As the group approached the temple basement, Apophis took the initiative to prevent the group from realizing his trickery.
He made sure to pick up several stones from the ground before they arrived. He also walked more quickly than the rest of the group to keep ahead.
The others considered him to be foolishly enthusiastic. They silently laughed at the idea of Apophis serving as a meat shield while they combined all their firepower to kill the lizard at range!
The others considered him to be foolishly enthusiastic, and silently laughed at the idea of Apophis serving as a meat shield while they combined all their firepower to kill the lizard at range!
Apophis ran down the marble stairs, saw the largest of the six lizards, and hurled his stone right into its face.
It screeched in rage and sprinted after him, with its five other pack members close behind.
By then, Apophis had already turned and was running as fast as he could back up the stairs. He let out a fake scream of terror. "It's coming right for me!" he shouted, and was relieved to see smug expressions of contempt on the faces of Scorpion and the rest of his group.
They simply raised their guns as Apophis charged past them, mocking him for his cowardice in the face of only a single monster…
And then they all began shouting in surprise and confusion as six huge, furious lizards emerged from the stairs and slammed into them, tearing into their flesh with razor-like claws and fangs!
The players immediately opened fire, but it was much harder to hit targets in melee range with a gun than from a distance, and it was clear that the lizards had a huge advantage. However, among all the players, only Scorpion realized that Apophis had set them up. He cursed Apophis's ancestors for fifty generations, then ordered a retreat.
By then, two of Scorpion's group members had died. The lizards were distracted for a moment by tearing into their corpses, but when they realized that Scorpion's group was retreating into the forest, the lizards became enraged again and sprinted after them once more.
***
Meanwhile, Apophis had only hid behind a nearby pile of rubble, and was watching the battle carefully. Once he was sure all the lizards had left the entrance, Apophis wasted no time in exploring deeper into the temple basement.
According to Scorpion's account in his old life, Apophis was looking for a purple crystal which contained a strange liquid, which was supposed to be an item of minor religious significance to the Zetark culture.
Tiny cracks in the ceiling allowed light to shine through in intricate patterns that illuminated the otherwise-dark passageways. It was like a bridge of light in the darkness.
Before long, Apophis found the final chamber. It had no other doors and only contained the purple crystal on a stone pedestal. An interesting beam of light or energy shone from a crack in one wall through it. This caused the light to spread out and illuminate one wall of the chamber.
Apophis was quite curious, and he gave this wall a closer look. It was covered in a mural depicting a scene from Zetark mythology, and the paint was surprisingly well preserved! Perhaps the light from the crystal had sustained it somehow.
But there was nothing more of interest in the chamber, unfortunately, so Apophis decided to take the crystal and get out before the lizards returned. He reached out his hand and pulled the crystal free—
The beam cut off, generating a shock wave that shook the temple!
The whole basement was going to collapse around him!
Apophis's instinct was to dash as fast as he could back through the passages that would lead him to the surface, but then something odd caught his eye.
The mural wall, which had previously been illuminated by the light passing through the crystal, was now crumbling as though many years were passing all at once!
And behind that mural, a narrow doorway was coming into view.
He paused for a moment, unsure, as stones fell from the ceiling and the shaking grew more intense. Should he take the risk of exploring this secret room? Scorpion either hadn't noticed it or had chosen the safer option in his first life, but had still received the quest reward.
But despite the risk of collapse, Apophis ran towards the broken door and slid through in a hurry! "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" he said defiantly to the crumbling temple.
The chamber collapsed behind him just as he passed through, and Apophis took a deep breath as he realized there was no going back.
However, to his surprise, this new room was illuminated by high-tech light fixtures! He had come into what was clearly a Zetark laboratory, very similar to those he'd seen everywhere else in Horus during his first life.
However, none of those had been functional upon their discovery.
This one seemed to still be fully powered.
Just as in all the former Zetark labs, Apophis noticed a shelf containing several books among the various pieces of lab equipment and other machines. Upon quick inspection, he found many scientific books… but also two that were considerably more interesting.
These two books were, in fact, manuals describing Zetark combat arts. This kind of Skill Book was a real goldmine for the beginning of the game.
╔═══════════════╕
╟─╼[Skill Book] ~Fast Reflexes~
║ ╰╼[Sniper]
║ ╰╼[Rare]
╟─╼[Summary] Allows one to more easily line up killing blows and avoid enemy attacks.
╟─╼[Effect (1)] Slows time by 20% for 10 seconds.
╟─╼[Upgrade Cost] 30 Skill Points
╚═══════════════╛
╔═══════════════╕
╟─╼[Skill Book] ~Chaos Flame~
║ ╰╼[Esper]
║ ╰╼[Rare]
╟─╼[Summary] A particularly corrosive flame; very difficult to extinguish and heal.
╟─╼[Effect (1)] 100% more fire damage.
╟─╼[Upgrade Cost] 100 Skill Points
╚═══════════════╛
The first book was useless to him, but would probably sell for a good price on the galactic market.
The second book, on the other hand, was the perfect starting place for the Esper class! But before Apophis could use it, he'd need to reach LvL 5. That would unlock the first character evolution and let him choose a character class.
He tried to take as many scientific books as possible so that he could give them to the archeologist, but his Strength was too low to carry many for now while also moving at full speed. It really was inconvenient being LvL 1!
However, as Apophis finished exploring the laboratory, he found something absolutely incredible.
One particular machine was nearly hidden behind a desk heaped with junk. At first, Apophis thought this machine was an air purifier or something similar. He nearly ignored it entirely.
However, as Apophis kept exploring the room, his mind kept drifting back to it for an inexplicable reason. Finally, he moved the desk to get a better look.
To Apophis's astonishment, it wasn't an air purifier at all, but a Zetark cryo-preservation capsule!
And inside it was a human girl…
No.
Apophis's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets with astonishment!
"A Zetark?!"
