Chapter 25: The Reminiscence of a Light Bulb
ED: Hey guys what do you think of the chants? X3al and I felt it should be more archaic and cool but we don’t really know how… anyone wanna make better suggestions?
P.S: The next chapter might be a long ways away! O-o
Real Title: Ancient Shrine Nebulapolis
Author: caution: some depictions are not suitable while eating.
After descending the stairs, the group, relying on a pale swaying lamp, proceeded along a dim corridor.
“That is quite the useful thing you got there.”
Mira muttered that, looking at the lanterns that hung down from waists of the four people. A sphere floated at its core which was surrounded by metal braces. It was emitting a pale radiance that eerily illuminated the dark passages of the Shrine.
“I heard you already prepared, so I didn’t bring you to the adventurers supplies store. I have no idea how you would manage to enter here without even getting a lantern.”
Saying that in shock, Emera stared at a sphere that was brightly shining on top of Mira’s head. This illuminating light orb was made by Mira’s abstract skill.
“Magicians can always use an illumination spell. It should be enough.”
“Well, you’re right but is it fine for you to waste mana on illumination when you don’t know what awaits you here?”
Frica agreed with Emera. They just entered the dungeon and can expect a lot of battles ahead. And she is using mana on something that can be replaced with a lantern, no magician would even think about that.
Illumination from abstract skills requires recasting as it fades. Also, it can’t light up the whole area so some dimness still remains. That’s why in the Dunbalf’s era he brought Creos along. The power of a light spirit illuminated everything.
Mira, intently watching the barely visible corridor, mused about bringing Creos here.
“Such a spell doesn’t cost me anything. Don’t worry about that.”
“Well… if you say that.”
Emera didn’t know much about magician classes and consented, assuming that Mira has some class bonus. And Frica simply believed the words of Mira, knowing that Mira could see spirit traces she couldn’t see.
Actually, classes didn’t have any bonuses. But Mira already managed to restore herself to full mana. She trained to raise her magical power, so her mana limit and recovery speed became unimaginable for normal adventurers.
They proceeded while having such conversation, and a small room ended the corridor.
The air had become wet and a silent darkness surrounded them outside of the light. Having exhalations, foot steps and rubbing armor as the only background sounds, Emera opened a map on her operator bracelet and started to walk towards the next room.
(The monsters should start appearing soon.)
After leaving the first room after the stairs, they had proceeded along the corridor for a while. Another room-like space spread out in front of the corridor. Knowing that monsters in the Ancient Shrine start to appear in the second room, Mira used a summoning skill to prepare for the battle.
【Summon: Holy Knight】
When she set the location next to her, a shining light circle illuminated the corridor.
“What’s with that light!?”
“What’s happening?”
Because of the sudden flash that exceeded the dim lanterns and light of the illumination spell, Emera and Asber, who led them, looked back. Here they two witnessed how the pure white knight figure appeared from this light.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you. This fellow spirit is my summon.”
Mira briefly announced that while tapping the waist of the white knight.
The knight who had suddenly appeared had a huge shield, which was able to cover his 2-meter height, and a long sword shining with silver in another hand. And the most peculiar trait was his full armor. The white was so pure it shined and a red light swayed behind a full-face helmet.
“Is it a spirit…?”
“It feels amazingly powerful.”
Emera and Frica stared at him with their breath taken away. They felt not only an overwhelming intimidation but also overwhelming security coming from this white knight.
“Kewl!”
“Is it the summoning? That’s incredible.”
Zef examined this holy knight who was calmly staying still from every side. He was a scout, but the embodiements of the protection, holy knights awed him.
Asbar fixedly stared at the white knight before him while recalling what Emera told him earlier. The fact Mira got a rank C immediately on registration.
Of course at first he thought that Emera grew senile or perhaps saw that in a dream, but after hearing that Mira got a pass and was going to enter the Ancient Shrine the next day, he didn’t know what was happening.
And after seeing the Holy Knight with his own eyes he got confident in her. His instincts with a fuss told him that the knight staying here was stronger than he.
Now Asbar assumed that getting the rank C from the start requires something like that. The lack of limit for the abilities of summoners slightly terrified him.
Then Mira ordered the Holy Knight to protect Takuto, throwing away all the malice that can come from any direction.
Holy Knight is an arms spirit used for protection. Therefore in protection he surpasses high-level summons. It was the reason she brought Takuto along in this dangerous place. Only one of the Nine Wisemen or somebody rivaling them could defeat Mira’s Holy Knight that was devoted to defense.
After ensuring the safety of Takuto, the group arrived at a large hall. Here Asber, while cautiously looking around, checked the grasp of his large hammer.
“Wait here, I feel some presences.”
Zef looked to the left, closed up with Mira and Takuto and prepared both his daggers.
Asbar placed himself between Mira and the emerged thing while Emera immediately closed the map and stood next to him.
Finally, like ripples spreading atop of the silence, a dragging sound covered the surroundings. Slowly yet surely something was approaching them.
Asbar and Emera, preparing weapons, gawked towards it. Zef, guarding the sides against a sudden attack, kept his eyes on the surroundings. Frika, maintaining a composed face, stared towards it while grasping her a cane in hands.
“Ghouls, huh.”
Emerging like silhouettes things revealed their contours as they approached the light. Their wriggling bodies roughly resembled people.
After a short display of disgust, Emera and Asbar quickly got calm and, holding their weapons, went forward.
Zef was on alert a bit behind, and staying behind Takuto the Holy Knight held the huge shield to cover him.
(And the vision is terrible.)
It was a long time since Mira, who has gotten used to Creos so much, saw monsters appearing from the darkness. She strained her eyes yet due to Asbar’s back in the way she couldn’t see well. Standing on tiptoes, she swang herself to sides, yet she couldn’t grasp the whole fight happening a bit further.
“Unh… What’s with that stench…”
“Really, what stinks?”
Mira frowned at the stench that gradually filled the surroundings. Takuto, while staying next to her, felt the same odor and answered while pinching his nose.
“Of course it’s their smell.”
With those words, Zef pointed to the ghouls ahead of them with his eyes.
The stench that Mira felt seemed like a rotting smell. Monsters, persisting on half-rotten meat, obviously didn’t return any life to it and the decaying did not stop. They were always decaying just to crumble down someday and infect the next corpse.
After comprehending Zef’s answer Mira fixed her eyes on a ghoul, which emerged behind the even more disgusted Asber.
“Ough…!”
Unable to focus its dull eyes, the thing gazed at the prey; a rotten tongue was peeking through wide-open mouth lacking lips. Its lips were emaciated, the scalp that started to peel off barely had any remaining hair. Ruptures covered the skin and packs of worms appeared inside gaps of rotting flesh.
The vivid thing that poorly sustained the human form made the very air they inhaled seem rotten. This overdone realism made Mira feel intensely sick.
But, when her averted sight met Takuto, she somewhat overcame nausea.
“I’ll go.”
With that announcement, Frika took a step backward and released the prepared 【Sorcery:Deep Crimson】 skill. Magic power gathered in the cane that she lifted and, after a quick flash, produced a flame vortex that engulfed the ghoul. Covered in the raging deep crimson hellfire skin burned down, the fire burst its legs and the ghoul collapsed. After that the flame covered his back and, scattering the ash, his intestines burst into flames.
The latecomer cremation flame, purifying the possessed with filth pitiful corpse, was brightly raging, burning him to nothing along with the stench.
The blaze that painted the surroundings in bright red slowly faded out and two more ghouls, who stood outside the range, started advancing again. However, now Emera and Asber jumped forward and tore down one of them to pieces and smashed the upper half of another, splattering the flesh and worms around. Even undead monsters couldn’t move after such destruction.