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*****
"Boom!"
George's right foot slammed viciously into the Dragon Claw Door. However, the door didn't burst open from the brute force like an ordinary iron gate. Instead, a complex series of magical runes flashed across its surface, completely resisting the force of George's kick.
"Sir, the main chamber is just behind this Dragon Claw Door! It can't be opened by brute force; it only opens with the Golden Claw."
Arvel hurried forward to explain.
George carefully observed the magical runes on the Dragon Claw Door and chuckled.
"So, this is the core of the entire tomb. As soon as it's attacked, all the barrow's energy concentrates here for defense. No wonder it's so much sturdier than those iron gates."
Although he had yet to study the magic of this world, that didn't mean he was incapable of understanding the function of these magical runes.
As a Creator-level being who had mastered the magic of several different worlds and was on the verge of ascending to the mono-cosmic level, he possessed at least that much insight.
In the future, as long as he gained even a slight understanding of this world's fundamental magical principles, he could quickly replicate similar spells, and even improve upon them to enhance their effects.
"In that case, I'll try using fifty percent of my strength."
Before Arvel could even attempt to use the claw, George raised his right foot and kicked again.
A moment ago, he had only used ten percent of his strength; this time, he used fifty percent.
"Boom!"
With a tremendous explosion, even with the Dragon Claw Door mobilizing every last bit of the tomb's energy, it could no longer withstand the colossal force from George's right foot. The entire stone door shattered into countless fragments.
"Let's go. We're going in."
Brushing the dust from his clothes, and ignoring the once-again-stunned Arvel, George stepped into the final, main chamber of Bleak Falls Barrow.
"It's even larger and more magnificent than I remembered."
Upon entering the main chamber, George first took a moment to scan his surroundings—up, down, left, and right.
Due to the passage of time, the main chamber, much like the exterior areas, had fallen into decay, with many items having rotted away.
However, judging solely by the remnants left behind, one could easily imagine the chamber's former magnificence.
On both sides of the main path, leading forward through the chamber, stood densely packed rows of nearly a hundred coffins. In front of this walkway of coffins was an arched bridge, and beneath it, a small stream still flowed.
To the left and right of the stream, small waterfalls cascaded down. In the center of the room stood a massive, curved stone wall, etched with the special Dragon language required to learn a Dragon Shout.
Opposite the Word Wall rested an opulent, oversized sarcophagus. It required no guessing to know that it undoubtedly contained the true master of Bleak Falls Barrow.
Due to the loud noise generated by the destruction of the Dragon Claw Door, the draugr within these coffins had all been awakened. They began to sit up, one after another, grasping their weapons.
The draugr inhabiting the main chamber were powerful. Back in the era of the Ancient Nords, they would have likely held ranks equivalent to captains or generals.
As for the draugr in the sarcophagus before the Word Wall, it was likely a figure of even higher standing, perhaps a Jarl, a duke, or even a prince.
It made sense, thinking about it. An entity entrusted with an item as important as the Dragonstone could absolutely not have held a low status.
"I shall never sleep! I shall never die!"
The ancient dragon tongue rambled from the mouth of the tomb's master. The powerful aura it emitted terrified Arvel, who was still clutching his cloth bag. He dropped directly to his knees, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
"Eight Divines above! I must have been seeking death, daring to come here looking for treasure. I am never, ever setting foot in a tomb again for the rest of my life!"
"For the King!"
The remaining draugr let out a heaven-shaking war cry and swarmed toward George.
Fireballs, ice spikes, chain lightning, and enchanted Ancient Nord arrows—all manner of ranged attacks—raced toward George first, only to be deflected entirely as he clapped his hands together.
While these attacks were incapable of harming his physical body, they could still damage his clothes.
"All of you, get lost!"
He smashed both hands forcefully onto the ground. The entire floor instantly fractured, blasting the draugr surrounding George, along with shattered stone fragments, high into the air.
George rose, flicking his fingers repeatedly. The stones suspended in the air were launched like machine-gun fire, precisely striking every single draugr.
In just a few short seconds, all the draugr had been embedded deep into the surrounding walls by the stone projectiles.
"Fus... Ro Dah!"
The most powerful draugr, which George had intentionally avoided attacking because it stood near the Word Wall, saw its subordinates annihilated in the blink of an eye. It immediately turned toward George and unleashed an enraged, three-word Dragon Shout.
A powerful and peculiar energy surged toward George. It wasn't the force of elemental wind, nor was it the power of acoustic vibration; it was a tyrannical, raw force designed to violently push things away.
The sensation was exactly like being struck by a high-speed train.
"A three-word Shout. That's somewhat interesting."
He stomped his feet violently, digging them directly into the bedrock. George forcibly anchored his body, bracing himself to take the full impact of the tomb master's three-word Shout.
While the impact of a train couldn't harm his physical body, it would still send him flying backward.
Therefore, he needed to use the stone floor to anchor himself.
Of course, he could also have used his speed to easily dodge it, but if he did, Arvel, cowering behind him, would have been killed instantly by the Shout.
The Dragon Shout is the magic of dragons. For ordinary Nords, even for individuals like 'Eighth Uncle-in-law' and 'Old Ul' [Ulfric], learning a single Shout would require years of study.
Consequently, their actual power was far greater than what was depicted in the game.
Based on his current sensation, the power of a one-word Unrelenting Force was like the impact of a motorcycle. A two-word Shout was like a car. A three-word Shout was like a train.
This also explained why the great High King of Solitude, during his duel with Ulfric, was actually killed by a single Dragon Shout.
And this was merely a Shout used by a normal Nord. For a true master of the Voice, like those at High Hrothgar who studied the Thu'um their entire lives, the same three-word Shout would be exponentially more powerful.
A master's Shout could even be heard from High Hrothgar all the way to Whiterun.
If it were a dragon using the Shout, the power would be even greater, needless to say.
"Now you try one of mine!"
Having braced against the tomb master's Dragon Shout, George wasted no time. He vanished into an afterimage, appearing instantly beside the draugr lord. He opened his mouth wide and also let out a deafening roar:
"Lion's Roar!"
A massive, cone-shaped soundwave struck the tomb master's robust draugr body directly.
Three seconds later, he ceased the sound. The tomb master's draugr body, as if it had turned to sand, disintegrated and scattered in the wind.
Naturally, he didn't actually know the "Lion's Roar" technique. This was merely a sonic wave produced by his own vocal cords, relying on his immensely powerful physical body. Even so, its effect was in no way inferior to a Dragon Shout.
It could be considered a form of purely physical magic.
"The Word Wall."
After dealing with the tomb master, George didn't immediately move to collect the treasures in the main chamber. Instead, he turned to face the giant Word Wall, committing the Dragon words for 'Unrelenting Force' to memory.
The magic of the Dragon tongue was indeed powerful. The only reason it couldn't compare to his own voice was that the disparity in strength between the tomb master and himself was simply too vast.
If, after completing his ascension, he were to use Unrelenting Force with all his might, he estimated he could probably blow an entire planet off its axis.
However, he didn't intend to spend time deciphering the Dragon language himself right now. He merely memorized it. Later, after he finished studying human magic at Winterhold, he would go to High Hrothgar and find 'Old Pa' [Paarthurnax] to study it properly.
Dragon Shout magic, naturally, must be learned from a real dragon to get the most authentic experience.
(End of this chapter)