Chapter 77: The Painting and the Altar

When Bowen leapt down from the passage and took in his surroundings, he was truly astounded by the vastness of this underground space.

“…What a pity!”

He opened his mouth, then shook his head with a sigh. If Ferguson hadn’t fallen, they probably would have had much to talk about.

“It seems the talent for digging tunnels has been passed down through the generations!”

If the Count were to hear his words, who knows how he’d react—perhaps he’d beat him to death… or just beat him to death…

The underground chamber was especially spacious, a world unto itself.

The entire space was suffused with a thick stench of blood and an aura of evil. Bowen immediately pulled out a vial of holy water and drank it down.

After draining the bottle, he let out a slight burp—the taste was surprisingly good.

“Ding! Special buff, remaining time: 31 minutes and 14 seconds!”

A countdown appeared in the upper left of his vision. Within this time, he wouldn’t be affected by the evil miasma here.

Since his first taste of holy water, he’d become enamored with it. If it wasn’t so expensive, Bowen would have considered drinking it as a daily beverage. Holy water blessed by a priest of the Lord of Radiance could take on a different flavor for each person, unique to their own palate.

To Bowen’s surprise, the taste for him was “Sprite”!

The first time he drank it, he was so moved he nearly wept—such a familiar flavor, one he never expected to taste again.

In that instant, the Lord of Radiance soared to the top of Bowen’s esteem. What an ingenious design—everyone would taste the flavor they cherished most, the one dearest and most unforgettable to them!

No wonder Ammanata was able to supplant Jager and become the largest church in Nether in just a few years. Even Jager, whose attributes were at odds with hers, had a positive impression of her.

At this time, Ammanata hadn’t yet been fully corrupted by the power of faith. Her skill in social dealings was at its peak!

“How long must this place have been hidden, to be built so large?”

Before descending, Bowen had scanned the area with his chip. From above, it seemed the basement was no more than a hundred or two hundred meters across, yet once below, the space was enormous—nearly two kilometers in diameter!

And for such a gigantic underground chamber, there wasn’t a single supporting pillar aside from the four walls—a glaring impossibility!

Bowen walked to the nearest wall and gently touched it, scraping away some of the surface dust.

“This is…”

He snapped his fingers, and instantly a wave of sound of a peculiar frequency rippled outward.

Second-level spell: Shattering Sonic Wave—a burst of intense noise capable of fracturing fragile objects, especially effective against creatures like bats that rely on hearing!

Bowen’s Stun Flash spell was inspired by the structure of this very magic.

Originally, Shattering Sonic Wave only affected a few meters, but after Bowen’s minor adjustments, the dust within a dozen meters was immediately shaken loose, revealing a hidden magic circle beneath!

“As expected, a spatial extension array!”

A place barely two hundred square meters above, yet so vast below—the secret was the application of spatial magic to expand the space.

Arcane Eye activated once more, and a massive magic circle appeared before Bowen’s eyes, covering the entire underground expanse!

“System, scan and record at once!”

Bowen quickly issued the order to his chip.

Spatial Extension Array—one of the most unique magic circles.

Each high mage or legendary spellcaster’s array was distinct, as unique as a genetic code!

Even after studying the complete “Treatise on Planar Mechanics,” it would take over a decade to deduce one’s own spatial extension array.

Only by mastering your personal spatial array could you construct your own mage tower.

Mastering the spatial extension array was the crucial step!

This is why mage towers look small on the outside but are vast within—because of this very principle!

The array acted like a password; if it were leaked and an enemy discovered it, they wouldn’t need to break in. They could simply exploit a spatial vulnerability and destroy the tower outright!

These arrays were inscribed directly into the obsidian used to build mage towers and disguised with a series of deceptions and false patterns.

Its structure was a secret to be kept from everyone, even those closest to the caster—the creator alone could know it.

Yet Bowen never expected that this underground space would use such an array, and that it would be left so completely exposed—save for a little surface dust, it was displayed openly for anyone to see!

Bowen couldn’t yet call himself a master of spatial magic, but he could count as a half-expert.

He could tell at a glance that the array wasn’t concealed at all. With Ferguson, its owner, now dead, Bowen could simply make use of it as he liked!

With a complete, mature array as a reference, Bowen could quickly copy or reconstruct his own.

Fortunately, Ferguson’s descent into madness as a corrupted scholar meant he’d neglected all caution—a sane mage would never have been so careless!

“Ding! Recording complete!”

Hearing this from his chip, Bowen finally relaxed.

“This array alone made tonight’s venture worthwhile!”

He circled the room and discovered many fully decayed bones, most of them human, with a few from other humanoid races. Judging from the state of decay, they had lain here for two or three years.

Not far ahead was a small wooden cabin. Bowen approached it slowly, circled around, and found nothing unusual.

“This must have been Ferguson’s laboratory.”

Just to be safe, Bowen poured another vial of holy water over himself before carefully opening the door.

As he’d expected, it was a small experimental chamber. In the center stood an alchemy table; nearby were numerous jars and bottles containing mutated organs and spell components radiating an evil aura.

At last, Bowen found Ferguson’s notes and collection on a desk.

Most of it was written in scripts he couldn’t decipher, but that didn’t matter—he’d take them back and study at his leisure.

As he packed the items, a drawing fell out.

It was a painting, though of rather poor quality—just clear enough to make out its subject.

A divine figure raised a sword to behead a serpent monster; the severed head soared skyward, while the creature’s body collapsed, blood spreading across the ground.

Below, mortals pointed toward the deity in the heavens.

Bowen stared at the picture, lost in thought. After a moment, a flash of fire reduced the painting to ashes in his hand.

He made his way toward the center of the underground chamber, where a bizarre altar had been erected, surrounded by a pool of blood.

Even before reaching it, from a hundred meters away, he could smell the overwhelming, pungent stench of blood. The timer in the upper left of his vision was rapidly ticking down.

“Energy cannot arise from nothing—the source sustaining this spatial extension is clearly that blood pool.”

A mage tower’s energy core was an elemental pool; here, the energy supply was this pool of blood.

Bowen halted a hundred meters from the altar. His instincts warned him that venturing closer would be perilous.

Atop the altar stood a statue of a strange serpent man. As Bowen looked at it, it seemed to return his gaze.

Suddenly, whispers echoed in his ears.

“Not good!”

His feet moved forward of their own accord. Bowen was alarmed; instantly, the “Qi” within him activated, a faint white glow enveloping him.

Regaining control of his body, Bowen quickly retreated a dozen steps and averted his gaze from the serpent statue.

“The gap in power is too great—this is obviously an evil god!”

The holy water’s buff in the upper left was also about to expire, frightening Bowen into immediately drinking another vial.

…