Mummy Evolution-Chapter 59: Good Tomb Raider

In the Past.

Sett and Ismera walked through an ancient forest, gigantic trees looming over them. Here, the sun could barely even show its head, so the atmosphere was especially cool.

"Careful," Ismera suddenly said, wrapping her hand around his waist and pulling him back a step.The ground he had been about to step into trembled slightly and then collapsed inward.

"What the hell?" Sett asked, wrapping his hand around her waist as well. "Are all Tombs this unexpected?"

He had entered this A-tier Tomb with his grandmother just a few hours ago, and already, he had escaped 2 life-threatening events due to her warning. Of course, this hole wasn’t one of them—falling into holes can’t break his Tier 4 body, so it was not life threatening. But he wouldn’t have noticed even this hole if his grands hadn’t pulled him back.

"That was not unexpected, you are just inexperienced and naive. I knew something was amiss with that part of the forest at a glance, I was just testing you. And you failed majestically.."

Sett’s heart skipped a beat. That was a test?

He felt gloomy immediately after, and began focusing more intently. No matter what, he didn’t want to be seen as useless by his Grandmother. He wanted to prove himself.

Ismera walked forward, rounding the hole, but she didn’t say anything about his hand that still remained around her waist. Sett wasn’t about to let go of something that soft unless asked.

"Do you know what the number one difference between a good Tomb Raider and a bad one is?" She asked.

"Raw strength?"

That seemed so obvious.

"I thought you would say that, but no." She smiled at him, that all knowing wise-mentor smile. "The number 1 tell-tale difference between a good Tomb Raider and a bad one is their environmental awareness, not strength."

Sett didn’t really agree. "I mean, sure? But what can a Tier 1 Tomb Raider do against me even if they have your level of environmental awareness?"

After all, his body was so strong, a Tier 1 could not even hurt him. So, was he not a better Tomb Raider than them by default?

"Idiot," Ismera scolded, pinching the hand on her waist. "Your mother filled your head with her hard headedness, too."

Sett frowned. "Am I wrong?"

"Of course you are wrong. Tomb Raiding is not about battle prowess or one-on-one combat," she said. "Remember this, my boy. Tomb Raiding has three faces. It is first about survival, second about strategy, and third about adaptability. I want you to master all three of those things while you are with me."

Sett nodded in thought.

"In a Tomb, having strength, as you said, is important. And it goes in the survival category. If you are a Tier 1 Tomb Raider, you obviously wouldn’t enter an S Tier Tomb. And if you are a Tier 5 Raider, you obviously won’t waste time in a D-Tier Tomb. So, most of the time, you will be fighting enemies of equal or sometimes stronger raw power than you."

"That is true…"

"Then, my boy, you asked how a Tier 1 Raider can be better than you, a bonafide Tier 4. Is it clear now?" She looked at him. "If you don’t answer well, I will not let you hold me like this anymore."

Sett took a deep breath. "Indeed, even if someone is weaker than me, they can be an objectively better Tomb Raider than me. Since we both fight in Tombs of our level, what then distinguishes between our capability is our ability to conquer the Tomb we are assigned.

"If a Tier 1 Tomb Raider conquers more D-tier Tombs than a Tier 4 conquers A-tiers, the Tier 1 Raider is an objectively better Tomb Raider."

Ismera smiled. "That was the answer I was hoping for. There are flaws in that too, as higher Tier Tombs are more complex. The same genius Tier 1 Tomb Raider might not amount to much when he becomes Tier 4, for example."

"Ah, I see!"

Sett was just relieved that he was still allowed to hold her willowy waist.

"Then the next question, and my threat still stand." She caressed the hand on her waist. "Why does environmental awareness, of all things, show who is a better Tomb Raider?"

Sett felt her soft touch, and he became even more determined to keep his hand there. But at the same time, he began to ponder the question.

Before long, he had an answer.

"You said that for a Tomb Raider, survival comes first. Without environmental awareness, if they just enter Tombs beyond their level for that matter, they will die.

"Then, the second face of Tomb Raiding, strategy. That also requires environmental awareness at its core. One must know who one’s enemies and allies are, what their strengths are, what one’s own weaknesses are. Only then can one win wars."

She nodded in praise. "And?"

"Then the final face of Tomb Raiding, adaptability. Things will constantly change and plans don’t always go as you want. So you must be aware of the changes around you constantly, or else you risk failing the first two faces.

"If you enter a weak-looking Tomb and do not realize that it is stronger than you first thought, no matter what strategy you come up with, it is useless as your information is flawed. So, environmental awareness is a must."

"That’s my boy," Ismera raised her chin up in satisfaction. "So, can you guess why I am letting you hold me like this even though we are in a dangerous Tomb?"

After all, holding her waist made her movements slow down.

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Sett blinked. He understood. "Because you know that we are in a safe place. Because you are aware of our current environment, and because you already have a strategy.

"You are constantly adapting, and your current goal is to teach me more than anything, so you are adapting to the situation with that as your core concern."

Ismera laughed. "Exactly. Sett, I won’t be teaching you a broad spectrum of things. I will teach you a few core skills and prepare you to work in any Tomb.

"What I want you to inherit are my instincts, my love for history and Tombs, and such. If you have those, you will become a skilled enough Tomb Raider."

"Environmental awareness, and the ability to adapt to, and use, your environment to your benefit—is the most important thing you have to learn from me."

Their legs never stopped walking even as they spoke, and by the time they were finished talking, Sett found that they had reached deep into the forest. In front of him, though, was not a sprawling jungle but a human settlement.

"Tombs really do have human civilisations…" He gawked.

Ismera looked around, her aura changing ever so slightly from the wise mentor to the hardened Tomb Raider.

"Come on, it’s time for the practical lessons."