He stood there ready for war when nothing happened. Neither the main sarcophagus opened nor the four guards. Every step toward the sarcophagus felt like stepping on a land mine. It wasn't until he was close enough to touch the coffin that he relaxed. He assumed he would be fighting something here but that wasn't the case.

  Now that he was close enough, he saw that small symbols covered the sarcophagus. The coffin was an array or at least covered in one. He traced the symbols until he found a nexus point. The spot was a pentacle with the most complicated symbol he had ever seen. It reminded him of some kind of elvish script. He wasn't sure how it worked but he was confident he could break it. The question was whether he should. If the cult had been here, then they had to have found this place. Which meant they either sealed the corpse inside or they couldn't unseal it.

  He decided not to mess with it for now. Instead, he checked the rest of the room. The braziers on the wall weren't made from ordinary fire. They were a bright blue and didn't emit heat. He ran his hand over it and cocked his head. He made a mental note to look into whatever it was later. If he had the chance. If he could make magical none burning flames, then he would be more than happy. At a minimum, it would look cool. He checked the hanging weapons but couldn't tell much about them. They didn't show any signs of age, so he figured they were either very well made or were enchanted somehow. He checked the warrior's coffins, but they lacked the array or any manner of opening their coffins. With no other options, he turned his attention to the main sarcophagus. He sent a small bit of spiritual energy into the array. Enough to undo the seal. He watched the symbols crawl across the sarcophagus. His heart pounded until the box slid open. He leaped back his energy surged into the symbols for his skills as the lid crashed to the ground. When nothing climbed out, he sighed.

  He was going to give himself a heart attack before anything else could kill him. He took a breath and then walked up to the coffin. Inside he found a well-preserved corpse. A man with dark brown skin and golden tattoos lay on a silken sheet. If he hadn't known better, he would've thought the man was going sleeping. He wore an outfit that reminded him of the ancient Egyptians. He was shirtless and wore a skirt-like cloth as his bottoms. His eyes were drawn to an item in the man's right hand. The item was a golden serpent coiled around a golden key. The key was about the size of Maximilian's forearm. He wanted to leave the dead alone but his gut told him he needed the key. The Network was anything but subtle during the tutorial. If it showed him something he would either need it or fight it. He wasn't sure if this would count as desecrating the dead. Still, he hoped if anyone was watching they wouldn't get mad at him for it.

  He gently removed the key and almost pissed himself when the man's eyes opened. Before he could react, the zombie grabbed his wrist and unleashed a burst of utter cold. He screamed and activated Severing Disc.

  The disc sprung into existence and cut through the mage's wrist at the same moment. Maximilian retreated almost ten feet away before he took stock of the situation. He was about to make a run for it when the door slammed shut and the four warrior coffins opened. Four mummified warriors stepped out and grabbed their weapons. He didn't need his instincts to tell him how much danger he was in. He could tell that the mage had to be between levels five and ten. He had a focus on ice spells if his demonstration was any sign. Which meant he needed to figure out what to do. He could run for it but he didn't think he would make it. As if to punctuate the point the door slammed shut. He gritted his teeth and cursed the Network. He should've run for it as soon as he got free.

  "I don't know if you can understand me." He began. "But I am not your enemy. The city above us is in danger and someone down here is trying to take advantage of the bodies. I want to stop that from happening." He wasn't sure if the peaceful solution was possible under the Network but he would try. Not only was he uncertain he would win. He also wasn't sure things would go well if he killed them either.

  "You are an intruder but I do not sense the taint of undeath on you. Leave before I kill you all the same." The mage spoke with an authority and weight that made Maximilian stand at attention.

  "Will you help me deal with the intruder? Or intruders"

  "I cannot leave, nor can I interfere with things outside of this chamber. My soul is still bound by the rites. As unpleasant as it seems our enemy has found a way to manipulate them to their benefit."

  Maximilian's eyes widened and then he glanced toward the door. He had assumed the cult animated the bodies but if they were meant to be some sort of guardians then what was down here? Why had the city waited to purge it? "I don't understand. What is hidden down here that would need the interred to choose to become defenders?"

  "That, I am unable to say. It is taboo for people to come down here as it is taboo for the souls left behind to discuss much. It is an honor that I have been allowed to keep this much of my awareness."

  "Are you able to tell me how many people are here? Or how to find them?" He bit back the rest of his questions as he glanced at the warriors. It wasn't worth the risk.

  "There are three. One of which is deeper in the building than the others. He is dangerous. I wish you good fortune if you choose to face him." After the mage crawled back into his sarcophagus. His four guards did the same. When they were all sealed again Maximilian sighed. That hadn't been useful but it was fine. He hadn't expected anything specific so he couldn't be too upset. He left the chamber and retraced his steps until he reached the most recent fork in the road. He headed down a different path until he found a chamber identical to the mage's tomb. Only it had been ransacked. A golden sarcophagus lay splintered on the stone. Five corpses lay scattered about. Two of which looked like they had been dissolved in some sort of acid. From what he could tell the setup was the reverse of the mage. The person here was a woman and a powerful warrior. She fought with a spear to defend her country. A spear that was now splintered and broken. Maximilian was about to kneel next to it when something stopped him. A strange feeling settled on him. Something similar but opposite to his normal instincts. He leaped back from the broken weapon and prepared himself in case.

  A moment later a spectral woman appeared. The woman wore tarnished armor as if she had finished a great battle. In her right hand, she held a spear that was a head taller than she was. The spear was a copy of the one on the ground only it wasn't broken. When he saw who it was and detected no danger from her he flashed her a pleasant smile. "Hello, I take it you are a warrior in service to your home? Were you defeated by the invaders?"

  The woman paused for a moment. Her eyes stared at him as if she could see both him and something beyond him. After several long moments, she nodded. "I am and I was. The necromancer seeks the treasure at the heart of the catacombs. One that can reshape this place and bring doom to us all."

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  He nodded along as she spoke. He had a few assumptions about what the Network wanted him to do. He either had to destroy the guards or get the keys or some other object to get further into the tomb. Only if that was the case why hadn't he gotten the other one? Was he supposed to force the issue? He knew that the people here were already dead, but he didn't want to attack them if he could avoid it. A decision that was further enforced when the mage didn't try to attack him.

  "There isn't much time left." The woman's words brought him back to the current moment and the task in front of him. "I must request that you go forward and stop them. I managed to kill one of the three." The ghost waved her hand and a pathway appeared. At first, he thought that she created the pathway out of nothing but that wasn't true. The corpse in the hallway made it more likely that it was always there. He just couldn't see it. Which made him wonder if it was the same in the other room.

  "Do I need permission from the magus?"

  She shook her as a complex expression passed over her face. One that was equal parts sadness and happiness. Before he could ask her about it, she continued. "No, he wouldn't let you through. He can be stubborn like that. It is not our place to allow people inside as I have already been killed I have a bit more leeway. I wasn't one for pointless rules in life. Either way, it is not your responsibility. I ask that you deal with the threat before things reach a point of no return."

  Maximilian wanted to ask the spirit more questions, but it wasn't to be. Her form had slowly dissipated throughout their conversation. He could barely make her out against the rest of the room. She was closer to a heat mirage than anything else. He gave her a head nod and turned his attention to the path. The extra information hadn't changed his plan. He would deal with the situation to the best of his ability. The tunnels forward were different than before. There was an aura of death that made his skin crawl. He couldn't tell if it was the necromancer or if it was the corpses here though he leaned toward the former. He could tell it wasn't an attack but that didn't make him feel any better. Either person was stronger than he gave him credit or he had a skill that lingered. He considered releasing his aura to defend against it but discarded the idea. As far as he knew the necromancer didn't know he was chasing after them. Which was a small advantage. Something that he was determined to keep after entering another chamber.

  This one was identical to the chamber he found at the entrance only the guardians had lost. There were ten of them from what he could see. Each one wore better armor than any of the warriors until now. He grimaced as he surveyed the remains. What took place here wasn't a battle. It was a slaughter. Most of the corpses had been disintegrated. While two of them had different wounds. He knelt down next to a corpse that looked like it had been bitten. The bite marks were human from what he could tell which only made him feel uneasy. There should only be two of them left but why would it eat one of the zombies? Was it a skill or was he dealing with a cannibal? He checked the rest of the bodies but there were no other signs. He picked up one of the weapons, a short sword that was in decent shape. He didn't want to go blow for blow with anything in here, but it was better to have it in case.

  He walked up the stairs and into the next part of the tomb. The tunnel narrowed until it ended in a large set of stone doors. Doors that had been blown off their hinges. Maximilian took a breath as he was hit by a wave of necrotic energy. For a moment he thought he was under attack but that wasn't the case. Rather it was the by-product of whatever the necromancer was doing. Maximilian considered his options before he decided to enter the chamber.

  There was nowhere he could hide. Everything in the chamber was either too small or too weirdly shaped for him to try. Further, he had no experience in silently entering a place. He gripped his sword and stepped over the rubble. As soon as he was in the room, he wished he hadn't. He was in an antechamber that was around thirty feet across with a ten-foot ceiling. Two figures were standing in front of a massive black metal door with the kingdom's heraldry on it. One of the figures wore a weird skeletal armor. An armor that almost seemed alive by the way it moved and flexed with its wearer. A man who was nearly seven feet tall with an ugly black staff in his right hand.

  A black staff that billowed a miasmic fog at the door. From what he could tell there was a ward or array on the door. One that stopped them from entering. Maximilian checked the second man who was almost as frightening as the first. He was around five and a half feet tall but was skinny, almost emaciated. Further, he felt like famine or hunger. It took him a moment to figure out why and when he did, he mentally cursed. Was he about to fight two people with Daos? He was pretty sure the small guy's was hunger or something similar. The necromancer's felt like death. Though he doubted that was true. The concept of death seemed too strong for a tutorial quest. Was it rot? Or decay? He shook his head it didn't matter. He needed to fight. He activated his array as his instincts screamed at him. A slight head nod was the only warning he received before the skinny man rushed him. His jaws opened impossibly wide like a serpent or some eldritch horror.

  Maximilian launched his sword at the creature with the force of a bullet. The blade didn't so much as shoot toward him as it appeared in and then through his throat. For a moment he thought he had killed the man but that was wrong. He watched as the hole he left in the thing's mouth stitched itself together. It wasn't until the creature had healed that Maximilian's mind kicked into gear. He imbued Static Bolt with his Dao and shot at the enemy. The creature was much too slow to avoid the attack. Electricity surged through whatever nervous system the creature had. He didn't want to give it even a moment to recover. He unleashed Severing Disc aiming to cut the head of the proverbial snake. The razor-sharp disc tore through the air. He was a second away from victory when a beam of black shot out of the necromancer's staff. The attack caused his skill to fade as if it was being corrupted from the inside, but it wasn't enough to stop it.

  Instead of decapitating it, the blade tore a hole out of the creature's neck. A hole that caused its head to peel back before it began healing itself. Maximilian resisted the urge to puke at the horrific display as he prepared his next attacks. The door's defenses held which should mean the necromancer couldn't join the battle. Further, it acted to protect its minion which meant it could die. Even if it wouldn't be easy. He needed to find out the extent the necromancer could act. He formed both of his attacks. This time he aimed Static Bolt at the necromancer and Severing Disc at the monster. Both attacks shot forward like bullets. Despite the finality in his attack. Maximilian couldn't shake the sense of dread that had fallen over him. A moment before both attacks would've connected something exploded out of the necromancer. A bone grey wave of energy flooded into the chamber. Everything it passed began to rot away. Maximilian's eyes widened as what felt like a skeletal hand wrapped his heart. For a moment that seemed to last forever, Maximilian stared death in the face. Energy surged into the symbol for Prismatic Barrier. Before his mind processed the situation. His robe's shield shattered less than a second before his defensive skill activated. A war of colors began as a rainbow fought against a muting grey. He stared at the grey for several moments as he processed what happened. At first, he thought it was a skill but that wasn't it.

  It was an aura. One imbued or enhanced by his Dao. Which should mean he could do the same thing. He did a quick mental calculation. His barrier should hold against the aura even when the other creature joined. It should take him a few minutes. After that, he would have to go on the offensive. He wouldn't be able to reactivate either defense before they killed him. He took a breath and reached for the small spark in his soul. The exhilaration of electricity surged as electricity danced across his skin. He looked down at his hands and tried to copy what the necromancer had done. The sounds of cracks filled the room as he fought against his anxiety. He had to focus. He took a deep breath and relaxed his control. He let his aura off its leash and with it came the electricity. Like a bird let loose from its cage.