Flames crackled as Liam stared at the remains of Haroth. Part of him wanted to give the man some sort of funeral but the guy seemed pretty content to lie in this chamber for eternity as a pile of dust. Sighing, he moved on to checking the notifications he received while cleaning his dagger with his pant leg.

“Experience, strength points, another title... what do these titles even do? Could probably check, couldn't I?” he said. With that, he mentally dismissed the notifications and pulled up his status since he recalled seeing the 'Slayer of the Colossal' title there. From there, he also opened a screen about titles.

Status

Name: Liam Foxworth

(Slayer of the Colossal)

Age: 33

Primary Class: Thief (Lv.11)

Species: Human

Lv. 11

Available Classes:

Class Description:

HP

017 / 265

Warrior

Physical melee class

MP

000 / 000

Pyromaniac

Firestarter/Arson

Strength

28(+5.6)

Contractor

Can form contracts with spirits

Dexterity

31

Agility

31

Intelligence

8

Wisdom

17(+1.7)

Charisma

3.1

Luck

2(+0.1)

Available Stat Points:

2

Titles

Titles vary in use and can even

result in social ramifications.

Many affect a person's abilities or

magic, and some of the rarest of

titles grant skills. Your main title

is the one others will see if they have

“Insight” or use status checks.

In terms of status increase, only three

can be equipped at a time.

“So, I guess that's why I had those extra points. Good to know.”

Supposedly, he had obtained two titles, but he had no idea how they compared to others. Another topic for another day. Next task to accomplish: enter the big doorway. How could he just leave without checking the other two rooms, though?

Hoping to find something else worthwhile, he sauntered toward the closest doorway. A disturbing sight greeted him on the other side. Torches stood in each corner of the room, illuminating the only other fixture in the room, a pit filled with skeletons. All of them had decayed over time. Compared to things he encountered over the years, including torture and the untimely deaths of brothers in arms, this pit could be considered benign. Liam concluded these remains once belonged to previous challengers of the crypt. If all of them fell to Haroth, then did no one powerful search the tombs? Either Haroth took it easy on Liam, or only weaklings took the test.

“Good thing I passed,” he muttered to himself while leaving the room. Hopefully, the other room did not contain anything dreary. When he stepped through the doorway of the second room, he breathed a sigh of relief, placed his hands on his hips, and jovially said, “Finally, a room worth plundering.”

Treasure chests sat unopened along the edges of the room. Weapon racks lined the walls. Although it was no royal treasure room, plenty of worthwhile items sat ripe for the taking. He kicked open the nearest chest, revealing the glimmer of countless gold coins. Most likely, they could be traded for modern currency, but he would need to maintain caution when selling them. Without further ado, he tossed a few into his inventory, ignoring the pain in his broken arm when he bent over to grab them. They registered as Ancient Coins.

Moving on, he admired the weapons displayed on the walls. Altogether, he counted twenty-one weapons of all kinds. None of them appeared to be made of common metals. Each one had obviously been forged with care from high-quality materials. Even a novice like Liam could tell. Unfortunately, he would need to prioritize due to his lack of open inventory slots. Being greedy never ended well.

Wasn't there a way to increase my extra inventory slots? Liam pondered. Thinking back, he recalled the Masked Meister mentioning SP could be used to expand the inventory. As such, he opened a new screen. Truly, he was acclimating to the system.

The new screen asked if he wanted to spend 100 SP to add another inventory slot. Obviously, he chose 'yes'. When he tried again, it asked if he wanted to spend 200 SP. Furrowing his brows, he chose 'yes' again. The third time, it asked if he wanted to spend 300 SP. Considering he would need more SP later on, he stopped after adding four slots, leaving him with 269 SP. Rubbing his chin, he thought for a moment. If both skills and inventory slots required SP, then they held as much importance as stat points.

Now, he had six open slots for weapons, plus he could carry one or two. Prioritizing melee weapons in terms of worth would be difficult compared to firearms. However, one item in particular caught his attention, a black and red shield with a dragon painted on it. Other than that, he used his inventory to check the name of each weapon. Every single weapon had its own name, all of them intimidating. However, he settled on five weapons which might prove useful in the future. On top of that, he picked up the least decorative shortsword to carry with him. Its name was Bloodeater. For now, it would serve as his main weapon. Although he chose it due to the fact it looked similar to a steel rapier and shortsword hybrid, it was also the only weapon with a sheath.

Content with his choices, he proceeded to empty the chests of Ancient Coins. Unfortunately, some precious gems needed to stay. However, the contents of the largest chest in the middle of the room put Liam in a quandary. The entire thing was filled to the brim with black ingots. Both the Claymore and Longsword he had chosen to keep had been forged with black metal. Was it the same? If so, then these could be worth more than even the weapons. Although he wanted to hang on to his cooking pot, he could easily afford one later with the current loot. With that in mind, he exchanged the pot for sixty-four ingots.

Satisfied with his pickings, Liam moved on to the final room. Immaculate carvings bordered the doorway, highlighting the significance of whatever lay beyond. Within, he discovered a great hall twice as long as the previous chamber. Enormous stone pillars formed a semi-circular area supporting the ceiling far overhead. Four candelabras hung from the ceiling by thick, unrusted chains. At the far end, a giant rusty throne sat by its lonesome on an uplifted platform, a steel goblet resting on a pedestal attached to the armrest. A set of stairs rounded the platform.

“A throne room?” Liam asked, voice reverberating in the open space. “That Hathor guy said I could probably find a way out here...”

Liam sauntered toward the throne, footsteps echoing around him. Truly, he simply wished to get this over and done with. Exhaustion was setting in and he wanted to rest.

Right when his foot touched the first stair, a chill swept through his spine, making his hair stand on end. Black mist suddenly surged into the room and swirled around the throne. It slowly gathered into the seat until it began to form the shape of a person far bigger than Hathor. As the mist settled into place, hazy eyelids slowly opened to reveal glowing red orbs.

The full form of the man before him filled Liam with trepidation. Beads of sweat leaked from his pores. Whoever this man was, his mere presence garnered fear and admiration.

“So, you are the one Hathor chose,” the shadowy man said with a regal tone. “Welcome, young one, to the Tomb of the Ancientbloods.”