Chapter 417: Archmage (3)
I followed the now-free undead knight into the tomb, with Ariel perched quietly on my shoulder.
I couldn’t deny it.
I was nervous.
Walking willingly into an unfamiliar place controlled by an Archmage of Death wasn’t exactly something I’d imagined myself doing today.
Still, I forced myself to relax.
If anything went wrong, I could always leave.
Between [Warp], [Leap], [Absolute Phase], and the rest of my abilities, escaping wasn’t something I was particularly worried about.
That thought alone eased the tension in my chest.
The moment I crossed the entrance, the temperature dropped noticeably.
A cold, stale breeze drifted through the corridor, carrying with it the scent of ancient stone and dust that had remained undisturbed for centuries.
The air itself felt unnaturally still. There wasn’t the slightest draft or even the distant sound of dripping water to break the silence. The only thing that echoed through the passage was the steady rhythm of our footsteps, each one carrying far farther than it should have in the oppressive stillness.
...Yep.
Definitely not creepy at all.
The corridor stretched straight ahead, disappearing into darkness, its walls carved entirely from smooth gray stone. Unlike the natural caves scattered throughout the forest, whose rough, uneven walls had been shaped by countless years of erosion, every surface here was flawlessly smooth.
Each corner was impossibly precise, and there wasn’t a single crack or chisel mark to suggest human craftsmanship. It looked less like a structure that had been built and more like the stone itself had willingly reshaped into this form.
Magic.
That was the only explanation that made sense.
In fact, I was convinced the entire place had been shaped through magic. No mason could produce walls this flawless, and no chisel could leave behind surfaces this smooth.
As we ventured deeper, another sensation gradually settled over me. It wasn’t paranoia, but the unmistakable feeling of being watched, as though a pair of unseen eyes followed my every step, calmly observing every movement I made without the slightest attempt to hide their presence.
There was no doubt in my mind that the scrutiny belonged to the Archmage.
At regular intervals, massive pillars rose from the floor to support the ceiling above. Strange runes had been etched into their surfaces, each one pulsing with a faint violet glow that provided just enough light to guide our path without fully dispelling the darkness.
The deeper we walked, the more I noticed how restrained everything was.
The architecture was simple, clean, and almost unnaturally polished, with no elaborate carvings decorating the walls, no grand statues honoring forgotten kings, and no piles of treasure left on display to tempt intruders.
Nothing about the place resembled the lavish tombs or ancient ruins I had imagined. Instead, everything had been reduced to only what was necessary, giving the entire place a deliberate, purposeful, almost sterile atmosphere.
As though its creator had valued function over beauty, stripping away every unnecessary detail until only the essentials remained.
Along both sides of the corridor were recessed alcoves carved into the stone.
Most of them were empty.
The few that weren’t contained rusted weapons, shattered suits of armor, and piles of bones that had long since collapsed into dusty heaps.
I slowed my pace for a moment, letting my eyes pass over them.
Judging from the varying sizes and shapes of the skeletons, they hadn’t all belonged to goblins that the archmage claimed she had killed.
Some were noticeably larger. Others possessed skulls and skeletal structures unlike anything I’d seen among the races native to this world.
They had all met the same end.
I glanced around again. Then said to the fox on my shoulder.
"There’s no treasure, Ariel."
Ariel flicked her tail lazily. "I said there might be treasure. Not that there definitely would be."
I let out a quiet sigh.
"And even if the Archmage has treasure..." she continued. "...he probably wouldn’t leave it lying around for anyone who wandered in to find."
I smirked.
"But most powerful beings enjoy showing off. They build enormous halls, decorate them with priceless artifacts, and make sure every visitor knows how important they are."
Ariel snorted.
"Obvious this Archmage isn’t one of them."
The corridor eventually branched into several passages, each marked by a different rune carved into the archway above.
I glanced from one passage to another.
Each rune was different, almost as though they were labels indicating where each corridor led.
The further we walked, the more the place reminded me of an underground academy or a vast research facility rather than a burial site.
Everything had its place, and every corridor, pillar, and chamber felt deliberately designed for a purpose instead of decoration.
What struck me most, however, was how perfectly preserved the structure was. Despite its apparent age, there wasn’t the slightest sign of deterioration. The ceilings were free of cracks, the walls hadn’t weathered with time, and not a single root had forced its way through the stone. It was as though the entire passage had been frozen in time, preserved for centuries by an incredibly powerful enchantment.
As we rounded another corner, the corridor opened into a wide chamber, causing me to instinctively slow my pace. Lining both sides of the room were dozens of undead knights, each standing perfectly still with their swords planted before them like silent sentinels awaiting orders. The sight immediately put me on edge, but after watching them for a few moments, I noticed something unusual. Unlike the knight leading us, these ones lacked the faint purple wisps flowing through their bodies.
Their eye sockets were empty, lacking the eerie glow and oppressive aura of the undead knight leading us. They looked like nothing more than lifeless shells standing at attention, giving every impression of being inactive... at least, that was what I hoped.
Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to lower my guard. My eyes swept across the chamber, silently counting the rows of motionless undead knights, and I couldn’t help asking myself a troubling question:
If every single one of them awakened at once, would I actually be able to deal with them?