My Skills Can Evolve Infinitely in a Game-Like World

Chapter 36: Medusa Painting & [10/21]

Although Selene seemed slightly surprised to see that potion here, clearly recognizing the organization it originated from, she didn’t say anything.

She wisely chose to keep her mouth shut.

After exchanging a brief glance with Aurelius, during which they reached a tacit understanding, she followed right behind him.

Thankfully, the Eagle Eyesight Potion proved quite effective.

Although it was dark within the mansion, with only the flickering flames of candles pushing back the darkness, the two were able to weave through the building’s corridors with ease.

Not long after, they met a second patrolling team.

This one did not have three members, but four instead.

Furthermore, unlike the previous teams, this one was not composed solely of recently-advanced Blighted Ones.

There was also a Level 10 Barbarian among them, serving as its core.

Despite this, the ending of these people was the same.

Following several thumps, the counter on the edge of Aurelius’ field of vision changed.

[10/21]

It had been less than a minute since they entered the estate.

Yet during that short period of time, they had managed to kill almost half the cultists within the stronghold.

Everything was going fine.

It appeared that it was only a matter of time before they completely succeeded in their endeavor and they could celebrate their victory.

Unfortunately, reality had other plans for them.

--

Shortly after, Aurelius’ expression had grown thoughtful. He looked silently at the two lifeless corpses in front of him and had to let out a sigh.

Both of these people were Barbarians, considerably stronger than any of the teams they had met before.

Yet with him and Selene working together, they had managed to kill them both with relative ease.

The Experience notifications in the log were evidence of this.

The reason Aurelius was thoughtful was not that they had encountered an accident during the fight.

Instead...

"These two should be the last remaining cultists within the mansion’s upper level," Aurelius turned to Selene and said.

"All the others are either out of the estate or underground."

This was exactly the reason why Aurelius had become so solemn.

From the beginning, he was hoping that he could "farm monsters" in the mansion before finally going to meet the "Boss NPC" Priest.

Unfortunately, reality shattered his expectations.

Things would of course not be that easy.

If he wanted to completely destroy the Sunless Sect’s stronghold, he would have to kill both these cultists and the Priest. Perhaps together.

As she watched him destroy the two corpses with the Corpse-Melting Potion, Selene opened her mouth several times, seemingly wanting to say something.

What she wanted to say was that they had already caused enough destruction and there was no need to continue the fight.

With so many casualties, whatever the Sunless Sect’s plan was, they would no longer be able to carry it out.

Unfortunately, she knew she had no choice.

The man before her seemed to have turned into a demon. Unless he destroyed the entire Sect, he was unwilling to rest.

It ultimately did not matter whether she tried to convince him or not.

Seeing Selene stare at him with a complicated expression, Aurelius felt somewhat strange.

But he soon shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Rising to his feet, he headed straight toward the basement.

Thankfully, the two had discovered the entrance not long after they first entered the building.

As such, it was relatively easy to trace their footsteps back to it.

Sure enough. It didn’t take long.

Less than thirty seconds later, the two stopped in front of a massive stone gate.

The door seemed to have been specially reinforced long ago, perhaps during the time of Baron Murrow’s ownership.

The lifelike head of a woman was painted onto its surface.

She had long, thick black hair that resembled snakes, while her eyes were completely blank, as though they had been ripped out of their sockets.

"Medusa!"

This term inexplicably surfaced in Aurelius’ mind, and after going through his memories, he noticed that this term also existed in Nova Roma as well.

In fact, unlike back on Earth, where Medusa was a mere mythological figure, the Medusa in this world was a real being.

They were a race living in the islands a few miles out of the Pirate Kingdom’s territory, where no human had ever reached—and returned alive, that was.

"It’s said that Baron Murrow was captivated by archaeology in his youth," Selene’s voice echoed from the side, as her pupils reflected the beautiful face in the door.

"The Medusas are truly incredible creatures. It’s rumored that whoever meets their gaze will be instantly petrified, transforming into stone."

"They are naturally-born Awakeners."

"Furthermore, although they are monsters in the strict sense of the word, their intelligence and the development of their civilization are not much different than that of the humans."

Selene seemed to be quite familiar with this race.

Though an Assassin, it was clear she was quite knowledgeable about many matters, history and monsterology included.

Aurelius smiled and nodded.

Then, without any further hesitation, he placed his hands on the door’s bronze handles and pulled them back.

A small creak echoed. The two parts of the wall split open.

A tiny gap appeared, revealing the bottomless darkness hidden beneath it.

As Aurelius pulled more and more, that gap grew increasingly bigger.

However, the faint sweat on Aurelius’ forehead and the marks on the floor were proof that achieving this was not easy for him at all.

Just as Selene was about to tease him and step forward to help him, her eyes suddenly widened.

With the Assassin’s enhanced vision and the effect of the Eagle Eyesight Potion still active, she noticed a human figure lurking on the other side of the gate.

It was a man.

He wore clothes similar to those of the cultists and exuded an aura of decay and corruption that was unique to Blighted Ones.

The noise of the gate opening seemed to have caught his attention. He turned abruptly to look toward the door, only to face Aurelius and Selene.

A look of shock flashed across his face. His pupils shrank as he opened his mouth to yell.

"Intrud....!"