I fall downward bashing my head against a stone. Blood drips from my head staining the color of my uniform but I don't care. What matters now is my survival. 'Those bastards, I'll kill them after I get out of this. After everything I've done for them'. Part of this place reminds me of the abyss, which makes me shake with fear. But I wouldn't let it get to my head, I grip my swords, hoping to use them as a hook to reduce the impact and force of my descent, but it was to no avail. I don't try using my legs knowing they'll just break after sometime, so I still try my luck with the swords again, but it still doesn't work. instead, it just scrapes against the hard surface of the walls of the casm. The path downward becomes narrower but I'm still able to pass through, however, I can't hook my sword on the walls anymore, which leaves me to fall, colliding my arms and legs and even my head on the hard surfaces of the walls of the cave.
Eventually, I escape the narrow wall into a now open space. I think I'll hit my head on the hard surface of the ground, losing my life in the process but I am proven wrong when I land in what feels like water. I sink continuously without seeming to reach an end, with half my consciousness, I stretch my limbs forward paddling towards the less dark part of the cave which should be the surface. I wasn't really a fan of water in my past life and I doubt I know how to swim. But I use the remaining bits of energy contained in my mental sphere to learn how to manuever and paddle my way out of the water body. I drag myself behind a rock before collapsing and losing consciousness.
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I'm in complete darkness, the environment is cold but oddly comforting, I can't sense anything at all. It reminds me of my time in the abyss. Cold, alone, helpless. But I am not there anymore, I'm alive and I'll fight my way out of this lonely and helpless darkness. There's a spark in my nerves as I open my eyes to see myself in the same underground cave I fell into. Light seeps in from the different holes in the cave, holes which are too tiny or to high to reach. I lost a lot of blood, my shirt perfectly displays that as the back of my shirt is drenched in it. A small part of the ground is also covered in it. The bleeding seems to have stopped somehow, but I'm not too interested in that. My main goal is to get the freaking hell out of this place before I die the second time.
I'm weak, tired, hungry, and have lost alot of blood but I still move on, summoning the bit of strength that I have left in me to keep going hoping to reach the end of this place. There are many different holes on the walls, and I wonder what kind of animals would inhabit a place like this. There should be a pack somewhere in the cave, a large one for that matter. Wild beats usually form packs to successfully hunt other prey. As in every cultivation history or journey, cultivators were generally stronger than the beasts. They possessed the power of the mind which the beasts did not have. They had an organ in charge of refining and absorbing energy which made them of greater strength. The absorbed energy thereby enhances their physical features resulting stronger and more enhanced physical properties. From all the features, the beasts of the cultivation realm only possessed one of them. Which is the ability to gain energy from any organism or substance they devour. The energy doesn't flow into any organ, instead, it circulates within the muscles and bones toughening and reinforcing them. The greater the body of a beast, the stronger the overall power of that beast. Such applied to cultivators as well except our classification is mostly based on dantian level and the form or level of Qi one possesses.
Using this fact makes me even more cautious and aware of the situation I'm currently in. I hear the sound of howls and growls from time to time, but I use my mind and my great intuition to know where to avoid and where to follow. As I head toward the deeper parts of the cave, it surprisingly gets warmer. I expected beasts with the water aptitude to inhabit the caves due to the different puddles and streams I come across. The caves' structure is not all that much detailed either way. The holes on the walls seems to release some form of gas, smoke perhaps. As I get deeper, the smoke increases creating a sort of fog in the cave. I cut out a piece of my cloth using it as a face mask to protect my lungs from the harmful gas around me. The sun's rays becomes clearer as I continue my journey forward. The heat still rises, and I feel drops of sweat running down my face from time to time, still there's this cold breeze that seems to nullify the excess heat in the environment. Perhaps it comes from the network of streams in the underground tunnel. It was extremely cold when I fell into it, and it seemed to possess high levels of Qi within it's depths. The energy lingering around it probably has an effect on the excess heat being exuded by the magical beasts that live within the depths of the caves.
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My journey down the cave doesn't seem to end. I can't even tell wether I'm ascending or descending the cave. It structure it very intrinsic and complex. The houls keeps getting louder as I explore, and I start to think it might be wolves that may inhabit the cave, but I'm proven wrong when a hairy creature leaps forward and attempts to bite off my arm in one go. The fog isn't as much as it was earlier, but it's still there and the creature doesn't hesitate to use it to it's advantage.
Great, now I'm fighting dangerous creatures in this stupid yet intriguing cave. I think about the various ways to cut of Sebastian's head once I get out of this, it atleast keeps me calm as I cover my figure with mental waves in order to predict the creatures movement. Judging by it's speed, it should be a tier 1 magical beast, but of what type? It seems to release heat from it's fur, clouding itself in dense layers of smoke. I can already tell it has a fire aptitude, it's also definitely a carnivore. It keeps attacking as it jumps in an attempt to severe a limb from my body, but I dodge it while landing precise attacks on it's body. I eventually land a finishing blow by stabbing it in the head and watching it's lifeless body fall to the ground.
I expand my mental waves forward, trying to examine the creature under the dense smoke, a quick inspection clears all my doubts.
"It's a Flame fox", usually known for staying packs. I should've known it would be their kind living in such an environment. Foxes are usually cunning and sly and wouldn't really hunt by themselves. Wolves are brave enough to hunt alone and their packs are usually above ground.
I guess the reason why they inhabit this cave is due to the cool nature of the streams. Their lungs and fur exude smoke and heat so they would need the streams to cool them down. The streams also have a high percent of Qi which they would need to absorb to increase their tiers.
As I was lost in thought, a ball of flame comes flying toward my face. I dodge, looking the next flame fox in the eye. "So they spit flames too, how convenient", I say before revealing my blades.