Chapter 37 Bone Temple

The Bone Temple. Even the name sounded like a warning. The dungeon clung to the edge of Enmar’s cliffs, its jagged mouth gaping open like the skull of some long-forgotten beast. A stone staircase wound down into the darkness, guarded by two men in standard issue breastplates, spears planted firmly at their sides. I had read the manuals enough to know that any dungeon D-rank and above was always watched by the state. Too many fools had died in dungeons, and too many monsters had slipped out when the watch was lax.

Lydia glanced at me, her voice low. “I’m going to make you invisible, okay?”

Nira nodded timidly, clutching Lydia’s hand. She vanished from sight the next moment, her small frame shimmering and then fading altogether. I was impressed. Lydia made it look effortless.

We descended the carved steps, the guards’ eyes following us. Halfway down, one raised a hand. “Halt! Show me your tags!”

I reached into my suit and produced my copper tag, the dull plate catching the torchlight as I held it aloft. Copper: E-rank. Barely worth mentioning.

Beside me, Stabs produced his gold tag, the gleam of C-rank etched clearly on it. Once, he had been worthy of that rank, before the bottle and the streets claimed him.

Lydia, calm as always, revealed her worn obsidian tag. The black metal gleamed faintly under the torchlight. B-rank. Retired, but the tag didn’t lie.

The guard’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you have an E-rank with you? This is a C-rank dungeon.”

Lydia’s lips curved into a faint smile. “He might not look like it, but he is an experienced mage.”

As if on cue, sparks of electricity danced along my right arm, crackling bright enough to sting the air. I hadn’t summoned it. Lydia’s illusion painted the scene for them. It was grand and convincing.

The guards instinctively straightened, the faint wariness in their eyes proof enough that they bought it. One of them extended a hand. “Toll.”

Stabs sighed, fishing out a pouch and tossing it forward. The guard caught it, weighed it, and stepped aside. As we passed, the second guard reached out and rested a hand on my shoulder.

“A word of warning,” he said quietly. “Adventurers haven’t come here for some time. With the lord’s new policies driving them out of the city, this dungeon hasn’t been cleared in months. It might be too much for you, so… just know I warned you.”

Polite, huh? At least he didn’t sneer. I gave him a small nod. “I will be fine.”

He let me go, unaware his hand should have slipped through air instead of touching flesh. Lydia’s illusions weren’t simple glamours; they wove into the senses, tricking sight, sound, even touch. The guard hadn’t the faintest idea I wasn’t flesh and blood.

We stepped past the threshold, the dungeon swallowing us whole. The air changed immediately. It grew colder, heavy with the smell of dust and the faint tang of decay. Bones were worked into the stone walls, rib cages jutting like decorative arches, skulls peering out from alcoves with hollow eyes. Nira’s small steps whispered behind us, unseen but close enough to feel.

“Light,” summoned Lydia as an orb of light lit ahead of us, against the dim luminescent moss. “That’s better.”

The first chamber opened wide and empty, save for one skeleton that rattled forward with a rusted blade in hand. Stabs moved before I even thought to act. His dagger flashed, and with a single blow, the bones clattered apart, falling lifeless to the ground.

He exhaled through his nose, sliding the weapon back into position. “Too easy.”

The silence of the chamber pressed against us. Lydia raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Nira shimmered back into view, blinking wide-eyed at the remains of the skeleton.

“Stay close to us,” Lydia said softly.

Nira nodded, her lips pressed tight as she tried to look braver than she probably felt.

Stabs wiped his blade on a strip of cloth and glanced at Lydia. “What’s the plan?”

She leaned her back against the damp wall, her expression steady as always. “Subdue a skeleton to the brink and let little Nira deal the last hit.” Her tone was firm, like a teacher about to cut off questions before they even started. “Okay, before anyone raises an objection—” she fixed me with a sharp gaze—“the Level Up phenomena has existed for a long time. Adventurers often described it as feelings of elation after defeating monsters. But further back, the same phenomena was happening even then. The church and the monarchy, however, decided to gag it. If anyone talked too much about the ‘feeling’ or the science behind ‘transcendence,’ they were silenced, bribed, or discredited.”

I crossed my arms, studying her. “You sure know a lot.”

Stabs scratched his chin. “What changed now, then?”

Lydia’s gaze faltered for a moment. “I… I don’t know…”

I thought about it. The pattern was obvious, at least to me. “Progress,” I said finally. “That’s why. Mundane methods are catching up with the magical and the supernatural, things those in power used to keep under their thumb. Nobles prize bloodline because transcendent powers could be inherited, and the church would gladly rouse its members to risk their lives in dungeons if it meant more believers attaining transcendence. The Adventurer’s Guild, on the other hand, stands to lose control if common folk realize that ‘mundane progress’ alone could rival transcendence. But with the current news, adventuring might flourish again. Maybe even more than before.”

For example, the Lord of Enmar wanted the Guild gone not because of petty politics or coin, but because he wanted to monopolize transcendents in his territory. If adventurers left, he could lay claim to anyone who achieved that power inside his walls. Ruthless, but clever.

Before Lydia or Stabs could respond, a rattle echoed down the cavern. From a side tunnel, a skeleton rose, its bones grinding against one another as it hefted a rusted sword in both hands. Its hollow eyesockets caught the dim light of our lantern, and Nira gave a sharp yelp, clutching at Lydia’s robes.

I grinned, stepping forward. “We have Nira’s first prey. Let me do the honors.”

I let myself slip from my body, rushing into the brittle shell of bones. The skeleton staggered under the sudden intrusion, and then its jaw clacked open under my control.

In its throaty, rasping voice, I leaned forward and croaked, “Boo~!”

Nira shrieked and bolted behind Lydia, her small legs scrambling in a panicked retreat.