The Black Lotus was the first ring of the ruined city, designed to keep sneaky spies and intruders at bay. Being the city’s first line of defense, it was protected by twenty-nine watch towers and three barracks that housed the finest elite soldiers.According to old legends, even the elves and orcs had tried to invade the ancient city of the firstborns. But their armies were crushed by the elite warriors before they could breach the walls.Luckily for Ezra, the guards had perished centuries ago and the only ones still perched atop the towers and battlements were the skeletons of the dead warriors.It was strange to find such a great city in a state of ruin. No one knew what had caused the first civilization to collapse. But some legends claimed the ancient city wasn’t destroyed from outside; but consumed by a terrible curse that corrupted it from within.As Ezra took his first steps inside the Black Lotus, he could feel eyes staring at him from the darkness. Even though the watch tower
The four Forest Guardians stared at Ezra, their hollow bones peeping through the holes in their faces. Only a handful of intruders had been lucky enough to escape their clutches but Ezra was all alone with no one to watch his back.“I see it’s four against one, but I am used to being outnumbered by now,” Ezra huffed arrogantly and fixed his gaze on the Forest Guardian in front of him. “Eat this!” he shouted, firing his gun on full auto.The submachine gun sprayed the Forest Guardian with magic bullets, but the lumbering hybrid didn't even flinch. It would have shredded any other creature to pieces by now, but the moving tree crossed its arms together and resisted the attack with its woody limbs.Ezra continued firing till his whole magazine was emptied but shockingly enough his magic bullets bounced off the hybrid's woody bark like harmless needles.A hundred magic bullets peppered the Forest Guardian without leaving a single scratch on its body. “How is this possible?” Ezra looked s
“Activate scroll: Shadow Army!” Ezra exclaimed aloud, tossing the scroll high up in the air.It unfurled upon reaching its peak and disintegrated with a blinding flash, releasing the magic spell contained within.A hundred shadow clones descended from above and surrounded Ezra. They initially looked like dark silhouettes, but gradually transformed into clones, copying Ezra’s physical features to perfection and even replicating his clothes and weapons.The four Forest Guardians were confused by this sudden increase in their enemy’s numbers. It now became impossible for them to find the real Ezra since all the shadows resembled him perfectly.Unable to understand what was happening, the Forest Guardians started attacking the shadows at random. Their vines whipped through the crowd, targeting multiple clones at once. And as soon as they struck a shadow it disappeared. Ezra quickly realized that though these shadows resembled him in every aspect they could not replicate his movements or a
The elf’s words painted a completely different picture of Valaria than what Ezra was used to. Every history book he had ever read described the lifelong enmity between the elves and the humans and how the first kings had fought tooth and nail to defend their cities from the elven invaders.There had never been a time when the humans and elves weren’t engaged in a bloody war, and King Rudeus and his ancestors had fought countless battles to push the elven armies back and reclaim the lands from the elven rulers.However, after the last Great War that had lasted twenty years, the elves signed a peace treaty with the humans and promised to stay away from the major settlements. A hundred years had passed since the last conflict, and now King Reginald Aubrey followed a policy of appeasement to establish friendly relations with the elves. Though the old elven royals still harbored hatred against the humans, a few new bloods had started mingling with humans and living alongside them.However,
The Blood Orchid was the main residential zone of Galladrium where most of the city's population lived. It was spaciously organized with small cottages, towering basilicas, grand wooden taverns as well as small stone cottages with thatched roofs.As Ezra looked around, his eyes fell on the statues of the elven mages flanking the courtyard in front, and it confirmed Ardryll’s story.Even the mixed architecture consisting of brick houses with rectangular windows and towering skyscrapers with wooden canopies seemed to suggest that this city was indeed inhabited by a diverse population consisting of both elves and humans.Before taking his next step, Ezra opened his inventory and tapped on the Atlas of Altamir. A magical map appeared before him, highlighting the three rings inside Galladrium and pointing out all the places of interest within the city.The lake named ‘Loseth Arela’ was located on the other side of the Blood Orchid ring, just beyond the sacred elven shrine of the Forest Godd
Ezra wasn’t the first treasure hunter who had tried to get inside the Lost Museum. Dark Elves from distant lands, orcish mercenaries hired by the wealthiest nobles, and even human adventurers had sought the relics preserved behind the doors of this ancient monument.However, only a few ever managed to get inside, and even those who passed the first trial eventually fell into the death trap waiting on the other side.Marlin, being the more reasonable one, did his best to dissuade Ezra, but his mind was made up the moment he laid eyes on the three yellow dots glowing on the map.Instead of turning back, Ezra confronted the guards and proceeded to ask his first question.“Did Zepheroth destroy the city of Galladrium?”In response, the guards stood silently without moving an inch.“What the hell is wrong with you two?” Ezra questioned in an agitated voice. “Why don’t you answer me?”He waited for a few more minutes, but neither of the guards opened their lips. They remained motionless wit
Ezra’s decision to get into the museum had proved to be a dangerous one, but now that he was already inside the exhibition hall, there was no turning back.Surrounded by hidden spike traps, Ezra felt like he was standing in the middle of a minefield. The only respite was that he still had his feet on firm ground. However, taking the next step was his biggest challenge.Ezra carefully studied the tiles around him, trying his best to identify a pattern that might reveal which ones had spike traps under them. But no matter how many times he looked at each tile, he could not find any clues which would lead him in the right direction.All the tiles had the same pattern on them and only differed in size. At a glance, it was impossible to tell which ones were safe to step on and which ones would collapse.While Ezra had his eyes glued to the floor, Marlin was looking elsewhere. A sudden sparkle in the gunsmith's cursed eye suggested that he had discovered something useful.“You are looking i
Once Ezra picked up the sniper rifle, a secret corridor opened on his left. As he walked down the narrow path, it led him to an arched stone gateway filled with bright blue smoke.“I must say you have surpassed my expectations!” Ardryll’s familiar voice lauded Ezra’s success. He turned around, hoping to meet the elf’s apparition again, but there was no one standing behind him.“I may not be beside you, but my eyes see everything,” the elf whispered from some unseen corner. “Step into the gateway, and it will lead you back to the main street. We call them Warp Gates. They cut down on traveling time and are immensely useful when you are carrying heavy weights. I promise you will get used to them in no time.”“Sounds awfully convenient,” Marlin mocked. It was clear from his tone that he wasn’t too eager to trust the elf’s words.Ardryll had already noticed the eye on Ezra’s hand but hadn’t been able to put his finger on things until now. Hearing another man’s voice cleared his confusion.