The kobolds hurriedly reported the strange death of the Black Mage.
The news quickly reached the middle-aged Black Mage stationed in the cave.
Upon learning of it, he immediately summoned the other two Black Mages and hurried to the scene.
A faint aura of darkness permeated the low, gloomy mine tunnel. The torches on the walls cast wavering shadows, and the air seemed frozen.
The middle-aged Black Mage crouched beside the desiccated corpse. His pale fingers lifted its shriveled skin as he examined it carefully, his gaze narrowing slightly.
"It was Life Absorption." His voice was low as his fingertips brushed across the withered throat. "Its life force was drained directly. The technique was quite skilled."
"But he didn't even raise a magic shield. That's not right!" A younger Black Mage frowned and lowered his voice.
This dried corpse had not belonged to some insignificant nobody. It had been a full-fledged mage, yet he had been drained of life without even getting a chance to resist.
The other Black Mage looked grim and shook his head. "What kind of undead can do that? Even a high-ranking wraith couldn't do it so cleanly..."
The middle-aged Black Mage's gaze flickered in the darkness. After a moment, the corners of his mouth rose slightly. "Perhaps some dormant undead was released by the earthquake... But whatever it is, we need to deal with it ourselves."
He slowly rose to his feet and looked into the pitch-black depths of the mine tunnels, his voice low and sinister. "This Mithril Ore deposit is even richer than our previous surveys indicated. We cannot let this minor trouble affect the mining that follows."
The Black Mage, much younger than the middle-aged one, hesitated before speaking quietly. "Why not just seal off the tunnels? We already have enough mithril.