Chapter 900: The Path Out
From the moment Leon stepped into this seemingly simple maze—one that barely looked magical at all—he knew there were terrifying dangers lurking inside. Not just any traps, but the kind that are insidiously deadly. And, as it turns out, he was right.
Bill George left behind very few relics, but even those that weren’t particularly valuable served as outer defenses—ordinary-looking, yes, but deadly enough to take out plenty of unwary intruders.
It’s precisely because of this that, in Northend’s golden age, countless powerful mages tried every trick in the book to excavate all of Bill George’s relics. Most of those who survived had already been nearly killed by his traps.
These flame rays ahead? Every one is a genuine sixth-level spell—the strongest single-target attack at that tier. Bill George solidified dozens of them into the walls, all packed into a few meters of corridor. This kind of extreme setup is classic Bill George.
Wizard’s Eye won’t trigger the trap, nor will elemental creatures like Stone Golems. But any living, breathing being that steps into the center will set it off instantly. With no warning, anyone caught by this kind of insidious trap is as good as dead—a fitting tribute to Bill George’s reputation.
The walls along the way all look perfectly ordinary. Even if you carefully inspect the solidified runes ahead, you can’t possibly examine every single one as you pass through.
Even the most cautious person wouldn’t scrutinize eight entrances in a row so obsessively. That’s why the odds of anyone spotting this trap in advance are almost zero.
In such a cramped corridor, after a long stretch of apparent safety, suddenly being hit point-blank by dozens of flame rays—the only defense is a Rune Shield or a Mana Shield. Only those among the ninth-rank Title Archmages could react in time. Anyone below eighth-rank, without a special protective artifact, is doomed.
Even Hubert might not survive an attack from this trap. Those flame rays carry a special force, nearly as powerful as seventh-level spells, and have a slicing effect. If Leon fell in, he’d be scrambling for his life.
Moments later, Leon put away the crystal quill. The flame rays gradually extinguished, and as they faded, the runes on the wall rapidly shifted into a different form.
Blast Runes!
In an instant, dozens of Blast Runes lit up at once. If they went off in this cramped underground corridor, the explosion would rival an eighth-level spell!
Leon and the others would be lucky to survive with just a few scrapes. As for Wagner, he’d be dead—no question.
Terrified, Wagner stared at the glowing Blast Runes. Without thinking, he threw up a Rune Shield, a Mana Shield, and an Elemental Shield—three layers of defense—then cast Haste and bolted.
But after just a few steps, he realized Leon and the others hadn’t moved at all.
Are they all suicidal? If those Blast Runes go off, this whole place will be blown to hell. Anyone below Sky Rank—dead for sure.
Why aren’t they running?
Wagner’s mind raced, and he hesitated just a moment. That’s when he noticed: more runes were lighting up around the Blast Runes, intricate patterns like an alchemical array glowing on the wall.
In a flash, the Blast Runes were converted into an alchemical array, their power rapidly siphoned away as a source of magical energy.
Moments later, Leon put away the crystal quill. The flame rays gradually extinguished, and as they faded, the runes on the wall rapidly shifted into a different form.
Blast Runes!
In an instant, dozens of Blast Runes lit up at once. If they went off in this cramped underground corridor, the explosion would rival an eighth-level spell!
Leon and the others would be lucky to survive with just a few scrapes. As for Wagner, he’d be dead—no question.
Terrified, Wagner stared at the glowing Blast Runes. Without thinking, he threw up a Rune Shield, a Mana Shield, and an Elemental Shield—three layers of defense—then cast Haste and bolted.
But after just a few steps, he realized Leon and the others hadn’t moved at all.
Are they all suicidal? If those Blast Runes go off, this whole place will be blown to hell. Anyone below Sky Rank—dead for sure.
Why aren’t they running?
Wagner’s mind raced, and he hesitated just a moment. That’s when he noticed: more runes were lighting up around the Blast Runes, intricate patterns like an alchemical array glowing on the wall.
In a flash, the Blast Runes were converted into an alchemical array, their power rapidly siphoned away as a source of magical energy.