Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

CH726 Uncharted

***

As expected, the majority of the Crypt Spiders occupied the ground and second floors.

Thanks to the radiant solar glow surrounding the pairs assigned to those levels, the spiders aggressively attacked on sight—either because they could not tolerate the light or because they simply couldn’t ignore prey that had willingly wandered into their nest.

The upper floors, on the other hand, were relatively free of spiders. Only a handful of weakened stragglers prowled the corridors, and they were swiftly dealt with.

As such, the teams assigned to the upper floors spent more time navigating through collapsed sections and debris than actually fighting.

Alex and Saul moved cautiously along the fourth floor’s main corridor before eventually finding their path completely blocked by fallen rubble.

”It can’t be moved safely. Let’s find another route.” Saul said.

Either of them could have blasted the debris apart with brute force or a spell. However, doing so risked collapsing not just that section of the floor, but potentially the entire castle structure itself.

There was no need to take such a risk yet.

”Look here.” Alex pointed towards part of the rubble. ”This section is loose. Rooms in castles like this are usually adjoining. If we can enter through this room, we should be able to bypass the blockage from inside.”

”Worth trying.” Saul nodded.

The two worked together to shift enough loose debris aside to squeeze into the adjoining room.

Unfortunately, contrary to Alex’s expectations, the connecting doorway inside had also collapsed beneath a pile of rubble.

Compared to the surrounding walls, the doorway naturally formed the weakest structural point, so most of the collapse had funnelled directly through it.

”The windows.” Saul suddenly called out.

Alex followed his gaze and saw the man studying the exterior ledges beyond the shattered windows.

”We can move along the ledges.” Saul suggested.

Alex nodded in agreement.

The two men climbed carefully out through the windows and onto the narrow stone ledges running along the castle’s outer walls.

Balancing carefully, they edged their way along the exterior before leaping across a short gap towards the next window ledge.

Saul peered into the adjoining room and immediately frowned.

”The roof over this room has completely collapsed. We’ll need to keep moving along the outside.” He said.

”Alright.” Alex nodded.

What followed was a rather dangerous combination of ledge climbing and rooftop parkour that reminded Alex far too much of a video game from his previous life... one whose protagonist happened to share the same name as his father, Drake.

Alex waved his arms around after they finally climbed into another intact room, trying to restore feeling to them.

’How were those game protagonists—supposedly normal humans—able to pull off those kinds of stunts without tearing their arms apart?’ Alex wondered inwardly.

Then he shook his head.

’Well... they were game characters after all.’

The pair continued navigating through the ruined fourth floor, carefully making their way around collapsed corridors and unstable debris before eventually arriving at what appeared to be the master bedchamber.

Although much of the spacious room had collapsed inward on itself, it was still obvious that the chamber had once been decorated tastefully, yet without excessive extravagance.

’Not minimalistic exactly... more like a refined military-style décor.’ Alex mused. ’House Skywalker really does resemble House Fury more and more.’

Alex shook his head lightly, forcing his wandering thoughts back onto the task at hand.

’Saul said the Skywalker House Seal possesses a unique mana signature. In that case...’

Alex focused on the Spirit Sight ability of his Truth-Seeker Eyes and carefully scanned the room.

”There’s nothing here. Let’s search for the study instead.” He said after nearly half an hour of both physical and mana-based searching.

”Alright.” Saul nodded.

Another thirty minutes passed as the two carefully navigated through the heavily damaged upper floor before eventually arriving at what seemed to be the remnants of the Skywalker Patriarch’s office.

By then, Alex received a telepathic message from Senu informing him that she and the Rune Knights had successfully reached the castle.

The Rune Knights had regrouped with Mogal and Havel on the ground floor to continue clearing out the Crypt Spiders and locate the source of their infestation, while Senu maintained aerial surveillance around the city in case the surrounding berserk beasts were drawn towards the castle.

Within only a few minutes of searching the suspected office, Alex suddenly noticed several faint but unusual mana signatures hidden behind one of the inner walls.

’A hidden room?’ Alex thought immediately.

Unfortunately, the wall itself was buried beneath a large amount of heavy debris.

Since this was the first genuine lead they had found since entering the castle, the two finally decided to risk using force.

[Fireball]!

Alex cast the spell with careful control, using the resulting explosion to loosen the surrounding rubble without causing excessive structural damage.

Then he and Saul manually shifted aside the loosened debris until the concealed wall was finally revealed.

And embedded into that hidden wall was a powerful Sigil Formation—more specifically, a Talisman barrier.

’This formation seems familiar...’ Alex immediately thought as he examined the barrier.

A moment later, recognition flashed across his eyes.

’A Sword Prohibition talismanic structure?’

It was a talismanic barrier formation he had once studied within the Heavenly Venerable’s records.

The formation was a classic sigil-based defensive structure commonly used by Sword Sorcerers. While there were countless variations depending on the user’s sword path and personal swordsmanship, all such talismanic structures fundamentally operated on the same principles.

”An ancient barrier?” Saul frowned. ”This won’t be easy to bypass.”

”No. This is actually good for us.” Alex replied with a smile.

Under Saul’s puzzled stare, Alex stepped forward and placed his palm against the hidden wall, slowly injecting mana into the talismanic structure.

Several moments later, the sigils engraved into the barrier began changing and rearranging themselves.

Then, with a soft hum, the barrier opened.

”What did you just...? How did you do that?” Saul asked in stunned disbelief.

”It’s nothing.” Alex smiled casually. ”I just hacked through the encryption.”

He then gestured towards the now-open hidden passage.

”Shall we?”

Surprisingly, beyond the hidden entrance was not a room, but a staircase descending deeper underground.

Alex and Saul carefully followed the stairs downward.

It soon became obvious that the staircase extended far deeper than the four visible floors above ground.

Eventually, they arrived before another door positioned at a depth roughly equivalent to six underground floors.

The moment Alex opened the door, both he and Saul were assaulted by a nauseating wave of stale air thick with the pungent stench of rotting flesh and decay.

[Cleanse]!

Alex immediately cast the spell, purifying the air around them just before either of them could vomit.

”At least now we know why the Crypt Spiders were drawn here.” Alex muttered grimly.

”What is this place? A crypt?” Saul wondered aloud.

”Judging from the smell, this would be the perfect breeding ground for a Crypt Spider nest.” Alex replied.

Saul immediately understood the implication and drew out his twin warhammers.

’Right... this old man used to be a Paladin.’ Alex mused inwardly as he also equipped his Draconic Baton.

[Solar Ball]!

A sphere of radiant solar light floated into existence before them, illuminating the darkness ahead.

Then the two men stepped forward into the underground chamber, entering what resembled the open maw of a monstrous beast waiting to devour them whole.

***