He shook himself from his contemplations. Deep within a colony of insectile monsters’ tunnels was not the place to become distracted. Looking around, he saw that a few others were emerging from their momentary soulseed delves.

The Nulzan hunters were growing in strength nearly as fast as Dharen was, many having now pushed past the level 10 threshold to unlock their third Boon. Though, of course, their attributes were significantly lower than his. Despite that, their higher baseline meant that they required far less in the way of attributes to be effective than he did.

After a moment for the group to reassemble themselves, they pushed onwards. They moved towards the side of the small cavern, in the direction that the Aarthriin drones had been carrying their various foodstuffs. With a passageway far wider than the crevice through which they had entered, they spread out five abreast. The tunnel sloped downwards rather sharply, cutting through the stone surrounding it. The smell of rot wafted upwards, courtesy of the Aarthriin drones’ gathering efforts.

The floor beneath them was weathered by the steady tread of many feet beating mercilessly upon it, grinding a path into the stone. The signs of a great many creatures’ regular passage were prominent, lending haste to their travels. Though they were precisely there in order to do battle and harvest soulseeds, they did not wish to find themselves in a disadvantaged situation.

Soon, the passageway began to widen further. It poured outwards into another cavern. The chamber was filled with a wide variety of materials. Various plants brushed against the rising stalagmites, propped against the monolithic formations. Fruits rotted away in the fetid air, oozing juices as their lives spilled away. Corpses suffered much the same fate, though to a far lesser degree. They would be the first to be eaten, after all.

Dharen pulled his thoughts away from the horrifically pungest smell that pervaded the cavern, focusing his attention upon continuing their journey. A single tunnel served as an exit to the cavern, making the choice regarding which direction to go quite simple.

They quietly followed the tunnel, stepping lightly upon the stone floor. As they walked, the stone below them began to be honeycombed with small holes and drops. Within the relatively safe confines of the honeycombs were small eggs - Aarthriin, still in the earliest stage of growth. Dharen stabbed through the gaps with one of his daggers, the Nulzan following suit. Though they were not yet born, it was in their best interest to cull the Aarthriin colony while they had the chance - whether they could fight back or not.

Vulnerable eggs squished and squelched under the ruthless assault, spilling out onto the surrounding stone below. In the end, they destroyed every egg that they could find that looked similar to one another. However, any egg that looked special was left untouched. As the vast majority of the colony consisted of drones, it stood to reason that the main type of egg would be those very same drones. Thus, any eggs that looked different from the norm were likely to be Aarthriin that possessed the potential to Awaken.

While, yes, Awakened Aarthriin were incomparably more dangerous than their drone counterparts, they were also a reliable source of soulseeds. It would be unwise to destroy them all before obtaining some form of benefit.

Soon, however, they were forced to cease their efforts. The strange honeycombed floor poured out into a cavern of astounding size. The cavern soared high overhead, stretching far beyond what he thought would have been possible.

The chamber was littered with rock formations, creating a maze of high-stretching stalagmites and drooping stalactites. An upper layer of stone crossed the center of the room, a bridge formed of rock that soared between two monolithic formations. Bat-like creatures hung overhead, surprisingly unperturbed by the heavy Aarthriin presence within the nearby caverns.

A rumbling noise echoed within the cavern chamber, a steady drumbeat that filled the air. A large stream of water spilled from a corner of the ceiling, pouring down from above. It crashed into the stone below, forming a shallow river that meandered its way back and forth between the stout stalagmites, following grooves in the stone that had likely been formed over many long years. The makeshift river crossed from one side of the cavern to the other before spilling downwards through a smaller secondary opening in its path.

The back of the chamber dipped down to a lower level. Obfuscated by the many formations and the difference in elevation, they were unable to see what lay below.

In front of that, in the space between the shallow river and the lowered section, a group of five Aarthriin rested. Dharen started slightly at the sight. Fortunately, it seemed that they truly were resting. Though they did not sleep in the typical fashion, there was an element of reduced sensitivity and awareness. Despite that, he had no doubt that they would jolt into wariness with very little provocation.

It was likely only the steady sounds of rumbling water that had prevented them from already doing so in response to the egg massacre that had recently been conducted.

The resting Aarthriin were yet another type of aberrant Aarthriin - one that they had already encountered, but not yet battled against. Covered in heavy azure plates and sharp ridges and barbs, they were highly defensively-oriented. Even from a distance, Dharen could tell that they would likely possess an astounding Vitality and hardiness.

Splitting from their backs were dual sets of insectile wings. While he had doubts that the wings could support the creatures enough to allow for flight, he judged that they would still serve to assist in movement to some degree. Their legs were thick and heavy, closer to blunt weapons than they were to pure means of motion.

Dharen silently gestured to his allies, and they pulled back into the tunnel behind them. They quietly conversed, careful to keep the noise to a minimum. In the end, they formed a viable plan.

The others remained within the tunnel, while Dharen pressed forward. He activated Softstep, silencing his movements entirely. Though he attempted to shield the light that spilled from it, Restraint glowed with power, evidence of his recent preparation.

He crossed the shallow river with a powerful leap, landing silently on the other side. Though Softstep prevented his steps from creating noise, he did not know whether or not the sounds of the water splashing around him would be muted as well. It was best not to risk it.

Finally, he reached the nearest of the azure Aarthriin. An aura of protectiveness emanated from each of them, bringing to mind an image of a city’s elite defenders. He shook it off, setting himself up for a powerful swing. The warhammer came down, a blur of motion and light. It collided with the side of the monster’s head, ringing sharply.

Yet, rather than transforming into a pulp, the monster’s heavy carapace only cracked slightly.

⥫⥬⥫⥬⥫⥬

Shield of Protection:

A portion of the damage inflicted has been taken by the target’s ally!

⥫⥬⥫⥬⥫⥬

The message repeated three more times, shocking Dharen deeply.

The sound of cracking carapace emanated from four other locations in the cavern - from each of the other Aarthriin Defenders. Each possessing the same abilities, the protection they gave overlapped with one another. As a result, the damage from Dharen’s powerful blow had been split five ways - reducing the damage to far more manageable levels.

The resting Aarthriin roared to life, jolting into awareness.

Though he already failed in his first objective, Dharen made the decision to abandon it and focus on phase two of the plan instead.

He turned and began to run away.