After exploring the vast majority of the white desert for the source of this Rift for what felt like days already, making minor breaks to rest, Ryan's team finally stumbled into a cave at one end of the desert.
The cave's entrance had been obstructed by the white sands as it had almost been completely swallowed up by the desert, only noticing it when one of the deserts sudden gust of wind revealed a portion of the cave's entrance.
They hadn't needed to dig for long before they had been able to gain access to the cave and in an attempt to escape the grueling sun, they all decided to venture into the cave after carefully considering the pros and cons of both options.
Of course, Ryan instructed a few of his teammates to guard the entrance of the cave and secure their potential escape route.
As they were yet to locate the source of the Rift despite their search and given th open nature of this rift, it was safe to say that this cave was the only other possibility where the source of the Rift would be found.
Of course, there was still the possibility that there were more caves similar to this one all over the vast desert only hidden by the sand but Ryan felt that was not the case.
His vision had confirmed the activities of the monsters in this area strategically avoided this particular location. This meant the weaker monsters were afraid of something within this cave.
This was most likely because this place was essentially a boss lair given that the source of every Rift was either protected by a powerful monster or could be found inside one.
They had no choice but to investigate the situation of this cave in preparation for their extermination unit. Increasing their success rate by a wide margin.
"Why is it so dark in here."
"Huh… maybe it's because we're in a cave~ Dumbass..."
"S-shut up! I knew that. It's just taking a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness that's all."
"Right… Moron."
Lisa retorted one of her guidsmate words as she casually observed their surroundings. As an archer, her perception abilities was superior to other classes but that didn't stop her from shutting down her teammates complaint.
"You too be quiet. We don't know what's lurking in the shadows."
Ryan reputed his guild mate's casual banter as he activated his ability and tried to peer into the darkness deep into the cave.
He had a sour expression on his face as he struggled to see through the darkness but he could still make out the basic structure of the cave.
The area they were in right now was an open cavern but there was a relatively wide tunnel up ahead that led deeper into the cave. Actually, there were more than two tunnels leading to different directions and what bothered Ryan the most was that he couldn't see beyond these tunnels.
"What's wrong babe? Do you see something?"
As he heard Val come up beside him and ask the question, Ryan deactivated his ability and gently massaged his eyes.
His guild mate seems to have gotten tensed up by his overly serious expression as they all spread out in small groups in order not to remain vulnerable to a sudden widespread area of effect attack.
"No, there's nothing there. I was just bothered by the darkness. My ability doesn't work well in enclosed spaces you see."
"Oh right… I forgot. But there's no need to worry about that though. I've got your back."
Val took his hand as she spoke with a pleased smile on her face. Ryan thought about it for a moment before sighing.
He wasn't kidding when he said his ability didn't work well in enclosed spaces and the tunnels up ahead appeared to be quite narrow.
As the main advantage to his ability involves his overall awareness of the battlefield and his ability to control the flow of any battle, it wouldn't be of much use if they had to fight in such narrow tunnels.
"Alright guys, there are three tunnels up ahead each leading down a different path and I can't see what's inside of them."
"Wow, so even our guild leader can't see in this darkness. I guess there's nothing wrong with my eyes then."
"Dude, you're blind."
"Oh right, my bad."
An awkward air swept across the cave as they all laughed dryly at that poorly constructed attempt at humor by the oldest member of their guild, Raymond Sakiquire.
He was an aged man around the age of 65 and had been blind since the day he was born. He had learned how to navigate the world around him incredibly well even before the fall of the seven black pillars and even after he had awakened as a Rifter.
His ability allowed him to enhance his physical abilities including his five senses and was a wizard wielding a sword. He was by far the most skilled swordsman in their guild and was even ranked high in the entire city as one of the best swordsmen in the continent.
If it wasn't for his fact that he was evaluated as only an E-Ranked Rifter. He would've been one of the most fearsome swordsmen in the entire world.
However, his playful personality wasn't something that seemed cut out for such things as rankings and reputation and he always had a tendency to tell bad jokes.
"Alright, that's enough. As we are now, we won't fare well inside one of those tunnels so I propose we split up into three groups and explore the tunnels."
"Wait what!"
"Isn't that kinda dangerous though."
"Yeah, the only reason this guild exists is to prevent a situation like this so why would we be willing to cause one in the first place."
"Red flag, red flag I tell you."
"Wow wow Wow… common guys. This is Ryan we're talking about. I'm sure he has a plan. Don't you babe."
"No not really."
"…"
An uproar.
It was the quietest common one had ever seen as everyone began arguing in a whisper. Ryan's response had left everyone speechless as they debated his sanity.
"Listen up. I have a bad feeling about this place even more than y'all. That's why I want us to quickly locate the source as soon as possible and get out of here."
The noise in the cave suddenly subsided as everyone's attention was again, centered at Ryan, who continued speaking.
"My ability here is currently useless as I can't see more than a few meters away from me in this darkness and using any light might attract dangerous monsters. Our current party is not equipped to handle any surprises and I think we're all more likely to die if we move around here in such a large group."
Hearing that. Everyone fell silent as they thought of the logic behind Ryan's thoughts. It was understandable that he would be a bit shaken if his only reliable ability was suddenly stripped from him.
With that in mind, there was a possibility that he was reacting solely based on his emotions but that was not like him.
Even in dire situations, they had always trusted their guild leader to remain calm and think of a logical way out of it and that was apparently the case here today.
"I agree with the guild leader."
"Yeah. This place is freaking me out too, let's get out of here ASAP."
As everyone slowly but surely began to see things his way, Ryan sighed in relief as he prepared for their exploration when suddenly.
*Clang. Clang. Clang.
Metal footsteps could be heard in the distance as they rhythmically approached them from inside one of the tunnels which was also rhythmically accompanied by flattering of bones.
Slight panic immediately began to creep into the eyes of some as they rushed back into formation and awaited the inevitable attack.
In the next moment, several undead skeletons clad in rusted armor and wielding rusted weapons marched out of the center tunnel and moved slightly towards them before suddenly shifting direction towards the tunnels to their right.
"Skeletons?"
That voice had leaked out of the mouth of one of the mages and immediately, the undead squad that had originally missed them and was headed away from them suddenly stopped in their tracks.
The sounds of bones grinding on each other and metal creaking reverberated across the cave as their head simultaneously turned toward them. The flames in their empty eye sockets suddenly flaring up.
"Shit."