710: All that glitters...

All that glitters...

The next few minutes were essentially a race to the finish line as Liam, Luna, and the undead wyvern ran through tunnels and passages and long-winded corridors. Luckily or unluckily, there were no more armies or even a few elites blocking their path.1

Since they had already taken care of the lizardmen, there seemed to be nothing else guarding the place. Liam frowned. This was not exactly good news because it means that the other party could have very well already reached the end zone.

And just like he expected, when the three of them reached the last corridor, there were loud growls echoing ahead of them.

"Stop." Liam immediately signaled to Luna and the wyvern. "You both stay here and only come forward if there is any sign of trouble. For now, I will go alone and see what is happening."

Both of them nodded, and Liam quickly took a bottle of an invisibility potion from his inventory. He gulped it down, and the next second, his figure and his presence completely disappeared.

The effects of the invisibility potion were slightly better than the [Stealth] skill. Since everything about this fort was unknown, he did not want to take any chances and made the best preparation that he could.

Liam then checked everything, calmed himself down, and slowed his heart rate as he slowly walked toward the end of the corridor. As he rounded the corner at the end of this long path, he finally caught sight of the haughty little twerp who had now run away from him twice.

"Got you." Liam grinned. He silently observed the kid from a distance. He seemed to be staring at a giant door in front of him. The door looked archaic with numerous runes inscribed on it.

Liam squinted his eyes to take a better look at the door and at the runes, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't understand any of it. The few demon tongues he knew were completely unrelated to the runes inscribed here.

The kid, on the other hand, seemed to be extremely focused. He actually looked like he knew what he was doing. What the heck? How does this little guy know and understand such complex runes? Was this perhaps related to his ability to tame dragons?

That was the only answer Liam could think of because, as far as he knew, there was no place or NPC in this world that could teach a player about such complex runes, and considering that empires opened up just now, it was highly impossible for him to have learned this in a traditional way.

"It should be an innate skill of his hidden class or some other type of special skill." Liam could only come to this conclusion. He waited patiently, and a couple more minutes later, the kid finally made a move.

With a cocky grin on his face, he pulled an item out of his inventory space.

"A key?" Liam's eyes widened. He only caught a quick glimpse of the key before the kid inserted it into one of the many holes in the door. At first, they looked like part of the rune, but now, upon closer inspection, he could see that they were actually keyholes.

Did he get the right one? In the next instant, Liam heard a loud rumbling sound, and the massive door cracked in two, revealing a passageway inside.

The kid grinned and walked inside. Liam also followed him, but as he stood in front of the giant gates, he was utterly shocked and dumbfounded. 

Inside the giant gates, there was a big hall, and there was one more set of grilled gates blocking the path. However, one could still see inside, and the sight was enough to leave anyone breathless.

Because at the back of the hall, behind the grilled gate, there were heaps and heaps of glittering treasures. Everything inside was sparkling. Gold coins, golden ornaments, countless gemstones, mana cores, necklaces, brooches, bracelets, armor, weapons, rings, the list was long. 

Liam didn't even have to go inside, and he was already assaulted by the blinding radiance. With his mouth agape, he stared at the treasure mountain without blinking. The kid was also visibly drooling. 

Who wouldn't want to get their hands on such a huge treasure trove? The hall in front of them might as well be the treasury of an entire empire, or perhaps even several prosperous empires combined together.

"Fuck, so there was really a treasure in this place?" Liam was speechless. He was pretty sure that this was a trap, but it seemed like he was the one who overthought things. 

He sighed and lifted his leg to take another step forward, essentially entering the hall, when suddenly a chill crept up his spine. Something was amiss. 

There was a strong and powerful aura that surged in the hall. He immediately took that leg back and stepped outside the hall once again.

"What was that?" Liam frowned. 

His eyes darted across the big hall as he finally managed to look past the treasure. In the corner of the big hall, there was something else besides the treasure. Or rather, someone else, a woman.

She was chained to the wall like an animal, her hands, legs, and neck tightly bound. Her body seemed fragile, and she was bony and barely alive. 

Her long, jet-black hair was unkempt and strewn about everywhere. Everything about her looked grimy and murky, and she seemed to be sitting in utter filth.

However, that was not what caught Liam's attention. It was the terrifying, blood-curdling aura that she was exuding. One look at this woman and he immediately knew that she was bad news.

On the other hand, the kid was still drooling over the treasures and was probably trying to figure out how much everything was worth in his head.

Liam did not understand. This kid… was he not able to see the woman chained right next to the treasure piles? Doesn't he see what I am seeing?

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