Climbing Out of a Coffin After Transmigrating—What the Hell Is This?

As the heavy stone door slowly closed under the force of an ancient spell, magical power flowed through the grooves in the walls and floor, forming a sealed energy cycle. The nightmare world outside seemed to have been completely cut off.

They could no longer hear the Captain of the Guard's roars, the screams of the wounded and dying, or the hissing and howling of those terrifying monsters. Every sound was blocked by thick stone and steel. Though everyone knew the barrier was only temporary, Rebecca still could not help letting out a long breath. If that hell outside really were nothing but a nightmare, how wonderful would that be?

But the next second, Rebecca vigorously shook her head and cast away every weak thought that had surfaced in her mind. Heavy rock and steel could not provide true, lasting safety. On the contrary, they might weaken her will and make her sink into this brief illusion of security. With that in mind, the young heir of the Cecil Family could not help gripping her dimmed staff tightly, hoping the weapon would give her more courage.

The voice of the family knight, Byron Kirk, came from behind her. "Viscount, the passage has been sealed. Those monsters shouldn't be able to get in anytime soon."

Rebecca turned to look at the loyal knight. His refined steel armor was covered in scars, and there was a sizable dent in his breastplate. A conspicuous patch of his gray-white short hair had been singed black—Heti had burned it earlier when she used a large fireball to save him from a monster's jaws. The situation had been incredibly dangerous. The fireball had exploded almost against the mid-ranked knight's scalp. If fortune had not favored him, this knight who had served the family faithfully for twenty years would probably have become a corpse already.

Of course, Rebecca could not be certain whether this had happened because Aunt Heti's famously "magic never hits people" constitution had taken effect...

"You've worked hard, Knight Byron," Rebecca said, lowering her eyelids to hide the exhaustion in her eyes. "At least we can catch our breath."

Then she turned back and surveyed the few people remaining around her. Three soldiers held torches as they kept watch. Aunt Heti held a burning fireball in one hand and carefully examined the wall at the far end of the stone hall. Meanwhile, Betty, the muddleheaded little maid who had somehow followed them in, clutched the frying pan she had carried all the way here and timidly hid behind the soldiers, peering curiously around with her big blinking eyes.

Including herself and Knight Byron, these seven people were probably the last survivors. Those left on the surface could not possibly have survived.

After confirming everyone's condition, Rebecca began to examine the stone hall itself.

This was a place of great age. Spider Webs and thick dust could be seen everywhere in the rectangular stone hall. Decayed objects had been piled at one end of the room. Though they were worn beyond recognition, one could still see traces of their former refinement and splendor. The surrounding walls also bore well-preserved murals and reliefs. Though the murals had faded and the reliefs were somewhat worn, they remained clearly visible.

Heti Cecil studied those murals and reliefs for a long time. Compared with the flashy, frivolous style that had emerged in recent times from the northern kingdoms, every decoration in this stone hall appeared solemn and simple, bearing the unmistakable character of the First Dynasty. The murals depicted heroic figures and local customs, while the reliefs portrayed scenes drawn from myths and legends, along with abstract divine symbols. As a learned Spellcaster, Heti was skilled at interpreting useful information from such ancient images.

Looking at the content of those murals and reliefs, Heti could not help placing her left hand over her chest and murmuring, "May our ancestors forgive us..."

"Aunt Heti," Rebecca said as she approached with her staff. The young woman looked a little nervous. Only now did she seem to have truly realized what sort of place she had entered, and unease rose within her. "This place..."

"This is where the ancestors of the Cecil Family sleep," Heti said solemnly. "Do not commit any disrespectful acts."

Rebecca swallowed and looked around. "It seems no one has entered this place for a very long time..."

"Ever since Marquis Grumman removed a holy relic from the ancestral tomb without permission One Hundred Years Ago and participated in that rebellion that nearly destroyed the family, this place has been completely sealed off. Every descendant of the Cecil Family knows how to open it, but because of the family's instructions, no one has dared enter without authorization unless it was a matter of life and death." Heti gave Rebecca a deep look. "In one hundred years, we are the first people to set foot in here."

"And now really is that 'matter of life and death'..." Rebecca took a deep breath. "Our ancestor will forgive us, right?"

Heti gave a stiff smile. She could not answer that question, so she could only follow the clues in the murals and continue searching for the mechanism that opened the deeper burial chamber.

She found the unusual stone pillar without much effort, then placed her hand atop it and pressed down gently.

The stone door leading to the deeper burial chamber immediately gave a faint shudder. Then the entire stone slab slowly rose amid the sound of grinding stone.

But the instant the stone door rose, Rebecca heard an unusual sound from behind it—a clatter, as if something had fallen to the ground, followed by a stifled cry.

"Someone's inside?!" Heti reacted at once and shouted in a low voice, "Byron!"

Without waiting for further orders, the knight gripped his longsword and rushed toward the stone door. The other three soldiers followed close behind. After a momentary daze, Rebecca charged after them as well, shouting over her shoulder at the confused little maid, "Betty! Find somewhere to hide!"

The moment she rushed into the burial chamber, Rebecca saw Knight Byron, who had entered ahead of her, swinging his sword at a nimble, petite figure.

The small figure darted around Knight Byron like the wind, weaving left and right. From time to time, she transformed into a cloud of black smoke and slipped into the shadows that were everywhere in the burial chamber. Her command of shadow power and her agile footwork left Rebecca wide-eyed—normally, there were not many Stealth Experts capable of tangling with Knight Byron for so long. However, once the remaining three soldiers completed their encirclement and Heti, with flames wrapped around her hand, blocked the chamber entrance, the nimble figure finally lost all room to flee and landed on the ground in a miserable state.

Only after she stopped did Rebecca see the intruder clearly. She was a girl about Rebecca's age, though somewhat shorter. She wore old leather armor and had short hair cut to her ears. Her features were delicate, and though her face was smeared with grime, it was clear she was naturally beautiful. Most striking were her ears. They were pointed, but not as long and slender as an elf's, which was enough to reveal her bloodline: a Half-Elf.

But there was no way to tell what her other half was. Elven blood was simply too powerful. Whether humans or orcs mixed with elves, their racial traits were generally much the same.

The instant the Half-Elf girl landed, Knight Byron stepped forward and placed his longsword against her throat. The other three soldiers immediately closed in around her, their three Sharp Swords sealing off every possible route of escape.

"Who are you?! How dare you trespass into the ancestral tomb of the Cecil Family?!" Heti strode forward, unable to suppress the fury in her voice. For a noble descendant like her, the thought that grave robbers had visited the ancestral tomb was enough to make her furious beyond measure. If word of this got out, the already precarious reputation of the Cecil Family would be utterly ruined.

Rebecca also glared at the Half-Elf. Though the sudden turn of events had left her somewhat bewildered, the mere fact that an outsider had appeared in the forbidden ancestral tomb was enough to infuriate her.

With a longsword pressed against her and Heti and Rebecca glaring at her, the Half-elf girl's voice immediately began to tremble. "W-wait! I haven't stolen anything yet!"

Byron pressed his sword down another inch. "You've got some nerve!"

The moment the knight finished speaking, a strange rattling noise suddenly came from the Black Steel Coffin in the center of the burial chamber. Everyone heard it, and the entire group, including Rebecca, fell silent at once.

A moment later, Rebecca was the first to react. A fist-sized fireball rose from the tip of her staff as she pointed it toward the Half-Elf kneeling on the ground. "What did you do to our ancestor?!"

The Half-elf girl was truly on the verge of tears now. "D-don't kill me yet! More importantly, your ancestor's coffin lid is about to burst open!"

As the Half-elf girl spoke in a tearful voice, the sounds coming from the Black Steel Coffin grew louder and louder. Even the coffin lid began to shake visibly.

"Ancestor!" Heti's face went pale. For the first time, this Lady, who had always been known for her dignity and elegance among the nobility, completely lost her composure. "Please rest in peace! Those who disturbed you will be punished..."

The Half-elf girl shouted frantically, "What's the point of saying that now?! Hurry up and hold down your ancestor's coffin lid!"

The three soldiers looked at each other, and even Byron wore a dumbfounded expression. Fortunately, Rebecca came to her senses at that moment. In one swift motion, she rushed onto the platform where the coffin rested. At the same time, the coffin lid was completely pushed open, and a hand reached out through the gap.

Without another word, Rebecca raised her staff and swung it down with all her strength. "Honored ancestor, rest in peace!!"

The hand was smashed straight back into the coffin, followed by a pained cry from within. "Fuck, who hit my hand?!"

Rebecca blankly raised her head and saw her family knight, aunt, and the three soldiers staring at her in utter shock.

Rebecca looked down at the staff in her hand. Now it was her turn to nearly cry. "Auntie, was I a little disrespectful toward our ancestor..."

But Heti suddenly cried out, "Rebecca! Get away from there!"

Rebecca froze. "Auntie?"

"This could be an undead resurrection!" Heti's face was deathly pale. "Perhaps those monsters on the surface... corrupted our ancestor's Holy Remains!"

The possibility immediately sent cold sweat down Rebecca's back. Just as she prepared to leap off the platform and hide behind the soldiers, the heavy lid of the Black Steel Coffin was pushed up again—and this time, the person inside used all his strength. The entire lid was sent flying!

Then a man with short light-brown hair, imposing and heroic features, and ancient-style noble attire sat up from inside.

The Half-Elf girl kneeling on the ground turned and saw the scene, then could not help letting out a long sigh. "See? Your ancestor has really risen from the dead this time."

First day with two updates. After this, I should maintain a rhythm of two updates every other day... after all, I'm the slow-writing type...