Shortly after finding the crystals, Liam's torch flickered out. From that point on, he used the aqua crystal to light the way. Walking underground warped his sense of time to the point he was unsure whether a few minutes or several hours had passed.

Along the way, he found several more pools filled with Merediem Aqua Crystals. Each time he discovered one, he would stop in order to grab as many pieces as possible. Of course, his broken arm hurt, but the thought of possibly selling the crystals helped him overcome the pain. Several pools later, he discovered that the underground river originated from a waterfall cascading from far above and split into two underground rivers at the bottom. One river he had followed here while the other carved through the ravine ahead. Much of the waterfall overhead was obscured by darkness but the bottom marked the highest ground area of the ravine.

Scratching his head, Liam muttered, “Not sure what I can do here besides keep going. Even if this waterfall starts above ground, there is no way I'm going to be able to climb all the way up.”

With no choice but to continue, he trudged onward by following the new stream. There were a few crystal-filled pools along this river which Liam did not hesitate to loot. However, he eventually arrived at a sharp, downhill curve in the river. The water foamed as it surged over and crashed against stone. Hugging the wall, he carefully jumped down small ledges. One was high enough to force him to pocket his glow stone in order to climb down. When he reached the bottom, he realized the cave had closed in enough for him to see the ceiling. However, it looked like an eerie night sky.

Curiosity drove him to lift the glow stone above his head in an attempt to see what was generating the light but immediately regretted his decision. Each speck of light coating the ceiling was actually an arm-length insect similar to a caterpillar. Innumerable strings similar to spider webs hung from the ceiling like a blanket of silver hair.

“If those were any closer to the ground, then climbing that waterfall would have looked like a much more appealing option.” Liam said while sporting a disgusted expression. He was inwardly thankful that even the lowest string was at least a meter above his head.

Walking alongside the calmly flowing river, he kept his eyes trained on the caterpillars. Seeing a few flying insects snagged in the strings disgusted him. If even a single one fell then he would be sure to stab it as quickly as possible. He ended up having mixed feelings when none actually fell, though.

For a while, he forgot his original purpose since he was focused on the creepy crawlies, but light originating beyond a bend in the cave caught his attention. In contrast to the bluish lights he had seen so far, this one was closer to a yellow or orange. In fact, if he was not mistaken, it was the color of daylight. Without further ado, he increased the cadence of his steps and rounded the bend.

“Whoa.”

The sight before his eyes stunned him beyond belief. An enormous cavern stretched out for hundreds of meters before him. Two paths as wide as a man is tall lined the walls around the entire circumference of the cavern. The river flowed over the edge into the center which was just a giant pit. Far above, the walls converged together, making the entire place feel like the top half of a giant egg. However, there was a breach in the ceiling where daylight peeked through, lighting the area. Everything was completely symmetrical, so Liam concluded it was man-made to some extent.

At the opposite end of the pit, he could see some sort of structure. Although unable to pinpoint exactly what it was, he decided it was his best bet for escaping the cave. With that in mind, he followed the path to the right. Exhaustion started to set in before he even reached the halfway point. After all, the trek so far had been longer than any of his ventures since he became an instructor.

“Probably going to need to rest soon.” Liam tiredly mumbled.

As he approached the structure, he observed how it had been built into the wall. A central stairway, crumbled and cracked as it was, led to a platform. Carved into the walls on both sides of the stairway were identical, decorative portrayals of knights surrounded by structures similar to torii, the gates which generally stand as an entryway to Japanese shrines. Past the platform, there were four cylindrical pillars standing several stories tall. Even from a fair distance, one would know they were many times taller than the average person.

When he arrived at the foot of the stairs, Liam scrutinized the stone knight statues. The style of the armor looked rather eerie. Spikes sprouted from all over the helmet, shoulder plates, and gauntlets. Each knight rested their armored hands on the pommel of an irregular longsword stabbed into the ground. Even though the statues were carved from stone, they looked life-like. Perhaps they were similar to gargoyles in their purpose.

Not wanting to spend all day staring at the depictions, he began climbing the stairs. Cracks and dust coated the surface. On the way up, he kicked away a few broken stones.

From the viewpoint of the platform, Liam realized just how tall the pillars actually were. They were at least three times the size of the ones in front of the Adventurer Guild. The space between each pillar measured at least three meters wide. Beyond the pillars loomed a large entrance. Although the opening was a simple rectangular doorway, the carvings around it were similar to the gate carvings over the knight statues. Metal sconces jutted out from each side of the door with reddish-orange flames floating above them as though by magic.

The space between the pillars and the entrance looked like a good enough place to set up his tent, but he decided to explore first to make sure there were no critters that might interrupt his rest.

He walked to the entrance and peeked inside. Although he expected it to be dark, torches lit up a bland chamber in an eerie fashion. Shadows flickered with the movement of the flames, looking like dancing smudges on every eroded surface. The chamber itself lacked features or decorations. In fact, the only thing of note was some sort of stone door at the opposite end.

“Yeah, definitely gonna sleep for a bit before delving into this place. A few spider webs, but they'll probably leave me be.” Liam muttered. Without further ado, he set up his tent as best he could, though the process was complicated by the stone surfaces. Several stone shards and sweat drops later, his tent stood solemnly between pillars, waiting for him to come inside. Worn out from the long journey through the caverns, he plopped down on the floor of the tent and immediately passed out from exhaustion.