Chapter 152: Edward’s Escape

Edward’s screams lasted for several seconds.

Judging by their duration, Aurelius estimated that the cave was several hundred feet deep.

Combined with the absolute darkness inside the opening, it made sense why Edward had been so terrified.

However, Aurelius was not anxious about his condition.

Despite being injured, Edward was still a Rank 2 Thief. He wouldn’t possibly die from a fall like that.

Likewise, judging by the deep breathing and sound of movement coming from inside the cave, it was obvious that the dangers within it were also not enough to harm him.

Aurelius nodded in satisfaction.

He felt that taking Edward with him had been the smartest decision he had made in quite a while.

Not only could he function as a blood bank to open the cave, but he could also be used as cannon fodder to clear the way.

With him having ventured into the cave, Aurelius was no longer as fearful.

After taking one final look at his surroundings, he said goodbye to the Undead Evil Spirits, took a step forward, and entered the cave.

The familiar sensation of the world shifting around him immediately reappeared.

Aurelius soon found himself in a pitch-black world, surrounded by nothing but darkness.

Before he could light a fire to illuminate this dark world, the earth beneath his feet suddenly crumbled.

Gravity began pulling him downward, and following Edward’s experience, he also experienced a free fall.

He counted silently in his mind.

One. Two. Three.

It was only when he reached "5" that he finally took action.

Flames erupted from his back, weaving together into a pair of translucent orange wings.

Aurelius did not use them to fly. Instead, he controlled them to wave gently, slightly decreasing his downward momentum.

Bang!

Soon, his feet landed on the ground.

With the light of the Solar Wings spreading and illuminating through the cave, Aurelius’ gaze swept through his surroundings.

He found himself inside an underground cavern.

Everything around him was made from rugged, cold stone, while the only path ahead led to a single gate.

Originally, the gate should have been closed.

However, when Aurelius looked at it, he discovered that it had opened. Judging from the traces, it was only recently.

From the blood near the ground and the crimson patterns remaining on the gate, the culprit behind this was not difficult to understand.

Edward!

’Sure enough, this Thief must still possess some type of trump card,’ Aurelius thought, not too surprised by the Thief’s disappearance nor his unexpected actions.

He had long known that Edward was hiding something from him.

His behavior had made this apparent.

Aurelius didn’t believe that a Rank 2 Thief belonging to an extraordinary organization could possibly be so cowardly.

In his opinion, it was highly likely that everything before this had been an act, merely serving to lower his guard and allow Edward to accomplish his goal.

The present situation had only confirmed this.

Even so, Aurelius was neither angry nor disappointed.

A smile appeared on his lips.

’It’s good to have some secrets...’

’This place is extremely ominous. I am afraid that if I were to venture in it alone, I would find myself in danger of death.’

’Rather than risking it myself, it would be better to have a rat clear the way...’

At that thought, Aurelius did not rush to chase after Edward. He gave him some time to deal with the obstacles ahead.

With slow yet steady steps, he walked through the underground path and passed through the stone gate.

Another cavern entered his sight as he did. This time, it was slightly larger than the first one.

The other, more important, difference was that this cavern was not empty.

Besides the open stone gate, there was also something else that attracted Aurelius’ attention.

A set of bones!

Judging from their texture and deep black hue, they had been here for centuries. They now lay scattered along the ground, shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces.

It was obvious that these bones belonged to humans.

Given the current circumstances, one would have believed that they belonged to adventurers who, just like Aurelius and Edward, had chosen to venture into this place and somehow perished.

Aurelius, however, held a different opinion.

The image he had seen on the pages of the book on the stone slab surfaced in his mind. He had a guess regarding these skeletons’ identity.

Most likely, they had never been living beings—at least in this lifetime.

Aurelius’ eyes narrowed. He leaned down and placed the broken skeleton parts into the System Inventory.

Then, after a brief pause, he walked through the wide-open stone gate once more.

Another cavern entered his sight.

Still larger than the one before it, with an open gate waiting for him. Similar bones were scattered along the ground.

What was different, though, was that this time, there was also something else accompanying them.

Battle marks.

Traces of daggers could be found along the cavern’s walls, as well as on the bones themselves.

Aurelius’ guess was all but confirmed!

These skeletons were alive!

And they would target anyone who stepped inside these caverns!

--

On the other side, Edward did not know that Aurelius was investigating the traces he had left behind and had managed to understand part of the truth through them.

Even if he knew everything, he would have no time nor the will to care about it.

"Damn it!" he cursed loudly.

"If I hadn’t been injured, why would I have to struggle so much just to deal with these damned creatures?"

His eyes reflected the dozens of skeletons surrounding him.

Each held a weapon in their hands, attacking him from every direction.

Edward had to exert his full strength to successfully dodge their attacks while using the dagger made from Mana to slash at them, leaving behind large fractures.

Half a minute later, a crumbling sound echoed.

The first opponent shattered into hundreds of fragmented bones and collapsed to the ground.

With the first, the second one soon followed.

Minutes later, all the skeletons had been broken apart, collapsing to the ground and remaining silent.