A blinding darkness shrouded the interior of the underground cave. Andrew couldn't see anything ahead of him. But he felt like he was descending further into the deeper depth of the earth.
His mana and mentality levels were almost in 'the red' after he repeatedly used the cat's agility sorcery to escape from the blood-eyed wolf. As such, he resisted the urge to cast any illumination spells before he recovered. He wanted to save his dwindling magic reserves for much trickier situations.
Andrew wasn't out of options, though.
He connected his mind to his storage ring and summoned a magic lamp, which he lit immediately. Its glaring brightness came alive and illuminated the subterranean cave passage.
Andrew finally saw the appearance of the passage he was in. It was quite spacious. It could even allow six or seven people to walk side-by-side.
The passage of time had long left its marks on the cavern walls. They were damp, moldy, and weathered along most sections. Even then, Andrew could still spot a few patterns left by chiseling and earth spells, implying that the cavern was a structure artificially constructed by man.
As he headed further into the cave, the passage widened, and he eventually came across some partially eroded murals on the walls.
The art depicted fierce ancient beasts, like dragons, phoenixes, giant three-eyed sphinxes, chimeras, unicorns, and nine-headed hydras, among other monsters. Even as just weather-beaten paintings on the walls, they still exuded grand majesties typical of powerful creatures at the 'very' apex of the food chain.
'Could the inheritance ground have been left behind by the beast taming or the summoner covens of ancient sorcerers?'
Such a thought coursed through Andrew's mind as he paused to admire the image of what seemed to be a man standing beside a nine-headed hydra.
According to some historical texts, beast tamers and summoners were ancient branches of sorcerers that had dominated Edhen around fifty thousand years ago. They had campaigned in many other worlds and enslaved countless legendary beasts they used to do their bidding.
Unfortunately, something terrible must have happened to them at their peak. Historical texts don't clarify why, but their heritages swiftly faded into oblivion with time.
At present, the only proof that they ever existed was the presence of magical beast tamers in Edhen. However, that pitiful group of sorcerers could only contract weak magical beasts at rank one or below. They couldn't hold a candle to the ancient summoners and tamers who could subdue apex beasts from other worlds.
'I wonder what I'll find!'
Expectations ballooned within Andrew's mind as he continued striding down the passage. Eventually, he stepped into a much more spacious cave and elicited an automated reaction set in place.
A spectacular array of magical gemstones embedded in the walls and ceiling came alive. Breathtaking lights flooded the entire space and overwhelmed the brilliance of Andrew's lamp. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the new brightness before switching off his lamp and stowing it back into his storage ring.
'This should be where the assassins obtained the shadow orb and the daggers.'
Andrew stopped in place and started observing the place.
It was an enormous cave-dwelling with walls artificially crafted to make a high concave ceiling. Entrenched in the walls were dozens of magical gemstones connected by mysterious runic lines. Together, they formed the magical array that maintained the integrity of the structure even after what could have been thousands of years.
Andrew turned to glance at the three squatting beast statues in the middle of the dwelling. They were realistic bronze depictions of giant orcs. He had learned from the assassins' memories that they were magical constructs that could move and attack if anyone dared to walk further into the cave.
The many smashed bones on the ground were a testament to their ferocity. They were the first obstacle hindering access to the inheritance ground and also the main reason the assassins failed to obtain many treasures from the dwelling.
Andrew smiled with glee as he looked at the far end of the cavernous dwelling behind the statues. He could see a few treasures, including a few shiny mana crystals, magical ores, enchanted weapons, and a large mirror embedded in the wall at the far side.
The mirror especially drew his attention. It was a strange item with glowing lines of magical inscriptions adorning all its borders. Moreover, its surface wasn't flat and reflective like other mirrors. Instead, it was a fluid-like silver substance that would occasionally bob up and down with diminutive waves along its surface.
'A large mirror portal!'
Andrew's eyes widened, and his heartbeat quickened.
Such a large mirror portal had to be a gate leading to an entirely different subspace or small plane. But he would have to defeat the three statues before accessing the portal and other riches the inheritance ground had to offer.
'The statues are only at the level of peak-grade apprentice sorcerers. I can handle them with my agility.'
Andrew tightened his grip on his sword. He took a deep breath and slowly stepped forward.
The three statues reacted almost immediately and slowly rose from their squatting positions. Their formerly lifeless eyes turned a deeper shade of red while their bald heads flashed with runic inscriptions. They then twisted their necks and turned their fierce gazes towards Andrew.
Of course, Andrew didn't let them make the first move.
Sword in hand, he took action as his over-the-limit agility worked like a divine charm. He disappeared from his position and instantly appeared beside one of the orc statues. He jumped and aimed his weapon at the neck of the orc with a powerful two-handed diagonal swing.
His timing was immaculate, but the orc statue still managed to react. It raised its club and blocked the sword attack.
Andrew didn't blink at the failure. He cast a level 0 [fire ball] spell and guided it toward the orc within anything but an instant. The resulting fire orb flashed through the air with a dreadful heat before smashing into its face.
BAM!
A small explosion sounded as Andrew stepped back and dogged a slap from the orc statue's free arm. One of the other two statues tried to attack him as he found his footing. But he literally bounced from the ground like a rubber ball and lunged at the statue again.
Like a specter, he moved around it and swung his sword at its leg. The statue was yet to recover from the fireball spell and couldn't react in time. He chopped its limb apart with the enchanted weapon, sending it off-balance before it could raise its club.
Andrew decided to go in for the kill. But before he could move, he felt a fierce wind rushing at him from behind and abandoned his plans. He deftly stepped to the side, only to see the shadow of a massive club missing his face by centimeters. The weapon smashed into the ground with a bang, sending soil and gravel flying.
Andrew's eyes narrowed, and he responded by instinct. He stepped towards the orc statue that had just tried to smash his head and executed an upward diagonal swing.
The timing of his counter was perfect, and the sword flashed through the air, shimmering with a fierce impetus before landing square on the creature's neck.
Magical inscriptions gleamed as the statue's defense mechanism tried to stop the sword attack. But all was fruitless in the end. The enchanted sharp weapon met very little resistance before sending the head of the first orc flying into the air.
Whoosh!
Another attack came before he could take a breath and celebrate. He felt the air ripple behind him and immediately stepped back. He followed that up by squatting and dodging the fast-moving club before rising again like a dragon leaping out of the sea. He swung his sword full force and severed the orc's arm with a powerful upward diagonal swing.
At that moment, Andrew felt that the pressure on him had reduced to manageable levels since he already amputated at least a limb from each of the remaining opponents. He relaxed a bit. But the enemies were yet to give up, and another club attack flew at him with a menacing momentum.
The orc statue with the amputated leg had thrown its club at him, and he couldn't dodge in time due to the sheer speed of the weapon. His vast combat experiences kicked in, and he constructed a spell model in his mind within an instant. He tapped into his already scarce mana and mentality reserves to cast the level-0 [water shield] spell while blocking with his sword.
BAM!
The liquid shield slowed the club before it smashed through and met the sword. The power behind the attack was reduced a bit, but it was still too much for Andrew to handle. He sucked in the momentum and used it to distance himself from the other powerful orc as he tumbled to the ground.
Andrew cursed his carelessness. Rolling over, he dodged a lunge from the already one-armed orc statue and shot to his feet. He flickered from the place and appeared on the blindside of the statue that had already lost a leg.
Tightening his grip on the sword, he leaped and slashed at the enemy's neck with the power of his lunge behind him. The enchanted weapon again worked like a charm, allowing him to decapitate the orc statue with a single attack.
'Two down, one to go.'
Andrew didn't dare to relax even though he had already taken down two of the enemies. He shot toward the last orc statue like a lightning bolt before leaping and swinging his sword at it.
It only had a single arm remaining. But it still responded with an attack using its club.
Andrew seemed to defy gravity as he contorted his frame to dodge the offensive by a matter of inches. The wind produced by the club weapon whipped across his face as it missed him.
Eyes narrowed, he followed through with his attack and lopped off the head of the last orc statue. It tumbled to the ground with a clutter as Andrew found his footing while breathing heavily.
The fight had lasted less than a minute. But it had drained Andrew's stamina reserves. He immediately settled down on the floor, hoping to catch some breath.
"If I keep fighting like this, I might develop to become a warrior instead of a sorcerer." Andrew let out a mocking laugh.
The sorcerers of Edhen often disdained close combat. They preferred standing in the distance and bombarding the enemy with attacks. Most relied on long-range spells to blast and destroy the enemy without dirtying themselves.
However, Andrew knew that that trend would end when the war against the demons began in a year. The sorcerers would have to adapt to close combat involving weapons, like swords and sabers, or risk dying to powerful demon assassins when caught off guard.
"I should stop thinking about the future in the meantime."
Andrew then turned his attention to his enchanted sword. He had almost spent all his wealth to purchase it from Freya a day ago at an expensive sum of 2000 gold coins. But he didn't regret the decision.
The enchanted sword had been of great help during the fight. Its sharpness and hardness had boosted his prowess and allowed him to chop through the durable material of the bronze statues. Had he not had the weapon, he wouldn't have been able to defeat such powerful magical constructs, even with the most lethal level 0 spells he knew.
"I better meditate and recover before entering the mirror portal."
Andrew resolved while glancing at the fallen statues within the cave dwelling. His stamina, mana, and mentality were all in the most pitiful state. He wanted to recover before continuing his adventure to the inheritance ground.