Advent of the Archmage

High Elf Grave.　　

Link checked the magic door blocking their way and concluded, "It is extremely strong, equivalent to a Level-9 strength. It is extremely difficult to destroy."　　

As he spoke, he used a Spatial Distortion spell, and after a few tests, he laid his hands helplessly and said, "The High Elves are indeed the masters of magic. Even the space here is completely sealed. I cannot enter using my Dimensional Leap spell. We have to find another way, maybe a secret door of some sort."　

Morrigan had no reaction to this speech. He was an adventurer and had seen such situations countless times. However, Felina frowned and asked, "Is the secret door easy to find?"

Link shook his head and said, "I wouldn't know. Let's just keep moving."　

In fact, Link knew exactly where the secret door was at. The reason was simple. The design of this tomb was exactly the same as that in the game. This could be due to the small size of the tomb, making it easy to recreate this place using computerized CGI.

His calm demeanor made Felina felt more settled. As a Warrior, she led the way as the continued further into the tomb.

Roar! Another bellow could be heard. This voice was clearly filled with despair. Todelron had clearly suffered fatal injuries.　　

"We have to hurry," Felina said. They were still of the same race. Even if Todelron had found Isendilan, she still did not wish for him to die.　　

Morrigan hastily blocked the way as he said, "Stop, Miss Felina. There are traps everywhere in the grave. The worst thing to do is to be impatient. You have to adjust your mentality!"　　

He was an experienced grave robber and had explored countless tombs and historical relics. Naturally, he would be familiar with the workings of such sites. Those adventurers who did not have such a keen sense of danger were probably already dead.

"But…" Felina knew that Morrigan was right, though she was truly anxious.

Link then held her back and said, "Felina, there is no use just keeping your eyes on the final target. You have to check the ground beneath your feet. If you had made one more step to the left, you would have stepped on a trap!"

Felina was anxious and did not react in time. Link then used a forcefield type spell to push Felina back just in time.

Morrigan then walked forward carefully before lying on the ground to observe the trap.

Half a minute later, he stared at Link with an expression of respect, "The material of this tile is slightly different from the rest. If I am not wrong, this is a trigger rune for a lightning spell. Look at the surrounding walls! They are filled with lightning runes. As long as one steps on any of these tiles, this corridor will be instantly filled with lightning. Let me see…Tsk, these spells are at least Level-5 in strength!"

Link then stared at the walls and added, "It's Level-7 in strength. Lightning spells are not the only thing we should be afraid of. There are also fire elemental spells that will incinerate anyone who activates the trap. Even Nana might not survive the attack."

Morrigan then continued, "Todelron is lucky to have escaped all these tiles."　　

"I'm sorry." Felina was truly apologetic.　　

Link then smiled and said, "Just be more careful in the future. Let's continue."

Felina then felt slightly better about her mistake. This time around, she was a lot more careful, only proceeding after Morrigan and Link had checked and made sure it was safe.

After around 150 feet, seven Beastman bodies could be seen lying on the ground. There were also many broken fine iron thorns around their bodies.

The Beastman had gray, sickly skin and suffered terrible injuries. There were countless penetrative wounds on their bodies as though they were ruthlessly mashed up while they were still alive. 　　

Morrigan's face turned serious. He then cast an Eagle's Eye spell on himself and observed the ground in front of him carefully. Three minutes later, he said, "Look at these tiles; there are eight different types of runes on it, and they follow no specific arrangement. I have seen a similar formation in another tomb. In order to make it past this place, one has to step on the tiles in a fixed order. If even a single mistake is made, sharp thorns will emerge from the small holes around us and destroy our bodies completely!"

Felina and Link then looked around them and realized that there were truly countless small holes on the walls. They then looked at the tiles. The corridor was at least 90 feet long, and there were a total of at least 30 tiles along each column with five columns in total. This meant that the number of possibilities for this puzzle was a staggering five to the power of thirty!

With so many possibilities, it would be impossible to use the trial and error method to solve it.　　

"How did Todelron pass through?" Felina asked.　　

Morrigan was still observing the ground. He then answered, "He must have barged through using force. These Beastmen opened the way for him. The moment the iron thorns appeared, he used brute force to break through these thorns. Look, there are fine cracks on the thorns here. However, there must be insufficient Beastman for such a long corridor. He was injured at the very end of the corridor, judging from the pool of dragon blood at the end. It seems like he was heavily injured."

Felina then looked to the end of the corridor, and as Morrigan had said, the amount of blood on the ground was definitely from a lethal wound.

Link then found more traces of it, "Look at the walls at the end. There are many cracks on those walls. If I am not wrong, Todelron was forced to turn into his dragon form to stay alive."

When the dragon clan was turning into their dragon form, their injuries would be partially healed. However, the dragon form was huge and was not something this corridor could accommodate. The walls would then crack from the sheer pressure of the dragon' body.

Felina then sighed, "He must be very miserable now."

Link then shrugged his shoulders and said, "Let's go then. He has already destroyed this trap for us. We should be able to pass through easily."

Just to be safe, Link used the Magician's Hand to press on the Beastman's body.

Pop! A few thorns immediately emerged from the holes. The wall on the left was still densely filled with thorns. However, the wall of the right only had broken thorns left. The end of the corridor which was completely destroyed by Todelron's dragon form had caused the trap to become faulty, making it safe to pass.

One had to commend the dragon for being a qualified trap clearer.　

"Let's go; the left side is safe," Link said.　　

All of them then kept to the left with Felina still leading the way.　　

After this corridor of death, another revolving ax trap appeared in front of them. This ax was similarly stained with a large amount of dragon blood. There were even a few pieces of severed meat on it.　　

Morrigan took a look before shaking his head, saying, "This is also a trap. With Todelron's large body, he could never have passed through this unscathed. He suffered the full wrath of this trap…This might just be lethal."

Felina stared at the dragon blood and continued forward with a heavy heart.

After around 90 feet, the corridor opened up into a large space. A huge underground chamber appeared in front of them. This chamber was more than 240 feet long and more than 15 feet tall. There were rows of bookshelves along its walls filled with a large collection of books. Link was immediately excited by the sight of this many magic books.

Just how many lost knowledge did this tomb hold? The number of magic books here simply housed priceless knowledge!　

However, it was not so simple. 　　

In front of the bookshelves were two rows of stone chairs.

A mummified corpse clad in shiny High Elf ancient armor sat on each of those chairs. At the end of the two rows of chairs was a magnificent jewel throne. The number of jewels engraved on that throne seat was simply blinding. 　　

There was also a mummified High Elf corpse clad in a gorgeous robe and a royal cape sitting on the chair. There was even a jewel crown on his head as he held an elegant wand in his hand.　　

These corpses sat motionless on their seats, seemingly indistinguishable from real corpses.　

At the entrance of this chamber, a humongous body of a Red Dragon more than 30 feet long and 12 feet tall lay motionless on the ground. From his faint breath and hasty breathing, he should be on the verge of death.　　　

There were countless holes on his body, one of which had a fine iron thorn still stuck on it. This should be from the trap in the corridor of death. Near his neck, there was also a huge wound. This should be the one from the revolving ax trap.

Apart from those wounds, there were no other injuries on this dragon's body.

Standing at the entrance and looking at this dragon, Morrigan laid out his hands helplessly before turning to Felina. He said, "Dear Red Dragon Warrior, with all due respect, I can confirm that this giant dragon did not encounter any formidable opponents. He was done in by his own idiocy."　

Felina did not like the sound of those words. However, the truth was right in front of her. She could not refute Morrigan's claim.

Link had to consider the reputation of the dragon race. He then said, "This is understandable. Todelron is a Warrior and does not excel in dismantling traps. Now, we have to think about ways to deal with these corpses. I have a feeling if we touch anything in this chamber, they will immediately awaken."　　

"Why must we touch those things? Since Todelron has already failed in his mission, we should leave." Felina truly had something against entering graves.

However, how could Morrigan give up when he was already here? His eyes were already glued to the jeweled throne seat. 　　

After some thought, an idea struck him. He thought of a valid excuse and said, "I'm afraid we have to exit using a secret door."　　

Morrigan could not help but feel extremely proud of his intellect. While they were busy with finding the secret door, he would then sneak a few items into his dimensional bracelet. After all, who would notice amongst the chaos?

On the other hand, Link's gaze was glued to those bookshelves. He was planning to think of an excuse as well. However, Morrigan beat him to it. He then nodded in agreement and said, "Indeed, getting out is an issue as well. I'm afraid we must disturb these ancestors."

These excuses were simply perfect. Felina had no choice but to agree. She said, "Then, let's find our way."　　

Morrigan's mind suddenly became extremely active. He whispered, "We first have to find a way to deal with these corpses. I have an idea. What do you guys think?"

"Speak," Link said. Link had respect for this revered adventurer. He had no qualms about taking a few things from graves. After all, it would be a waste to leave so much wealth and wisdom untouched.　　

Morrigan then started analyzing in detail, "Look, the strongest corpse here should be the one on the throne seat. He should be the owner of the tomb, Derrac. History has told us that Derrac guards his wealth jealously. However, he was also an extremely powerful Magician. I predict that he was of Level-8 strength before he died. If he awakens, it will be troublesome. However, they are all now in slumber mode, giving us a chance to strike first. We merely have to get rid of Derrac first before dealing with his underlings. That will be a lot easier."

Link then nodded his head in agreement. The plan sounded good.　

Although Felina was unwilling to destroy the tomb, she knew that it was the only way and agreed disdainfully.　

Link then told Nana, "Take his head; destroy his wand."

"I understand!" Nana nodded. Boom! Nana disappeared with the sound of an explosion, and the next moment, something strange happened.　　

A silver defensive light dome appeared around six feet in front of Derrac. The barrier was actually strong enough to block Nana's progress!

Clang! Clang! Nana's dagger struck the light dome consecutively, emitting a crisp sound. The light dome brilliance then slowly dimmed. However, Nana was not able to get through it in one hit. 　　

Following which, the eyes of all the corpses lit up, revealing a chilling blue glow. Derrac, who was sitting on the throne seat, stood up.

A raspy voice echoed through the chamber, "Who dares to break into my palace?"　　

A majestic magic fluctuation then appeared around Derrac's body. The three of them standing at the entrance stared at the scene with their mouths agape.

Morrigan fell speechless as he swallowed his saliva in apprehension.

Felina whispered, "This is not right. This power is at least Level-9 right?"

"Nana, come back!" Link immediately ordered.

Swoosh! Nana instantly returned to Link's side.　

At that moment, Derrac's voice echoed through the chamber again, "Hm, a red dragon? Are you here to seek death?"　

Felina was startled. She thought Derrac was referring to her and instinctively went into her defensive stance.　

Link was surprised as well. This was because Derrac was a lot stronger than the Level-8 strength he was at in the game.　　

However, upon hearing Derrac's words, he reacted immediately. He pulled Felina along as he retreated, whispering, "Derrac has just awakened and is not very sensitive to his surroundings. He should not have seen us. Let's retreat for now."　

As Link was saying those words, he saw a huge lightning ball appear at the tip of Derrac's wand. Lightning bolts then emerged from this lightning ball and struck Todelron's body mercilessly. One could even smell the aroma of roasted dragon meat after a few attacks.

Todelron naturally would not survive these attacks.

The spells were terrifyingly strong. They were at least Level-8 in strength. Morrigan and Felina had a horrified expression. Link was the only one who still managed to maintain his composure. He stared at the strong lightning bolts and immediately started thinking.

"He has not seen us yet. We will retreat and think of a way!"