The farmlands consist mainly of cornfields and potatoes stretching far and wide. As they travelled between the fields, Kihet noticed a small section that appeared to be an apiary. He saw a number of wooden boxes that had a familiar appearance to that of something he built in the past. Since it was far away, he couldn’t be sure.

The party departed earliest next morning and arrived at their destination two days later at noon. The cavern’s exterior was much different than described. Although it was a cave, the entrance was stacked of artificial squared blocks in an arch held together by an ancient recipe of concrete. Beyond that, a man-made tunnel stretched beyond the entrance of dangling vines. It looked like a mine that had been abandoned long ago and was now home to monsters.

Cold air flooded out as the cavern waited for people to step in its chilling domain. Last Kihet checked it wasn’t raining, but in here, it sounded like it was. The noise from dripping moss that hanged over the ceiling hit the puddles like rain. He walked beside rough cuts of stone walls parallel to a wet narrow path. At the end of the hallway, there was a cliff leading deeper into darkness with a cord of rope nailed at the edge that looked sturdy enough to climb down.

He leaned forward, allowing the light from his lantern to spread as far as it could. That was when a Grasshopper type insectoid rushed past him, grabbed the rope and slid down without checking for danger.

“Last one down is a smelly stinkbug!” Priqet laughed as he slid down.

Next was Yixy, a moth type insectoid who spread her wings and floated down the cliff. Kihet wondered how could those two confidently jump down. There could’ve been monsters waiting for them.

“H-hey! Isn’t that dangerous?” Lily asked.

“That’s their problem. Not ours. If they want to die, they can die.”

“That’s mean.”

“I’m not the one diving into danger. They are.”

Since insectoids were the lightest of the seven races, Kihet tested the rope making sure it was sturdy enough for them before climbing down. When he reached the bottom, he gave the signal for Lily to follow him.

“Yixy, no light?” Lily asked.

“Hm? Oh… I get distracted by lights in dark places, so I don’t use one.” She yawned.

“There are insectoids who are incredibly perceptive in the dark, like us. Specifically, Yixy and I. By the by, Oracle, I’ve never been outside of Vivirus. How were the roads like when you came here?”

“You’ll see how bad once we find a dungeon.”

“That’s not being specific. On a serious note, I detected monsters a few tunnels ahead. It appears to be a small colony and they can fly.” Priqet suddenly announced. “If we follow this path, we’ll surely find them.”

“You’re joking.”

“Not at all. If you don’t believe me, shall we meet them?”

Ten minutes down the path, they stumbled upon a flock of cave dwellers just as Priqet predicted. Giant bats. The monsters hanged upside down about half a meter tall, hunched, large ears, black fur and wings that spanned three meters wide. A few kicked themselves into the air with their long talons as they screeched, demanding a fight.

Priqet and Kihet immediately switched to an active defensive stance while Yixy and Lily readied themselves afar.

“Oracle, we’ve encountered the uglyings. As planned, Tomoe will pull them towards us. You and I will grab their attention as they fly down.” Priqet said as he readied his sword and shield. His other two arms secured the case strapped on his back.

“Lily.”

“On it!”

Quick flashes of light flew above Kihet as a fan of iron tipped arrows tore into group of Giant Bats. Before Lily loosened the next wave of projectiles, the monsters scatter themselves and swooped down at them.

Since they were sensitive to sound, Kihet opened the cover of his lantern and he lit the fuse of the firecracker.

“Cover your ears!”

A bat stopped above him, flinging its lower half up to use sharp talons for a scratch attack. Kihet casually took a few steps back then casted a lit firecracker up to its ears. The explosive noise concussed it as he quickly dashed in. Now grounded, the bat thrashed around trying to escape his foot.

Kihet transferred all his weight on his foot and twist, dislocating the head from the neck. He then located his next target while he twirled a bola and threw it when another one rushed at him. The strings caught on one wing, making it fall within Kihet’s reach as he pierced his Nagamaki into its face. With them coming to him, it was easier to counter rather than wasting excess energy trying to chase them down.

“The Oracle’s way of fighting… is quite the spectacle.” Yixy commented.

“You got a problem?”

“N-nope!”

In amidst of their chatter, a monster dropped down. Lily launched an arrow at it as a reaction, but it was already dead.

The monster was done in by Priqet who bounced around like a madman. His serrated club made quick work of any creature in his path. The row of razor-sharp crystals tore past the bat’s skin on their wings. A second ago, the grasshopper was at the entrance of the tunnel. The next, he zoomed through a group monsters and swatted them down. His lightweight equipment and his racial trait allowed him to utilize his strong hind legs to jump around the cavern.

“Hoho! We showed them!” Priqet sang. “Oracle, have I proven my worth yet? Surely you could acknowledge my strength in this expedition!”

“Sure.”

“Really?!”

“Just get going already.”

Even though Kihet was annoyed by the grasshopper, he couldn’t deny he was useful. Without Priqet, they might’ve wasted more time and energy than needed to fight against flyers.

“Talk about being grumpy. Tomoe, was the Oracle always like this?” Yixy asked.

“No. Kihet different.”

“People and their problems. I don’t think I should pry any deeper since he’s giving me the evil eye.”

In a single file line, Priqet took point, humming joyfully as he skipped at the front without a care in the world. Yixy moved behind Priqet, yawning occasionally while dragging her staff along. Lily was second last, keeping her ears sharp. Kihet held the rear guard, watching for everything they might’ve missed as the four of them forged ahead.

Not once did they encounter more monsters after their victory against Giant Bats.

“How much further are we supposed to go. My legs are killing me.” Yixy complained.

“We moved quite a long way. Say, Oracle. How about a quick breather?” Priqet asked.

“Fine by me.” Kihet answered after shining his lantern at Lily. “I told you if you can’t carry that much, you should let me carry some for you.”

“I didn’t know we’d be walking this much.” Lily replied as she passed a quiver to Kihet.

They moved through the dark until they discovered a path leading into a small burrow. The ceiling was tall enough for Kihet to walk under without crouching. If he wanted to, he could even stretch his arms up to touch it.

As they settled in and took turns to watch for enemies, Kihet decided to wind a roll of silk into ropes to prepare extra bolas since they proved useful to immobilize foes. The drawback of having them on standby was their weight as their purpose was to slow down medium to small types of opponents. As useful as they are, crafting one took a considerable amount of time given how thin silk threads were. He wove a set of silk rope before his turn to act as lookout.

While keeping an eye towards the black void, he noticed a strange formation on the wall caught his attention. If he hadn’t repositioned his lantern closer to the entrance, he wouldn’t have noticed a small ore vein on the side of the entrance. He recognized the glossy black crystals as hailstone. He had a sword made out of it once.

“Whatcha looking at?” Lily asked.

“Hailstones. It’s very durable but more brittle than treated steel. I didn’t know Vivrus had them here.”

However, it wasn’t enough to be forged into a sizeable sword judging from the amount poking out on the surface.

“You two should probably eat something.” Yixy hollered.

While they sat around the lantern, Priqet set aside the case he stubbornly carried. Even in combat, he never left it unattended or with Yixy.

“Oracle, that hard bread won’t fill you. You need something that provides more protein, more energy! Feast your eyes for I took the liberty to bring some high-grade rations for the four of us! Hahaha… ha…” He thoroughly searched his bag only to discover a hole ripped where he was trying to reach. “Never mind. Instead, I have regular rations!” And shouted without a care while searching other pockets from his bag.

“You lost them!? I should’ve been the one to carry the food! I was so looking forward to eating them too…” Yixy cried.

“Here. You have.” Lily passed a parcel.

“I’ll take your offer. These are- Bloated Wood Mantises?! And it’s smoked! How did you get your hands on these?!”

“Kihet, I hunt. Why shock?”

“Oh, what luck! Bloated Wood Mantis meat is so hard to come by. This is way better than what I was saving.”

“Really?” Kihet snorted. “Is it that hard to hunt for them?”

“It is! Vivrus’ jungle of uneven terrain makes even the most coordinated teams suffer. The forest makes it hard for ranged attacks to hit so it’s nearly impossible to return unscathed from battling Mantises there for their meat.”

“We hunt by local.” Lily boasted.

“You two were very lucky. If there were more, I could’ve keep eating these.”

“And… does this count as cannibalism?” Kihet’s was curious for a while when he watched them eating Mantis meat. “What if a Mantis type insectoid eats a Bloating Mantis?”

“You do often see cannibalism in the insect world.” Priqet said, taking a sip of water. “We could say the same to other races like Werewolves hunting wolves for fur and meat. The resemblance may be there, but our existence is those of man to monsters. Two separate beings.”

“Fair enough.”

Kihet accepted Priqet’s answer without another word of complaint. He ate the tasteless bread and rations diligently keeping an eye at the entrance until Lily raised an interesting question.

“Yixy, rank?”

“Us…? Priqet and I are Soldier ranked. We worked as adventurers for four years.”

“Four years? That seems like a short amount of time to climb up the ranks.”

“To be honest, we’re not sure how we got to where we are this quickly.” Priqet chirped. “I think we were recommended for a promotion after we assisted Sir Aten’s campaign to defeat an Dracalefic Fly. You know, an insect monster that mimics the appearance of a Wyvern. They can use thunder, ice, and fire magic.”

“Met Aten.” Lily said.

“You know him too? A man of mystery if I do say so myself. Never talks but very strong. He’s one of the famous General Ranked Adventurers said to be under review for Hero Ranked for years now. The only thing holding him back is the rumor he has a curse which is causing trust issues for his advancement.”

“Left an impression too.” Kihet mumbled.

At this point, everyone rested enough and resumed the expedition to find the entrance to the dungeon.

Their first clue came from remnants of some poor victim’s rusting armor and a left behind weapon. Naturally, Kihet took the weapon. However, the body was nowhere to be found, but they followed a large trail of blood painted mess across the walls. Based on the amount leading deeper into the tunnel, the person was as good as gone. It was then they encountered a black mist walled them off from going beyond.

Before they got the chance to examine it, a strong gust of wind slipped through the glass casing of Kihet’s lantern and snuffed out the flame. Lily struck a light on a match in a panic and again, another blast of air extinguished their light.

“I don’t like this.” Lily shuddered. “I can’t see anything.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Kihet waved his hand over his scavenged sword, igniting the blade with a magical flame. Anything that touched the veil of black mist would blacken up to the point of contact, but with the Oracle’s flames, Kihet was able to burn away the miasma by sticking the tip of his enchanted weapon into it. However, air that was trapped behind quickly rushed towards them. He found himself short on breath as if an invisible hand was choking him. That unpleasant feeling vanished when they cleared out of the tunnel and realized the change in scenery.

Stone brick walls. Unused sconces. In the corner of his eye, a familiar brazier in the middle of the room containing the ever-burning blue fire with the path behind them altered.

“Is this the tower or a dungeon?” He asked himself.

Kihet went through his memory and did not remember seeing an Oracle’s mark for him to open a portal. The last thing he expected was being forcibly teleported into one.

“Yixy, behind!” Lily warned.

Priqet pulled back his friend, using his shield to catch a claw slashing down from the dark. As he was trying to push it off, silver flames suddenly engulfed it, leaving nothing behind.

“They’ll be more.” Kihet warned as he enchanted the rest of his equipment. “Everyone, show me your weapons. We’re inside the dungeon.”

The insectoids went silent for a few moments before started panicking.

“T-this is the dungeon?!”

“No way! No way! I heard there were supposed to be a gate or something that lets you know you’re about to go inside a dungeon!”

“Shut up. You two aren’t getting a better explanation from me.” Kihet growled. “We’re sitting ducks here. We gotta keep moving or we’ll be surrounded.”

The layout of this floor was near identical to the tower in design, but there were much more forked paths than any level of the tower. In fact, they moved through this labyrinth unable to find a set of stairs for a long time.

The foes inhabiting the dungeon were more resilient against the Oracle’s flames when attacked from ranged. Once Kihet and the others got close to the Shadows, their melee weapons were able to nullify the layer of miasma and defeat their foes.

“Oracle, there’s another one coming towards your left!” Priqet warned.

Kihet picked up a war hammer an enemy had dropped earlier, brandishing and dropping it quickly after successfully pummelled the enemy across the face. Using [Crescent Dash], he circled behind another Shadow and backstabbed it. Kihet anchored his dagger into its shoulder to steady his aim, skewering his sword through its neck with the blade coming out of its chest.

“Status.” He demanded.

“We’ve been fighting for quite some time.” Yixy reported.

“I never expected to see hordes of them constantly charging at us.” Priqet answered, looking at the other end of the hallway. “I have an idea what you meant by how bad the outside world is.”

“Kihet, I’ve used up one quiver.”

Kihet studied the area discovering lots of broken arrows, including the iron tipped ones. The Oracle’s blessing gave weapons the ability to cut through Shadows without any resistance, allowing Lily’s projectiles to punch through multiple foes and stopped by walls. Kihet wanted Lily to continue supporting from afar, but at this rate, it didn’t look like a choice soon.

There was almost nothing on the ground to pick up for a sling. Not even a rock.

This prolonged investigation drained their supplies much quicker than they thought. Kihet was drinking his last canteen of water. With that, their priority shifted from clearing the dungeon to locating the exit. The safest choice was to move through these halls was to search for rooms with braziers. It won’t stop the Shadows from approaching, but he learned they tried to avoid it.

“It’d be nice if there was a map or something. We might not know we’re going in circles.”

Yixy walked up to the walls, inspecting the wear on them. She then reeled her staff and gave the wall a sturdy bash, hoping to put a mark or dent. It was a commendable effort, but Kihet already tried before and nothing he did cracked the walls.

“We can use the sconces as markers. They’ve been always on our right.” Kihet said. “Keep an eye out. If we make a turn and see they’re at our left, we’ve gone backwards.”

Suddenly Priqet stopped. He put one of his four arms out as a signal there were foes nearby.

“Enemies?” Lily drew her bow.

“Maybe. I can feel the air ahead being disturbed quite violently. There almost a rhythmic pattern to it.” Priqet answered.

Kihet wondered. “You can feel the air?”

“Hm? Oh, of course you wouldn’t know Oracle. I was augmented with super sensitive antennas that help detect the slightest disturbance in the air.”

“That’s useful. How big is the range?”

“I would say about half a kilometer, farther if we’re in places like this. Even though it’s a strong asset for exploring caverns and ruins, it does have its drawbacks on the surface.”

“I don’t care about drawbacks. How many are there ahead?”

“There’s a few, but I sense one that’s separated from the others.” Priqet held his chin worriedly. “It’s not moving, and I feel an unordinary amount of air being moved as if the chamber ahead is a resting spot of a large creature.”

“Oracle, you’re the expert. Any idea what it is?” Yixy asked.

“No clue. It doesn’t sound like a Screecher. We would hear its wailing by now.”

“Anyways, there is a light draft on the other side that should lead us to the exit. If we want to continue on this path, we have to go through it.”

“Kihet, sneak.” Lily tugged on his arm.

“I agree we should avoid fighting it.”

Lily would do fine for sneaking past enemies. On the other hand, the insectoids and Kihet were the bigger problem since they carried loose equipment. Yixy carried straps of leather belts holding phials that hit against each other whenever she moved. Priqet had squeaky gauntlets and his mysterious case rattled. Kihet bag was full of miscellaneous items and sounded like a pair of maracas whenever he made sudden movements.

For now, he suggested the group to scout out alternate path and locate the exit. There was a chance the room was a trap and Kihet was not going to risk getting Lily or himself killed because he was overconfident of the Oracle’s powers to take down anything here. Kihet thought if the Oracle’s flames were that strong, everyone back in Rozzosea wouldn’t have died.