Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 207

Chapter 207

Jake continued to explore the dungeon, wielding the phantom-like battleaxe in one hand. It wasn’t long before he came across another group of undead. He wasn’t sure if the ethereal battleaxe could harm regular undead or if it was designed solely for use against ghost-like foes. He decided to test the weapon on the undead group to see for himself.

He charged at the closest skeleton, swinging the battleaxe at the undead. He wasn’t particularly surprised when he saw the battleaxe pass right through the skeleton’s ribcage, inflicting no damage at all, as if it were made of air. Having learned what he needed, Jake dropped the battleaxe and immediately ducked as the skeleton thrust the sword it was armed with at him.

He counted with a powerful punch of his left smashfist against the skeleton’s skull, shattering it easily as if it were a porcelain vase. Before the defeated skeleton could even drop to the cobbled floor, Jake was already dealing with the other undead. It didn’t take him long to dispatch the whole group.

Multiple enemies killed. +6,350 XP

Jake picked up the ethereal battleaxe and then checked his current experience.

XP: 49,365/101,250

He continued navigating through the tunnels and halls of the dungeon until he finally reached the chamber where he had defeated the abyssal liche. The shade was still in the room, motionlessly hovering above the floor at the center of the chamber.

Jake wasted no time charging at the shade. It quickly became aware of him and lunged forward. A serpent-like wave of energy lashed out from the shade, striking him instantly and giving him no chance to dodge it. However, since he wore a special medallion around his neck, he sustained no damage this time.

The Ethereal Protective Medallion absorbed 8% of Ethereal Damage.

Jake reached the shade and swung the battleaxe at it. Instead of passing through, the blade sank deep into the ghostly form, as if it were made of flesh. The shade writhed in agony, releasing a piercing shriek before darting away from him, covering a dozen yards in the blink of an eye. It attacked him with a wave of ethereal energy once more, striking him immediately.

The Ethereal Protective Medallion absorbed 7% of Ethereal Damage.

As Jake approached the shade, he swung his battleaxe once more, dealing some damage to his ethereal foe. After that, the ghostly undead quickly darted away from him again, countering with a wave of energy.

It went on like this for several minutes. After every blow Jake landed on the shade, it would quickly retreat and counter with a wave of energy that his medallion absorbed. Finally, when he struck the shade once more with his battleaxe, it let out a piercing shriek before bursting into a brilliant flash and disappearing.

Enemy killed. +3,000 XP

Jake waited a moment, half-expecting something else to happen—perhaps another enemy would suddenly appear or some reward would be granted to him for defeating such a tricky foe. However, nothing of the sort occurred, and apart from gaining XP, he received no other reward. He glanced at the motionless body of the abyssal lich, still lying in the same spot. The rune stone remained as inert as before, and the magical staff topped with a crystal ball lay nearby, also inactive.

Jake glanced at his medallion, gripping it with his free hand. He appraised it with a thought, and a piece of info popped up in his mind.

Ethereal Protective Medallion: 46%

The medallion’s energy was down by more than fifty percent. When it reached zero, it would need to be recharged to be effective again. Jake had no clue how to do that. He attempted to draw some mana from his body into the medallion, but nothing happened. He wasn’t even sure if he could do something like that. Well, perhaps he would be able to figure out how to recharge the medallion at a later time.

He continued to explore the dungeon, searching for other key fragments. It took him quite a while, as they were spread out over a significant distance, tucked away in various sepulchers, much like the very first one. Each time he discovered a new fragment, he would remove the previous ones from his mouth and piece them together. However, they didn’t stick, remaining just separate pieces of the key.

There were four fragments in total, and when Jake found the last one, he crouched down and assembled them all on the floor, forming a shield-shaped key. He stared at it for a moment, wondering if, with all the fragments found and combined, the key might magically restore itself. However, nothing happened. Maybe the key would magically restore itself when he brought the fragments to the portal.

Thanks to his mental map of the dungeon, Jake navigated the countless tunnels and chambers with ease. He quickly found his way back to the room with the dormant portal. Once he arrived, he approached the arch and retrieved the key fragments from his mouth. Crouching down, he laid them on the floor and began to assemble them once again.

Just like before, the fragments didn’t magically fuse into a complete whole. Jake could sense the magical energy radiating from the dormant portal, but it had no effect on the fragments. Perhaps, they would meld together if he inserted them into the indentation. Gently, he gripped the shield-shaped fragments, ensuring they remained pressed together. Then he stood up and approached one of the two bases of the arch.

He studied the indentation positioned at eye level, noting that it was shaped to match the key formed by the fragments. The notch seemed perfectly designed to accommodate the key he held in his hands. With great care, ensuring the fragments didn’t separate, he inserted them into the indentation. It turned out to be slightly smaller than the key, requiring Jake to apply a bit of pressure. As he pushed it in, he heard a soft clicking sound.

Jake kept his hands pressed against the fragments seated in the indentation. For a moment, he hesitated, worried that the four pieces might slip out once he let go. However, when he finally withdrew his hands, he was relieved to find the fragments securely held in place within the indentation.

However, nothing changed. Even with the key inserted into the notch, the portal remained dormant. The key didn’t magically repair itself as Jake had hoped, and the portal seemed to ignore it entirely, even though the fragments had been placed exactly where they were meant to go.

Perhaps, there was another key, an intact one, that he just needed to find. But where could it be? Up to this point, he had only stumbled upon fragments. Was there really supposed to be a complete key hidden somewhere in the dungeon? He found it hard to believe. By now, he had explored most of the first floor, yet had not come across any indication of an intact key.

Anyway, the key fragments were seated firmly in the indentation. Aside from shattering them into even smaller pieces with his smashfists, there seemed to be no way to extract them from the notch now.

Jake took a step back, gazing up at the imposing arch of the dormant portal. He was still definitely missing something. But what? He decided to examine the arch once more, this time with greater care. He walked around the base with the indentation that held the inserted key, but nothing new caught his eye. He then shifted to the other base, moving slowly as he scrutinized it from every angle.

As he had noticed the last time, the entire surface of the towering structure was adorned with intricate carvings. Swirling designs covered every inch of the arch. Jake hadn’t paid much attention to the patterns before, but now, as he examined them more closely, he discerned what appeared to be three symbols placed at eye level among the elaborate motifs. The symbols were woven into the intricate swirling patterns so seamlessly that it was really difficult to detect them unless you looked very closely. He stepped closer to the base of the arch for a better look.

The three mysterious symbols were carved into the surface, one above the other. Jake had no idea what they meant, but the top symbol looked strangely familiar. It took him a moment to recall where he had seen it: the rune stone that hung around the abyssal liche’s neck bore the same symbol etched into its surface.

Was it merely a coincidence, or did it signify something? Jake was convinced it wasn’t just a coincidence. After all, this was a dungeon filled with monsters, traps, and puzzles. The symbols on the arch and the rune stone of the liche had to be linked somehow.

Before he left, Jake glanced once more at the three symbols, etching them into his memory. Then he pivoted and made his way back to the chamber where he had defeated the abyssal liche and the shade.