Curse the Mainframe! 149 A Whole New World

It was a long way down, but Vi didn't even miss a single human, wrapping a vine around them as a precaution.

At the bottom of the ravine, there was a large space, where small, gently waving grass brushed their feet.

The entire place rumbled as Vi moved its magic, closing the large gape above them on the surface after the other Vampiric Willows descended as well.

It was something that could only be related to large-scale magic that most people didn't see even in their entire lives, no matter how long they worked their magic.

The monsters on the surface would overflow shortly, causing them to fight against each other and trample the weaker ones.

However, the meteor shower would take care of them.

With the appearance of the meteor shower that would strike the surface incessantly, the number of monsters that made up the monster horde would be significantly reduced.

As Vi closed the hole that it had made previously, the faint traces of light that had been present earlier was completely cut off, leaving them in an all-encompassing darkness.

There was a faint wind that circulated the area, caressing their skin as they stood there in faint, echoing silence.

The temperature of the cavern was cool. It was much lower than the temperature on the surface, and the blood that had not fully dried on their bodies was even cooler, causing some of the humans to shiver.

Even when Alec stretched out his hand, he could not see anything before him.

Just as someone was about to move to pull out a torch, there was the appearance of a faint flicker of light in the distance.

A ghostly blue, flickering light appeared above their heads, as if triggered by the darkness surrounding them.

It was only the first of numerous lights starting up.

More and more ghostly little lights lit up the place, glowing and blinking. They spread across the walls, filling their vision with pale blue.

The blue-hued light cast a blue shadow over everything, and the faces of the humans that were here were shown in a pale echo. It was eerie, but at the same time, comforting that they were able to see again instead of being left in the darkness.

Humans both loved and feared the darkness, for there were things that lurked in the dark, yet there was always beauty to be found in it.

It was human nature to fear the unknown, and hardened as the mercenaries were, they would of course choose to be in the light.

Looking around, the place was spacious and large. It was almost as if there was a whole other world shoved here under the surface. The difference between the surface and underground was as clear as night and day.

Where the surface was barren and flat, the underground world looked like it was flourishing in place of the surface.

The cavern was dark, but the pale blue lights twinkled like tiny, sparkling crystals. It appeared both mysterious and enlightening at the same time, yet it was not blinding to the eyes, but instead a guiding light.

It instead gave off a warm sort of glow, bathing them in a warmth that was hard to describe properly.

There was grass that spread out far and wide under their feet. The grass was soft and grew under the lights in the cavern walls.

Flowers and trees alike grew sporadically, making the place appear more like a forest instead of underground, which was amazing considering that the ground did not have any soil but was instead rock.

It was a magical, breath-taking sight that contained the harmony between nature's elements, where nature adapted instead of withering and dying.

Even when the lifeforms could not flourish due to the presence of periodic meteor showers, the lifeforms that had been forced underground lived just as well.

The cavern wasn't silent, even in the presence of humans.

There were soft breaths and footfalls not too far from them, yet the presences seemed like they were curious instead of threatening.

It was unsure whether or not it was Vi's presence that caused them to act this way, yet the humans that were present felt awed at the nature that flourished in this underground world.

Yet, even as it all appeared so magical and untouchable, it was all static.

This was a crack between realms, and nothing could grow or reproduce here.

Whatever creatures existed that populated the underground world, most of them adopted a non-confrontational policy between them, as if they knew that they would not be able to repopulate themselves.

Even so, it was evident that it had flourished under such harsh conditions, surviving well instead of dying out even as they could not repopulate.

Alec theorized that someone or something had done something in order for life here to continue, unlike the surface where there was nothing in sight.

Both the mercenaries and Spectres moved along in the underground cavern, curiously spreading out as they explored the area.

Tatiana's voice snapped them out of it. "Don't move around haphazardly. You can explore later. Set up the tents first!"

As they started setting up camp again where they were safe with the King Vampiric Willow, Dietrich conversed with his uncle.

"Uncle, we should look for a source of water."

Alec nodded, Bunbun and Fenrir jumping down from their spot on his clothing.

Fenrir lifted his nose in the air proudly, as if saying 'follow me!', hopping onto the largened bunny as he raised a paw, pointing in a direction cutely.

Tatiana looked at Dietrich strangely. He really was telling the truth when he called Alec uncle. Just what happened in the time that she had been away from Alec's life?

Unfortunately, that would have to wait since they were busy now.

Dietrich nodded at Tatiana, following after his uncle in the distance.

Alec walked, touching the cool walls of the cave, rubbing his fingers. The moisture content of the place was high, and the walls reflected it.

They didn't have to walk for long before they stumbled across the water that was available in this place.

Alec eyed it dubiously.

The water that was contained in a large enough circle to call it a lake looked inky black, sloshing gently against the edges before disappearing back into the darkness.

There were even more ghostly lights here than there were back there, but all that Alec could see from the water was an inky black, non-penetrative darkness.

Dietrich made a sound of surprise.

"This… its Obsidian Aqua. And so much of it!"

Alec raised a brow despite himself, curious. "What's Obsidian Aqua?"

Dietrich explained it for his uncle. "The highest class of Obsidian Aqua is a pure, inky black. It can't be penetrated even with light shining through. Using Obsidian Aqua can strengthen your magic as well as purify the magic in your body. If you drink enough of it over a period of time, your magic reserves will grow and become a lot denser."

As expected from a Main Character.

Either Tatiana or Dietrich would have originally stumbled across this in the original [Plot Route] as well. Or so he thought. Since the plot had now changed, there was no information written about it.

Disregarding that Dietrich was still gasping in awe at the vast amounts of Obsidian Aqua that was available here, Alec opened the [System's System], only to get a splitting headache at the onslaught of notifications.

Alec tried hard to make sure that none of the discomfort showed on his face, taking a closer look at the notifications.

They were all notifications of him gaining points one by one. Yet, they were not from himself killing monsters, but instead from the Main Characters that were around him.

Suddenly, things started making sense. He had to stick around the Main Characters if he wanted to gain more points, but by doing so, he had to put himself through the same danger that the Main Characters went through.

It was a complicated feeling that welled up in Alec's chest. Danger and fortune go hand in hand indeed.

It felt strange since he hadn't had a mission in order for him to obtain more points in a while, and now he knew that it was because the way of obtaining points had changed.

He had to stick near the Main Characters if he wanted points, which made Alec frustrated.

Chapter end