Serafina didn't even look up.
As a second-rank swordsman, she could already manipulate her Sword Qi at will.
The sharp Sword Qi twisted instantly, turning into several razor-sharp air blades that shredded the skeletal lizards attacking from above.
In the darkness ahead, more undead lizards swarmed out—dense, squashed together, and piling on top of one another as they flooded the corridor.
"A sea of monsters tactic?"
Serafina raised her sword over her shoulder, her red hair brushing past her eyes.
"Now things are getting interesting."
Remel was on the other side, gripping his bone sword with both hands.
Swoosh!
Sword Qi tore through the bones. The two of them—one silver, one red—were like phantoms at the front of the group, continuously grinding down the surging skeletal lizards.
One was a second-rank swordsman, the other a peak first-rank swordsman.
By the time all the undead lizards were slain, the ground was covered in small bone fragments—special materials dropped by the skeletal lizards.
While the small bone fragments of skeletal lizards were worth less than those of undead lizardmen, the sheer quantity made for a decent profit.
It served as a partial recovery of their losses.
Isolde returned to the very front of the formation. Once the fallen bone fragments were collected, the group continued their exploration toward the end of the ruins.
This time, they encountered no more monsters until they reached the end.
At the end of the ruins stood a circular relief.
The relief seemed to depict burning flames. At the center of the flames was an embedded iron sphere.
The iron sphere was exquisitely hollowed out, and within its center, a flame was imprisoned, burning out of thin air.
Below the relief was a rectangular ancient stone pedestal with a copper treasure chest sitting on top.
A line of ancient text was inscribed on the pedestal.
The group looked at Leoward in silent agreement. Having a mage in the team really made things much more convenient.
"The first: The forbidden fire, sealed within the Well of Eternal Imprisonment."
"Forbidden Fire."
As Leoward finished reading, the flame relief behind the treasure chest suddenly lit up.
The flame contained within the iron sphere flared up as if in response.
Startled, the group immediately went on high alert.
But after a moment, the flame subsided and retracted into the iron sphere, and the relief returned to its previous state.
"Forbidden Fire... was the content carved on the walls earlier about this Forbidden Fire?"
"Does this relief also depict the Forbidden Fire?"
The group looked at the relief, and soon their eyes felt dry and hot. It seemed that even a sculpture describing the Forbidden Fire was difficult to look at directly.
Serafina narrowed her eyes and reached out to take the hollow iron sphere from the center of the relief.
However, her fingers passed right through it.
"It has no physical form?"
Serafina withdrew her hand, only to find a flame mark had appeared on the back of it.
"What is this?"
She tried to rub the back of her hand, but found it wouldn't come off at all.
"It seems to be a Blessing Mark," Caspar, the priest, spoke up.
"A Blessing Mark is an ability similar to a divine gift."
"All priests can use holy arts because they serve a god and receive their gifts."
"A Blessing Mark is similar. With this flame Blessing Mark, you can use the power of fire."
As Caspar spoke, he pointed to the center of the Forbidden Fire relief.
The burning flame within the hollow iron sphere had now vanished.
"Furthermore, since this flame Blessing Mark appeared here, it's very likely related to that sealed Forbidden Fire."
Forbidden Fire.
Everyone felt a jolt in their hearts. The forbidden flame sealed in the Well of Eternal Imprisonment recorded in these ruins.
Finding clues related to the Forbidden Fire here didn't seem strange at all.
"Could the Forbidden Fire be the ultimate treasure at the bottom of this dungeon?" Remel asked, feeling a bit tempted.
Now that a clue had appeared, did it mean they were close to the bottom of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment?
That Forbidden Fire, which symbolized destruction, and this dungeon itself...
He might even have a chance to obtain one.
"...Most likely not."
"The strangeness and depth of this dungeon might exceed all our expectations," the mage Leoward said.
According to the descriptions carved on the stone walls, the Forbidden Fire that symbolized destruction was only 'the first' of what was sealed within the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
This Well of Eternal Imprisonment seemed to imprison and seal away even more taboos.
Leoward’s heart trembled violently as he mentally pushed his estimation of the dungeon's depth higher and higher.
But the limit of his knowledge was a medium-scale dungeon.
This Well of Eternal Imprisonment might very well be a medium-scale dungeon with more than 30 floors.
"Leoward?"
It wasn't until someone called him out of his trembling thoughts that Leoward snapped back to reality.
"Sorry."
He took out a pen and notebook and began to record the ancient text and images seen in these ruins.
"Let’s open the treasure chest first. The loot will be distributed as agreed," Serafina said, looking at the chest.
"But since I've already received a Blessing Mark, I'll opt out of the distribution this time."
No one had any objections to Serafina’s proposal.
The treasure chest was slowly opened. Amidst the glow of treasure, the items inside had been sleeping for ages.
The bottom of the chest was lined with wood coins and copper coins from the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
There were also seven incredibly precious magic crystal coins.
Magic crystal coins could be exchanged with monster merchants for extremely valuable information and treasures.
Their intrinsic value was also exceptionally high.
On top of the dungeon currency lay an arrow with a crescent-shaped tip, radiating an astonishing amount of mana.
"A magical artifact!"
Everyone let out an involuntary exclamation.
The value of a magical artifact was unquestionable; this was a true treasure.
As expected of a ruin treasure chest!
It easily yielded treasures that other chests couldn't!
Just this single arrow alone made their trip profitable.
Of course, no one would sell a magical artifact.
Even retired adventurers wouldn't sell one unless they were in dire straits or desperate for money.
Instead, they would treat it as a family heirloom to be passed down through generations.
This was true for everyone, from the Grey family down to the common citizens of Gray City.
Serafina took out all the treasures from the chest and began to organize the distribution.
The Crescent Arrow was given to Leoward.
Paired with a crossbow, even in close quarters, Leoward would have a chance to defend himself as a mage.
The remaining dungeon coins were divided equally among the rest of the team members.
Remel’s portion was also distributed according to their previous agreement.
This was only a temporary distribution to maximize their current effectiveness. Once they left the dungeon, the total harvest would be averaged out and distributed fairly.
No matter how good the relationships within the team were, the distribution had to be equal and fair.
Afterward, Leoward spent some time making rubbings of the important information on the stone walls.
Forbidden Fire.
The Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
Just how many secrets and taboos did this dungeon hide?
Rate on N.U.
