The prince’s wolverine returned after leaving Ren at the cave entrance.
Julius began his descent, following the trail the mercenary had left.
In the silver zone at 500 meters depth, the greater deep assassins were the first to appear. Where their lesser cousins were solitary predators, these hunted in pairs.
Julius had to use his Qilin several times to force these creatures to reveal their presence. “No wonder some explorers don’t return from these depths.”
Their more developed bodies gleamed with a metallic tone more suited to the new environment as they moved between shadows, their forms blending perfectly with the crystalline formations around them.
“Impressive coordination,” murmured Julius while observing them communicate through small taps on their partners’ front legs. “But they still maintain distance from the Qilin.”
Deeper, he found the domains of the superior worms. These beasts had evolved to be larger and still created complete networks of interconnected galleries but now wider.
“Natural engineers,” he noted.
The greater living tunnels, unlike their common versions, could improve tunnels in more complex ways, like adding spikes at certain entrances to damage Assassins, turning entire cave sections into traps. Their work showed an intelligence that went beyond mere instinct.
Common hydras were very rare at these levels and if found it was almost at the end of the section, in small groups. Though individually less impressive than the one that had attacked the academy, their teamwork made them equally dangerous.
♢♢♢♢
Upon reaching the gold zone, the environment changed drastically. The beasts here weren’t just stronger, they had fundamentally different behaviors.
The Assassins became more crystalline, almost transparent, their strategy shifting more to camouflage and ambush than pursuit. Their bodies seemed to bend light itself, making them nearly invisible until the moment they struck.
The worms developed resistant shells. The living tunnels created mobile magical traps.
Gold hydras cared for lower rank hydras, teaching them, protecting them, showing a level of social organization that challenged the common understanding of most beasts.
But it was the rock beetles that really added tension to the Assassins’ more obvious ambushes, their massive forms emerging from seemingly solid walls.
“Fascinating,” he murmured while observing one of these divergent evolutions of the living tunnels. They merged with the walls, these massive insectoids literally appearing as rock, gaining the ability to mold and generate it at will.
“The power difference is notable,” he thought while dodging an attack from a Assassin that had jumped from its hiding place. His wolverine barely managed to deflect the beast’s proboscis of the same rank while the Qilin attacked from behind.
The mercenary’s trail became harder to follow. The beasts here were at his level, some would even be stronger soon when he descended further. Each step required more caution, more power.
Finally, he reached the border between gold and platinum, the zone where the true abyss began.
“So this is where you went,” he murmured, observing how the abyssal energy trail was lost in the depths. “They are using the abyss itself as refuge indeed.”
The mercenary had escaped him… He had chosen another path and not the abyssal vein but had reached the abyss anyway.
But something didn’t add up…
♢♢♢♢
“Damn it!” the agent’s voice resonated in the vein cave. His scorpion arm glowed faintly reflecting the geyser while he struck the wall in frustration.
It had been a risky plan: descend to the bottom, create 2 trails, and then return through the abyssal energy vein dragging a new hydra. The days needed to feed the core would be almost covered by the time he returned and he could wait out the last ones hidden near the entrance.
The silver hydra he had captured writhed weakly. It was badly hurt but once it took mana from the geyser it would recover and serve to brood the core… if only he could find it.
“Again!” he roared, his mutations expanding from frustration. “Again someone took the damned core!”
His fingers traced the empty space where the core should be hidden.
All the effort… He took the risk of reaching the abyssal vein, climbing back up through the zone that would give him a quick escape route if someone pursued him, letting his beast make a second trail while he hid from the gold rank ones… all had been in vain.
The hydra shook again, as if mocking his failure.
“Don’t think this means you’ll be saved,” murmured the agent while approaching the beast. If he couldn’t have the egg, at least he’d get another hydra core before returning.
His claws rose, preparing to give the hydra the final blow…
After extracting the hydra’s core and feeding himself some meat, the mercenary decided it was no longer possible to obtain the egg, he would have to return and deliver at least the hydra core… After all his employer seemed to have an alternative method, though it would give only a tenth of the reward.
He left the vein chamber…
The attack came from nowhere.
The agent barely managed to dodge, his mutations reacting by instinct. A golden Qilin claw passed grazing where his head had been a moment before.
“Did you think having two trails would be enough?” Julius’s voice resonated in the cavern. “Didn’t you think your pursuer might also have two beasts?”
The mercenary backed away, cursing internally. His strategy had been solid, both trails would lead any pursuer toward the abyss, how did he find the trail after he changed his access route from the abyss?
Had he returned to the chamber on a hunch?
The prince emerged from the shadows, his wolverine manifesting in his body.
“One trail for my Qilin,” Julius smiled. “And another for my…”
“Nose,” the agent completed, his scorpion arm tensing. “I should have considered that an earth tracker could catch my scent from the surface trails.”
“I followed them, both,” the prince advanced casually. “But you were careless returning here, do you care so much about this small vein? I want to know why…”
The agent observed the blocked exit…
♢♢♢♢
“Spill everything!” Min practically jumped with excitement trying to feed his curiosity. “What did the prince want? Why did he take you?”
“Did he threaten you?” Liu added, his bat opening its mouth briefly from anxiety.
Ren smiled while his mushrooms pulsed softly. “Nothing so dramatic. He just wanted to check some things in the mines.”
“The prince? In the mines?” Min narrowed his eyes with suspicion.
“Well…” Ren elaborated a convenient version of events. “Apparently he had heard about my… successes finding veins. He wanted to hear about my method while I guided him.”
“And?” Liu leaned forward.