"Move!" Kael commanded decisively, tightening his grip on the Snow Bear Beast while casting a binding spell to immobilize it completely. His voice turned icy. "Behave yourself. Disclose any dangers upfront, or else..."
The threat made the beast's fur stand on end. "I-I swear! But I barely know this place! The treasures here are all human artifacts—useless to us beasts! We never bother coming!"
"Let's go!"
Having reached the entrance, the trio wouldn't back down now. Fortune favored the bold—this was why they'd braved the ancient ruins!
As they stepped into the pitch-black passage, Kael flicked his wrist, conjuring a Light Spell.
The glow illuminated their faces, offering a sliver of comfort in the oppressive darkness.
Kael's eyes swept across the tunnel's walls and floor—all crafted from massive stone slabs. His brows shot up. "Granite Aurum!"
A master of magical materials, he paused to scrape a finger along the ground, then tapped it lightly. The metallic clink confirmed his suspicion.
Granite Aurum: a rare alloy. While not as exorbitant as legendary gemstones, its value was undeniable.
What stunned Kael was the seamless construction—floor, ceiling, and walls fused into one continuous expanse of the metal. Even at modest prices, this sheer quantity represented a king's ransom.
"Granite Aurum? This is prime material for Arcane Spires!" Ethan remarked. In the Southern Jura Continent, only eighth-tier mages earned the right to build such towers—symbols of supreme prowess. Their concentrated elemental energy made cultivation exponentially faster.
"Valuable indeed," Kael mused, though he shook his head. His spatial ring's limited capacity made harvesting it impractical.
Still, his excitement grew. If even the passageways were lined with luxury, the palace's inner chambers must house true marvels. No sense trading diamonds for pebbles.
"Move out." Kael exhaled sharply, resisting the allure of the Granite Aurum as he urged the group forward.
Ethan nodded silently, his eyes alight with anticipation as he took point. The trio pressed deeper into the labyrinthine depths until even the Snow Bear Beast faltered—before them sprawled a honeycomb of intersecting tunnels, countless passageways branching in every direction.
"A subterranean maze!" The beast squirmed in Kael's grip. "Endless forks—some lead to treasure, others to dead ends! I've no idea which is which!"
Kael's frown deepened as he surveyed the chaotic web. While choosing a path posed no immediate danger, backtracking would waste precious time—a luxury they couldn't afford.
Amelia bit her lip, equally uncertain.
Just as hesitation gripped them—
Clang!
A distant echo reverberated from one tunnel, followed by muffled, exhilarated shouts. Someone had gotten there first.
"Listen!" The trio exchanged glances and bolted toward the sound. Whatever lay ahead had sparked jubilation—treasure.
They streaked through the passage, their enhanced speed carrying them to a vast stone platform in seconds. There, bathed in eerie gloom, stood a dust-shrouded chest—its lid pried open—flanked by three unmistakable figures.
"Nanka Academy?!" Kael's eyes narrowed.
Jessica, Simon, and the enigmatic Soren—the same trio humiliated by Kael before—whirled around in shock, instinctively shielding the chest.
Jessica's grip tightened on her staff, her voice dripping with venom. "Flamecrest Academy? You dared tail us?!"
Her logic was simple: their discovery had been serendipitous. For rivals to appear now? Only stalking explained it.
Simon's smirk oozed smugness despite his guarded stance. "How pathetic—tracking us like shadows. Pity you're too late."
Kael's pulse spiked. The Nanka trio must have gotten something extraordinary from that chest—something worth killing over.
Simon and Jessica's gazes sharpened into glacial blades, their hostility palpable. Old grudges simmered beneath the surface, and here in the lawless ruins, restraint had evaporated—especially now that they held treasure.
The thought ignited like wildfire.
"Kael," Simon sneered, cracking his knuckles, "you humiliated us last time. Let's see you handle this!"
Without warning, he and Jessica struck—simultaneously. Even the usually reserved Soren lunged forward. All three targeted Kael in a coordinated assault!
Kael had anticipated treachery. His body blurred backward as a Flame Barrier erupted before him.
Ethan lived up to his role as vanguard. Combat aura detonated around him as he intercepted the attackers—warriors lead, always.
Amelia's eyes frosted over. Her Glacial Aura lashed out like a whip toward the trio.
But Jessica and Simon—mere sixth-tier adepts—wouldn't dare attack without a trump card. Their hands flashed, unfurling scrolls pulsing with dense magical energy.
Kael's breath hitched.
"Seventh-tier spellscrolls!" he snarled. The elemental signature was unmistakable.
Simon and Jessica had invested blood money. Even Grace's profligate use of a fifth-tier scroll (worth 10,000 gold coins) paled in comparison.
Seventh-tier scrolls were priceless artifacts. These required at least a tenth-tier archmage to craft, with success rates plummeting exponentially at higher tiers—seventh-tier scrolls bordered on mythical rarity.
Yet here, Jessica and Simon activated two simultaneously! Arcane brilliance erupted as the spells materialized:
"Death Gale!"
"Earth's Wrath!"
A seventh-tier wind and earth spell—cataclysmic forces howled through the cavern. The very palace trembled as cyclonic blades and seismic shockwaves converged.
"Die, Kael!" Simon's grin twisted with vindication. The scrolls' cost stung, but eliminating Flamecrest's trio would justify the expense.
Instant-cast magic—the scrolls' true terror. No incantations, no delays. Pure annihilation unleashed in seconds.
And then there was Soren.
The man smiled serenely as his seventh-tier combat aura detonated, propelling him forward like a human missile. His fist smashed into Ethan's guard with concussive force, the impact echoing like thunder.
Soren had engaged Ethan.
Meanwhile, the twin seventh-tier spells barreled toward Kael. Amelia intercepted, her aura flaring into a crystalline barrier.
"So Nanka hid a seventh-tier expert all along," Kael murmured, his gaze glacially calm. "Pity for them..."
He was seventh-tier now too. Even at sixth-tier, he'd humbled Dylan—a seasoned seventh-tier warrior. What fear did he have now?