“Let’s go down.” – Elizabeth spoke after the earth dwellers jumped back into the hole – “Also when we go down there, remember to use the telepathic connection if you want to say something.”

 

“Understood.” – Olivia replied while Nyza and Beatrix nodded.

 

“…” – Akihiko’s answer was to jump off.

 

Elizabeth felt an eyebrow twitch but didn’t comment on it and jumped into the hole before the others quickly followed her.

 

As they fell down, the team felt their surroundings widen, giving them a brief sensation of dizziness. The hole’s walls exposed the destroyed rooms and unusable facilities, most vacant, with a few skeletons here and there, furthering the feeling of loneliness the stronghold gave, but mostly rooms were filled with debris and broken furniture, indicating that no room had anything noteworthy in them.

 

Had the group continued their operation, they would most likely have repeated the same process as on the upper floors.

 

Upon arriving at 20 meters from the bottom, their suits lit up again in dim light, using the magic engraved into them, slowing down the fall’s momentum, and allowing the team to softly land on the dirt floor.

 

“Tsk! Tsk, tss!” – As soon as their feet touched the ground, the previously calm earth dwellers got agitated and started clicking their tongues loudly, seemingly alerted by the group’s presence.

 

The giant moles, on the other hand, turned their heads to the newcomers but made no further move, as if they just acknowledged the team’s presence but unless ordered or provoked, didn’t care about them.

 

“Tsk!” – One of the earth dwellers who invited the group unceremoniously barged into the conversation and the others turned their heads toward it – “Tss, tsk, tsk, tss!” – Its clicks of tongue calmed the previously raising animosity among them.

 

<What are they saying?> – Olivia questioned, curious yet wary of the sudden development, however, she refrained from making any brusque moves.

 

<…> – Akihiko didn’t answer immediately, taking his time to interpret their words. After the conversation calmed down, he then conveyed – <The others asked who we are, and the one who invited us answered that we are guests. Now they are discussing if they should take us to meet the “elders” first or take us to see the prisoners.>

 

“Tskk… Tsk.” – The earth dweller who invited the group then turned toward them, seemingly having finished convincing the others – “Tsk.” – It clicked its tongue before mounting a giant mole, indicating they were about to enter the colony.

 

<It asked us to take off our feet covers. It said that they are people from earth who live with the earth. Not being in direct contact with the ground is apparently frowned upon by them.> – Akihiko translated.

 

When the others heard his words, only then they noticed that while the earth dwellers were covered from head to toe with old and dirty cloth clothes, their feet were bare and covered by dirt and rocks.

 

<You mean our shoes, right?> – At Nyza’s question, he nodded.

 

Elizabeth tapped both of her ankles, making her boots produce a clicking sound before smoothly sliding off. She then used her magic and her boots vanished.

 

When her feet touched the ground, she felt weird for a moment, a mix of comfort and a foreign, strange feeling washed over her but she shrugged it off when she noticed the others taking off their boots.

 

Using the same magic, she made their boots vanish, storing them in her inventory.

 

“Tsk~” – The earth dweller clicked its tongue in a seemingly more joyful tone.

 

<It says it’s pleased that we respect their customs.> – Akihiko translated, surprised and confused by its friendliness. However, his surprise didn’t last long before he gritted his teeth – his head throbbing from the increasing headache.

 

The others were just as surprised. They had lessons at their bases about certain monsters possessing intelligence and even saw it firsthand, however, it was a first for them seeing a monster being so friendly.

 

“Tssss, tsk.” – The earth dweller motioned for them to get on his mole.

 

<It’s asking us to hop on.> – Akihiko spoke before walking closer to the mole.

 

The mole turned its head toward him, and even without its eyes, he could feel its “gaze” on him. Nodding at the mole, he then climbed up.

 

Elizabeth also climbed up, followed by an on-guard Olivia, a curious Nyza, and Beatrix, who hesitated at first but eventually hopped on.

 

“Tsk, tsk.”

 

<It is asking us to hold onto the mole and close our eyes.> – Akihiko lied down on his belly and held onto the mole’s fur with his hands.

 

<Is everything going to be alright?> – Beatrix asked through the connection, her worry evident – <I-I mean, we are going underground on our own… Are we going to be punished because of this?> – She didn’t want to put pressure on her team but her good intention was misplaced.

 

Her words made Olivia turn to Elizabeth, who then looked at everyone in the group before copying Akihiko’s position – <Even if we are, what punishment are they going to give us? We’re in the middle of an official exam from the Academy. The army would have to either let this go or thank us for taking our precious time to not only verify a non-identified species but also confirm the possible whereabouts of a nun and a paladin.>

 

Hearing her words, the group nodded, convinced by her logic.

 

‘If you do bad, you get punished, and if you do well, you’re ignored.’ – Akihiko remembered a saying from the game in his previous life: “You don’t win, you just lose less.”

 

No matter what one does in Pandora, they will eventually end up following this saying.

 

<I… see. I’m sorry for speaking needlessly.> – Beatrix felt relieved that her worries were uncalled for but also slightly bad that she raised an unnecessary point.

 

<Don’t b-> – Before Nyza could cheer her up, the mole started moving.

 

Walking toward one of the many holes in the ground, it dived inside, making the group feel an uncomfortable sensation of being trapped by the narrow walls. The already dim light diminished even further and the group was now one step from being in the dark.

 

With a sudden burst of speed, the giant mole then moved with unbefitting agility and dexterity to its size and quickly maneuvered through the tunnel.

 

With their eyes closed, the group felt the earth brushing against their back, the friction caused by small rocks brushing against their suits, the air becoming harder to breathe, the temperature lowering, and the feeling of having nowhere to retreat slowly settling in – all combined into a cocktail of emotions that only heightened the sense that they don’t belong there and the fear of the unknown.

 

Beatrix bit her lips and tried to not think about her growing anxiety – she didn’t want to accidentally say something unnecessary through the connection again.

 

Nyza felt her skin crawl – the narrow space, being underground, not knowing what awaited them – she was getting chills as memories of the exercise in the nest came back to mind.

 

Olivia remained unnaturally quiet through the whole happening. Her ears were slightly dropped and her tail was still.

 

Although Akihiko was paying attention to his surroundings, he could barely feel much because his headache was getting worse. A chill ran through his body, his arms started to tremble slightly, almost imperceptibly, and the fur on his tail entered a circle where it stood on end and calmed down, just to repeat the process.

 

The only thing he could do was grit his teeth and shoulder this feeling – he didn’t like it but he needed the telepathic connection for now because of the others.

 

‘Master…’ – Elizabeth called as her face darkened.

 

‘Yes, Elizabeth. This is far beyond what I anticipated as well.’ – Her master’s words were uncharacteristically grim.

 

Previously, when the earth dwellers said they wanted to take them to the colony, the group associated their appearances and the scenes at the bottom of the hole, plus Akihiko’s warning, and came to the obvious conclusion that said colony should be underground.

 

However, from Elizabeth’s counting, they were already past 15 kilometers into the ground and the mole showed no signs of slowing down.

 

They had apparently underestimated the situation.

 

“Tsk, tssk, tsk.” – The earth dweller, still sitting up straight on the mole’s back, clicked its tongue.

 

<Aki, what did it say?> – Elizabeth inquired.

 

<…> – However, there was no answer.

 

<Aki?> – She asked again, her worry growing.

 

<Sorry. It said that we are about to arrive and that we should remain close to it.> – Akihiko answered, his voice noticeably off – <Liza, can you reduce my connection?> – He wanted to ask her to shut it down but considering the darker environment, he thought it would be harder for the others to see his hand signals.

 

<I’m already doing it, Aki, sorry.> – Elizabeth said apologetically. She more than anyone knew how drastically Akihiko could react to mental magic, hence she tried her best to diminish the effects her telepathy caused.

 

Akihiko said nothing and clicked his tongue a few times, responding to the earth dweller.

 

Hearing the interaction, Nyza, Olivia, and Beatrix also started to get worried about him. Previously, they had noticed that he was acting weird but due to the situation they couldn’t pay much attention to it, however, now they could notice that he was weird – he sounded strangely tired, as if on the verge of becoming exhausted.

 

Before any of them could ask if he was okay, the previously dark and narrow surroundings changed – now the feeling of being free entered the group again as they arrived at a colossal cave.

 

The cave was at least hundreds of meters in height alone and it extended itself as far as one could see in the still-dark surroundings. A floor, walls, and ceiling made completely of dirt and a myriad of rocks – even some gems could be spotted.

 

Peeking their heads out, the group was able to see some spots with dim lights being emitted by gems embedded into the walls, producing an amazing view, something akin to a luminous show on a calm night – calm, slow, and beautiful.

 

However, Elizabeth’s amazement increased by a hundredfold when she turned her eyes away from the light, and with her magic, cast a night vision spell on herself.

 

Before them, a city constructed with marble and rare rocks lay there. Houses with a simple yet beautiful ancient design; public areas full of earth dwellers, some bigger than others, walking around peacefully; big structures that stood out from the houses and more modest buildings – probably important places for the inhabitants of the city.

 

Everything looked ancient yet strangely sophisticated, almost as if they were seeing an ancient city like the ones depicted in historic records – they possessed a beauty that modern people could only admire but not understand.

 

However, when the group looked at what appeared to be the center of the cave, they froze in place – chills ran down their spines and their lips dried.

 

Above a pyramid trunk – a ritualistic-looking place that stood out from the rest of the city by being the biggest structure by far – there was something glowing, floating above the structure.

 

It was something they had only seen in images and never imagined to see one by themselves. It was arguably the reason for the war’s current state as well as the reason why it hadn’t ended yet.

 

It was a portal.

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Curiosity: Akihiko was the heir of the now-fallen clan Nameless, the most renowned clan among finishers.

 

Just as the name of the clan (Nameless), the clansmen only have their first name but no surname, no matter if they have family – something common among those who aren’t nobles. Thus, no one ever knows who the members of the Nameless are, even if you know their name.

 

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Akihiko’s statuses

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Time: 00:46:12

 

Mood: Mentally tired (caused by the telepathic connection) / Focused / On guard / Slight discomfort (caused by the injury on his arm)

 

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Hope you have enjoyed the chapter!

 

If you want to support my job, consider buying me a coffee at: https://ko-fi.com/kyle_kingsmaker.

 

It costs only $1.

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A/N: Hello there, I hope you’re having day!

 

Quick thing: I remembered just those days I forgot to add a few basic things on Akihiko’s screen (chapter 16), so I added them now. It’s nothing that important but you can now see them.

 

So, what are your opinions and thoughts about this chapter, the novel in general, and/or a specific thing?

 

I tried a slightly different writing style in this chapter, I tried to be a bit more descriptive. I’m still trying to better my writing, so I would appreciate your constructive feedback. Was it too lacking? Too vague? Was the pace too slow?

 

Please comment and let me know where I should pay attention.

 

Did you like this chapter’s curiosity? Or was it too weak?

 

Please comment, leave a review, and share your thoughts with me! I always enjoy interacting with readers as long as it is with respect.

 

Well, this is it for today, see ya~

 

Peace out~🍷😎