Fire Mage-Chapter 633: Stealing

Chapter 633: Stealing

Approaching the Minotaur’s body, he knelt and deftly extracted the magic crystal embedded near its heart. With practiced ease, he slipped it into his space ring. Next came the horn—he removed it with precision, unwilling to waste even a sliver of the creature’s remains.

Once the last of the valuables had been collected and stored, Charles summoned a pair of dark, spectral wings with a flick of his fingers. As the [Fallen Angel’s Wings] unfurled, he lifted off the ground and soared into the sky, leaving the Minotaur’s carcass behind.

Gliding through the air, he soon spotted a vast, shimmering lake nestled within the wilderness. He descended smoothly and landed before a ruined temple standing silent beside the water’s edge. The cracked statues and crumbling stone walls whispered of a long-forgotten era.

Stepping over broken tiles and shattered relics, Charles moved toward the main hall. A strange pull tugged at his senses, something hidden beneath the layers of decay.

Ignoring the ruined grandeur, he passed into the sanctum sanctorum—the temple’s heart. There, a crystalline statue of a young woman stood tall, but Charles’s gaze quickly shifted to the altar behind it. Several ancient bowls were arranged across the table, each etched with a distinct mark: a Lizard, a Monkey, a Serpent, a Bull...

His eyes narrowed. This was no ordinary altar—it was a puzzle. He reached into his ring and retrieved a black crystal, then placed it into the bowl marked with a Panther. One by one, he carefully matched each crystal with its symbol.

As he placed each one, the air around him began to shimmer. A faint ripple stirred from the statue, and the temple groaned as if awakening from a centuries-long slumber.

When the final crystal touched its bowl, the chamber trembled. The walls quivered. Dust cascaded from the ceiling. Ancient stones creaked as if the breath of time had returned to them.

Then light erupted.

Blinding, divine light poured from the statue like a waterfall of stars. The air buzzed with raw energy, thick and alive. Crystals across the altar pulsed, their cores flaring to life. One by one, their essence lifted into the air, drawn to a white snake egg nestled at the center of the altar.

The essences merged with the egg, and something within it stirred.

The drained crystals floated upward, light pouring from them as they fused into a radiant, fist-sized sphere—colors swirled within like an eternal storm trapped in glass.

Before Charles could comprehend it, the crystal statue exploded in a burst of light. The rainbow crystal transformed into a key, shimmering and weightless, drifting toward him.

The key landed in his open palm.

A strange tingle ran up his arm.

"A key?" he murmured.

Closing his eyes, Charles activated his wisdom power.

[The Key of Star Monarch’s Tomb.]

’Star Monarch’s Tomb? Who is this Star Monarch? Is this... the clue?’ His brows furrowed. His thoughts shifted as his gaze landed on the small egg at the altar’s center.

He reached out with his wisdom once again, peering into the egg’s core.

A lifeform. Dormant. Unaware.

It was changing—evolving—thanks to the essences he had just offered.

"Could this be... a form of the fallen snake god?" he wondered aloud.

But the being inside lacked consciousness—still incomplete.

’Then what is this egg meant for?’ His eyes moved to the shattered statue, and something clicked.

One of the twenty visions flashed differently. He froze.

"A ritual... a setup," he whispered.

A smirk tugged at his lips.

"So, the statue contains a divine consciousness."

The pieces fell into place, and the truth emerged like a blade drawn from its sheath.

"I hate being used," Charles muttered, voice low and cold.

He raised his hand and cast [Golden Shield], encasing the egg in a protective barrier. From his space ring, he pulled out a crimson orb and placed it on the altar table.

The moment the orb touched stone, a violent shockwave surged from the shattered statue—rage manifest. Charles remained unfazed, reinforcing his shield with another layer of golden light. Calmly, he picked up the white egg and placed it within the crimson orb.

A small, amused smile played at his lips as he looked into the empty space of the sanctum.

"I’ll take this egg as a gift," he said softly, but firmly.

Then he glanced upward, toward the presence that had been watching all along.

"Guardian. I’ve completed the sub-quest," he said, invoking the name Eddie Nightwind had once mentioned.

Though he had not yet ascended to the realm of the Divines, he could feel the ever-watchful gaze of something greater.

As if in answer, the air twisted.

A dense spatial fluctuation surged through the temple. Golden light enveloped him—and he vanished.

The Verdant Grove convulsed.

Mountains trembled. Boulders tumbled down hillsides. Waterfalls reversed their paths. Rivers surged with chaos.

A column of light shot skyward, striking an invisible ceiling—a barrier sealing this dimension. The impact boomed across the land. Then came a scream—piercing, anguished, and spoken in an ancient tongue no mortal could decipher.

Far away, in a dim chamber bathed in eerie glow, a tall blue-skinned woman sat silently. She appeared around thirty, her emerald eyes gleaming without pupils. Her long ears twitched slightly. Dressed in flowing robes, she reclined in an old wooden chair, her gaze fixed on a massive crystal orb.

One of the Guardians of the Star Tombs.

The events of the Verdant Grove played out clearly in the orb’s depths.

She chuckled.

"Stop, Naga," she said, amused. "No need to blame him for dreaming too big."

Then, with a knowing smile, she added, "Your time will come—perhaps sooner than you think."

The orb quaked.

A voice spat curses, thick with hatred.

"Don’t say another word, you vile creature! If I still held my divine throne—if I weren’t dead—I’d tear you apart!"

Unbothered, she snapped her fingers. Silence fell.

Her gaze shifted to the far-off land where Charles had reappeared.

"An interesting seed," she murmured. "But still too weak for the stars to notice."

With a flick of her hand, she dismissed the image and turned away.

...

A slim figure appeared out of nowhere in the heart of a dense forest. He looked about fifteen years old, with tousled blond hair, deep green eyes, and a sharp, hawk-like nose.

It was Charles.

He calmly surveyed his surroundings. The trees loomed overhead, darker and taller than any he’d seen—some nearly a hundred meters high. Above, the sky was a dull grey, with only faint sunlight slipping through the dense canopy, casting the entire forest in a gloomy, eerie light.

"This place feels like the Nightmare Realm," Charles muttered, his brow furrowing. Realizing he had entered the dungeon, he cautiously extended his wisdom power—but only within a radius of 1,000 meters. His encounter with Nightstalker had taught him better than to probe too far and risk attracting attention.

A ripple of invisible energy pulsed from him, sweeping through the forest. Within moments, he sensed several dangerous presences: seven wolf-like beasts, twelve shadowy figures, three creatures with human heads and serpentine bodies, seven monkey-faced worms, and a monstrous, three-headed horse with twelve legs. All Rank-5 Beasts.

Charles narrowed his eyes.

Eddie was right. Even the first layer of the Star Tombs is crawling with danger.

Above, massive birds circled ominously in the grey sky. Not taking any chances, Charles activated [Shadow Stealth] and vanished into the shadows. From his spatial ring, he retrieved the Moonfire Scimitar and secured it at his waist.

A sudden surge of water elemental energy swept through the air from his left. A shockwave followed.

A battle.

With a sharp breath, Charles melted deeper into the shadows and moved toward the source.

Minutes passed as he weaved silently past lurking beasts, eventually reaching a wide clearing blanketed in grass. His gaze locked onto a towering black spider, nearly thirty meters tall, attacking a lone figure.

The spider was nightmarish: countless unblinking eyes, a grotesque jaw-like mouth, and strange wings protruding from its back. It lunged and struck with terrifying speed, but the figure—graceful and precise—dodged every strike.

A woman.

She wore a flowing blue robe marked with a circle and six stars. Her long black hair fluttered with each movement, and her sharp face—lined with age, yet radiant with vitality—held a calm focus. Behind her, crystalline wings of ice shimmered in the air, trailing frost wherever they fluttered.

’A Water Mage... from the Life Church?’ Charles guessed.

Before he could dwell on it further, the woman’s voice rang out, clear and commanding. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Stop staring and help me, boy."

Startled, Charles sighed and stepped into action.

He summoned [Fallen Angel’s Wings] and shot into the air. Closing in on the spider, he extended a hand, aimed at its head, and cast [Finger of Destruction].

A beam of chaotic flame burst forth, striking one of the spider’s eyes. It shrieked and reeled back in pain.