Redo: Grimoire System in the Apocalypse

Filthy crept silently down the tunnel with Geth trailing ten paces or so behind. He would typically prefer to scout alone, but he would need Geth's healing to get him out if the situation took a precarious turn. 

The noises that he heard were constantly changing. At first, he could only hear the periodic sounds of growling coming through the tunnels.

The deeper they explored, the more he could listen. Between the angry and resentful growls, he could hear whimpering and the clinking of metal.

'What the hell is that?'

His ears twitched as he strained, an annoying quirk that began when his senses hit a certain level. It wasn't worth complaining over, though.

If he closed his eyes, he could recreate a blurry image of what he heard with his heightened senses. This quality had helped him many times when sniping a well-hidden target.

After walking for a few more minutes, Filthy waved for Geth to stand back. The origin of the noise was close.

'It sounds like... two wolves.. chained up?'

He focused further, sensing two separate sets of growls and whimpers. The odd thing was, he could only hear a single set of legs pawing at the dirt.

Filthy stopped walking normally down the center of the hall, stepping close to the walls and phasing into the shadows. His Full Concealment Talent took full effect, silencing his movements while the darkness completely drowned his presence.

It was likely the creature would eventually catch his scent, but not before he'd gathered information and left.

He slunk through the shadows, crouching low and keeping his movements to a minimum. His breath became quiet and even, his heart beat slower, and his muscles relaxed.

Filthy stepped into the mouth of a large entrance, keeping himself in the shade cast by the much brighter crystals on the interior. He kept his bow strung, ready to draw in case of any mishaps.

The room was massive, the same as any other Boss or Sub-Boss room would be. The only difference was that it sat completely barren outside of one creature and a single object.

In the center of the room, a massive crystal pillar extended from floor to ceiling. If his estimates were correct, this would be precisely below where they attacked the first set of wolves.

'This pillar must connect to the boulder above... but what's with this Direwolf?'

Next to the pillar, a colossal two-headed wolf stood chained to the crystal. The chains looked to be formed from dark red Mana that wrapped around the stalactite.

The bindings reached out and cocooned around the wolf in an impossible-to-break snare. Blood trickled down the tightly bound chains and poured into the crystal.

'What the hell is this..?'

This thing couldn't harm a fly.

The most it could do was reach out and scratch at the ground with a bloodied paw. Filthy could see that the earth was gouged and red from the creature's attempts at breaking free.

Massive patches of fur were missing, and scars marred its skin. One of the heads gave off an angered growl while the other whimpered in pain.

As magnificent a creature as it should have been, it was nothing but an abused animal left to die in this cave.

'Who could have done this? Even Geth isn't powerful enough to subdue a Sub-Boss to this extent.'

His eyes fell on the chains, his mind jumping straight to the multiple chain Skills and Chain Affinity that Felix had shown them not long ago.

'It couldn't be... could it?'

The dude was only Level 50. There was no way that he could have overpowered this monster.

He had his doubts, but he needed to be sure. Filthy stepped back into the tunnel and turned to leave, doing his best to ignore the cries and snarls of the creature behind him.

It only took him a few seconds to reach Geth. He walked by the man without much of a glance.

Nothing needed to be said. He soon heard the footsteps of his friend falling in stride with his own.

*****

Geth followed Filthy out of the tunnel. He could tell that something was wrong from the Mana whipping wildly around his friend.

Whatever he'd seen, it made him furious.

He walked along behind Filthy, following him into the next tunnel. Geth found it odd that he didn't even attempt to hide his presence when stepping into the next area.

Filthy stepped out again, his face darker than before. This time he wasn't silent.

"Step into the last tunnel with me. I just need to see it one more time... It might make more sense from a mage's perspective."

Geth nodded, not bothering to ask questions.

The third tunnel was the exact length as the others. After traveling down the second, Geth realized that the entrances were directly under the Dungeon entrance.

Each of the branches spread to three different rooms. Geth assumed that these led to the three corners of the Formation that he and Blaze had studied.

While Geth was lost in thought, he hadn't realized they were already at the end of the final tunnel. His guard had been up, but the moment he stepped in, it dropped like a rock.

"What the hell is this?"

Geth was as shocked as Filthy had been when he happened upon the first scene. 

A small creature was chained tightly to the massive rock formation in the chamber's center. 

The wolf was only a few feet tall, but that didn't take away from its ferocity. It was a bright orange color with dull flames pouring out from its spine.

Geth could tell that the flames would have burned brighter if its life weren't being drained away. That's exactly what was happening here.

"Was it the same in the other two rooms..?"

Filthy nodded and walked toward the little wolf. Geth walked beside him, observing both the surroundings and looking intently at the chains.

His first thoughts had jumped to Felix. He almost turned and ran back toward the rest of the party.

This wasn't Felix.

After looking at the chains, he could tell that this wasn't some simple Skill. It was a Skill that had been blended terribly with Elven Runes, something that others likely wouldn't understand.

"Whatever did this.... it's dangerous."