“Someone’s robbing the tomb?
That’s quite a predicament.
Tell us about it; maybe we can help you out, provided the reward is right~” Sio cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest.
She thought this would make her look both wise and mysterious.
Wouldn’t it be easy to intimidate a simple-minded Nord barbarian during a conversation?
“Well, I…” The Nord youth, stumped by her question, stammered for a moment.
By the firelight, he could clearly see the armor on Kaye and Sio’s finely crafted dress.
No matter how he looked at it, none of it was cheap!
People with such high-grade equipment should be able to solve his family’s troubles!
“It’s…
a long story.
There’s a Necromancer named Valse Veran.
This Dark Elf has always been at odds with my family, but I never expected him to actually act so impulsively—sneaking into our ancestral tomb to cast his filthy…
necromantic spells.” Seemingly concerned about Sio’s attire, he specifically added modifiers to the spells to avoid catching the white-haired girl in his verbal crossfire.
“Wow, I see.
So while Valse was digging up your ancestral grave, you were just standing outside watching…?” Sio covered her mouth with her hand, pressing him further with a look of feigned surprise and playfulness.
“No!
My aunt has already chased after him inside, but I stayed out here and haven’t gone in yet.
I felt like I wouldn’t be of any use…” “Young man, look into my eyes!” Sio suddenly raised her voice, strode up to the youth, and stood on her tiptoes to press down on his shoulders.
“You’re a Nord, right?
How can you think you’re useless!
Just be brave, believe in yourself, and turn the tide!
Cowards don’t get into Sovngarde!” “I, well…
uh…
okay!” The youth was awestruck by the momentum hidden within Sio’s petite frame.
After a brief daze, he nodded repeatedly, clearly inspired by her words.
…A Breton teaching a Nord to be brave.
Kaye couldn’t help but chuckle.
It seemed they were bound to get involved.
He’d treat it as an adventure—this kind of unrestrained adventure was something he quite enjoyed.
Especially with Sio.
Encouraged by Sio, the Nord youth Gordir finally summoned his courage and used a key to open the stone door at the tomb’s entrance.
Stepping inside the mausoleum, a wave of cold, rotting air hit them.
Sio could smell the mustiness of dust and the scent of potions used by the Ancient Nords to create Draugr.
It didn’t smell very good.
“There are Draugr corpses.
It looks like quite a few have been cleared out.” Kaye, holding his sword with both hands, scanned the surroundings cautiously.
Several hacked-up Draugr remains lay on the ground, along with lingering traces of magic.
Clearly, a battle had taken place here.
“The Draugr in this tomb are all your ancestors, right?
You won’t mind if we take them out, right, Gordir?” Sio, gripping a longsword in one hand, giggled behind her palm, her tone laced with a bit of teasing.
“It’s fine.
The halls of rest will wait for them.” Gordir responded calmly, tightening his grip on his axe.
The Draugr blocking their path were nothing to fear.
Their equipment had long since rusted and aged with time, and none of them carried Ebony gear.
Well, Gordir’s family wasn’t some noble house, so naturally, there wouldn’t be any overly powerful Draugr in the ancestral tomb~ Someone who could let out a shout and send them spinning like tops simply didn’t exist here.
Kaye was a skilled and powerful warrior; perhaps he had studied under some mysterious master.
Although Gordir lacked technique and experience, his Nord physique gave him decent combat strength.
With two vanguards clearing the way, Sio had it quite easy.
She would occasionally use Healing Touch to restore their stamina and summon a Spectral Magic Wolf to help distract the enemies.
This way, she had time to do other things!
For example…
Lockpicking.
Relying on her extensive gaming experience, Sio could identify the treasure rooms within the mausoleum at a glance.
She licked her lips with the tip of her tongue and made quick work of picking the chest’s lock.
Those golden little discs hadn’t faded with time, and there were even a few glittering gemstones…
“Hey, those are my family’s things…!” The click of the chest unlocking prompted Gordir to hurriedly reach out to stop her.
But there was no stopping the “Ghost-Handed” Little Dog.
At this, Gordir could only sigh in helpless resignation.
“Fine, as long as you can help me deal with Valse…” “Relax, man.
These treasures would just be waiting to grow mold if left in the tomb, right?” Kaye patted Gordir on the shoulder, signaling him to relax and learn to accept reality…
Just consider it Sio receiving her “reward” in advance.
The three continued to break through the Draugr blockade, reaching the depths of the mausoleum.
In front of a sealed door, many Draugr corpses lay scattered across the hall.
The sharp-eyed Kaye was the first to notice something “unusual” among the remains.
It was a Nord woman lying on the ground, at death’s door and covered in bloodstains.
“Aunt Agna!” Seeing that his aunt was about to stop breathing, Gordir dropped his axe and rushed forward.
“Kaye, stop him!” Sio clicked her tongue and quickly called for Kaye to intercept Gordir.
Kaye grabbed Gordir’s shoulder to prevent him from getting closer, while Sio ran to Agna’s side and knelt down to check her injuries.
“Leave it to the professional~” Sio ran her hand over Agna’s wound.
The slash from a sharp weapon wasn’t the critical issue; what needed attention was…
her body temperature, which was far lower than normal.
She delicately pinched a shard of ice with two fingers—clearly, this was frostbite caused by Destruction Magic.
“Auntie, bear with the pain for a moment.” The white-haired girl tore off a piece of cloth and soaked it in wine—which, naturally, she had just swiped.
Controlling the intensity of her Flames spell, she applied the burning cloth to Agna’s wound to drive out the cold and toxins.
Only after doing this did she use Restoration Magic to stabilize the injury.
“It won’t be healed right away, but at least she won’t die~” Dusting off her hands as she stood up, Sio used a finger to lift the corner of her mouth, revealing a cunning smile.
“I really don’t know how to thank you…!” “This will be an extra charge; make sure to put it on the tab~” Gordir thanked her repeatedly in excitement, while Sio raised an eyebrow in response, her gaze shifting toward the sealed door.
“It won’t open; it’s locked from the other side.” Kaye stepped forward and tried to push the door, but it didn’t budge.
“Aunt Agna told me there’s a secret little room nearby that leads to the Main Burial Chamber.
Let’s go!” Gordir bent down to pick up his axe and hurried toward the side passage.
“He’s got some drive now, doesn’t he?” Sio deliberately struck the pose of a senior, leaning toward Kaye and playfully tapping his shoulder with her finger.
Neither of her hands was empty.
At some point, several potions had appeared in her right hand, and the pouch at Agna’s waist was noticeably flatter.
“Just like you.” Kaye shrugged and returned a faint smile.
Seeing through it without calling it out—that was the unspoken understanding between companions.