After they regrouped, they immediately exchanged information.
"W-We didn't find anything particular… Nothing was of value in our area."
Marielle was the one who was tasked to report. It seems that after separating into two groups, Marielle acted as the main attack force of their party as they searched for clues.
"… Looks like Sora and Felix didn't find anything too…"
Faye reported the finding of the two familiars. How she understood their words, nobody knows.
"Then, it looks like I am the only one who found a lead… Okay. We found debris of a carriage in front of a cave down southeast from here."
"A cave?"
"D-Did you try searching inside?"
"Yes. However, the area is too large to finish searching within an hour. So I decided to delay the search until we regroup."
"What's the approximate distance?"
"If going straight, just about 3 kilometers."
"Then we better go now. If we don't hurry, the sun would set on our way back."
And so, the whole group decided to walk towards the said cave. The distance that Hel and Zeus traveled within 5 minutes is now being traveled at a tenth of their speed.
After almost an hour, they finally arrived at the entrance. There was almost no resistance from monsters as they were moving.
"Is it here? Where's the cave?"
"Here."
Zeus then pointed at a small crack in the stone. It was just enough for a person to squeeze through.
"… Rather than a cave, that's a crevice…"
"I entered it beforehand and I decided to call this a cave. No objections allowed." Zeus declared sulkily.
Then, as the two of them were quarreling, Marielle tried squeezing her body into the crack.
"I-It's a bit tight…"
Proportion-wise, she should be able to fit through the hole with space to spare. However, one particular part of her body is squeezed tight.
"… I know I shouldn't but I really hate this unfair world…"
Seeing Marielle's state, Faye muttered words in a voice only she can hear.
After a moment of deliberation, they decided to carve up the cave as they go.
Zeus, with a sword of unparalleled sharpness, was the one tasked to do the job. Not wanting to waste time more than necessary, he immediately started slicing through the sides.
Their speed was half of the normal walking speed. It was thanks to Zeus's high agility and strength. In a matter of minutes, they reached the large domed area inside.
"… What's this place?"
"I don't know."
"S-Some kind of mine?"
As the three were discussing, Hel too entered the cave.
"This is…"
After seeing the state of affairs inside, she immediately frowned.
"I don't like this place. The mana here is tainted. This place must be some kind of laboratory or experimental site of some sort."
"E-Experimental area…?"
As the girls and Hel were discussing something, Zeus walked towards the stairs. He then took out another flare from his pack and checked the remaining quantity.
He had 9 pieces left. If they will use 4 when going down and 4 on going up, 1 flare was left. That extra flare is their only support if a fight broke out below.
Then, after deciding, he called the others at the same time he lighted one of the flares.
"This is the way down. You must come here."
After he called, the others quickly gathered behind him.
"We need to go down here. As you see, it is a set of zigzagging stairs up to down below. By normal means, it would take us around 40 minutes to travel this many flights of stairs. A single flare lasts for at most 5 minutes, and I only have 8 besides the one I am currently using."
"In other words?"
"The number of flares I have is not sufficient. We can go back and get some more, however, that will eat up our precious time. Therefore, I suggest this…"
He then took a deep breath. The two girls listened carefully.
"We have two options… One, we slide down to the bottom along the rails of the stairs. By doing that, we can save 66% of our time. Of course, since Marielle couldn't do it alone and Faye can barely manage by herself, I will carry her until we reach––"
""REJECTED!!!""
Faye and Hel immediately rejected the idea without even listening to the end of his words. He then sighed, slightly predicting this sort of outcome.
"… Okay… Two, we use the steeds to give us a ride up to the bottom. If we rode with 2 people each steed, then we can barely come down."
"…"
"...…"
The two girls wanted to retort for once, however, since the other choice was already rejected, they have no other choice.
"Okay… But you're riding with me. Hel will ride together with Marielle. Is that good?"
"Of course not–"
"I don't mind."
Hel seemed to have something to say but Zeus has already given permission. Immediately, Faye and Marielle called their steeds.
After a minute, the two managed to barely enter. Their size was a bit too big for the hole Zeus made.
After they arrived, Faye immediately rode Sora and extended her hands toward Zeus. Zeus then took her offered hand and climbed up to Sora's back.
On the other side, Hel and Marielle were doing almost the same thing.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah."
After confirmation, Faye immediately ordered her steed to fly to the bottom of the dome. Sora, abiding by the order, flew quickly and took to the air. Zeus was slightly surprised by the sudden acceleration and almost fell off but managed to grab Faye in time.
The sound of the wind was strong. All Zeus could hear was the rushing sound of the wind as they cut through the air.
In less than a minute, they landed at the bottom. At the same time, Zeus let go of his hand and jumped down.
"That's quite fast… The acceleration cannot be underestimated…"
As he mumbled to himself, he didn't notice Faye whose face was dyed deep red.
Skin contact was common to the two, however, it was her first time being hugged from behind by him. Zeus probably didn't notice this as he was grabbing tightly in fear for his dear life.
After all of them got off their rides, the surroundings became a little clearer compared to just looking from above.
The surrounding area was large, a semi-dome about over a hundred meters in radius. The ground was uneven with pointed rocks protruding here and there. There were parts where the land was leveled but the ragged ones were dominant.
There are two caves on opposite sides. One is large, having a ceiling of over 10 meters high. The other one is quite normal in size, enough for a human to walk into without problems.
"Okay, we should split groups again. Faye, Marielle, together with Sora and Felix will go inside the smaller one. Take this flares."
He then handed over 4 flares to them. He also handed over a noise bomb, for emergencies.
"If a monster strong enough to cause trouble appears, use this bomb, and then try to trace your steps back if possible. I'll come as fast as I can. Situational decision-making will be left to Faye. Meet up here after 20 minutes."
Since they first summoned the steeds, almost 4 hours have passed. Time-wise, the steeds will disappear after 40 minutes more or so. This arrangement maximizes the benefits of the steeds and also acts as a test for their battle strength.
After a series of questions and clarifications, the two groups walked toward their respective caves.
Faye and Marielle first entered the cave then after confirming that they have left, Zeus and Hel entered the larger one.
Inside the cave, darkness covered every corner. After Zeus lighted one flare, the surrounding area became clear.
It was an uncommon cave. The ceiling, the ground, the walls, all of it were quite well maintained. It was all leveled carefully. Not a single bump could be seen.
"What is this place?"
Zeus couldn't help but wonder. Hel walked ahead of him, then spoke.
"This is without a doubt, a laboratory. If we go deeper, you'll see."
"A laboratory for what?"
"…"
At Zeus's question, Hel kept her mouth shut. Then, thinking that it is futile trying to extract information from her, they continued walking in silence.
After following the path, they reached a branching road. Both the left and right sides seemed the same.
"… Let's try the right side first."
Hel just nodded in affirmation. Minutes after, they reached a large clearing. It was another large dome. On the floor, a large magic circle was drawn. However, no light was coming from it as it was not active, probably broken.
"So it's really a laboratory…"
Around the circle, many old pieces of equipment could be seen. Stacks of paper are scattered here and there. Many desks were smashed and in the middle of the circle, a device-like object is located. Cracks scatter around from the center of the circle.
Zeus approached the object in the middle and examined it.
"… A type of… Mana Dite?"
In the world of WEXO, especially for magicians, Mana Dites is essential. However, it is extremely rare. When a Mana Dite is sold to the market, the price would reach over 200 million Darks. If it is sold to magicians offline, it may reach at least $100,000 in price. This is how precious this small piece of stone is.
"… However, it is already dead…"
Hel, who approached unknowingly, bent down and checked the stone placed as the core of the device.
"Normal Mana Dites release an enormous amount of mana even if it is suppressed. This one doesn't have any mana remaining."
"So this is… Useless?"
"Well, it can be used as a precious stone similar to emerald and ruby. If sold, it can reach about 2 to 4 million Darks even without mana."
Hearing her words, Zeus immediately smashed the small container and took the Mana Dite from inside.
After that, they checked the papers around the place. Then, they caught a glimpse of what the ones here tried to research in the past.
"Monster Summoning?"
It was a bit abstract but they seemed to have tried to summon monsters on the same level as legendary monsters. They were planning to use that to fight against the monsters that slowly occupied 99% of the land.
"… However, they seem to have failed…"
Simply by looking at the state of things, it was obvious. A massacre must have happened here. Since a long time had passed already, no traces of blood could be seen. However, the after-effects are clear.
"… Let's see the other side."
After spending about 5 minutes around the dome, they finally decided to head to the other, left, side.
If the right side is the experiment area, the left side is the residential/staff area. There are many rooms set along both sides of the long passage. The number of doors alone reaches over 30.
Checking inside one of the doors, it contained a bunk bed and two desks. Traces of wax candles could be seen on the top of the desks. The room design was a bit plain.
"There's no damage that reaches up to here. All staff must have been over the experiment area when the incident happened."
Then, biding their time, they started heading back. Exactly 20 minutes after the search started, they regrouped.
Faye and Marielle were already waiting in place before Zeus and Hel.
"What happened?"
Zeus asked as they approached. Faye stopped grooming Sora and spoke.
"After 5 minutes down the tunnel, a large door barred the road. We couldn't proceed any further. After trying everything to pass through the door, we wasted 5 more minutes before heading back."
"What kind of door?"
"Double doors. Made of metal. It was plain with no carvings or any designs. Not even a knocker or doorknob. Makes me wonder why they made that."
"… Cannot be opened from the outside… Then, a panic room?"
"That may be… However, I get the feeling that beyond that door is a dungeon. And also, we found this."
Faye then took a piece of leather shoes and gave it to Zeus.
"This is… Without a doubt, it's from Yale Village. The workings and design are similar."
"Also, this type of leather shoe is used exclusively by Merchants and Travelers. Which gives a high chance that Tyler is inside."
"…"
They finally managed to find a big clue to their quest. However, one problem remains.
"How could we enter…?"
Then, as the two went into a pensive mood and started thinking, Marielle spoke.
"I-I think that I know how to enter…"
"… What do you mean?"
"M-My previous party loves stories of treasures and dungeons… I just remembered but… Once, they spoke of a dungeon closed off by an impossible-to-open door. They said something about knowing how to open it…"
"And that is?!"
"… B-By using a large amount of mana on a specific part of the door, it will open."
"Do you know where that spot is?"
"… Yeah… I-I think so…"
Then, they all headed toward the cave. Faye and Marielle led the way. The cave was slowly getting larger as they walked in.
Instead of using a flare, Faye used her wand to cast a continuous healing light on her surroundings. It is one of her higher-ranking skills, Aurora Heal. A flashy, and bright skill.
It is a type of continuous skill that consumes mana over the total health recovered rather than the time that passed.
Since all of them are in full health, Faye's mana stayed full. However, continuous skills have great stamina consumption. At most, she could keep the light for about 80 minutes non-stop before she became overfatigued.
After 5 minutes, they reached the said door. Then, on Zeus's cue, Marielle went in front of the door and tried opening it. She placed her hands in the middle of the part where the knobs should be located. Then, immediately, her mana was drained.
"A-Aaaaah!"
"Wooooah!"
"Watch out!"
The door quickly swung outwards. Towards where Zeus, Faye, and Hel were standing. With quick reflexes, Faye and Hel managed to avoid it in time. However, Marielle, who was a bit slow, lost balance and was almost flung away by the doors.
Zeus immediately caught her and jumped out of the door's swinging range.
"That was close."
If he was a little late, Marielle would have been dragged and crushed by the door right now.
"Wawawawaawawawawawa!!!"
Faye looked like she was about to explode as she approached.
"What are you doing?!"
"…?"
Zeus didn't quite understand what she was getting at. Right at that moment, he was carrying Marielle in a princess carry. Marielle, surprised by the sudden events, was staring blankly at Zeus's face her mouth opening and closing.
"What are you staring at?! Hurry up and let her down!!!"
"… Can you stand?"
"…"
Marielle just nodded silently. After she was placed down, Faye seemed to be relieved.
"What are you getting angry at? I just saved her you know?"
"T-The problem is… N-No, in the first place, doing things like that should be forbidden!"
"What are you talking about…?"
As the two were quarreling, Marielle slowly caught up to reality. She immediately reflected on what happened earlier. Her face flushed red up to her ears.
"T-T-T-T-T-THAT'S!!! I-I-I-I-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!!!"
At her sudden shout, Faye just pouted. Zeus felt more puzzled as to why Marielle suddenly shouted like that.
Hel quietly shook her head left and right, watching this scene.
"Sigh… Looks like he's a serious case…"