Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

Chapter 623: Blood Rose

The interior of the cave entrance was a downward-sloping, deep corridor illuminated by the same cold light crystals, from which a current of air older and with faint energy fluctuations flowed out.

After Duke investigated and found no potential danger, he protected himself with yellow sand and stepped into the downward-extending corridor.

The oval entrance behind him quietly sealed itself after he fully entered, and the wall restored itself to its original state, as if the passage had never existed.

The corridor was silent, except for his nearly inaudible footsteps and a distant, deep hum as if coming from the depths of the earth’s core.

The light emitted by the cold light crystals reflected on the smooth corridor walls, forming patches of dreamy halos.

After walking down the deep corridor, Duke traveled for several hours in this inhumanly grand relic.

Everything here, from the width of the corridors, the height of the rooms, to the scale of the steps, far exceeded the usual needs of humans.

He walked through corridors wide enough for small horse-drawn carriages to pass easily, with a dome above impossible to climb, inlaid with massive cold light crystals.

The rooms he passed by had doors tens of meters high, and the interiors were as spacious as plazas.

The occasional remnants of furniture or decorative reliefs he saw were astonishingly large, and the figures depicted were as towering as mountains.

The murals that occasionally appeared on the walls, though mottled and peeling from the ravages of time, still revealed their ancient and narrative style in the remaining parts.

They were not merely decorative but seemed to record a grand and tragic epic.

The protagonists of the murals were a giant race clad in simple yet heavy armor, their bodies akin to moving hills.

They seemed to have once established a powerful ancient dynasty, depicted hunting colossal beasts, performing mysterious rituals, battling twisted shadows, and finally facing a certain catastrophe that swept the land, leading to the collapse of the dynasty and the dispersal and demise of the giants.

The brushwork of the murals was rough and powerful, full of primitive breath and a sense of fateful heaviness.

The interior of the relic was not entirely lifeless; besides the occasional deep hum from the depths, like the pulse of the earth, Duke encountered several groups of slightly different forms of relic guardians.

They were still composed of sand particles, but aside from the initial ax-and-spear soldier type, there were also defensive types wielding giant shields, smaller and quicker hound types, and even once, in a vast plaza, Duke encountered a sandstone colossus composed of dozens of small sand soldiers, comparable in size to a house.

All these guards were without exception extremely resistant to conventional magic, but with the experience from the first encounter, Duke became increasingly adept at dealing with them.

He also sensed the distant sound of spell blasts and brief energy surges from other areas, clearly indicating that other competitors had also broken through the initial areas, struggling forward in other parts of the relic or engaging in skirmishes.

Duke cautiously avoided these disturbances, choosing relatively quiet paths that seemed to align more closely with some obscure guidance from the murals.

This relic posed a significant challenge for other competitors, but for Duke, his abilities were just right to deal with these troublesome sand soldiers.

Just as he was about to proceed along a side corridor after passing through a grand hall supported by countless massive stone pillars, which resembled an underground forest, he suddenly sensed three unabashed and fairly intense spiritual power fluctuations with his Eye of Darkness perception ability.

He immediately stopped, quietly retreated, and hid in the shadow of a giant pillar, concealing his presence.

He saw three figures standing at a fork in the corridor ahead.

They were all dressed in identical deep red wizard robes, which had a certain classical elegance that was starkly different from the simple style commonly seen in the Seville Empire, with intricate rose patterns embroidered in silver thread on the cuffs and collars.

All three were male, with their faces mostly obscured by the shadow of their hoods, only their tense jawlines visible.

The energy fluctuations emanating from them were calm and restrained, clearly indicating they were all at the level of a Level 1 Crystalized Mage, and their auras were very similar, obviously from the same wizard organization.

Duke could not discern which wizard organization they belonged to, but it was highly likely not from the West Coast or the Seville Empire.

They seemed to have just finished probing a certain direction and were discussing at the crossroads.

At the same time Duke discovered them, one of them seemed to sense something, swiftly raising his head, his sharp, eagle-like gaze instantly scanning towards Duke’s hiding spot behind the giant pillar.

The opponent clearly possessed some special detection means or ability and caught the trace of Duke’s aura from earlier.

Duke’s heart tightened, but he did not panic.

The opponents were three, and he was one, with unknown strength and intentions.

He did not immediately reveal himself or flee in haste, but hid deeper in the shadows, ready to either burst into combat or retreat at full speed at any moment.

The three scarlet figures also became clearly vigilant, quickly adjusting their positions to form a triangular formation capable of both attack and defense, their eyes fixed intently on the shadowed area where Duke was hiding.

They did not immediately launch an attack, nor did they shout questions, but exchanged silent glances.

Duke could clearly feel a subtle but dense wave of spiritual power rapidly circulating, colliding, and exchanging information among the three of them.

They were using a method similar to the Wizard’s Mark for some unknown spiritual communication.

A moment later, they seemed to reach some kind of consensus.

The wizard in the scarlet rose robes who appeared to be the leader stepped forward slowly from the forefront of the triangular formation.

He raised his hand and made a slightly ancient but universally friendly wizard gesture, deliberately softening the pressure of his spiritual power, and spoke in a clear and steady voice:

"Friend in the shadows, there’s no need to be nervous. We are from the Blood Rose of the Golden Continent, an exploration team invited to this event. This relic is full of dangers, and acting alone carries high risks.

We mean no harm, only that we’ve discovered what seems to be a crucial vault ahead, but the seal on the entrance is quite tricky, requiring either specific energy resonance or a joint effort to open."

He paused, his gaze under the hood seemingly trying to penetrate the shadow to see Duke, and continued: "Since you have managed to get here alone, your strength must be extraordinary. Though the three of us have some assurance, having powerful assistance would greatly increase the success and safety of opening it. Would you be willing to temporarily join forces? Once opened, the resources inside can be fairly divided according to the contribution and prior agreements."

The Golden Continent is located at the northernmost part of the Wizard Plane, and it is a continent where wizard civilization thrives exceptionally.