Open!

At the same time, Matthew had no idea that Sutton had already noticed him.

What Matthew was currently exploring was already the third hidden chamber he had found. The location of this chamber wasn't particularly conspicuous; the entrance was hidden behind a partially collapsed stone wall. Had he not been guided by the map, he probably would have walked right past it like everyone else, completely unaware of its existence.

With that thought, Matthew followed suit and performed the technique Herbert had used.

A moment later, when the stone door opened, a puff of stale dust blew into his face. The air inside was incredibly stifling, as if it had been sealed for many years; even the glow emitted by the cold-light stone seemed somewhat dim.

However, Matthew's mood wasn't heavy. On the contrary, his breathing eased slightly at that moment.

A third hidden chamber. This was already the third one.

From the moment he entered this tomb until now, although Matthew had maintained a low profile, the items he had actually obtained far exceeded his original expectations. In the first two hidden chambers, he had consecutively searched out quite a few magic stones and several materials that could be sold for a good price. Now, before this third chamber was even completely cleared, the leather pouch at his waist was already heavy, and he could even hear the faint clinking of magic stones inside as he moved.

The sound wasn't loud, but it made his heart race with excitement. Every clink served as a reminder: these things were now his.

While he was exploring the third hidden chamber, the commotion outside never stopped. Harvests from the others were frequently reported; from time to time, he could hear someone in the distance exclaiming in a low voice, or the dull thud of someone moving a stone box or prying open a hidden compartment.

According to a few scattered conversations Matthew heard later, eight of the hidden chambers distributed around the burial chamber had already been explored.

Eight. This number made Matthew's heart stir slightly.

He had originally thought that if time permitted after clearing the third chamber, he might look for a fourth entrance. But as soon as that thought surfaced, he quickly suppressed it.

He couldn't be too greedy.

Matthew looked down at the bulging leather pouch at his waist, the heat in his eyes gradually suppressed by cold logic. His strength wasn't the greatest here; in fact, he was far from being able to ignore the others.

Being able to find three hidden chambers in a row was already a massive harvest. If he continued searching and happened to find a fourth, he would have more items, but the way others looked at him would change as well.

In a place like this, wealth itself was a form of danger. Especially deep within a tomb surrounded by unknown mechanisms, traps, and residual mana fluctuations, no one could guarantee what would happen in the next moment. If someone grew greedy, even a small action could turn the situation extremely ugly.

Matthew was unwilling to stake his safety on the restraint of others.

Furthermore, people like Sutton, having made it all the way here, inevitably carried some unknown trump cards. Even if he wouldn't necessarily move against Matthew now, who knew if he had something that could restrict, guard against, or even wear down the effects of demonized items?

Such a possibility might be low—so low that a normal person wouldn't even think twice about it. But Matthew refused to ignore it.

That was just his personality; the greater the harvest, the deeper he thought about the dangers. Because before the items were in hand, danger was just danger; after they were in hand, danger became a reason in the eyes of others.

Besides, with eight hidden chambers already explored, even if there were more left, he might not be the one to find them. Rather than continuing to risk competing with others for an uncertain chance, it was better to firmly secure what he had already gained.

With this thought, the heat in Matthew's heart finally subsided.

He was no longer in a hurry to find a new entrance. Instead, he refocused his attention on the third hidden chamber before him.

This chamber wasn't very large. Several stone platforms were arranged around it, covered in a thick layer of dust. Some wooden boxes had long since rotted away, leaving only blackened fragments piled in the corners. Matthew didn't lower his guard just because the exterior looked dilapidated; he inspected everything bit by bit, first using a short staff to brush away the dust and confirming there was no residual mana before carefully opening the stone boxes that could still be opened one by one.

In the first stone box, there were more than twenty ordinary magic stones. The quality wasn't particularly good, but the quantity was significant. The surfaces of the magic stones were covered in a layer of dust; as Matthew reached out to wipe it away, his fingertips could feel a weak but steady energy fluctuation, like embers that hadn't yet gone out, lying quietly in his palm.

In the second stone box, besides a few materials that had lost their spirituality, there was also a medium-quality magic stone with a slightly deeper color. Seeing that magic stone, Matthew's eyes visibly brightened.

The value of a medium-quality magic stone was not something an ordinary magic stone could easily compare to. Even just one was enough to tempt a low-level apprentice.

The third hidden compartment was tucked deeper, located at the bottom of a stone platform near a corner. Had Matthew not tapped repeatedly and heard a slightly hollow sound, he might have actually been fooled. After the compartment was opened, there were no demonized items inside, nor were there the expected scrolls or potions; there was only a small bag of cleanly sealed magic stones.

Matthew poured the magic stones into his palm and counted for a moment; the corners of his mouth finally couldn't help but lift slightly.

Another thirty-seven stones.

When this hidden chamber was completely explored, he reorganized all his items and roughly calculated his current net worth.

Counting only the harvest from these three hidden chambers, he had a total of one hundred and sixteen ordinary magic stones and three medium-quality magic stones. If he also counted the two medium-quality and thirty ordinary magic stones allocated earlier, he now carried one hundred and forty-six ordinary magic stones and five medium-quality magic stones.

When this number surfaced in his mind, Matthew's heart skipped a beat.

One hundred and forty-six ordinary magic stones. Five medium-quality magic stones. Plus the dark-silver metal plates he had obtained earlier and the ring that could truly be called a demonized item.

Such a fortune, for an apprentice who hadn't truly established himself yet, could no longer be described simply as "not bad."

It was practically a windfall.

Matthew tightened the leather pouch again, his fingers lingering on the opening for a moment, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. He tried his best to maintain a calm expression, but the excitement churning in his chest simply couldn't be suppressed.

Was this the harvest of exploring ruins? No wonder so many apprentices would flock to tombs, ruins, and ancient laboratories despite knowing the heavy dangers. One could indeed die inside—die silently, with even their bones never being found. But as long as one walked out alive once, the gains were enough to change one's circumstances for a long time.

However, after the excitement, Matthew quickly calmed down again.

Although there were many magic stones in these three hidden chambers, there wasn't a single demonized item in the truest sense. This realization made him feel a bit of regret amidst his excitement.

It seemed that being able to get that goat demon's ring earlier was indeed incredibly lucky.

Magic stones were precious, but they were ultimately consumables—resources used for cultivation, trading, and replenishing mana. Demonized items were different; those things could often change the course of a battle or even save a life at a critical moment. Especially for an apprentice whose strength wasn't yet great enough, a suitable demonized item was sometimes worth far more than dozens of ordinary magic stones.

Thinking of that ring, Matthew's eyes flickered slightly. He realized more and more how much luck he had stumbled upon earlier. Because of this, he couldn't afford to be greedy now. Luck wasn't something that would always stay by the same person's side.

Matthew took a deep breath, tucked the last few salvageable materials from the hidden chamber into his bag, and then carefully checked the surroundings one last time. After confirming nothing was missed, he prepared to leave.

But just as he turned around—

A dull, heavy roar suddenly echoed from outside.

The sound didn't resemble ordinary falling rocks; it was more like a heavy mechanism being forced open, or a massive stone slab being shoved from its original position after a long period of being sealed. The entire hidden chamber shook slightly, and dust rustled down from the ceiling, landing on Matthew's shoulders and hair.

Matthew's pupils shrank abruptly.

His first reaction wasn't to cry out or hesitate, but to immediately grip his short staff and retreat toward the entrance of the hidden chamber.

Something happened! Had someone triggered a trap? Or stumbled upon a mechanism? Or was it an issue with the central sarcophagus?

As soon as this thought surfaced, a chill ran down Matthew's back. He didn't delay any further, stepping out of the hidden chamber and quickly returning to the main burial chamber outside.

By this time, almost everyone outside had stopped what they were doing. The apprentices who had been searching for hidden compartments, inventorying their harvests, or talking in low voices were all frozen in place. Someone was still holding a newly retrieved magic stone, but their fingertips seemed to have lost all strength, failing to pull it back; another was half-crouched by a stone platform, maintaining a searching posture, but the expression on their face was completely frozen. Another person instinctively took half a step back, their foot scraping against the ground with a short, sharp sound that was particularly jarring in the sudden silence.

Sutton's single eye narrowed sharply, the look of ease on his face long gone. Heppte had also stopped not far away, his normally calm expression finally shifting. His gaze was fixed on the center of the burial chamber, his lips pressed tight as if he had seen something that shouldn't have appeared at this moment.

The expressions of the others were even worse. Shock, confusion, fear, and wariness were all mixed on their faces, yet no one dared to approach.

Matthew followed everyone's gaze. In the next moment, his heart sank heavily.

In the center of the burial chamber, the massive sarcophagus that no one had dared to touch was actually changing. The lid, which had been seamlessly fitted onto the sarcophagus body, had somehow shifted, revealing a gap.

It was only a narrow gap. But that single gap caused the atmosphere in the entire main burial chamber to change instantly.

The sarcophagus was too large and too heavy. When everyone first entered, they could tell it wasn't something that could be easily moved. The lid and the body were fitted extremely tightly, and some dried, blackened traces of seals could even be seen on the edges, as if someone had specifically used certain means to lock whatever was inside firmly away.

But now, it had opened on its own.

No one had approached it, and no one had touched it. That gap appeared so abruptly before everyone's eyes, as if something inside the sarcophagus was slowly waking up from a long slumber.

Matthew's fingers tightened around his short staff, a slight sting coming from his knuckles before he realized he was using too much force. But he didn't let go; instead, he gripped it even more steadily, staring at the sarcophagus without blinking.

An indescribable, cold aura was slowly seeping out from the gap in the lid. The aura didn't feel like ordinary cold; it was more like something mixed with decay, malice, and residual mana. The moment it appeared, it made everyone's chests feel tight. The cold-light stones in the burial chamber, which had been stable, flickered a few times, the light turning dim and bright intermittently, casting everyone's shadows in distorted and eerie shapes.

Someone couldn't help but swallow hard. The sound was faint, but it was exceptionally clear in the burial chamber that was now silent to the point of death.

“Didn't we say... not to touch the central sarcophagus yet?” Herbert whispered, his voice carrying a noticeable tremor.

No one answered him. Because everyone knew that the problem wasn't whether anyone had touched it, but why it had opened on its own.

Sutton's expression was terrifyingly dark. The usual ruthlessness and composure in his single eye were suppressed, replaced by a profound wariness. He slowly raised his hand, signaling the people behind him not to move, his voice much lower than usual.

“Everyone, back up. Don't get close.”

As soon as those words were spoken, the crowd finally seemed to react, shifting backward one after another. Yet no one dared to turn and run; everyone was afraid that the moment they turned their backs, something would suddenly crawl out of that sarcophagus.

Heppte's gaze remained fixed on the sarcophagus, his face showing no hint of ease, his breathing kept very low.

Matthew noticed this, and his heart sank even further. For even Heppte to react this way meant that the change before them was definitely not as simple as a normal mechanism.

In the next moment, a very light scraping sound suddenly came from the gap.

It sounded like dry bone hitting stone, or like something that had been asleep for a long time finally moving in the darkness.

Everyone's nerves tightened instantly. Matthew's back was already damp with a thin layer of cold sweat, but his eyes became even calmer. He didn't continue standing at the very front; instead, he inconspicuously took half a step to the side, positioning himself behind a stone pillar.

He knew very well that now was not the time to act tough. If something really came out of the sarcophagus, the first to suffer would be those standing at the very front. What he needed to do was not rush forward to prove himself, but to survive.

...

...