Chapter 138: Chapter One Hundred Thirty Nine

We didn't get spotted by anyone on our way up the Volcano,  thankfully. It was also lucky Callie kept that shield around us, because  more than one of us fell on the way up. Though we had incredibly  powerful physical bodies, most of us couldn't actually fly, and the  mountain was much less durable than we were. The rock crumbled out from  under us a number of times, but thanks to going slow and being careful  the few times someone slipped we were able to intervene before they  fell, and even the wolves made it to the top of the Volcano safely.

Once  we made it up to the top we all stopped to catch out breaths, not tired  so much as extremely frazzled from the constant worry about the fucking  ground collapsing from under our shoes. We were able to stand much more  stable on the rim of the Volcano, looking down on the sprawling maze of  lava rock walls that coated the bottom of the Volcanic bowl, which to  my immense relief was NOT coated with lava as I'd expected. It made  sense in a way while we couldn't assume it was entirely dormant it was  pretty clear it was safe to interact with up here at the top.

We  all crouched down inside the rim so no one could see us from farther  away. High Perception stats made things like that possible and it was  better not to risk it. As we stared down into the labyrinth we could see  shambling forms that were barely visible from up here, even with our  enhanced Perception. Callie was able to see them best given her talents,  and relayed their appearance to the rest of us but no one knew what  they were. Despite how prepared we were for the undead biome no one here  had any special knowledge of these kinds of monsters.

Luckily  there were other options. We still had our scan rings, and while we  were out here we had signals that would let us do a bit of research. We  spent twenty minutes or so tracking down monsters that fit the  description Callie gave us, just so we would have the best chance when  we went in. Callie was the one who found them, which given her much  nicer ring and the fact that she could actually see the damn things  wasn't really a surprise.

Making sure to stay low just in  case she crawled over to us, wincing a bit as the sharpened bit of  volcanic gravel scraped at her legs, though her higher Impact prevented  any actual damage. I suspected there were higher ranked stone shards in  there or it probably wouldn't have even hurt her. When she got close  enough she turned her screen so we could all see the picture. The  creature was a large upright monster made of the same lava rock as the  labyrinth, which kind of explained why we couldn't make them out very  well.

Callie looked less than enthused. "They're called  Tinderlings. A type of G ranked lava construct. They form naturally when  low grade fire elementals possess lava rocks. In their base form  they're basically small rolling pebbles, but over time they accrue more  stone and build themselves stronger bodies. When they rank up they merge  into their rock form entirely and become a completely new creature.  Tinderlings are durable, being made of stone and all, but they're mainly  Might attributed, which makes them both stronger and makes the heat  they give off more intense. These are not an easy enemy to fight, and  avoiding them is going to be our best best."

The gravel  shifted slightly as the wolves adjusted themselves, clearly not enjoying  being stuck on their bellies in sharp gravel, whether it could actually  hurt them or not. They even whimpered slightly, though Jessie was able  to shush them into silence again. Despite the wolves bonding with each  of us Jessie was still their main point of contact and they seemed  closer to her than the rest of us. I didn't mind. She would probably be  working with them more than we would. Her life energy could even help  them evolve over time if I understood her power correctly. They were  mounts for us, but for Jessie they were a huge force multiplier.

Focusing  back on Callie I asked the question that no one had gotten around to  yet. "Will we be able to avoid them? The labyrinth is kind of sprawling.  We might be able to work around them if we use the raven, but what  happens if we run into one of these things after we enter the tunnels.  We don't know what it's like down there, we have no way to tell what the  setup is like under there, we might be completely penned in with them."  For that matter I didn't know which entrance we should even pick. They  weren't small, I might be able to use Seek Hidden to find the closest to  our target, but I'd feel better if we got a bit closer.

Luckily  she seemed less unsure about this. "Yes. Like I said, absurdly Might  heavy. Their Perception is pretty much rock bottom, probably because no  one expects rock monsters to have particularly sharp senses, especially  given the lack of eyes and ears. We should be able to sneak by them  easily enough, though if we get penned in like you're worried about we  might have to fight in a few cases. It's better than the alternative  though. Fighting a few of them is better than fighting dozens, and we  don't exactly have a way of avoiding them completely."

I  grinned. "That might not be accurate. Remember we're standing on a big  ass mountain. This entire thing is made of rock. I had an idea when I  saw this place, but now that we made it up here it's beginning to become  an actual plan. What if we avoid the labyrinth and the monsters  entirely. My Sucking Mud skill can turn the earth liquid in a ten meter  radius. What if I narrow the effect and use it to reach further down. We  might be able to literally sink through the ground and into the tunnels  while bypassing all the dangers."

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Callie looked less than  enthused by my idea. "Solomon, that...that is INCREDIBLY dangerous.  What if we don't pick a spot over the tunnels, what if someone sinks  down into the earth and then gets stuck down there. They could drown in  the mud, that sounds...horrifying to even imagine. I'd love a way to  avoid all this danger but I can't in good conscience let anyone take  that risk." Her voice was quavering at the thought, and I wondered if  she had some sort of phobia about being buried alive.

Luckily  I didn't just spout the idea without consideration. "Not at all, I  thought of that. I can use Seek Hidden to find the tunnel system, it's  huge so it wont be hard to locate. As for getting stuck, our bodies are  way more powerful than they used to be. Tearing ourselves free of some  dirt wouldn't be hard for any of us, and we could put a rope around the  persons waist just in case so they can follow it back up. Plus with our  Might we can hold our breaths WAY longer than we used to. I noticed it  when we were swimming the other day."

I'd actually been  pretty confused at how that worked. My best guess was the increased  suction from inhalation condensed a lot more air into our lungs, but I  hadn't really had a chance to ask anyone about it. It was one of those  weird side effects of Might that no one really mentioned because it  didn't usually come up in the day to day. I was really looking forward  to finding out more of those actually. I could see Callie still looked a  bit put off, and I stepped forward, putting my hands on her shoulders.

I  gave them a squeeze. "Hey, no one was suggesting you do it first. I'm  the one with the Sucking Mud skill, so I'll try it out. If something  goes wrong I can use the skill again and you guys can pull me up by the  rope, no muss no fuss. Ok?" Her eyes looked clouded for a second, as if  she wasn't looking at me, and I wondered what the hell had happened to  her that gave her this kind of reaction the idea of being buried. It  wasn't an underground thing, we'd done that plenty since we got here. It  was specifically the idea of being buried alive.

Still,  not the time or place, and possibly not my business. I made my intention  to let it go obvious, and I saw her come back to her senses as she  noticed me letting go of her shoulders. She shook it off, giving me a  brittle smile. "Yeah. Of course, that sounds like a smart safety  measure. Let's do that." With that said, we started to make our way down  the crater slowly, towards the edges of the labyrinth. In order for  this to work I needed to be close enough for Seek Hidden to find both  the right entrance and the tunnels themselves.

Luckily  as explained earlier the Tinderlings had shit for Perception so even a  basic application of stealth let me range ahead of the group without  fear of being noticed. I let the others fall behind as I slowly made my  way forward to the edge of the labyrinth, and when I got close enough I  closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and activated Seek Hidden, targeting  the entrance closest to the Akkadian Fire Beads. I'd considered doing  the Heart of the Greater Mountain, but I suspected based on the name is  was big enough for me to use the tracking skill on it directly when we  got to that point.

I  felt the skill activate, and given the size of the entrances I didn't  need to strain it or change its application to make it work. I opened my  eyes, staring out into the labyrinth and after a minute or so of  searching managed to catch sight of a dim red glow. I gestured up to the  others to follow at a distance and began the process of sneaking around  the edge of the labyrinth, drawing closer and closer to the slowly  brightening red glow of the entrance we needed to make use of to get to  the Akkadian Fire Beads first. I was pretty sure getting the Heart was  going to involve fighting for it, but if we could secure the beads first  we could ensure we at least had a chance to win or tie regardless of  the outcome.

As  we drew in close to the proper entrance I waved the others in closer  and nodded to Benny, who passed me a rope he was able to conjure from  his torso. Since Benny himself was G rank, and the rope was at least H  it would be more durable than average. I tied it around my waist and  cancelled Seek Hidden, waiting a second before activating it again  searching for the tunnel system beneath us. Unlike the entrance the  tunnels were MASSIVE and as such I didn't even need to look to see them  lit up like a lantern.

I  made my way over to a tunnel that I saw connected to the entrance we  wanted and extended past the edge of the labyrinth before turning to the  others. I kept my voice low as I spoke, still somewhat worried about  the Tinderlings hearing us. "Alright, I'm going to head down to test out  the process, it isn't too far so it shouldn't be a problem, plus my  mask will keep my face clear and I can hold my breath on the way. If you  feel a tug though, pull me up, and if the ground hardens wait a minute  and I'll use the skill again." I cracked my neck, readying myself for  the next task. "Wish me luck." I just hoped I didn't need it.

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