A week later, Leonel stepped out from the Segmented Cube. His features seemed quite haggard, an unkempt beard 'gracing' his jaw and his messy dirty blond hair sweeping across his shoulders. But, his eyes remained as sharp as swords.
When the youths noticed Leonel's appearance, they all perked up, traces of anticipation painted on their faces.
Leonel smiled lightly. "I've succeeded."
They were simple words, but they alone made the youths feel that a massive burden had been lifted from their chests.
"There's no time to waste." Leonel said with a confident air. "We've already long since decided who would go and who would stay. Let's move out if you're all prepared."
The lineup that chose to follow Leonel was quite interesting. Thunderous Clap, Roaring Black Lion and Flowing Wind all stood to move with him.
Thunderous Clap's ability was similar to Jian's vibration ability, but much stronger by several levels. The mysterious Quake Force he used could be considered a Force Strengthening Deviation, so he would be joining.
In addition, Flowing Wind, despite being from the Eastern Lookout, was also willing to help. Her Wind Elemental Force output was a level beyond Chasing Wind's. In addition, she had much more auxiliary applications to her ability like the power to use wind to scout out her surroundings. So, she was an ideal choice.
Finally, there was Roaring Black Lion. Among the remaining youths, he had the strongest defenses. In addition, there was no guarantee they wouldn't run into beasts on their journey. His ability to dampen their strength would be greatly useful.
As for the rest of the top rankers, they stayed behind to protect the group from any unforeseen circumstances. It was simply impossible for them to take so many with them.
With that, the group of four set off.
"We're going to cross over into another network of tunnels. I found this place while I was looking for ores previously." Leonel explained as he quickly made his way toward the hole he had created a week prior.
He knew that he was running out of time. Much of the reason he left Pisces and the others behind was because he was afraid of this hole being found.
According to Jian and Quinn, they were meant to report in a week. When they didn't report as they were meant to, Simeon would most definitely check in on the network of tunnels they were assigned to. By then, there was no guarantee that this hole wouldn't be found.
It wasn't long before Leonel had led their group of four to the hole, crossed to the other side, and diligently covered it back up again.
After he was done, he dashed forward again, snaking through the tunnels as though the map of their pathways was tattooed to the back of his hand. Soon, he made it to his destination: the point with the most direct path to the Force Crystal Mine.
Leonel came to a sudden stop at a seemingly ordinary wall and turned back toward Thunderous Clap, Roaring Black Lion and Flowing Wind.
"Before we go, I have something to tell you three. I didn't tell the others because I didn't want them to panic, but it's best you three know in advance."
The three looked toward Leonel. Seeing his serious expression, they too became serious. Would things not be so simple?
"There is another group of people in here aside from us. In fact, earlier, I had captured and interrogated two of them. It's very possible that we could run into them.
"I believe that we're ahead of them, but it's best to be cautious. I suspect that there might be another path toward the Force Crystal Mine, I'm just not entirely certain. I just have a feeling that the valleys weren't created without reason…"
The three youths frowned.
The complex network of valleys was precisely the reason they could only enter the center of the island through one passageway. They wrapped around the center of the island such that there was only one path forward.
Even beyond that, Flowing Wind actually had no ability to fly over it. She felt that the Force was incredibly volatile in that area, making it difficult for her to steady her ability properly. When she realized this, she hadn't dared to continue forward, lest she fall to her death.
If the valleys were the result of some odd phenomenon related to the Force Crystal Mine… their odd attributes would be much easier to accept.
Only when the three nodded seriously did Leonel flip his palm, causing many things to appear.
"First, each one of you take these."
Leonel handed each of them silvery-green mouthpieces that looked somewhat like a cross between a flute and a whistle.
"These are my creations. I made them out of Whispering Breeze Ore. They're only Tier 1 Black Grade treasures, but they allow you to breathe under water and earth for three hours. After that, you'll need to allow it to recharge for half an hour before you can use it again."
The three nodded in understanding, watching as Leonel continued to take out nine total resplendent blue scales.
"These are another set of my creations, three to the each of you. They're refined from the coy fish's scales, they could be able to form an artificial Force Skin that melds and amplifies with your own. By my calculations, they should each be able to last half an hour under the full pressure of the Force Eruption. I'm not sure how long it will take us to stop the Force Eruption… we'll have to play it by ear."
Leonel took a deep breath and turned back to face the wall, putting the silver mouthpiece between his lips.
"Stick close to me." Though his words had come out in a mumble, they still managed to understand him.
Leonel could only roll his eyes when he felt two soft mounds of flesh press against his back. Who else could it be if not Flowing Wind? Could this be considered sexual harassment?
Leonel didn't have time to spend on the matter as an intricate ring on his finger glowed. Just like this, the seemingly solid wall before him became akin to a curtain of mud.
He pushed through it with slightly more difficulty than it would take to walk underwater. Still, it wasn't too bad. The only disadvantage was that he couldn't see anything and his Internal Sight was severely restricted in this kind of environment. However, he could rely on his obscene calculation abilities to maintain his sense of direction with relative ease.
Like this, the four youths formed a train, the three to Leonel's back closely following by linking their arms. What was especially magical, though, was that the wall of earth they left the range of reverted back to their original states soon after.
Though Leonel could see nothing but a vast darkness before him, he could feel himself getting closer.
He kept his hand in the lead, ready for it to enter clear air once again. And, a moment later, that was exactly what happened.
Leonel felt the resistance against his hand suddenly vanish and came to a grinding halt.
'Argh…'
Leonel wanted to groan, but he kept it in. He felt a sharp pain in his hand as though it could be lacerated to minced meat in but another few moments.
Without hesitation, he pressed his first coy fish scale against his body, causing a radiant blue to cover him like a thin layer of skin. He had already long since taken off his chain necklace, saving it for a critical moment.
After this, using his hand, he extended his Soul Force forward, stretching his Internal Sight outward.
What he saw made him grind his teeth in anger.
There was a vast underground space. Its ceilings were at least 100 meters tall and it was over a kilometer from end to end. It was filled with shimmering crystals so bright that had Leonel been looking at them with his eyes, he was sure he would have to squint.
Of course, all of these dimensions were just Leonel's approximate guesses. The Force was so volatile that his Internal Sight was incredibly fuzzy. The sharp range was severely reduced, causing his calculations to be lacking.
What had made him angry, though, was the fact that there was someone who had gotten here before him. More accurately, there was a beast that had gotten here before him.
Leonel's hand had appeared near the ceiling of the wide space. So, if he stepped out now, he would fall 100 meters to his death. Down below, there was an adorable creature, taking a nap without a care in the world.
Its fur was a lustrous black, its whiskers and small nose twitching as though it was having a particularly good dream.
Its body was long in considered of its proportions. It had such a small head, but it was easily a foot and a half from head to toe.
This adorable creature was actually a little black furred mink. But, despite having never seen it in its true form before, Leonel couldn't help but grind his teeth.
This little bastard was definitely the beast that had been harassing him for so long.