As the students dispersed, Ren could not help smiling. Attack, defense, and long-range magic.......
It might not be the strongest team, but it was certainly a balanced one that could handle anything.
When they reached the crystallology classroom, Professor Song made an announcement that drew everyone's attention.
“From today we begin the gathering theory lectures. But those who wish to continue with practice may go to the mine.”
“What do you want to do?”
Ren asked his friends. Min and Taro looked at each other doubtfully.
“The gathering theory looks important, doesn't it?”
Min said.
“But we need more crystals too.”
Taro added.
“You two stay here today.”
Ren suggested.
“I'll go to the mine.”
“Alone?”
Taro worried for a moment, then remembered something.
“Then again, in the whole month we've gone around with you, there's never once been any danger, has there?”
“That's right.”
Min nodded.
“And we've never stepped into a trap by accident either. Even though some of them are hidden really cleverly.”
“You see as much as you know.”
Ren smiled.
“I'll be fine.”
A few rows back, Jin watched the conversation with malicious interest glinting in his eyes.
He leaned toward his group and whispered something, and mean little smiles spread across their mouths.
“Are you really going to be all right?”
Taro asked again.
“Perfectly.”
Ren was already gathering his things.
“You two learn the theory. You can show me your notes later, right?”
Once Ren had left, Jin and his two henchmen rose from their seats as well.
“Professor.”
Jin wore a sly smile.
“We would like to learn through practice today as well.”
Professor Song eyed them suspiciously, but then nodded.
“Just do not forget to report what you find.”
Min and Taro watched Ren go. Jin and his group were following at a distance behind him.
The two exchanged worried looks, but they recalled that over the past month Ren had proven he saw through the mine better than anyone.
“He'll be fine.”
Taro muttered. Whether it was meant to reassure Min or himself was not clear.
***
Leaving the Academy's corridors behind, Ren ran for the mine.
A month of hellish training with Assistant Instructor Lin had completely transformed his once scrawny body.
Now his pursuers could barely keep pace with him, breathing hard.
“Damn it, he's getting away!”
Jin's breathless voice rang out from behind.
“Don't let that trash reach the mine first!”
Ren smiled as he swiftly descended the slope toward the cave.
The darkness deepened, but his steps were full of certainty.
The mushrooms in his hair glowed softly, revealing the intricate mana patterns on the walls that only he could see. A map of power etched in light and shadow.
‘I can't let those fools chase me and ruin the day. I can't waste even a single day!’
The sixty-odd Bronze Grade crystals he had gathered over a month were impressive for a first-year, but nowhere near enough for his goal.
After paying 500 Iron crystals for the lens to process Taro's crystals, his holdings had dropped to a mere 200.
He desperately needed to replenish his stock. Factoring in the Academy's exchange fee, the 200 Iron crystals he had left came to the value of only 15 Bronze crystals.
Nor was that all. The deep earth and the large crystals needed for Taro's sealing were steadily disappearing from the permitted levels. Over the past month the resources in easily accessible areas had been almost entirely exhausted.
The clumsy footsteps and ragged breathing grew fainter the deeper into the tunnel Ren went.
‘Perfect.’
he thought as he advanced through the dark tunnel with precision.
‘Those bastards will follow me exactly where I want them.’
He stopped at an intersection and observed mana patterns invisible to ordinary eyes.
The deepest part of the official mining zone at the 100-meter point was coming up ahead, but the real treasure lay beyond it.
Untouched Bronze Grade crystal veins glimmered faintly down in the depths.
Loud footsteps echoed through the tunnel. Jin and his group were a far cry from stealthy.
“Over there!” one of Jin's followers shouted.
“I saw that idiot's mushroom light!”
Ren pressed on deeper into the tunnel. His steps were precise and silent. His knowledge showed him exactly where to tread and which ground to avoid.
‘Still following me.’
Listening to the sounds of their clumsy pursuit, he let his light shine for a moment to draw them on. Ren stopped near the 100-meter point. A guard was humming boredly beside the entrance to the next level.
‘The guards never let Iron Grade students below 100 meters without permission.
But if Jin's shouting pulls that guard's attention away, I could get down to 150 meters.......’
Knowledge ran through his mind as he calculated the risk.
Abnormal Maturation Points : 31/1000
At this depth his Spore accumulated one abnormal maturation point per day.
On a deeper level two more points would be added. Even four hours of work today would bring it to 33 points. But 33 points out of 1000 was barely anything. There was still room.
‘At 150 meters I can hold out about four hours before mana poisoning sets in. Lesser Worms are easy to avoid once you know their patterns. The real problem is time, isn't it?’
The noise from Jin's group grew louder. They were building confidence, believing they had cornered Ren.
“Don't lose him!”
Jin's voice rang through the tunnel.
“This time that trash has nowhere to hide!”
A smile crossed Ren's face as he positioned himself near a particular intersection. They were exactly where he wanted them.
“There's a light ahead!”
Kai shouted.
Jin and his group were about to learn how foolish a decision it had been to chase the ‘trash’ this deep.
“I can barely see anything down here.”
Cass complained. Her eagle eyes were struggling to adjust to the darkness.
“Shut up.”
Jin snapped.
“I think I saw the bastard up ahead.”
Ren moved across the uneven ground with precision.
Calculated steps, meant to lead them to the natural trap he had found a few days earlier.
The cavity left by a nest the Lesser Worms had abandoned was invisible to inexperienced eyes, but clearly marked in the mana patterns only he could see.
‘All I have to do is drop them in there.
Their shouting will draw the guard's attention, and in that gap I go down to 150 meters.
There are rich Bronze veins down there, and uncontaminated ‘deep earth.’’
“There he is!”
Jin's voice echoed through the tunnel.
“I saw him turn this corner!”
The pack of thugs wheeled around in a hurry. While Ren watched from a crevice in the wall, the mushrooms in his hair gave off almost no light.
“Where is he?”
Jin growled.
“There's no way he just vanished!”
“There!”
Jin's shout split the tunnel once more.
“Got you, you rotten bastard! You're not going anywhere now!”
“I have plenty of places to go.”
Ren said as he revealed himself and stepped back.
“You only have to know where to put your feet.”
Ren pretended to be startled at the sight of the pursuers rushing toward him.
“Don't let him get away!”
Jin ran at the front. His tiger pattern shone with anticipation.
‘Just a little more.......’
The ground beneath their feet screamed and gave way.
For an instant time seemed to stop. Astonishment spread across faces that had been certain of victory.
***
Jin's smile froze into shock in an instant. Despair was stamped onto his followers' faces along with the collapsing floor.
“AAAGH!”
Terrified screams shook the entire tunnel. The group plunged into the hidden cavity.
The discord of falling rock and bodies slamming into the dirt was a symphony of chaos more than enough to draw every eye nearby.
“Help!”
Not a trace of arrogance remained in Jin's voice, only raw terror.
“Somebody help us!”
The panicked cries drew the guard's attention at once.
Ren had already melted entirely into the shadows of a small side tunnel.
“What's going on down there!”
The guard's voice approached rapidly.
“Stay calm! Do not move carelessly!”
‘Perfect.’
Satisfied, Ren moved quietly to the passage he had spent days preparing.
The crack, disguised as a simple mining scar, was in fact an escape route of his own.
A masterpiece carefully weakened over several secret visits.
“We're trapped!”
Kai screamed.
“The floor collapsed!”
“Do not move! We will get you out of there!” the guard shouted.
Ren applied pressure to the weakened part of the wall.
The abandoned Lesser Worm tunnel needed only one more push to break through. The rock crumbled away with a sound barely audible beneath the thugs' shouting.
‘Exactly as much as I needed.’
he calculated as he slipped into the narrow passage.
His lean frame barely fit through. Being a small child still was a blessing at moments like this.
“Mind the edge!”
The guard's voice grew fainter as Ren climbed down the other side.
“I'm throwing a rope down to you!”
The pandemonium continuing above provided perfect cover. Ren now moved quickly but precisely along the route he had secured.
‘That buys me a few peaceful hours to find what I need down below.’
The mushrooms in his hair pulsed more slowly the further down he went.
The thickening mana was suppressing their activity.
‘Even so, I don't have much time.’
he warned himself as he went deeper.
“My ankle!”
Jin's voice rang out from far off with exaggerated pain.
“I think it's broken!”
“Calm down, you brat!”
The guard's voice grew more distant.
“These upper tunnels are all abandoned anyway. They were the old habitat of starving Beasts, but those are long dead, so do not panic...... just hold tight to the rope!”
Ren smiled with satisfaction as he descended.
Jin would surely malinger as long as he could, and that would buy Ren still more time. The real race against the clock was the fight with mana poisoning.
Bronze Grade crystal veins glittered temptingly in the walls, but it was wiser to start from the deepest point.
He could already sense a rich deposit and ‘deep earth’ waiting for him.
Four hours before the poisoning reached a dangerous level. He needed to divide and use that time perfectly.
The mushrooms in Ren's hair pulsed as he analyzed the complex patterns on the tunnel wall.
The marks the Lesser Worms had left formed an intricate map, visible only to one who knew how to read it.
His knowledge sounded an alarm.
‘This...... isn't normal. There are far too many recent marks, and far too many overlapping patterns!’
The abandoned tunnels intersected more often than his existing knowledge could explain.
The Lesser Worms were expanding their territory and digging new paths at an abnormal frequency.
It was a sign that something was fundamentally wrong.
‘Why on earth are they this active?’
Ren halted before a mark that looked particularly fresh.
‘This trace is less than a day old.’