章 60: Other People?
The fight started without suspense. Initially, Zeke was very cautious about the skeletons as it was the first time Zeke experienced this sort of thing. However, it turned out to be quite needless as when Zeke blocked a blow from one of the skeletons, his sword didn't even budge at all. Instead, it was the skeleton that was sent backward with just Zeke blocking without even fighting back.
Feeling relieved, Zeke charged in and slashed his sword towards the skeletons in a very quick manner. Several flashes of light could be seen as each flash severs a skeleton into two. The skeletons practically stood no chance since the beginning against Zeke's sheer power. In just a minute, all the skeletons were sliced in half as Zeke continued to look. After his experience with the undying lion, Zeke didn't fully trust in his kills especially since his enemies right now were skeletons, a pawn of the undead.
When the last skeleton dropped down and stopped moving, the stone door behind Zeke opened, revealing the stairs he had previously seen. Zeke checked for traps first before going in after confirming that there's nothing to be cautious about.
After a minute of going down again, Zeke didn't know how deep underground he is currently. When he thought of that, another room suddenly welcomed Zeke. Like the first one, Zeke had no choice but to enter since it directly connected the stairs and there was no other room or space to go to.
When he went in, he was baffled by the appearance of the room. When he spread his [Fireball]s outward, he could see that it was almost exactly the same as the first room. The only difference was what Zeke felt. In the first room, when Zeke looked at the statues, he could feel a tinge of reverence inside his heart, but now, when he looked at the statues, a feeling of unease sprouted. When he's gazing at each of the statues, he could feel something bad or eerie about them, but he couldn't point out the exact reason. Shaking off the feeling, he continued onwards as he readied his sword in front of him. As expected, the room closed off again, leaving Zeke trapped along with rising skeletons with weapons. Zeke wanted to end it quickly as he charged at the skeletons without restraint. His sword flickered and stabbed the skeletons in a fast manner as half of the skeletons were already dead by the time Zeke started his attack.
However, to his surprise, he actually got a slight cut when a skeleton slashed him from behind. It was a very very small cut, one that no one would even cry about, however, it was a huge shock for Zeke.
He instantly realized what happened. He didn't dare underestimate the skeletons again as he approached and applied Sword Orbit to block and deflect the attacks while counter-attacking whenever possible. He now knew that the skeletons' strength isn't all equal. In the first room, he quickly concluded that the skeletons couldn't hurt him, but now, a skeleton actually managed to land a hit on Zeke. With this, Zeke concluded that every room further down should have skeletons stronger than the previous rooms. Zeke categorized it as a 'Scaling Dungeon' in his mind.
After five minutes, Zeke finished off all the skeletons. This time, he needed a bit of time since the skeletons in the second room were superior in quantity and quality than the first room. After collecting some intact vases and pots again, Zeke went further down. In the next room, the skeletons were also a bit stronger, while their weapons also got bigger. Up until now, Zeke didn't know how and where the skeletons got their weapons. He only guessed that their weapons should be made of mana since it only appeared out of thin air.
The further Zeke progressed, the stronger the skeletons became and the more eerie the statues are. At first, the statue could only make Zeke uneasy, but now, looking at the statue causes Zeke to feel as if he's looking at a demon. The statues exude an evil and malicious aura that gets stronger the lower the room Zeke's in.
In the fifth room, the skeletons could already form a simple formation consisting of a shield bearer, a swordsman on one side with three archers at the back. Zeke was astounded by this but he knew the skeletons' power are still inferior to him so he dealt with it in the same simple manner as the previous four rooms.
In the sixth room, the skeletons are much stronger again. This time, each skeleton already had 20% of Zeke's current strength, which, for a skeleton, is already plenty enough. Couple that with a formation and it was plenty enough to cause headaches for Zeke. He wanted to save as much energy as possible so the skeletons being troublesome isn't a good thing for him.
In the seventh room, Zeke was surprised to see no bones as the area was very clean. Zeke became suspicious since he noticed that there were faint traces of spots with no dust. Confused, Zeke approached the spots and examined each of them closely.
After a few minutes had gone by, Zeke's expression changed. He stretched his vigilance to the limit as he realized that these dustless spots should be made by someone or something that has intelligence other than Zeke. He immediately became alarmed at this and the thought of someone preying on him in this dark place sent chills down his spine. Although he liked to battle, he didn't want one where he was hopeless and winning is nigh impossible. Right now, if that creature decides to attack him in this place where he only had limited vision, Zeke knew it wasn't going to end up in a positive way for him.
Since the room was clear and no skeletons were found, Zeke immediately headed down with his guard up at all times. He knew that this kind of place is very suitable for assassinations and sneak attacks as the vision is limited and there were a lot of hiding spots. That along with the stifling atmosphere and pressure of the statues, this is basically an assassin's backyard.
Thankfully, Zeke didn't come across any attackers as he went down to the next room. However, before he could even spread his [Fireball]s for some light, his expression tensed as he gazed at the only place in the room where there was a dim light. It was in the opposite of the stairs that Zeke is in and the source of light turned out to be a small lamp. This lamp only encompassed a few meters around the figure as Zeke tried to make out the appearance of it.
The figure in question is wearing a black coat that stretched to his knees, with a red shirt underneath along with black pants. As for the face, Zeke couldn't see it as he could only see a faint silhouette with the head. The figure's white hair was tied behind its head as it stood there, casually tapping the wall behind him. Zeke immediately dissolved his [Fireball]s one by one until there's only one left. He made it as small as possible so it would only cover a meter around Zeke. He then crouched and went to hide in a wall while looking at the figure. Zeke tightened his grip on his sword as he planned on sneaking an attack. However, before he could even come up with a plan, a snort was heard in the figure's direction.
"Quite a sneaky one, are ye? Ji ji ji, it's no use, fool. Next time, try not to shine a light in a pitch-black place so you won't get seen, ye?" A loud but hoarse could be heard from the figure as it contained mockery and ridicule. Zeke felt the intense negative emotions as his heart couldn't help but tighten.
Since Zeke lost his advantage, he pondered about how to approach the figure. Zeke didn't know who it was, but he found it uncomfortable hearing the figure's voice. It was hoarse and dry while also carrying negative emotions, particularly of disdain. This was the first time that Zeke completely felt the emotion under someone's speech. In normal talks, anyone could perceive the emotions of the one they're talking to based from their voice but the figure in front of Zeke looked like it had a natural disdainful and negative attitude ever since it was born. Zeke's impression soured just by hearing the rude words along with the negative emotions the figure emanated. He decided in his mind to fight with all his strength with this one.
While Zeke was pondering behind a pillar, he sensed a dangerous surge of mana coming towards him as he immediately rolled to the side. When he looked back, he saw a black crescent-shaped attack headed towards Zeke's previous position as it missed and hit the wall behind Zeke. The wall, who is supposed to be tough and sturdy, got slashed like paper as the strike left a deep cut on the wall. Zeke was flabbergasted by the figure's decisiveness as well as its strength. The attack just now already felt dangerous, so Zeke absolutely dared not underestimate the figure in front of him.
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