Chapter 84. The truth is always ugly

Unfortunately for him, the lunatics looking to open the Sealed Door were polite and decided to greet him candidly. 

Michael was thoroughly amazed at their good manners, especially when he saw a fucking four-meter goatman carrying a damned axe longer than its body charge at him.

"The visual impact... is strong!"

[ Ice Clan Mauler (Minion) - (Level 25) ]

[ Ice Clan Maraurder (Minion) - (Level 25) ]

Unfortunately for the monsters this time, the bigger they were, the harder they fell. Michael wiped the floor with the eight goats in less than a couple of minutes, after which he moved in front of the ten-meter-tall gate.

You could easily tell it wasn't a good place from the many skeletons adorning the gate, making the Necromancer unsure if they were sculpted or added after its installment. 

There were many strange symbols engraved in complicated spell formations, some of which were forcefully erased with the help of the goatmen's axes, no doubt.

'Tsk, tsk, tsk! What a scary place. But it's strange. With something as important as this Sealed Door here, how could no guards be making sure this place remains hidden?'

Just as he mentally fact-checked what the bigshot told him, two pairs of blue hands emerged through the door. That's right! Through it!

Not through a crack, not from under it, not in any other manner, but through it!

"Fuck me! Another Wraith!? Heh!? Pfft! The fuck? Are you stuck? Need me to call your step...*Cough* Anyway... what's with this creature?"

[ Death Priest Seth Ryott (Elite) - Level 25

*Summoner: Able to summon two creatures from the realm of the dead.

*Cold Enchanted: Every attack deals an extra 75 Cold damage. ]

Looking strangely at the copycat, Michael instantly spammed Blight and ordered his Minions to attack it. 

Giving it time to get out and face it properly? This wasn't a Marvel movie! 

As for fighting it honorably? This wasn't a duel between knights!

"Huh!? The Corpses of the dead Ice Clan goats?"

A sudden dark light shone on the dead carcasses, bringing the creatures back to 'life.' 

They were much different than before, though, as a dark, glistening light covered their bodies while their eyes were empty and void of any intelligence. 

[ Risen Mauler (Minion) - (Level 25) ]

[ Risen Maraurder (Minion) - (Level 25) ]

The Necromancer turned speechless for a couple of moments, unaware of where this Seth guy got his courage from. He literally wiped eight monsters of this level before with ease, and now he was besieging him with only two resurrected corpses?

Sure enough, the movements of the Risen goats were slow and awkward. They weren't even in the same zip code compared to his nimble Skeletons. 

"Well... let's treat it as some extra training."

Looking at his seven minions attacking the Death Priest in full force, he didn't recall them but instead decided to face off with the two Risen creatures on his own.

An axe fell from above, but he was able to easily sidestep it and attack its wrists with the scythe. 

At the same time, the Marauder tried to pierce forward with its sword, but the shield easily deflected the blow outwards, allowing the Necromancer to retaliate with a Blight straight to its face.

"Well... this is rather boring. Their movements are slow and uncoordinated. Their attack power is even less than when they were alive. *Sigh* Why bother?" 

He first used Bone Prison on the Mauler and focused the Marauder with Bone Splinters and scythe attacks while avoiding its clumsy sword swings.

After it was dead, Michael straight used Corpse Tendrils and Corpse Explosion on the dead Maraurder, easily finishing off the freshly liberated from the Bone Prison Mauler.

Shaking his head at the strangely easy fight, Michael turned to look at his Minions hacking at the Death Priest.

"This... how pitiful! How unfortunate!" 

Seeing that his minions didn't even lose a sliver of their Life points, Michael realized this Seth Ryott dude couldn't attack at all from behind the door.

[Release me!](Seth Ryott)

"Yeah, no." 

After casting a couple more Blight and Corpse Explosion on the multiple Corpses the Reapers created through their melee attacks, the Elite was already less than 15% Life points.

"Ooooh! You actually got through! Congratulations! Bone Prison! Corpse Explosion! Corpse Tendrils! Blight! Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion!" 

After shouting until his voice got hoarse, the poor Death Priest finally succumbed to his fate. 

Michael also decided to stop shouting in the future the name of his skills. While it was cool and all, it hurt his throat too much.

[Aaaaaaaaaah! NO! We will not... be confined...](Seth Ryott)

"Ok." 

Looking at the stingy Elite that only dropped 25 gold coins, Michael turned speechless.

It didn't even leave a corpse behind that he could kick to vent his frustrations.

[ Side Quest complete - The Sealed Door 

Reward 1: 4,544 experience points

Reward 2: 800 gold coins

Reward 3: Murmuring Cache ]

"..."

He was in tears! He leveled up! AGAIN!

"Shit, shit, shit! I need to clear two more Dungeons to open the Codex. Why I'm I still leveling up so damn fast!? *Sigh* At the end of the day, it's still the problem of me being too capable..." 

His experience bar was already showing 666/4160. Deciding to ignore the rapidly increasing level, he opened his inventory to check the details of the new cache he got.

[ Murmuring Cache

Magic Quest Reward Cache

--------------------

Contains 50 Murmuring Obols.

Description: Eary, ancient, possibly cursed. The murmuring obol is largely used in trade among collectors and occultists. So, naturally, an adventurer should carry plenty. ]

"Uhm... that's it!? 50 Obols!? What a damned scam!" 

While complaining, he still opened up the cache, letting the items fall on the ground at his feet.

With the corners of his mouth twitching at the annoying system feature, he picked up the 50 Murmuring Obols and a blue item box.

Somewhat satisfied with the reward he got, Michael directly used his teleport skill to quick-travel back to Kyovashad.

Once the portal opened, he inspected his surroundings and sent his Skeletons back to their own plane.

He finally returned to the city!

-------------------------------------------

Watching the newbie Wanderer return through the portal, a middle-aged man appeared in front of the Sealed Door.

There was a strange crack in the middle of it, which appeared as soon as Michael left.

[That child wasn't bad at all.](?)

[Indeed. He cleaned up the monsters rather quickly. He even had time to play around.](?)

[What do you think then?](?)

[There's no need to rush. He has a connection with the Mother, so we can't make any hasty judgments. Let's wait for a while and observe him further.](?)

[Haha! Isn't that what we're best at? Protect the Sanctuary, observe the people, and never get swayed by the taste of power! *Sigh* The times are changing. Much blood shall be spilled.](?)

[As Horadrim, it's our fate to watch over the world in its golden age or during its downfall. We'll do what we can. If it can be saved, we'll save it. If it must die, it will die after our corpses turned cold.](?)

Strange roars shook the silence of the wilderness, obviously coming from inside the Sealed Door.

With a wave of one of the two men's hands, the crack in the door disappeared, and so did the loud roars.

[This Lilith... she's consumed by Hatred. Why would she undo the seal?](?)

[I'm not sure, but I have a terrible feeling. The Door was open when we first arrived. Something tells me that she already got what she came for.](?)

[So we're on the same page, then. Do you also think she got someone from within?](?)

[Most certainly. The question is, whom? There are many dangerous beings trapped here. *Sigh* I'm afraid Inarius will have to suffer this time around.](?)

[Then so be it. We'll need to make sure the common folk and the Wanderers don't suffer because of their fight. Let's go. We have work to do.](?)

[What about that child?](?)

[Him? Hmm... Let him follow the trail of Lilith. I've already made arrangements.](?)

The two men disappeared just as quickly as they appeared before. Now, except for some blood on the ground and several cuts on the ground, there was no indication of a possible calamity that was 'barely' avoided.

As for the steps left in the snow... the descending snowflakes would soon cover the truth.

-------------------------------------------

Back in Kyovashad, Michael appeared in the plaza. Pondering for a second, he headed back to the Eastern Gate, where the guards looked at him strangely.

[You just got back and are heading out again?](City Guard)

"No. I need to complete a Quest. Did Vendral Trost return to the city?"

[Vendral? No. He's been at the bridge since this morning. Was your Quest related to him?](City Guard)

"Mhm." 

[I see. Go and return early.](City Guard)

"Will do."

Leaving the guards behind, Michael reached Vendral's location in a couple of minutes.

[*Sigh* You're back.](Vendral Trost)

"Indeed. I destroyed the spirit of your son, but he possessed a deep hatred for you. It seems that you didn't tell me everything."

[*Sigh* You did, yet I still feel him... I still hear his cries! I will never be free from the truth...](Vendral Trost)

"Truth?"

[I sent my sweet boy away for a sin of my own making. The blood is on my hands... all of it.](Vendral Trost)

Michael froze. The strange wording of the man when he got the Quest, Corik's resentful cries, it all made sense now.

The true murderer was the father!?

[Heavens above, forgive me. I must go visit my son.](Vendral Trost)

"You..."

[I'm coming, Corik...](Vendral Trost)

Michael reached out to grab the man, but he unknowingly pulled it back. The man looked more dead than alive, his back hunched over.

Shacking his head and deciding to explain the situation to the guards, he turned around and walked toward the city.

[Side Quest complete - Cries of Innocence 

Reward: 4,544 experience points

Reward: 800 gold coins

Reward: Leather Cache. ]

This level-up felt... bitter. Nevertheless, he inspected his Attributes Page while he made his way back to the gate.

[ Attack Power: 373

 Armor: 886

 Life: 360

--------------

Strength: 82

Intelligence: 87

Willpower: 84

Dexterity: 101 ]

His Dexterity finally broke into triple digits, putting a wry smile on his face. If others would see this, they would think his Class is one based on this attribute instead.

His experience also reached 1050/4290, while his gold stash rose to 42,498.

A new cache was also staying quietly in his inventory.

[ Leather Cache

Magic Quest Reward Cache

--------------------

Contains an assortment of Leather

Description: Used universally for almost all durable, flexible purposes, both in armor and tool production, fine quality leather enjoys a status as a key commodity in the Sanctuary. ]

Without hesitation, he opened the cache and retrieved 13 Rawhides, eight pieces of Superior Leather, and a single blue item box from the ground.

The City Guards greeted him, but their faces turned stern after he gave a full recount of the Quest he just completed.

[In fact, we all knew there was something amiss back then but couldn't find any evidence. *Sigh* Poor Corik... he suffered so much.](City Guard)

[Thank you for the details. We'll provide them to the Captain and apprehend Vendral if he returns.](City Guard)

"*Sigh* Something tells me he doesn't have any plans to return."

[There's nothing we can do in that case. He chose this fate the moment he blamed a murder on his own child. The Heavens are always watching! Retribution might not come swiftly, but it will come nevertheless.](City Guard)

Waving goodbye to the guards, Michael made his way back to the Sleepy Peak Inn. Initially, he wanted to visit Helen, but Vendral destroyed his mood.

Checking his Skill Tree interface, Michael decided to use his newly acquired 3 Skill Points. 

He first maxed out Skeletal Mage Mastery, increasing the Life and damage dealt by his three Accountants by 60% from the previous 20.

Next, he added one more point in Hewed Flesh, raising the chance to generate a Corpse from any of his attacks to 8% from the previous 4.

'After all, Corpse Explosion is my main way of dealing damage. Overall, it wasn't a bad day. I even got a Legendary item.' 

Looking in his inventory at the currently unequipped helm, Michael smiled. The helm was cool and all, but it might make people on the streets nervous if they were to see someone wearing it in the middle of the city.

Those fellows from the City Guard might ask him to come have a chat!

Turning his eyes back to the Skill Tree, Michael noticed that he needed one more point to unlock the next tier.

"Helen said that the next tier is where we can get our 'Ultimate' skills from. Finally! I'll have an ult!"