Chapter 2: What it Was Like to Crawl Out of a Coffin After Transmigrating


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios


    The heavy stone door was slowly shut under an ancient spell. Its magic traveled through the gaps between the door and wall, creating a seal thatpletely shut the nightmarish world outside.


    They were now impervious to the shouts of the guard captain, the screams of the injured and dying and better yet, the roars and howls of the terrible, wretched monsters—all noise was silenced by the thick stone and steel separating them. Even though everyone knew that this barrier was only temporary, Reba still let out a long sigh of relief in this lull of the racket. It would be wonderful if only the hell outside was merely a nightmare.


    However, in the next second, Reba shook her head vigorously, thoroughly casting off the weakness that had manifested from her mind. The hefty rock would not serve to provide safety for long, but might weaken her will as it let her indulge in a fleeting moment of security. With that thought, the young sessor of the Cecil n could not help gripping onto her already dimmed staff, hoping that this weapon could instill more courage in her.


    Her n’s knight, Byron Kirk, said from behind, “Viscountess, the passageway has been sealed shut, and the monsters shouldn’t be able to get in anytime soon.”


    Reba turned back to look at the loyal and devoted knight. His steel armor was scarred, his breastte had a noticeable dent, and a burn mark was visible beneath his short grey hair. That blemish had been caused by Aunt Heidi, who had thrown a huge fireball to save this middle-ranked knight from the jaws of a monster, and it had almost exploded against his scalp. If not for the God of Fortune’s blessing, this knight, who had served the n for twenty faithful years, would have be nothing more than a corpse.


    Naturally, Reba suspected that it was because of Aunt Heidi’s magic infamously “missing its mark, as always”…


    “Good work, Knight Byron.” Reba looked down to conceal the fatigue in her eyes. “We can take a breather now, at least.”


    She then turned her head around and sized up the remaining people left by her side. Three of the soldiers had torches in their hands as they guarded the perimeter. Aunt Heidi, wielding a fireball, was inspecting the wall at the end of the stone hall. And Betty, the little maid who had followed them muddle headed, was grasping a saucepan that she had grabbed along the way and cowering behind the soldiers as she surveyed the ce with herrge, shing eyes.


    Together with herself and Knight Byron, she was afraid that the seven of them were now thest survivors— it was impossible for the ones who had remained on the surface to survive.


    After ascertaining everyone’s condition, Reba now turned her attention to the stone hall.


    This was an ancient ce. The rectangr stone hallway was webbed with spider silk and thick with dust. At one end of the hall were a number of decaying objects. Even though they were very old, their past beauty and elegance still shone through. The walls of the stone hall were decorated with intact murals and reliefs. Even though the frescoes were slightly discolored, and the reliefs had undergone some wear and tear, they were still pleasant to admire.


    Heidi Cecil scrutinized the murals and reliefs in earnest for a long while. Compared to the modern northern states’ frivolous but impractical aesthetics, this hall was adorned simply and solemnly, giving it “First Dynasty” airs. The murals depicted heroic figures or locals customs, and the reliefs were carvings of the symbols of mythology and the gods. As an erudite spellcaster, Heidi was well-versed at interpreting useful messages from these antique artworks.


    As she studied the contents of the murals and reliefs, Heidi could not help but hold her left hand up to her chest. In a soft voice, she whispered, “May the ancestors forgive us…”


    “Aunt Heidi.” With her staff in hand, Reba walked over to Heidi’s side. This young woman looked a little anxious, for it was only then that she realized where they were, and began to feel ill at ease. “This is…”


    “This is the resting ce of the Cecil n,” Heidi Cecil said gravely. “Don’t do anything offensive.”


    Reba swallowed. Looking around, she said, “It looks like there hasn’t been anyone here for a long time…”


    “Ever since Marquis Grumman stole a sacred object from these tombs and took part in the rebellion that almost annihted the n, this ce has beenpletely sealed off. We as descendants of the Cecil n have the knowledge to open it, but the n rules state that no one should ever step foot in here unless they are at death’s door.” Heidi Cecil cast a long look at Reba. “We are the first people to enter this ce in a hundred years.”


    “Technically, we are ‘at death’s door’ right now…” Reba inhaled deeply. “Will the ancestors forgive us?”


    Heidi smiled stiffly. She was unable to answer this question, and could only use the hints on the murals as a guide to look for the mechanism to open the burial chamber.


    It did not take much effort for her to find the special pir. She pressed a hand on top of it gently.


    The stone door leading to the burial chamber vibrated slightly, before an entire b of rock rose, rumbling as it went.


    However, when the stone b rose, Reba heard a strange noise from within—there was a sound of a weapon being dropped, and an unsuppressed cry of surprise.


    “There’s someone inside?!” Heidi responded immediately and called out in a low voice, “Byron!”


    Without any further instruction, the knight had already unsheathed his sword and rushed towards the entrance of the stone b, the three other soldiers followed closely behind. After getting over her shock, Reba dashed ahead as well, while at the same time shouting an order to the muddleheaded maid, “Betty! Find a ce to hide!”


    Just as she ran into the burial chamber, Reba saw Knight Byron poised with his sword, ready to swing it onto an agile, petite figure.


    The little figure darted around Knight Byron like a gust of wind, sometimes disappearing into a cloud of smoke and escaping into the shadowy areas of the chamber. Her shadow maniption powers and nimble footwork was an eye-opener for Reba, for Knight Byron did not usually spend this long going against stealth users. However, with the three remaining soldiers encircling them, and Heidi blocking the door of the burial chamber with fire, the dexterous figure lost all their escape routes andnded on the floor, flustered.


    It was only after their movements stopped that Reba could take a good look at the face of this intruder. It was a young girl that looked her age, but a little shorter. She was wearing old leather armor, had short hair and a pretty countenance. Even though her face was stained with much dirt, it was still obvious that she was a beauty. Her most striking feature was her ears, which were sharp, but were not as long as elfin ones. This exined her lineage: she was a half-elf.


    However, she could not tell what the other half of her lineage was, for the elfin bloodline ran strong, which meant that the appearance of half-elves with either human or monster blood looked almost the same.


    Once the half-elf girlnded on the ground, Knight Byron immediately stepped forward and pressed his long sword against her neck. The remaining three soldiers closed in in an instant, their three swords barring all her escape routes.


    “Who are you! How dare you break into the tomb of the Cecil n?!” Heidi walked up briskly, her voice full of uncontroble rage. For an aristocratic descendant like her, the fact that her ancestors’ resting ce had been broken into by a tomb raider was enough to make her mad with fury—if news of this got out, the Cecil n’s crumbling reputation would be turned to dust.


    Reba was also ring at the half-elf. Even though she was still slightly confused from this sudden incident, the mere presence of an intruder in the forbidden tomb of her ancestors was enough to make her angry.


    The half-elf girl’s voice trembled as she was simultaneously pinned down by the swords and red daggers at by Heidi and Reba, “Wait… Wait! I haven’t stolen anything yet!”


    Byron’s sword pressed deeper into her neck. “How dare you!”


    Just as the knight’s voice fell, a strange ttering noise rang out from the ck steel coffin in the middle of the burial chamber. Everyone’s ears picked up the sound, and they quietened immediately.


    After a moment of silence, Reba was the first to react. She conjured a head-sized fireball above her staff and shook it at the half-kneeling half-elf on the floor. “What did you do to my ancestor?!”


    This time, the half-elf girl sounded like she was about to cry. “Don’t… Don’t kill me yet! Your ancestor rattling in his coffin is a more pressing matter! The lid is about to blow!”


    Apanying the half-elf girl’s voice was the increasingly loud rattling noise from the ck steel coffin, which was even starting to shake the lid.


    “Ancestor!” Heidi’s face was drained of all its color. This was the first time that this dignified and elegantdy who patronized the aristocratic circles lost her cool. “Please rest in peace! The person who has disturbed your sleep will be punished…”


    The half-elf girl shouted noisily, “How will saying all this nonsense help now! Hurry up and hold down the lid of your ancestor’s coffin!”


    The three soldiers looked at each other. Even Byron was in a state of shock. However, Reba reacted this time. She rushed up swiftly to the tform where the coffinid, just as the coffin lid was pushed aside and a hand emerged from the gap.


    Upon seeing this, Reba pounded on the hand with her magic staff without hesitation. “Lord Ancestor! Please rest in peace!”


    The hand was immediately hammered back into the coffin. At the same time, a pained voice cried out from inside, “Who the hell hit my hand!”


    Reba lifted her head dazedly. She saw her knight, Aunt, and the three soldiers staring at her, their mouths agape.


    She looked down at the magic staff in her hand. This time, she was the one who was about to cry. “Aunt, did I offend our ancestor…”


    Heidi yelled suddenly, “Reba! Get off of there!”


    Reba was taken aback. “Aunt?”


    “This could be a resurrection of the dead!” Heidi’s face was deathly pale. “Or it could mean that those monsters have… defiled the sacred remains of our ancestors!”


    The possibility of this made Reba break out in cold sweat. Just as she was about to jump off the tform and hide behind the soldiers, the heavy lid of the ck steel coffin rattled again—and this time, the person inside the coffin used their full strength, causing the coffin lid to detach, flying into the air.


    Afterwards, a majestic-looking man with short brown hair and dressed in ancient aristocratic garb sat up from the coffin.


    The half-elf girl, who was half-kneeling on the ground, turned to look at the scene and could not help but let out a long sigh. “See, your ancestor has fully risen from the dead.”