Chapter 18: The Gates Of Despair
A dusty notebook was neatly placed at the top. Opening it, Leonard began to read. With the lack of ink, the words had been scrawled in blood... Whether human or monster, it was impossible to tell.
"This is no dungeon, but hell. I have explored every passage and killed more monsters than I can count, yet this Death Zone still denies me the ability to rise beyond Level 10 and undergo ascension. I am alone, unable to obtain a class, and shadows creep at the edges of my vision where none exist. I am slowly growing mad, and I know my days are numbered."
Leonard frowned and turned the page.
"My last hope of escape lies beyond the only unexplored area. To reach it, you must follow the single passage marked in blood. Whoever finds this, take what I have left behind and use it on your journey, for I have a feeling I am only marching to my death. May you find fortune where I found only ruin and despair."
Winston grew visibly pale. Arabella’s eyes darkened.
Closing the notebook, Leonard peered into the backpack’s contents. Two mana potions and one healing potion rested beside an old, worn map.
Examining it more closely, Leonard realized the map’s creator had attempted to chart the Death Zone, only to ultimately give up and scrawl the words "Convoluted maze" across the bottom.
Glancing forward, he examined the passages in greater detail. One stood out above the rest. Drops of blood steadily fell from the ceiling, filling the air with an eerie tension.
"Do we follow the instructions?" Winston whispered in a low voice. "Why are we supposed to go towards the scarier-looking path?!"
"It’s the only clue we have, and the potions we found inside make me inclined to believe the desperation of the one who left the message behind." Arabella reasoned.
Like the others, Leonard didn’t feel comfortable stepping into a passage that screamed danger. But time wasn’t on their side. With every second that passed, their buffs edged closer to expiring.
"Keep your eyes open." He said, taking the lead.
They divided the potions between them. Winston, as the tank, had the highest chance of taking damage, so he received the healing potion. Leonard and Arabella each took a mana potion.
To be on the safer side, Leonard summoned Joker and kept him dormant in his mist form. His role was to scout their surroundings and warn the party if any threat lingered ahead.
Along the way, several paths interconnected with the passage they followed. However, they stayed on their chosen route.
Gradually, the path began to change. The walls of human skulls shifted into solid stonework, like a proper construction of a castle. The floor was covered by a long crimson carpet, while ornate chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the passage in a warm light.
The party of three kept their senses sharpened to the limit, their hearts beating rapidly as they prepared to encounter whatever monsters lay ahead.
Leonard felt the mist swirling around them surge. He stopped in his tracks, and the others followed his lead. Instinctively, they moved to the side and hid behind a large wooden table.
Heavy footsteps echoed from ahead, sending chills down the spines of the three.
Cautiously, Leonard took a peek to examine the threat.
His breath hitched.
[You have encountered a Boss exclusive to the Death Zone!]
[Level 16 Elite Skeleton Knight.]
The monster stood two and a half meters tall, clad in golden armor that showed no openings or weak points. It carried two colossal swords strapped across its back.
With no shield, it was obvious the skeleton was built purely for dealing lethal damage.
Discreetly, Arabella tugged at his attire, looking for answers.
Leonard met her gaze.
"If we are spotted, we die."
His whisper was low, yet his words were final. No amount of buffs, ambushes, or underhanded tactics would get them out of this alive.
Winston visibly shuddered. He curled into a ball, desperately trying to make himself appear smaller and falling.
Remaining silent, they waited for the Elite Skeleton Knight to pass. Fortunately, the boss took another stride and entered a different intersecting passage.
They quickly hurried along the path, taking extra care to remain quiet.
At the end, a large closed gate blocked their way. The impressions of fingernails were visible on its surface, and not far from it lay the skeletal corpse of a man.
"This must be what became of the one who left the instructions for us." Leonard realized somberly.
He walked over and cupped his fists. "May you rest in peace."
Next, the party shifted their gazes to the locked gates. In front of them stood a small altar with an attached dagger beside it.
"I think we need to offer our blood to reach the end." Arabella theorized.
There weren’t other points of interest, so the others agreed.
"I volunteer!" Winston stepped closer and took the dagger.
He gulped audibly, staring at the edge for a few seconds before making a shallow cut on his finger. A drop of blood fell upon the altar.
[Necessary purity has not been met. The passage shall remain inaccessible.]
The system announcement made the eyes of the three widen in disbelief. The man who had left them the potions had died simply because his Bloodline had been deemed too low of a Rank!
"My turn, I guess..." Arabella took a step closer. With her Legendary Bloodline, she had the highest chance of opening the gate.
[Necessary purity has not been met. The passage shall remain inaccessible.]
"Even I?" She was at a loss for words. The rank of her Bloodline was considered unbelievably rare, yet she had failed to fulfill the necessary conditions.
"Doesn’t that mean we wasted our time coming here?" Winston trembled. "Are we going to be trapped in the Haunted Catacombs forever?"
"Maybe it’s not about the rank of our Bloodlines." Arabella hypothesized. "But another condition we haven’t figured out yet..."
The two turned their gaze to Leonard.
With a sigh, he took the dagger.
"Perhaps it’s down to luck?" He suggested.
[Primordial Bloodline stirs in your veins.]
His blood fell on the altar.
[Necessary conditions have been exceeded. The passage shall be open.]
The gates cracked open, revealing the chamber inside.
Meanwhile, Arabella and Winston stared at Leonard in speechless disbelief.
"Don’t look at me like that. It could’ve just been luck for all we know." He offered a somewhat plausible explanation.
The two weren’t entirely convinced but chose not to pursue the matter here.
After the party entered the room, the gates behind them immediately slammed shut.
The chamber was truly vast.
Knights in armor bearing weapons were displayed upright along either side of the path.
At the end of the carpet stood a lone knight, larger than the others. He held his greatsword firmly planted in the earth, its weight sinking deep into the ground. A white plume rose from his helmet and trailed down his back, extending past his waist.
But what caught the attention of the three was the blood-stained wooden coffin placed at the very center of the chamber.
Abruptly, its lid snapped open. A pale hand with nails longer than its fingers gripped the edge.
[You have encountered the True Boss of the Haunted Catacombs!]
[Level 20 Lowborn Vampire.]
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