Chapter 14: The Path Beneath the Ruins
The eastern road, usually crowded with students at this hour, had fallen eerily silent.
Only hurried footsteps and the distant toll of emergency bells disturbed the night as Kael followed Vice Principal Aldren through the academy grounds. Around them, instructors directed frightened students toward the shelters while squads of guards rushed to reinforce the shattered eastern wall.
Beyond the city, a pillar of pale blue light pierced the sky, bathing the clouds in an otherworldly glow. It was beautiful in a way that made Kael uneasy.
No one spoke during the march.
Even Garrick, whose confidence rarely wavered, kept his eyes fixed on the distant light.
When they reached the eastern watchtower, Kael finally understood why the alarm had spread through the academy so quickly.
The earth itself had split open.
A massive fissure cut through the hillside, exposing an ancient staircase that descended into darkness. Time had worn the stone smooth, yet every step remained perfectly intact, as though someone had expected visitors to return one day.
A faint blue mist drifted upward from below.
The mana surrounding it felt unlike anything Kael had encountered before. It wasn’t violent like the energy inside a dungeon, nor was it refined like the academy’s workshops.
It felt ancient.
Almost... alive.
A familiar chime echoed inside his mind.
Ding.
[Location Discovered]
Forgotten Builder’s Passage
Status: Sealed for 187 Years
Danger Level: Unknown
Kael silently reread the notification.
One hundred and eighty-seven years...
Whatever lay beneath Oakhaven had remained hidden for generations.
Beside him, Aldren stared into the darkness with an expression Kael had never seen before.
"So the stories were true..."
A few steps away, Master Dorian crouched beside a weathered stone pillar half buried beneath loose rubble. Brushing away layers of dust, he revealed a line of faded symbols carved deep into the rock.
Garrick stepped closer.
"Can you read it?"
"Only fragments," Dorian admitted.
His fingers traced the ancient markings with surprising care before he quietly translated them.
"’Only those who create... may inherit.’"
The words lingered in the cold air.
Kael looked toward the endless staircase.
Create.
Not conquer.
Not rule.
Create.
For some reason, those words resonated with him more deeply than they should have.
Before anyone could move, another tremor shook the hillside.
Loose stones tumbled into the fissure.
Then came the sound.
Heavy footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Each impact echoed through the passage like the strike of a giant hammer.
The academy guards immediately raised their weapons.
"Defensive formation!"
Mana circles flared to life as spells gathered around drawn blades and polished staffs.
Something enormous emerged from the blue mist.
At first glance, it resembled a knight.
Its armor was ancient, scarred by countless battles and stained with rust, yet thin veins of golden light still pulsed beneath the cracked metal. Blue flames burned where eyes should have been, giving the silent figure an unsettling presence.
Resting across one shoulder was a forge hammer so large that an ordinary man couldn’t have lifted it with both hands.
Kael instinctively activated his System.
[Analysis Complete]
Ancient Forge Sentinel
Classification: Guardian Construct
Level: ???
Weakness: Unable to Analyze
Warning: Target exceeds current evaluation limit.
Kael’s expression hardened.
It was the first time the System had failed to estimate an opponent’s strength.
The Sentinel continued climbing until it reached the middle of the staircase.
Then it stopped.
The blue flames within its helmet slowly swept across the gathered group.
Aldren.
Garrick.
Master Dorian.
The academy guards.
Finally...
Its gaze settled on Kael.
The world seemed to grow strangely quiet.
Without moving its head, the construct spoke.
The language was unlike anything Kael had ever heard, deep and metallic, every syllable resonating through the air like steel striking an anvil.
The others exchanged confused glances.
They clearly understood nothing.
Yet inside Kael’s mind, the System translated every word.
[Translation Complete]
Successor Candidate Detected.
Commencing Qualification Trial.
For the first time since leaving the academy, Kael felt a chill run down his spine.
The Sentinel slowly lowered its colossal hammer.
Behind him, several guards tightened their grip on their weapons.
Aldren stepped forward without hesitation.
"Stay behind me."
Kael didn’t answer.
His eyes never left the ancient guardian.
Instinct told him something important.
The Sentinel wasn’t looking at him as an enemy.
It was looking at him...
As someone who had come to claim an inheritance.
To Be Continued...
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