Chapter 28: A Suspiciously Familiar Trap

Outside the ruin.

Many players waited at the entrance, eyes fixed on the opening countdown above, ready to spring into action.

Seizing the initiative was critically important — especially for a ruin containing precious, non-renewable resources.

"One minute left."

A player holding a lightning staff called out a reminder: "Dao Shan, once we're inside, no lone-wolf play — work with the team."

Off to the side, Dao Shan glanced at his stream chat and gave a nod. "Got it."

"The boss paid good money to bring me here. I'm not going to mess around — my client satisfaction rate is a hundred percent."

The moment the words left his mouth, a wave of comments flooded the stream.

[What about the Undead Territory?]

[Reminder to all: a certain Rogue died twice in a level-30 dungeon without even scratching the boss's health bar.]

[Looks like someone forgot about their last Waterloo.]

Watching the comments scroll by, Dao Shan choked slightly. "The Undead Territory doesn't count. How was I supposed to know that guy had a hidden side-quest storyline? No wonder his intelligence rating was so high."

The boss who had hired him this time went by the ID [Old Mage], the vice-guild-master of the top Pride server guild [Mage Alliance] — a big spender, generous enough to convince Dao Shan to temporarily abandon his usual carry-run routine and come specifically for this ruin.

"Good enough."

Old Mage continued with his instructions: "Once we're inside the ruin, ignore all other resources. We have one objective only — obtain the Inheritance of the 'Ghost Mage.'"

As vice-guild-master, Old Mage's level was not particularly high — he had been stuck at level thirty-nine for a long time, even falling behind several of his capable subordinates. The reason was simple: he wanted to secure an Inheritance before pushing further.

Doing so would provide a massive boost to his class's overall power.

Time ticked by, second by second. Before long, the steadily counting timer suddenly flashed a vivid red.

[Countdown: Three… Two… One!]

The countdown hit zero. A dazzling burst of white light erupted, forming a swirling teleportation gate in front of the ruin entrance.

"The ruin is open — follow the plan, regroup immediately!"

At Old Mage's command, Dao Shan took the lead. He activated his Rogue's Thrust skill, his entire body blurring into a dark shadow as he charged through the teleportation gate first.

[One entry opportunity has been consumed.]

Ignoring the system notification, Dao Shan began surveying his surroundings.

The area was utterly desolate — the earth was cracked and parched, and skeletal remains of various monsters were scattered everywhere.

The entire ruin was composed of a vast demon-faction domain. The area he had spawned in appeared to belong to one of the lieutenants. Judging by the environment, the adventurer Inheritance here was probably not the Ghost Mage's.

"The others should be arriving soon."

With that thought, Dao Shan quietly reached into his bag and pulled out an incense candle, lighting it.

Wisps of smoke curled upward, gathering into a single thread that drifted off in a particular direction.

This was a special item the party leader had exchanged at the Adventurers' Guild. Once lit, the direction the smoke drifted would guide the user toward the positions of their party members.

After a brief search, the group successfully rendezvoused.

The party consisted of seven players in total.

Three Mages, two Warriors, one Rogue, and one Healer.

All seven had completed their job advancement, were level thirty-five or above, and were equipped almost entirely in purple-quality gear — by Pride server standards, an impressively stacked lineup.

Old Mage spoke slowly: "I spent a considerable sum at the Adventurers' Guild to obtain some information. The Ghost Mage's Inheritance should be located in a dungeon-type terrain. Did any of you spot something like that near your spawn point?"

A Warrior player with the ID [Iron Heart] stepped forward. "I think I remember seeing a cave near my spawn point — one that went downward. Not sure if it's a dungeon, though."

Old Mage's eyes lit up. "Where? Take us there now."

As long as there was even the slightest possibility, he wouldn't pass up the chance to investigate. What if luck was on his side?

The ruin was enormous — any lead was better than wandering around blindly.

Iron Heart nodded and immediately led the group toward his spawn location.

Along the way, the players spotted numerous traces left behind from ancient adventurers' battles against monsters.

Black stone pillars still faintly radiating residual magical energy, shattered weapons, monster carcasses…

The scene before them was strikingly vivid. If they hadn't known this was a game, they might have mistaken it for a real world.

About one hour later.

Iron Heart arrived at his spawn point and pointed ahead. "Right here."

Following the direction of his finger, a pitch-black cave mouth came into view. Through the dim light filtering inside, they could make out what appeared to be a downward-sloping passage.

Dao Shan spoke up. "I'm a Rogue — I have Night Vision as a passive ability. Let me scout ahead."

With that, he stepped in front of the group and made his way into the cave.

Squeezing through the narrow entrance, the space gradually opened up around him.

The air carried a faint metallic tang of blood. Monster remains were piled everywhere; every step crunched through another bone.

"This is… the mark of undead magic…"

Old Mage stared at the massive craters smashed into the walls, his eyes growing increasingly excited.

It seemed like he really had struck it lucky!

These were unmistakably the traces left behind by the ancient adventurer known as the Ghost Mage.

Old Mage took a deep breath and turned to address his party. "Don't get too excited yet. If this really is that dungeon, watch out for traps."

Dao Shan shook his head. "Most of the traps in here were probably already destroyed when that ancient adventurer came through. What we need to watch out for are any Domain Lords the demon faction might have stationed inside."

With that, he pressed deeper in. Before long, a long corridor came into view, with a massive stone door standing at its far end.

"That door should be the official entrance to the dungeon."

Old Mage said this aloud, already struggling to contain his excitement, and began moving quickly toward the door.

But he hadn't taken two steps before Dao Shan suddenly called out to stop him.

"Hold on!"

"Don't move!"

Dao Shan rushed to his side, slowly crouched down, picked up a small stone, and gently tossed it onto the paving bricks ahead.

The moment it landed —

What had appeared to be solid ground instantly collapsed into a massive pit, densely lined with spikes that seemed to be coated in poison.

Crash!

A boulder dropped from above, thundering down into the pit below. It was hard to imagine what would have happened to anyone who had stepped onto that ground a moment ago.

Dao Shan stared at the scene, a creeping unease rising from somewhere deep inside him.

This trap…

Why did it look so familiar?!