Transcendent Gene
Chapter 195: Legacy Guardian [1]

Chapter 195: Legacy Guardian [1]

When Gio and Neriah started moving again, the atmosphere between them was different. It was still silent unless they needed to converse, but the awkwardness previously flooding the silence was lessened to an extent.

The hope that they were near the end was a fruitless one. Still, time passed much faster when there wasn’t the awkward tension of total strangers hanging between them.

From the labyrinth to the aurora could only be considered the beginning of the tomb. Gio didn’t expect that he’d have to actually sleep in the legacy site, but he eventually had no choice.

After their first day, another full one passed, filled with trials. Their minds were tested, their bodies were tested, and their skills were tested. They became more comfortable fighting together and acting together.

As Neriah said, she stepped back and followed Gio. He was allowed to lead their expedition, which heightened their rate of progress, but that didn’t mean Neriah was just allowing him to do all of the work.

Her end goal was to surpass him. Naturally, she was not going to sit back and become baggage.

The two of them worked properly as a team by the end of the second day. They learned how to properly split their efforts, and compared to the first day that they spent going through only three or four different areas, they crossed almost eight on the second.

Gio was certainly able to confirm Neriah’s talent. She wasn’t wrong when she said they were similar.

She fought the way he fought in terms of close combat. She was more focused on speed while he was more focused on disruption, but the end result was the same. When she watched his swordsmanship, she could learn. When he watched hers, he found many ways to help her improve.

Her eyes were also very useful. The pathfinding ability she possessed wasn’t anything to joke about. It had its weaknesses. As seen when they crossed the aurora, but in any situation without such obstacles, it was amazing.

There were several times when her ability made things easier than even Gio could. His eyes could see change and his mind could erase illusions, but he didn’t have a real pathfinding ability.

In those same situations, he would have no choice but to take the time to explore and find the path through time and effort. Being able to merely look into a maze and see where to go was incredibly convenient.

And if Neriah could not see the path, it became obvious that they were being tricked. They could immediately start looking for alternate solutions to the puzzles they encountered.

The first half of the third day was spent once again clearing trials.

The most useful ability in his arsenal became Hekat’s. The ability to sense change constantly allowed him to find the core of every trial, almost as if they were made to be unraveled by Hekat itself.

Gio started to doubt the legacy.

’Did someone else find out about the Guardian Runes?’

He’d never seen or heard of anything similar to them. Whether in the research of humanity or its enemies, this kind of power that seemed almost absolute at its peak did not come from something like a "gene" or a "bloodline."

But it was as if the person who created this tomb had understood change, albeit only to a similar level that Gio reached. He couldn’t shake off his curiosity about who this place was truly meant for.

’Is there an influence out there that studies things like this?’

He wasn’t sure about that part, but it was something for him to look into after they escaped.

Focusing on the escape itself, he and Neriah moved and moved and moved. They were lucky enough to fight against some small beasts that weren’t invincible like the piglet creatures. They were able to prepare those carcasses using Gio’s Sequence. Otherwise, sustaining themselves would have been impossible.

They pushed forward and pushed forward, moving through doors, changing elevations, and circling around until they finally reached one door that was different from the rest.

It was made of hard metal and it was more ornate than most things produced in the past millennia. Sights like these were always interesting to see, as they felt like relics of an ancient past.

"This should be a boss room, right?" Gio said, pressing his hand against it.

"Yes. If that’s not the case, then I’d rather tunnel up to the surface than reach the end."

"Agreed."

It should’ve been around noon on the last day of the week. They had spent the time after reaching this door resting in front of it, and with their energy fully replenished, they faced it with confidence.

"Alright," Gio said, looking over at Neriah.

"No time wasted."

Neriah nodded and prepared her swords.

"I’m ready."

With her confirmation, he raised his energy and pushed open the door.

Dum!

A dull sound echoed through a large chamber. Neriah immediately rushed in without hesitation, her energy prepared to face anything that ended up in her path.

However, before she could fully enter the chamber, she hit a wall. It was blocking off the small corridor into the chamber and prevented her from moving forward immediately.

Gio followed her, looking around the corridor to see if they had found themselves in another trial, but that was not the case.

When both of his feet were firmly in the corridor, the doors behind him swung shut.

Whoosh!

Two torches on the walls to Neriah’s sides lit up. With a rhythmic sound, more and more torches lit themselves, shining a warm orange hue onto the huge chamber.

It was like an arena used by the ancient people for gladiator battles. There was a huge gate on the wall of the arena opposite them. It was stationary until all of the torches were lit.

Rumble!

Once the scene was set, it raised itself off the ground, retreating into the stone above.

Neriah, who had been stuck behind a wall, was suddenly allowed to move forward as well.

"Hmm..."

Gio made an uneasy sound with a frown.

They were behind a gate, too. That part was fine. They entered the arena carefully and spread out so they weren’t easy targets.

The part that raised an issue in Gio’s mind was the fact that nothing came out of the darkness beyond the gate even after it opened.

Thump!

A sound from within shot out and echoed through the arena.

Thump!

With the second, they could be understood as footsteps.

Whoooosh!

The ruffling of some kind of fur or feathers, a sign of a creature who only just awoke from its slumber.

Those were the only warnings their opponent gave them.

The ruffling ended, and–

Voooooom!

A huge wave of power spread through the arena. Gio’s eyes widened as he hurriedly put up some protections, gritting his teeth as he was thrown back.

’What is...’

BOOM!

The entire wall broke down.

The gate and the space above it were torn open as a massive creature charged into the arena. Its head was at least twenty feet in the air. It had wings that spread far enough to touch both Gio and Neriah, who’d fled to opposing edges of the arena.

It had the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. Its wings were bird-like but also reminiscent of the wings one would see on an angel. Its tail slithered through the air, carrying the image of a serpent that had a separate head that glared at Gio while the eagle’s piercing gaze rested on Neriah.

Gio had to admit. His first thought wasn’t about the size of the beast or the challenge in front of him.

As he faced that massive thing, his first thought went back to something his mind decided to latch onto before he even saw the beast’s appearance.

’Why...’

He charged, summoning his energy without question.

’What was the point of the gate, then?!’

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