Seth looked around, inspecting the handfuls of dark corridors branching off the main road as they advanced. Lines formed on his forehead as the uncomfortable noises grew louder and louder.

He wasn't sure at which point it had started, but the faint chittering, cracking and crunching sounds resounding from the paths on the sides weren’t, definitely, of his liking. It felt as though the back of his head was being repeatedly hit by a stick.

Roland didn’t enjoy the trip much either.

On the other hand, Olivia looked rather excited.

However, contrary to her expectations, they had yet to see another sign of life aside from the two crackers they had slain a couple of hours ago. Every nest had been isolated from each other in order to decrease the danger of the site, which meant they shouldn’t expect to meet other humans any time soon.

Looking in her direction, at a lower level, Seth had to admit that at least the sights had been rather satisfactory during the journey—even if her character wasn’t the best. He had only known her for a bit more than a few hours, but it was clear as the day how much she liked these kinds of situations.

He was fairly surprised that they were interested in forming a team with him, he wasn't weak, however, among all the squads present at the time, he didn't have much to offer. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe they were going with him just for, you know, being nice and all—he understands their logic.

More loot. And he was perfect for that.

Being alone, he wouldn't have much choice but to incline his head and do as they wanted—if his objective was to complete the work and get something out of all this mess.

What they didn't count on was Seth’s blatant disregard and total lack of intent of giving away his profit, they were offering just 25%, which they believe to be 'a lot' regarding that he was alone and his chances of completing the job were pitifully low.

It did make sense, in a way, but not for Seth.

Not at all.

To begin with, that was barely enough to cover the expenses from purchasing the Stondril almond and, honestly, he prefered to be eaten alive by a Gohshawk rather than inclining his head for a pair of nobodies. Even if he wasn't there for the money, it didn’t mean he would accept a loss just like that. And it wasn't as though he needed their help either, he was more than capable.

So, he rejected them.

What he had never expected to see was that they would have the nerves of trailing him to the site, as though he had not made his standing clear enough back at the Guild’s halls.

But contrary to his expectations, this time, the siblings did offer him a good deal. They got a bit hot-tempered during the negotiation when he tried to take advantage of them, however, leaving that aside, it went pretty smoothly.

Seth wasn’t sure of their reasons for going to the lengths of giving away half of their shares and the queen’s core just for a pair of venom sacks, it did make a little sense if they planned on using them to cultivate their aspects but still…

Snapping out of his thoughts, Seth’s attention was drawn to the black polished wall before him. He couldn't help himself but blurt out,

“Wasn’t this supposed to be the entrance to the nest?”

Roland pulled out his device and studied the hologram closely, his face set into a frown, “It should be this one, I’m sure,” his gaze landed on the black, polished wall, “But it appears that someone had decided to seal this area of the site.”

The hologram expanded, shrieked and rotated on its axis as Roland looked for another route. Seth, instead, placed his hand over the smooth surface of the stone; Olivia followed him up and did the same. Expressions of surprise surfaced on their faces. They locked gazes.

“That’s an awful amount of mana,” Olivia said, a slight expression of wonder hanging on her delicate face.

Seth nodded, pushing his attention to the massive bulk of mana in the wall. Touching the smooth surface, he felt the thin outline of the lines and runes carved and the insane amount of mana running through them. They were too small to be seen with the naked eye, and the dark environment didn't help much either. But, feeling the intricate partners and complex runes through his hands, he could assume that whoever or whatever had erected such a thing was, definitely, at the Ranker stage at the very least.

Now, the question was: for what reason?

Nothing came to his mind that could be worth the time of an expert of such calibre. An Amalgamated Billycock was quite a valuable item, but only at the lower levels.

A white core practitioner would not even spare a glance on it. A Ranker? Would probably ask you if it was fertiliser.

Anyway, they didn't plan on involving themselves with a Ranker's stuff, so, after Roland designed a new route, they got their ass out of there.

What happened afterwards was an interminable wander where every new path they took seemed to lead them to a dead-end or going in circles. It was starting to get in Seth’s nerves and from Olivia and even Roland's gloomy expression, they weren’t having a great time either.

From what Roland had told him, the map he had purchased was the latest and most comprehensive piece that money could buy of Stoneater Cliffs. But it wasn’t perfect.

Fortunately, after five long hours of struggle, they had finally reached their destination.

“Gosh, that took us too long!” Olivia exclaimed, tossing herself into her fluffy sleeping bag.

Seth reached into his pack, revealing a small black tube. He popped the cap off, it expanded, transforming into a sleeping bag that he tossed onto the ground. Roland did the same, and soon, only the far noises of the underground echoed inside. They stayed silent—each one of them preoccupied with their thoughts.

Despite not having much action during the trip, as they were only attacked one more time by a pair of crackers, they had pushed their bodies to the limits. They needed rest.

Not to mention that the idea of facing a nest of stoneaters with aching muscles and an exhausted mind wasn't realistic.

They chose to spend the next hours in a small cavity a few dozens of meters away from the entrance to the nest, concealed by a few thick stalagmites that gave them a faint feeling of security that was enough for their current selves.

The spot wasn’t ideal, but at this point, that was the last of their worries.

Seth's mind quickly melted in the comforting embrace of the dreamland as the external sounds slowly died at the back of his mind, even the frigid wind that had bothered him for hours seemed to vanish into nothing.

The rest of the night passed in a flash, to Seth’s displeasure.

Before he knew it, something nudged on the side, he rolled over. Roland urged him with his foot again. Seth’s face twitched in annoyance.

“It seems you had a pleasant night?”

Seth glared at him and muttered, “Much better than what I expected,”

He sat up, unwrapping the bedroll and sitting down on top of it. Glancing down, he knew he owed Lucas a good present for getting him such a good product—his bed was still better, but he didn’t have any complaints.

On his right, Roland nudged Olivia awake with his shoe. She groaned and rolled over, burying half-face in her bedroll and squinted up at him with one single tired eye.

“Five more minutes, please.”

“C’mon,” Roland said, poking her with a finger, “Someone has to take care of that,”

Looking in the direction of Roland’s pointed finger, through a gap between the stalagmites, Seth’s gaze fell on the massive hollow set ahead to their camp. He felt a faint knot of anxiety forming in his stomach.

After getting everything back into their packs, they walked towards the entrance.

It was vastly different compared to the rest of the site’s layout, almost as if they were stepping into a new world.

No stalagmites could be seen as far as their sight could reach, instead, what lay before them was a mixture between the insides of an beehive and a spider's den. Many paths branched off in all directions, making the trio wonder if they were capable of navigating through that mess.

Above, the glistening crystals decorating the ceiling did a splendid job illuminating the place with their bigger measures and brighter glow, which were more than welcomed.

Below, the rugged floor had been replaced by a clean, silky material that was smooth to the touch and gave off a particular scent of fresh flowers. It did little to nothing in dismissing the odour of arsenium lingering in the air, though.

However, what surprised them the most wasn’t the view or the smell but the flow of mana coming out from it. The quality was the same as the rest of the site, but the quantity did seem to be slightly higher.

A pity that I’m not suitable for it, Seth thought, if not, I would have loved to spend a few days inside.

As they walked inside, they quickly noticed the noises growing louder—from all directions.

They looked at each other.

“I’m going to liquify them into goo,” Olivia said, her hands flickering with dark-green mana.

Seth took his blade, “Yeah, I’m with you in this.”

Even Roland seemed to be on the verge of joining them, but he managed to stop himself and the other two from committing a mistake. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,”

“I know,” Olivia and Seth said in unison, they glared at each other. But they decided to follow his advice.

“So, what's the plan?” Seth, feeling much better after they got inside a small, isolated hole. The noises were still there, though. But at a bearable level.

Roland pulled his device, but instead of projecting a map, three images materialised in front of them.

Olivia crossed her arms, “I thought we have already gone over this,”

“Is that so?” Roland said, “Tell me, what are the queen's main capabilities, weaknesses and its relationship with the stoneaters and the crackers? Just a summary, don't bother going too deep into details.”

She opened her mouth… and closed it, peeking to the hologram. It vanished before she managed to read a single word.

“No peeking,”

She looked away.

Roland shook his head and focused on Seth, “Your turn,”

He raised an eyebrow, but decided to follow his game.

There wasn’t much to explain, really.

To summarise, Stoneater was a race of beasts that shared many similarities with the ant kingdom; like their hierarchy structure, behaviour and even the fact that they rely on fungi for the nourishments of their members. But that was where the similarities ended.

The Crackers were the equivalent of a weaver ant and were at the base of the nest's hierarchy. Responsible for building and maintaining the nest, taking care of the brood, gathering the necessary minerals and protecting the colony from threats. Simple.

On a higher level were the Stoneaters.

They were like the bigger and uglier version of the crackers, tasked with the duty of protecting the queen and some other things that Seth didn't bother to explain. There should only be a couple of them in this nest, but they should still be careful of not overlooking any of those guys as they were rather dangerous.

Having said that, he jumped directly to the important stuff.

The queen, well, it did everything a queen should do.

As for their capabilities? Poison and a tough exoskeleton.

Weaknesses? Heat.

Simple.

Nodding, Roland proceeded to explain the plan.