novelraw Chapter 232: [232] Tomb Raiders (4)
Chapter 232: [232] Tomb Raiders (4)
Eliron stepped out of the other side of the river feeling as fresh as a slice of lemon.
He streched, the lovely scent of roses reaching his nose.
"You see? Nothing happened. You were worried over nothing." He chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah. You were right this time." Alex sighed. "How close do you think we are now?"
Eliron shrugged as they began walking, their shoes leaving wet foot prints on the floor.
"We have been on this for like what? 3 hours? I am sure we are very close now."
He stuck his hand into his infinity pouch, pulled out two pieces of dried meat and handed one to Alex.
Alex nodded slightly to thank him before saying, "Good, I fear if I keep going without break, both my legs will snap off..."
They had just walked a few meters away from the river when they heard a loud clanking sound.
Alex glanced at Eliron. "Did you hear that?"
Eliron was busy chewing on his dried meat so he grunted in response.
"And?? Aren’t you worried that something might be coming for us?!"
Btzzzzzz!
Alex stiffned. Then slowly, he turned around, his expression faltering.
Eliron on the other hand frowned while shaking his head from side to side.
Barring the way forward was a group of three. This time, they were not drones, neither were they oversized sea food. No, it was the worse thing any of them could have wished for at this time.
Lightning Elementals.
The monsters were tall and slender, and although they had jagged humanoid bodies, they had no feet. Instead, their body tapered to a point like ghosts.
Lighting was pulsing through their bodies, brightening up the room, a low rumble accompanying each surge.
The three of them were encased in a large energy field being produced by a small contraption that was also within it.
’So that is how they are able to exist in this place.’
Normally, since elementals are made of pure, condensed mana, they would have been slowly absorbed till there was nothing left of them.
"Heh." Eliron chuckled. "Your ancestor was a premium bastard wasn’t he?"
Sending in lightning elemtals just after having their bath was sure to give them a rather shocking experience.
Elrion glanced back the way they came and smirked. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from the man.
He was really inventive in his wickedness.
If they were to try to go back, all the monsters had to do was send a surge of current through the river and paralyse them both.
Alexander sighed then glanced at Eliron, his expression saying ’I told you so.’
Tzzzzz—!
A large mana circuit formed within the ball, sparkling with lightning, and the currents began to gather.
Normally, the mana would have distorted from the moment a mage tried to gather it. But because of the field, the elementals were able to freely gather their mana.
The magic would still be dispelled when it got out, but it would last at least a few seconds in the air before dissipating.
And those two seconds were all the monsters needed.
Bang!
Lightning danced within the energy field, just as a large bolt of lightning tore through it with a thunderous clap.
Swish!
Eliron slammed his sword sheath into the bolt, his hands vibrating as he tensed his muscles.
With one an annoyed grunt, he deflected it to the side. Part of the lightning crashing into the floor and sending chunks of anti magic into the air.
Eliron grabbed one of these chunks then charged right at them.
Bang!
He dashed to the side as lightning whistled past his ear, some of the stray currents touched him, racing across his body like a pack of fire ants.
But Eliron ignored the pain.
Once he got close enough, he slashed at the shield, cleaving a hole into it, but instead of continuing his attack, Eliron chugged the large anti magic rock into the sphere, just before he ran, sprinting away from the elementals.
You see, Anti magic was a very unique mineral. Although it could absorb a ton of magic, there was nothing in this world that did not have a limit...
Anti magic was not just expensive because of how rare it was, it was also extremely dangerous.
Because once it hits its limit...
BANG!
The hall shook as a miniature shockwave cut through the area, a gust of wind washing past them.
... it would explode.
When you put such a stone in a space not just raging with spells but filled with mana packed elementals, the results were very predictable.
Eliron glanced back, a smirk on his face as he watched the barrier collapse. Of course, his real aim was not to the elementals, it was the device that was producing the shield.
And now that it was gone, unable to gather their magic, Eliron made quick work of the elementals.
"Well, that settles it..." He sheathed his sword and dusted his hands.
He walked up to the blast site and picked up the damaged device.
’Maybe I’ll be able to get some use out of this...’ he thought as he tossed it into his infinity pouch.
Alex walked past the debris with a tired look on his face, not even mentioning a single word as he walked passed.
After seeing Eliron claw out of that river in one piece, there was nothing else that could surprise him.
<•••>
After their encounter with the elementals, there were no monsters or traps, just a quiet walk down the hall.
Shortly after, they found themselves in front of an indomitable, large, black double door.
The door was nearly as tall as the cave itself, and it was probably heavy enough to crush most people under its weight.
Its surface had a light, metallic gleam, a few magic crystals were implanted into it, and several runes bathed the entirety of its body,
And at the center of the door was a deep indentation, similar to a large paw...
Eliron did not need anyone to tell him that breaking the door down would be impossible.
Not only was he working without mana, from the few words he could pick out from the runes, it seemed the door also had rebound magic.
Meaning it would throw back anything they launch at it right back at them.
"So how do we get in?" Alex thought out loud, staring at the door.
Eliron walked up to the door and used his sword to tap the large indentation.
"I’m not an expert in this, but I’m sure we need a hand scan."
Alex blinked. "A hand scan? Wait, you mean a hand big enough to fit that hole? Where are we going to find that?!"
"Have you noticed how large everything in this place has been?" Eliron asked, rubbing his hand through the surface of the door.
"I would be blind not to notice." Alex replied plainly.
"At first, I thought the artisan built it so large so that the monsters would have free passage to crush intruders."
That would have a perfectly good explanation, except that it wasn’t.
There were a few things that supported this claim...
Why was there a river filled with shit blocking the path?
According to what they had read, the tunnel was not designed to hamper the progress of true heirs of Donia...
Does that mean the old king had to swim through the pond each night as well? No, it made no sense.
"That pond would not be there except the creator of the tunnel had a way of getting past it with ease." Eliron said, explaining his thinking to Alex.
His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Something like—"
"Flying for example..."
Alex raised a brow, looking even more confused than he had been a few seconds ago.
"You are on to something... I think that sea monster simply let go of me. Strange, maybe it realized who I was?"
Eliron nodded. "Exactly..."
"But Eliron..." Alex stroked his jaw. "Your theory is good and all, but how will this help us open the door?"
"It is simple!" Eliron raised a finger. "All we need to do is get a dragon!"
He said it like as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
Alex’s face fell, a vein pulsing on his forehead. "Eliron..." he spoke patiently. "Where do you expect us to find a dragon in this damn cave?"
Eliron raised a brow. "Aby why would we need to find a dragon, when I am already looking at one?"
A second passed in silence.
Then Alex’s confused expression shifted into a sinister smirk. His entire demeanor, one that had seemed nervous and unsure just a few moments ago changed. A dark chuckle escaped his lips.
"My, my, Elven lord."
"This your intuition..."
His eyes suddenly flickered, silver giving way to peerless gold, his pupil morphing to reptilian slits.
"...it is truly something marvellous."
Within the cave, the shadow of a dreadful beast was born.