Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 226

Chapter 226

It took him some time, but eventually, Jake collected all the clues he needed. One by one, he encountered three more wandering ghosts. They all looked alike, each missing the lower half of their bodies and dressed in tattered clothes. However, each ghost had a distinctive and easily noticeable feature: one had a round amulet hanging around its neck, another wore a ring with a large gemstone on one of its fingers, and the third one sported a diadem on its head. 

In three different chambers, Jake also located three human bodies wearing the same items: one with a round amulet, another with a ring, and the third with a diadem. Each of the three bodies was strapped to a different torture device. Just like the last time, Jake led each of the ghosts to its respective body, luring them with the corresponding pieces of jewelry. After reanimating the corpses, he then made use of the torture devices to which they were strapped. As with the previous encounter, after enduring a certain amount of pain, each prisoner provided him with a clue before succumbing to their injuries and passing away once more.

The second clue he learned was, “Green is between orange and blue.” This was undoubtedly a valuable piece of information. So he now knew he needed to eliminate the purple ghost first, the white one last, and the green one third. However, he still didn’t know the precise order for orange and blue. One of them was clearly second, while the other was fourth. Given that he already knew the positions of the others, he had a 50 percent chance of guessing the order correctly on his first attempt.

Despite having gathered enough clues, he pressed on for more, and one additional clue he received was, “Blue is before white.” With this information, Jake was able to ascertain the exact order in which the ghosts had to be eliminated to activate the portal’s symbols. Ultimately, he received the final clue stating, “Purple is first.” Since he had already figured out that the first color was purple, he didn’t actually need that last hint, but it came to him all the same. At the very least, he would now be able to achieve 100% completion and earn an extra reward, which was always a nice bonus.

After finding all the clues, Jake summoned the ghosts from the obelisks and led them to the portal. Knowing the exact order for eliminating the ghosts, he solely focused on the fight. He began by killing the purple ghost, causing the first symbol on the portal’s arch to light up with a purple glow. Next, he turned his attention to the orange ghost, swinging his ointment-smeared battleaxe at it. Once he dealt the fatal blow and the ghost vanished in a flash of light, another symbol on the arch illuminated with an orange glow. This symbol was located at the left rounded corner of the arch’s top, indicating that the symbols were activated in a clockwise order. 

Jake continued to fight the rest of the ghosts, taking them down one by one. They unleashed energy waves in his direction, but all the damage they dealt was absorbed by his protective amulet. Eventually, however, the amulet ran out of energy, and Jake began taking damage himself. Fortunately, since he had inserted an opal into the amulet some time ago, all the Ethereal damage he took was effectively reduced by 25%. 

Jake continued battling the ghosts. He was aware that he needed to take them down in quick succession—within less than a minute of each other. The activation of the symbols was a time-sensitive task. If he took too long to eliminate a ghost, the activated symbols would shut down, forcing him to summon the ghosts once again and start the entire activation process from scratch. With this urgency weighing on him, he acted as quickly as possible, channeling all his focus into the battle.

The next symbol to flare to life was the top one, shining with a vibrant green glow. After eliminating the next ghost, the symbol in the right rounded corner of the arch ignited with a blue glow. At last, upon defeating the last ghost, the final symbol situated at the right base of the arch burst into a white light. Now, all five symbols were active, each pulsing with its own unique color. Jake felt the hum emitted by the portal intensify, and then, in a sudden burst of brilliant light, a shimmering surface of the portal filled the inside of the arch.

The gateway to the third floor stood open before Jake. Yet before stepping through, he wanted to complete his exploration of the second floor, as there were still a couple of locations he needed to check. In one of those places, he expected to find the final fragment of the key, which would unlock the secret door he had discovered earlier.

Jake exited the chamber and moved toward the unexplored areas of the second floor, dispatching any remaining enemies along the way. Ultimately, in one of the last rooms, he uncovered the final fragment of the key, tucked away in a concealed section of the wall. With this find, he had completely explored the second floor. The only area left to investigate was behind the secret door. As he headed in that direction, he encountered no enemies, having dealt with every single one by that point.

At last, he arrived at the chamber with the secret door. He inserted the final fragment into its indentation, joining it with the other three pieces to form the complete key. Each interlocking knob and hole aligned flawlessly with the surrounding components. The key was now whole. A humming sound resonated in the air, accompanied by an electric charge. The various engravings on the door glowed with an eerie light. Within moments, the heavy door swung open, revealing a long corridor. Like all the previous halls, it was illuminated only by the two wall-mounted torches nearest to him, leaving the rest of the corridor cloaked in total darkness. Jake started to move down the corridor, curious about where it might lead.

With no enemies lurking in the shadows, he moved down the corridor without any obstacles in his way. Finally, he reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up into a vast but mostly empty chamber. He took a step forward, exiting the corridor, and paused to survey his surroundings. The room was brightly lit, and his eyes quickly fell upon a lone enemy standing directly in the center of the chamber.

Ratman – Shadow Caster – Level 110 (Elite) 

Special abilities:

1. Ring of Shadow Bolts – The caster launches numerous shadow bolts in every direction.  
2. Phantom Form – The caster phases into an ethereal form, making them immune to most attacks while still being able to deal both physical and chaos damage. While in this form, the caster gains significant boosts in both power and speed.
3. Shadow Wave – The caster emits a black mist that greatly reduces visibility for everyone affected, except for the caster themselves. 

This ratman was definitely much more powerful than any he had faced on the second floor before. Clad in a long robe with its hood raised, it wielded a staff crowned with the skull of a horned creature. Jake spotted a metal key hanging from the ratman’s belt. Behind the foe, against the wall, he also noticed a chest waiting to be opened.

Majestic Chest

It was visibly larger and finer compared to both the primitive and quality chests he had come across so far. Whatever treasures were locked inside should be pretty amazing. However, before opening it, he needed to take down the shadow caster. There were no more enemies anywhere to be seen, so the fight would be one-on-one. This was going to be the final fight on this floor, and Jake had a feeling it would be the toughest one.

He took another step forward. As soon as he did, a humming sound from behind made him look back. He saw a shimmering blue wall of magic materializing at the entrance he had just passed through. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to leave the chamber until he defeated the final enemy.

The shadow caster suddenly pointed its staff at him, prompting Jake to shift his attention back to the ratman. In the next heartbeat, the enemy launched an attack.

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