Pantheon Online

Chapter 35 - Trap?

Having no DP left meant Colt only had one chance to make this work. However, his timing would have to be perfect. The three Devout Souls moved to flank him yet again. Except for this time, that was precisely what he wanted! Colt waited to see which of them would make the first move with a frown upon his face.

Eventually, the one wielding the spear thrust towards him as the hammer wielder stepped in from the side. Colt grinned as he sidestepped towards the dual axe-wielding Devout Soul, who did not move. As the tip of the spear passed by him, Colt hit its side with his shield, forcing it to change its trajectory!

The spear's longer-range allowed it to force the hammer wielder to a stop as it pierced his shoulder. However, Colt ignored this knowing that the dual axe wielder should make a move now. Colt heard the footsteps behind him, which told him the other opponent was attempting to take him by surprise.

There was a brief pause in those steps when they got pretty close, and that told Colt that the mob had steadied its stance to take a swing at him. Colt spun towards the left side as he moved backwards, intending to place himself behind the mob. At the same time, he bashed with his shield the moment he caught sight of the Devout Soul, pushing it towards the spear wielder.

There was a slight crunch as the axes hacked at the arm holding the spear. Colt reacted on instinct and slashed at the axe wielders back. In the heat of the moment, he had forgotten that he was unable to harm them, but something surprising happened.

As soon as his axe struck, all three of them shimmered slightly before they withdrew their weapons from their allies. The three of them turned to face Colt, who backed off and prepared himself for the next attack. However, the Devout Souls just stood there for a few moments before dissolving into motes of light!

Colt almost dropped his weapon from the shock. He quickly scanned the entire platform as if he were expecting something else to appear. However, nothing did. At the far end of the bridge where it met the canyon's wall, the rocky surface faded away to reveal a pathway forwards.

'Is that really it?' Colt felt somewhat deflated to discover it was that easy to pass the test. If he had worked it out sooner, he could have saved his DP! However, when he thought about it, he wondered how many players would be able to figure it out in the heat of the moment.

Colt took a few deep breaths to calm his mind for whatever the tomb would throw at him next before making his way towards the opening. However, when he passed through, there was a large, open cavern. Several treasure chests were scattered around the room while a large marble box stood in the centre.

'Why does that look like it could be a coffin standing up instead of laid out flat?' Colt shivered as he felt an imposing presence emanating from it. The whole room felt rather morbid and was sending warning signals to his brain. Making him feel like this was somewhere he just was not meant to be!

'It's just a game. But this feels so creepy. Even in other games, they don't manage to make you feel this way when you're in a tomb.' Colt wondered if he should try the chests, but he was worried that it might be a trap of some sort.

Which was a perfectly reasonable assumption. The only problem was that Colt had no idea how to check for such things in this game yet! He could only look around for anything unusual but considering this was the first treasure room he had seen in the game, he had no idea what he should have expected anyway.

His eyebrows took a dip into a frown as he realised his predicament. 'What should I start with then? The treasure or the creepy coffin?' Colt sighed as he decided to inspect the marble structure.

His boots created scuffing sounds against the uneven rocky ground as he slowly walked forward. However, a soft blue glow came from it when he was a mere ten steps away. Allevia's ghostly apparition made her appearance by walking out of the marble surface that was facing Colt.

"Congratulations on making it here," Allevia said in a flat tone as if she did not mean it. "As stated, you can take every treasure in this room."

Colt's expression became dumbfounded as he stared at the phantom. "That can't be it! Is this a trick?"

"There's no trick. You are qualified to receive these last few treasures of mine."

"But, wasn't the test too easy?" Colt felt helpless when faced with this situation. He was sure that this should have been a lot harder than what it was. Or at least, that was what his gamer's intuition was telling him.

Allevia stared at him for a while before speaking slowly. "Upon my death, there was not a lot of Divine Power left. This tomb should be the best that I could manage at that time."

Colt raised an eyebrow as he mulled over those words. 'Is this just something of a taster? To get the players used to the tombs of dead Gods?' Colt felt like that was what could be going on. As if this were a training mission for the real things that were likely scattered all over the game world.

"Now, are you ready to receive my last remaining piece of the First Flame? You seem to be the God of the Hearth. You are lucky that your Divinity is a good match for it." Allevia's phantasm nodded slightly as she looked Colt straight in the eyes.

"What would have happened if my Divinity was not a match for it?" Colt could not help but ask this question. Call it his personal curiosity, if you must.

"That's simple… I would never have offered it to you in the first place."