Its Name Is Atlas

Dozens of stark white skeletons crawled out of the darkness, making the already narrow tunnel suddenly crowded.

As Li Ye approached rapidly, the Automatic Defense Device let out a sharp shriek. Its bronze-sheened body instantly disintegrated and then reformed!

Li Ye's pupils constricted as he sensed the rapidly rising magic power from the cores of the three Automatic Defense Devices, an instinct warning him of what was to come.

The sharply increasing hum, like an overloaded turbine, blasted its contents outward in an instant!

Hummm—

Three dazzling beams of light shot towards Li Ye!

'The core is in the center!'

"Mr. Li Ye! Attack the central core!"

Almost simultaneously, Li Ye and Holmes noticed what those lights represented!

Li Ye felt a wave of heat wash over him, immediately analyzing the approximate power of the attack from the magic power fluctuations and heat contained within the beams!

At Li Ye's current speed, he could completely dodge them, but behind him stood Holmes and Nitocris!

'I can block it!'

Screech—

The surging magic power, like a swimming dragon, wrapped around Li Ye's body and sword edge.

As Li Ye met the attack, the skeletons summoned by Nitocris lined up in front of him, continuously weakening the beams' power!

By the time the beams reached Li Ye, they had already been significantly weakened!

They posed no threat to Li Ye at all!

Crack!

Li Ye endured the three beams and, seizing the opening while the Automatic Defense Devices were on cooldown, thrust his sword into the core!

Instantly, the light flared brightly!

The vast amount of magic power from the shattered core surged past Li Ye like a tidal wave!

'There are two more!'

More skeletons crawled out from below, distracting the remaining two Automatic Defense Devices, but they were quickly shredded into pieces by the high-speed rotating devices.

The two advancing Automatic Defense Devices, like rolling blades, intended to tear Li Ye apart!

'!'

Li Ye pulled his sword and retreated, then his long arm shot out like a spear towards the nearest Automatic Defense Device, stopping its rotation with his bare body!

Crack!

Having confirmed the core's location, it was only a matter of time before Li Ye dealt with the remaining two Automatic Defense Devices.

In less than ten seconds, all three Automatic Defense Devices were completely incapacitated.

"Is everything in the Atlas Institute like this?"

Li Ye tried to pick up a shattered core. A prism no larger than his palm could contain that level of magic power and even replenish it autonomously. The technology within was beyond Li Ye's comprehension.

"Yes, Mr. Li Ye. With the Atlas Institute's alchemical reserves and these Automatic Defense Devices capable of long-term operation, I imagine we'll encounter many enemies on our way."

Holmes, as if nothing had happened, uttered words Li Ye really didn't want to hear.

It meant Li Ye and Nitocris would have to fight their way through.

"Don't worry! Pharaoh Nitocris will bestow her blessings upon you!" Nitocris said confidently.

Crack—

Li Ye casually crushed the broken core. Such damaged cores held little value for him; with his current abilities, he couldn't decipher the related technology from them.

As another Automatic Defense Device fell, Li Ye, Holmes, and the others finally exited the tunnel and entered a spacious area.

Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of tunnels, leading to unknown destinations, appeared before Li Ye and the others.

Li Ye pointed to the continuously extending paths ahead: "How should we proceed with these forks in the road?"

Unconsciously, Li Ye had ceded the choice to Holmes. The presence of such a brilliant mind made Li Ye feel incredibly comfortable.

"Should we continue using my familiars to explore these tunnels?" Nitocris asked, having gained experience with carpet-style searches.

"We cannot use Miss Nitocris's familiars. Currently, the Automatic Defense Devices in the Atlas Institute seem to be functioning normally. If Miss Nitocris's familiars conduct a large-scale exploration, it will only cause all the Automatic Defense Devices to go berserk and converge on our location."

Holmes rejected Nitocris's suggestion, pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Ye, who immediately felt a sense of foreboding.

"Mr. Li Ye, it seems we'll have to try them one by one. Of course, I've selected a specific area, and the path leading to the center is within it."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Li Ye took a deep breath and naturally took the lead.

A while later—

"What is this?"

Li Ye noticed an foreign object embedded in the bluestone wall not far away.

Unlike the bluestone, the foreign object gleamed with a metallic luster.

Li Ye observed what seemed to be a metal plate, with a line of text engraved on it.

"Tsibiar Eltnam Atlasia?"

Li Ye slowly read out the name inscribed on the metal plate. Behind the name, some characters were crossed out, making them illegible to Li Ye.

Holmes, who was also observing the metal plate beside him, raised an eyebrow. "As far as I know, successive directors of the Atlas Institute are granted the title of Atlasia. This must be the last director. There might have been a successor, but their name wasn't recorded."

Holmes examined the metal plate closely, his eyes seeming to perceive something.

"The last director?"

Li Ye raised an eyebrow, his expression mirroring Holmes'.

"The successive Atlas directors inevitably went mad, resulting in the creation of forbidden weapons capable of destroying the world; or perhaps, the successive directors challenged the future and failed, leading to their madness."

"What an unlucky profession—"

After hearing Holmes' explanation of the Atlas directors, Li Ye pondered for a moment. "So, what is he doing engraving his name here? Like a hall of fame for the academy? Then there should be a portrait too."

Li Ye then followed the wall, discovering several identical metal plates, but all information on them had been erased.

"Mr. Holmes, what do you think?"

Li Ye stood before a large door and turned to look at Holmes.

It blended perfectly with the surrounding bluestone; if Li Ye hadn't noticed something unusual, he wouldn't have discovered this door.

Holmes and Nitocris, who had arrived, both examined the door. While Nitocris used magic to probe the door, Holmes silently chewed on his pipe.

"We haven't encountered a single person yet. Even if the destination is the center, we can't just ignore this place—"

Seeing Holmes fall silent, Li Ye muttered to himself.

Knock, knock.

Li Ye casually knocked on the door, the heavy sound indicating its weight.

"Holmes, do you think I have a chance to open this door?"

Having finally encountered a different spot, Li Ye was unwilling to let it go.

Especially after learning that the Atlas Institute was a "Mage's Dress storage repository" unparalleled on the surface, Li Ye's mind began to churn.

What he lacked most right now were weapons he could use under normal circumstances.

"Mr. Li Ye, forcing the door open might trigger a mechanism. I personally don't recommend you do that."

Holmes advised against it, his tone sincere.

"There are no traces of magic detected."

Nitocris suddenly spoke up.

Li Ye raised an eyebrow. "None? Then you two step back, I'll try."

Just as Li Ye was about to force the door open—

Hummm.

The flowing air seemed to reverse, and a powerful suction erupted from the depths.

It was like being in an underwater vortex, slowly falling toward an endless abyss!

The flow of air was secondary; what truly surprised Li Ye and Holmes was the abnormal aura.

"This time it seems a little different—"