"You're going by yourself?"
San Bakar's confused voice came from the portrait, his expression practically asking whether Lynn had somehow misunderstood what it meant to be a Keeper.
If the Repository could be entered so easily, then all the defenses they had constructed around it would have been entirely pointless.
Standing at the center of the Map Chamber, Lynn drew his wand from his sleeve.
In the blink of an eye, the spectral form of a Graphorn materialized inside the chamber.
It was even larger than a real Graphorn. Its four massive hooves sank into the stone floor, leaving shallow indentations beneath them.
Two enormous, curved horns protruded from its head. Their sharp tips pointed forward, gleaming coldly beneath the candlelight.
The eyes of all four Keepers widened.
San Bakar's were the widest of them all.
"What manner of magic is this?"
His gaze shifted from the spectral Graphorn to Lynn.
However, Lynn had no intention of answering him.
You're taking this long just to open the Repository, yet you expect me to answer every question you ask?
Dream on.
Lynn flicked his wrist and waved his wand.
Following the motion, the Graphorn phantom began to expand.
Its four hooves plowed deep furrows through the stone floor, sending fragments of rock flying in every direction.
Its back nearly touched the vaulted ceiling, while its enormous horns pressed against the dome with a series of ominous creaks.
Lynn calmly lowered his wand toward the ground.
"ROAR—!"
The spectral Graphorn released a deafening roar that caused even the portraits to tremble.
It abruptly lowered its head.
Its two colossal horns aimed directly at the floor before slamming down with terrifying force.
BOOM—!
The ground split apart.
Cracks spread outward from the point of impact like a vast spiderweb, racing from the center of the chamber to its edges in every direction.
Stone slabs shattered.
Debris flew through the air.
Dust engulfed the chamber.
A massive crater appeared in the floor, its jagged edges revealing layers of soil and rock below.
Then, without warning, the damaged ground began repairing itself.
Silvery-white light seeped from the cracks, stitching them together like wounds.
Fragments of stone flew out of the crater and returned to their original positions. Broken slabs reassembled themselves one after another, and the cracks rapidly disappeared.
The entire floor resembled a shattered mirror restoring itself.
Lynn had no intention of waiting for it to finish.
He pushed off with both feet and plunged into the crater.
His speed was so great that he vanished below before the repairing stone slabs could seal the opening.
Gravel and dust descended alongside him, producing a continuous rustling sound in the darkness.
The Map Chamber fell silent.
...
The staircase seemed endless.
Lynn's foot landed on another stone step with a sharp tap.
The passage around him was almost completely dark. The Lumos Charm at the tip of his wand illuminated only the next two or three steps. Beyond that limited range, the light seemed to be swallowed by the rough stone walls.
Those walls were dark gray and covered in countless tiny holes and uneven markings.
The densely clustered holes made the stone appear as though something had slowly eaten through it.
The air was extraordinarily damp.
With every breath Lynn took, tiny droplets of moisture seemed to condense inside his nose and throat.
His footsteps echoed continuously through the passage.
The staircase continued descending.
Finally, it came to an end.
Lynn stepped onto the final stair and stopped.
A towering stone door stood before him.
It was several times his height and wide enough for multiple people to pass through side by side.
Dense runes covered its entire surface.
Lynn stood before the door and looked up at the intricate symbols, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Following the method he had seen earlier, he pressed one hand against the stone.
Ancient Magic surged from his body, flowed down his arm, gathered in his palm, and seeped into the door.
The runes immediately illuminated.
Beginning beneath his palm, the light spread outward until it covered the entire door.
A deep hum reverberated through the passage.
A narrow crack opened down the middle of the stone door.
Darkness surged from the gap like a wind blowing from the depths of the earth, carrying with it the damp, moldy odors of soil and rust.
Lynn stepped through the opening.
He had expected to find something resembling a vast underground storehouse beyond the door.
After all, this was where the power of Ancient Magic had been sealed—the final trial ground created by the Keepers.
To his surprise, however, the door opened into a natural limestone cavern.
Rumble—
The continuous drone of drilling machinery echoed from somewhere deep inside.
Wave after wave of sound reverberated between the cavern walls.
Lynn briefly identified its direction before striding forward.
Before long, he heard numerous footsteps approaching from every direction.
Lynn slowed and pressed himself against a massive stalagmite, peering around its edge.
A relatively open area lay ahead.
The cavern had clearly been artificially widened. Obvious excavation marks covered the walls, the ground had been leveled, and piles of gravel and soil had been stacked on either side to form two low defensive barriers.
A large group of Goblins stood behind them.
Lynn withdrew his gaze.
Then he walked directly out from behind the stalagmite.
"Who's there?"
One of the Goblins abruptly turned his head.
"Enemy attack—!"
His shout exploded throughout the cavern.
The Goblin drew a short sword from his waist, and its blade immediately began glowing with a dark-red light.
The other Goblins reacted just as quickly.
They leaped over the barriers and charged forward.
Short swords, daggers, spears, and various other weapons lit up with sinister crimson radiance.
The countless streaks of light wove together into a vast net that descended upon Lynn.
He made no attempt to evade.
Instead, he pointed his wand forward.
A mass of transparent liquid surged from its tip.
In the blink of an eye, the liquid expanded into an enormous sphere of water, completely enveloping Lynn from head to toe.
Puff—!
A ripple spread across the sphere from the first point of impact.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
The sounds of spells striking the water erupted throughout the cavern.
Every impact generated another ripple. They overlapped and collided until the sphere's surface churned like a pot of boiling porridge.
Yet the defensive sphere didn't shatter.
It didn't even shrink.
The Goblins' attacks struck it like fists pounding against an impossibly thick wall, achieving nothing despite their relentless assault.
The corner of Lynn's mouth rose.
The moment a gap appeared in the barrage, he thrust his wand forward.
The sphere violently exploded.
Countless streams of water shot in every direction.
Sizzle—!
The liquid splashed across the Goblins' armor, faces, and hands.
White smoke immediately rose from every point of contact. Corroded pits appeared across their armor, while dark-red blotches spread over their exposed skin.
"What is this?!"
One Goblin screamed and clutched his face, frantically clawing at his skin.
But the liquid had already seeped into his body.
The curse spread from his fingertips to his palms, then from his wrists into his arms. Dark-red lines appeared beneath his skin, gradually tightening around him like a net.
"The thing that's going to kill you."
Lynn sharply flicked his wand.
A streak of green light shot from its tip so quickly that the Goblin saw only a blurred flash before him.
His body stiffened.
Then he collapsed with a heavy thud.
More green lights streaked through the darkness like burning fuses, leaping from one target to the next.
One Goblin fell.
Then another.
And another.
Their corpses scattered across the muddy ground. Some collapsed atop one another, while others lay sprawled apart.
Bang! Bang! Bang-bang-bang—!
The repeated impacts of Killing Curses echoed throughout the cavern.
The Goblins who had attempted to block Lynn's passage ultimately failed to escape their punishment.
Naturally, the commotion attracted the attention of the nearby forces.
More Goblins poured from every corner of the cavern.
Their footsteps reverberated through the darkness like a rapidly beating war drum.
Lynn stood calmly in the middle of the passage.
Dozens of corpses already surrounded him, yet more Goblins continued flooding forward to replace the fallen.
There were simply too many of them.
It felt as though Lynn were fighting against an endless river.
Cut off one head, and two more would appear.
Cut off two, and four would take their place.
Lynn's brow furrowed slightly.
Thump! Thump! Thump—!
The ground began trembling.
Loose gravel rained from the cavern ceiling.
Several enormous figures emerged from the darkness.
Armored Trolls.
They were even larger than those Lynn had encountered in the Forbidden Forest.
Boils and pustules covered their grayish-green skin. Several had already ruptured, releasing yellow-green pus that flowed down their bodies and dripped onto the ground.
Each drop produced a sharp sizzle and released a thin wisp of white smoke.
Heavy metal armor covered the Trolls' bodies, secured in place by thick chains and leather straps.
Several sections had already split open, exposing the diseased skin beneath.
One Troll swung its arm and hurled its weapon directly at Lynn's face.
Lynn's eyes narrowed.
He waved his wand.
The airborne club instantly transformed into a spear.
It abruptly reversed direction, spinning through the air as it hurtled back toward its owner.
The spear moved so quickly that the Troll had time only to widen its eyes.
Its tip pierced the creature's left eye socket and burst through the back of its skull.
Lynn immediately spun around and aimed his wand behind him.
Blue-white arcs of electricity erupted from its tip.
At almost the same moment, a Goblin wielding two short swords appeared directly before Lynn's wand.
The lightning struck him head-on and instantly reduced his body to charred remains.
Despite the increasing number of enemies, Lynn displayed no trace of panic.
If anything, he wished even more of them would arrive.
The more enemies gathered here, the more he could eliminate at once.
After killing another Goblin attempting to ambush him, Lynn decided that enough of them had assembled.
He swept his wand through the air.
Golden-red flames erupted from its tip and surged toward the Goblins and Trolls.
The temperature was so extreme that even the air appeared to ignite.
The charging Goblins felt a suffocating wave of heat strike them.
Their masks began to burn.
Their hair curled.
Blisters erupted across their skin.
BOOM—!
The Fiendfyre crashed into the first wave of Goblins.
Their bodies ignited the instant they touched the flames. Their robes turned to ash, and their armor melted beneath the unbearable heat.
Agonized screams erupted throughout the cavern.
They lasted for less than two seconds.
Then every scream abruptly ceased, as though someone had frozen the scene and stopped the recording upon a single frame.
Lynn stood behind the roaring flames and watched the golden-red sea of fire consume Ranrok's subordinates.
The corners of his mouth gradually curved upward.
Only one phrase could adequately describe his current mood.
Now this was a satisfying battle!
---
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