True elves. It did say something about that. What's the description again?
[Welcome to the Frigid Cemetery]
[Within my walls is the final resting place of the fallen race of True Elves. Whether you're searching for treasure, secrets, or a glimpse into our forgotten history. I must warn you. None but my kin shall leave this unholy retreat alive.]
So there are a lot of clues in there. Fallen race. If the race is fallen, then what am I? Obviously, if I've gotten this far, I'm probably kin to this person…but it's strange. Frankly, I wouldn't consider the Dark Elves of today as a fallen race. Secondly, three words.
Treasure, secrets, and forgotten history. There must be something here, a kind of hidden treasure that has to do with the past of the elves. Most likely to do with their 'fall'.
Thirdly. Unholy retreat. Either they're talking about the undead below…or something worse, like a ghost. Lastly, they made a point of saying True Elves. Not Light or Dark. Or just Elves in general.
Hmm. I'm willing to bet that this all has to do with the past. Niathe rarely talks about her family or her own childhood to me. Yet sometimes she does find herself talking about the glory days from a time before hers, when I complain about etiquette.
Days when elves lived in harmony with one another and the fae all had separate rulers. The forest was their home, and nature was their closest confidante.
Then the humans and some other races became too greedy; they looked for treasure as if they were possessed by its entrancing glow, and ruined everything.
War broke out between all of the races, and entire nations were destroyed in the process. All over a few pieces of treasure. Afraid of such a farce repeating itself one day, the world came to an agreement.
Power was consolidated and temporarily handed over to the Council, now known as the High Court. Made up of several royal families from the Fae. At some point, a leader was chosen, and that leader was an elf.
The Kingdom was established again, but under one ruler this time. Most of the invaders were sent packing to other lands. All hail the monarchy.
Blah, blah, blah. Moral of the story: Don't be greedy, Miseria.
That's mostly it. Thanks for something, I guess, Mom.
Well, I guess I'm about to find out for myself. I'll keep this in my inventory until I know what to do with it. Stepping into the circle, I closed my eyes and let it take me again.
Woah. I blinked and took in the completely different environment. For one, this place was inside a building of some sort. On the verge of crumbling and filled with corpses, every place I could see was littered with them.
Their rancid smell and the damp atmosphere made my face turn green. Why are there so many bodies in here?
Turning around, I saw I was inside a darkened hallway. A long one that had a mouth in front of me and a dead end. Looks like I can only go forward. Water dripped onto my head, and I looked up…
[Freeze Bat Lvl 15]
[HP: 4,000/4,000]
[MP: 8,500/8,500]
No. No. Not in my hair. I cast a barrier with a wave of my hand and hesitantly touched the top of my head. A disgusting, slimy sensation caused me to hurl, and I glared at the bats with hate in my gaze. The one that was currently drooling in their sleep remained unaware of my glare and continued dripping saliva on my barrier.
You know what?
This is kinda cruel and messed up. But you're going to suffer for that. A sudden idea had me inverting my barrier and closing it around them. They barely roused and kept on snoring.
Gradually, I closed the barrier so it couldn't let any air in or out and waited. One by one, the bats blearily rubbed their eyes and took tiny breaths. Once they realized that they were suffocating, they fought against the barrier and spewed out a cold breath to freeze it.
It only served to make them suffocate faster, and soon the notifications were coming in.
[+400 EXP]
[+400 EXP]
The bats struggled with all their might and died silently in my bubble. A rat skittered across the floor, and I watched it cautiously.
Is that like bait or something? Maybe I can drink— Nope. Not even dying would I consider that.
I threw the bats that had died in my inventory and squeezed the barrier harder. No one touches my freaking hair. Disgusting. It helped to squeeze my fist while imagining it. Their poor eyes popped out of their skulls, and they died faster.
[+400 EXP]
What is—
The dead body moved its hand, and the rat was caught in its grasp. Moaning, it dragged the rat to its mouth and consumed it with its putrid mouth. Oh shit.
The bats finally died completely, and I threw them all in the inventory. Then I cast a barrier over myself and carefully stepped around the bodies. While I was walking, I took notice of the difference in some bodies.
[Zombie LvL 10]
[Zombie LvL 8]
[Zombie Lvl 1]
"..."
Each had a different level, and some even had armor on them. Some had skin hanging off their bones, and some had clothes draped over them in respect. While others seemed freshly deceased. I could tell by their ears, fresher clothing, and other features what races they could have been. Some even had evidence of how they died. Blunt force wounds, bite marks, slashes, and some had evidence of… self-destruction.
Once I had finally gotten to the mouth of the hallway, I peeked out. Huh. So there are three types so far. Zombies, bats, and these little gray things.
They almost look like goblins. The tiny, stupider, and vicious version of hobgoblins, but these don't exactly look weak either.
Inspect.
[Undead Goblin LvL 12]
[HP: 9,000/9,000]
[MP: 1,000/1,000]
They mostly carried around weapons made of iron or stone. Swords, shields, and clubs. There didn't seem to be any magic users or anything particularly dangerous, but I knew not to underestimate them.