Venturing deeper into the cave alone, Kael found the solitude tedious. With a casual flick of his wrist, he yanked the Snow Bear Beast out from his spatial storage.
"Great and mighty master, why are you alone now?" The beast trembled as it peeked out, half-expecting the undead horde. But the unfamiliar surroundings made it sigh in relief.
"We're in another cave system." Kael briefly explained their situation, which seemed to cheer the creature up slightly.
Of course, Kael had a purpose for dragging it out. Gripping the beast's long ears, he demanded, "Your old castle was overrun by undead beasts—Leif is undoubtedly behind this. You've dealt with him before. What do you think he's planning?"
"Leif slaughtered our kin, dissected their corpses, all to turn them into those abominations! Does he intend to transform this place into a world of the dead?" Rage colored the beast's voice, yet confusion lingered.
"Leif has clearly mastered a method to reanimate corpses." That much was certain. But why create so many undead?
Kael's mind raced.
"These undead are excessively aggressive and seem devoid of consciousness. Normally, resurrected beings retain some semblance of their former selves. Unless... Leif is controlling them?" The thought struck him like lightning.
"But if he's controlling them, why hasn't he shown himself? Unless..."
A horrifying possibility crystallized—one that made his blood run cold.
"What if Leif is controlling them? Commanding them to attack all living creatures, spreading some kind of undead plague... until this entire ruin becomes a necrotic wasteland!"
The audacity of the idea startled even him. Yet his instincts screamed that it was plausible.
Any creature slain by the undead would join their ranks.
Like a snowball rolling downhill, their numbers would grow exponentially. Right now, these undead were only Level 6—manageable for Kael's group. But what if they reached Level 7? Or Level 8?
The mere thought made his skin crawl.
This ruin would become a true Undead Paradise.
"Damn it, that has to be Leif's plan! The ruins' restrictions prevent anyone above Level 7 from entering—meaning no one inside can stop him! He'll seize this place, turn it into an Undead Paradise, and by the time the Sacred Council or Holy Temple notices, it'll be too late!" Kael's voice burned with frustration.
This meant every explorer trapped here was in mortal danger.
"You humans are insane! Now we're doomed—Leif's going to turn all us beasts into his undead army! After everything we've suffered!" The Snow Bear Beast's eyes bulged as it grasped the horror.
"We must stop Leif, or we all die." Kael shot the trembling beast a sidelong glance.
"B-but how? Leif and his two human lackeys were terrifying before, and now with an undead horde backing them..." The creature's ears drooped in despair.
A valid concern.
Kael relayed his analysis to Amelia via the comm-crystal before deactivating it and scanning the cavern.
"Wait—the ring fragment!" He recalled the shard and retrieved it. Instantly, the Mithril Ring on his left hand pulsed violently, as if starving for reunion.
Placing the fragment against the ring's broken edge, a blinding light erupted. The pieces fused seamlessly, their contours matching perfectly.
Two fragments, now whole again.
"Definitely part of the ring." Satisfaction warmed Kael's chest.
The Snow Bear Beast gaped, utterly lost.
As the radiance faded, the ring had transformed entirely—now a sleek, ancient silver band engraved with flowing inner inscriptions. Its refined elegance bordered on mystical.
"It changed form! Did the contents survive?" Panic spiked until Kael hastily inspected the ring's interior.
Relief flooded him—everything remained intact. But something else caught his attention...
The spatial storage itself had evolved.
"Damn, the ring's space has expanded at least tenfold!" Kael was utterly astonished. The storage capacity of his Mithril Ring had grown from roughly ten cubic meters to over a hundred!
This was unprecedented—he'd never even heard of a spatial artifact with such vast capacity.
While spatial equipment wasn't exceptionally rare on the Southern Jialand Continent—any mage above the Arcane tier could craft basic spatial rings—standard models held about ten cubic meters and cost around 10,000 gold coins. Rings exceeding twenty cubic meters required craftsmanship at the Saint tier or higher.
But a hundred cubic meters? Kael couldn't fathom who could create such a relic. Legendary Archmages? Or perhaps the fabled Arcane Gods?
"This..."
Taking a steadying breath, Kael examined the ring's inner band. Etched there was an inscription—arcane and cryptic, like some celestial cipher.
Yet Kael recognized it instantly: Elvish.
Thanks to The Book of Immortality, which contained extensive knowledge of both Draconic and Elvish, he was fluent in the ancient tongue.
The inscription read: Ring of the Elves.
"Ring of the Elves? So that's its true name?" Kael held the ring with newfound reverence.
This artifact must be connected to the elven race. Which means... these ruins likely belong to the elves as well.
Given its extraordinary nature, this ring might even be a relic left by an Elven Monarch—one of their most exalted figures.
Who else but an Elven Monarch could craft a spatial ring of this magnitude?
"But speculations won't help me now. Strengthening my power is the priority." Kael shrugged, securing the ring before resuming his cave exploration.
"Snow Bear Beast, do you recognize this cave?"
"N-n-no..." The creature remained shell-shocked by Leif's schemes.
Kael shook his head in disappointment. Guess I'm on my own.
The cave stretched empty until its end, where a broad black platform came into view, making Kael exhale in relief: "Thank goodness—no maze-like branching paths this time."
What he dreaded most were those labyrinthine forks that left him paralyzed with choices.
Grabbing the Snow Bear Beast, he stepped onto the platform—only for the entrance behind them to slam shut! A massive stone door sealed the cave completely.
Kael remained unfazed. Just a stone door. Any decent spell could blast through that.
But as he advanced, his steps froze.
There, nestled in a crevice at the platform's edge, grew a peculiar plant—its seven pale blue leaves cradling a delicate, colorless blossom.
That tiny flower sent his pulse racing.
Sevenleaf Herb!
The very ingredient he needed to brew 'Fusion Elixir'!
His eyes ignited. This herb was exactly what he sought. If he could concoct the elixir and fully assimilate the Millennium Ice Essence, his power would skyrocket!
Suppressing his excitement, Kael approached the blossom.
"Why's this human so obsessed with plants? Don't they all eat meat?" The Snow Bear Beast scratched its head, utterly baffled.