Chapter 153: Valor Family & Shadow Realm

Edward slouched down from the exhaustion, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

His entire body ached.

Each skeleton possessed raw power equivalent to a Rank 2 Awakener.

Although they didn’t have skills like true Awakeners or monsters and were thus weaker in actual combat, it was still difficult for the current him to deal with them.

The more Edward thought about it, the angrier he became when recalling the source of his current injuries.

Surprisingly, he had not been injured while fighting against the monsters of the Dryad Forest. Instead, he had fallen into the hands of an unknown human brat!

Worst of all, all his possessions had been taken away, including the Divine Vessel given to him by his teacher.

Thankfully, with his own intelligence, he had managed to lead the man here step by step.

After so long, he had finally reached his destination. Edward raised his head, his face full of enthusiasm.

What entered his eyes was another stone gate.

Its size was several times larger than any of the gates before it.

Likewise, its aura was far more ancient and unfathomable, similar to the ancient Relics he had seen in the Thieves’ Order’s headquarters.

Seeing this, Edward confirmed he had finally reached his destination.

It took him several seconds to recover from previous consumption. With struggling steps, he moved toward the gate.

This time, he didn’t slash his arm and let his blood flow into it.

Instead, he turned to the side.

A small platform made of stone could be seen, embedded into the wall.

At its center was a small but deep gap, as though it had been chipped away by something long ago.

Edward, though, was not fooled by its ordinary appearance.

He approached it, staring at the gap before opening his mouth.

His right hand thrust into his own throat.

His face turned pale as he did so. Hesitation flashed across his eyes.

Yet when he recalled all the effort he had gone through, as well as some of the clues revealed by his teacher and ancestors, he no longer hesitated.

With a swoosh, he pulled an item out of his stomach.

Had anyone been here to witness this scene, they would have been astonished.

Not only by the action, but also by the item itself.

It was not a small key or anything similar. Instead, it was a several-foot-long sword.

It was entirely crimson, seemingly dripping with fresh blood, and its aura constantly resonated with that of Edward.

Edward glanced at this ancient family heirloom, gently tracing his fingers along its surface.

Then, he showed no more hesitation.

With a fluid motion, he thrust the blade into the gap on the platform.

As he did, his mouth opened with difficulty, and he muttered a few sentences under his breath.

"The Valor family has arrived to complete the ancient agreement..."

"Gate Open!"

The moment the final word fell, the crimson sword disappeared into the gap.

Only its twisted hilt remained behind, with the droplets of blood dripping off of it.

The entire cavern began to tremble. The enormous stone gate started to move.

Just like the stone gates within and outside the cave, it split into two and opened.

What lay on the other side, however, was not bottomless darkness like every time before.

Instead, it was a vast, luxurious hall.

The moment Edward saw it and some of the items inside, he could no longer remain calm.

He recalled the ancient legends passed down in his family generation after generation, as well as the rumored identity of the creature lying inside.

He knew his opportunity to change his fate had finally arrived!

After removing the heirloom from the keyhole, he hurriedly rushed inside.

Upon his entrance, the stone gate behind him started to close.

Edward did not pay it any heed.

However, what he failed to realize was that the gate’s loud movements concealed the arrival of another being.

Unbeknownst to him, a dark shadow had appeared in the cavern and entered the gate along with him.

Unfortunately, he was too excited to notice this.

By the time the door closed, his eyes were already blinded by the many items in front of him.

--

Aurelius had previously made many guesses regarding what the secret of this cave was.

He had wondered whether it was a cemetery, a place of inheritance, or perhaps an empty cave left by the cultist as a joke.

Yet after he entered cavern after cavern and witnessed the skeletons scattered along the ground, the third option was ruled out.

Whoever had set up this place had put up too much effort for it to merely be a joke.

By the time he entered the final gate, the slightest chance of this place being an empty cave had disappeared.

A vast hall entered his vision.

Enormous gray pillars rose from the ground and held up its ceiling, while every wall was adorned with a different luxury item.

Paintings. Jewelry. Hides of terrifying monsters.

Each was extremely precious, enough to make even nobles turn green with greed.

However, none of this was what caught Aurelius’ attention the most.

His gaze subconsciously moved toward the center of the hall.

There lay a large throne.

Pitch-black and covered with countless uneven surfaces, it looked particularly terrifying when combined with the darkness lurking around it.

Yet what was even stranger was that a figure sat on it.

It was a skeleton. Wearing thick metal armor of the same color as the throne itself, it looked extremely majestic despite its ordinary identity.

Aurelius’ expression changed upon looking at it, especially when he noticed a faint light flickering within its eye sockets.

Although that light disappeared a second later, Aurelius knew very well it had not been an illusion.

He glanced at the closing gate behind him and then at Edward, who was observing his surroundings, and made a tough decision.

He chose to stay still!

Draped in what appeared to be a black curtain, he blended into the surrounding darkness, making him undetectable even to the insight abilities of a Thief.

...

[Shadow Realm Lv. 1: You can enter another dimension. The world of darkness—Shadow Realm. Unless a person is strong enough to reach the Shadow Realm with their power or possesses the authority of the Shadow Realm too, they will be unable to detect your presence.]