Chapter 85 - Buried Castle (2) - Reaching the Library

There were gargoyles all around them, closing in fast. Now that Arthur was in combat with them, he could see their actual level.

[Castle Gargoyle]

[Level: 33]

The enemies were level 33, far higher than Arthur’s. He had killed one with Leonard’s help and received a decent amount of EXP for it, though he had no time to celebrate. More gargoyles were coming.

He was scared. His hands were sweating, and so was his back, cold and clammy. It wasn’t a real fear of dying, since he could respawn, but of losing EXP, losing time, and, who knew, maybe even failing the quest.

Leonard made his move quickly. He shoved his hand into his spatial leather bag and pulled out a gold talisman shaped like a beetle. He tossed it on the ground, and almost instantly a yellowish barrier formed around them, shielding them from the gargoyles.

The gargoyles attacked the barrier the moment it appeared, spewing fire and pounding it with their stone claws. Some even swung their tails at it.

The booming sounds made Arthur worry.

"Will this barrier hold?" he asked.

"Relax. It’ll hold. Let me show you another trinket I have here."

Once again, Leonard shoved his hand into his bag, this time pulling out a staff. Each staff had a different enchantment, which meant each one did something different. The one in Leonard’s hands now allowed him to summon creatures to aid him in battle.

The moment he channeled the staff’s energy, a magic circle appeared beneath him. He struck the butt of the staff against the ground, and multiple creatures emerged from the earth, summoned from another realm.

They were tall fire elementals, creatures made of living flame, common in places with abundant fire energy, like volcanoes. Skilled fire mages could summon them as well.

There were three of them, all level 40, with far higher stats than normal summons. They marched toward the gargoyles.

Arthur stood still, watching the battle unfold before his eyes. It was nice not having to work hard to win a fight. Usually, being far more skilled and knowledgeable than everyone else, Arthur had to do most of the hard work, which was, of course, tiring.

Leonard was watching too, arms crossed, looking proud.

"See how good my items are? I made them myself, and some I found during my explorations. One day, I’m sure you can be like me."

The fire elementals were throwing magma balls at the gargoyles, melting them almost instantly. The ground and the castle itself looked fine, though. The castle was made of the same stone as that door, and according to Leonard, it could withstand attacks from level 100 NPCs or players. That was really impressive. There was no way to know if he was telling the truth, but the information was out there.

"Also, I get that you have that Stealth skill, probably from gifting an item to a Rogue, but why do you have a sword and a bow, and apparently can use multiple skills?" Leonard asked, genuinely curious, a slight frown on his face.

"I made 2 different contracts with people from different classes. Can’t you do that?"

"No, not at all. I can gift items and learn skills from others permanently, but my contracts don’t work like that. It seems we’re different types of Soul Artisans. Interesting."

Leonard put a hand under his chin, deep in thought. "What’s the difference between me and you? You look normal to me."

Arthur already knew what it was. Leonard was an NPC, and he was a player. It had to be that.

The fight outside the barrier stopped. All the gargoyles were dead, and Arthur still got the EXP, since he was on a mission with Leonard, so it counted as if they were in a party.

[+12000 EXP]

[+12000 EXP]

...

In total, the fire elementals killed 11 gargoyles, pushing Arthur up to level 21! It was huge. He was getting farther away from the top 2 on the leveling ladder.

Seconds after he leveled up, Shadow Cloak messaged him. It was as if she had been monitoring the ladder the whole time, or had even set up a notification for whenever Arthur leveled up.

"How are you leveling up so fast? Why didn’t you let me go with you? Are you gatekeeping something? I won’t give you kisses anymore, and you can shove the daggers you craft up your ass."

She then sent another message.

"Forget the dagger part. I really love the beauties you craft for me... But tell me, what the fuck is going on?"

Arthur messaged her something simple.

"Can’t talk right now. Sorry."

He was certain she would get angry about it, but there was no way he would stop his exploration to send a text. His mind was focused on something else.

After the fight was over and the barrier was gone, they entered the castle through the front door. Arthur tried to explain the concept of the Chosen Ones to Leonard.

It was only a matter of time before he found out, so why not tell him now? At least Arthur had something to say, so Leonard wasn’t the only one talking non-stop.

"This is amazing, impressive, absurd even. So you’re basically immortal? Unbelievable. Not just you, but millions of you? Won’t this crash the world, the economy, everything?"

"Sort of," Arthur said with a nod. "But all of us are still weak, and the divines also prevent us from doing anything too extreme."

The divines he was referring to were the system, of course.

"This explains why we’re both Soul Artisans, yet you have something unique that I don’t. But as you explained, the +5% EXP from your contracts is nice, since you can level up faster. The skills are nice too, but it’s not like I have no way to counter that. You know, crafting powerful items, like the ones I used in the battle just now. And we’re going to learn how to create spells, so your advantage over me will diminish."

It was as if he was trying to find ways to overcome the difference between them.

"Don’t be jealous, my dear friend Leonard. We’re brothers, remember that. If we don’t help each other, our Soul Artisan legacy will die forever."

"For sure. We can’t be like that traitor working with the church. Scumbag. Anyway, let’s move."

The castle had a similar layout to the one Arthur had explored in the dungeon, but the furniture and decorations were way different. It was clear that these things were from a whole different time, ancient stuff. At the same time, the interior was well kept, without a speck of dust, and all the furniture looked new, which was almost impossible, as wood never lasted that long without someone taking care of it.

"According to my research, the dragon is still using his magic to preserve this place. I’m sure he already knows we’re inside the castle. Follow me."

Leonard was the one who knew where to go, so Arthur just followed him. But something felt off about the place, and Arthur would soon find out what it was.

They walked through the corridors, eventually finding a massive open area. A library, with lots of packed shelves, and a spiral staircase leading down toward the place where the dragon supposedly was.

"What is that?" Arthur said, pointing at one of the shelves.

He saw someone standing there, brushing off the dust from the shelf. A human.