Blood tax

Chapter 60 The Unknown Ruins Part [-]
There are new clues, Griffith slightly exclaimed.Armed with this information, the identity of the anonymous author has hopefully been identified.

He turned a page and continued reading:
"Hughes repeated these words, convulsing. The good Iletia called the professors and put him to sleep with a Requiem.

"I haven't been in the mood to focus on my studies for a few days, and the miserable and eerie look of Hughes lingers in my mind. Forest of Whispers? I know this place. Strange horns, teeth, claws? What are these?
"In the days that followed, Hughes kept repeating his words until he died of breathlessness.

"He couldn't be healed by the power of Homon Watts?
"At night, I was tossing and turning in bed. As soon as I closed my eyes, Hughes' mutilated body and bloody face kept coming to my mind, accompanied by the strange sentence: On the dark peaks, Whispering forest, strange horns, teeth, claws, here they come.

"I couldn't sleep anyway. So I went to Professor Tiberion. He is the most respected professor in the college, and one of the people who expected and helped me the most. With his erudition, he may know something. what.

"Professor Tiberion saw me coming and received me warmly. But when he found out that I was asking about Hughes, he became indifferent. I can clearly feel that there is a deep feeling in his eyes." Deep fear, as if wishing to let me drink some oblivion potion on the spot.

"'I don't know much about Hughes. Don't go any further.' The professor said, taking out a beautiful collar from the bookcase and handing it to me.

"'what is this?'

"'A gift from an old friend. If you sense danger, put this collar on,' said the professor. 'I happened to pass by his private house in my travels. The state of the mansion is... incomprehensible .'

"'What do you mean by not being able to understand something?'

"'The scene is beyond the comprehension of me, an occultist. The entire mansion, from the master to the servants, the animals are all dead, corroded by a liquid I have never seen before, or rather they have turned into liquid and are mutilated Abandoned on the ground and gradually disintegrating. There is an unspeakable stench there, and it is in such a place that I found an old friend's pen and this collar.'

"The professor was trembling and sweating when he said this. He took a break and continued.

"'In his writings: Strange horns, teeth, claws. Well, put this thing away, don't be too curious. It's getting late, you go to rest.'

"I went back to the dormitory and looked at the beautiful silver collar on the bed. At that time, I didn't know the professor's intention. It was not until a long time later that I realized one thing - the professor knew that curiosity was constantly attracting me, Everything is unstoppable.

"Finally, I made up my mind to go to the Forest of Whispering in person to find the black mountain that Hughes had seen. Otherwise, my heart would not be able to calm down.

"I hired some adventurers and peasants from a nearby town, each strong, healthy, and calm, to embark on this daring expedition.

"With their help, we found an altar on a black peak in the Whispering Forest. It was a platform elevation on which seven stone pillars were erected. The stone pillars were carved with terrifying totems I had never seen before, It is not apparent from the outside that these horrors were created for any nefarious purpose.

"There are deep and winding passages under the stone pillars, and we explored there.

"The exploration went on for a long time, and the twisted and chaotic monsters attacked us. However, with the cooperation of my spell and the adventurer's sword, although we lost four people and a civilian man missing, we finally managed to enter a A closely guarded space.

"It's very empty, built with materials I've never seen before, and it's completely different from the ruins outside. The walls are very smooth, showing sharp angles one after another.

"At this time, a mass of bloody objects rolled down to my side. This mass of objects was like a human limb, torso and head, rubbed into a mass of flesh.

"After everyone's identification, a terrifying fact was discovered, this lump of meat is the missing man.

"'God, what made him like this?'

"Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the corner.

"To this day, I don't know how to describe this object. It was a grim and twisted mass of dripping liquid. The meat seemed to have a long, sharp wolf-like head, but it didn't. There are big and small mouths and fangs, I don't know what that is.

"This indescribable object suddenly appeared in the corner and killed a powerful adventurer in an instant. Others howled frantically and fled, and others tried to attack it, but were unsuccessful.

"And I, fleeing along the passage from where I came. The indescribable object caught up with me and bit my throat. The collar the professor gave me worked, and the attack didn't kill me.

"I fell off a cliff. It took me a long time to wake up from the disaster and finally find my way home. I found Professor Tiberion, told him all my experiences, and with vague The memory of this bad experience wrote."

Tyberion, a familiar name is mentioned in the text.Griffith realized that the owner of the note was not too far from his time.At the time when the author wrote the note, Tyberion was still a professor rather than a principal. The name of Miss Iletia appeared in the comprehensive article. The identity of the author of the note is hoped to be ascertained through the assistance of Sonia and Galadia. of.

Behind this record, there are two finely drawn maps.

The first map clearly marked the way out of the Whispering Wood from the dark peaks.Just comparing the commanding heights with the nearby things should be used to find the way out.

Another map is about the tunnels of the ruins.After identification, Griffith found his position.From here down, not far from the passage, there is a secret treasure that keeps the holy artifact.In addition to this, there are many other halls and rooms.

Hallows?secret?There is such a good thing!

If Galadia was with her, she must be very excited, isn't this the rhythm of falling off a cliff to find the secret treasure, pretending to be a pig, eating a tiger and killing the Quartet!Look, Galadia, the protagonist of the story is about to act!

Griffith rushed towards it immediately.No matter what, he didn't dare to go back to face the terrifying shadows and bats, and he was almost unarmed, so he had to replenish his equipment immediately.If you can easily find some rare holy artifacts, this adventure on the edge of life and death is not too bad.

Or, if it really comes to the last moment, he can still shout the name of Miss Elf, resist, struggle, and leave himself decent and dignified.

There is absolutely no obstacle to mutant creatures along the way. It seems that their guarded nests are concentrated in the outer passages, or it may be that the environment inside the ruins is not what they like.

Soon, Griffith arrived at the storage hall marked on the map.

It is truly extraordinary here. The walls, floors and domes are all materials he has never seen before. They are smooth and pure white, and they are like daylight without lighting, which is pleasing to the eye.

It's just that there is no holy artifact or magic item here, and the empty space can run mice.The only display was a mirror on the steps at the end of the hall, which looked familiar.

and many more!Could this be the apparition mirror seen by Pepe Lanci!Griffith was overjoyed, and threw himself on the mirror for a while, but the mirror didn't budge.

Before he was annoyed that he didn't ask how to use Pepe Lanci at first, a small spot of light on the ground attracted him.

It was a small red gem, round and smooth, as if it had been clotted with blood.When Griffith touched the gem, some knowledge entered his brain.

"Blood runes. These runes can condense spiritual power and construct the form of blood spells; users can cast spells by invoking the runes stored in their spirits."

This is a rune lore similar to the Frost Rune!
"Minos, what's going on? What is this stone?" Griffith asked in a low voice.

The spirit of the bone ring responded faintly:

"This is a lost Philosopher's Stone, who created it, and the passage of time has exhausted its power. Minos did not master the technique of recharging. But, with the knowledge gained from it, now you The Blood Charm - Flesh Golem and Bloodbat Storm's abilities are already available.

"Unlike the primary frost spell, the blood puppet and the blood bat storm are powerful spells that consume two blood runes each time they are cast."

I am saved, I am saved!

Griffith almost cheered. The blood bat storm spell is an excellent escape skill. The practical application of this spell has given him unprecedented mobility. Even if the reliability is questionable, he has a way to face the siege. escaped.

At this moment, there were slight footsteps in the passage.Soon, a man in a black cloak appeared in the darkness.He held a torch in his hand, and held a black short sword.

Demon hunter captain Karius.

"Yo, soldier, you're still alive~" Karius noticed Griffith who appeared in the hall in a daze, "Is it only the two of us alive now? Do you need help?"

Griffith stared at the witcher, neither answering nor moving.

"I've entered similar ruins," Karius continued, "the same dark, eerie, unwritten records. There, I found—

"this!"

Unknowingly, two black shadows appeared at Griffith's feet, intertwined with his shadow.

The trainee knight's body trembled for a while, and then his pupils lost their luster.

"It's childish," Karius smiled as he stepped forward, "don't you suspect that my conversation is just to make you lose your guard? It only takes a few seconds for the shadow to paralyze its prey. No use. Before long, you will be turned into a lifeless puppet."

Griffith stood blankly in front of Karius, not responding to his words.

"Oh, I almost forgot, you can't speak anymore!" Karius patted the apprentice knight on the shoulder, "Go ahead and explore the way, this ghost place is full of hidden dangers."

The puppet who received the order turned around obediently and walked towards the inner room.Karius kept a few steps away, looking at the surrounding walls as he walked.

Suddenly, the Griffith apprentice knight who was leading the way suddenly shrunk, dissolving like a burnt candle.

"What!" Karius did not expect this scene.Before he could understand the situation in front of him, a real killing intent had already spread out.

In a panic, he saw that the trainee knight had appeared behind him.

The cold air in Griffith's hand spun, and an ice-blue spear condensed, pointing directly at Karius.

The murderous aura was as turbulent as the tides of the ice sea, and behind the apprentice knight even the phantom of a wildly roaring mountain monster appeared.

The sharp spearhead seemed to devour all the warmth and vitality, and then brought death that eroded the bone marrow.

Karius only had time to block with the dagger in front of his chest, and a heavy blow and a tearing sensation came from his chest at the same time.He flew backwards and was pinned to the ground like a specimen of a butterfly.

Blood sprayed from his throat, blocking his lungs.

The strong sense of suffocation and pain strangled the demon hunter's remaining perception.His body convulsed violently, and blood and foul-smelling liquid gushed out from under him.

Killed?Griffith looked at the witcher lying on the ground from a distance with another javelin that had just condensed.

With the blood rune he just mastered, he successfully used his own blood to quickly create a puppet, replacing himself before Karius appeared from the darkness, and thus attracted Karius' shadow attack. .He himself went around to the back for a sneak attack.After the puppet was brought under control, Griffith quickly cut off the supply of mental power.

The puppet, which lost its energy supply, could no longer maintain its form, so it disintegrated in front of Karius.At the same time, Griffith flashed from behind and threw a frost spear at the witcher.

In order to ensure the death of the demon hunter with strange abilities, after knocking down the enemy, Griffith aimed at the fallen Karius from a distance and threw an ice spear.

"puff!"

The ice gun slid into the witcher's body.

Karius lay on the cold ground and stopped moving.The air was filled with an unbearable stench, and in the dim light there seemed to be fluid flowing from under the body.

Griffith waited cautiously.It can be seen that this witcher is not only an instructor of Beacon Academy, but also a ruthless Sequence 7 Beyonder.What's more troublesome is that Karius has the ability of black magic, and the shadows that can control the creature are completely beyond the scope of Griffith's cognition.

Karius was indeed dead, and a beautiful crystal of Extraordinary characteristics began to precipitate from his body, tempting Griffith to pick it up.

Griffith was mortified.Under the current circumstances, he should escape as soon as possible, but without a weapon in his hand, even if he escaped from the ruins, he would not be able to run very far in the strange corrupt forest.Therefore, he had to scavenge some weapons and supplies from Karius.The corrupted feather fencing was still on Karius' body.

(End of this chapter)