Inheritance

Holy Kingdom, Michelle, Black Cave Plains.ஜ۩۞۩ஜ ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

Relic Cave.

This place is rumored to be the origin of the first dynasty, Ash, which ended the Wasteland five hundred years ago.

Among the countless caverns beneath the plains, besides the Kobolds—descendants of mutated monsters left behind by the infection of the Abyss of Corrupt Calamity—legend has it that the relics of the Ash Emperor are also hidden here.

Anything, as long as it has even the slightest connection to the Ash Emperor, drives everyone mad and makes them flock to it.

After all, if not for the Ash Emperor's feat five hundred years ago of unifying the Wasteland, integrating the power of the entire continent, and leading a coalition of various races deep into the heart of the Abyss of Corrupt Calamity to completely purify and eliminate the source of the pollution—

I fear the world today would still be shrouded in the terror of the Abyss of Corrupt Calamity pollution, scarred and devastated, with all living things trembling and struggling to survive in the shadows of monsters and natural disasters.

And now, even though five hundred years have passed since the Ash Emperor "disappeared," no one has ever reached the heights of the Ash Emperor—no, not even half—which only further highlights the legendary status of the Emperor.

Therefore, rumors of the Emperor's "legacy" on the Black Cave Plains attract countless people, causing them to swarm the area.

Unfortunately, so much time has passed that no one knows if the "legacy" was secretly snatched away by some major power, if the rumors themselves are false, or if those Kobolds moved it to even deeper underground levels.

In short, there has never been any official public news stating that anyone has truly found the so-called "legacy" inside.

Over time, people finally lost their enthusiasm for the Black Cave Plains, but every year, many archaeologists, adventurers, and the various mixed-bag local factions and Scavengers that have sprung up around the settlements near the Black Cave Plains still try to venture deep into the caverns to try their luck.

At this moment, in a cavern beneath the plains, a small team is winding their way forward.

Most of them look sinister and are armed with firearms. From the backs of their jackets or their cuffs, one can see a uniform Sand Rose emblem; they are likely gang members.

The leader, a man with a scar, seems to be losing his patience. He shouts at the woman in the very front of the team, who is dressed like a standard Scavenger:

"Hey, how much longer? We've been in this damn hellhole for nearly two hours. Aren't you supposed to be familiar with this area? Are you actually capable or not!"

Though viciously scolded by the scarred man, the female Scavenger seems to have quite a temper of her own and retorts without backing down.

"You have the nerve to say that!? It's your crappy treasure map! It's so low-quality and blurry, and several parts are even **--wrong!"

The scarred man is scolded in return, his face darkening. The lackeys behind him also start to get annoyed, but in the end, the scarred man gives a look, choosing to swallow his anger for now. After all, she is the best local guide they could find, and whether they can find the legendary "legacy" depends on these "rats" who know the caves.

However, after this is over...

Another few dozen minutes pass.

Just as Jason's patience is about to run out.

Suddenly.

"We're here." The female Scavenger leading the way stops.

Jason and the others following behind are initially happy, but then they look at the surrounding rock walls. Just as Jason is about to question the female Scavenger about how this place looks anything like a spot with a "legacy"—

"According to the markings on the map, we should just need to trigger a mechanism around here..." The female Scavenger reaches out with her torch toward the cave wall and begins to grope around.

Accompanied by a "click" sound.

Before the female Scavenger or Jason and his men behind her can react, the ground beneath their feet instantly collapses.

"I **--"

A sense of weightlessness hits them immediately. The female Scavenger's cursing is mixed with a loud "rumble," and everyone falls downward.

A little while later, the thick dust settles.

The soot-covered group coughs while waving away the dust, slowly and clumsily climbing up from the ground one by one.

Fortunately, it isn't very deep below, and most of them only suffered minor injuries. However, this is enough to push Jason's anger to the limit, but his voice stops abruptly after just one syllable.

Because—

Once his vision clears, Jason realizes that the place they fell into is a bit different.

The surroundings are no longer ordinary rock walls; it looks more like a chamber that has been constructed.

On the brick walls, there are many complex murals and patterns he cannot understand.

Looking around the space, he can see many artifacts piled up here. Although most of them have become rotten and dilapidated, covered in a thick layer of dust with cobwebs everywhere, This still cannot hide their former exquisiteness and luxury. On some of the utensils and reliefs, Jason can even see faint dark red streams of light. Although very weak, the "detector" hidden inside his sleeve has already given a clear response.

Jason immediately understands what these are.

Abyss items!

Abyss items that are fought over in the black market and worth a fortune!

These Abyss items alone are enough to make Jason ecstatic.

But it seems...

They are merely the appetizer.

Everyone in this chamber soon turns their gaze, without exception, to the center of the deepest part of the room: a heavy, simple stone coffin emitting a brownish-red glow in the gloom.

The stone sarcophagus remained there, silent as ever.

Yet it had made it clear to everyone present that, in all likelihood, everything else in this secret chamber combined was not as important as this "sarcophagus."

Or perhaps.

It was what lay stored within the "sarcophagus."

Jason breathed heavily in excitement, his pupils dilated and his hands trembling slightly from the thrill. The Abyss of Corrupt Calamity detector in his arms showed that the concentration of "Corrupt Calamity" around the sarcophagus had gone off the charts, the needle swinging to its maximum limit.

This meant that the Corrupt Calamity contamination of this "sarcophagus" alone was at least A-rank.

One had to understand that an A-rank "Corrupt Calamity item" was already beyond the scope of mere money; each one possessed terrifying abilities and required careful containment within the most secure isolation chambers.

Without a doubt.

Legacy.

This was the Emperor's "Legacy" they had been searching for!

He suppressed the boiling emotions that urged him to rush over and open it immediately.

Because before that.

Jason had one other thing to do.

The scarred man drew a pistol from his waist and aimed the dark barrel at the female Scavenger who had led them here.

"What is the meaning of this?" Irin stared fixedly at the barrel, taking half a step back.

"Exactly what it looks like. I'm very grateful you found the 'Legacy' for us, but sorry, to keep this secret, we can only let you stay here forever."

Jason finally dropped the mask, revealing a sinister side to the female Scavenger.

He sneered at the look of shock on Irin's face.

"Did you think we wouldn't lay a hand on you until we were back outside? Naive! Once I get the legacy and absorb the 'Corrupt Calamity' to become a Corrupted, do I still need you to lead the way?"

Irin's face paled at the first half of the scarred man's sentence, as he had indeed guessed correctly.

But when Jason's second half came out, the expression on Irin's face turned to pure shock.

"Wh-what!? Absorb Corrupt Calamity? A Corrupted? You're insane! You're committing suicide!"

It was not without reason that the female Scavenger called Jason a madman.

After all.

Corrupted.

In the old era, this term represented the hope of the people on the Wasteland, but in the new era, it had become a source of nightmares that every major city and nation feared and dreaded.

It all boiled down to one reason.

Ever since the Emperor disappeared five hundred years ago, to this day, no one had been able to control the power of "Corrupt Calamity" perfectly like the Emperor of old.

The Corrupted were inherently products of the fusion between humans and Corrupt Calamity; while they brought great power and supernatural abilities, they simultaneously corroded the mind and spirit. A moment of carelessness would lead to a loss of control, turning one into a Corrupt Calamity monster.

The higher the rank of a Corrupted, the easier it was to lose oneself, and the greater the destruction caused. In severe cases, the influence of their rampage could even cause those terrifying "natural disasters" of the old Wasteland to reappear.

The nations, independent cities, and alliances of the post-Wasteland era eventually reached a unified consensus: they could no longer cultivate stable Corrupted who were free of side effects, as the "Ash Emperor" once had.

On the contrary, the frequent loss of control among the Corrupted, coupled with the fact that the remaining "Corrupt Calamity" had plummeted after the "Abyss of Corrupt Calamity" was purified, only increased the risks for any Corrupted attempting to advance.

All these factors combined eventually led to the "Corrupted" being placed on the "wanted" list by various nations, to be captured and strictly controlled the moment they were discovered.

The "Corrupt Calamity items" mentioned earlier were the same, falling under the category of serious "contraband."

But now, Jason was actually saying he wanted to absorb Corrupt Calamity and become a Corrupted.

No.

He wasn't crazy.

Irin finally cast her gaze toward that reddish-brown stone sarcophagus.

If this truly was the "Legacy" of that legendary Emperor, then perhaps. It really might be possible.

Damn it!

The female Scavenger quietly moved one hand behind her back while raising the other.

Irin attempted a final struggle: "I promise you, I won't tell anyone about what happened here! I don't even want the rest of the payment; please, just let me leave."

Unfortunately, the answer she received was Jason's index finger beginning to squeeze the trigger.

And his sarcastic, disdainful tone.

"Dead men tell no tales."

Bang!

It wasn't a gunshot.

Before Jason could even pull the trigger, another abrupt sound echoed through the secret chamber, beating him to it.

At this moment, everyone present subconsciously turned their gaze in one direction, toward the source of that muffled thud.

That was where.

At the deepest part of the secret chamber sat a brownish-red stone coffin!

Thump. Thump!

The sound of impacts kept coming from inside the coffin, as if something inside was trying to break out.

The brownish-red patterns on the coffin walls flickered wildly in sync with the trembling lid, spreading a red glow that seemed intent on dyeing the entire chamber the color of blood.

When the group was enveloped by these brownish-red ripples, they couldn't help but clutch their heads in agony, their faces twisting into hideous expressions.

Because, right beside their ears.

Cries. Roars. Screams. Laughter.

All sorts of chaotic sounds converged into a murmuring madness; even though they tried their best to cover their ears, these sounds that drove men to insanity and loss of reason continued to echo in their minds, ravaging their spirits.

The Corrupt Calamity detector in the hands of Jason had its needle swinging wildly along with the group, and cracks appeared on the glass screen of the display, indicating that the concentration of "Corrupt Calamity" here had gone from "off the charts" at the beginning to causing the instrument to malfunction completely.

Fortunately.

A second later.

Thump!

Clang!

This was a dull thud, louder than any that had come before.

After this sound, everything stopped.

Whether it was the chaotic voices in everyone's minds, the erratic needle on the detector's gauge, or the brownish-red patterns flickering on that stone coffin which had dyed the chamber red.

Jason felt like a man who had just been rescued from drowning; although the previous events might have only lasted a few seconds, to him, it felt as agonizing as an entire century.

He could be one hundred percent certain that it was the thing everyone feared—Corrupt Calamity contamination.

And as the source that had emitted such intense "Corrupt Calamity".

At this moment, the textures on the stone coffin had dimmed, no longer emitting a brownish-red light, and even the sense of mystery and antiquity it had initially projected had vanished, as if it had simply become an ordinary coffin.

Of course, none of that was the point.

The point was.

There was one other thing, the most important thing, that was also gone.

The coffin's. Lid.

Holding their breath.

Cold sweat beaded on everyone's foreheads, their backs turned cold, and a sense of hair-raising dread quickly crept into their hearts.

In the eyes of Jason, the female Scavenger, and all the gang members, filled with astonishment, dullness, shock, and fear.

They saw, slowly emerging from the shadows of the deep stone coffin, the silhouette of a young man.

And this black-haired youth who rose from the coffin seemed dazed at first, but then, after he looked around, especially at the layout of this secret chamber, he seemed to suddenly realize something.

The next moment, the youth became inexplicably angry.

And followed it up with strange words they couldn't understand at all.

"Damn it!"

"This f*cking second playthrough!?"