The underground passage shook as Mason touched something in the darkness. The tremors started around him and quickly moved down the corridor.
Mai and Yuri, just entering through the entrance, exchanged shocked glances.
"What is that noise?"
Mai sensed danger and quickly switched on her flashlight. The beam revealed a cave that looked like a giant serpent had slithered through.
There were various paths branching off. She recognized that these passages formed due to the Crypt's emergence. There were no stalactites; this wasn't a natural cave.
Yuri, feeling tense, suddenly laughed.
"Damn, the sound of water in the distance reminds me of a water park…"
But then their expressions shifted.
'Wait. The sound of water?'
What began as a gentle trickle now roared like a waterfall.
"What the hell is this?!"
Mai and Yuri screamed as the noise intensified. A massive wave charged toward them.
"What is that?!"
Pale and panicked, they ran, but no one could outrun nature. Their screams echoed as the wave swept them away.
"Aaaaah!"
Mason chuckled as their cries echoed through the cave.
"Idiots, who told you to follow me?"
He continued walking deeper into the Crypt, having only triggered a trap.
How did he know about traps in a Crypt he had never explored? Mason had memorized various traps, and even if he hadn't, he could tell as soon as he entered.
Why?
Because Glyphs were present in the Crypt too.
The text illuminated as he pointed his lighter at the wall. Mason laughed; the symbols looked like something from ancient ruins or a pyramid.
-The Glyph reading comprehension speed has increased due to your Linguistics system.-
These texts provided brief insights about the Crypt, even trivial details like the preferences of the Mythic Item.
'It seems the Mythic Item I know is here.'
He continued down a slope, and the smell of mold intensified as he neared the Crypt's core, where the Mythic Item resided.
'Crypts smell bad, no matter whose it is.'
Soon, he reached an open area with a clear pond, resembling a basin at the bottom of a waterfall—too small to be a lake, too large to be just a pond. It glowed brightly in the dark cave.
Mason smiled at the pond.
"I found it."
He was sure the Mythic Item was here. Holding his Egyptian knife Mythic Item, he prepared to act.
Then, without hesitation, he did something shocking.
He tossed the knife into the pond as if feeding fish.
Anyone like Yuri or Mai, who understood Mythic Items, would likely faint at the sight.
But then, something incredible happened.
The ground shook again as a massive white creature leaped from the pond, large enough to swallow a person whole.
-Another poor soul seems to have dropped their item into the pond.-
A gigantic white snake, like a mountain spirit, emerged. Inside its terrifying mouth were two Mythic Items resembling the knife Mason threw—one gold and one silver.
The snake eyed Mason, as if sizing him up, before grinning.
-Tell me. Is the gold knife yours or is the silver knife yours?-
Mason sighed, irritation bubbling up.
It's here. This arrogant Mythic Item.
The snake let out a shriek as it coughed up blood. Mason had plunged the Egyptian priest's knife into the creature's body without hesitation.
The blade sliced through the snake's scales and flesh like it was cutting sashimi, tearing through organs with ease.
Thud! Mason remained unfazed, even as blood sprayed around him, and he felt bones crunch beneath the tip of his knife.
Splash!
Finally, the snake's massive body crashed to the ground. It gasped for breath, its eyes filled with rage and disbelief.
-Just why...!-
"Why?" Mason asked coolly.
-Both the gold Mace and the silver Mace would have been yours if you just answered honestly!-
The mountain spirit's voice sounded desperate, but Mason, well-versed in Mythic Items, laughed mockingly.
"Shut up. I don't trust Mythic Items."
-What?-
"Who knows if there's a curse attached to that Mythic Item?"
-...!-
The snake trembled, guilt flickering in its eyes as images of the gold and silver Maces appeared in its mind.
Mason smirked, as if he had expected this reaction.
'Of course.'
These Maces had claimed over 10,000 lives in Korea, turning ordinary people into killers. They were cursed gifts designed to incite chaos.
The snake was no different.
"Who knows if I'd become a crazed murderer if I took those gifts from you?"
The snake's eyes widened, as if Mason's words struck a nerve.
-Ugh! How does a mere human know about...!-
"How?" Mason replied, grinning as he approached the snake with the knife.
He stabbed the snake again. With a wound already present, it convulsed as another hole opened in its body.
"Tools exist for humans to wield. So why wouldn't a human understand a tool's true nature?"
Mason remembered the dark truth about the Mythic Items. At first, people viewed them as blessings, but that illusion shattered quickly.
"Never trust those damn tools," he thought.
Mythic Items granted powers and riches, yet their true nature revealed them as parasites. If humans craved food, sex, and sleep, these items desired only to belittle, mock, and destroy their masters.
"Pay the price for our gifts," they demanded, seducing humans with enticing abilities before turning against them.
"That is why they must be taught a lesson."
Humans discovered a unique ability to suppress these arrogant beings, called Aura.
"Hey, Mythic Item, behave and submit."
Mason twisted a knife into the snake's body, relishing the moment.
"Ack!"
With a deafening roar, the white snake thrashed in agony. The pain from Mason's Aura overwhelmed its physical wounds.
"Human scum!" it hissed, struggling.
Aura, a natural charisma that everyone possessed, allowed humans to assert control over Mythic Items. A low Aura left a person vulnerable, easily manipulated.
"Well, they won't announce Aura's significance for a few years," he mused.
The snake writhed, rage filling its voice. "You think you can tame me like this?!"
Typically, humans needed to pass the Mythic Item's test for acceptance, forming bonds that led to cooperation.
"I refuse to suffer for your approval."
These items often released toxic energy, slowly poisoning their masters as they drew closer. By the time the world realized their treachery, two-thirds of the population faced a deadly illness with a 90% fatality rate. Mason allied with Mister Depay, seeking healing Mythic Items for himself.
Now, he planned to do things differently from the start.
"I have no interest in your test or in pretending to be your friend."
"What did you say?" The snake's eyes widened in disbelief as it sneered.
Mason aimed to seize the Crypt's Mythic Item by force.
"Useless creatures that rely on humans should remain silent and submit."