Chapter 306: Palace Jail
The Great Elder of the Adventurer's Guild, who could be said to be the overall Leader of all Humans in the First Act—Akara; Cain, whose Knowledge was unmatched despite having no Strength to tie a chicken; and the one who made him most wary, the Old Man Sorceress walking in front.
The President of the Camp Magic Guild, Fara.
A Super Expert from the same era as his Master, Kashya. No matter how arrogant Carlos was, he had self-awareness. The Old Man Sorceress whom Kashya described as having a 'Restless' personality, a Super Expert at Level 82 with Strength comparable to Adventurers in the Third Act. In front of him, Carlos was just a child playing with knives and guns.
And the last one, wasn't that his Master's student, the Little Druid he defeated some time ago?
Could they be here to arrest him? Thinking this, Carlos couldn't help but give a bitter smile. How could that be? If that were the case, Fara alone would be enough. Why would Akara and Cain come to join the Excitement?
After hesitating for a while, watching the four gradually move away, he suddenly seemed to think of something. His Eyes lit up, and after pondering for a moment, he secretly followed them.
Just then, Fara, who was secretly looking around, slightly tilted his Head, revealing a meaningful Smile.
"I say, Fara, stop staring at beauties all the Time, okay? Image, pay attention to your Image."
"Wu, you're wrong. I'm observing the Enemy's situation. I'm definitely not staring at that hot-figured Lut Gholein Maiden next to me," Fara said righteously, wiping his nose.
"..."
Half an hour later, we arrived at the magnificent Royal Palace Gate. Az, who had already been notified by the Mage Guild, came running over excitedly, his face full of fawning Smiles.
"It is truly This King's Honor to have the Four Great Elders visit together."
"Not at all. The Adventurer's Guild still relies heavily on Your Majesty's care," Akara said unhurriedly, engaging in official pleasantries with Az, pulling and pushing for quite a while before getting to the point.
"Your Majesty, we have come this Time to explore your country's Underground Prison."
When Lord Tal Rasha pointed out the location of the Horadrim's hidden Waypoint to me, he specifically mentioned this Underground Prison. Sigh, I don't know who was so creative as to build the Waypoint inside the Jail. This has nothing to do with the Strategy of "the more dangerous the place, the safer it is," right? One can only say the builder's thinking was rather alternative.
Of course, although the Waypoint is indeed in the Jail, just like in the Game, there is one difference: there are no Female Quarters above the Jail. You don't even need a Brain to figure this out. Why would a Jail be built under the Female Quarters? Is the King's Brain problematic? Blizzard definitely had a logic issue here.
"Underground Prison?" Az was taken aback.
"We do have a Jail. But it's not Underground. Are you looking for someone? If so, This King can do it for you."
Az's answer surprised the four of us. Akara and the others naturally turned their Gaze towards me.
"I don't know either," I said softly, scratching my Head.
"Lord Tal Rasha did say it was on the third level of the Royal Palace Underground Prison."
"Oh, This King remembers now."
Just as we Elders were exchanging glances, Az suddenly patted his Head.
"Underground Prison, that must be the place. However, are you really sure you want to go there?"
"Yes. Your Majesty, if you don't mind, could you take us there?" Our four Eyes immediately lit up.
"No problem, Esteemed Elders, please follow me." Az wiggled his obese Body and led us into the Palace.
Along the way, Az explained to us that this Underground Prison was built inside the Palace specifically to hold special Prisoners. As for what kind of Prisoners, Az gave an awkward Smile, and everyone understood implicitly—it's not surprising for such a large state institution to have some Secret Prison Cells.
However, this Royal Palace Underground Prison had been abandoned over a thousand years ago because, at some unknown Time, Hell Monsters began appearing inside. Since they couldn't be completely eliminated, the Old King at the Time could only Helplessly seal the entire Jail. To prevent the people from panicking, he ordered that the News be strictly kept Secret. So, after so many years, everyone gradually forgot about this place. Only successive Kings knew a little bit about it because they were told that the place must be heavily guarded.
Winding through the Palace Corridor, the path gradually became desolate, but the frequency of encountering Patrol Soldiers increased. It seemed Az's claim of heavy guarding was true. He said with a bitter Smile that having such a place not only consumed a lot of manpower but also made him Restless in his sleep. If it weren't for the huge Cost of relocating the Palace, he would have moved long ago.
After about the Time it takes to drink a cup of Tea, when I was already dizzy from being led around, Az finally stopped in a desolate open Space. He beckoned, and a few Soldiers walked over from a distance.
"You few, open the Underground Door..."
"Esteemed Elders, are you really sure you don't need Soldiers to accompany you?" After giving instructions, Az turned back and asked again.
"We appreciate Your Majesty's kindness, but this small Matter doesn't require Your Majesty's Soldiers to be dispatched."
Fara stepped forward and said with full Confidence. With his Strength, those Soldiers... no, even all the Adventurers in the First Act, were just burdens to him.
"Since the Esteemed Elders are determined, This King will not bother you further. If you need anything, please inform me, and This King will do my best."
Leaving this sentence behind, Az bid farewell and hurried away with his guards. It seemed he truly didn't want to stay in this ghostly place for a moment longer.
Led by the Soldiers, we came to a huge Cellar Door. It was pressed down by some heavy objects. Several Soldiers were struggling to clear these heavy objects. I was about to go up and Help, but unexpectedly, those heavy objects suddenly floated up and moved aside under the Dumbfounded Gaze of the Soldiers. Seeing the Soldiers' stunned Appearance, they probably thought it was haunted.
Uh, was that Telekinesis, a Tier 2 Skill of the Lightning Element? If I had that Divine Language Staff, I could also cast it, but I could only manipulate an Item weighing no more than a hundred pounds at most. Lifting hundreds of objects totaling dozens of tons at once like this is simply impossible. Looking at Fara, he didn't even blink. This is the Gap.
With Fara's Help, the obstruction of the Underground Door was quickly cleared. Several frightened Soldiers grabbed the Handle and pulled the Door open with Effort. A dark and humid Aura immediately rushed out from the slowly opening dark Opening.
"Let's Depart."
Fara, the strongest among the four, became the Leader and was the first to step into the Dungeon. Next were Cain and Akara. Although there shouldn't be any accidents with Fara present, I subconsciously stayed at the back.
A dilapidated Dungeon, that was our first impression upon descending. There were broken Walls and rubble everywhere. The damp floor was covered with blackened Moss. The sound of dripping water from the ceiling occasionally echoed in the quiet Space, making one's Heart tremble. A foul wind blew from the dark Corridor extending into the depths, like the panting of a Wild Beast.
Fortunately, the four of us were not Ordinary Persons. There's no need to mention me and Fara. Akara couldn't see, so no matter how terrifying the Environment was, it couldn't scare her. Cain often explored outside when he was young and had experienced this kind of Environment before, so everyone just paused slightly, observed the Surroundings, and then proceeded into the depths of the Jail under the dim Light.
"Wu, when Enemies appear later, let me handle all of them. The Magic Reinforcement inside the Jail is old and in disrepair. I'm afraid it can't withstand too much Strength," Fara, who was walking in front, said.
"I understand."
Although I was a bit unhappy, what Fara said was indeed the Fact. In terms of Strength control, I couldn't compare to him even if I tried my best. If I accidentally collapsed the entire Dungeon, although no one would die with Fara present, the exploration work would definitely become complicated.
"Wait..."
Cain, who was looking around, suddenly stopped and walked towards a few already decayed Skeletons in a Prison Cell not far away. He squatted down and began researching them.
Fara and I exchanged Helpless glances—once Cain entered research mode, he couldn't care about anything else.
With a light touch of his finger, the decayed Clothing and Bone immediately turned into powder. After a while, Cain patted his Buttocks and stood up, taking out paper and pen as he walked back and quickly recording things.
"Cain, although I know you're passionate about research, it's not too late to research after we find the Horadrim and come back. I think the Data preserved by the Horadrim should be more interesting to you," Akara said slowly from the side.
Hearing the word Data, Cain's Eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly.
"That's right, let's speed up our pace."
Although Cain always believed himself to be a Horadrim, in Fact, after his Ancestors lost contact with the Horadrim a thousand years ago, successive generations intermarried with Humans from other tribes. Now, the Horadrim Blood in him has long since run dry. Otherwise, with the Horadrim's unique Magic Talent, no matter how poor his Aptitude was, he could probably at least be a Soldier level Sorceress.
Just as I was lost in thought, a slight, slow, rhythmic sound of Footsteps suddenly came from the depths of the Jail. Based on my Experience in the Desert, I could almost immediately determine—this should be the pace of Invader-type Monsters. Only their Footsteps are so slow and steady.
Looking at Fara, I saw that he continued walking forward without changing his Expression, as if he hadn't noticed anything. As we advanced, the Footsteps grew louder in the eerily quiet Jail. It was probably loud enough for even Ordinary Persons to notice now.
Just as I was secretly wondering how Fara would handle it, a spine-chilling tearing sound occurred. The Footsteps in the deep darkness abruptly stopped, and a strange Atmosphere filled the Surroundings. We continued forward for a while. I secretly searched carefully in the area where the Footsteps were roughly expected to appear. Before long, I found more than ten Invader Corpses that had been forcibly torn in half, lying scattered in an open Prison Cell. Dark red Blood flowed all over the floor.
They must have been torn in half by the power of Telekinesis. Using this move can indeed minimize damage to the Prison Cells.