Chapter 10: Chapter. 10: Encountering a Search Party

The walk back was a strange experience, the subterranean room was quiet and dark, the only thing that kept it illuminated were the blue lights overhead and on the occasional wall. It was a place of the Golden Era, but the walls were eroded and bumpy, clearly deteriorated. The place was a shadow of what it once was.

I made my way past the Compound Golem, looking at the felled enemy I could see light particles wisping off into the air, dispersing into nothingness. A creation of the Golden Era had been destroyed, never to be seen again, and I was its killer. The entire chamber felt ancient, the lights were dim and almost calming.

Ten thousand years ago…

That was what my father had said, that was when the Golden Era had ended. But, there was a chance that the room was much older than that. The room had seen many more things than I would in my lifetime.

Liben was ancient. It was said that there had been other eras before the Golden Era, but they were in obscurity. No one knew of them. It was only during the Golden Era when humans flourished, only then were we able to walk on the surface. The Era of Grand Magic. And only then, were we more. Only then, were we… strong? The subterranean vault was ancient, perhaps the last time someone had stepped on it, it was still the Golden Era, that I didn’t know.

I stood at the edge where the cave ended and where the vault started, peering into the darkness of the cave. Then, I turned and gave the subterranean vault one last glance before venturing into the darkness from where I had come. Never to return to this place.

My footsteps dully echoed, ringed within my ears as I ventured into the darkness. I abstained myself from activating [Fallen Embers] or doing anything as I walked forward, and soon I found myself devoid of light and disoriented. I frowned, unable to see a thing, and then reached for my bracelet, feeling it on my hand. It was cold and well, just cold.

Wasn’t it supposed to be a Relic?

I blinked, and then⁠— there was light. It was as if I had a sphere of luminosity around me, and I could see about ten meters ahead without problem. I raised my wrist, and the bracelet looked to be fully black for some reason. It was certainly a Relic, though I found it strange.

I could see in the darkness, as the description of the Relic had said. For a moment, I considered testing its limits and how long the effects would take to trigger, but decided against it. I would have plenty of opportunities to do so later, for now I just had to focus on getting back to the camp, and hiding the Relics in the carry bag.

Though that last step could wait until I got back.

I wasn’t worried, at least not too much. Perhaps I was hopeful about things, but I believed I could reintegrate myself into the camp without much trouble, that said I needed to bring a handful of minerals with me. Or else, how could I justify showing up bloodied?

Well… how could I justify showing up uninjured?

I frowned, there were quite a few things to think about, perhaps sneaking back in and pretending nothing happened could have been it as well. There was also the hair problem, and the eye problem… Perhaps the re-integration that I sought would be much more difficult than whatever I had surmised, but for now I had to return.

Dismissing most of my thoughts I set off, back to the camp where I lived. I had left for quite some time, and I was missing some form of human contact, or maybe I was trying to cheer myself up a bit, I didn’t know that. Nevertheless, I simply focused on returning.

Reflecting on things as I did so. Reflecting on my journey for the past two days, the amount of Beasts of the Dark Hollow that I had slain was something that I had never expected. At the same time, even though I knew and had heard of plenty of legends about the Golden Era, I never really⁠— well fully believed them in the past.

I didn’t believe that the humans were at the edge of extinction, I hardly believed that there existed a world above ground, let alone that the Dark Hollow was consuming the world, that Liben was going to come to an end in a few thousand years. I wouldn’t have believed that the Golden Era even existed if it weren’t for my father’s journal.

Information after all was limited. Most people in the camp did not know how to read and write, so thinking of grander things was nothing but daydreaming, that was the case for me as well. I didn’t even know that much about the world, all things considered.

All I knew was that after the source of magic was shattered, the event that occurred after was named ‘The Hollowing’, and as a result of it, the invasion of the Dark Hollow became more rampant. The opening of rifts had become more frequent, it was the main signal that Liben, our world, was coming to an end.

And then, there was a prophecy as well.

When the last light shines, when the stars fall, when the darkest night arrives is when magic shall be bestowed upon the world once more.

At the same time, it was also said that the darkest night, or the eternal night would mark the end of the Liben, because magic was fading, the entrance to The Beyond had been shattered.

My stomach grumbled, interrupting me from my thoughts. I hadn’t eaten for about five days now. I had to eat as soon as I returned to the camp. With a frown, my eyes darted around scanning the cave walls, before I saw a dull glint on a corner. I smiled seeing the familiarity.

A magic mineral.

Or well, it just had traces of mana or magic as I used to call it. I didn’t really know of the proper name, and the World’s Voice did not care to offer one either, I didn’t care too much about the mineral other than serving to give me food.

I grabbed my pickaxe from the hole in my clothes, and in just a moment I smashed through the mineral and broke it into tiny pieces. The process took nothing more than a few seconds, and now I had a handful of shiny rocks to turn into food once I got back.

With a smile, I continued on for an hour. Walking and retreading my steps back through the tunnels, and just as I was about to turn, I saw light. Footsteps entered my ears, and at that moment my breath stopped.

A search party?

My mind whirred. Were they looking for me? I didn’t know what to do. There was a second of panic, before I finally made my decision.

I took a deep breath and stepped onto the light.

* * * * *

Endrad and his team believed that something was deeply wrong. They had long crossed the thirty percent depth, and yet the footsteps had continued. It was an unsettling thing, almost as if they would never stop, but if it was just that, Endrad and basically everyone in the culling squad wouldn’t feel so unnerved.

It was a weird thing, a weird circumstance. They had been walking and following after the footsteps for hours, using the Spectral Glass to give chase. However not once, not a single time did they see a single Beast of the Dark Hollow. They had seen a few corpses that had been allegedly vanquished by the person they were chasing.

However, it was unnerving. They were at thirty-four percent depth, and had yet to see a single beast, not even a Prowl Reaper, let alone a Prowling Harvester. That’s why the whole situation was unnerving, perhaps they were being lured by a mutated wretched thing from the Dark Hollow, perhaps the girl they were chasing after had long died.

It didn’t make sense for anyone there, but the plan was to continue until forty percent depth and turn back if nothing was found, but the more they walked the more nervous they felt. Even if they were equipped with high quality Artificial Relics, they wouldn’t be able to exactly fend off the strongest things that the Grand Mine of Armag Hollow had to offer.

Endrad had yet to see the other wretched monstrous abominations that resided inside the mines, but the rumors were enough. Just before the Overseer had stepped up, there had been a different camp in the Grand Mine, but it was wiped out in a single hour by a beast that hadn’t been seen before. Rumors had it that it was as big as a house, that it could slink and walk through the shadows, an apex predator from the Dark Hollow. Identified to be a ‘Calamity’ class beast. One of the few recorded instances of one.

Nevertheless, anything could happen in the depths of the Grand Mine.

Such thoughts filled his mind, and kept him on edge, yet he had no choice but to keep walking. No one had a different choice but to keep walking. Yet they all stayed on edge as they did so, diving deeper into the mines.

Then, there was a sound. Endrad raised his weapon, snapping towards the source in an instant, everyone did. A myriad of firearms were pointed in an instant as all the lights shone upon the thing.

And then, Endrad blinked as he saw just a girl standing there covered in red and black blood. It was the girl they had been searching all this time, Sybil. She stood there, holding her pickaxe and some mineral fragments in hand. Her gaze lowered.

“I’m… I’d like to go to the camp, please…” she said in a small and quiet voice.

Endrad blinked, but just as he was about to speak, he noticed something odd. Her hair had white undertones, and then he saw her eyes that were sparkling and a radiant blue. For just a moment, she felt foreign, then he saw the scars on her shoulders and neck.

His relaxed weapon was re-engaged.

“Sybil, under the orders of the Overseer you are to return the Relic you have found to the camp. There is no room for negotiation.”

The girl raised her head, and looked perplexed, then there was a frown, a change in expression until finally she nodded. It was a weird thing, they were past any amount of safe depth and yet she seemed calm and almost uninterested. Her skin seemed paler, and her hair seemed to have a natural luster, Endrad was taken aback by her appearance, something was definitely wrong, and yet, she asked.

“If I return the Relic will I be able to go back to normal?” She sounded concerned as she raised her arm and gestured to her hair. “The Relic did this to me, they were weird changes.”

Endrad frowned, skepticism pulsing through his mind. Everyone behind him seemed doubtful as well.

“If you return the Relic that allowed you to kill so many Prowl Reapers and Harvesters, then after some interrogation, yes.”

She asked, raising her brow. “Interrogation? I just killed them, what is there to interrogate?”

That’s when it clicked on Endrad. She was completely and totally different from the girl he had talked to just a couple of days ago. It was undeniable that being out here for so long would bring some changes, but Endrad doubted they would change a person so much. She should’ve been afraid, and yet she seemed calm and collected as she spoke with him. He frowned.

“That is for us the Supervisors to decide, that is for the Overseer to decide. Give back the Relic.”

“Or else?” She cocked her brow.

All weapons were pointed at her, as Endrad spoke. “You die.”

She sighed. “Fair enough, I guess.”

Under the watchful gaze of everyone, she shifted and reached towards her left hand, where a beautiful sapphire bracelet resided.

“That’s the Relic.” She pointed. “I’ll be taking it off, and throwing it over.”

Then, Endrad saw her wrist where multiple silver bracelets of different qualities dangled, he saw her casual demeanor, he remembered the broken glass inside the chamber, and finally, it clicked on him. After so long, being out here for this amount of time, after being more than alive, there was no way she was going to surrender her Relic so easily. And even if the bracelet was indeed a Relic, she still wasn’t to be trusted. There was only one way to know things.

“Stop.” He commanded, making Sybil pause. She met his gaze for a moment, before Endrad finally gave the order. “Strip, we will be going over all your possessions.”

“Strip…? That’s…”

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Her voice was quiet, but Endrad didn’t care.

“This is an order.”

He wasn’t budging, it was a necessity to recover the Relic, to understand what had happened to her, and moreover it was his command. Sybil was nothing more than a slave to the mine, if she was demanded to be naked, then she had to. That was her destiny, eventually she would bring a family later into her life that too would work in the mine, and only then, would her purpose be served. Endrad met her gaze for a moment, she seemed to be hesitant as she bit her lip.

“Fine…” she said with a defeated sigh. “I don’t want to do this.”

“You have to,” Endrad said in a quiet cold voice.

“That’s right, I have to.” She closed her eyes. “Otherwise, I’ll die.”

Endrad nodded in agreement towards her words, and promptly observed. Slowly she lowered her pickaxe, though still held onto it and with a small shrug, she eased the strap of her carry bag. Then, he heard her take a breath.

“I might regret this.”

Just as Endrad was about to ask, he saw her swing her bag and a wave of azure bright flames was sent their way.

* * * * *

It was an instantaneous thing, I sent a flare of [Fallen Embers] onto the group of Supervisors and literally dove around the corner. In an instant, I heard the sound of glass shattering and fervent barking of orders. It was definitely the work of an Artificial Relic. After all, all of the people there had gadgets I had never seen before.

I blinked and vision returned to the darkness, the [Bracelet of Twilight] would activate so long as I myself was standing in the darkness, not illuminated by any light. With that in mind, I pathed into the darkness, running before it was too late.

Shots resounded behind me, as the Supervisors gave chase. My heart rushed for a moment, it felt weird to rebel simply because I was ordered to strip. At the same time, agreeing to it would’ve made me less. I had dignity and pride, and I wouldn’t let it be sullied.

In just a few moments, I found myself in total darkness as I heard the enraged screams coming from behind. I took a deep breath and made sure to remember where the Supervisors were and where I was.

There was only one way to get out of this place alive, and unfortunately it required me to kill those that witnessed my secrets. With that in mind, I headed into the darkness.

* * * * *

Endrad gritted his teeth as he stared into the depths of the caves. The Artificial Relic that he wore for protection had instantly been consumed from that attack. Thankfully he had multiple back ups, but it was strange. Whatever Relic that Sybil had at her disposal was clearly strong. At the same time, she had vanished completely, not even footsteps were left to be heard.

Spectral Glass too showed the footsteps vanishing. It was a strange thing. It was as if she had turned into a ghost, however, it also meant that Sybil had not one but two Relics in her possession.

Endrad thought for a moment about the raise he would get after all was said and done, perhaps he would retire early for his contributions towards humanity.

That said, everyone was equipped with a protection Relic that would nullify any magical attack sent their way. Even if Endrad’s had been consumed, others were still in place. He paused standing at crossroads, thinking for a moment as he turned to regard the culling squad.

He counted heads, as he slowly came to a decision. More people had ended up in the culling squad than planned, but it was a boon. Endrad smiled.

“We will split up into three groups of three.” Then he turned to the mechanical clock on his wrist. “And we will all gather here in thirty minutes as soon as we don’t find anyone.”

One squad member raised his hand. “And if we do find her, there would be two groups that didn’t, so how would we assist?”

“With this.” Endrad said, grabbing the Spectral Glass and placing it on the ground along with a small handkerchief. “It will be left here, for us to return. We can just follow the footsteps of the group that didn’t.”

Everyone nodded at his instruction. He stood straight, and looked at the group once more, meeting everyone’s gazes.

“Let us set off.”

With those words everyone went their separate ways.

* * * * *

I skulked around the darkness simply trying to find an alternate route to head back in the direction where I had come from. It was quite dumb to just do a one-eighty and run back after all, and eventually I did find a different route, it just took about ten minutes to do so.

Part of me doubted that I would be able to find them, but with the fact that all of them wore flashlights, I had high hopes. And so, with a smile, I began to trot in the direction where I had come from, returning towards the place I had run away from using a different angle.

I had long gotten rid of the mineral I carried, instead I focused on readying myself to fight for my life. I had no clue how strong a Supervisor was, but I had counted at least seven of them standing in front of me, and all of them had long two-handed firearms and other things such as spears. Artificial Relics that I couldn’t comprehend.

Even though I was apprehensive about fighting all of them, I had an edge that they didn’t. I smiled as I saw the flicker of a flashlight off in the distant darkness.

It was time to see how effective the [Bracelet of Twilight] was.

I upped the pace, running towards the spot where I saw light. And in just a single moment I rounded the corner as I saw a group of three Supervisors walking together looking around at every crevice and indent on the wall. I felt my heart rushing as I saw the perfect opportunity.

Slowly, almost like a Beast of the Dark Hollow, I walked over with slow and careful footsteps, they were quick and nimble thanks to the points I had spent in agility. Slowly but surely I approached the man on the back.

He had a helmet with a light, a backpack, a spear and numerous gadgets on his belt. His clothes were black, and his footsteps full of expertise, and yet I slowly approached behind him, nearly breathing upon his neck as they didn’t know any better.

I observed the changing cave structure, how there were holes and gaps, it became less of a single passage and more like a chamber of pillars with the occasional thick rock and two-sided wall.

My breathing grew quiet as I tentatively gripped onto my pickaxe, there were numerous questions going through my head. Such as⁠— how did the first Supervisor survive my attack? Why didn’t they have levels but the Beasts of the Dark Hollow did?

The second question was answered by the World’s Voice.

[(Supervisor of the Grand Mine of Armag Hollow) Human. Lvl. 11]

I raised my brow. Was it because I had acknowledged him as an enemy? Level 11? I wasn’t fully following. I tried to not think too much about it, chalking it to the words of my father about training. Supervisors had to train after all.

There was another worry⁠— then I got rid of it. I had already tried using [Fallen Embers] and they had been repelled somehow, now it was time to use normal strength. After all, humans weren’t nearly as durable as beasts.

With a grin, I rushed towards the man and swung my pickaxe down onto its neck. It happened in an instant, he grunted in pain as the pickaxe perforated and broke through his bones, the two Supervisors turned in surprise at me, and then I ignited [Fallen Embers] at the tip of the pickaxe.

In just a single moment, everything around me combusted into blue as a barrier appeared mid air that was promptly shattered. The man screamed in pain as my pickaxe melted through his insides, the two Supervisors raised their firearms as I pulled the pickaxe. The man was shifted to cover me, and the two people fired upon their ally.

Blood splattered as the World’s Voice spoke in my head.

[You have slain: (Supervisor of the Grand Mine of Armag Hollow) Human. Lvl. 11]

[Your primary aspect has leveled once from this encounter. Current level: 10]

[The aspect of Fallen Flames has reached level. 10 ⁠— All of your skills have leveled once and you have been awarded three attribute points.]

[Check your status for more information.]

Leveled once? Then, the World’s Voice spoke once more.

[The skill: Fallen Ember Bolt has reached level. 5 ⁠— It has evolved to become the skill: Fallen Ember Shot. Lvl. 1]

My eyes widened for a moment, as I heard the clicking sound from the firearms ahead. [Fallen Ember Bolt] evolved? My surprise soon turned into glee.

Why don’t I try it out?

With a grin, I peeked and pointed my finger gun at one of the men. In just a moment I willed my mana to fire

[Fallen Ember Shot].

The blue fire zipped, I fired a much faster and brighter bolt. In an instant, it struck one of the Supervisors and the sound of glass shattered echoed once more. The two panicked and quickly hid behind cover.

I smiled, getting away from the dead Supervisor and back into the darkness, grabbing the spear from the corpse along the way. Once more, I had grown stronger.

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