The hidden path wasn't difficult to find, as those people hadn't bothered to conceal their tracks. Following the various signs, they found a passage hidden behind rocks in a corner of the cliff face.
The almost rhythmic sound of their footsteps echoed through the tunnel. Mithra tirelessly held up her stone hammer as a torch.
They didn't encounter any cursed creatures in this passage, making the journey eerily quiet.
Until...
Mithra and Nie Hong simultaneously sensed a powerful Ki.
It wasn't the half-dead Ki of the usual cursed creatures. This was the strongest Ki they had sensed in these tunnels.
Nie Hong hesitated slightly, but Mithra continued forward without pause. Seeing this, Nie Hong wasn't really afraid and followed closely.
A bright, open space appeared ahead – a large cave.
Entering, they smelled the strong stench of blood and decay, as if they had entered some kind of beast's lair.
And in fact, it was.
A wolf and a bear coexisted peacefully in the cave, sharing a meal of a cursed collective.
They wore metal armor, covering vital parts of their bodies. Their forelegs were unusually long, and the wolf's forelegs had clearly differentiated five fingers.
Bipedal beasts...
As Mithra and Nie Hong approached, the wolf reacted first, dropping the bone it was holding and standing up.
The bear was a step slower, but it also stood up following the wolf. However, its hind legs hadn't evolved along with its forelegs, so it couldn't stand completely upright. It could only stand like a chimpanzee. Even so, the half-standing bear was quite intimidating.
The wolf bared its fangs at them, and the bear roared.
"Can you talk?" Mithra asked, waving, while Nie Hong tensed up.
The bear didn't react, but the wolf paused, considered for a moment, and finally shook its head.
"It's fine if you can't. We want to pass through. Is that okay? Just behind you," Mithra pointed behind the beasts.
The wolf crossed its arms in a human-like posture and began to consider.
"Roar!" The bear roared again and was slapped by the contemplating wolf. It then lowered its head and retreated.
The wolf seemed troubled. It then made a defensive gesture towards Mithra and Nie Hong, growling with unclear meaning.
Nie Hong scratched his head. "How are we supposed to understand that?"
"Yes, as expected. You were wild beasts in the mountains, controlled by the townspeople and sent into these tunnels as laborers. After they left, they kept you here to guard the tunnels, preventing dangerous cursed creatures from escaping. Yes, very difficult indeed," Mithra said directly, interpreting their meaning.
Nie Hong was dumbfounded, his eyes wide. "You can understand them?!"
Mithra looked at him as if he were an idiot. "And you can't?"
Nie Hong clutched his head. Whose fault was this? Could he be even less perceptive than a wolf?
He looked ahead and saw the bear behind the wolf, innocently holding its head.
Man and bear, both holding their heads, seemed to have found kindred spirits in each other.
The wolf gestured with its middle finger towards the passage behind it—who knew where it had learned that—then barked a few times at Mithra, beckoning with its finger.
Mithra nodded. "A toll, right? Okay."
She turned to Nie Hong. "Go move the giant spider monster's corpse here."
"Me?"
"Awoo!" The wolf barked at the bear behind it. The bear obediently walked over to Nie Hong, its eyes looking at him intelligently.
Nie Hong understood.
He took the bear to move the corpse.
Mithra looked at the wolf, wondering how to politely question this wolf that had explored the depths of the tunnels with the cultists.
But the wolf was clever. She felt she might need to offer something to make it talk.
Thinking about this, Mithra approached. "Um, I have some questions for you."
The wolf, leaning against the wall with its arms crossed, looked at Mithra with a puzzled expression.
Seeing that Mithra wanted something from it, it beckoned with its claw.
Mithra thought for a moment, activated Stabilize, and then pulled the sword from her body.
Wolf: ?!
Just as the wolf thought Mithra was about to attack, she lifted her clothing and, after a moment's hesitation, cut a piece of flesh from her waist. Her body trembled with pain, a twisted smile appearing on her lips as she offered it to the wolf. "Is this enough?"
Wolf: !!!
...
"We're back. This stupid bear kept trying to eat the spider on the way!" Nie Hong complained after returning with the bear and the giant spider monster's corpse.
The bear was even gnawing on one of the spider's legs.
Then, Nie Hong noticed the bipedal wolf looking at its own waist with a puzzled expression, and then glancing at Mithra, who was wiping her sword, with what could only be described as awe.
"Finally back," Mithra said, sheathing her sword and standing up.
The wolf also looked over, seemingly surprised by the size of the spider monster. After slapping the bear, who was secretly "snacking," it turned to Mithra and gestured with its paws, then pointed towards the exit.
Mithra thanked the wolf. "Thanks for the help. Want some more?"
As she spoke, she reached into her body.
The wolf quickly shook its head, pointed at the giant spider monster, made a tearing gesture, then rapidly pointed towards the exit with both forepaws, not even looking at Mithra.
Nie Hong was extremely puzzled, but Mithra didn't tease the wolf any further. She thanked it again before leaving. Nie Hong quickly followed.
The wolf watched Mithra's retreating figure, still comparing the meat on its waist to its memory of the offering, a shiver running down its spine. It quickly shook its head.
...
"What did you do to the wolf?" Nie Hong asked.
"Just a small toll. But for a beast that has just grasped higher intelligence and is still forming its worldview, it might have been a bit too stimulating. But it seemed to like it, so that's good. Otherwise, I'd have doubted my abilities."
Mithra's words were cryptic, leaving Nie Hong confused.
What exactly did she do to alter a creature's worldview?
But Mithra didn't explain, probably to avoid altering Nie Hong's worldview as well.
After climbing a slope and navigating a rough, unmaintained path, they suddenly came across a neatly paved stone passage.
Nie Hong perked up. They seemed to have arrived.
After following this clearly man-made underground path and climbing a set of regular stairs, they reached an upward-opening door.
Nie Hong glanced around and found a lever mechanism. He pointed.
Mithra nodded. Nie Hong grabbed the lever and pulled.
A rumbling sound came from the heavy stone door, as if a mechanism was activating.
The door slowly moved.
Finally, they stepped out and realized it hadn't been a door, but a strange statue blocking their path. They were standing in front of a small, crude church.
Mithra looked at the statue. It was a featureless humanoid figure with three pairs of wings and a head bearing symbols of the sun, moon, and stars.
[Anderet Worship Statue: The entity known as "Darkness." Anderet is said to control the darkness of the world, a dark elf who is omnipresent, privy to countless secrets. Voyeurism is also a way to pursue knowledge. It was Anderet who bestowed the legacy of the Night Eyes upon humanity, aiding in their rise. However, after the era of the Forty-Four Pillars, its activity diminished until it disappeared, leaving only the eyes and their legends behind. Some speculate that "Darkness" Anderet was also one of the Forty-Four Pillars, but this claim is considered a ridiculous joke.]
[—What do you think?]
"Why do you guys keep asking me?" Mithra muttered.
Nie Hong looked back, confused. "What did you say?"
Mithra shook her head, not wanting to think too much about it.
She looked outside the church entrance.
It was nighttime again. The dense buildings, bathed in moonlight, looked ominous.
Judging from their location, they had emerged from the depths of the Gross tunnels directly into Gross Town.
Nie Hong said, "This is good. We've infiltrated their base. This town isn't big, but finding the pendant is still like searching for a needle in a haystack."
Mithra, however, didn't seem concerned. "I believe the devout believers here will remember exploring the ruins in the tunnel very clearly. If we can't find it, we'll just ask politely. These enthusiastic believers are sure to tell us."
Nie Hong looked at Mithra strangely. "Are you serious?"
Then he saw Mithra twirling the stone hammer. "Yes, very serious."