The deep, black ink continued to appear on the pages of the dark grimiore; however Kharon was oblivious to this fact. The only thing he could think about was the possibility that he was over a century old. Maybe even older than that.
However he also thought about the slim chance that the grimiore was incorrect, that it had made a mistake. But he knew that this was the truth, regardless of if he acknowledged it or not.
He slowly shifted his attention unto the pages of the grimiore, a melancholic expression plastered on his face.
"Most of the mystic constructs in this room are sealed. However there are a few useful ones which you can probably make use of. There is the Stalker's Cloth which is made from a tier 4 core of the path of darkness. It allows the weilder to hide inside of the shadows and become completely invisible and intangible while in the dark. There is also the Tombkeeper's Ring, a powerful tier 3 construct which allows the weilder to summon the souls of the dead. While summoned, the souls of the deceased can use their former arcane powers if they were weilders. However, it drains the weilder's aether to sustain the souls and their abilities and can only be used on those who were tier 3 or below."
Kharon read the long paragraph with a startled expression. "I have such power weapons so close to me? Why didn't I try taking one of them before fighting that creature..." his voice carried a visible hint of anger at himself as he continued reading.
"The final useable mystic construct is the Solar Ring. A powerful tier 3 construct of the path of radiance. It has several abilities due to the refinement of the essence core it was crafted from. It's first ability is Purging Flames, an ability which releases a golden flame that purifies whatever it comes into contact with such as impurities in water or food, undead spirits, curses which aren't significantly stronger than the mystic construct. It is also a powerful offensive ability which can affect the soul."
Kharon quickly thought of what would happen to someone if they were to be hit by these flames. Would they have their essence cores damaged or even destroyed...? The possibilities were endless with what could be done with this ability. It was probably even more useful than his Silent Craft ability. Though he would be reluctant to lose it's versatility over greater offensive power.
"It's second ability is Healing Light, creates a bright hue around whoever is being healed. It can cures people from illnesses and heal severe physical injuries such as sliced arms and even repair the brain if it is used quickly enough. It has two other abilities but I am unsure of what they can do."
"The tier 4 mystic construct wouldn't pose much of an issue for you, however beware of tier 3 constructs. After all they are just a step behind the truly divine."
At the mention of divinity Kharon immediately became intrigued. If tier 3 mystic constructs were this powerful then how powerful would tier 2 constructs be? How powerful would he be if he was tier 2? The thought of becoming a higher being made him rethink his views on power and if the costs for obtaining it were actually worth it...
Kharon closed his eyes and sighed before looking at the grimiore again. He had gotten a huge bulk of his questions answered and now there were just a few more pressing things he had to ask before he could start planning his escape from this gloomy mauseleum.
But before asking the next question he decided to go and pick up the mystic constructs that the grimiore had mentioned.
The Stalker's Cloth was the first object he wanted to find, it was probably the only mystic construct he would be using because of the risk posed by the other two. However it didn't mean he wouldnt use the others as well if need be. He would just prefer to be cowardly and safe rather than brave and dead.
He quickly found the Stalker's Cloth lying on the ground next to an eerie sword which was emitting a similar but more potent aether than the cloak. When he picked it up, it felt cool to the touch and slick. It was completely black and didn't have any runes of the outside like the cloak he was currently wearing. However it didn't mean that it wasn't as comfortable as his current cloak.
He switched from one cloak to the other and felt a subtle shift in the atmosphere. It seemed like the world had turned a little darker and he could see the shadows more clearly, but it could have been his imagination.
He was unsure of how the Stalker's Cloth worked exactly due to not having someone to test it's effects on. But he would tell that it's ability was most likely a passive one.
Continuing with his search, he found the Solar Ring carefully placed in a box which almost burned off his hand after he held it for too long. The ring looked to be made from pure gold and incrusted with a red diamond or maybe it was a ruby. All he knew was that the ring was warm to the touch but didn't end up burning him like the box did. He wondered why but decided to move on to the final construct after putting the ring on his right index finger.
It slowly released his Aether into the ring and felt it becoming even warmer as he activated it's ability, Healing Light to heal his burnt hand.
The sensation was great, almost euphoric as the warmth of the light seemed to pulsate not only on his hand but all over his body. He decided to stop using the ring before he grew too attached to it's ability.
The ring's bright red and yellow clearly constrasted with his dark, pitch black cloak, however he wasn't trying to make a fashion statement; he was trying to increase his power and his chances of survival in an unpredictable world.
He found the Tombkeeper's Ring on the floor next to another mystic construct he was repelled by. It was a silver ball, however he knew that it wasn't an ordinary ball. In fact it had to be the most powerful construct in the room but he didn't dare to touch it for the fear of being turned into a pile of rotting bones or a lifeless husk.
He picked up the Tombkeeper's Ring and placed it on his right middle finger, right next to the Solar Ring.
The dark ring was a much better fit for his cloak due to it's black outline, which was complimented by a dark purple. It also made the Solar Ring stand out in a positively by creating a strong constrast with it. It even matched his pale skin to perfection, as if it's creator had personally crafted the item to suit him.
Kharon returned to the runic circle and picked up the mysterious grimiore once more.
This time he knew that he didn't have to ask more questions about the world. He was sure that the grimiore wouldn't even know the answer as it had been sealed in this mauseleum with him for who knows how long. It was time to finally escape and get to the outside world.
"How do I escape this mauseleum and go to the outside world?" these were the words that Kharon had been dying to ask ever since he found out that the grimiore could answer his questions and now he was finally asking the most vital question of all.
The answer came a few seconds after he spoke those words. The black ink swiftly gliding through the page as it said "To escape the mauseleum, you need to achieve several things. Become a weilder of the path of mysteries, defeat the guardian of the tomb and break the runic circle. Once you have done this, a portal should appear and let you escape into the outside world."
Kharon quickly pondered on the word "should" and once again like everything he was unsure of, dismiss it. He didn't care if he wasn't guaranteed to escape the mauseleum. As long as there was a chance, he would take it.
Kharon stepped carried the dark grimiore and walked out of the runic circle. He then placed the grimiore a few feet back and stretched his arms before facing his palm towards the runic circle. He then released as much Aether as he could in one go and activated the Purging Flames ability of the Solar Ring.
A huge column of fire suddenly appeared out of thin air and spiralled around the runic circle before coalescing into a massive sphere and exploding. Kharon had to close his eyes due to how bright the light produced was, but even then he could still see it. The scorching heat made him thirst for water even more than before.
Once Kharon felt the heat subside and could no longer see the blinding light, he decided to open his eyes.
He was completely drained of energy as he had put everything into that one attack. What he saw made him shiver. Where the runic circle had once been, there was now a massive crater...