Chapter 162: The Third Stage

What is going on?

A chill suddenly gripped my heart!

Being dragged into a terrifying pile of bones by a sudden, powerful suction force emanating from the bottom of the moat is, after all, not a very pleasant surprise. Even for someone as calm as I usually am, a cold shiver ran down my spine, and I could not help but endlessly curse the designer who had come up with such a frightening element.

Fortunately, however, there was one thing for which I could be glad.

At the very instant I was pulled into the bone pile, the skeletal remains in the moat seemed to be parted by an unfathomable force, preventing my body from making any direct, intimate contact with these rotting, withered bones that had lain there for who knows how many years.

Even so, I still did not stop cursing the creator of this malicious prank—is this really any way to treat a player? Good thing I, your humble servant, have strong nerves; if I had been any more timid, my heart condition surely would have acted up.

Just as I continued my curses, a sudden flash illuminated my vision, followed instantly by the solid feel of the ground beneath my feet, while a pleasant system prompt chimed in my ear: "Discovered the vanished Lost Secret Chamber, quest completed!"

Still grumbling about the designer, I instantly steadied my mind, activated Quick Step, and anxiously swept my gaze all around with heightened vigilance—the Lost Secret Chamber was by no means a safe place.

...

Seeing the grand and vast giant hall before me, I finally understood the true meaning behind the phrase "the vanished Lost Secret Chamber"—"vanished" referred to disappearing from everyone's sight, while "secret chamber" described a hidden room without an entrance, buried and masked by countless piles of bones.

Presumably, this secret chamber had not been designed with an entrance anywhere inside the ancient castle during its initial construction; the true entrance was hidden at the bottom of the moat, and it had simply been ignored by players and "vanished" from their sight merely due to the existence of these skeletal remains.

Once I figured this out, however, I fell into deep thought once more.

Since there was a real passage, that old nobleman ought to have known about it. But why didn't he just tell us the specifics instead of playing such riddling games?

Thinking it over and over, I connected this to the first stage of the quest... obtaining the "Undead Grimoire" from the skeleton mages.

Was there any connection between these?

Just as I pondered whether other secrets were concealed within, Falcon's anxious inquiry suddenly came through:

"Lin, what's wrong with you? You didn't bite the dust, did you?"

Hearing this inexplicable "curse," I rolled my eyes and shot back directly:

"You're the one who bit the dust. Hurry up and get down into the moat. I've already found the secret chamber."

"Secret chamber? You aren't fooling me, are you? How come I don't see anything? In the blink of an eye, you vanished, kid!" Falcon clearly had not recovered from the shock of thinking I had "died." Hearing that the secret chamber had already been found, his mind failed to process it for a moment.

"Stop talking nonsense and get down here. It's right beneath the moat. I got sucked in."

Too lazy to continue explaining such an obscure and difficult process to Falcon, I replied briskly and began to survey the distribution of the undead archers within this massive secret chamber.

Inside the secret chamber, most creatures were the "undead archers" I had seen outside just moments ago, numbering no fewer than two hundred. Furthermore, these undead archers were highly organized, gathered in groups of twelve surrounding a giant skeleton whose stature and bone structure were noticeably larger and sturdier than theirs.

These giant skeletons wore oversized, heavy black armor. One hand clutched a bone-crafted shield tightly pieced together, easily the size of three Shields of Glory; the other hand gripped a pitch-black, heavy great axe, standing tall like gate guardians in every corner of the hall. Beneath the deep shadows cast by their thick helms, crimson glows flickered on and off. This imposing aura alone was enough to make me dismiss any thoughts of rushing forward!

What's more, even after activating Insight, I couldn't obtain any of their data—their level and strength were unquestionably superior to the undead archers. If they happened to be some kind of mini-boss monsters leading a swarm of undead archers to surround me, I wouldn't even know where to flee.

Flee...

Right! Where was the exit to this place?

A thought flashing through my mind, I quickly scanned the surroundings of my current position, only to discover that right behind me was a thick, solid wall. Forget about a passageway; there wasn't even a single door.

"Uh..." Seeing this, several black lines instantly dropped down my forehead:

Surely not?

Not even an exit? What if I hadn't brought a Town Portal Scroll with me when I fell down here...

Wouldn't that mean I'd be forced to die and respawn back in the city?

A stifled feeling washed over me as I suddenly let out a soft exclamation, recalling something:

"That kid Falcon, how come he hasn't come down after all this time?"

Reaching out via voice transmission, Falcon's voice, laden with helplessness and frustration, finally came through:

"How am I supposed to get over here? I stomped around in the moat for ages just like you said, and I couldn't find your so-called hole for the life of me! Right now I'm surrounded by skeleton mages and can't even move... Be honest with me, Lin, did you really bite the dust and get sent back to the city? Even if you're in a bad mood, don't use me for amusement in a place like this. I've almost got goosebumps all over my body!"

Falcon's words sent a shiver through me, immediately conjuring an image in my mind of Falcon tightly surrounded by a massive horde of skeleton mages...

A trace of cold sweat instantly slid down, and I asked:

"You can't get down? That's impossible. Are you stepping in the moat or on the bridge?"

"Cut the crap... Of course I'm in the moat... Damn it! I just crushed another skull... Why am I so unlucky?! I'm definitely going to have nightmares tonight!"

Falcon's indignant and bitter cries instantly plunged me into confusion: Can't get in? That makes no sense. I clearly stepped into the moat just a moment ago and was sucked straight in.

Could it be...

I slapped my forehead:

"Old Falcon! Check your quest log and see if the quest is still there!"

Although I found it hard to believe this was a strictly single-player linear quest, that possibility could not be completely ruled out—much like the hidden class quest Dr. Leaf had taken, which was unique; once accepted and executed by someone, it vanished instantly and could never be triggered again.

The system had just prompted me that the quest was completed... It was very likely that this quest no longer required other players to continue. If that were the case, Falcon truly was an unlucky fellow.

Just as expected...

Falcon replied in an almost mournful tone:

"Damn it! It really vanished... What the hell!" Having said that, he let out a sigh, then shifted his tone: "Good thing you're the one who got it, otherwise I'd never hear the end of it. Right, what's the situation in there?"

After roughly describing the layout of the secret chamber to him, I asked, "Did you bring a Town Portal Scroll?"

"I did. Why?"

"Good thing you did. Let's return to the city and meet at the old nobleman's place!" Knowing that staying any longer in the secret chamber wouldn't yield any rewards, I immediately pulled out a Town Portal Scroll and activated it.

...

"Undead archers, undead commanders... It's them! They really haven't left; they've never left! This bunch of undead who deserve to rot in the abyss of hell... they've truly been hiding in the secret chamber of the Forgotten Castle all this time!"

The frail old nobleman was shaking so violently with rage that he could barely keep hold of his broom. Yet, his eyes were filled with even greater surprise and gratification, because the knot that had weighed heavily upon his heart for so long was finally untied!

"Thank you, young adventurer! If not for you, heaven knows how much longer these evil undead would have remained hidden..." The old nobleman finally remembered me standing right beside him, listening to his grievances and sighs.

I wiped the sweat from my brow (figuratively speaking) and, seeing him launch into self-glorifying praise of his own wisdom, finally couldn't help myself, whispering a gentle reminder: "This is only what I should have done, but... about that reward..."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt my tone was somewhat strange. I wasn't sure if it was because I was worried that the target of my request for reward was this dilapidated old nobleman, or because I held far too high expectations for this chained quest series, but my voice sounded unusually dry and tense.

"Oh right! If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost forgot... about the reward..." The old nobleman's response instantly stretched both my and Falcon's nerves taut. We held our breath, pricked up our ears, and dared not miss a single syllable.

Yet just as the old nobleman reached this point, his tone abruptly shifted, wearing an awkward expression that chilled my heart—an expression I was all too familiar with. Whenever friends at the mecha academy ran out of living expenses and came to me for help, they always wore that exact look.

Damn it!

Could the NPC be about to default on payment?

"This... little, old man really cannot pull out anything decent to give you... How about this? You take a trip to the North City for me, and deliver this Undead Grimoire along with a letter from this old man to the North City garrison captain, 'Carlos.' He used to be an orphan of the old castle and harbors a deep, bone-deep hatred for undead creatures. Find him, tell him everything you've seen and heard, and have him figure out a way to get you into the lord's manor..."

The old nobleman's words not only failed to give Falcon and me any sense of being cheated, but instead caused us to exchange a simultaneously thrilled look:

"Stage Three!"