NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28: The Silent Crypts
The decision to brave the Gauntlet's Level Three, the ominously named "Silent Crypts of Nur-Hazzan," without Kaelen was a somber one. Yet his shimmering, crystalline cocoon, pulsing with transformative energies within the secure depths of [The Veiled Path], offered its own kind of reassurance. He was on his own journey of growth, undergoing a metamorphosis I couldn't understand. And the newly awakened Sanctum Sentinel, a ten-foot behemoth of enchanted stone and tempestuous energy, stood as an unmoving guardian in his place. With Jeeves at my side, an ally whose capabilities often left me speechless and whose Tier 4 power was a comforting bulwark, I felt as prepared as I could be for the unknown horrors ahead.
Before we ventured forth, however, there was the matter of the potent Primal Essence. Harvested from my last several clears of the Gauntlet's Level One and, most significantly, from the Tier 3 Stormwing Sky-Reaver that had guarded Level Two. For days, I immersed myself in deep cultivation. The [Concentrative Aura] of my Sanctum wrapped around me like a focusing lens, sharpening my intent. Jeeves, with an almost supernatural understanding of my needs, maintained a perimeter of perfect, unobtrusive silence around my meditative alcove. He'd occasionally appear with a tray bearing fresh water and a precisely arranged portion of cooked meat, before vanishing as silently as he'd arrived, a ghost of perfect servitude. He also, I later discovered when I went to check on Kaelen's cocoon, took it upon himself to "aesthetically re-calibrate" the entire Sky-Reaver's nest chamber in the Gauntlet — a task I had mentally noted but not given much attention to. When I next entered it to access the translocation nexus, the colossal cavern was almost unrecognizably tidy. Bones were neatly stacked by size and type. Guano — or its alien equivalent — was meticulously swept away. Even the massive, interwoven nest itself looked tidier, as if its stray branches had been artfully pruned and re-woven. I'd simply stared, dumbfounded. Jeeves, with a subtle cough from behind me, had merely commented on the "regrettable prior state of arboreal disarray and suboptimal olfactory conditions, Master."
The process of integrating the Sky-Reaver's potent Essence again was profound, far more intense than any previous cultivation. It was no longer just about small increases; it was about pushing past fundamental thresholds, about forcing a qualitative evolution. When I focused the Primal Essence into my Body, I had to consciously visualize the energy untangling those now-familiar integration knots, then forcing its way into every fiber, compelling my muscles to grow denser, my bones to harden further, my very cells to vibrate with new potential. There was a distinct snap, a profound internal shift, as my Body finally broke past the 299 barrier. The sensation was a familiar echo of when my Spirit had first breached that significant marker, but amplified — a surge of raw, vibrant power, a feeling of my physical form becoming fundamentally more robust, brimming with a new level of resilient, explosive strength. The same occurred with my Mana; guiding the potent storm-aspected essence into my core felt like stoking a cosmic furnace. The internal reservoir wasn't just expanding in volume but in potency. The very nature of my Mana was shifting, becoming richer, more volatile, more eager to be shaped into complex constructs.
This intensive cultivation yielded significant results. My [Soulfire Lance], the attack born of desperation and now slowly being refined through practice, felt leagues more powerful. Drawing upon my Soul's inherent energy, then infusing it with this newly potent Mana, I could now sustain the beam for longer. Its destructive power was significantly amplified. It felt less like raw, uncontrolled energy and more like a truly weaponized extension of my will, a focused spear of pure, annihilating intent. During one practice session against a massive granite slab outside my Sanctum, a focused beam had not just shattered it, but vaporized a significant portion, leaving a smoking, molten crater where solid rock had been moments before. The sheer destructive potential was exhilarating and terrifying.
The Prime System, ever observant, registered this evolution.
[User Eren Kai has demonstrated advanced synergistic integration of inherent Soul Strength with refined Mana Manipulation techniques. Innate conceptual pathway for Soul-Essence energy projection identified and formalized. New System Skill acquired:]
[Skill: [Soulfire Infusion] (Epic). Passively enhances the User's ability to channel raw soul-aspected energy into Mana-based constructs, significantly increasing their potency, stability, and penetrative power against conventional and energetic defenses. Active Component: Allows for the deliberate infusion of concentrated soul-energy into a spell or manifested Mana effect, temporarily granting it properties that can bypass conventional resistances, disrupt spiritual or energetic matrices, or inflict specialized damage based on the nature of the soul-energy employed (e.g., burning spiritual tethers, disrupting vital force, purifying corrupting influences). This active infusion carries a notable Spirit and Mana cost and may induce temporary soul-resonance fatigue if overused.]
An Epic skill. Another testament to my unique path, another tool forged from my S+ Soul. This formalized what I had been instinctively trying to achieve with the [Soulfire Lance]. With [Soulfire Infusion], my new Lance, and even my more mundane fireballs and Water Lances, now carried an entirely new dimension of power, a cutting edge that felt capable of shearing through more than just physical matter. My status confirmed the overall changes.
NAME: EREN KAI
CORE ATTRIBUTES:
SOUL STRENGTH: S+
ESSENCE MANIFESTATION:
BODY: 309 (Tier 3)
MANA: 307 (Tier 3)
SPIRIT: 322 (Tier 3)
SYSTEM SKILLS (6/10 Slots Available):
[Prime Axiom's Nullifying Veil] (Mythic)
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[Soulfire Infusion] (Epic)
[Mana Manipulation] (Rare)
[True Sight] (Rare)
[Basic Weapon Mastery] (Uncommon)
SOUL ABILITY:
[Glimpse of a Path]
Effect: Grants a single, vivid precognitive vision of one possible future pathway, extending approximately one and a half hours from the point of activation.
Cooldown: 7 Terran Days (Currently Available)
Tier 3 across the board. I felt the difference in every movement, in every breath — a profound sense of solidity, of power held in reserve, of heightened perception. I was ready.
Jeeves met me at the translocation nexus in the (now spotlessly clean and aesthetically arranged) Sky-Reaver's chamber. He inclined his head, his silver eyes briefly assessing me. "Master Eren appears… revitalized. The subtle emanations from your recent cultivation are most promising. A significant increase in energetic density and harmonic resonance is detectable."
"Let's hope it's enough, Jeeves," I said, the weight of the Tier 4 viability warning for Level Three still fresh in my mind. "This won't be easy." My [Glimpse of a Path] was off cooldown, but this time, I intended to use it only for the Boss room, if we even made it that far. Level One and Two had taught me that the challenges leading up to the boss were just as important for growth and resource gathering, for testing our limits.
Together, we stepped into the azure light.
The transition was jarring, a physical shock. The open, airy expanse of the Sky-Reaver's Roost was replaced by an oppressive, bone-chilling cold that seeped through my clothes and near-total darkness. It was punctuated only by the faint, sickly green phosphorescence clinging to patches of crumbling stone walls, casting grotesque, dancing shadows. The air was thick with the smell of dust so ancient it felt like inhaling history, of pervasive decay, and something else — an ancient, unsettlingly inorganic odor, like long-dead machines or fossilized entities. We stood at the entrance of a narrow, cyclopean corridor. Its walls were crafted from massive, ill-fitting blocks of a dark, greenish-gray stone that seemed to absorb sound, creating an unnerving, profound silence. Intricate, disturbing carvings covered every surface — not heroic reliefs like the Gauntlet's entrance, but unsettling patterns of swirling, non-Euclidean lines, myriad lidless eyes that seemed to follow us, and skeletal, grasping tendrils that looked ready to animate.
"[True Sight]," I murmured, and the world resolved into clearer, if no less disturbing, focus. The carvings pulsed with a faint, malevolent energy, a cold and ancient malice. The corridor stretched forward, branching off into multiple, equally oppressive passages. This wasn't a linear series of chambers; this was a true maze, a labyrinth designed to confuse and ensnare. The Silent Crypts of Nur-Hazzan.
"It appears navigational discretion will be paramount, Master," Jeeves observed. His voice was a low murmur that somehow didn't echo in the deadening silence. His silver eyes, already eerily perceptive, seemed to gleam with an internal light as he scanned our surroundings with meticulous attention. "[Stealth Arts] activated. I shall take point, if you permit. My senses are uniquely attuned to discerning subtle disturbances and energetic residues in such environments."
"Agreed," I said, readying my spear, its familiar weight a small comfort. My own [Prime Axiom's Nullifying Veil] was a constant, comforting presence, shrouding my true power. We moved forward, Jeeves a flowing shadow just ahead of me. His movements were utterly silent, impossibly fluid, barely disturbing the ancient dust. The labyrinthine corridors twisted and turned, a disorienting maze of identical-looking passages, each seeming to lead deeper into the oppressive gloom. False turns led to dead ends or collapsed sections choked with rubble. Occasionally, pressure plates, almost invisible even to my [True Sight] until Jeeves subtly indicated them with a flick of his wrist or a minute adjustment of his path, would trigger ancient, rusty scything traps from hidden wall slots or volleys of darts tipped with some noxious, green-glowing substance that hissed as it splattered against the stone. Jeeves disarmed them with an almost casual, surgical precision, using a set of delicate, dark-metal tools he produced from somewhere within his impeccable uniform. His movements were swift and economical, a miniature symphony of silent competence.
The threats, when they came, were sudden and brutal. From alcoves hidden in shadow, skeletal warriors, their bones stained green by the phosphorescent growths, animated by the same sickly light, would lurch forth. Their ancient, rusted weapons — axes, swords, and barbed spears — swung with surprising speed. My spear, now often wreathed in the white-hot energy of a [Soulfire Infusion], shattered bone and dispersed their unholy light with explosive force. Jeeves was a phantom in the darkness. His stiletto was a silver whisper that found chinks in their ancient armor, dismantling them with a chilling efficiency that bordered on artistry. He'd flow around a skeletal knight's clumsy swing, his blade darting out to sever spectral tendons that held the bones together or shatter a glowing, fist-sized core visible within its ribcage. All while offering quiet, almost academic observations like, "Note the inefficient spiritual binding matrix, Master. Likely a rushed or degraded necromantic enchantment, easily disrupted at the primary anchor points."
Other times, amorphous shadows, barely visible even to my [True Sight] as distortions in the deeper gloom, would attempt to engulf us. Their touch was a draining, life-sapping cold that left my skin numb and my spirit chilled. These were more problematic. My physical attacks passed through them harmlessly. It was my fireballs, now imbued with potent Soulfire, that proved most effective. Their radiant, soul-aspected energy caused the shades to shriek, a soundless tearing in the fabric of the silence, and dissipate into wisps of nothingness. Jeeves, surprisingly, countered them with blasts of pure, concentrated darkness from his palms, an ability he hadn't displayed before. These blasts of shadow seemed to unravel the shadowy constructs from within, causing them to implode silently. "A minor manifestation of the progenitor echo's more esoteric talents, Master," he'd commented dryly after annihilating one particularly large, grasping wraith that had tried to envelop me. "One finds darkness is often the most effective counter to lesser shades and their rudimentary manifestations."
We pressed on, deeper into the suffocating silence of the Crypts. Jeeves' almost supernatural ability to sense traps and anticipate ambushes proved invaluable. The initial Objective, [Locate the Central Sepulcher], had appeared on my interface, a distant beacon in this deadly maze. This Gauntlet Level was not just about fighting; it was about navigation, about surviving a relentless, attrition-based environment designed to wear down body and soul. And with every echoing corridor traversed, every shadowy threat neutralized, I could feel the Prime System watching, cataloging, as we descended further into the silent, waiting darkness of Nur-Hazzan.