Chapter 183: Exploration (2)

"The cursed scimitar..."

Angele recalled how Melissa had described Kuirman's weapon but he did not find any additional information about it in the database.

He checked the scimitar but it seemed like a special technique was needed in order to trigger its effect. Angele's mentality and energy particles did not work; it was basically just a normal scimitar to him.

Angele spent several minutes observing the scimitar while Zero was doing the scan, but he did not acquire any valuable information. Deciding to do further investigation later, he tied it to his belt.

He raised his head and had one final glance at the furious flames. Kuirman's body was already burnt to ashes and Angele could no longer detect the man's mentality waves.

Angele returned to the gap on top of the tunnel and jumped down. He could still see the fire through the gap and the temperature inside the tunnel was rising.

The bright fireball on the left of his face appeared again and he started to walk back to the area where the fight had started.

The underground tunnel of the ruin was like a spider web—it was complicated and full of crossroads, but Angele did not see any rooms on the way.

He assumed that he was still in the outer area. He reached a crossroad again, but this time he decided to explore the unknown area first.

He turned to the left and entered a dark tunnel.

*CHI*

The floor vibrated slightly. It seemed like something further away was hitting the tunnel.

After about ten minutes, the floor stopped shaking. Angele detected the source of the vibration and increased his speed, turning right at the end of this tunnel.

The stone walls had no differences. Without the chip, Angele would have gotten lost already. He finally saw a different-looking entrance on a wall by the end of the tunnel.

Inside the entrance, there was a gray stone staircase leading down into the darkness. Angele could feel chilling air brushing his face just by standing beside the wall.

He crouched and checked the floor.

Angele found some messy footprints on the dusty stone floor.

"Someone entered it already."

Angele stood up and pointed at the staircase.

With a flick of his finger, a small black metal ball was shot down the staircase.

Before the metal ball dropped to the ground, Angele raised his hand again.

A ray of red light flashed.

*CHI*

The metal ball was ignited and the yellow light from the flame brightened up the area down the stairs.

*PA*

The burning metal ball rolled down the stone staircase and stopped after reaching the ground. It looked like a small light dot.

Angele was satisfied with the result and he threw ten more metal balls down the stairs.

He could finally see things clearly and started walking down slowly.

Strange white patterns were painted on both sides of the walls.

They looked like large flowers with human bodies attached to them. Their arms were long but twisted. One of them had a huge ear that looked like a wash basin. Some of the flower men held each other's hands and were dancing around campfires.

Angele rubbed the surface of a wall. Some of the white paint dropped to the ground, and there was a large missing area beside the dancing flower men.

He lowered his hand and started walking down the stairs again. He thought it was a tunnel down there, but it was actually a room, and the burning metal balls lay on the floor quietly.

There were no paintings on the walls in the room, the surface clean and smooth.

Angele noticed a blond woman lying beside one of the burning metal balls. She was wearing a red leather armor suit and her face looked familiar.

She was one of Ainphent's followers.

Ainphent's followers' armor style was easy to recognize, and Angele identified her easily.

He walked to the woman and crouched down.

Her body was facing the ground, and there was a pool of dark red blood beneath her.

Angele dipped his finger in the blood. It was solidifying, and it felt like touching thick congee.

'I already have the Black Rose oil and the only thing I need is the heart of the tree. I hope I can find it in this ruin. It seems like the ruin is controlled by the Two Head Sect, I can probably find some more resources if that's true.'

Angele knew there was danger ahead but he did not want to give up the possible reward easily. If he chose to leave now, the heart bombs he used would have been wasted.

Angele did not back off in the Moon Gin Garden. The only way to keep advancing in the world of wizards was to adapt to the various situations and changes. He needed to be cautious when dealing with things, but it did not mean that he should quit when there was danger along with possible benefits ahead.

Also, with the help of a stealth technique and mentality compression method, he could stay undetected if the enemies' mentality was weaker than his.

Angele grabbed the woman's shoulder and turned her body around.

There was a deep wound on the female knight's neck and a huge blood hole in the center of her stomach. Angele could see the crashed organs mixed with flesh. Also, the woman's right arm was broken. It seemed like she did not have the chance to fight back.

Angele stood up and glanced around after checking the body.

There were three arched stone gates on the wall in front of him.

The gate in the front was smashed open, large pieces of stone lying on the ground, and there was a trail of bloody footprints beside.

Angele used his stealth technique and quietened his footsteps. He then slowly moved into the gate.

*BAM*

Suddenly, a loud noise mixed with people roaring came from inside.

The room started shaking, the feeling similar to the one he'd experienced in the tunnel.

Angele raised his hands and some blue energy particles flashed in the air—all the flame on the metal balls was put off. The room sank into darkness again, with only the fireball beside his face providing minimum visibility.

He started moving forward quickly, using the stealth technique and the compressed mentality, the noise of footsteps minimized.

Behind the gate was a dark tunnel. After traveling for several minutes, Angele heard people chatting ahead.

"... Check... Bring the... with us... We need to hurry... the core area is ahead."

It was Melissa's voice but Angele did not catch all the words she was saying.

He took several steps forward and finally could hear their conversation clearly. Someone was responding to Melissa.

"All those traps... It's our first time entering this area. Be careful, everyone! We'll reach the core area after breaking the barrier. We must grab most of the bearing shafts before the other wizards get here." It was Ainphent, it seemed like he had returned to Melissa's team. "Belem and Kuirman are spies of the Two Head Sec, I didn't expect that. If Green hadn't taken care of them for us, it'd have been a big problem."

"Hey! Be careful! Look at the walls, Collins! Don't get too close!"

"Yes, master!"

"Where's Isabel? I didn't meet her and her followers after entering the tunnel," Melissa questioned.

"I saw her once on the other side of the tunnel. She was not planning to enter the core area. She went straight to the storage area for some reason," Ainphent explained.

"What is she looking for? I doubt there are many rare resources here. Let's move. We need to get there as soon as possible," Melissa said with a light tone.

It seemed like Melissa and Ainphent had entered through the gate not so long ago. Angele followed after them from a distance, advancing little by little.

The tunnel was still in the range of the force field that would trap people in illusions. Angele needed to make sure he did not miss any critical information. Melissa had already finished several battles before regrouping with Ainphent.

There were broken pieces of human organs on the ground. and blood splashed on the stone walls. Random footprints were left on the floor that led to the deeper area ahead.

Angele found a small door on the left side, the sign next to it saying 'Laboratory'. The word was written in ancient Barun language. He hesitated for a second, then pushed the door open.

A light blue glow cast a reflection on his face.

It was a spacious room, glowing sapphire covering the walls. Those diamond-shaped sapphires were the source of the light.

On the left side of the room, there was a small stone sundial that was brushed with black paint. A thick layer of dust covered its surface.

Angele walked to the sundial and wiped off the dust with a piece of cloth.

Melissa's group was still moving forward. They had not entered the laboratory because they wanted to save time.

Angele was not sure about what exactly was the bearing shaft Melissa spoke about but it seemed like they did not want others to find out about it. He was not sure how strong Melissa was, so he decided to do some personal investigations first.

He had no interest in the bearing shafts anyway.

With Kuirman dead, Angele could focus on searching for the heart of the tree now. He had obtained the Black Rose oil from Isabel, so he could start preparing the potion after acquiring the heart.

Although Angele's Mentality was not high enough for the next stage yet, it was still necessary for him to collect the materials for the potion first. There were many different methods to help him increase mentality other than meditating, but this might be his only chance to obtain the heart.

Also, Angele was confident that he could successfully craft the ancient potion on the first try. He had many practical experiences and Zero could simulate the process for him.

The potion masters would waste a great number of resources every day, but they could only craft one or two mid-level potions each year.

The basic potions were expensive in the markets, but the price of mid-level potions was much higher. The skill-level and a number of resources required were ridiculous. The wasted materials were hundred times or even thousand times the materials that were actually listed in the formulas.

Angele stopped thinking and observed the environment. A trail of blood in the corner attracted his eyes.

He walked to the corner and saw the trail of blood leading to a wall on the other side of the room.