Aster was currently burdened with many assignments, but for now, his priority was getting money. After all, without money, it would be hard to head down to the deeper floors of the dungeon.
And for that, the fastest way was to go to the crypt, and gather every artifact that could be sold for a high price!
After running for three hours, they reached the same cliff they had been to last time. Of course, they were careful not to let anyone see them going there. After all, the fewer competitors they had, the better.
"The rope is..."
Aster muttered, checking the trees around, and quickly noticed the rope they had used, wrapped around a high branch inconspicuously.
"Leave that to me," Kali said as she jumped up, climbing the tree in two kicks, before letting the roll of rope fall to the ground.
After that, they worked quickly. Time was of the essence. Although they did bring enough provisions to last three days in the worst case, finishing the exploration faster is still the way to go.
After securing the rope, and adding another one as a backup, they strapped in the ascenders and straps around them, before descending the edge of the cliff, like expert mountain climbers.
Of course, descending along the edge of a deadly cliff was still dangerous as hell. Everyone was as careful as possible, not relaxing until they reached the platform leading to the small cave.
One after another, fortunately without any trouble, everyone arrived. As soon as they regrouped, Aster turned toward the path leading deeper and opened his flashlight.
"Alright, let's go!"
Since they already explored it once, their speed this time was faster, as they didn't need to be worried about traps. Soon enough, they arrived at the large door from before, which was still as awe-inspiring as the first time they saw it. Explore more at m,v l'e-novelhall.net
"Now..."
Aster grabbed his Holo Tab and opened up the attachment that Vanessa sent him. After clearing his throat, he started to read the passphrase, not sure what it meant.
"Vornak Kryzor Miltryn Scalvok Hyslor!"
As soon as Aster finished the "chant," a small earthquake occurred. The entire cave shook lightly, as the doors started to move.
They started to swing open, destroying all the small and medium stalactites and stalagmites on the floor and ceiling.
As they discussed, Lory and Cassy stood in the middle, with Lory beginning her chant and holding the activation until it was needed. Cassy herself also began casting a spell, creating light balls to shed light around the room. Aster and Liz stood on either side, while Tina stood with her back to the entrance.
*RUMBLE!*
With a low rumble, the door started to close, leaving them stuck inside. At the same time, a loud announcement echoed in their ears.
[Warning! Intruders detected. Initiating Defensive Measures...]
"Get ready!" Aster roared.
As if reacting to his voice, the statues around them started to shake and move. With each wall having around 10 of those, they were faced with a large army of 40 giant, moving statues!
Their eyes shone in a red gleam, as if telling how dangerous they were.
"Great Weaken Defense!"
"Mana Slash!"
"Smash!"
As if in concert with Lory's activation of the weakening spell, Aster and Liz moved simultaneously. They ran to the closest enemy and attacked!
"...!"
However, Liz's attack merely bounced back, only leaving a clear crack on the statue's leg. "They're tough!" She growled.
Aster's attack, a mixture of magic and physical damage, managed to cut the leg cleanly. The giant started to fall, losing balance after it lost its leg.
*THUD!*
A cloud of dust rose as it hit the floor, but Aster didn't finish it off yet.
Instead, he moved to the next one and sliced off its leg too! His first priority was to limit the enemy's siege, and depriving them of their legs was the best way to do that!