In the blink of an eye, Valed was fully combat-ready. Combined with his earlier agility in navigating the chained traps, it was clear that despite years of leisure at Dekkenhof Castle, the former Space Federation Operations Chief had lost none of his edge. His skills had not only held steady but improved—truly commendable, truly commendable.
Yet utterly useless.
After less than three seconds of vigilance, when Valed regained normal vision and surveyed the hall, he realized his earlier efforts had been futile. For there was nothing here capable of threatening him. Or to be more precise—there once had been something sufficiently threatening.
No, to be precise, entities capable of reducing this poorly conditioned, reckless youngster to dust from head to toe—such entities had indeed existed. One need only glance at the more than twenty colossal statues lining both sides of the hall to understand.
These statues—or more accurately, golems—were each sculpted in the classic, ancient likeness of gargoyles.
They possessed humanoid, hunched bodies. Powerful lower limbs, and upper limbs disproportionately long compared to humans, ending in sharp, massive claws.
These golems were forged from pure, crystalline rock. This material, highly receptive to magical winds, was exceptionally sturdy and remarkably smooth. It proved excellent both for sculpting and as architectural stone. Naturally, if this stone fell into the hands of a skilled alchemist, one could employ alchemical techniques to infuse it with magic crystals during sculpting, transforming it into a perfect golem.
They possess immense strength and are harder than steel. Moreover, due to their inherent material, their attacks are classified as enchanted. They hold their own against any defensive measure. Similarly, their inherent composition grants them automatic enchanted-type defense, effectively repelling attacks of any kind.
If one must point out a flaw, these golems are slightly slow and lack agility. However, within the confined, enclosed layout of this chamber, this design compensates for their speed and flexibility shortcomings.
This was a perfect killing formation. With these twenty golems stationed here, even a thousand-strong army would find it extremely difficult to breach. Only a single narrow gate led from the passageway into this hall. It was a strategic chokepoint where one man could hold back ten thousand. This defensive measure was exceptionally powerful, and unlike the previous traps and ambushes, it was a straightforward, open strategy—relying purely on strength, without resorting to any tricks... Of course, all this analysis was now pointless.
For these imposing, seemingly indestructible golem monsters were utterly broken. Though outwardly flawless, Valed could see clearly through his shamanic vision. The tiny yet vital magic crystals within them had been damaged—part consumed, part reverted to magical wind and dissipated into the air. This explained why Valed sensed such an intense concentration of magical wind within the chamber.
As for why the golems had been damaged, Valed could easily guess. He need only look up to see it: a crack in the hall's ceiling, impossible to miss. This fissure pierced through the rock layers, offering a direct view of the sky. Looking down, one could see an identical fissure on the floor. The angles of the two cracks aligned precisely with the trajectory of Valed's previous all-out assault on the barrier.
It was that very attack that had not only drained the surrounding magical winds but also caused the collapse of all magical crystal structures within the hall it traversed. From within, it had reduced these outwardly formidable golems to piles of broken stone.
Understanding the truth, Valed silently sighed at the unseen hand of fate. Had a genuine mage been summoned, he would undoubtedly have found a method ten times more effective than Valed's to breach the outer barrier. Yet, had that mage reached this hall, he might well have met his end beneath the magic statues' claws.
Yet here was Valed, a clueless novice who, through sheer recklessness, had damaged the tomb itself. By some twist of fate, he had also breached the tomb owner's second line of defense. It was truly remarkable.
At the same time, Valed felt a quiet thrill. This trip hadn't been in vain—setting aside the burial goods and sacrificial victims. These twenty exquisitely crafted golems alone were worth the return trip. Once transported out, he could employ alchemical methods to infuse them with finely ground magic crystals and reprogram their magical circuits. Each golem's combat prowess would rival that of a high-tier undead. This was a fortune in itself.
At this thought, Valed began to feel elated—even though he hadn't learned a single thing about alchemy yet.
"But if the things guarding the tomb are already this formidable, what could the actual sacrificial offerings be?" Valed carefully inspected the golems' condition, satisfied to find no critical damage, and nodded approvingly. Then he voiced this question, his anticipation growing.
Then, let's press forward. But first, we must confirm our direction. Corridors radiated from the hall in all directions. The rear one was undoubtedly the entrance Valed had come through. As for the other three...
"The front corridor likely leads to the tomb owner's burial chamber. Its defenses will undoubtedly be stronger. My current condition isn't ideal, so I'll proceed along the side corridors first." " Having made his decision, Valed turned and headed down the left corridor. In the ancient empire, the right was revered while the left was considered inferior. The right side would likely hold the second most important chamber after the main tomb. So, one step at a time—starting with the simplest option. As he always said, the tomb itself wasn't going anywhere. No rush.
With his choice made, he continued moving leftward. Vared calculated the time again—a skill he'd learned from the Federation military in his previous life. He could precisely estimate the duration between one activity and the next, with an error margin of no more than three minutes. This skill, brought over from his past military days, seemed unremarkable but proved unexpectedly useful.
"A little over two and a half hours. That means there's still plenty of time before dawn." This thought eased Vared's mind considerably. The tomb's designer, seemingly accommodating, had avoided placing overly complex traps in the left passageway. There were no rumbling giant stone spheres, no poisonous snake-infested trenches accessible only by a fraying rope, no piranha-filled moats, no walls suddenly descending, rising, or crushing from the sides... None of these things appeared.
A few low-level traps, resembling puzzle-solving challenges, were swiftly overcome by Valed. Perhaps these problems would be difficult for the average person of this era. But for Valed, who came from the future and had at least attended a university during the space age, they were child's play.
Systems of quadratic equations and such.
Finally, after enduring countless hardships, Valed reached the end of the passageway: a tomb sealed with a slab of blue stone. After briefly scanning the area for any anomalies around the slab, Valed discovered a device resembling a code wheel. He tentatively turned it twice—and the floor beneath vanished.
Fortunately, Valed had prepared in advance, casting a levitation spell on himself. Thus, he didn't fall.
He steadied himself before continuing to turn the wheel—first clockwise, then counterclockwise... hoping no more traps would spring.
This time, Valed was fortunate. As the wheel rotated steadily counterclockwise, the floor below closed back in. Simultaneously, the trapdoor in the bluestone slab slowly creaked open. Valed breathed a sigh of relief, stepping inside while drawing a paring knife to deflect the poison darts fired at him. He remained alert for a moment longer, confirming the coast was clear before pressing onward.
—The tomb chamber lay empty. Ahead, another row of bluestone slabs separated the passage—perhaps leading to another tunnel, though it could just as easily conceal more traps or mechanisms. The only object within the chamber rested atop the central pillar: a single book.