System of the Beast Slayer [litrpg Adventure]
Copyright© 1999 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 307: The Sealed Door
An hour later, having recovered part of their mana, the Witchers continued exploring the pitch-black cave.
Not far from the fountain basin, extinguished braziers stood at regular intervals, forming a clear passage.
They lit them as they went.
When light drove back the darkness and cold, and after they had crossed several rotten stone steps, they arrived before a sealed great door.
The dim yellow flames revealed a spread of silver ancient runes across the door.
A faint trace of magic lingered around it.
Their school medallions trembled slightly.
“Dong, dong...” Orin tapped it twice with his knuckles, then pressed his palm flat against it and pushed hard. The door did not move an inch.
“With hardness like this, and magical protection on top, Aard won’t do a thing to it.”
His amber pupils suddenly turned toward Roy.
“What are you looking at me for?”
“This door might be a powerful illusion. Anti-magic metal might work!”
“Did a drowner gnaw out your brains?” Kael struck his brother hard on the skull with a clang. “There’s a keyhole right here. What bloody illusion are you babbling about?”
“My dear brother, I’m warning you...” Orin half-bent his body, malice in his eyes, his mouth splitting open to show white teeth. “Don’t think just because I gave way on the shop arrangement, you can insult me as you please. Do it again and...”
“Shut up, you two idiots!” Bald Letho pressed his fanlike hands onto the backs of their necks. At once, the brothers went quiet like cats lifted by the scruff.
“Pick the right place before you start bickering. Right now, finding the key comes first. If nothing goes wrong, the poor Cat School member from the kid’s premonition is locked inside?”
At those words, the Cat School Witcher’s face tightened. His fingers trembled slightly against the door.
Roy nodded, memories turning in his mind.
“The Clay Golem has already been turned into spoils. The greatest threat outside the laboratory is dealt with. I suggest we split up and search for clues. But be careful. This cave is close to the sea, cold and damp. Some corners may have toxic miasma built up over years. If any of you smell anything wrong, watch yourselves.”
“Kid, we don’t need you reminding us of that.”
Then they split into two teams.
The Orin brothers and Flavius searched the west side, while Roy and Letho searched the eastern cave.
The two of them left the broad cavern hall and entered another narrow side passage. The way was calm. They gathered quite a few herbs, hairy balls, mistletoe, and the like, and also discovered a strange plant, glow mushroom. It grew from the cave ceiling, shaped like clusters of spider eggs, giving off a pale green light like natural magic lamps, mysterious and beautiful.
Guided by that glow, the two waded through an icy pool.
“Kid, remember the last time we went diving together?” The shining bald head broke the surface. Letho stepped onto dry ground, wiped the water from his face, and the hideous changes caused by the potion had noticeably faded. His expression softened.
Without realizing it, that ignorant apprentice who liked petty theft had already been admitted into the school for a year.
“Don’t mention diving to me!” Roy plucked up a handful of moss and wiped his hair. He remembered the pool at the end of the Smaerk Mine tunnel, the one full of nekker droppings, and for some reason a taste of shit crawled into his mouth. “That kick of yours, that bullshit cesspit mutation, ruined my appetite for days.”
“The glorious traditions of the Viper School must be preserved.” Bald Letho shook his head. “Besides, as I recall, that night you chatted merrily with the Sea Scorpion’s Enigma and ate roasted meat until your belly was round...”
As he spoke, the medallions at their necks suddenly trembled.
They entered combat stances with practiced ease.
Their wrists flicked. “Shing.”
Silver swords came free.
The glow mushrooms on the cave ceiling cast down pale green light.
Not far away, a wraith holding a lantern and a longsword, wrapped in translucent robes, emerged from the void. It shrieked hoarsely and rushed at the Witchers.
Fingers traced a sign. Pale yellow light flowed.
Bald Letho raised his Quen shield. His Viper School silver sword rested behind him in Tail Guard, like a hunting dracolizard swinging its conical tail. In a few swift steps he crossed to the wraith.
Swish.
The silver sword rose with the force of a thunderbolt.
It knocked aside the wraith’s spinning blade, and the remaining force cut into its half-solid, half-illusory body, making it pause.
Letho ducked lightly and used the opening to circle behind it.
His five fingers pressed toward the ground. A pale purple magic circle rose, and the Yrden trap instantly locked the wraith in place. Its translucent body was forcibly shifted into solid form, losing its immunity to physical blows.
“Whoosh, whoosh.”