"Guys, over here. I found something!"
Max turned to his companion and rushed over. "What is it?" He leaned over, staring into the pitch darkness. "Oh, a hidden chamber."
"Hehe, told you coming here was not a waste of time." His companion grinned beside him, proud of his find. "There's always fortune to be found after a bit of suffering."
"You might want to hold on to that thought." Max chuckled, though he also agreed. Who knew there was another part of the ruins? He waited for the others to arrive before instructing.
"Looks like we might have a bit of luck."
Max said, gesturing to the circular opening in the floor. It had been hidden behind a particularly large, but broken pillar, along with other rubble. Max wasn't even sure how Ken had thought to look there.
"Are you sure? Cus we haven't gotten our hands on anything so far."
"Yeah. This expedition has been a total bust. We have nothing to show for what we've gone through. The others were right."
"Why are you guys so pessimistic?"Ken raised his brows. "At the very least, we should check it out."
"I agree." Max nodded, staring at the others. "Besides, we're already here. Let's make the arrangements to descend."
"We might be walking into a den of monsters, you know."
"Come on, this is not our first raid." Max smiled knowingly. "Get the gears ready."
"Fine."
Max watched as his companions went to get their exploration gear before turning to look back into the small opening large enough to pass through without issue. Calling it small was even an understatement. But compared to the rubble around, it was indeed small.
He had initially been against coming here, but he was beginning to feel the excitement. He could feel it… There was something down there, something that tickled his enhanced senses. Max was willing to bet that whatever was down there would change their lives.
Soon, Max and his companions set up a descending climbing gear, their anchors embedded into the surrounding pillars that were still standing. Before anyone descended, Max dropped a couple of flares into the opening and waited for a reaction.
"Looks empty enough," Max muttered softly, glancing at the others. "Who wants to go first?" His colleagues exchanged cautious glances before turning to Kenneth.
"Ken found the chamber. He should be first." At the mention of his name, Max turned to Ken, who cursed under his breath.
With a sheepish smile, he looked at Max, their leader, and said, "Come on, Max. You're the strongest amongst us. You should check it out. With your skills, I doubt any monster could sneak attack you."
"You don't say." Max snorted, seeing through his colleague's words. "You only remember my status when shit gets real."
"But it's true."
Max could only shake his head. His colleagues were savages. He'd better not hear any complaints after they found something good. He soon prepared his weapons, securing his daggers and smaller firearms in their holders.
Then, his colleagues helped him secure himself before he was raised directly above the opening. After watching them secure their weapons and take up position, Max instructed. "On my mark."
Max momentarily closed his eyes, clutching his magic rifle to his chest. He took a deep breath, snapped his eyes open and called, "Now!"
On his mark, one of his colleagues triggered the release, slinging Max into the opening. Faster than free fall, Max was lowered into the chamber below. And as soon as he crossed the threshold, he skillfully manoeuvred along the tight cord, his eyes darting around in search of hidden creatures.
With the help of the flares sent down earlier, Max was able to perform a quick scan of his surroundings before he landed with a thud.
Dust rose around him, obscuring his view. Fortunately for him, he had good eyesight, and the flashlight on his rifle cut through the darkness, shedding light where he aimed.
For several seconds, he swept the surroundings for any threat that might jump at him. Soon, he let out a small sigh when he spotted nothing dangerous. His gaze, however, settled on a dais several meters away.
"Anything?"
Max did not immediately reply. He focused on the raised platform and the multiple storage chests to its side. Gradually, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to really see the size of the space.
It seemed the area around the opening was much darker than the rest of the chamber, which was probably why they couldn't see anything.
"Clear."
Max said as he quickly unbuckled and stepped away from the cord. Patiently, he waited for the rest to land before they moved. There might not be any danger now, but there could be.
"Whoa… this space is massive. Who knew something like this was hidden in this ruin?"
"Yeah. Kinda looks like a throne room. Except there is no throne."
The space was indeed impressive. Max had to agree. Massive pillars lined the beautiful space, reaching the gothic ceiling. But something caught Max's attention.
There were no paths leading anywhere else. The space looked like a massive throne room, but it seemed built to keep anything else out. As these thoughts ran through his mind, Max's colleagues fussed about the chests lying to the side of the dais.
"Alright, that's enough. Time to get serious."
Max called out and raised his rifle, his colleagues doing the same. They might be searching for treasures and other useful goods, but they were also smart enough to know danger accompanies these tasks.
They had learned painful lessons in the past and would not be making the same mistakes. It was better to be cautious than careless. With a gesture, Max and his colleagues spread out, slowly sweeping the massive throne room.
Luckily for Max and his colleagues, the sweep was clean, leaving the dais as the only spot remaining. From the corner of his eyes, Max noticed the excited grins on the faces of a few of his guys and shook his head.
Slowly, they closed in on the dais, making sure they did not step on anything suspicious, trip over any debris. Soon, they were before the dais, while two members of the cohort swept the cases.
"All clear."