Hidden Motives

As if sensing Matthew's gaze, Barton turned his head and offered Matthew a slightly respectful smile. The smile was not ostentatious, and was even a bit reserved, but it carried the caution and slickness unique to a veteran grave robber. It was neither sycophantic nor offensive.

Seeing this, Matthew also nodded slightly in return. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion rising in his heart.

“It seems... grave robbing really does have a bright future.”

At this thought, Matthew felt a bit amused. Just before today, he was still just an ordinary apprentice who had to budget carefully for a few magic stones. But now, not long after entering a single tomb, the resources he had obtained already far exceeded his usual accumulation over several months.

This efficiency... was simply staggering.

However, Matthew did not develop any blind confidence because of this. He was actually very clear in his mind. What was truly valuable was never "grave robbing" itself. It was information.

The location of the tomb, the identity of the tomb owner, the internal structure, the danger level, and the distribution of traps. These things were the core that truly determined the gains. Without Sutton knowing the location in advance and spending time researching the relevant information, they wouldn't have even been able to find the entrance to the tomb, let alone smoothly entering the interior and obtaining spoils like they were doing now.

In other words, what was truly valuable was not "entering the tomb." Rather, it was—‘knowing where the tombs are.’

At this thought, Matthew's understanding of the value of information deepened significantly.

The passage continued to extend downward. The surroundings became increasingly damp, and a few water stains even began to appear on the stone walls. The cold, damp air also gradually grew heavier.

But as they walked, an indescribable sense of strangeness suddenly welled up in Matthew's heart—an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

He frowned slightly, his gaze carefully scanning his surroundings. The curvature of the walls, the slight tilt of the ground, the peculiar arrangement of certain stone bricks, and the structural marks left at the turns of the passage... All of this gave him a faint, lingering sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Matthew's pace involuntarily slowed down as he began to search his memory. Suddenly, his pupils contracted slightly. Deep in his mind, the outline of a slightly old map suddenly surfaced—the map he had obtained from Nathan's wife and daughter!

The complex, twisted lines on the map, the marked transition nodes, and the areas deliberately circled with special symbols... At this moment, they overlapped piece by piece with the structure of the passage before his eyes.

Matthew's breath caught instantly, and his heart seemed to skip a beat. “Could it be...” An astonishing guess rapidly took shape in his mind.

If the place depicted on that map really was this tomb, then its value was probably far more exaggerated than he had previously imagined. Because it was no longer just a "roadmap." It was a real key leading to the core of the tomb!

At this thought, Matthew felt a sudden rush of heat surge to his scalp, and even his fingertips tingled slightly.

And in the next moment, just as the map had marked, a fork slowly appeared in the passage ahead.

The left passage was deep and winding, seemingly leading into some endless darkness. Meanwhile, the right passage was relatively straight, and one could even faintly sense a denser energy fluctuation slowly spreading out from within.

Seeing this scene, the last shred of doubt in Matthew's heart completely dissipated. The map... was real!

At the same time, information regarding this fork also instantly surfaced in his mind.

The left was an illusion maze, filled with misleading structures and mental interference spells. Once inside, one would constantly lose their sense of direction, wasting a large amount of time and Spirit. And most importantly—there were no truly important treasures there at all. Its sole purpose of existence was to confuse and delay intruders.

The truly correct path was the right one. That was the route leading to the main burial chamber and several important treasure areas.

At this thought, Matthew couldn't help but complain inwardly, “This tomb owner... is really sinister.”

It was clearly just the periphery of the tomb, yet such a complex, misleading structure had already been laid out. But on second thought, the other party was, after all, a Fifth-Grade Apprentice who excelled in earth-attribute construction and trap placement, so it didn't seem strange for him to design such a highly deceptive tomb structure.

And just then, Matthew suddenly realized a problem—should he warn them?

His eyes flickered slightly, and his lips twitched subconsciously. But in the end, he swallowed those words back down.

The reason was actually very simple. First, although the maze was troublesome, it was not fatal. With Herbert and Sutton's strength, even if they accidentally entered it, they would at most only waste some time. As long as they realized something was wrong, they would eventually be able to back out.

Second, and more importantly, if he precisely pointed out the correct path now, it would be equivalent to exposing that he possessed information about the tomb that far exceeded the team's knowledge. And this map—was currently one of his greatest trump cards. If the map's contents were completely accurate, it meant that he not only knew the correct route, but might also know the distribution of subsequent traps, secret rooms, and treasures. This kind of informational advantage was simply of inestimable value during a tomb exploration. Sometimes, it was even more important than strength itself.

At this thought, Matthew ultimately chose to remain silent.

However, just as he was rapidly weighing his options in his mind— “Wait a moment.” A low voice suddenly broke the silence in the passage. It was Sutton.

He was seen slowly coming to a halt, then drawing an ancient parchment scroll from his breast pocket. As soon as the scroll appeared, a faint wave of mana immediately rippled through the air, and Matthew's gaze was instantly drawn to it.

He saw that the surface of the parchment was covered with a large number of complex, mysterious runes drawn in dark red ink. Those runes writhed slowly like living things, faintly emitting an aura of restriction, oath, and even a hint of spiritual oppression.

Herbert merely cast a flat glance at it, but his expression was not at all surprised. Clearly, he had long known that Sutton possessed such an item. Matthew quickly suppressed the turbulence in his heart caused by the map, focusing his attention on the scroll.

“A Soul Covenant Scroll,” Sutton said, slowly unfurling the parchment. The dark red runes immediately began to flow like blood as his single eye slowly swept over Matthew and Herbert.

“It has an extremely strong binding force on anyone below the rank of Official Wizard. The rules are very simple: during the exploration, we must not attack each other to the death. All spoils must be disclosed on the spot and distributed fairly according to the contract; no private hoarding is allowed. Once we leave the tomb, the contract is automatically dissolved.”

Having said this, Sutton paused slightly, then added in a deep tone, “This is to prevent anyone from fighting among themselves out of greed. It also avoids subsequent distribution disputes.”

After hearing this, Matthew's first reaction was actually to breathe a sigh of relief. Because he was very clear that in such a dangerous environment, the most terrifying thing was never necessarily the traps and monsters. It was people—especially in the face of self-interest.

With this contract, at least during the exploration, his safety as the weakest member would be greatly guaranteed. Furthermore, regarding the terms of the contract, Matthew actually had absolutely no objections. It could even be said—it was exactly what he wanted.

At the same time, his gaze couldn't help but fall upon the scroll once more. Deep in his eyes, a trace of eagerness faintly surfaced. This kind of contract item... was simply the most ideal security item for an adventure team. If he could obtain one in the future, whether exploring ruins or forming temporary teams, he would be much safer.

On the other side, Herbert remained silent for a moment. His calm eyes lingered on the contract terms for a long time, clearly weighing his options as well.

The harvest from this trip had already far exceeded expectations, and the dangers deeper within the tomb would clearly only grow higher. Without cooperation, it would be difficult for a single person to go very far. Moreover, having the contract's constraints would at least guarantee that Sutton and Matthew wouldn't backstab him at a critical moment. As for the distribution of treasures... based on the gains he had already obtained, it was not unacceptable.

Finally, Herbert nodded. “Agreed.” It was still just a single word—concise, direct, yet it signified his agreement.

Seeing Herbert agree, an imperceptible glint flashed deep within Sutton's single eye. In fact, what he truly cared about most on this trip was not those general resources. Rather, it was a "specific item." Because of this, he had to lock down the distribution rules in advance using the contract. Only in this way, when they truly found that item, could he rightfully claim priority based on the terms of the contract.

...