Chapter 52: Chapter 50: Underground Exploration

Max kicked his legs to move towards the bank of the lake. He winced at the stab of pain that followed. Obviously, he’d fallen from a great height and the impact on the water had not left his legs unscathed. It was still cold, which probably helped a little, actually, but he needed to get out. At least he could swim.

He felt Regina’s touch in his mind, intimated that she was looking through his eyes. Well, that’s something, she said. Are you alright?

“Under the circumstances, I feel quite lucky,” he muttered.

Max finally dragged himself out of the lake, ignoring the pain in his legs. The ground around it was rocky, as if he had expected anything else. He looked up. The faint light coming through it showed him the hole he’d arrived through, no more than a meter in diameter, maybe less. The light was probably from the others.

Max sighed, stretching out his limbs and trying to figure out his injuries. He was lucky he had such a relatively high Constitution stat, it would probably be worse without it. Besides, it would probably heal much faster like this, too.

“I think my shell is cracked in a few places,” he muttered. “There’s a bit of blood. I don’t think any of my bones are broken. Well, maybe a toe or something. I think I can still walk if I have to.” He glanced up and snorted. “Yeah, I will definitely have to.”

We’re trying to see what we can from up here. None of us has a good idea where this is.

“Please don’t follow me down the hole,” he hissed. Then he straightened up and sighed. At least she’s safe. And so are the others.

“I’ll try to explore,” he said after a second. “Maybe there is a way back up.”

If not, we can make ropes and you can climb up. If you can climb?

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Max grunted, then nodded. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but he should be able to.

He gingerly stood up, suppressing a wince at the pain flaring up again. He pushed it away and focused on the situation. He was alone somewhere in a cave underground. Actually, a cave system, there were definitely at least two openings, like tunnel entrances.

He took a few shaky steps, then moved with more assurance. The floor of the cavern was a bit ridged and uneven, but mostly level. He estimated that it was about ten meters long, but it was hard to be sure, given the lighting. At least he should have plenty of air for a while. The air tasted stale, but he still detected traces in it that he guessed came from flora.

One of the tunnel openings was a bit higher up and looked smaller and more uneven. The one he approached first was level and reminded him of an archway. A tunnel stretched away from it into the dark depths. There was still a little bit of light, perhaps coming from somewhere underground after all.

Max carefully moved forward. The tunnel was remarkably even and regular, although he didn’t know if that was an indication that it was artificial. It looked natural, but the edges of it were weathered, the roof a bit sloped. He wasn’t an expert on this. Regina was quiet, not commenting on it. She was probably busy talking to the others up above.

His feet still hurt and the hard ground wasn’t easy on them, but he could walk. And the further he did, the easier it seemed to get for him. Max glanced around, trying to take in every detail. The air smelled pretty clean, not very stale, so there were probably connections to the surface, beyond the one he’d come from. That one hadn’t really been open until his hive’s digging, anyway. He still smelled other scents that he couldn’t quite place. There had to be some ventilation down here, right?

After a few minutes, the tunnel opened out onto another cavern. It was longer than the one he had come from, and there was water dripping from the ceiling, along a few stalactites and stalagmites. Some plants and mushrooms lived here, clearly taking water from that trickle and the few puddles on the floor. Dim light came from a part of them on the upper walls and the side of the ceiling. Bioluminescence, he realized after a second. The light had a bluish tint in his eyes, and it didn’t illuminate the cave that well, but it was more than enough for his eyes to see.

Max slowly made his way through the cave, being careful of his footing. He crouched and touched one of the plants. Its leaves were a faded, light green, pretty big for its size. He considered eating one to try it out, but it might be better not to leave any trace of his passage here, in case there were more monsters or other residents of this underground ecosystem.

He’d reached the other side of the cavern when he encountered his first Tunneler. He paused, surprised, at what the System showed him.

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