The Villain's Apocalypse-Chapter 29: Grave

Chapter 29: Grave

"Who are you?" A sweet, melodic voice whispered near Cassian’s ear, sending a wave of tranquility in his mind. The voice was soft yet carried an uncanny presence of something lively.

He jolted in surprise, spinning around in search of the source.

"Huh? Who was that? Am I hallucinating, or did I finally lose it?" His voice echoed through the vast chamber as he narrowed his eyes, scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.

He was standing in the middle of a grand hall, exuding an ancient aura, like it had been ages since someone had ever visited this place. The hall was massive to say the least, with towering pillars of pristine quartz looming over him, glowing in the ethereal light reflected on its polished surface.

Beneath his boots lay a lush carpet of emerald grass stretched across the chamber, radiating a quiet serenity. Vibrant flowers of various hues bloomed around him, while Vines, thick with luminescent blossom, cascaded over his head, swaying silently from the gentle breeze.

He breathed in fresh air, feeling a wave of refreshing energy cooling down his ever-working mind. "It feels like I’ve smoked a few joints of weed." He thought feeling the tiredness within his body slowly seep out just from standing in the hall.

"I’m talking to you, Human!" The voice echoed again, this time louder and clearer.

"Where are you?" He asked, puzzled by the unknown speaker near him. It seemed his mana senses were malfunctioning inside the hall as he couldn’t sense anything other than the surrounding vibrant mana, that sent tingles across his skin.

"Oh right! I forgot!" The voice responded, sounding quite childish.

Suddenly, a small creature with wings on its back appeared out of thin air, pinching his nose.

"Who are you?!" It demanded, her face twisted in a mix of anger and caution. The creature had a similar appearance to a human but, unlike them, it was tiny, the size of a human finger. Its long, pointy ears twitched cutely like cats’ and unlike us, it had butterfly-like wings attached on its back, fluttering silently with the wind. The closest resemblance he could give was— a fairy. Yes, it looked exactly like a fairy described on those children’s books—tiny, cute and magical.

"Are you a fairy?" He asked, scratching his head with awkwardness. He’d known there were magical races inside this world but encountering them for the first time was a unique experience for him.

’Except for Genesis, that old fart was unpleasing the moment i saw him.’

"Answer me first, human!" the fairy yelled, releasing a gust of powerful wind from her wings.

woosh–!

The wind pierced through his skin, causing light scratches to occur. He threw off his arms and blocked his face, shielding it from the fairy’s wrath.

"I’m Cassian, a challenger!" He announced his name, adding the challenger title alongside it. He recalled the general information about this dungeon from the novel, ’The creatures inside this dungeon are created to inform the challengers about the trial and if possible help them.’

The wind softened instantly, returning to its tranquil state.

phew~

He sighed in relief after noticing the change in the fairy’s gaze towards him. Slumping down on the grassy floor, he took a moment to breathe and regulate himself. The hall was making it difficult for him to access mana and his elements, causing his body to get tired easily.

The fairy fluttered her delicate wings slightly and appeared before his vision, hovering silently, matching his gaze.

She took a small bow and introduced herself, "I’m Ara, the trial administrator of the Uravis’s Grave. Welcome, challenger!"

"Nice to meet you, Ara." Cassian nodded, acknowledging her greeting. He wasn’t too pissed off by her earlier attack since it was her job to guard the dungeon against lurkers.

’Although, lurking around this dungeon is a tremendous task itself.’ He thought, imagining a certain someone with heavenly luck on their side. ’Maybe not.’

"Explain to me about the trial." He asked, back to his usual aloof nature. He took off the extra layer of clothes around him and lay down flatly on the ground.

Ahh~

His body finally got the rest that it deserved after weeks of traveling, surrounded by constant danger.

"Very well." She replied, starting her explanation. "This is a special area named Uravis’s Grave. Uravis was a legendary Magus of the Obsidian Era. He was renowned all over the world as...."

"Wait!" Cassian replied, continuing "I don’t wanna know about Uravis. Tell me about the dungeon instead."

Ara pouted cutely after hearing his words. She wanted to explain more about Uravis and his origin, but this weak human doesn’t seem interested.

"Why? Don’t you like to know about a legendary figure forgotten from the history?" She responded, curious about his answer.

She was a curious fairy and loved reading about the ancient history of the outside world. Her job was quite boring, so, whenever she had time, she would collect some books from the Uravis’s library upstairs and read them here.

"I already know about him." He dismissed her pleading look and demanded the real information. One thing he’d learned after his previous encounters is that he was too weak. The orb of Elementus was in a sense perfect for someone like him, desperate for strength.

Ara glared at him for a while but under his stubborn look, she gave up. "Fine. What information do you want?"

"I want information about the trial and its rewards."

"The trial is quite simple, you just have to survive the series of illusion. As for the rewards... it varies." A mischievous smile graced her face as she thought of something. As a trial administrator, she could reward him based on his performance. The rewards were generally provided from within the dungeon’s treasury, and she was planning on rewarding him something worthwhile if he could pass the trial.

’Hehe...lets see how you react once you get your hands on the reward.’

"Hmm..." Cassian pondered, gazing at the tiny fairy before him. He knew that the reward for the completion was the Astralis staff but he couldn’t demand it outright. ’She would just get suspicious of me if I ask her about the staff. Let’s just play her game for now.’

"Anything else?"

"Take some rest before proceeding with the test. You might need it," she replied, noticing his tiredness.

"Alright, I’ll take a short nap then." He closed his eyes and fell asleep, completely defenseless against the fairy before him.

"Why does he trust me? Shouldn’t a normal individual be more cautious?" She thought, staring at his face. ’Is he brave or stupid?’