Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2041: Michael’s Potential

After Michael left, Luca gathered the unconscious bodies of Leah and the elf — whose name he did not know and did not bother to know — and administered basic first aid.

He was not as skilled as Adam, but he knew the basic steps to stop the bleeding and apply bandages. He carefully wrapped their wounds, tightened the cloth around the worst injuries, and made sure neither of them was in immediate danger.

As he helped them, his mind drifted toward the end of their battle with the spider monster.

I was right to pass the responsibility to kill the monster to Michael, he thought.

His footwork and sword skills are quite decent for someone who has not had proper training.

Hmm, I remember he said he spent almost all of his life in Davos. He did claim that he’s never had a trainer. No wonder he’s so rough around the edges.

But even then, his skills with the blade are really something. And I think even he does not know it yet. Or else, he wouldn’t be so timid.

He has potential. He only needs a lot of experience to gain confidence. If he were to be properly trained with the sword...

Luca thought about it for a while, but he couldn’t come to a conclusion. He shook his head and sighed.

I’ll see after we escape this secret plane, he wondered.

If he’s willing, I don’t mind him squiring for me in my travels.

Once he was satisfied that Leah and Dell were stable, Luca finally turned his attention toward the basement.

The massive cavern was so silent now. Only the occasional sound of dripping water echoed through the red-hued space.

He rose to his feet and began studying his surroundings with his piercing grey eyes.

The basement was far larger than he had initially realized. Its walls were made of rough stone, but scattered across them were strange marks that appeared to have been carved into the rock.

Some resembled ancient symbols, while others looked like scratches.

Luca approached one of the walls and ran his fingers over the markings. They were old. Very old. Some sections of the stone had been damaged, as if something enormous had repeatedly struck the walls.

His gaze then shifted toward the ground. There were several deep grooves running across the stone floor. They stretched from one side of the cavern to another, disappearing beneath piles of rubble.

Whatever had happened here had left behind traces of a violent struggle. And no, these weren’t the product of the battle that just took place.

Luca couldn’t help but frown. He also found patches of dried blood scattered across the floor. Most of it had already turned dark. Some of the blood appeared to belong to the monster. But not all of it.

His expression became serious as he continued examining the cavern until his gaze eventually returned to the corpse of the monster.

The creature’s enormous body lay motionless on the ground. Luca approached it cautiously. Even dead, the monster looked grotesque and radiated a sense of danger.

He crouched beside it and studied the flesh, the limbs, the strange eyes, and the unnatural structure of its body.

”What a strange mutation...”

He had encountered many monsters during his travels, but he had never seen anything quite like this.

The creature was not simply a beast. There was something fundamentally unnatural about its body. Its human and spider-like parts appeared to have fused together perfectly, as though they had been that way from birth.

He was right, Luca thought.

All the monsters here were indeed once humans. They were cursed. But there’s one thing I don’t understand...

Luca’s brows furrowed slightly.

How is he so sure that a devil is behind this?

Adam had always been vague about his reasoning, but he was quite sure about it. So Luca had no choice but to believe him — albeit with a grain of salt.

He began carefully examining the monster’s wounds. The damage caused by Michael’s attack was severe, but the creature’s body had clearly possessed extraordinary durability.

The sword strike was swift and precise, Luca thought, nodding his head in approval.

He remained silent for several moments. Gradually, his eyes narrowed. Something was bothering him. He slowly looked toward the place where they had encountered the monster.

The ground there was different.

At first, he had assumed it was simply another section of the cavern floor. But now that he was looking more carefully, he noticed something strange.

There was a circular depression in the stone.

”Hmm.” Luca’s lips curled into an expectant smile as he walked toward it.

He crouched down and brushed away the dirt and loose stones covering the surface. His fingers suddenly stopped. There was something beneath the ground.

Luca carefully cleared away more of the dirt. A faint metallic surface appeared beneath it.

”As I thought.”

He continued digging, careful not to set off any traps. The object was buried deep beneath the ground, directly beneath the place where the monster had been occupying.

And whatever it was, it clearly had not been placed there naturally.

The sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor, growing louder with every passing moment. Luca didn’t turn toward it. Instead, he stared at the exposed surface in silence. For some reason, a strange sense of anticipation settled over him.

What is that vampire scheming? he thought.

To guide us to the two temples that hold great importance to this land...

Luca looked at the circular depression on the ground. The spider monster had not simply been living here. It had been guarding something. And that something lay further underground.

”Finished dealing with the traitor?” Luca asked without turning.

”...Yes.” Michael nodded, a complicated look on his face.

”Good,” Luca said. ”Follow me.”

”Eh? Are we finally leaving this place?”

”No.” Luca shook his head as he pressed several points on the metallic surface beneath his feet.

”We’re heading deeper.”

Click!

A faint click echoed in the chamber.

Under Michael’s dumbfounded gaze, the small area beneath Luca’s feet slowly parted to the side. A few moments later, a staircase descending into the darkness below became visible to the pair.

Michael’s eyes widened. ”What’s that?!”

”Let us find out.”

With that said, Luca descended the stairs.