Chapter Fifteen

Skeletons closed in from all directions, far more than they could kill together.

Just as they grasped at their magic to buy themselves some time, the skeletons froze as one. As if their processors locked up, they stayed in whatever position they were in prior. Some even froze mid-step with one foot raised, balance somehow maintained.

Just as the twins relaxed, figuring Ione did something, movement all around them caused their elements to burst forth, ready to fight back.

However, a moment later it turned out to be a false alarm as the movement wasn’t the skeletons reawakening but instead they began crumbling just as a ding sounded in their minds.

A rush of warmth accompanied the ding, announcing a level up not that Elysia checked to confirm though she noted she needed to distribute attribute points soon. She didn’t want to deal with the hassle of spending large quantities of attribute points.

That was a future Elysia problem, though. First, they needed to figure out what happened, then spank a Lich. Why couldn’t it invite them in to its home like a civilized person? Did the level ups erase its manners? Though to be fair, it forced her to enter its domain without asking if she wanted to way back then, so it was probably always rude.

Elysia shook her head to clear the absurdities of trying to attribute human qualities to a system created Lich. Though it was the only dungeon creature that appeared to have sapience. Unless one counted the race changing parasites from China Creek.

A prod of her bond with Ione directed her to the east. She stepped over the crumbling remains of the skeletons. Even the armor disintegrated before her eyes. Before they even reached the second row of skeletons, there was no evidence remaining of said skeletons. The only sound in the cemetery was their footsteps as they wove around gravesites toward Ione.

Upon reaching the feline, they found her loafed on the ground, ears drooped, tail limp as she stared off into the distance with great sadness in her eyes. To complete the look, she pumped depressed feelings through the bond.

At first, Elysia moved to comfort her bond, only to stop as she realized the likely cause. Was she really so obsessed with food? She should be above this. Wherever if she wanted to mope around, she could do it in her own time.

Elysia sent a series of images of the Lich she faced last time, causing Ione to instantly perk up previous depression forgotten. She shot to her feet, then trotted in the mausoleum’s direction, occasionally glancing back at the sisters as if to beckon them to follow.

While shaking her head, Elysia jogged to catch up with Sereia following close behind. Said mermaid kept her head on a swivel in case something jumped out at them, but nothing did by the time they reached the mausoleum.

This time one wall was missing, revealing impenetrable darkness beyond. Sereia raised her hand to stop them in case it was a trap, but Elysia and Ione entered without glancing back at her. Not wanting to be left behind, she followed.

Torches lit up the small room leading to descending steps which she knew led to the Lich’s lair. At least, that’s what she assumed. The dungeon had a few differences, but mostly followed the same overall design.

Her eyes scanned the room as she sent a series of images to her family of her previous visit to the mausoleum. She would have explained it out loud, but she didn’t want to risk alerting the Lich. Maybe it would adjust its tactics if it knew she faced it before.

Though her caution could be pointless. There was a chance the Lich remembered their previous battle, not that her previous tactics or lack thereof would teach the Lich anything. It was blind luck she beat it last time. This time she had her family and much more potent lightning at her disposal.

At the thought of her lightning, she siphoned off a few more strands, barely receiving a headache this time, giving her hope she might be able to replenish her lightning while fighting in the future. Not that she would take the risk if she didn’t have to.

The mastermind of their previous strategy Sereia frowned as she went over the images her sister sent her but with the level difference between then and now it didn’t provide much worth other than telling her the Lich could use some sort of death magic or void magic she wasn’t sure which one.

It was a miracle her Elysia survived, but it wouldn’t be a miracle this time. She had her super-powerful mermaid sister to help this time and, as much as she would like to ignore the annoying feline, Ione was powerful in her own right.

Before the trio ventured further, Sereia sent a series of images warning them of potential traps on the steps. Just because there weren’t any last time, that didn’t mean they were in the clear. It was too perfect of a setup to not have traps. Besides, from what her Elysia told her, the Lich welcomed her in the last time, not so much this time.

As the one with the most sensitive senses, Ione took the lead with the twins walking side-by-side behind her. Right away Sereia’s warning proved useful as the first step had several pressure plates if they stepped on the wrong spot.

This wasn’t an isolated occurrence, either. Seemingly random steps had the same pressure pads. One even had a tripwire which, even if it didn’t trigger something it wouldn’t be a fun descent while bouncing off steps and probably triggering other traps.

Of course, Ione spotted every trap well ahead of time, allowing them to navigate the stairs without trouble. Though with their improved senses, all three of them had no problem navigating down the stairs, even with the lack of torches along the stairs like her previous descent.

Unfortunately, like her previous descent, the journey down the narrow tunnel took forever, at least to the trio, as they had to dodge homeless traps which only served to slow them down.

Finally, they reached a stone door which hung open unlike everything else since they entered the graveyard. Of course, Elysia knew that was only a temporary condition. The moment they stepped inside, it would seal shut if her previous delve was any indication.

They glanced at one another, then as one stepped inside to find a familiar crypt, though stretched larger than her previous visit.

As they expected, the entrance sealed shut, leaving them trapped. Though Elysia wondered if she could blast through the wall with her divine lightning. Not really worth a try, but if they were desperate, it might work. Of course, it would be much more practical to aim the divine lightning at the Lich instead. Hopefully, it didn’t come to that.

Stone ground on stone as the lid of the sarcophagus slid away, only for nothing to come out, causing the trio to frown.

Where was the Lich? They approached the sarcophagus to find a dark tunnel inside, just like Elysia showed in her images.

A bright flash caused all three to jump, then spin toward the source, only to find a closed chest big enough to fit Elysia and Sereia together inside.

As they stared at the chest confused, Elysia received a ding but like all others since her evolution, she ignored it, then forgot its existence as her sister turned toward her. “This ever happened before?”

Elysia shook her head. “No, usually there was a boss at the end that I had to kill. Then I received some mana crystals and possibly a skill crystal.”

While eying the chest Sereia asked, “How do you receive the crystals?”

“They just appear next to the dungeon boss’s body.”

A suspicious frown formed as Sereia stared at the chest. She approached it and inspected it from every angle, but as far as she could tell, it was a regular chest. There wasn’t even the warmth she attributed to mana radiating off it.

All evidence indicated it was a regular chest. Yet something told her it wasn’t. The thing was, she knew it wasn’t a regular chest, as it appeared out of nowhere. Maybe they received a special reward for a complete clear or something.

Despite not believing her own words, Sereia broke the silence. “Maybe higher level dungeons gave treasure chests.”

Seeing her sister’s suspicion, Elysia’s eyes narrowed on the chest. She waved Sereia back then retreated to the other side of the twenty meter wide room. Ione followed them without prompting.

Now hopefully at a safe distance, Elysia sent a single-strand lightning bolt at the chest, easily striking it from range because of its partial metal construction. When the light cleared, the chest remained the same. In fact, there wasn’t even a scorch mark from her lightning.

“Maybe it really was just a reward chest.” Commented Elysia, though Sereia continued to stare at the chest with suspicion, having played way too many games. Though to be fair, many of those games did include randomly appearing reward chests, easing her suspicion slightly.

Still, something about the chest unnerved her and going by Ione’s staring, she wasn’t alone. Even Elysia felt something was off, though she couldn’t pinpoint it.

As Sereia turned her gaze away from the chest and back to her sister, her eyes landed on the coiled whip strapped to her twin’s hip. “You know how to use that?”

Elysia averted her gaze. “No.”

With a smug smile Sereia extended her hand while making a give me gesture only for Elysia to stare at her eyes narrow. “Father never taught us how to use a whip. We weren’t some rancher family.”

While continuing to make grabby gestures, Sereia commented, “Of course he didn’t. If he did, he would have taught both of us, as was his way.”

“Then how?”

Sereia’s face went blank. “Experimentation.”

It clicked a moment later, causing Elysia’s face to redden, but only for a few core pulses.

With a shrug, trying to hide her embarrassment, Elysia slipped the whip out of its holder then handed it to her twin handle first.

Sereia swirled the whip, trying to get a handle on it before a few flicks, each time cracking with deadly force. “I like it.”

As an experiment, she sent her water magic into the whip, causing it to turn bluish green water, vapor wafting off its entire length as she cracked it a few more times.

Satisfied with her tests, she approached the chest, stopping several meters away. She squared her shoulders, eyes locked on the latch. With almost inhuman precision, she flicked the whip forward, hitting the bottom of the latch, causing it to flip upward however the chest remained closed. Another flick solved that. The chest lid lifted open with a groan of old hinges.

The trio stared at the chest, expecting something to happen, but nothing did after dozens of core pulses.

Sereia stared at the chest, questioning the feeling she received from it. Her instincts screamed at her something wasn’t right, but all evidence showed it was just a simple chest. A glance at Ione told her the feline was just as confused.

Deciding she had enough of the suspicion, Elysia approached the chest. If it was trapped, it would have triggered by now.

She looked inside, only to freeze and jump back. However, she was far too slow as the chest suddenly came to life and swallowed her whole.

Panic shooting through her, Elysia grasped at all her threads at once and released them outward, uncaring about the consequences. Her ears popped in the previously dark insides of the chest, now blindingly bright.

A moment later, she found herself flying through the air, the smell of smoke filling her nostrils as she impacted the wall of the crypt with a crunch.

Mind momentarily blanked, it took her several seconds to regain awareness of her surroundings. When she did, she found the previously pristine crypt covered with guts and wood shrapnel.

As she climbed to her feet, brushing off some shrapnel, her eyes met her sister and bond. Both of them practically screamed I told you so with their eyes.

With a sigh, she approached the epicenter of the explosion, to find a piece of paper with a few words in bold print.

Check your notifications. This is your final warning.

Despite not wanting to, Elysia followed the command, teeth clenching as she read the most recent notification.

Open the chest within 30 seconds for bonus rewards or the chest will turn into a mimic.