Chapter 22 Out Of The Tomb

A lot of words, really, a lot of them.

If you don't like words, then you... Should reconsider your entertainment choices.

This chapter has a lot of dialogue between the Golden Head and Dale, and a lot of lore and background exposition, pretty much, this is a world-building chapter.

It used to be pretty simple, but I greatly expanded upon the lore that is showed this chapter to try and make it more interesting and more self-contained too.

So hopefully it's still as fun but not as overwhelming as before.

In case of questions, you can just ask, it's not really that hard...

Peace!

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[Quest completed! Rotten Tomb]

[The Miasma has been drained and the village is safe… For now.

Your body has developed a certain resistance to Miasma and as a consequence, the Skill, Miasma Immunity 0-Star has been generated.

You have acquired the Item, Nameless Golden Head.

You have acquired the Item, Caladgolg the Rainbow Sword.

Your wounds will be restored.

You have received 7 Levels worth of Experience.

]

[You have Leveled up!]

[You have Leveled up!]

[You h…]

[+14 to all Stats]

"Phew…" Dale exhaled as he sat on the ground

'My body is in shambles and I don't feel safe resting here, but I have no choice, I need to take a breather...'

Unfortunately, this wasn't the end for poor Dale…

"Kid, don't rest yet, this is just the start."

"So don't get your hopes up since this is far from the end." The Golden head said as it looked at his expression

"... Give me... A fucking break…"

The head looked at him and let out a sigh, saying:

"Look… Kid, I would like to relax just like you, especially after everything I just went through, but time is not in our favor here."

"Thankfully, it seemed some of the old mechanisms of this place still worked, otherwise our plan would've been nothing but a joke."

"And if you thought this was hard, just wait to see what else I have to share... Kid, this place is not a tomb, this place is a prison."

"This place has a very intricate architecture, built to make use of the lingering power within all of the bodies buried within to keep the creatures within it at bay."

"That is exactly what the first five floors are, they are the places where those bodies are kept, as even in death they stick to their oath..."

"Even if that has been desecrated..."

"You should've noticed how the first 4 floors are different from the fifth, right?"

"At first, this place was indeed just a simple physical prison, things would be thrown inside and left to rot until they found a way to deal with it..."

"But over the centuries, as they were forced to accommodate stronger and stronger creatures, and also as the older ones were either killed or exterminated under the power of time... They were forced to improve their ways, and that was how the current layout of this place was built."

"In total, this place has 10 floors… And as you would expect, there is something on the very last floor, but that isn't the sole thing responsible for what happened here today."

"As you can see, this area was severely different from the others, and that's because this is the start of the 6th floor, the place where the creatures they couldn't deal with were stored."

"If they were still here, the 6th floor would've likely turned just like the Fifth after it was deemed unsuitable for the creatures if should've contained, or as their methods improved... But they... Sigh."

"Well, you can see they aren't around anymore, otherwise things wouldn't have become like this."

"However, they weren't negligent."

"Thanks to their efforts, floors 6 to 10 were sealed off in order to contain these things, and for many decades, they did their job perfectly."

"Until it didn't anymore, no matter how good they were, things eventually decay, we were just unlucky that the things inside were still amidst us."

"In the past, the Church of Ju-Arkesios collaborated with them, making sure to properly contain and to maintain the structural integrity of the place in their absence."

"Albeit once again… I'm not seeing any priests around unless I am getting blind." It said sarcastically

"We may have foiled its prisonbreak attempts, but all of the Miasma was sucked back into those sealed floors, something those creatures will surely use it to free themselves… Soon enough at that."

"..."

Dale didn't say much, only pondering over the strange head's words.

"I can see it in your face, you must be asking yourself where did they get the tools to free themselves?"

"A prisoner could try widening a hole on the wall with their own strength, but that would take time... A very, very long time."

"And the answer... Is the Miasma."

"It was made through a complex ritual, converting part of my strength into what you saw earlier..."

"Why not... Just defend yourself?"

The head seemed oddly pissed about his question.

"It seems I'm not the only person blind here..."

"As you can see, I am a head, a single, though handsome, Head."

"There aren't really that many moves I can employ to defend myself... What am I supposed to do? Headbut those abominations back into the darkness?"

(Jaw-Jitsu, get on my level MF)

"..."

Dale tried to process everything and then he asked:

"Just what is down there?"

"I personally don't know."

"50 or so years ago... Uh... That seems a bit low, I've honestly lost count..."

"Anyway, a long time ago, I was placed in this very room in order to suppress something in the absence of the gatekeepers."

"At first I thought this would be a simple operation... 20-minute adventure you know?"

"I expected someone from the main Church to come after a few weeks... Months at most."

"But in the end, I got trapped in this dark hole for what feels like a whole century."

"By the looks of it, something happened on their end and they couldn't come, causing this shit to escalate to this state."

"It is frustrating, and also concerning since given the nature of my existence, they wouldn't leave me be for long... I know all the pros and cons of this fact..."

Albeit the Golde Head was talkative, he didn't mind its words, the more it spoke, the better...

Albeit his hands were starting to get cold...

So with the intention of ending this conversation sooner, dale asked again:

"So let me see if I got everything right…"

"Something happened a very long time ago and the priests left this land, leaving you behind to contain whatever was happening here in their absence."

"They worked together with the Southern Wall Corps to manage all kinds of potentially dangerous creatures, sealing them underground until they found a way to deal with them for good."

"Yes, though change that "Potentially dangerous", they were way more than just that."

"... The plan was to come back soon and to deal with the mess they left behind, but they didn't come back due to reasons unknown to us…"

"Why not deal with it on the spot? Was there a need to maintain this place constantly?"

"Look, you're missing something."

"The reason it was sealed already meant that it was impossible to be dealt with through normal means... If you have an escapee that is constantly trying to get himself free, then you need someone to counter his efforts otherwise, one day, something will happen."

"That is about everything I know, there may have been other reasons but... Sigh..."

The golden head stayed silent, and then replied:

"Look, I am a… Urg… I'm a Head."

"No one knows I can talk apart from the Popes, so, no one would in their right mind speak with a head that would otherwise stay on a pedestal all day long."

"Everything I know comes from their own mouths when they decide to confess something to my Boss..."

"Oh kid, the things they would tell me... I have the strangest to the stupidest of tales... Even a few kinky ones..."

Dale became confused.

"Who's your Boss?"

"... Really man? Are you really asking me this?" The Golden head asked in a monotone

"Is it uh... God?" Dale asked awkwardly

"OF COURSE IT IS MAN!"

"Bro, calm down, this is my first time talking with a golden head so cut me some slack…"

'I was never the religious type either... I only ever prayed when I wanted an item to be dropped from a loot box...'

The golden head rolled its eyes.

"It doesn't really matter, now you know what I am, and hopefully, this stays between us."

"I have no idea if that old coot is still alive and kicking, but if his successor is in any way as annoying as he was, then it's for your own good you keep quiet about this... Our good..."

"Friend, you have no idea how much pain I would go through if they were to find out this happened..."

The Golden head looked around warily before whispering:

"One day, they locked me up inside a dark vault for 5 years because someone managed to sneak inside the holy chambers, almost stealing me!!"

"Can you believe their audacity?!?!"

"..."

Dale was silent...

"So uh, yeah."

"Long story short, I don't know what happened outside and not much about the details of what happened over here, but I do know it's dangerous."

Nodding, Dale got up from the ground as he continued to ask:

"What was the thing I fought and what exactly was happening?"

"That huh… That was a Shadow… A shadow of a once-great man… Merely a copy grasping at the straws of his legacy."

"You know who it is... The person that this tomb was dedicated to."

"He was the person that took down what was locked on the 10th floor, but he didn't have what it took to end it, so he went out to prepare, but in the process, he died."

"He also slew several of the other creatures on the lower floors for good, he was the person that rid this place of many of its residents..."

"But in their place, he also filled them up with even more bothersome creatures."

"He was the person that commanded the construction of the 7th to 10th floors, all due to his constant conflicts..."

"And in the end, his body was buried here to seal all of the creatures he couldn't end for eternity... In their own words... Let the bodies of 1 Million lay the foundation for a Billion."

"A mountain of corpses, pressing down the darkness beneath us."

"..."

"Don't be sad, that is the fate of all mortals anyway, and I am sure he is somewhat pleased with this outcome, whenever may he be."

"Not only he but all of them."

"That Shadow you saw contained trace memories of this man because it grew from his body."

"His body, however, was little more than a shell, his true memories were contained within the sword you are holding."

"But after decades of erosion, most of them have disappeared…

"I witnessed it when his body crawled out of its tomb and also witnessed as the legacy he left behind was eroded by the purple mist..."

"Yet, somehow, his personality was still somewhat there."

"The proof of that is the fact you're still alive."

"What do you mean?"

"If that shadow was truly a full-fledged monster, it would've attacked you the moment you slashed at it instead of talking… Even if it planned to coerce you into slashing me in half with that dammed slab of iron."

"Yet, it still stayed still even when you moved that sword like a damn snail..."

"I believe its body may have partially been there from the very beginning, giving you the most basic of tips necessary so you could make use of what was once his."

"He taught you how to wield the sword just so you could take his life again."

"I see…" Dale spoke as he grabbed Caladgolg

'Someone with a conviction so strong it would even influence a monster?'

'He was quite the guy...'

But the head was not over yet…

"As for my people, I can't see them abandoning me unless the pope was killed..."

"Urg, this is truly bad... We'll have to see about that once we leave this place and treat your injuries…"

"Stay still, this may sting."

"Wh...?"

/SHING!/

A golden light was released from the head's eyes, healing the battered and exhausted body of Dale.

/Scratch.../

"This is a pretty convenient ability…"

'But why do I... Have this intense feeling... To scratch every damn part of my body?!'

"Don't get used to it, kid."

"Using my dwindling power like this is a waste of such magnitude that I bet even my Boss is crying as he watches us…"

"Guess I should thank you then..." Dale said as he rolled his eyes

He looked around the place but found nothing of interest.

The creature's body had been sucked into the hole, and unless he were to open the tombs on the walls, he would likely find nothing of value in this place.

So he tried to put Caladgolg in his inventory…

[DING]

[Caladgold cannot be stored in the inventory due to its intrinsic properties]

Dale wasn't pleased about that.

"..."

'Dammit… Oh well, there aren't any players around, and even if there were, I doubt they would be able to steal it due to its weight… Still…'

Dale's thoughts were interrupted by the Golden head once more:

"We'll have to clean this place… But not now, I need to recover my power asap!"

[Your quest has been updated]

[Lost Icon

Description:

…

Requirements:

Find the lost Icon 1/1

The lost Icon lies somewhere deep with the old Labyrinth of Resko, recover it 1/1

Help the nameless Golden Head recover its power 0/1

Or find a suitable replacement 0/1

Find a way to contact the Church of Ju-Arkesios 0/1

]

[Your quest has been updated]

[Resko's past

Requirements:

Find out what happened to the old Village of Resko 1/?

* The Southern Wall Corps used to have a strong influence in these lands, however, they disappeared and nothing remains on the surface to tell they once existed.

Find out what happened to them 0/1

* The Village of Resko is built on top of the ruins of a Labyrinth.

* The Labyrinth is actually the Catacombs for a group known as the Southern Wall Corps.

* Something macabre is happening at the heart of the Labyrinth…

* The village of Resko is built on top of the Catacombs of the group known as the Southern Wall Corps, its leader once slew a powerful creature but was unable to completely stop its resurrection, dying before doing so.

* It still lies within the deepest point of the catacombs…

Find out why 1/1

Find out what is happening 1/1

Stop 'it' from manifesting 1/?

? 0/1

#You heard that this village once held an incredibly precious Icon for the Church of Ju-Arkesios, having once a Cardinal, 2 Bishops, and 12 Priests.

#Something happened to the Church, preventing it from sending help.

#During its downfall, the Church did not send help and instead just retreated.

#Someone asked you for help at the center of the labyrinth. In the end, it was a trap, the creature wanted you to break the holy Icon instead and not to purge the miasma.

]

...

/Step step step.../

Under the nonstop blabbering of the Golden Head, Dale slowly made his way back to the surface.

Albeit instead of telling the head to shut up, he said with pity:

"It must've been boring… You know… Being there all alone."

"..."

The Golden head smiled and said:

"Well, if you call being placed in a dark room for several decades without any stimuli or a way to contact with my Boss while being touched and sucked by some sort of ugly ass Abyssal creature as boring..."

"Then yes, it was very boring."

"... Wait, you just mentioned your Boss, and thinking about it, why didn't he intervene?"

"As if that would be easy… Do you even know how massive such an event would be?… Don't answer me, I know you don't…"

"..."

"Besides, it's not like he wasn't there…"

"The moment you released me from that ass of a cage, I started to feel his power coming back into me. So yeah, he is watching over me again."

"Is he watching me too? Hello?" Dale asked as he looked around the place waving at the air

'Do they see me from the Head's perspective or is it like a free camera?'

"How rude?! That is not how you approach a GOD?!" The head said angrily

"What should I do then?"

"Bow."

Dale bowed slowly.

"I humbly apologize..."

"I WAS KIDDING, MAN! Don't take me seriously! Jeez..."

"Say that from the start then…"

'I may not be religious, but I respect other religions, if people say its a custom to shake your feet in front of the bathroom before entering, then I'll do it.'

'There's no point in making them angry due to a slight discrepancy in culture.'

"Kid... There are many sorts of Gods, each has its own ways and preferences, my Boss isn't so strict as to nitpick on a mortal's words, she's way beyond that."

"Just show her courtesy and she will do the same, I can't tell the same about others… Never really cared about them, that's for the others to think about."

Dale shrugged.

"What would be basic courtesy for a God?"

"..."

The head looked at Dale with surprise and said:

"Good question."

"..."

"Oh yeah, since we're here, why don't we greet each other properly? I can't keep calling you kid forever, much less when you're barely one by Human's standards."

"Sure… I'm Dale Houston…"

"What a coincidence! I am David! Third Holy relic of the Church of "you already know"..."

"Isn't that sacrilege?" Asked Dale

"... "Bro", look at me, I am the meaning of sacred!" David retorted as it tried to imitate Dale's way of speaking

"... Sigh…"

But the head still didn't shut up…

"You know Dale, now that we are closer and all… Do you mind taking me out of your waist?... It smells like ass!"

"..."

For a moment, Dale thought about putting the head on his armpit, but he felt it would one day be used against him so he just grabbed the head with his hand.

"Ouch... Be delicate, please!... AH! Ahhh! MY EAR! I-I AM SORRY! DALE… D-DALE?! PLEASE, DALE!..."

Dale made his way out of the catacombs, dragging Caladgolg behind him with one hand and David with his other hand, breathing in the fresh air of the surface for what seemed to be the first time in years.

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Notes

This was more of an interlude chapter with world build and character development.

I think the next few are going to be like that, why?

This is because I am trying to set up the plotline of Resko and its mysteries as we go.

Develop a few characters and the Mc and advance the story.

If you are in for a few spoilers just read further down:

Expect to see things like:

New characters and quests.

Mc development.

Other players and how they will interact with him.

And a bit more!