Unfortunately, I'm likely to find answers only once I'm inside the castle.
Once the expedition is over, I intend to bring all these bones back to the shop and exchange them, as I believe they will be useful, and I'll be able to trade them for a huge amount of gold coins.