Chapter 2550 The Key to the Entrance
Chapter 2550 The Key to the Entrance
What the hell!
Had that guy gone mad?
Even the old ones wouldn't dare expose themselves to the high-strength aura of the death realm.
As Fang Heng reverted to his human form, the aura from the mausoleum surged toward him in an instant!
He immediately felt the corrosive effect of the death realm's aura!
A layer of deathly gray appeared on his skin.
Huh?
The instructors quickly noticed the anomaly and looked puzzled.
It looked bad, but it seemed Fang Heng wasn't significantly affected at all.
They exchanged glances, uncertainty flickering in their eyes.
...
[Hint: The player is affected by the current environment's undead corrosion effect. The player's defense attribute is reduced by 50%, and HP decreases by 3% of the maximum value every second.]
Fang Heng saw the continuously refreshing game prompts and let out a silent sigh of relief.
Thank goodness!
The negative effects of the aura of death in Empress Persephone's mausoleum were a reduction in defense and a 3% loss of maximum HP per second.
An ordinary player would certainly struggle with that.
But coincidentally, the undead effect allowed him to endure it easily.
After all, it was only 3% per second.
The undead form regenerated 12% HP each second.
He was in a solid position.
Li Shaoqiang and Tan Shuo stood behind Fang Heng, ready to retreat at any moment. They looked at him and quietly asked, "Mr. Fang, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Fang Heng replied as he reached into the central coffin.
As he entered the entity, Fang Heng's right hand pierced through a layer of undead aura and grasped a rod-like object from the black fog.
What was this?
The moment he touched the rod, his pupils contracted sharply.
That familiar sensation returned!
His mental strength was pulled through the ice crystal of Empress Persephone in his sea of consciousness, and in an instant, it was rapidly drawn into the rod.
Before he could even react, the sensation vanished completely.
Fang Heng furrowed his brow and raised his hand to pull the rod out of the coffin.
It was a magnificent scepter!
[Upgrade: The player has found an item-Scepter of the Glory of the Death Realm.]
Item: Scepter of the Glory of the Death Realm.
Type: Mission item.
Description: A symbol of past glory from the Death Realm, typically used as a decorative item by the Empress. It possesses no additional attributes.
This scepter...
Fang Heng looked at the game hint, frowning slightly.
While he hadn't expended much effort to obtain the scepter, he couldn't help but think that this item felt a bit underwhelming.
Did it really not add a single attribute?
Meanwhile, the high-ranking members of the undead council fell silent for a moment as they saw the scepter in Fang Heng's hand through the projection.
Then someone shouted.
"I've seen that before! That's the Empress's Scepter of Glory! There's a similar pattern at the seal of the entrance to the next level!"
"Yes! That's it!"
"This might be the key to opening the lower level!"
In an instant, the entire undead council erupted into chaos as the scholars lost control of their excitement, the noise rising to a clamor.
"Everyone, please calm down," Georgi raised his hand to signal for silence. "I understand that we've made significant breakthroughs in our exploration of the mausoleum, but we must remain composed. The path to undead research cannot be accomplished overnight; we need to keep our cool."
As he spoke, Georgi turned to his assistant and said, "First, inform Fang Heng about the news regarding the lower entrance. Have him take the scepter to the lower entrance and make a comparison to see if the scepter is indeed the key to opening it."
"Understood!"
...
Fang Heng and his companions were still examining the recently acquired Empress's Scepter of Glory to figure out its use.
Suddenly, Fang Heng felt the stone slab he was carrying begin to warm slightly.
He opened the slab to check, and a line of small text appeared.
"Ah, I see."
After reading through it, Fang Heng nodded and looked at Li Shaoqiang and Tan Shuo, who had moved closer. He explained, "The message from the undead council suggests that this scepter may be related to the entrance of the next level of the mausoleum. They will guide us to the lower entrance soon to test its function..."
Fang Heng's words trailed off abruptly.
Game notifications simultaneously appeared in the retinas of the three.
[Hint: The player has triggered a team mission-Brave Explorers of the Mausoleum.]
Mission name: Brave Explorers of the Mausoleum
Mission difficulty: SSS.
Mission description: Following the undead council's hints, you have likely found the key to open Empress Persephone's mausoleum. You may use it to explore the depths of the mausoleum.
Mission requirements: As followers of Empress Persephone, please take the scepter of the Empress's guard and pursue exploration of the lower domain of the mausoleum. Ensure the scepter's safety during the mission; if the scepter is discarded, the mission will be considered a failure by default.
Mission reward: Next phase of the mission.
Remaining mission time: 12 hours. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Additional Description: This mission is a special mission, and once triggered by each player, it cannot be triggered again.
Huh?
A new mission?
Noticing the anomaly in the mission hint, Fang Heng furrowed his brow.
Something wasn't right!
He currently had two missions related to Empress Persephone's mausoleum.
One was a ring mission to assist the undead council in exploring the mausoleum, and the other was the recently triggered brave explorer mission.
What was going on?
The newly triggered mission line didn't seem to align with the previous undead faction mission line.
The three exchanged quick glances, silently communicating.
Li Shaoqiang, completely confused, couldn't help but ask, "What's going on, you two? What does this game hint mean?"
"I'm not sure. It looks like the mausoleum has given us a mission," Tan Shuo said, pulling out the stone slab. "What did the undead council say? Any hints?"
Fang Heng flipped through the stone slab in his hands and shook his head, "The undead council only thinks that the scepter is likely the key to the lower level, guiding us to confirm it. They don't know we've triggered a mission."
He continued, "However, I feel this mission isn't that simple. Look at the mission description; the scepter we just obtained is referred to as the key to entering the mausoleum."
Tan Shuo frowned, saying, "So, our previous explorations were just in the periphery of the mausoleum, and we haven't truly entered it?"
"That's very likely. For now, let's follow the route on the stone slab and see what we find."
"Okay."
As they discussed, a new route reappeared on the stone slab Tan Shuo was carrying.
The high-ranking members of the undead council debated whether it might be too difficult for Fang Heng and his companions to explore the second basement. They considered a more cautious mission route, suggesting they return with the scepter.
After all, the second basement was uncharted territory and could pose significant dangers.
However, they agreed to confirm the situation first and see if the newly discovered scepter was indeed the key to opening the door.
Seeing that the two related missions overlapped, Fang Heng and his companions decided not to dwell on it further and set off again, following the route indicated on the stone slab.