Chapter 334: Undead Before the Cellar

The tavern's kerosene lamp cast flickering shadows on Naimi Xisi's palm, and a sixteen-sided golden die glimmered between his fingers.

After killing Shi La Chan, they escaped the range of the Data Tide and entered a medieval‑style pixel tavern. Ai Ma told him that this so‑called Data Tide had existed ever since she came here, appearing almost every month. She suspected that Wei Ke Na was using a spell to purge intruders.

Naimi Xisi disagreed; on the earlier escape route, he could see that the places supposedly submerged by the "Data Tide" showed very obvious spatial fissures.

This indicates that such a 'Data Tide' will eventually cause the entire pixel world to collapse.

If this is a world formed by a sealing spell, Naimi Xisi does not think the 'Data Tide' was caused by that so‑called 'Wei Ke Na'.

If he is not mistaken, this entire sealed world rests on that 'Wei Ke Na' foundation, so the other side could not be truly guided by Wei Ke Na's will; otherwise it would be arbitrarily letting intruders flood and break the seal.

He feared that this 'Wei Ke Na' is the final defense mechanism of the sealed world, and must be defeated to destroy the world.

Given that, how could the other side possibly release a 'Data Tide', a self‑destructive Great Wall?

Naimi Xisi has his own understanding of the 'Data Tide's origin. No matter how profound a sealing spell is in this world, its Spell Model wears down over eternal ages; as time passes, some ancient cages that sealed demons suddenly loosen, releasing the sealers, often for this reason.

The 'Data Tide' should be an internal manifestation of seal aging.

One can imagine how fierce the resistance inside a seal‑god spell would be. Since Wei Ke Na can bridge the distant Fuel Sea to contact him in Frelen, it shows that the sealing spell must have a flaw.

Thinking that, Naimi Xisi relaxed a little.

With the seal having such a huge problem, whatever the world's final defense mechanism is must have been severely weakened.

"Divination tool." Naimi Xisi pressed the die into the wine‑stained oak tabletop, "Shall we see what it predicts?"

It was the 'Wei Ke Na Encrypted Dice' that the black‑market merchant had busted out; Naimi Xisi examined it and found it to be a device similar to a quest guide in a game world.

Ai Ma's leather gauntlet hovered over the die, and the copper bell on her scabbard rang on its own, "All of Wei Ke Na's creations are soaked in venom."

"So we must read the enemy's script even more." The Mage flicked his finger, and the die spun rapidly on the table, every edge emitting vein‑like red light. When the eagle‑head symbol on the 17th face landed face up, a mechanical gear‑clacking sounded inside the die, and a holographic projection pierced the air—displaying an image.

A decayed cellar vault, iron bars overgrown with vines, and on a stone platform the chain‑bound Igeweirfu Manuscript.

"Underground altar…" Ai Ma pried open the emblem in the projection's corner with her sword tip, thoughtful; she recognized the place: "Three hundred yards from the village cemetery, a zone forbidden to the living."

"Have you seen this cellar?"

"When I first arrived," the sword‑singer turned toward the tavern entrance, "I almost fell into the mouths of that horde of corpses."

"Let's go. I've been here three years and still don't know what to do. Let's see where this die can take us."

——

Naimi Xisi raised his cloak collar against the fetid night wind; as he neared the destination, the prophetic die at his waist kept buzzing. The cast‑iron bars at the cellar entrance had been twisted into braids by vines, and a brittle clatter of bones rang from the tombstones thirty yards away.

"Sixteen Skeletons, four ghouls, and…" Ai Ma's blade skimmed the ground, then suddenly pointed toward the southeast thicket: "Grave‑mound monsters, in the soil."

Silver light of Detect Magic flared from Naimi Xisi's fingertips; five feet underground, the writhing humus glowed with a blood‑red aura: "Death aura concentration exceeds limits; seems a necromancer buried a surprise package here."

Ai Ma was about to act, but Naimi Xisi stopped her: "Wait, let me prepare first."

He is now only a modest 3rd‑level Mage, thanks to the experience gained from hunting that Shi La Chan. Facing so many Undead, caution is needed; he should ready some protective spells first.

The Mage whispered incantations, and the Skeletons seemed to sense the flow of magic, growing slightly restless.

When the first Skeleton burst from the ground, Naimi Xisi had already inscribed the Spider Web Technique Rune. Sticky strands wove a hexagonal grid between the tombstones, anchoring twelve Skeletons within a 15‑foot cube. Ai Ma's blade flashed the ghostly green flame of the Emerald Flame Sword, shattering three bone frames that broke free of the web.

"South‑west corner, three o'clock!" Naimi Xisi leapt back to dodge the ghoul's claws, releasing Mirror Image to create four duplicates. The ghoul's fetid breath brushed his ear, and as its sharp talons extended, they were scorched by a Protection from Evil light membrane, singeing the rotting flesh.

Ai Ma heard Naimi Xisi's cue, turned, and saw the ground hiding the grave‑mound monsters begin to bulge.

The Mage's pixel‑style brick Spellbook automatically turned to the Scorching Ray page. Three crimson beams pierced the forming core of the grave‑mound monster, blasting the rotting flesh into burning fragments at 120 feet. Ai Ma seized the moment, slashing hard, pinning the ghoul to a tombstone engraved with Wei Ke Na's holy seal.

"Seven left." Naimi Xisi panted, calculating Spell Slots; eight Second-circle Spells had been used, leaving only two casts, while a full twenty First-circle Spells remained. He spotted a dead Skeleton on the ground expel a bone flute and got an idea, picking it up and blowing the harsh Lesser Illusion—twenty steel‑clad beetle phantoms surged from the earth, and the Skeletons' bone swords swung at the mirages.

Naimi Xisi's pressure immediately eased, and he began chanting nonstop to release Magic Missile. The convenience of Draconic let him fire three crimson force‑field missiles roughly every 1.5 seconds; the Skeletons' fragile spines were shattered by the impacts, turning into scattered bone fragments that writhed on the ground. In a short span, five Skeletons were almost entirely eliminated.

When the last Skeleton broke free of the illusion, three crystal‑clear red energy missiles slammed toward its skull, then lost power and fell to the ground.

Seeing Ai Ma still battling the remaining two ghouls, Naimi Xisi decided to go up and help.

"Now!" Ai Ma pressed her blade to one ghoul's chest, kicked the other away, and shouted. Naimi Xisi poured the last two Second-circle Spell Slots into a Crushing Sonic Wave. High‑frequency shockwaves rippled along the metal blade, turning the remaining Undead into dust in the sonic blast.

(End of Chapter)