Chapter CLI

The work at the entrance had gone reasonably quickly. With everyone's help, they had removed enough of the obstruction for the mule to enter the mine. Even so, it had still taken them a whole day.

Or at least the better part of a day.

By the time they finished all the work, they decided it was no longer worth entering the mine. Unfortunately, the day had been so exhausting that nobody felt like cooking, so they went to bed early with nothing but a few slices of bread in their stomachs.

They had been so tired that, for once, Carrion and Axe hadn't even taken turns keeping watch during the night. Axe had still asked her about it, since he was more accustomed to physical exertion and had handled the fatigue better. But Carrion was a magic user, and even though she worked as an adventurer, she wasn't used to exert herself physically to this extent.

With her muscles aching and feeling as though she was starting to smell, which was only natural considering how much she had sweated. She had simply replied, “Look, they're not worried about it,” while looking at the other young men.

By this point, the two of them had already understood that if the others didn't feel the need to keep watch, they probably had a good reason for it.

The following day, she still felt as though she had spent the entire previous day fighting a boar, but at least she had managed to eat something warm that morning before they returned to work.

They all entered the mine and made their way to the blockage that was supposedly preventing them from reaching the crystals.

That thought gave her renewed strength and enthusiasm.

They decided to split into two groups, Axe and Adar in one and Carrion and Seres in the other. The tunnel simply wasn't wide enough for everyone to work at the same time.

One of the young men used his light spell to illuminate the work area. Since both Adar and Seres knew the spell, they could save their torches while providing better lighting. Meanwhile, Nero mostly kept watch, although he occasionally helped them, probably out of boredom.

They loaded the rocks onto the mule after deciding it wouldn't be a good idea to have to fight inside the mine with loose rocks blocking an already restricted space. At least, that was what Axe had said, and Nero agreed.

And that was when she discovered something new about the strange group she had agreed to join.

It wasn't the fact that Adar also knew magic, even if he admitted to being the worst of them.

No, the new discovery and source of suspicion was the mule.

A mule that, inside the mine, she had finally been able to get close enough to the creature to start noticing things...

A perfectly calm mule in an unfamiliar mine that obeyed every order it received without question. It didn't move in the slightest while being loaded with rocks, some of them quite heavy. Then it went back to the mine entrance practically on its own, without any problems.

When they had spoken privately about it, she and Axe had agreed on two things.

The first was that this wasn't normal and was probably the result of magic.

The second was that they wouldn't ask questions about it. They wouldn't even acknowledge how strange it was.

Absolutely nothing bizarre or deeply concerning was happening.

And Carrion herself certainly didn't start wondering what kind of magic could produce such a result whenever the mule moved away from her and headed toward the entrance.

Especially when she noticed that, in this stuffy tunnel, the mule seemed to be at the same temperature as the rocks.

And with that thought, her need to use the bathroom grew stronger.

It was then, while heading toward the entrance of the mine with a torch, that she noticed something strange as she passed the passage leading to the lower levels.

For a moment, it seemed to her that something green was emerging through a gap in the lower part of the damaged door.

“What is this?” she said to herself.

Driven by curiosity, the small pain in her back faded, while she approached the door.

In several places, the rot had eaten through the wood, leaving various holes. Through one of the lower ones, she could have sworn she had seen something green, like a vine.

But now it had disappeared, which made her move even closer and try to get a better look with her torch, leaning forward to do so.

“Nothing!”

For a moment, she wondered whether the stress of everything she was imagining about Nero and his mule was starting to affect her mind.

The door reminded her of Nero's comment about whatever was down there.

“Dangerous!!! A little, but mostly annoying.”

She thought about the a little part.

It left a bad taste in her mouth.

Because she was certain that if a mage like Nero didn't want to explore that area, she had even less reason to do so.

As she straightened up to leave, her already aching back suddenly spasmed.

The pain made her bend forward again, and the movement caused her to lose her balance. Sending her crashing into the door.

The door, already in its terrible condition, held for only an instant before collapsing.

And she fell helplessly.

As she crossed the doorway, the light from the torch slipping out of her hand still allowed her to see that, immediately beyond it, there was a ramp descending into the darkness.

When she hit the ground without any control over her fall, she began rolling down that same ramp.

At first, she could still see the stone walls passing beside her, but inevitably, the light disappeared, while she kept rolling farther into the darkness.

Finally, she came to a stop, with no idea which way she was facing or where she was.

She even wondered whether she had lost consciousness at some point, but there was no way to know.

For a few moments, she remained on the ground, feeling the cold earth seeping into her body and the pain in her shoulder from the fall.

On top of that, she could feel something trickling down her forehead.

In a foolish moment, she opened her mouth to call for help.

Fortunately, the image of a visible vine emerging through a hole in the door came to mind, and Nero's comment once again echoed in her ears.

Something was certainly hidden down here, and alerting it to her presence when nobody else could hear her call for help would be madness.

So she reassessed her priorities and, guided by the pain throughout her body, concluded that she needed to take care of herself first.

Fortunately, she was an experienced adventurer.

She reached for her belt, specifically the second pouch from the buckle, where she kept her healing potion.

For a moment, she panicked when she felt moisture on her belt.

Feeling around with her fingers, she discovered that one of the vials she carried had broken in the fall.

Fortunately, it was the fatigue potion in the third pouch.

The other two potions were intact.

She drank her healing potion and began to feel better.

Which allowed her to assess her situation.

She was essentially lost in the darkness, with an unknown danger nearby.

The only solution she could think of was to return to the other side of the door, where one of the guys would eventually find her.

The only problem, of course, was finding her way back there without any light.

Fortunately, a plan occurred to her.

She turned onto her hands and knees and began feeling around the ground.

Until she found what she was looking for...

The wall.

Keeping one hand against it, as though afraid it might disappear, she stood up.

This resulted in a deep pain shooting through her knee.

Apparently, the potion hadn't been enough to heal all her injuries.

This made her curse her reluctance to spend more money on a better healing potion or on buying another one.

Back then, it had been a choice between the healing potion and a magic potion.

Silently, she made a promise to herself that if she got out of here alive and with her share of the money from the crystals, she would spend more on healing potions.

In the complete silence, the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own breathing, growing faster because of the pain.

So she focused on the coldness of the wall and controlled herself, determined to carry out her plan.

Her best chance was to follow the wall until she found the ramp that would allow her to climb back up to the door.

The problem was that she had two possible directions to choose from.

One led toward the safety of the ramp, while the other led toward the danger of the deeper parts of the mine.

Standing still wouldn't accomplish anything.

So, with a sigh, she chose left.

Keeping one hand against the rough wall of the mine, she slowly took a step to the left.

Then another, and another, until she whispered softly to herself.

“Five.”

She had taken five steps in one direction without noticing anything different about either the wall or the ground that might indicate she had reached the ramp.

The distance seemed sufficient to confirm that this probably wasn't the right direction.

So she turned around and, with the same care, took another five steps back to her starting point.

From there, she planned to take another five steps to the right and test that direction, hoping to find the exit.

If five steps weren't enough, she would take ten.

Slowly but carefully, she could explore the place, find the ramp, and get out of here safely.

On the fourth step, she felt something beneath her foot.

Something that terrified her.

It was as though she had just stepped on a soft branch lying on the ground.

A branch that had moved away.

In the darkness and cold, with one hand still against the wall and her heart pounding, the image of the green vine once again flashed through her mind.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

The worst part was that, in that direction, somewhere in the darkness, she could begin to hear sounds.

As if something was dragging itself along the ground toward her.

This was the moment when she decided to abandon caution and scream at the top of her lungs.

“Help!!”

But that is all she manages to do. She takes a step back, not daring to do anything more for fear of attracting the attention of whatever is in front of her.

Another sound comes from behind her, as if something has just landed on the ground. Before she can turn around, a brilliant light floods the tunnel, revealing what lies ahead.

The sight leaves her frozen.

Multiple vines stretch along the tunnel in front of her, moving like tentacles as they explore their surroundings. Whenever they strike the walls, they make the very sound she had heard. They are almost upon her, and she raises a hand, hoping she can still hit the nearest vine with a spell.

Then another light appears.

This one forms a circle on the ground, something she has never seen in person before but has no trouble recognising.

A summoning circle!

One of the vines trying to pass through the spot where the circle has appeared stops in midair, unable to cross the space now occupied by it. A well-known characteristic of summoning circles: while active, they are among the most powerful barriers in the world.

With that, she turns around and sees the familiar sight of Nero, dressed in his usual shabby clothes, lowering his hand and starting towards her.

Within a few steps, he is at her side. He grabs her arm and starts pulling her along. A sharp burst of pain shoots through her knee, and he seems to notice, but he keeps pulling.

A response that, even if her knee disagrees, she has to admit is the best decision.

Within moments, they round a corner and find themselves at the bottom of the ramp she had fallen down. Then she lets out a sigh of relief at finding the way out. Thanks to the ball of light Nero has created at its base, she can finally get a good look at the place.

The ramp essentially ends in the middle of a corridor. And she had been at the wrong wall, the one that didn't connect to the ramp. On one side of the corridor lies darkness, stretching who knows how far. On the other are the tentacles.

She can now see them fighting a skeleton armed with a sword and shield, one that wasn't there before.

Obviously, it is the one Nero summoned.

She prepares to start climbing the ramp, but Nero holds her back.

"Wait..." he tells her in a harsh, gruff voice. "Let me see how it holds up. I don't want to get caught by surprise while climbing this ramp."

Following his gaze, she watches as the skeleton is surrounded by the tentacles. It cuts down those that get too close, but several times it is struck by them as well. The fight looks evenly matched to her, but the mage's expression shows no satisfaction.

"An elemental would really come in handy here," he mutters softly before asking her, "Do you have any area-of-effect spells?"

She immediately understands that he wants a spell capable of affecting at least part of the tunnel. But she is an adventurer, not a battle mage. Those are the people who truly specialise in spells of this kind.

So she has no choice but to shake her head.

"Lovely," he mutters before turning towards the top of the ramp and shouting, "Blondie!"

But nobody answers. He turns his attention back to the tunnel, where the skeleton is retreating slightly under the relentless assault of the tentacles, which seem to be growing more numerous by the second.

"Right, three should be able to hold them off for a little while. Not what I'd prefer, but losing time and space would be worse," he says, more to himself than to her.

He begins to extend his hand when a voice calls from the top of the ramp.

"Nero!"

She sees the others appear, one after another.

Nero simply gives them a curt command.

"Rope."

Always ready to act, Axe produces a rope and throws one end towards them. Nero catches it and hands it to Carrion.

"Tie it around yourself. Quickly."

She does so, and once she is satisfied that it is secure, she nods to the men. They begin pulling her up as she climbs the ramp.

The climb isn't particularly difficult. The main problem is her knee. It would be much harder to manage if she had to hurry with the tentacles chasing after her. The rope makes everything easier and faster, preventing her from falling more than once.

Once she reaches the top of the ramp, she unties the rope and sends it back down to Nero.

His face seems a little more serious than before, suggesting that the tentacles must be getting closer. For a moment, she wonders why he hasn't summoned another skeleton yet.

He ties the rope around himself and takes a step away from the ramp, instructing them in a cold voice.

"Pull once I've cast the spell."

She and Axe exchange glances, thinking in unison, What spell?

Judging by the tension in the two men's shoulders, however, they clearly aren't sharing the same question.

"Get through the doorway! Quickly!" Adar urges them, anxiety and concern evident in his voice.

That is the only signal they need to do exactly as he says.

As Axe helps her through what remains of the doorway, they hear Nero shout, "Draco's Flames!"

The name sounds strangely familiar to her.

The boys immediately start pulling on the rope, running towards the doorway.

For a moment, nothing happens. Only when Nero appears at the top of the ramp does she hear a roar.

A tremendous flash follows. The guys throw themselves to the ground, obviously already knowing what's coming. The red glare grows brighter and more intense until she finally sees the flames themselves.

She throws herself to the ground as well, feeling the suffocating heat envelop her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, recognition suddenly strikes.

Draco's Flames.

The most powerful spell of Agrav, Firestorm, one of the Five.