Chương 97: The Blood Ritual

Arthur continued to advance through the tunnel-like cave. The further he walked, the further it stretched, and the Tunnel's size also started to widen. At the entrance of the cave, it had looked like a small hole where two people could enter simultaneously. However, the further he walked, the more it started to expand. Currently, to his guess, he had already walked for 300 meters, but he still did not see any opening or any light.

A thought of walking back came to his mind, right until his eyes suddenly discovered some light ahead of him. Seeing this, he continued to walk for another 200 meters until he finally found a small Cavern. Upon entering into it, he noticed the light coming from water that was pooled in the middle of the Cavern. It brightly glittered throughout the space, removing the darkness.

"Does the water have a crystal?" Arthur took a closer look to see how the water was giving light, thinking some lighting Crystal must have been placed on the water. He walked around the Cavern until he found another Tunnel that was leading somewhere. Seeing nothing was in the first room, Arthur carefully continued to walk and entered into another big hall. Similar to the previous room, this hall was brightly lighted by the water that was pooled at the center. Moreover, there was a small change in it.

At the center of the pool stood a Platform, and on top of the Platform, some object shaped like a Chicken Egg was placed. Although it was shaped like a Chicken Egg, the size was not the same. It was big in size, at least the size of a 100-kg boulder. Arthur walked near the edge of the pool. From afar, it looked like it was made of mud, yet at the same time, it looked as real as some Monster Egg, as its surface was covered in scales.

Arthur could not properly discern whether it was real or not since he could not see it clearly from the edge of the water. He walked around the edge to see if there was any difference on the different sides, and then he started to walk away from it. He did not want to enter into the mysterious, glittering water and wake up something which he could not handle. He already had a lot of things to handle, and he had enough enemies already.

Currently, entering into the pool and earning another enemy was something he was not ready for. He searched to see if there was any other opening that would lead to another hall, but he did not find anything. This hall was the end of the Cave. However, one question he could not answer for himself was what the purpose of this Cave was. It looked very ordinary, and there were no Monsters living inside, which he had half-expected to find. After all, the Crater was crawling with Monsters.

Instinctively, Arthur looked up to see the timer on the ceiling. If he were to think about how much time had passed after entering the Cave, he would guess at least 5 minutes, or maybe 7 minutes. According to his calculations, he might have to wait for another 20 minutes for the countdown to complete. Arthur decided to stay in the Cave until then. He just hoped no one would find this Cave. However, before he could even finish that thought, the Hall Skeleton's presence was suddenly disconnected.

Arthur's heart leaped out of his chest. Did people already find the Cave? Arthur scrambled here and there, not knowing what to do. Right now, he could not walk back outside, or else he would be found midway. Quickly, he summoned Hall to confirm how many people had entered into the Cave, and the answer told him it was only one. Although it was a low count, that did not give any relief to his heart. He knew just how powerful these people were; just a sheer shockwave had sent him flying.

If it were not for the Barrier, he would have died, torn into a million pieces. What should he do now? He could not escape from here. Did he have to hide somewhere? Arthur quickly looked around, but he could not see anything that would conceal him from the strong people. Even the small entrance room did not have anything. As the seconds ticked by, his heart started to race, and his mind swirled to find something. However, all he could see was a stone wall and the lighted water.

He looked at the water with the thought of hiding in it, but he quickly shook his head. It would be the first place to be searched. While he was moving here and there with agitation, the Repp Skeleton continued to follow him, smoothly gliding in the air. Arthur suddenly stopped and looked at the Skeleton, as well as his own hand that was covered in purple energy.

"Repp, give a thumbs up if you have a Barrier that could make me invisible," Arthur asked. He knew the Great Grand Skeleton was equal to a person who had evolved to the Sever Core Layer. Therefore, it must be capable enough to have different types of Barriers. Until now, he did not have the time to see what Abilities it possessed and what type of Barriers it came with. Ever since it was hired, a lot of things had been happening. Currently, since he had no way of escaping this Cave, he would have to turn invisible.

He just hoped the Repp Skeleton's Barrier would do the trick. Arthur intently looked at the Skeleton whose face was concealed by the cloak. After a second of time, it lifted its hand and gave a thumbs up.

"Do it!" Arthur directly commanded. He did not have any more time; he wanted to turn invisible right away. Receiving the command, the Skeleton started its routine actions or ritual. It placed both palms together at its chest height, and soon, Red Energy started to emit from the Skeleton's body. Once that was done, it removed its right hand. With its palm still open, it pointed towards Arthur, with its left hand staying in the same place.

Once its ring finger and thumb touched, the Red Energy started to form into a Halo behind Arthur's head, and the Red Energy spread throughout his skin. Currently, Arthur's body was covered in two different layers of energy. One was Purple and another was Red. On top of his head, a Purple Halo suspended, and behind his head, a Red Halo suspended. Each Barrier had different functions. One was to protect him from physical and mental attacks, and the other was for turning him invisible and concealing his presence.

If anyone were to stand and look around the Cave, they would only see an empty Cavern. After Arthur turned invisible, he quickly commanded the Repp Skeleton to also become invisible. Once everything was settled, he looked around his surroundings, searching for some corner where he could hide. He soon found one corner with a Stalactite protruding from the ground. He quickly ran and hid behind it. He comfortably sat on the ground and decided not to make even a small move, not even to scratch his nose.

As the seconds passed, his heartbeat did not calm; it continuously thumped. Inside the Cavern, there was no sound, and the whole place was still. Suddenly, amidst this silence, he heard something. It sounded like a flutter, as if some kind of bird was flapping its wings and flying around the Cavern. Arthur was shocked. Was the Hall Skeleton dismissed because of this bird? Although his thoughts went this way, he did not plan to make any move. He would sit in the same place until the countdown time concluded.

Soon, the sound of a bird fluttering its wings started to be heard loudly. Currently, it was flying in the Entrance Room. Arthur held his breath as he felt the bird was about to enter into the Main Hall. As he guessed, he soon saw the bird enter into the Main Hall, flying in a jumping manner here and there. It was a red bird. Arthur was surprised. As far as he could remember from his subconscious mind, he had never seen a bird in this Trial.

Even at the Forest or the Lake, he did not see a single bird or even insects. He was confused now. Did birds actually exist in this place? He was not sure; that thought had never come to his mind. However, seeing this red bird now, he was a little surprised and more confused because it was entirely red. Not just the feathers, but its whole body, head, beak, and claws, everything was made of a red color. What a strange bird!, Arthur thought.

Suddenly, his eyes moved towards the big Egg that was on the Platform in the middle of the glittering water.

'Does the Egg belong to this bird?' Arthur thought. Although there was a huge difference in size, in this awakening world, nothing was impossible. What if it was a magical bird that could transform into a giant bird? While Arthur was going through all kinds of scenarios about what this bird was, the bird simply flew around the Cavern. Arthur closely watched the bird, thinking it would land on the big Egg. However, he suddenly noticed a pattern in the bird's flying.

The bird was flying in some kind of strict route, as if it was following a path. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Arthur suddenly discovered that the path was exactly where he had been walking and roaming until now. He could clearly see that the bird was following his walking path around the water and where he had looked for another route that would lead to another Hall. It followed where he stood and where he walked.

'What kind of bird is this? Is this a real bird or what?' When he asked this question to himself, the bird finished its path. It started to flap its wings and hovered in the same place. Moreover, it was the exact place where Arthur stood when Repp created the invisible Barrier. Currently, Arthur could not understand any of the things that were happening. If he were to guess, the invisible Barrier totally concealed his presence, as if it were completely severed.

The bird could not follow the path which Arthur walked after he became invisible. Seeing this, he doubted it was a normal bird. Was it some kind of tracking Ability? Arthur started to agitate more, seeing someone was trying to find him. As far as he could tell, it was an enemy's deed, not someone trying to help him. Thinking about what to do next, his mind raced with different thoughts, such as exiting the Cave silently. However, he did not know what kind of situation was outside.

Moreover, if people already knew that he was in the Cave, they must already be waiting for him at the entrance. The bird still stayed at the same place, flapping its wings. Seeing that the bird had limitations, he decided to stay in that same place. Even if someone were to come here, they would not be able to find him. Even if they destroyed the Cave, he would still be safe. The Protection Barrier would save him, along with his invisible Barrier.

Currently, all he needed to do was stay where he was without doing anything. With that thought, he stayed still, not making any movement. His eyes closely watched the bird. He even started to blink his eyes only once in a while, trying to avoid that movement as well. As he stared at the bird, the bird also flapped as it stayed in a single spot, not even moving here and there. Suddenly, the bird disintegrated into a mist-like energy and turned into the size of a golf ball.

With wide eyes, Arthur closely watched this phenomenon of how the bird turned into a red energy ball. After suspending at the spot for a moment, the ball suddenly dropped to the ground and shattered, much like rainwater scattering when dropped upon a boulder. Arthur's eyes moved to the ground with a jump in his heart. Every action the bird made caused his heart to jump every time. The dropped energy did not disintegrate into nothingness. Instead, the energy started to spread into the ground, forming an Array.

Arthur's face darkened. This Array that the Red Energy was becoming looked similar to his Summoning Diagram. The only difference was that his Summoning Diagram consisted of different symbols, whereas this Array started to form circles and lines. But what was it? Arthur was not able to understand this phenomenon. However, a corner of his heart told him it was bad news.

'Should I run away from this location?' A thought came to his mind. However, before he could make a decision on that question, the Array suddenly started to shine brightly, and something came out of it. Arthur saw what came out and stayed completely still. He did not blink, nor did he breathe; he simply stared at the same location. What came out of the Array was an old man with red hair, his back arched. Following the old man, several young people with the same red hair exited and gathered in the Cavern.

While Arthur thought about who these people with the same hair were, some guy suddenly exited from the Array with pitch-black hair. Arthur stared at the spot without blinking. Tears rolled onto his cheeks, but he never blinked even for a second, afraid that if he made a move, these people would notice him. When the people stopped coming out of the ground, a total of 20 people stood in the Cavern. Strangely, no one spoke or started to search the place.

They simply stood behind the old man, waiting for him to order their next step. This was especially true for the people with red hair. Suddenly, one youth bent down to the old man and whispered something, pointing at the spot. Hearing what the young man whispered, the old man nodded and signaled towards a different youth. However, Arthur did not know what the old man's signal meant. Soon, the other youth took a few steps forward, and all the others took two steps backward.

Arthur quietly watched all these events happening, not knowing what to do and not knowing what these people were trying to do. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind: were these people here for him, or was it for something else? While he was thinking in this way, the youth who stood alone moved. he quickly drew his Dagger from his back belt and executed a cleaving arc. Shick! Sputter! Arthur's eyes widened, and he almost cried out loud after seeing what the youth did. He had cut his own wrist with his own Dagger.

What person in their right mind would even do that? With confusion, Arthur watched the youth spill the blood onto the ground without showing any reaction on his face, not even a flinch. A bucket of blood poured onto the ground. As it started to spread across the ground, and as the blood still gushed out of his wrist, the youth suddenly moved again and started to do something on the ground with his own blood.

Moving his eyes to the ground, Arthur saw the youth was drawing something on the ground, something like a diagram. Arthur suddenly felt an ominous feeling about this youth's actions. The youth was drawing something similar to the Array that he had seen earlier, which was used for the teleport gate. However, the main question was, what was the purpose of this Array? Were they trying to do some kind of ritual for this big Egg that was on the Platform at the center of the water?

While he was thinking of different types of reasons for these people's actions, the youth was finally done with the drawing. From where Arthur was sitting, he could not clearly see how this Array looked, but it certainly gave a bad feeling. While he was waiting for these people's next weird actions, the old man took a step forward. He took out something from his sleeves and passed it to the youth. The youth took the item and walked back to the center of the Array.

Arthur did not know what they were doing right now, as he could not see the item clearly. As he watched the scene, the youth held the item in his right hand, uncorked the vial, and poured the liquid from the vial onto the center of the Array. Seeing this, Arthur's uncomfortableness reached its limit. He could clearly see that the vial contained blood.

Moving his eyes towards the group of red-haired people, he noticed one face which he could remember from the day of his arrival, where Victor had appointed a job to everyone. This guy was one of them, and he could clearly remember he was appointed for the cleaning job. Arthur did not know how this particular thought came to his mind, but he could tell that the vial contained his own blood. When that thought came to his mind, he no longer felt safe in this spot.

After seeing all these rituals, along with the youth still standing on the Array with one severed wrist, he could not help but feel that something was going to happen to him. Therefore, with that thought, instead of staying here, it would be better for him to leave this place and go outside to the people who were there for him. He felt he might need all their help in order to survive this... whatever these people were doing. Arthur slowly stood up, with his body and head still pointing in the same direction.

Once he stood up, he slowly moved away from them, trying to move around the water and escape past them. Because of his invisibility and his concealed presence, the people did not even bat an eye at him. With that confidence, he accelerated his steps. Currently, he was almost halfway towards the Tunnel leading to the small Room. Although he was walking away, his eyes still pointed toward the youth who stood on the Array. He had almost crossed 75% of the distance when, suddenly, his eyes moved towards the old man.

There, some other youth was whispering something to him. Arthur felt something chilling at the bottom of his stomach: dread. Did they find out about him? Turning his eyes toward the youth, Arthur noticed he was making some kind of hand signs. Since he was almost at the entrance of the Tunnel that led to the small Room, he looked at the scene one more time and turned to the front to leave the place. When he was about to step into the Tunnel, he felt something hot on his nose.

Ignoring the sensation, Arthur successfully entered and walked into the small Room. However, the hot sensation doubled this time. Confused, he checked what the hot sensation was. Upon looking at his fingers, he saw blood was running from his nose. Quickly, he tilted his head up, trying to stop the blood, thinking all the pressure he had gone through had fried his brain. While holding his nose, he tried to walk away from the Tunnel. But suddenly, he felt the same hot sensation coming from his eyes.

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