Chapter 6: Chapter. 6: Subterranean Vault

[You have slain: (Beast of the Dark Hollow) Prowl Reaper. Lvl. 3]

[You have slain: (Beast of the Dark Hollow) Prowl Reaper. Lvl. 3]

[You have slain: (Beast of the Dark Hollow) Prowl Reaper. Lvl. 2]

…

I stared at the Prowl Reaper that laid at my feet, or rather, its burnt and charred corpse. Small wisps of blue flame lingered atop of it. The brown cave floor almost looked gray in the azure light, and minerals glinted and refracted spots of blue onto the walls. It was a beautiful sight, yet I couldn’t help but frown. I wasn’t tired, and I still had plenty of mana left, but it was about the tenth Prowl Reaper that I had killed.

All of them were anywhere from level 1 to 4, but it seemed that no matter how many of them I killed, I wouldn’t level up. For some reason, I found that thought much more frustrating than it should’ve been. Perhaps it was because I craved the feeling of growing stronger, however, I also just wanted to feel rewarded for my efforts.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, quenching my annoyance and drowning it to the pits of my mind. I had killed the Prowl Reapers nearly instantly, there really wasn’t much effort to be made. Still, I had been walking for some time and was approaching what I believed to be the thirty percent depth mark, yet there wasn’t even a single Prowling Harvester to be seen.

While I didn’t wish to fight multitudes of them, I did wish to fight something that offered the chance or opportunity to level up. Perhaps I was being hasty, that was certainly part of it, but also I was beginning to believe I was better off going back to camp. I could always come back in a better state after recuperating. Even though my wounds were closed my shoulders ached from every movement, my torso and arm randomly throbbed in pain, and walking was a bothersome activity in of itself because the wound on my leg.

I deliberated for a few moments before deciding to continue for a few minutes. This time however, I changed my way of pathing slightly, choosing narrower passages in favor of the wider ones. It wasn’t a big change, but one that I perhaps thought would do something. Maybe it would lead me to the somewhat stronger beasts I was seeking, I didn’t really know to be honest.

“I really don’t want to return so soon,” I said with a sigh.

There was something about using my flames that made me feel so free. But I knew that as soon as I returned I would need to keep things secret, and perhaps even wait months to set off again to avoid rousing suspicion. It was why I had to make this single trip worthwhile.

With that in mind I continued slinking and going for the narrowest passages I could find. It was a bit of a mindless activity, aside from marking the walls and having a rough idea of where I had walked through, taking the minerals on the walls as reference for later. Sometimes I would look at the blue flame on my finger.

Its center was white and warm, yet at its edges it was a beautiful royal blue that left an azure glow everywhere it went. The Fallen Flame was majestic and almost had a mystical aura to it, and the heat seemed to distort the air itself. I had no idea of how hot it truly was. I seemed to be immune to all of my flames, perhaps to all flames in general. Nonetheless, the blue was mystifying. I had never seen blue fire in my life, and now I had it at the reach of my fingers, literally speaking.

So much had changed. Now I hope to leave the Grand Mine of Armag Hollow rather than work the rest of my life here. Perhaps the Fallen Flames represented hope for me. That I was unsure of. Even though I hadn’t returned to the camp for what felt like well over a day, I wasn’t worried.

I did have a friend, though not a particularly close one. His name was Miles. He was a kind-hearted kid, or rather, he was just about a year younger than me. That said he was friends with anyone and everyone, he just had that kind of personality. I did sort of miss ranting about my day to him, but all things considered I doubted he missed me all that much. Perhaps he’d feel worried upon seeing my injuries, but I wasn’t particularly close with him. At least not closer than he was with anybody else.

It was a contrasting thing to me. I had gone from wondering how I would manage to find my next meal, to seeking out Prowling Harvesters to kill. It was unbelievable. Almost unreal, which was why I dreaded the return to normalcy, but I also knew it was inevitable. I just had to get the most out of this delve into the unexplored before returning. It was the first of many times.

The blue flame flickered.

I smiled. My fate had changed, and that's all I needed to push forward. Azure light was cast on the cave walls, on the crevices and uneven bumps in the stone. My shadow followed closely behind as the crackling of the stone faded to the echo of my footsteps.

◇ ◇ ◇

The passages got narrower, though it was still full of minerals and nothing like the crack in the wall that I had followed. However I had kind of lost track of time, and I was growing a bit worried. Or rather, I knew the time except I was at about or past the thirty percent depth now and simply wanted to deny the thought of being so deep. I was growing anxious. There were no sounds. I had traveled so far and encountered nothing.

The opening in which I had slept was anywhere from twenty-two to twenty-three percent depth. I was honestly just using hours walked as a measurement, though it was quite hard since I had no clock. All I had were years of experience of telling the time to guess, but it wasn't as accurate so I could've been past twenty-five percent or under. I didn't really know. At least, I believed I was close to finding something, and that's what mattered.

My mentality was flawed, and I realized it. So I decided I'd give myself what was about ten more minutes before turning back. A clear deadline to meet. If I didn't find anything, I would just turn around and go back to where I came from. The thought of how deep I was made me nervous. At this depth, even the Supervisors would need to be wary, let alone me.

I continued walking for the promised ten minutes, weaving through two more passages, and once more picking the narrowest ones. At this point my current passage was as wide as a doorway. I halted my steps. Doubt filled me. This passage gave me a weird feeling, at the same time I had been walking for hours now without finding anything. I was growing hungry, but even though I would be able to return by the end of the day if I turned back now, I felt doubtful. Something compelled me to continue forward a bit longer, and I was unsure of why.

The walls looked slightly smoother, the shadows that the flame-light cast were much less pronounced now, and yet my anxiety grew. I fiddled, grinding my boot against the ground for a few moments as I thought. I knew I was being stupid, but something about the time invested and getting nothing out if it bothered me. At the same time my mana was full now. The flame expended less magic than what I could regenerate. I felt as if I was on the cusp of finding something great, but I was unsure of why exactly.

I frowned, grinding my boot against the stone. I hadn’t seen a single monster yet, and the likelihood of me stumbling upon their home was low based on the silence. There had to be a reason why there were no monsters here, but I was unsure of why.

The passage I was standing on felt different. There had to be something that made it special. Or maybe I was trying to convince myself to continue for a bit longer, that I was honestly unsure.

I deliberated for a minute, before making a choice.

“I won’t get to be back here for months if I return.” I shook my head. “If I don’t find anything and the passage splits, I will go back.”

I spoke to myself outloud, and gave myself an ultimatum. It was enough. I took a breath and decided to continue walking. I observed the walls slowly shift under the blue light, I saw the ground feel softer until⁠— huh.

I was looking into pitch black darkness. The cave walls ended and extended up. The passage that I had been following transformed into a chamber. The blue light illuminated far and deep. I saw a distant rock pillar. Its color, after being shifted by the blue was somewhat green, compared to the gray-like appearance that the brown rock gained. I admired the darkness that was overhead for a moment before I felt some excitement.

“So I found something…”

I stepped forward. My foot hit the ground with a small crunch, it felt wrong. I saw a spark of light occur below me, and as I glanced down I saw a glint of orange. Lines of light sprouted⁠—came to be—from the sole of my foot, rapidly expanding through the floor. They were mystical and formed intricate patterns and at that moment I realized I had truly found something.

The radiant orange light spread through the ground and walls, forming mystical patterns reminiscent of the ones in the chamber I had found the Relic in. Soon, the blue light was overpowered and drowned by the warmth irradiating throughout the place. At that moment my lips curled into a grin. I had once more stumbled upon something from the Golden Era. Relics awaited me.

I heard mechanical whirring and clicking from cogs. The entire room began to rumble deeply, dust from the cave fell on me and at that moment, I had second doubts about whether I wanted to continue walking into the room. I took a step back, and stumbled against something. I glanced back in confusion only to see a transparent orange wall.

“What?”

Numerous questions filled my mind watching the magical glass, but then a blaring voice cut through my thoughts. It sounded artificial and somehow fabricated.

[An Intruder has stepped into the subterranean vault of Laiken!]

It echoed throughout the chamber with an extensive echo. I froze for a moment as I heard the whirring and clicking from inside the walls. The orange lights were flashing rapidly as I felt a sinking feeling within my chest. The clicking was becoming stronger, and the entire chamber began to rumble. I kept backing into the wall but to no avail, and at that moment, I decided I had to do something.

I ignited [Fallen Embers] into the transparent orange wall, but it did nothing. There wasn’t even so much as a reaction from it. I frowned, but instead of panicking, I decided to actually think. I looked around, taking in the details of the squared chamber. A pillar stood in the center. It towered all the way to the ceiling with small vents.

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Next to the pillar, there was a staircase that led up a level, however there was nothing else. The chamber walls were akin to a smooth, highly polished rock, while the pillar was dimpled and coarse, but everything was coated in orange. My eyes darted looking for answers as the mechanical whirring intensified, however I saw nothing, and had just been called an intruder.

With that in mind I decided to move from my spot. My heart rushed as I moved away from possibly my only exit. It was blocked now, but perhaps it wouldn’t be for long, and that thought made me shake a bit. Nonetheless, I gripped my pickaxe tight, dragging my feet through the ground with a steady pace. I kept my flames to myself in case I had to fight something. If I had learned anything was that whenever they were active my enemies were wary of me. My advantage was the element of surprise.

My hands trembled as I reached the pillar jutting out of the back wall. It was akin to a division in the middle of the chamber with stairs flanking each side, and at the very back next to the wall, I saw what I identified to be a passageway inside of the pillar. It was at the end, past the staircase hugging the wall. I slowly walked up the stairs. The whirring and the sounds intensified before finally, there was a flash right behind me, along with the voice.

[Deploying defenses to apprehend the intruder.]

I turned around in horror as a tall humanoid rock thing appeared out of thin air, phasing through the ground with wisping orange particles. It was akin to a giant rock doll, one that towered over me and stood at half of the room’s height, but it had no neck and its shoulders extended into its head akin to an oval, with nothing but three holes for a face. The doll had exposed joints and vents on its sides with flashing lights. The being had the same type of mystical patterns as the chamber etched into it.

What was that?

Soon, the World’s Voice answered my question.

[(Guardian of the Flying City of Laiken) Compound Golem.]

Flying City of Laiken? Before I could infer further, the Compound Golem raised its arm pointing at me with flashing light ⁠— mana. My mind panicked and I ran up the stairs, nearly stumbling over, but I made it to the top. The orange light behind me intensified and I rushed to take cover in the passageway. As soon as I did, the orange went away. I almost heard the mechanical sound of the Compound Golem’s arm lower.

I didn’t know what a Compound Golem was, but it seemed to be a machine of sorts. I found it unsettling how it was a replica of some human but also the fact that it had nothing but three holes for a face. And then, I heard a step echo. It was heavy and produced a slight tremble. It’s coming for me. My heart jumped once more, as I turned only to see a vault door in front of me.

I had to leave. I tried to spin its wheel but it wouldn’t bulge. The door was full of patterns, though not lit up, its color was a deep blue with a sheen. Evidently, it was made out of some type of metal rather than magical rock.

Metal is melted with fire, right?

Another step resounded within my ears and at that moment I turned my question into a desire as I conjured [Fallen Embers] and pushed my hands into the door. I whirred and spurred my flames onwards. There was a crackle as the color of the door slowly changed to a pale white. I pushed further as I heard a footstep⁠— then another, and another⁠—

No matter how many times I burst my flames onto it, the door wouldn’t bulge. The white turned ashen as the door flaked. But soon, it returned to the same deep blue metallic color after the white peeled. And then, I heard a final footstep as an orange light flashed to my side.

Shit⁠—

I stepped back and tried to round the corner, but there was a flash with a mechanical whir, and at that moment I felt a shock of pain. In an instant, an orange light encompassed me, launching me through the air. My pickaxe was dropped with an empty clang. I landed against the wall, glued; an orange net wrapped on my body. My heart raced as I tried to think of a plan. The Compound Golem was still on the other side of the room, so maybe I could escape somehow, and then I saw it.

There was a flash on the pillar and I saw the Compound Golem phase through it. Its body emerged slowly as it looked at me with the three holes on its face, each flashing in a different sequence in orange colors. I shivered.

[Intruder has been apprehended. Disposal process initiated.]

Disposal?

The Compound Golem took a step forward and at that moment, there was nothing in my mind but survival. I urged my mana forward and a burst of blue flames encompassed the net. And to my surprise, it melted right off. I dropped onto the ground with a thud, the shock traveling through my feet as I stared at the Guardian of the Flying City of Laiken.

The flames dissipated as I got ready to attack, but then the orange color on the Compound Golem shifted to a deep shade of red.

[Intruder has been detected to be a Class ‘2’ risk. Immediate termination has been initiated.]

The Compound Golem once more pointed its arm with a mechanical sound at me, but without warning it fired a volley of light stakes. I tried to crouch and unfurled a burst of flames. Two stakes melted but one hit my shoulder and sent me tumbling backwards with a flare of pain.

I slowly stood up, taking note of the fact that its colorful attacks were ineffective against my flames. Even though my shoulder was bleeding I paid no attention to it. Instead, I felt excitement as I began to connect the dots of this place.

Laiken, the Flying City’s subterranean vault. Whether I understood how it could have a vault below ground when it was supposed to be flying, one thing was clear to me ⁠— vaults were made to safe-keep important things, and there was a door just behind the Compound Golem. I smiled as I was engulfed in blue flames.

There must be a Relic here.

And I just had to kill the guardian to get to it.

* * * * *

Endrar frowned as they reached a bigger chamber. They had been following the footsteps left behind by the Spectral Glass by a couple of hours now.

“Are you sure she isn’t dead?” One of the Supervisors asked, clad in Artificial Relics. “We are at the twenty-five percent mark already.”

In response, Endrad simply shook his head as he looked off in the distance.

“No. Look over there.”

Another Supervisor pointed out where Endrad’s was holding his gaze. And at that moment everyone gasped. He didn’t blame them, but it just confirmed how important their mission was, after all. They were looking at the corpse of a Prowling Harvester, a creature they normally cannot take on carelessly, and yet it was dead along with more Prowl Reapers, all of them burned to cinders. Even though they had ventured for hours, they didn’t find a single Prowl Reaper. It was odd. Endrad had expected to find a couple of dozen, and yet not one was to be seen; they must’ve died at the hands of the girl, though their corpses were nowhere to be found.

Whatever Relic she had found, it was clearly powerful.

So Third Grade then?

Endrad surmised. Either she agreed to give it, or she was going to be killed. He closed his eyes and began to walk once more, following the footsteps.

They were close to finding her, he could just feel it.

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