Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully
Chapter 137: Endgame (4)

Chapter 137: Endgame (4)

"What? How do you know...." This time, Arnold was the one completely flabbergasted.

"Just... call it a young guy’s intuition," Riku replied, smiling.

Of course, he knew that Arnold knew that spell.

Divinations were divine level spells, on the same level as summoning divine beings. However, the devs had given out the spell as a special reward that could help a player make small divinations. Riku, being the Grand Maximus, never needed it, so he just sold it to Arnold.

"A young guy’s intuition, eh? Haha, in the end I still underestimated you."

Arnold straightened, his statesman’s demeanor returning. "Which is why I must ask to accompany you. I know the old architecture of this city better than any man alive. I do not know how the Society of Blood might have modified things, but rest assured, I can be of help inside."

"It will be incredibly dangerous," Riku warned.

"The world is already in danger, young man," Arnold countered. "Let’s go."

Riku nodded. Someone who understood Old Luxia could be incredibly valuable. Plus, he had never been to the area where he was heading right now, just like the Underbelly.

Ding!

Just then, a familiar blue panel flashed in his vision.

[Quest Completed: The Fugitive Statesman] [

Objective: Locate the former Lord Chamberlain before the Society of Blood captures him. - COMPLETE]

[Reward: +2000 Goodwill Points, Mystery Gift - Cauli’s eye

Cauli’s eye [ An eye of unknown origin. Might be useful later.]

Goodwill Points remaining: 47,450 ]

Perfect timing, Riku thought. He turned to Arnold. "The air down there is poison. We won’t survive without protection."

He raised his hand.

Air Bubble x2 [-40 Goodwill Points]

A shimmering, translucent bubble of pure, clean energy enveloped Arnold, shielding him completely from the toxic environment.

Arnold looked down at the magical barrier, then back at Riku, his eyes wide with amazement.

Riku offered a small smile. "Shall we, My Lord?"

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

The air that hit them was thick and foul, a toxic cocktail of chemical waste and the Creep’s metallic tang. The "sump" was a series of ancient, cavernous tunnels, half-flooded with a murky, glowing sludge that bubbled sluggishly. Twisted, rust-colored pipes, infested with pulsing crimson veins, snaked along the walls and ceiling like metallic entrails.

"The old aqueduct system," Arnold said, his voice slightly distorted by the magical bubble surrounding him. He pointed with a steady hand. "This was once the primary runoff for the old city. These passages lead deep beneath the palace district. They must have repurposed it."

"The energy here is... foul," Clara’s voice whispered in Riku’s mind. "It’s a perversion of both life and death. The very walls feel sick."

Arnold watched, his face pale but his resolve unshaken. "The resources required to build a hidden base of this scale, and to create... whatever that was... are immense. This Society has deep coffers and deeper connections."

As they ventured deeper, the swamp came alive. A ripple in the sludge to their right, and a creature lunged. It was a horrifying amalgamation—the body of a giant rat, but with too many legs and a carapace of hardened, crimson stone. It shrieked, spitting a glob of acidic poison at old man Arnold.

Riku didn’t even turn his head.

Stone Spike [-20 Goodwill Points]

A sharp, perfectly aimed spike of rock erupted from the cavern floor, impaling the creature from below. It let out a final, gurgling cry before its glowing red eyes went dark.

The duo continued on, with Riku taking care of most of the dangers along the way. Occasionally, Clara would tell Riku about some dangers she sensed.

"Be wary of that archway, Riku," Clara warned as they approached a grander, more ornate tunnel. "The runes... they are designed to drain the soul from anything that passes beneath. A primitive but effective trap. Marden would have admired its cruelty."

Riku nodded.

Minor Levitation [-20 Goodwill Points]

Instead of dispelling the ward, he simply cast a spell on himself and Arnold, floating them silently over the trapped threshold.

As they progressed, they found evidence of the Society’s work—discarded alchemical equipment, multiple empty, reinforced cages large enough to hold men, and hastily burned research notes that were now just piles of indecipherable ash.

"Scum of the planet," Arnold muttered under his breath. Riku nodded, agreeing to his sentiment.

Finally, they stopped. They had reached a massive, circular chamber at the heart of the labyrinth. On the far side stood a towering stone door, ten feet high, its surface covered in a complex web of pulsating, dark red runes. The silvery trail from Riku’s Tracker’s Scent spell passed directly through it.

The thick crimson mist coming from behind the door made it clear that something nasty was inside.

But this door had no conventional lock. There was only a single, keyhole-shaped indentation in its center, glowing with an immense, suppressed power.

From the other side, a low, rhythmic sound could be heard, a sound that seemed to vibrate in their very bones.

Thump-thump... thump-thump...

It was the sound of a giant, beating heart.

"This is it," Arnold breathed, his eyes wide. "The source must lie beyond this door. But how do we open it?"

"You can’t"

Suddenly, a shimmering projection of a hooded figure materialized before the sealed door. It was the same man from the bell tower, the true leader of the Society.

"I must commend you, ’Whisper Healer’," the projection said, its voice calm and echoing slightly. "To have reached this far, to have unraveled so many of our plans... you are more resourceful than I anticipated."

"Where are you?" Riku asked, his own voice steady.

"Recuperating," the hooded man replied with a slight, almost lazy tilt of his head. "Fully awakening the giant required... a significant expenditure of my own lifeblood. A worthy sacrifice for the chaos it now sows above." He chuckled softly. "You see, I am a scholar, first and foremost. A seeker of knowledge that transcends the petty limitations of morality and flesh. This ’Creep’... it is the key to evolution, to a power this world has forgotten."

"His voice... the way he speaks of power and transcendence," Clara’s voice whispered urgently in Riku’s mind. "It sounds so much like the author of the texts Marden gave me. The tone, the philosophy..."

"Why does it sound eerily familiar?"