Chapter 65: Phylactery

Once discovered by players, [McGuire's Death Mausoleum] secret realm was added to the selectable list of secret realms, classified as one of the advanced secret realms.

This meant that the challenge level of [McGuire's Death Mausoleum] was above level 100, belonging to the category of dungeons that players could only dare to challenge in a team after breaking through to the Gold rank.

Naturally, some unconvinced players immediately organized a group of top experts to begin clearing this secret realm.

The outcome was predictably obvious: total annihilation, even with professional players participating!

According to information posted on the forums by participating players, [McGuire's Death Mausoleum] was actually a labyrinth deep underground. The environment was harsh, gloomy, and terrifying. The monsters wandering the mausoleum were mostly zombies, ghouls, and skeleton soldiers, with challenge levels ranging from LV110 to LV120. They collapsed long before ever seeing the final boss.

Only after reaching the Gold rank, enduring grueling hardships and countless total party wipes, did players finally conquer [McGuire's Death Mausoleum].

The difficulty of this hidden secret realm was absurdly high.

The wandering monsters in the labyrinth were manageable; although their challenge levels were relatively high, they were mindless undead creatures that generally appeared alone, making them not too difficult to clear.

However, the bosses of this secret realm were quite outrageous, totaling three in number.

They were the LV130 Headless Knight Larenz, the LV150 Vampire Angela, and the LV170 final boss, the Lich McGuire.

Liches were mostly mages when they were alive. Affected by dark and necromantic energies, they were transformed into undead with magical capabilities after death.

Some liches were transformed only after dying—these individuals had practiced necromancy during their lifetimes and were converted into liches due to excessive sins, deep resentment, and the influence of their spells, while others were living mages who voluntarily pursued eternal life to become liches.

According to research by lore-nerd players, McGuire should have been a Gold-rank mage who had touched upon the legendary realm. With his lifespan nearing its end, he chose to transform himself into a lich, an entity possessing eternal life.

This labyrinth was the very place McGuire chose to conduct his lich transformation ritual.

Unfortunately, although McGuire's lich transformation appeared successful, it was actually a failure.

While his body was successfully converted into that of a lich, perhaps due to some glitch during the ritual, McGuire's consciousness was completely destroyed.

In other words, after the successful transformation, the Lich McGuire remained dormant in this mausoleum for an unknown length of time, never developing self-awareness.

Moreover, because of a super magic array set up by McGuire, this mausoleum labyrinth constantly absorbed and gathered dark and necromantic energy. Various undead monsters gradually appeared within, and the two sub-bosses, the Headless Knight Larenz and the Vampire Angela, were born after that.

The [Undead Treant Nest] secret realm must have been located directly above the deeply buried [McGuire's Death Mausoleum].

For some unknown reason, the operating super magic array within the Death Mausoleum gradually affected the surface above, eventually forming the secret realm of the [Undead Treant Nest].

Therefore, that forest previously encountered was simply the [Undead Treant Nest] still in the process of formation. Since the Undead Treants had not yet been born, it explained why he failed to recognize it.

After all, aside from the existence of the Undead Treants, it really was just an ordinary forest.

Thinking with a hint of gloom, Rhode gradually sorted out the origin and cause of this anomaly.

The magic array that teleported him and Yasen inside should have been the mausoleum's teleportation array. After all, since this mausoleum was buried deep underground, it could only be entered via a teleportation array.

This was troublesome!

If he were still the fully equipped, level-180 Gold-rank mage of his past life, he would even have the confidence to solo this secret realm.

After all, clearing this dungeon yielded a quite precious and powerful feat. In his past life, he used to carry various clients through the dungeon for a fee, making a tidy little sum of money.

But now he was merely a pitiful, fragile Bronze-rank mage, and goodness knows when he would ever reclaim the glory of his past life.

He also had no idea where Yasen and Yalle had been teleported to within the mausoleum, giving Rhode a bit of a headache.

With their strength, they could probably preserve their lives if they ran into wandering undead monsters, but trying to find them in this intricate, labyrinthine maze was simply too difficult.

Except for the few players who entered it for the first time in his past life, later players who entered the secret realm directly from the system interface would not experience random teleportation, thus sparing them this annoyance.

Standing in the darkness, Rhode silently massaged his temples; now, he had to rely entirely on himself.

There were two ways to clear this dungeon in his past life: the first was to defeat the Headless Knight Larenz and the Vampire Angela respectively, and then slay the awakened Lich McGuire to successfully clear the dungeon.

Yet Rhode clearly lacked the ability to do so now, and dragging Yalle along probably wouldn't change the outcome, forcing him to abandon this most direct and violent method.

That left only the second method: destroying the Lich McGuire's phylactery!

This was another clearance method discovered by hardcore progression masters in his past life. Although much more tedious, it was the only method Rhode could think of.

Only, he was not inside a video game now, and he wasn't certain if he could replicate that operation.

Taking a deep breath to steady his emotions, Rhode stood up from the dark corner, retrieved his emerald staff, and cast a series of spells.

Second-ring spells: [Cat's Grace, Owl's Wisdom]!
Third-ring spell: [Invisibility]!
Third-ring spell: [Nondetection]!
Third-ring spell: [Arcane Sight]!
Third-ring spell: [Clairaudience]!

Rhode did not spend his mana on abjuration spells because even the lowest-level monsters in [McGuire's Death Mausoleum] possessed Gold-rank strength, and he couldn't withstand a single attack.

Fortunately, the sensory perception of these undead monsters was extremely weak, and they possessed zero intelligence. In his past life, some players chose to conceal their auras to avoid combat with the wandering monsters in the mausoleum.

[Cat's Grace] and [Owl's Wisdom] enhanced his Agility and Intelligence attributes.
[Invisibility] and [Nondetection] concealed his form and aura, lowering the chance of being discovered.
[Arcane Sight] and [Clairaudience] sharpened his perception, allowing him to spot wandering monsters in advance.

Having made his preparations, Rhode touched the [Brooch of Arcadia's Good Fortune] still pinned to his chest, and his confidence grew a fraction.

Fully prepared, Rhode cautiously stepped out of the stone chamber he was in and entered the labyrinthine corridor outside, which led to unknown destinations.

Unlike the pitch-black stone chamber, the walls of the corridor featured blue-glowing crystals at regular intervals, casting a faint light that allowed Rhode to see twenty or thirty meters ahead.

His top priority was to determine his location within the mausoleum; only by confirming his position could he proceed with subsequent actions.

Rhode moved cautiously down the corridor, lightening his footsteps as much as possible without making a single sound.

Suddenly, Rhode halted his movements, staring intently ahead.

In the shadows, a tall, slender figure was advancing in his direction.