Tale of Discovery

With the staircase being short, it doesn't take me long to reach the bottom.

There, I realize that I have arrived at some ancient ruins.

The general location is still a vast cave system.

I make use of my enhanced senses to check the ruins for any living creatures but fail to find any.

Hm... Should I establish a mental connection with Satoru again?

Deciding against doing so, I walk forth while inspecting the ruins.

This place feels like it has been deserted for centuries, at least. Not only are all the buildings' walls worn down, but are cobwebs covering a good portion of the place.

As I continue to walk through the ruins, something catches my attention from the corner of my eye.

Looking over, I notice that there is an intact skeleton at the center of a building. What's interesting is the fact that the skeleton is holding a book.

Curious, I walk over to the skeleton while keeping my guard up just in case it turns out to be a monster skeleton like the ones I fought earlier.

Fortunately, even after I am less than a meter away from it, the skeleton remains unmoving.

I release a sigh or at least did something similar with my current skeletal body as I focus my gaze on the book.

The book's cover is as plain as it could get, with no color other than dark gray and some words engraved into it in a language I don't know.

Still, this sure is uncanny. From the looks of it, the skeleton is completely undamaged. There are no signs of natural erosion or blunt impact.

This indicates that the skeleton shouldn't be as old as the ruins. But then again, I am a 'living' skeleton myself while I encountered a few of such monsters earlier. So, it wouldn't be out of the norm for this skeleton to be way older than it looks.

Leaving the skeleton aside, I fixate my gaze on the book once again.

While doing so, I notice something else. Feather. Two rather large milky-white feathers.

What... Am I going to be encountering giant chickens too?

At least, that's one of the possibilities. But still... what if it's a different matter? For example, something like Albedo's case - a humanoid being with wings.

I have already met one such being in this world, so why can't there be another?

Deciding to look into this matter later, I take a moment to pick the book and feathers up before placing them in my inventory.

Having nothing else to do here, I look around for the path that leads me to the next 'area' of this labyrinth.

---

Much to my disappointment, even after half an hour of exploring this labyrinth and walking down numerous other staircases, I don't find any other ruins or anything human-made for that matter.

So far, the only things I have encountered are monsters of various shapes and kinds.

Though, I still haven't encountered any feathery monsters, which makes me wonder if the two feathers I found in the ruins are really from some other being than the monsters present in this labyrinth,

[Help!]

As I finally hear the voice once again, I sense a certain emotion stir within me for a brief moment - curiosity.

For some reason, I am starting to think that I have been getting increasingly curious recently. In fact, if it wasn't for my curiosity about this labyrinth, I would've long taken some form of shortcut to reach the dark room I saw earlier, assuming that it's a room in this labyrinth, that is.

Anyway, I am sure that I heard the voice. As in, it reached my nonexistent ears as sound instead of a mental message.

The sound seemed to have come from up ahead, across this oddly pure subterranean lake.

I have been standing in place for a while now, trying to discern the presence of monsters that could be lurking underwater, but have been unable to find any so far.

Still, I am sure that there is some danger to this lake, after all, I am still in the labyrinth.

Just as I begin to consider freezing the water with some ice magic, I sense some movement as the surface of the lake widens and reveals dark scales.

The next thing I know, a huge monstrous-looking fish-like creature jumps up the water toward me.

Having already expected sudden attacks, I hastily raise my right arm and cast a third-tier spell.

{Fireball.}

A ball of fiery flames combusts and dances atop my palm for a split-second before launching toward the monster mid-air.

Before the fireball can contact the monster, I cast yet another spell while focusing on the monster's sides.

{Acid Arrow}

Unlike the last time I used this spell, multiple arrows appear in the air and briskly move toward the monster.

This series of actions results in a small explosion followed by the pained yelps of the monster before it gets skewered with the acid arrows.

The sound of a splash resounds in the cave as the monster's heavily damaged carcass lifelessly drops back into the water.

Hah~ It would be bothersome to deal with more of these things. I have already tested out most of the lower-tier attack spells as I wanted anyway, so why bother with this?

Having settled my thoughts, I cast a spell as a solution for my current predicament.

{Greater Teleportation}

Following this, my vision blips for a brief moment as I find myself standing at the other end of the lake.

Now then… Should I just rush this? Worst case scenario, I will trigger some form of trap, but then I would still have my spells to aid me as well as my enhanced physical capabilities, so I would be relatively fine for the most part.

"Alright," I mutter as I cast a speed enhancement spell as well as a physical fortification spell on myself, "Time to end this."

--

Unexpectedly, the girl's voice appeared to be close, yet the room she is in is nowhere around where I heard her.

Right now, even after having rushed past a good portion of the cave and eliminated multiple monsters by merely punching them, I have yet to come across any structure similar to the one I 'saw' when I was walking down the first staircase.

[Over here.]

The heck?

As I come to an abrupt stop, I ruminate over what just happened.

Her words just now… It's almost as if she read my mind or something. Aside from that, there was a gentle tug of energy that felt like it was showing me the way.

Seriously, if in the end, this all turns out to be some elaborate trap, I will wipe this place out of existence…

Shaking such thoughts aside, I focus on the gentle tug of energy that remains and let it guide me through the cave as I begin sprinting once more.

While I am sprinting at a brisk speed, I notice something I didn't pay much attention to before.

My attire… This black gown of mine is not getting caught up in my legs in any way even though I am moving at such high speeds. It's almost as if some enchantment on it prevents that from occurring.

All of a sudden, I feel a wave of energy wash over me as the ground below me crumbles.

Alarmed, I hastily cast <Fly> and take a second to regain my balance while gazing down at where the ground used to be.

Now, there is a gaping hole in its place, and through this opening, I can see an enormous cavity underneath.

Most importantly, there is a giant double-door attached to the wall with some fancy symbols and drawings engraved on it.

That looks promising.

As I begin to consider what spells I should cast to buff myself up, a small ring resounds within my head as Albedo's gentle voice soon follows.

[Lord Victor, the tasks you had assigned to us have been completed. Excuse me if I may ask, but when should we expect your return?]

Sensing the anticipation and reverence in her voice, I am reminded once more that it might not be necessary for me to take personal action as often in this 'game world'.

Anyway, among the tasks I assigned, one was for the twins to secure the land around the tomb. I was somewhat expecting my objective of "secure the territory around the base" to be completed with this, but it seems that I was hoping for too much.

"Good work," I mutter in a steady tone as I slowly descend toward the double-door, "As for my return... that would be around tomorrow evening."

[Understood.]

The next moment, as I set my feet upon the ground, the whole cave seems to shake as the cracks begin to appear on the wall to the double-doors sides.

Shortly after that, large chunks of rock launch out as two giant green creatures with one-eye appear from within the walls.

These things should be monsters assigned the task of guarding whatever is behind these doors.

One of the two monsters raises its arms and releases a ferocious growl as if threatening me to back away.

Too bad, that isn't going to work on me.

Two punches and I should be able to take care of both of them, I believe.

Actually, how about I use a higher-tier spell instead?

Locking my gaze upon the monster that just growled, I invoke two spells at once.

{Despair Aura V - Death}

As soon as AI's voice fades, the monster that I targeted releases an odd noise before limply falling to the ground, its weight resulting in a loud thud.

As for the other one, it also drops down, but to its knees instead as its eye seems to widen marginally.

"May you have better luck in your next life," I utter nonchalantly as I raise my arm and point my finger at the monster.

{Explosion.}

"Wai-" a voice escapes from the monster's mouth, but gets immediately cut off as its belly bloats and explodes along with beautiful flames that burn down its body.

So, it could talk, huh? Well, whatever.

Disregarding the borning corpse, I walk toward the double doors and give them a gentle push.

This results in the stone doors creaking loudly as they slowly open.

Beyond the doors is a room that's exactly like the one I saw before, with the only difference being that the humanoid figure is now visible properly.

Long golden hair and smooth white skin. A girl that seems to be no older than thirteen.

Her thin arms are sinking into the cube of metal or whatever behind her as well as the lower half of her body.

What a pitiable matter to witness. How long has she been here, I wonder...

"Help," a small voice escapes from the girl's lips as she ever so slowly raises her head.

Despite being quite far away, I can easily make out her facial features as well as the color of her eyes, which are ruby red.

For a split second, her mouth parts slightly as she wants to utter something, but through them, I notice two canines that remind me of Krul's fangs.

"A vampire?" I mutter as I walk through the doors while keeping my guard up against any sudden assaults.

"Undead?" the girl suddenly says in a strange tone as she stares at me.

"Hello!" I greet her casually while raising my bony hand, "The name's Victor."

The girl remains silent as she simply continues to stare at me.

A few seconds later, I am standing right in front of her, with the distance between our faces being less than a meter.

"Why are you here?" I bluntly ask.

Seemingly not expecting such a question, the girl's expression turns weird as she remains silent for a few seconds before replying in a hateful tone, "I was betrayed."

"That's unfortunate," I remark while inspecting the cube of metal she is stuck in, "You are a vampire, aren't you?"

"Yes," she responds without hesitation.

As I suspected. If she's really a vampire, then there is a good chance that she is much older than she appears. This would be useful for me since I could inquire about this unfamiliar world from her.

"Alright, may I know the name of this fair maiden?" I ask while taking on a more formal tone.

"Do I have to say it?" she asks.

"Well, we can settle with Little Vampire if you're so reluctant to tell me."

"Aletia," she says immediately as the corner of her mouth twitches.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad of a nickname. Alright then, Aletia, do you wish to leave this place?"

"Of course."

"Then, I have an offer for you," I state while focusing my gaze on her eyes, "You see, I rule over a place filled with other fellow monsters. We can't just abandon one another, can we? So-"

"You want me to join you," she interrupts, "I will do it."

"Just like that?" I question dubiously, "You won't ask about any of the specifics?"

"Anything is better than being sealed here," she mutters with a downcast expression.

"If you say so," I say as I raise my arm and cast a spell.

{All Appraisal Magic Item}

A wave of information washes over my brain as I learn the specifics of this cube, which is an object made to seal beings of extreme prowess.

For her to be sealed by such a thing, this lass must wield some impressive power.

Nevertheless, for this magic object, one of my spells is practically its bane...

{Amplify Magic - Greater Break Item}

Immediately after I cast the spell, I sense a rebound from the seal, but I remain unperturbed as I cast another spell.

{Greater Resistance}

A few seconds pass by, and cracks form across the surface of the cube as Aletia's complexion brightens up.

Finally, the whole thing breaks as Aletia's body drops, but before her body reaches the ground, I hastily catch her naked body and step back from the collapsing object.

"Tired..." Aletia mutters with shut eyes.

I doubt this is because she hasn't been able to sleep or something like that. The only possible reason I can think of would be...

"You need blood?"

"Mmn," she hums as confirmation.

"You're disappointed that I am a skeleton?" I ask wryly, to which she refrains to say anything as a response.

"In that case, you can just rest in my arms as I bring you out of here," I state as I turn around and walk toward the double doors I walked in from.

However, upon taking three steps, the ground shakes as bits of debris fall down from the ceiling.

What was that? Another case of monsters hiding inside walls similar to the two dead outside?