Chapter 67: Camus's Second Rejection Slip

The headless knight, Larenz!

Just like the lich, McQuire, he lacked self-awareness, but driven by instinct, he harbored an extreme hatred for all life.

Once he detected the traces of an intruder, he would pursue them relentlessly until death.

With Ian's current strength, escape was utterly impossible.

Therefore, Ian was now focusing a hundredfold of his attention, holding his breath for fear of disturbing this boss.

This caution resulted in Ian and Yansen brushing past each other almost within inches, yet neither noticed the other.

Of course, even if they had noticed, it would have been useless. The Dark Hall was far too dangerous; Ian simply had no opportunity to rescue Yansen.

Stepping finally into the passageway at the other end of the Dark Hall, Ian let out a tiny sigh of relief.

It was simply too thrilling, a sensation completely different from the games of his past life.

Although the gaming avatars Ian controlled in his past life had experienced many thrilling and perilous adventures, even facing legendary powerhouses and Abyssal Lords face-to-face, Ian had experienced them mostly with the detached mindset of a bystander—after all, game avatars could always respawn.

Things were different now. Although the game system had crossed over into this world along with him, Ian faintly sensed that he might have completely become a living part of this world.

In other words, Ian could no longer resurrect and revive like in the games of his past life.

If he died here, it would truly be the end.

Ian did not believe that dying in the Lich's Mausoleum would leave him any chance of being resurrected.

Therefore, this feeling of walking on the edge of a blade made Ian feel exceptionally thrilled; his adrenaline was surging rapidly, and his senses became extraordinarily sharp.

Along the way to the gloomy estate, Ian had encountered a dozen or so monsters of various sizes, but the headless knight Larenz had given him the strongest sense of oppression.

Was it really worthy of being a Gold-tier boss?

Merely standing there, the pressure he emanated felt like the shut-in Ian of his past life facing a dozen-meter-tall, ferocious multicolored tiger.

However, it was not without rewards. As a Gold-tier secret realm, [McQuire's Death Mausoleum] naturally contained all kinds of treasures.

Relying on his memory, Ian had managed to fish out a grey, high-grade magic gemstone known as a [Necrotic Gem] and an [Unidentified Rib] from a secret chamber within the Bone Evil Temple.

Although the [Unidentified Rib] had an unimpressive name, it was a top-tier necromantic material.

Not only could it be used to strengthen skeletal-type necromantic monsters, but it could also serve as a sacrificial offering to attempt to summon high-tier undead such as bone dragons from the Underworld. To a necromancer, it was a remarkably precious treasure.

Regrettably, every secret realm only contained true, physical treasures during its very first clearance. Subsequent entries into the same dungeon through secret realm crystals would only yield rewards like experience points, contribution points, and specialty skills.

Therefore, Ian had never obtained these treasures when he cleared the dungeon in his past life; information about them was something Ian had only read about on gaming forums.

However, Ian was not greedy. Obtaining these treasures along the way without risking his life was fine, but the most important thing right now was to conquer this secret realm as quickly as possible.

Passing through the Dark Hall, the destination lay just ahead: the gloomy estate.

-----------------

Somewhere in the labyrinth passageway.

Standing not far from the gloomy estate, Ian looked helplessly at the front, feeling somewhat troubled.

The monsters he encountered previously could all be bypassed, but how was he supposed to deal with the two blood servants guarding the entrance of the gloomy estate? With his frail physique, Ian simply could not brute-force his way through.

A dilapidated loft, the kind frequently featured in horror games, stood in the open space before Ian. Its walls were caked with dust, masking their original color, and even the dark double doors were reduced to a single standing panel. Through the missing side, one could only see profound darkness, harboring endless danger and terror just like the Abyss.

Ian's gaze, however, fell upon the two bats hanging from the upper frame of the door, their pitch-black exteriors almost completely blending into the doorframe.

Yet Ian did not dare to ignore these two little creatures. These were the high-tier blood servants guarding the gloomy estate. Players clearing the secret realm for the first time often fell into the "surprise" presented by these two blood servants at the doorstep of the gloomy estate right after successfully defeating the headless knight Larenz.

Although the level of these two blood servants wasn't considered overwhelmingly powerful within this mausoleum, Gold-tier strength was still far too formidable for Ian; entering the gloomy estate through normal means was utterly out of the question.

What a pain!

In his past life, he had always just rolled right over them with sheer power. Who could have foreseen that he would re-enter this secret realm while still at the Bronze tier? Consequently, he had never bothered to learn whether there were any alternative routes inside.

Yet the hope of clearing the dungeon lay right inside; there was no way he could just give up like this.

Ian rubbed his nose in frustration. Was there any way to slip past the two blood servants at the door?

Throwing something to distract them?

That wouldn't work. It was fine while they were asleep, but once awakened, given the blood servants' keen sense of smell and speed far surpassing his own, Ian stood no chance of successfully slipping through the door in that brief window of time.

Sneaking in through a window on the other side of the loft?

That wouldn't work either. Every single room in this loft was inhabited by vampires; going in there would be no different from delivering takeout right to their doorstep.

Digging a tunnel underneath?

Aside from the fact that the noise would be too loud and likely alert the sleeping blood servants and vampires, more importantly, Ian did not believe the structure of the gloomy estate was something he could break through. This seemingly dilapidated loft was a crucially important location within the labyrinth, and McQuire must have poured a tremendous amount of effort into it.

Flying up and landing on the roof?

It was the same thing—ultimately, he would still have to climb in through a window. The only difference would be that the vampires greeting the gift of nature would change from being on the first floor to the second floor.

Were there any other methods?

Ian rummaged through his spatial ring to see if any items could come in handy.

Suddenly, Ian's searching hand stopped. A rolled-up piece of parchment appeared in his palm.

Good grief, how could I have forgotten about this thing!

A look of joy spread across Ian's face as he seemingly discovered a new ray of hope.

-----------------

[Short-Range Directional Magic Teleportation Array (Beginner)]—A blueprint recording a special magic array. You can learn the magic array recorded within through the blueprint, or use it as a single-use consumable item.

-----------------

With this, he could teleport directly into the gloomy estate.

Classmate Camus really is a good person!

Amidst his pleasant surprise, Ian did not forget to mentally award Camus a second good guy badge, giving it a massive thumbs-up.

Although it was a bit of a pity to use it directly as a single-use consumable, Ian did not yet possess the capability to comprehend the magic teleportation array inscribed upon it.

If he didn't use it now, however, he would genuinely be facing a dead end right here.

At such a critical juncture, there was no need for hesitation. Ian decisively laid the parchment flat on the ground and channeled his mana into it.

The yellowed parchment began to emit a faint magical sheen, and the mana within it started to surge.

Although this directional magic teleportation array was only short-range, spanning the distance between Ian and the gloomy estate was more than enough.

Fortunately, using this blueprint directly meant there was no need to set up a spatial marker at the destination in advance; otherwise, Ian truly would have been out of options.

Ian set the teleportation destination directly at the dead center of the gloomy estate, the innermost room on the first floor.

As the mana filled it to the brim, the parchment in his hand turned to ash.

Suddenly, Ian's figure warped and silently vanished into the labyrinth passageway.