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The generals are getting tired…and I fear the 'plague' has already infected some of us. It is just waiting for the perfect time. I am of the opinion that it is sentient…But further investigation is required.

May God help us.

Amen.]

I closed the diary.

[Diary of a Forgotten Scholar has been used.]

The diary disappeared into dust.

I was at the entrance of the 12th floor, a staircase that led upwards from the catacombs. Along the staircase was the corpse of a scholar, covered in tattered robes, I found the diary, covered in his blood beside him.

I kneeled down and examined the corpse of the scholar. The bones carry a black hue and have lost their ivory touch, the eyes are as hollow as everything…But it's clean.

It's too clean. His corpse should have rotted away and his clothes should have been covered in blood…but it is too clean.

The bones are spotless, the clothes have no trace of blood but the Diary has blood on it…How?

Something is definitely strange here.

I looked up the staircase made of obsidian which looked endless, leading to darkness above.

And I also have this eerie feeling that I am being watched…By god knows what.

I got up after confirming the scholar had nothing else on him, I pushed his hand that was near my ankle away and made my way up the staircase.

'Did I move so close that my ankle was touching his hand…I don't remember that.'

Well, I don't have a good memory, so I cannot be sure.

"Is the trial just climbing this stairca-"

*Rattle*

I stopped in my tracks after I heard that sound…that sound could have only come from one place.

The corpse of the scholar.

I turned around, and to my shock, it was looking at me.

"..."

I fell silent. That skeleton was definitely not looking at me before. Definitely not.

I could almost feel a faint type of energy coming from it…there seemed to be something those hollow eyes hid. However, even with mana sense, it was faint…extremely faint to the point I couldn't figure out what it was, well…

[Ice blast has been activated.]

I fired off an Ice blast and destroyed the skeleton. Whatever it was, I was not taking any chances.

I'd rather destroy it now than have it bite me in the ass later. That thing moved, it was definitely a monster here.

After confirming I had destroyed the skeleton, I ascended the obsidian staircase. I was using mana to enhance my eyes so the darkness would not hinder me.

These trials are strange, extremely strange.

Is this some type of story quest I am supposed to complete? Both the eleventh and twelfth floors have this theme.

"This is too long."

I commented it had been quite a while since I was climbing this staircase and I don't think it even shortened.

[Draconic transformation has been activated.]

I used draconic transformation, but only to form my wings.

"Although the space isn't really that wide…I should be able to ascend like this."

I said, although the width of the staircases was short, It was barely enough for me to fly up in.

I began to ascend using my wings, hoping that this trial would end soon.

I have a bad feeling about this.

********

[At the bottom of the staircase.]

The destroyed skeleton was covered by the power of shadows and slowly put itself back together, the cracked bone melded together and the broken pieces reattached with one another. In seconds, it was as if it was brand new. It was brought back to the exact state Alan had found it in by the power of the mysterious shadows.

The skeleton moved and began to crawl up the staircase. At first, its pace was slow but it gradually got faster and faster.

The rattling of the bones was the only thing that was heard.

The shadows coagulated and made another skeleton made of black bone, and more, and more.

Like an army, they ascended the staircase…to reach Alan.

The skeleton of the scholar took the lead as a pair of red orbs manifested in its eyes.

******

[Alan Peccator.]

As I ascended the staircase, I came across another skeleton, this time it was the skeleton of a knight, covered in plate armor that was broken and bent in multiple places. There was a diary covered in blood here as well.

I stopped and opened the diary.

[I'm tired…

The attacks are endless. How long must I hold on for? My comrades have already been consumed by this deathly being of black shadows…The plague has corrupted us.

Where are the reinforcements? When are they coming? Please help us…The Saintess has stopped providing me and my troupe with blessings…We have been forced to descend into the entrance of the Catacombs…I just hope the servants of shadow have not penetrated the defense without my knowledge. If they have, I apologize to the Saintess but she would have to trouble herself with them…I cannot abandon my post.

I don't know when the next horde will come.

I am alone now…Will I be able to survive?

No! I must survive…for my darling and daughter. I need to go back to the capital and support my wife and daughter. I cannot fall like this. I am a man…

I need to survive and get back. The scholar silenced himself when I asked him for updates about the Capital…that cannot be good news. I hope my family is safe.]

I had mixed thoughts as I read the diary…But this was not the end, this had a second entry.

[Another horde attacked…I have been forced into the narrow staircase and what's worse is that I do not even have a high ground…I'm dying…aren't I? I already know…my skin is becoming paler and black veins are appearing here and there…the plague has already reached me.]

There was another entry, but this was the final one…

And also the most heartbreaking one.