Heavy Metal

"Don't tell me, this one is empty too?"

"Well, do you see any zombies around?"

"Why did we bother hiring a priest if there aren't any zombies!"

"I don't know, but you reckon he will give us a discount?"

Three adventurers looked at a man wearing priestly garb. He appeared to be in his thirties and was shaking his head while smiling.

"You won't get a discount just because someone got to the treasure faster."

The priest responded with a chuckle, causing the adventurers to slump their shoulders and sigh. He then moved towards the underground crypt they were trying to clear out, his hand brushing against the walls. The man closed his eyes and recited a prayer. Soon, the wall was covered in a golden sheen which quickly vanished.

"This divinity… how is it so pure? Was a High-Cardinal in this crypt? But that just makes no sense…"

While the adventurers and the priest were fumbling around in an empty catacomb, the being responsible was making his way down a flight of stairs. The seventh floor had been altered by his doing, and now that the mist had thinned, it was too dangerous to stick around.

"Finally, some hard ground under my feet."

Rusty's bronze feet clanked against the stone steps as he descended deeper into the dungeon. The change in environment was a welcome relief from the damp, swampy terrain above. The walls here were smoother, intricately carved with depictions of ancient battles and scenes of worship. Torches with blue flames lined the walls of this staircase that descended for quite some time.

As he moved, his mind was busy calculating his next move. He had spent quite some time grinding on the undead zombies and exploring crypts. From them, he had managed to unearth some accessories. Most of them were gold-tinted junk, but he had found two that weren't awful. One was a ring that increased his mana regeneration probably by five percent. It didn't seem like much, but every bit added up. The second one was something new; it added a flat amount of stats to his own.