Chapter 295. More than meets the Eye
There were around five to six people encased in a thick layer of marble-like stone, all showing the same expression of wanting to get away from the place they were sitting in.
It made sense to the Wanderer not to approach the possibly deadly area, as he still wanted to live for a couple of years, if possible.
[Hell, do you think he hired those poor souls before sending us?](Abaan)
"Possible, though I doubt all of them were in the same trade. Maybe most of them, or even all, are just curious people. Too curious for their own good."
[Phew! Alright! Muscle's here. Money's coming. Let's do this!](Abaan)
Watching the man pump himself up and walk toward the statues, the Necromancer reached out and wanted to stop him initially, only to hold himself back after seeing the Quest description update.
[ Side Quest update - Hunting the Relic Hunter
Objective: Wait for the Relic Hunter to investigate
Description: The relic hunter tells you the thing you're after is hidden amidst a scene of petrified corpses. What curse does this relic bring? ]
Abaan carefully moved through the petrified corpses as he used a cane to poke the ground here and there, ensuring he wouldn't die a stupid death.
In the meantime, Michael was watching the show with an odd look.
'Does the Preferential Treatment include using others as lab rats instead of letting me test the waters? While I am not opposed to the idea since I am not naive enough to bet my life on luck, seeing the Sanctuary be this proactive is strange, especially since there's a 95% chance or higher that the man will die.'
It seemed that even in the Sanctuary's eyes, which treats the people of this world as its children, not every child is equal.
[Slow and steady. Huh? A pot?](Abaan)
"Be careful. It might be the cursed object we're here for."
[Got it! Don't worry. It's not my first rodeo.](Abaan)
"..."
[Huh? It's stuck, I think... Urgh! There we go. Got the lid. I see it inside.](Abaan)
"Why the hell are you touching the damned thing for!?"
[Strange, it's... cold? Shit! Help, help! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!](Abaan)
Speechless, Michael watched the 'professional' turn into another statue with a despairing expression as he prepared to run away from the cursed pot.
Four strange violet clouds appeared around the pot, exploding in small clouds of cursed mist.
Feeling his intelligence insulted by the man foolish enough to touch anything he found when even a child knew how dangerous that was, the Necromancer patiently waited for the Sanctuary to update the Quest.
[ Side Quest update - Hunting the Relic Hunter
Objective: Defeat the remaining skeletons. ]
Just as he was preparing to ask, 'What skeletons?' the answer was given in the form of over fifty summoning circles.
Without hesitation, Michael ordered his minions to deal with the invaders while he checked from afar if the violet mist was corrosive or had petrification effects on his squad.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to be the case, but he didn't want to risk it. So, he calmly held his ground and cast spells from afar while the Skeletons and the Golem did most of the work - as always.
About ten minutes of scuffles and a multitude of Raise Skeletons uses later, the summoned monsters were defeated, and silence retook its hold over the empty plains.
[ Side Quest update - Hunting the Relic Hunters
Objective: Search the Mysterious Pot. ]
Raising an eyebrow and learning from Abaan's unfortunate demise, Michael had his minions haul the pot from the area affected by the violet fog, only to see them slowly petrify and crumble into dust less than five seconds after grabbing the cursed thing.
Snorting while thinking 'as expected,' the Necromancer started a cycle of summoning Reapers, having them grab the pot and move it, watching them die, resummoning them, and repeating until he reached his goal.
Five minutes later and 90% of his Essence consumed, the Mysterious Pot was finally removed, and the four small, violet 'volcanos' disappeared.
[ Side Quest update - Hunting the Relic Hunters
Objective: Perform the gesture spell on the relic. ]
Snorting in displeasure after seeing the Sanctuary act so casually when he could've died, he hurried and used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to teleport the cursed pot away.
Strangely, as soon as he did, Rakhaan's voice disturbed the silent expanse.
[Don't fret! I'll contain it.](Rakhaan)
Then, moments later, a blue portal appeared less than a hundred meters away, and the Curio Collector stepped out from it.
Under the system's prompt, Michael approached the man who was frowning while looking at the smashed 'statues' on the ground.
Unfortunately, they suffered significant damage in the battle between the Necromancer's squad and the summoned monsters.
"Your hunter was unfortunately petrified."
[I know. Awful, just awful... Doesn't feel good, hiring people and then losing them. *Sigh* But you! You have promise.](Rakhaan)
"I'd rather not. Though judging from your face, there's more you want to say."
[Haha! Indeed. There's one last relic if you're feeling up to a challenge.](Rakhaan)
Michael wanted to refuse initially, but upon further thought, it wasn't a bad idea.
The experience gained so far through these Quests was decent, and it always brought him to spots filled to the brim with monsters to kill.
[ Side Quest complete - Hunting the Relic Hunter
Reward 1: 60,984 experience points
Reward 2: 3,300 gold coins
Reward 3: Murmuring Cache. ]
Pondering for a moment, he nodded at the Curio Collector and asked.
"Where is the final relic?"
[Burried under the Ruins of Saraan, a city sunken into a caldera. Meet me there. This time, we hunt together.](Rakhaan)
"..."
Hearing the man's voice change again, the Necromancer was having second thoughts.
Furthermore, the bastard stepped into the portal and vanished, leaving him behind just like the Bear of the Under The Fat Goose Inn did back then.
[ Side Quest issued - More than meets the Eye
Objective: Meet with Rahkaan at the Foothills of Saraan
Description: Rakhaan wants you to help him find the last of these malevolent relics. You're not sure if you can really trust him. ]
Raising an eyebrow at the odd choice of words from the system, Michael incomprehensively relaxed.
From his accumulated experience, the Sanctuary tends to overcomplicate and lead him to the wrong conclusions using the description of the Quests most of the time so that it can maintain a trace of mystery - probably for its own enjoyment.
'So, most likely, there is something strange with this guy, but he shouldn't be dangerous. Well... more dangerous than a guy hiding strange secrets and collecting cursed relics can be.'
Shaking his head, he checked the updated Quest Marker and resummoned his mount.
Ten minutes later, he traveled northeast and found Rakhaan standing before a dilapidated house.
The cracks in its walls were glowing with a strange blueish color, hinting at the possibility of a Temporary Dungeon.
Walking closer to the Curio Collector, he nodded and pointed at the crack.
"I'm ready. Is that the entrance?"
[Good! May your confidence hold just as firm below. Yes, it is. Follow closely.](Rakhaan)
Rolling his eyes at the very unnecessary comment, Michael stayed behind the man as he checked the updated details.
[ Side Quest update - More than meets the Eye
Objective: Find and disable the Relic in Saraan Caldera. ]
Feeling the thin film touch his skin and his senses go haywire for a brief moment, the Necromancer increased his alertness and curiously evaluated his surroundings.
They were on top of a cliff, with a wooden ladder leading to the path underneath.
Rakhaan waited for him to calm down, after which he pointed at the ground below.
[Let's go. The area smells like undead and demons, so be careful.](Rakhaan)
"Mhm. Let me move to the front. My minions will protect us as we go deeper."
Receiving the Curio Collector's agreement, Michael had Quarterback and two Reapers lead the way, while another two Reapers stood between him and Rakhaan just to be safe.
As for the Cold Mages, they brought the backline while also keeping an eye on the man.
The underground caverns were odd, and there was no heat to be felt, even if Rakhaan mentioned a caldera. Instead, there were sun rays coming from above, creating a bizarre contrast with the poorly illuminated tunnels they were passing through.
Less than a minute after the exploration started, a large group of wild Skeletons with an Elite Captain leading the charge assaulted them.
Due to their large numbers and limited space, Michael made use of his Evade to jump twice among their ranks and then use Blood Mist to retreat behind his Golem.
With the damage dealt by Descrated Ground and the miasma created by the exploded Corpses, the enemies were falling like flies.
As it was a Temporary Dungeon, the enemies weren't as numerous as in a regular one, and after dealing with the initial assault, all he could find for the next ten minutes were stragglers.
Then, they reached a vast room, empty of anything except some strange contraption in the middle.
Rakhaan seemed to know the details, and he calmly approached it.
[This last relic is tricky. Works in shadows and light, casting lies, revealing truths. I'd guess light is the key. Here, look! A mirror on a pedestal, all alone. There should be another nearby.](Rakhaan)
Realizing it was indeed a mirror and after messing with it for a bit, he confirmed that there was something odd about its surface, the Necromancer tried to remember previous games he played with this sort of puzzle.
[ Side Quest update - More than meets the Eye
Objective: Redirect the light beam. ]
Smiling somewhat happily since he was getting to do something like that in real life, Michael quickly ran into the tunnel leading to the left, killing all the impediments blocking his path.
Surely enough, he reached a room with five similar mirrors on a pedestal, a single one of which was hit by rays of sun shining from a groove in the ceiling above.
Unfortunately, the mirror was poorly positioned, so the converged light ray was hitting the wall behind it rather than focusing on a different mirror.
Messing with the ray for a moment and confirming there was no heat that would burn him if he somehow got 'pierced' by it, he turned the mirror around until a noticeable 'CLICK' echoed through the walls.
Now, he wasn't a professional safecracker, but he had seen enough movies to know that the mirror was in its intended place, so he quickly moved to the other four, similarly rearranging them.
A pentagram quickly formed from the rays, prompting a raised eyebrow from the Necromancer.
With the pentagram formed, the light ray continued out of the room and back through the corridor he took to arrive here, illuminating some smaller mirrors hidden close to the ceiling.
These smaller mirrors captured and kept transmitting the light further until it reached the room with the single mirror.
Following it back, Michael heard a groan coming from further ahead and hurriedly returned, hoping Rakhaan wasn't ambushed by some enemies or the Boss.
What he found instead was...
"Holy shit!"
[*Groan*](Rakhaan)
"No way! You're a demon!?"
[...yes. And no.](Rakhaan)
Hearing the confirmation come from a deeper and more demonic-sounding voice, while Rakhaan's normal pitch returned to deny it, Michael immediately took possession as the probable cause.
But before he could order his minions to attack, the man continued.
[The mirror shed my illusion. I will explain all in time, I swear it. Rest assured, I mean no harm to you, nor anyone else.](Rakhaan)
"You do understand how incredibly difficult that is, right?"
[I do. But our talk still stands. The relic's corruption must be contained.](Rakhaan)
Just as Michael wanted to interrogate the man some more, the Sanctuary intervened.
[ Side Quest update - More than meets the Eye
Objective: Activate the light to dispel the illusionary wall. ]
Seeing the system gloss over the fact that the Quest-giver was a goddamn demon, the Necromancer concluded the situation was more complicated than it seemed on the surface.
Deciding to trust the Sanctuary for now but keeping his minions between himself and Rakhaan, Michael repositioned the mirror to face the wall opposing the direction they came from and watched it as it slowly melted away.
While keeping an eye on the gray-skinned, three-meter-tall demon, he entered the exposed passage as the horned Curio Collector stayed behind as if to prove his innocent intentions.
Stepping inside the exposed room, Michael heard another hoarse voice buffeting his ears as it roared in anger.
[WHO DISTURBS MY REST!?](?)
The system quickly pointed to the source of the voice, prompting a sigh from the Necromancer.
[ Side Quest update - More than meets the Eye
Objective: Dispel the illusionary veil to expose Overseer Kafan. ]
It was the Boss as well as the objective of the Quest he accepted!
[Another thief. You will die like all the others! Rise, slaves! Your master calls on you! Show the intruder the might of the Steppes!](Overseer Kafan)
Hundreds of summoning circles appeared across the room, with more than half of them being Elites.
Fortunately, they were all Skeleton Undeads, making their speed slow in comparison to that of the Wanderer.
Furthermore, a Necromancer was the best at dealing with large crowds!