"What on earth happened here...?"
Fiona furrowed her brow as she looked down at the remains of a skeleton scattered across the jagged rock.
"Its head is gone. No—it wasn't just removed; it was pulverized into literal dust. What kind of impact would it take to do this?"
Clyde knelt to examine the white powder coating the black stone—the fine remains of a skeleton’s skull crushed beyond recognition. His expression darkened.
"Do you think Count Bradley and his men are responsible?" Fiona asked.
"Unlikely. According to our reports, the Count has been going to great lengths to avoid combat with the undead."
The two of them paused, their minds racing. Behind them, the two Royal Guards remained on high alert, scanning the darkness with practiced precision while keeping their backs to the elite duo.
"I hate to admit it, but a third party may have bypassed the perimeter and entered the Cradle of the Dead," Clyde muttered.
The two Royal Guards winced. They clearly didn't appreciate the suggestion that their "perfect" surveillance network had been compromised.
"But who?" Fiona asked.
"Hard to say. However, Count Bradley likely holds enough secrets to bury half the nobility in the capital. There are plenty of people who would be deeply troubled if we brought him back alive."
Clyde scooped a sample of the white powder into a small glass vial.
"So, they sent an assassin to silence him before he could expose their corruption," Fiona concluded.
"Precisely."
Their conviction grew.
"My guess? The intruder is a [Berserker]. Those pulverization marks are a perfect match for the skill [Frenzied Strike]. It’s a savage technique designed to shatter bone in a single blow."
"I see. That makes things complicated." Fiona tightened her grip on the hilt of her rapier. "Though a mere brute is still no match for a Holy Knight and a Sage."
The two shared a nod and quickened their pace, heading deeper into the dungeon's gloom.
"Damn, that’s a lot of them."
Emerging from the narrow passage, I found myself overlooking a massive cavern. Below, nearly a hundred zombies shuffled about in a mindless, rotting swarm.
Taking them out one by one with [Decomposition] would take forever, and I’d run out of steam long before I finished the lot. If I dallied and let them surround me, I’d be in real trouble. Even using [Swordsman] or [Martial Artist] skills would be a waste of energy against that much putrid meat.
So, how to handle this?
I had plenty of skills at my disposal. Even the non-combat ones could be used as weapons if I was smart about it. I just needed...
Wait, that's it!
"[Earth Vein Detection]."
I pressed my palm against the floor. As the skill activated, a mental schematic of the surrounding geology flashed through my mind. I saw the ceiling of the cavern and the thickness of the bedrock above it.
From the looks of it, there was a large hollow space directly above this chamber. If I could deliver a precise, heavy shock to the right spot, the whole ceiling might just give way.
I pulled a heavy, oversized pickaxe from my [Storage Space]. It was an old friend—the same tool I’d relied on back in my [Miner] days to crack open stubborn bedrock.
"Alright, let's take them all out in one go."
I shouldered the pickaxe and crept toward the nearest support pillar.
"[Excavation]!"
The tip of the pickaxe struck with a force that defied my actual physical strength, burying itself deep into the stone.
"And again! [Excavation]!"
The zombies finally noticed me, their grey, sunken faces turning slowly in my direction. I didn't flinch. I just kept swinging.
Rumble, rumble...!!
An ominous tremor began to vibrate through the cavern floor.
"Here it comes!"
With the primary support pillar shattered, the structural integrity of the ceiling vanished. With a deafening roar that shook my very bones, the entire roof of the cavern came crashing down.
BOOM!
In a single instant, the swarm of over a hundred zombies was buried under tons of rock and soil. I didn't even hear a groan.
"Phew. Job done. Better move before the dust settles."
I started to hurry toward the far side of the cavern, but then—
CRACK!
The collapse must have triggered a chain reaction in the strata above. The sound of something shattering like glass echoed through the chamber as the dungeon began to crumble even further.
"...Uh oh."
A fresh deluge of earth and stone rained down, and my world was swallowed by a blinding cloud of dust.
"Cough! Ack...!"
I inhaled a lungful of grit and couldn't stop coughing. I could barely draw a breath.
Wheeze... wheeze...
I scrambled to pull a self-made potion from my [Storage Space]—a product of my [Compounding Arts]—and downed it in one go. The cooling liquid mended my scorched throat and lungs, finally allowing me to breathe again.
"Phew... okay... okay..."
As the dust slowly cleared, I spotted something shimmering atop the pile of debris. It was a glowing sphere of light, and inside, I could make out four silhouettes. People caught in the collapse?
The sphere suddenly burst apart, and four figures stepped onto the rubble. There was a woman in gleaming silver armor, a man in a brilliant white robe, and two armored Royal Guards flanking them.
"What are you doing here?!" the woman shrieked.
That’s my line! What the hell was the "Shield of the Sky" doing here?!
"Fiona. Who is this man?" the robed man asked, his gaze dripping with contempt.
"He's the one I told you about. The man who attacked our recruits the other day."
"Ah. The failure who holds a grudge because he couldn't pass our interview."
The man glared at me with such naked hostility that my skin crawled. He was clearly another member of the "Shield of the Sky," and likely a dangerous one.
"Don't tell me you followed us all this way just to harass our guild?" Fiona demanded.
"Are you insane?! I'm here on my own business!"
The robed man glanced at Fiona.
"According to my [Intuition], the low-life isn't lying about that."
"Then is he the third party after Count Bradley?"
"He claimed to be a [Swordsman] during his interview," Fiona said, her lip curling, "but it seems he's actually a [Berserker]."
Whoa, whoa, whoa. A [Berserker]? Where did they even get that? These people were starting to seriously get on my nerves.
"Falsifying a resume... what a wretched soul, to have no fear of God Karia," Fiona muttered.
"The foulness of his character is written right on his face," the man added.
"Will you two shut up?! You don't know anything about me!" I barked.
"Hmph. Just as I thought. A savage [Berserker]. We might as well dispose of him here."
My blood ran cold. The robed man thrust his hand forward, and I could feel the magical energy swirling around him. If that hit me, I was dead. I knew it instinctively.
There was only one thing left to do: run.
"[Ice Spear]!"
"[Excavation]!"
As the spell whistled through the air, I slammed my pickaxe into the ground, tearing open a massive hole in the floor. Without a second thought, I dove inside.