r18novel Chapter 59 My Sword and Shield
Chapter 59 My Sword and Shield
The passage from the second to the third level of the Rift Ruins is a stone staircase that extends deeper underground.
The stone is rustic and dry, and the traces of the growth of the vibrant green plants on the second floor gradually disappear, turning into the broken murals on both sides of the stone steps, appearing and disappearing in the dark corners where the light cannot reach.
The lingering smoke and soot from the second-floor fire drifted in from outside the passageway, mingling with a pungent, sour stench resembling rotting flesh rising from the darkness below.
Three broken spider-like creatures, crudely pieced together from limbs, bones, and plant vines, lay waiting at the edge of the staircase entrance.
Luo Lan was leading the skeleton dog up the first stone step when she heard a sudden sound coming from the corner of the steps below.
"Tap tap tap..."
With the scraping sound growing louder, a blurry, ghostly figure stumbled out from the corner of the stairs below.
Behind that figure, in the dark stone staircase passage, followed closely dozens of slime-like tentacles that were a disgusting pinkish-red color.
The figure was suspended in mid-air, raising a small round shield in its right hand to withstand the fierce attack of several tentacles. The curved blade in its left hand glowed with purple light and slashed horizontally, severing a small piece of the pink fleshy tendrils at the tip.
But the severed tentacles did not fall off; instead, they instantly turned into an extremely viscous semi-liquid substance, sticking to his scimitar and round shield like glue.
"Huh? My sword and shield!"
Entangled by the semi-liquid, viscous tentacles, the figure acted ruthlessly and decisively.
He suddenly loosened his arms, decisively discarding the stuck weapon, and nimbly pushed off the stone steps with his toes.
His entire figure instantly left a blur that even Luo Lan's [Heat Vision] could hardly see with the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye, he rushed to the top of the stairs.
However, Luo Lan blocked the exit of the stairs, forcing him to stop abruptly half a meter away from crashing into Luo Lan's heavy armor.
The fleshy pink tentacles that were frantically wriggling and chasing him behind him seemed to be bound by some invisible rule. After extending a long section, they stopped abruptly a few meters above the corner of the stairs, unable to move forward an inch.
As the figure steadied itself in front of Luo Lan, the blurry outline finally became clear.
The newcomer was dressed in typical thief attire: he wore a frayed leather vest, loose trousers with tapered legs, and a pair of light leather shoes; a composite belt with various props hanging from his waist was tied around his waist.
He had messy, spiky black hair, wore a printed headscarf, and had sharp brown eyes.
The spiky-haired thief glanced up at Luo Lan's back and saw the exaggerated sea of fire still burning fiercely. A look of undisguised astonishment flashed in his eyes.
In that moment of stunned surprise, he casually swept his hands across his waist.
Without a sound, a long dagger with serrated edges and a cold-looking curved iron sword were already in his hands.
"Cough cough... Where did all this smoke come from? It's choking me! Could this be something you did, bro?"
Despite drawing his weapon instantly, the spiky-haired thief grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and greeted Luo Lan in a seemingly friendly manner.
The smile was radiant without a trace of gloom, and the tone was as familiar as if one had bumped into a long-lost acquaintance on a street corner.
【name:?】
Race: Human
[Rank: Gold]
[Class: Shadow Assassin]
[Specialties: Shadow affinity, low profile, mastery of unarmored combat, sense of killing intent, night vision...]
[Skills: Blink Lv.4, Feign Death Lv.3, Shadow Enchantment Lv.2, Shadowmeld Lv.1...]
[Equipment: Multi-functional composite belt, serrated long dagger, dark iron scimitar...]
Luo Lan stood not far away, gripping her sword, staring intently at the spiky-haired man who had suddenly appeared, remaining silent for a long time.
[Gold-tier? How could there be a Gold-tier human here? How did he pass through the first and second levels of the Rift Ruins without leaving any trace?]
Luo Lan's mind was filled with doubt, and her fingers tightened around the hilt of the steel broadsword.
As Luo Lan became instinctively on guard, the three self-destructing spider mines that were lying in wait at the edge of the steps also silently moved a few meters closer to the thief.
Although this spiky-haired thief smiled casually, his [Killing Intent Sensing] skill, honed through years of walking on the edge of life and death, was incredibly sharp.
His body leaned slightly forward, his center of gravity already subtly shifted to his toes, ready to move at any moment.
Just as the two were about to clash, the skeletal dog that Victor had transformed into strolled to Luo Lan's side, protecting her from view.
The spiky-haired thief quickly scanned the fully armed man in front of him, whose face was hidden inside his helmet, then glanced at the skeletal dog beside him, its eyes fixed on him in the eerie blue firelight. He then dramatically waved his hand in mid-air:
"Looks like you're a Death Knight, bro? Heh! That makes sense. I just sent a distress signal to the Brotherhood this morning. When did their organization become so efficient? I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly..."
As he spoke, the spiky-haired man flicked his wrist, deftly retracting the two weapons to his waist as if by magic.
"My name is Swann, what's yours, bro?"
[Brotherhood? Call for help?]
Luo Lan was taken aback, completely unsure whether this guy who called himself "Swan" was lying to divert attention, or whether he had genuinely mistaken some faction affiliation because of the spider mines and skeleton dogs assembled beside him.
However, Luo Lan was wary of the opponent's solid Gold-tier stats, and considering that he was fully armored, using [Optical Camouflage] and wearing a helmet to conceal his true appearance, he simply went along with it and made up a name on the spot:
"Ronan, just call me Ronan."
Luo Lan's deliberately lowered voice came through the helmet, sounding muffled.
In the language of Earth, "Ronan" and "Rolan" are not very different, but in the common language of Akquad, they are pronounced with completely different ending sounds.
Upon hearing Luo Lan also give his "name," Swann laughed heartily, as if he had let his guard down.
"Haha... It's Brother Ronan. The intelligence was wrong, there's something wrong with this place. Those three levels are definitely not safe to explore. Shall we get out of here as soon as possible?"
Luo Lan had already taken a step towards the stone steps, the metal soles of his boots echoing heavily and subdued on the stone surface.
"Retreat? Retreat what? Didn't you just come back from the third floor? Judging from the concentration of chaotic energy, the third floor is the last floor, right? Lead the way."
Seeing this, Swann's expression changed, and he hurriedly took a few steps to catch up with Luo Lan, frantically trying to dissuade him:
"No, no, no... Brother Ronan, didn't you see? The third floor has been taken over by the experimental subjects released by those lunatics from the [Flesh-Blooming Rotting Nest]. According to the intelligence, the core of the Rift Ruins in the form of an ancient treasure may also have been corrupted."
Upon hearing the term "Flesh-Blooming Rotting Nest," Luo Lan paused in his tracks.
Luo Lan had seen the so-called "Brotherhood" and "Rotten Flesh Nest" in the old mage Ers's experimental log, but the records were only brief, and it was impossible to know what these organizations did.
The opportunity to obtain specific information about an unknown force was rare, so Luo Lan carefully crafted his tone, adopting an air of "Although I know, I need you to tell me," and turned around, feigning surprise as he asked:
"Oh? A flesh-blooming rotten nest?"
Swan pointed to the things below, perched at the corner of the stairs, that looked like both slimes and tentacle monsters:
"Don't you know what those lunatics who worship chaotic mutations are like? These remote, dungeon-like rifts are perfect testing grounds for them. These half-finished products pieced together from chaotic life materials crawl around aimlessly, neither alive nor dead..."
At this point, Swan's tone dropped a notch from all his previous words, carrying a genuine sorrow.
"It's a pity that once these damn things are thrown in, basically everything valuable in the dungeon-type rift will be destroyed. What a waste of the intelligence I spent a fortune on!"
Luo Lan turned around, her gaze beneath the helmet icy cold:
"Hmm, that's a problem, so doesn't that make it even more necessary for us to lead the way?"
Swann was speechless for a moment after being cornered by Roland. He had indeed been wandering the lawless lands for many years, but deep down he valued his life extremely and hated this kind of job that was like walking into a knife's edge.
However, his [Killing Intent Sensing] feat was frantically alarming, clearly telling him that if he dared to refuse this unknown "Death Knight" now, something extremely troublesome would definitely happen.
They escaped from the third floor, but now they have to run back on their own.
Swann felt utterly overwhelmed, his single-mindedness turning into a double bind.
"I, you, this, sigh... never mind, I'll lead the way."
With a resigned shrug, Swann gestured with his right hand toward the deep darkness below the steps.