Surprise Actions

"What was that?" The guide couldn't help but ask.

Even Asher was speechless at the activity from the door as the guide had also touched the door but no reaction had occurred.

Before Asher could try and guess what had happened, a bright flash of light burst from certain points on the door. It lasted for about four seconds before dimming down in intensity and then 'flowing' through specific gaps on the door to form a strange image on the door. The image was a bunch of concentric circles with lines drawn from the centre to the edges of the outermost circle, totalling 33. At the centre of the innermost circle, where all the lines gathered, a Typhon symbol was placed[1]. The entire door radiated a mysterious aura that was both alluring but dangerous.

'Sh*t'

Asher immediately retreated away from the door.

Boom.

The guide was one step too slow and got blasted away from his original standing position as the door opened abruptly with an explosion.

'Who the heck would put such a booby trap on the door like that?' Asher cursed before glancing at the guide's way.

"Damn." The guide slowly stood up.

Although loud, the explosion didn't pack much power. With his second-stage Guardian mage abilities and physique, the guide was able to withstand the explosion but came off with a broken arm.

Asher moved his attention towards the new entrance behind the now open doors.

A new path made out of white tiles laid in front of him. Similar to the floor, the walls were also pristine white, making the corridor look just like a white room. However, unlike the tunnel and the cavern, there was obvious lighting in the corridor other Asher wouldn't have been able to spot the colour of the walls and floor. The corridor wasn't so long, only 20 metres to the other edge, but what caught Asher's attention was the 5 metres tall statue that stood there.

"Let's go."

Asher walked into the corridor without waiting for the guide.

Bang.

Once they both went in, the doors slammed shut and the two became trapped inside the corridor. Just as Asher was wondering what was going on, a mental fluctuation reverberated across the corridor passing with it a piece of information.

"So, we simply have to get to the other side of the corridor?" Asher thought out loud as he glanced at the other end of the corridor carefully.

It wasn't visible at the start, but by relying on his psychic senses, Asher spotted an average-sized door right behind the black statue which was similarly closed like the one behind them. As for the black statue, it was five metres in height and looked like a weird bald humanoid creature with four arms, a tattooed body and face, and four horns positioned on four different sides of the head to form a crown of sorts that sat atop the statue's head.

"That seems easy." The guide said, although his shifty eyes showed that he thought otherwise.

It was obvious that he didn't want to proceed further unless there was confirmation that the path was safe.

'This is strange. If it's simply about going to the other door, there would be no need to lock us in here. There has to be a trick to all of this.' Asher thought.

His eyes roamed around the entire place and his psychic senses checked on every tile one after the other but eventually settled on the statue at the other end. This wasn't to say that he had found anything to be exact, but it couldn't be said that he didn't either. Asher had noticed that a surge of energy was currently gathering on the statue. Initially, it wasn't obvious but had abruptly increased and still was.

'Here it comes.' Asher narrowed his eyes.

Rumble.

Like an archaic gear being spun back into action, the statue suddenly came to life. It started with a slight movement of a finger, then an arm and finally, both eyes were made open to see the light. A blue glare flashed from them as the statue turned its attention towards Asher and the guide.

'A ruin guardian?' Asher thought.

Most inheritance grounds or ancient ruins usually had some kind of creature, individual or even puppet protecting the area from intruders and unworthy successors. These beings were commonly termed guardians, or better yet, ruin guardians. Asher suspected that the statue was one such guardian and from the aura radiating from it, it wasn't too strong; about a third-stage Guardian mage. Although he couldn't defeat it, the mental announcement said nothing about that. All Asher had to do was outrun it and reach the other side.

'One shot.' Asher thought as he narrowed his eyes; multiple calculations running through his head.

"Cooperate with me. On my mark, we attack with our best and force it to a stop, then rush for the exit."

"Alright." The guide nodded.

Stomp.

The stone guardian took its first step in tens of years, but it didn't stop at just one. As it continued to walk toward the duo, it began to pick up the pace and get acquainted with its body's features and movement, becoming more proficient in them.

"Now!"

Right after the statue was only a few metres away from them, Asher yelled and attacked. Although he was only a Human stage mage in terms of the Mana cultivation system, his psychic ability was far ahead. It had yet to reach the level where it was tangible, but it allowed Asher to scan for weak points in the guardian and accurately target his attacks to hit those spots. This made it so that while his attacks were lacking in power compared to the guide's, they were still deadly.

Boom. Boom.

The coordinated spells struck the target although quite a lot of them were blocked by the four arms of the statue. Nonetheless, Asher's plan was still a success as the attacks forced the statue to a complete halt, and they made their way right at it with the intent of getting past it.

'That's it. The exit lies just up ahead.' Asher thought.

Just as they got past the statue, the guide suddenly swung his arm at Asher, a sword appearing out of nowhere in it.

'For the One, die!'