“It has to be now,” Ren whispered to Taro while the others were distracted gathering. “Every day I spend without cultivating the hydra is a day lost.”
“Now?” Taro nearly shouted, but Ren quickly covered his mouth.
“Keep your voice down,” Ren hissed, his mushrooms pulsing with urgency. “The excursion with Zhao is in 3 days and I need to start the hydra’s cultivation or I’ll go crazy with the feeling of stagnation during the gathering trip.”
“But going deeper alone…” Taro tried to protest against Ren’s hand over his mouth once more, but it was too strong.
“Listen,” Ren released him but kept his voice low. “I’ve already started cultivating the fungus to get rank Bronze 2 in 100 days, that was just a matter of money. But the hydra…” his mushrooms pulsed intensely, “needs this specific location to start. No amount of crystals can replicate the small vein that’s further ahead.”
“It’s too dangerous to be alone in the Bronze beast zone,” Taro murmured, glancing nervously in the direction where their tunnel had stopped.
“I’m the one helping you reach Bronze 2 and will continue until at least Gold 1,” Ren reminded his friend. “Couldn’t you show a little solidarity for my hydra’s cultivation to Bronze 1?”
Ren’s mushrooms pulsed as he continued: “I just need you to open a small exit space in the mineral with your Living Tunnel when most of them move away to gather. Something discrete, quick.”
Taro looked around nervously. Most of the group was focused on a particularly rich vein Min had found.
“But the monsters…” he began to protest.
“We already have the whole tunnel covered,” Ren interrupted. “I just need to get out quickly, and you can close it immediately after. Monsters won’t enter and the girls won’t even notice we’re gone.”
“We?” Taro frowned.
Before Ren could respond, he noticed Liora watching them from a distance. Their eyes met briefly, and she nodded almost imperceptibly.
“Not you, it’s… Just trust me,” Ren turned his attention back to Taro. “Will you do it?”
Taro sighed deeply, his living tunnel manifesting in his arm to control the mineral. “If something goes wrong…”
“Nothing will go wrong,” Ren assured. “I already got there twice… will only need half an hour, maximum.”
While the group continued gathering, Taro began working discretely on a small crack in the wall. His movements were so subtle they looked like he was simply examining the rock.
“Look at this, more Silver-sized crystals!” Mira suddenly exclaimed from the other end of the tunnel, drawing everyone’s attention.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Taro finished the crack. It was barely visible, but enough for someone thin to slip through.
“Now,” Ren whispered, moving toward the opening.
“Be careful,” Taro murmured as his friend began sliding through the space.
At the exact moment Ren disappeared through the crack, Liora, who had gradually fallen behind the group, vanished. Her movement was so fluid, so natural, that no one immediately noticed her absence.
“Thirty minutes?” Taro whispered toward the crack.
“Thirty minutes,” Ren’s voice confirmed from the other side.
Taro kept his living tunnel partially manifested, ready to close the crack at the first sign of danger. While watching the rest of the group continue gathering, he couldn’t help wondering if he’d done the right thing.
‘You better know what you’re doing, Ren,’ he thought while joining the others, trying to act normal.
On the other side of the wall, Ren urged the hydra to advance quickly to reach an open space, of which there were many just over 20 meters further.
Thirty minutes to teach Liora to walk, reach the vein, process the crystals, and return. It would be tight, but it had to work.
‘It’s time for the hydra to get the right materials to evolve.’
♢♢♢♢
“Wait,” Ren whispered, stopping Liora and the hydra with a gesture. “Before we continue, you need to learn something crucial.”
“What is it?” Liora asked softly, aware of the need for silence.
“Come closer slowly,” Ren pointed to the tunnel wall. “Put your ear against the rock and listen carefully.”
Liora looked at him curiously but obeyed as agreed, approaching the wall and pressing her ear against the cold surface.
“At first you’ll only hear silence because we’re still somewhat high,” Ren explained, his mushrooms pulsing to the rhythm he wanted her to detect. “But there’s a pattern underneath. A constant rhythm.”
Liora closed her eyes, concentrating. Slowly, she began to distinguish what Ren mentioned, a series of soft taps with 3 alternating rhythms, like a distant but regular heartbeat.
“They’re communications between species,” Ren continued, his voice barely a whisper. “Each type of monster transmits waves to communicate with their own kind. But there’s a specific rhythm they all share.”
“I hear it,” Liora murmured, fascinated. “It’s like… underground music.”
“Exactly,” Ren’s mushrooms pulsed with approval. “If you walk following that shared rhythm, your vibrations will blend with the natural ones. The assassins and worms won’t be able to distinguish you from the background noise as long as you don’t step too hard.”
Liora pulled away from the wall, processing the information. “Is this how you move around here without being detected?”
“It’s one of the secrets,” Ren nodded. “Living Tunnels are actually gentle giants, not very dangerous, but the other beasts, though aggressive, have their own patterns, their own rules. You just have to learn them.”
“We have to finish the tunnel to at least 275 meters to find open chambers,” Ren warned as they approached their objective. “When we do, we’ll inevitably make noise. If there’s any monster nearby, it might attack.”
Liora nodded, tensing slightly.
“If you get scared,” Ren continued, his mushrooms pulsing with seriousness, “stay completely still. I’ll handle it. Your other option is to move to the rhythm you just learned, but only if you’re sure you can maintain it under pressure.”
“I understand,” Liora responded, determination clear in her voice.
Ren hurried the hydra, which began working on the new opening, its movements as precise as possible to minimize noise. The ground gradually yielded, creating a narrow but passable passage.
Just as they finished emerging on the other side, Ren’s mushrooms pulsed with alarm. His eyes widened and he raised a hand, stopping Liora dead in her tracks.