Chapter 326: The Tomb

Through the cabin window, the enormous walls of the First Shelter gradually shrank into the distance. The densely packed buildings slowly became a blurred outline before finally disappearing beneath the rolling clouds below.

Zich withdrew his gaze and looked at Nadia, who was sitting opposite him.

"Just how much do you actually know about the interior of the ancient tomb?"

"Not much."

Nadia didn’t bother hiding anything. She took a map from her storage ring and spread it across the table between them.

"Although we’ve sent people to explore the area several times, we’ve never managed to get beyond the outer entrance. The actual seal has never been opened, so even I don’t know what’s inside."

As she spoke, she pointed toward a mountain range in the center of the map.

"This is where the ancient tomb is located. We’ve already explored the various routes around the outer area, but everything beyond the entrance remains completely unknown."

Zich lowered his head to examine the map.

Several routes leading toward the valley were marked on it, along with numerous dangerous areas in the surrounding region. However, every route eventually ended at the same location.

Clearly, that was as far as the Voss family’s explorations had managed to reach over the years.

"In other words, once we get inside, we’ll have to rely on our own judgment?"

"Exactly."

Nadia nodded.

"Rather than give you information we can’t verify, I’d prefer to explain the situation clearly beforehand. That way, we won’t end up causing trouble because of incorrect assumptions."

"That’s fine."

Zich wasn’t particularly worried.

After all, unlike Players of other professions, the one thing he didn’t lack was summons capable of scouting ahead. Furthermore, he possessed the lifesaving skill Spirit Exchange. As long as they didn’t encounter some special environment capable of completely sealing off space, he would still have a way to escape if danger arose.

Of course, that didn’t mean he intended to be careless.

An ancient tomb that had prevented the Voss family from opening it for so many years couldn’t possibly contain anything ordinary.

Over the next while, the two briefly discussed several matters they needed to pay attention to after entering the ancient tomb. Meanwhile, the airship continued flying at high speed, gradually leaving the region surrounding the First Shelter far behind.

The journey lasted for most of the afternoon.

By the time the airship finally began descending, the scenery below had changed completely.

The forests and rivers that could occasionally be seen earlier had long since disappeared, replaced by an endless stretch of desolate mountains. Grayish black rocks lay exposed across the landscape, with barely any vegetation in sight. From a distance, it seemed as though the entire region had lost all signs of life.

Deep within those mountains lay an extremely narrow valley.

The valley’s entrance was concealed by several overlapping mountain peaks. Without knowing its exact location beforehand, even someone flying overhead would have difficulty discovering that a passage existed there.

The airship slowly landed.

Zich followed Nadia out of the cabin and discovered that the surrounding valley had already been secured by members of the Voss family. Dozens of guards were stationed throughout the area, clearly having completed their preparations in advance.

"Let’s go."

Nadia wasted no time and led him straight into the depths of the valley.

The path wasn’t particularly wide, and towering rock walls rose on either side. The deeper they traveled, the dimmer the surrounding light became. Only when they reached an enormous stone wall at the very end of the valley did Nadia finally stop.

"We’re here."

Zich raised his head.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing in front of him except a bare rock wall.

However, after taking a few more steps forward, his expression suddenly changed.

Buzz!

An invisible pressure descended without warning, as though an enormous boulder had suddenly been placed upon his shoulders. Even the previously calm air around him seemed to become unusually stagnant.

"Hmm?" Zich narrowed his eyes.

As he focused his attention on the area ahead, he quickly discovered that the space covering the seemingly ordinary rock wall was constantly distorting by an almost imperceptible degree.

And deep within those distorted ripples, he could vaguely make out the outline of an enormous stone archway.

"So this is spatial pressure?"

A strange light flashed through Zich’s eyes.

"That’s right." Nadia walked over to his side. "And we’re still standing outside the seal."

Hearing this, Zich finally understood why Nadia had insisted that he reach Level 30 before coming here.

The spatial pressure leaking from the outer area alone was already this powerful. If lower level Players came here, they probably wouldn’t even be able to approach the entrance, much less enter the ancient tomb.

"Now, let’s see whether these things can do their job."

Nadia took a deep breath before retrieving the black wooden box from earlier.

Accompanied by a faint fluctuation of mana, the three black crystals inside slowly floated into the air and moved toward one another. Their previously jagged fracture edges actually fitted together perfectly, eventually forming a single complete black crystal.

The next moment!

Buzz!

A thin beam of black light suddenly shot out from within the crystal and struck the ground beneath the stone archway.

Immediately afterward, complex and ancient patterns began emerging across the previously motionless rock surface.

Like mechanisms that had slumbered for countless years finally awakening, the patterns spread rapidly across the ground, connecting to the entire stone archway hidden within the distorted space in the blink of an eye.

Rumble!

The surrounding space suddenly trembled.

The previously distorted air gradually began returning to normal, and the heavy pressure enveloping everyone weakened along with it.

As spatial ripples spread toward either side, an ancient stone gate standing dozens of meters tall finally revealed itself completely before everyone’s eyes.

Seeing this, a trace of excitement flashed through Nadia’s eyes.

Success!

The outer spatial seal that had troubled the Voss family for so many years had finally been stabilized!

However, she didn’t lose her composure because of this. She understood very well that the truly crucial part was only just beginning.

"Zich."

Nadia turned toward the young man beside her.

"It’s your turn now."

Zich nodded. He raised his right hand, and with a slight movement of his thoughts, he called out.

"Tiamant."

Boom!

An enormous black shadow suddenly unfolded behind him!

Accompanied by a dense aura of death sweeping outward, an Ancient Bone Dragon of astonishing size slowly materialized. Its enormous skeletal wings stretched out to either side while dark golden soul flames burned within the deeply recessed sockets of its skull.

Merely appearing there was enough to make the surrounding Voss family guards instinctively hold their breath.

Although they had long heard that Zich possessed a Bone Dragon, actually witnessing such a legendary undead creature with their own eyes was another matter entirely. The overwhelming pressure radiating from it left them deeply shaken.

However, Zich paid no attention to their reactions.

That was because the instant Tiamant appeared, he clearly sensed an unusual fluctuation within her consciousness.

Tiamant slowly lowered her head, her eyes burning with dark golden soul flames fixed firmly upon the ancient stone gate ahead. Her enormous body remained unusually motionless, showing no intention of moving.

Then suddenly, the incomplete crown mark on her forehead suddenly began emitting a faint dark golden glow.

Buzz!

Almost at the exact moment the light appeared, the ancient stone gate, which had already returned to stillness, suddenly began trembling violently once again!

Rumble!

A deep, heavy grinding sound emerged from within the stone gate, as though some enormous mechanism that had slumbered for countless years was slowly beginning to operate again.

The next moment, under everyone’s astonished gazes, the two enormous stone doors that had been tightly shut actually began moving apart!

Although their movement was extremely slow, accompanied by continuous deafening rumbles, a narrow gap finally appeared between the previously seamless stone doors.

Whoosh!

An intensely cold gust suddenly surged out from deep within the opening!

This cold was completely different from ordinary low temperatures. It was so unnatural that even Zich felt a faint chill spreading through his soul.

He instinctively tightened his grip on the Frostgrave, his gaze passing through the gradually widening gap as he stared into the pitch black darkness beyond.

Meanwhile, Nadia, standing beside him, could no longer conceal the smile spreading across her face.

The Voss family had waited far too long for this day.

And now, the ancient tomb that had troubled them for so many years had finally opened its doors to them!