Ch 25: Sudden Change

For the next two days, Eryx continued exploring the forest.

During this time, he fought many demonic beasts. Most of these beasts were either Tier-2 or Tier-3, which made the battles not that challenging for him.

Slowly, Eryx gained more fighting experience. He also learned many small but important tricks to handle the demonic beasts better. He figured out how to provoke the beasts to make them reckless, when to dodge, and when to attack directly. These were things that would have been hard for him to think of before.

In just two days, the energy points in his account increased from 3,540 to 11,040.

The most surprising thing happened when he was resting after one of these battles. Suddenly, he felt the entire forest tremble, but only for a very short moment. It lasted just for a second, but it was real.

Eryx was sure of it. He was sure that his senses were not wrong. He knew he did feel the forest trembling.

Even though the trembling was brief, it left him with a strange feeling. He seemed to have felt as if something about this forest had changed. When he looked around, it was still the same forest, but something had definitely changed. It was as if parts of the forest had shifted or transformed. Some things seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, adding to the forest, while a few things seemed to have disappeared.

Eryx couldn't quite explain this strange feeling. It was as if the forest had changed in a way that couldn't be easily seen with the naked eye.

He immediately became alert and more cautious.

Just like that, one more day passed.

To this day, aside from Evelina's group, Eryx has not come across any other groups or people. He was certain that Lin Ning'er and the others were somewhere in the forest, as he had followed the same path they had taken earlier. However, he had no idea where they were or what they were currently doing.

On this particular day, Eryx encountered something strange.

While walking through the forest, he suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation of energy around him.

Perhaps because of his special physique, he was highly sensitive to different types of energy. So, when he felt the energy fluctuation, he could not help but frown. Then, he decided to follow the direction where the fluctuation was strong and hoped to find the source.

After walking for a while, he arrived in front of a massive boulder.

This boulder was gigantic, and at its center, there was an archway.

To Eryx's surprise, when his gaze fell on the archway, he knew it wasn't just an ordinary structure, it was more like a gate. He could also see a tunnel-like path that extended deep into the boulder from the archway.

What made the situation even stranger was that the archway didn't seem like it was part of the boulder. Instead, it felt like a completely separate object attached to it.

Eryx also sensed something else: if he were to somehow separate the archway from the stone boulder, the tunnel-like path would likely disappear. It was as if the tunnel's existence depended entirely on the archway remaining in place.

"What is this place?"

Eryx frowned. The structure in front of Eryx had piqued his curiosity. He stood there for a while and observed the archway and the tunnel carefully.

He discovered that the archway was not in the right state. Instead, it was more like a crumbling archway made of jagged black stones, which was covered in a thin layer of moss that looked sickly and damp.

The stones making up the archway didn't seem normal at all. They looked…almost alive. Every few moments, they would shift slightly, like they were moving or breathing on their own.

Eryx sensed an eerie aura on them and felt a chill run down his spine that instant.

"Perhaps, it is wiser not to enter this place. Who knows what kind of dangers lie hidden within this strange place that seems to breathe on its own? No matter what, I'm still very weak. I could be dead before I even realize the danger. No… it's far safer to turn back while I still can."

Although Eryx had learned to face dangers on his own in the past few days, due to his mentality as an Earthling who used to live an ordinary life, Eryx's heart was still not strong enough to enter unknown dangerous places.

He wanted to retreat, but just as he tried to turn around, his leg stumbled upon a small rock, and he lost his balance, falling forward.

Before he could catch himself, his hand accidentally pressed against the archway, and that instant, an interface appeared before his eyes.

⟪Mystic Arch: 5,000 Energy Points⟫

Eryx was stunned. He didn't expect this stone archway to be worth 5,000 Points of High-Level Energy. But then again, it is to be expected.

After all, this place was the source of energy fluctuation. The archway also has its own mysteries, for the tunnel in the stone boulder was entirely its doing.

"Should I really leave without exploring this place?"

Finally, Eryx started hesitating. Since the stone archway alone was worth 5,000 Energy Points, then what about things inside the tunnel?

Although he doesn't know what is inside, just from looking at those almost alive stones, he can tell this place is not ordinary. There must be many good stuff inside.

Thinking like this, he started wavering. His previous firm decision shattered, and his heart began to change.

It is said that Greed can blind even the wisest of men. It can turn allies into enemies in an instant. It can corrupt the purest of hearts.

Eryx was not some saint to begin with. He was a normal human just like others. Energy Points are far too important for him. He can evolve in an all-out manner infinitely as long as he has enough energy points.

He had just begun cultivation. His heart was not firm yet. Now faced with this situation, his heart changed and greed corroded his previous decision.

In the end, he decided to take the risk and enter the tunnel.

Eryx took a deep breath and looked closer at the archway and the tunnel. The whole structure was bigger than he thought.

The entrance was almost pitch-black. The tunnel was narrow, just wide enough for one person to walk through.

Although he had yet to enter, he could feel the air inside was heavy and cold.

"I should enter." Eryx breathed deeply; his heart was still racing. He tried to calm his heart and finally stepped into the tunnel.

Shua~

As soon as he entered, a chill wrapped around him like icy hands, making him shiver. His legs immediately felt heavy, almost as if they didn't want to move. But he forced himself to keep going.

Inside, the air was thick and cold.

As soon as Eryx entered the tunnel, the tunnel changed. It was nothing like how it appeared from the outside. Unlike his guess, this place was not completely dark. There were several glowing stones embedded into the wall. These stones were the source of light inside.

Instead of a narrow and dark tunnel, there was a long corridor in front of Eryx. It was stretching far ahead.

On each side of the corridor was a stone chamber. Each chamber had a wooden door blocking the entrance. The wood looked old and worn, as if it could break with just one push. Faint symbols were carved onto the wooden doors.

At the end of the corridor, Eryx can see an open, spacious hall.

Even though he was at the start of the corridor, he could still see that the hall at the end was huge.

Here, nothing seemed to be wrong. Even so, a dangerous sensation emerged in Eryx's heart. An eerie sensation, stronger than what he felt outside, caused him to shudder.

"What is this intense feeling?"

Eryx could not understand, but he knew this place was far from simple. However, since he had already decided to take the risk, he chose not to retreat. He slowly walked down the corridor.

This place was void of any noise. Perhaps, it is because of this that every step he took echoed in the air.

Finally, he stopped in front of the first stone chamber that was on his right side.

The chamber had a wooden door that looked very old and weak. The faint symbols carved into the door appeared complicated. At first, Eryx couldn't understand them, but as he looked at them, he found them similar to something that appeared in the memories of his body's previous owner.

"So, this is what runes look like," he muttered silently.

In this world, there are many professions. These professions increased in number after the sky shattered and lifeforms from countless worlds invaded this land.

Among an unknown number of professions, the most renowned were still the original five from this world. They are Pill Refiners, Weapon Craftsmen, Beast Masters, Formation Masters, and finally Rune Masters.

There is still another profession. It is called Artifact Forgers. Unfortunately, the art of forging artifacts has been lost since ancient times. No one in the current age could forge artifacts.