As I lay here trapped, the peaceful sound of water dripping from the ceiling gave me solace. The air was moist, still, quiet, and unmoving. My lips felt dry and cracked, and my tongue a desert wasteland, desperate for a drop of sustenance. Although the scars on my body have healed, a cold reminder lingers in my veins. How long have I been trapped here? I stopped counting the minutes after two million...
Hm? What's this?
A strange incident caught my attention. Using my senses, I know everything that occurs inside this cave. I memorized every creature's mana signals, the exact amount of Torqinite that exists in this cave, the smell of wet soil...
Increasing my hearing range to the maximum, the footsteps I heard were unfamiliar. It is too light for it to be a demogre, and heavier than a spritsies. Was there one of them? No, I can hear two. I need to confirm who or what this is.
Using the last bit of mana I've been saving, I projected my soul outwards and glided toward the foreign entities. Is it that despicable Volken coming to check up on me? No, it can't be. He wouldn't bring someone with him. I also cannot hear him either. Just who are they?
Questions clouded my mind as I fastened my pace. Upon arrival, the two mysterious creatures were fighting the spritsies. While I can only see the mana outline of any being in soul form, it is enough for monitoring. The two mana signatures were abysmally weak, like a dying light. They seemed to have the same body structure and possess a core similar to an Apithien, although they were shorter than one. Are they one of the weaker ones?
They struggled to fight against one spritsie. It was clear these Apithiens were beginners with no training. Even so, their teamwork was exceptional. While one distracted the spritsie, the other bided their time, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. A couple of minutes later, they killed it with a stalactite. I applaud their resourcefulness but honestly, it's embarrassing to resort to such means.
Hm? I sense more spritsies barreling through the corridors- and here comes a new group of them. How will they fare against more of them? All I could do was watch.
****
They are improving at an accelerating rate. They dispatched a demogre and a magus demogre for a bunch of beginners. It should be impossible to show this much growth in a short amount of time. They were struggling with those little pests moments ago. Just who are these Apithiens? Are they late-bloomers? Prodigies? Ah. Looks like they are splitting up now. The female seemed to have wanted to stick together, but the male disagreed. I don't care either way as long as one of them approaches my direction.
After some preparations, they set off on different paths. This is good news. It is only a matter of time before we meet. As soon as she arrives, I'll warn her about the guardians.
Some time has passed, and my beacon of light has finally arrived. She was looking around the cavern in awe of its beauty. Since my mana reservoir was abysmally low, I took that chance to retreat into my body and resort to using telepathy. Invading her mind was child's play as she held no mental defenses. Connecting my mind to hers, I could hear her speaking about leaving the cave.
"Wait. Do not leave yet," I said through her mind. As expected, she started freaking out, but I didn't care. I had to warn her about the guardians.
It took quite a while to convince her, but it worked. As I spoke with her, I felt new mana signatures appear on the bottom of the lake. I sensed the guardian's approaching the girl.
"They are approaching. They will come out any moment now. You cannot free me unless they are defeated. Do not fret. While I am here giving you advice, they are but mere fodder as long as you take advantage of the abundant mana in this cave."
The girl scratched her head, embarrassed. "Ah well, the thing is... I don't know how to use mana."
What? Did they fight through foes without the knowledge of mana? Those two? Impossible... Wait, that's not the point!
"YOU WHAT? Were you one of the unlucky few born defected? Bah. There's no time for that. Consume one of the Torqinite in this cave."
"The hell is a Torqinite?"
After explaining what it was, she ate one of them. I hadn't told her the effects of consuming the crystal in its raw state, but she didn't need to know that. I didn't want her getting cold feet when freedom was on the tip of my tongue.
It amazed me when there were no notable repercussions on the body. Either she got lucky, or she is special. My intrigue went away when the golems finally arrived. Volken created them using a rare dark metal; Matorenite. A metal much stronger and more durable than steel. The sword she is using will not be sufficient.
While she fought with great agility, there was no progress to be made. The girl bobbed her body around like a buzzing fly, evading the golems' swings. And then she ran toward the lake, which was puzzling. Just what is she planning?
My doubts were answered when she hung on to a stalactite. The golems followed her into the lake. She bided her time, and when the golems got close enough, she swam away and ran toward the cliff.
Not only does she move well and show monstrous growth, but she is also tactical. If I were to teach her... No, I'll cross that hurdle later. Right now, she is about to attempt her first awakening.
She sat cross-legged and was conducting meditation. I cheered her on silently so as to not disturb her. Time ticked by for a few moments, and the girl finally succeeded. What she held in her hand was definitely a sword, but I don't have the faintest clue about where the design originated. Was it inspired by some obscure culture? Either way, it should get the job done, and I was correct. She was able to defeat one golem with ease but...
"Dodge now!" I warned, but I was too late. The second golem got a clean hit on the girl. She hit the wall with such force that the worst scenario came to mind; that she was going to die from her wounds. She was gagging out blood, meaning there was some internal damage.
"You only destroyed one of the golems. You thought the one you stabbed earlier was defeated, but that was not the case. Its connection to the core was not severed," I informed carefully. It seemed like she ignored me entirely, as she hadn't said a word. The pain must be fogging up her mind. The weapon she created was not on her. She probably cannot manifest another one or else she will lose consciousness. There is only one way I can think of.
"If I may add in... The mana within you is an extension of your body. Think of it as a sort of remote control."
Thankfully, my advice worked. She stuck her hand out and the blade fidgeted. As soon as the golem was close enough, she motioned for it to move and beheaded the golem as I urged her on in the background. Her condition seemed to have worsened as she was flat on her back, panting, eyes half closed.
"Quickly, consume a Torqinite to replenish some mana and use it to heal! While it may not completely rejuvenate yourself, it's better than nothing."
She followed my advice with no protest and consumed another Torqinite. Her health gradually got better, and she was already up and about. If she were to die on me, then I would have been stuck here forever. Contacting the boy was impossible. It's taking all my strength just to speak to this girl.
I reminded her about our deal, and she was more than happy to oblige. After swimming through the lake, she finally arrived, but what she said shocked me.
"By the way, Solgen, your comment from earlier. I don't know what an Apithien is, and I sure as am not one. I came from the planet Earth."
What? If she's not an Apithien, then what is she? An athios? Elf? Dwarf?
My train of thought was disturbed when the girl finally arrived. I heard a sharp gasp in front of me. That is to be expected as I am chained up, scars littering my body. I raised my head weakly to get a good look at this mysterious creature and made eye contact with her. When our eyes met, her shoulders shuddered. Many questions swirled in my head, and I wanted her to answer them fast.
"You... What are you?" I croaked with as much strength as possible. I might as well be a child learning how to speak coherent sentences. My tongue felt foreign to me...
The girl answered, still eying the blood on the floor. "I-Im a human from planet Earth..."
A human from Earth? It would make sense for her to be from a different planet since never in my years have I heard of an organism with that name. Her being this human would also explain why she doesn't know what mana is exactly. I do not know what this 'human' is, or if Earth really existed.
"How… did you get… here?"
"I was, er, forcibly transported in this cave. I don't know by who or why. That's all I know," she summed up briskly. I can tell that she is being honest. She gains nothing from lying to me.
"Are you related to the Pillars?" This was the one question I wanted to ask the most. If she were to be a part of them...
"What're the Pillars?" Her eyes shifted up to my face, revealing a look of puzzlement rather than staring at the floor. Studying her face allowed me to relax for the first time in years. My eyes softened, and my shoulders slumped.
"Don't mind those words. Release me from my chains before he arrives."
She trudged on top of the stone steps and started hacking away at the chains. "You said before he arrives… Who's this 'he' you're referring to?"
I spat at a corner in disgust. "...Volken. Just saying his name is like tasting spritsie feces. Don't ask how I know what it tastes like."
The human wrinkled her nose and said, "Volken... Is he someone we should be wary of- Aha, got them!"
The last chain was finally broken, and I fell onto my knees. The chill of the stone seared my palms. Muscles dormant for years ached with pleasure. It took a great deal of energy as I struggled to stand up.
"Woah now. Let me help!" The girl rushed over to my side and wrapped my arm around her body. With her help, I was able to stand.
"Wow... You're extremely tall," she mumbled.
I smiled wryly. "I am merely average in my race. The others are much taller. Enough about that. If I were you, I would head on over to the boy now or else he will die. I'll stay here and regain some mana."
Slightly pushing the human girl aside, I stretched. Oh… I'm in bliss… Bones and joints that haven't been used creaked like rusted gears in an old machine.
While I was relishing in ecstasy, the girl was spoke in a frightened tone.
"Isaac is going to die? Is it because of this Volken you were talking about earlier? I have to go help him!" In the blink of an eye, the girl rushed out of the prison.
"Now then. I should probably hurry and regain my mana as quickly as possible. I'm going to have to save them from him soon..."
I cautiously turned my body toward the entrance and, with a slight wobble, took my first steps. I warily glanced out of the prison and my eyes watered from the glare of the Torqinite and lake's luminous hues. Shuffling toward a cluster of Torqinite, I turned the rock over. A group of small creatures was wriggling about. All of them had a light blue shine to them.
"Good... it seems these will do."
I reached down and grabbed a fistful of the creatures as I swallowed them whole. The crawling sensation down my throat was an uncomfortable feeling, but there was no other way. This is the best method of safely absorbing the mana within here. I spent around ten minutes walking around and finding more of them.
"This should be enough," I mumbled. "Now, let's see how they are doing."
I once again projected my soul and sensed a new mana signature. It was coming from Volken.
"There you are, you worthless scum," I snarled, gritting my teeth. Gliding through the cave, I was met with the wooden gate. I phased on through and saw that Volken was hovering over the human boy, his sword in hand. The girl was running over to him, her eyes glistening. It surprised me they survived this long. It's unusual for Volken to take this long in dispatching his enemies.
I got out of my soul form and returned to my body. With a wave of my hand, the familiar blue sparks of the portal were created, and I hopped right into my personal pocket dimension, a space only I can control.
"Since I now know everyone's location and I can get to work."
Before he could kill the boy, I raised my arm and created a portal under him. He slid down and was soon out of sight. Bending my legs and scooping the boy up, he was placed onto my shoulders. Volken set his sights on the human girl. Not wanting her to get captured, I created another portal behind the girl, reaching out and pulling her in. The last thing I saw before closing the portal was the face of the man I detest, cursing at me. Giving him an obscene gesture with my left hand was sensible.
Oh, how I've waited for this day! Serves you right, betrayer...
Once things were over, it was now quiet inside the dimension. The girl collapsed, knowing that she was now safe. As I watched them, I felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing that I had saved them from harm.
****
"C'mon! just tell me what your Stats are looking like," Isaac pleaded.
Laila rolled her eyes. "Not now, idiot. I'll show it to you later. My Stats are not the top priority at the moment."
"Then at least tell me how your magic works!"
"Don't you ever shut up?"
They've been bickering at each other the whole way through. I heard my own voice rising in pitch as my anger reached its peak.
"Will you two quiet down?! We arrived at the village!"
Upon hearing my loud voice, the two were immediately silenced. Though our time together hasn't been long, I knew that teaching them will be quite a hassle...