Chapter 25: The Underground World on the Tip of the Tongue 5500
"They beat us to it again, huh."
In the dark and deep underground,
March 2, 837 Falling Stars Era, Moldavia, Unnamed Underground Tunnel.
The bright light of a Glowstone Lamp flickered in the tunnel, accompanied by rustling footsteps. The light cast five slowly walking figures on the tunnel walls.
This was an unnamed tunnel nearly a kilometer deep beneath Moldavia. To conserve oxygen and guard against potential flammable gases, the group of robed mages cautiously used a Glowstone Lamp, which required no oxygen, as their light source. At every interval, they carefully used magic to detect the condition of the tunnel ahead, avoiding accidental collapses or cave-ins. Although a collapse wouldn't kill these Silver High-rank mages, getting back to the surface from a kilometer underground would be beyond their strength, and they would have to wait for their mentor's rescue.
Without a doubt, that was definitely not the outcome this team wanted.
"Sigh, there's no helping it. After all, she has Chu Hao with her."
In the tunnel, a rather rough voice suddenly complained: "She's really lucky to have found the first entrance to the underground world in the entire empire."
The owner of this voice was a dwarf. Carrying the Glowstone Lamp, he chattered incessantly: "The reward for being the first discoverer is triple the points of others. Add to that the reward for finding Jilan Crystal Grass and Moonlight Crystals, it's going to be tough for us to compete for first place this new school year."
"Nick, stop demoralizing our own people!"
Beside him, a rather dissatisfied female voice scolded: "Lisa may have the advantage of being the first discoverer, but she didn't confirm the specific ecosystem map of the underground world, nor did she draw a route map before coming back... We have plenty of chances to overtake her!"
"Come on, Kaelin, at least a 5000 credit gap. How long will it take us to make that up?"
Probably bored by the long underground exploration, the two seized the opportunity to argue. Nick and Kaelin bickered and rebutted each other while cautiously scouting the path ahead. Behind them, a young man and woman who looked like siblings were also quietly exchanging words.
"Brother, our dragon's appetite is getting bigger and bigger... Half of the credits from the last mission went into its stomach."
Amira's tone was helpless. The platinum-haired girl was holding a strange grass plant that looked like a trumpet—a magical plant commonly used in underground exploration. It could quickly convert oxygen under the stimulation of magic, preventing the exploration team from being unable to proceed due to lack of oxygen. She said worriedly to her brother: "At this rate, we might be eaten out of house and home by it."
"My dear sister, it's not 'might be.' We've already been eaten out of house and home. Otherwise, I would have been able to exchange for a new staff last time."
The target of the girl's complaint, a young man with the same platinum hair, tightly gripped his already somewhat worn staff. Standing at the back of the team, he held a magical map in his left hand, automatically recording the tunnel conditions the team had passed through. Ivan showed the same helpless expression as his sister: "The lord said that because our dragon's talent far exceeds its peers, its appetite is three times that of an ordinary White Dragon... It ate 150 credits worth of Magic Crystals in two days, plus 200 pounds of magical beast meat. No matter how fast our team completes missions, we can't keep up with its eating speed!"
Standing nearby, Alva wasn't joining the conversation. He was holding an instrument like a compass, frowning, and muttering something softly to himself.
"Strange, we've already gone 1800 meters underground. The mana concentration hasn't decreased; instead, it's skyrocketed fourfold... Where exactly did Chu Hao dig? A giant Magic Crystal vein?"
It was clear that the Seventh Prince couldn't understand the data displayed by the instrument in his hand, but he hadn't detected any dangerous signs either. So, with lingering doubts, he continued exploring forward with his companions.
The five people walking underground were precisely the First Squad of Winterfell Academy, Joshua's students.
At this point, Winterfell Academy already had over fifty teams joining the underground exploration. Well-prepared, well-equipped teams of spellcasters, along with their magical pets, puppets, and even contracted elementals, ventured into the mysterious underground tunnels to explore their ends. Without a doubt, the First Squad was the team that had gone the farthest and deepest, aside from the tunnel digger, Chu Hao.
The five members of the First Squad were all among the top performers in the academy. Apart from the newly enrolled Prince Alva, the others had been enrolled for about five years. Under the education of many elite mentors, these five years had transformed them from ordinary people into Silver High-rank spellcasters. With just a little luck and opportunity, they could smoothly touch the Gold barrier.
A large group of Silver High-rank students, all under twenty and with a high probability of advancing to Gold—such an incredible success rate, while benefiting from the Great Magic Tide, also had to acknowledge the superior education system of Winterfell Academy. Furthermore, the empire and Moldavia Territory's continuous increase in funding was not without reason. Even students whose personal abilities were not outstanding and who might not advance to Gold had ample knowledge reserves. Whether as magical beast experts or mana technology researchers, they all had their own unique skills.
In fact, without these students, Moldavia Territory would absolutely not have been able to establish so many Mana Factories.
"Mana concentration isn't a problem. Finding a vein would actually be a profit for us."
Hearing Alva's muttering, Ivan, while walking forward and jumping over a small pile of dirt from a partial collapse, shrugged and replied: "Didn't Lisa and the others discover a Moonlight Crystal vein because of abnormal mana fluctuations? A reward of 2500 credits is enough to buy a whole set of the latest generation of mana mechs. Really enviable."
Underground exploration was incredibly boring—eternally dark tunnels, brown and gray soil and rock. It was a major test of the explorers' mental fortitude. To prevent their morale from deteriorating due to prolonged monotonous exploration, the First Squad members would occasionally engage in discussions to avoid losing focus.
Chatting like this, they continued walking down the sloping tunnel for a while, reaching a depth of nearly two thousand meters underground.
"Wait, something's very wrong. It's been strange since just now!" Suddenly, the dwarf Nick, walking at the front, exclaimed in a low voice. His expression turned serious, then instantly became grim: "Damn, this doesn't seem to be dug by Chu Hao..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the tunnel floor beneath their feet shattered like crumbling ice. The fragile soil, mixed with loose rocks, collapsed downward. In the face of such a sudden situation, the First Squad members immediately displayed their excellent composure.
"Levitation!" "Detect Life!" "Nitrogen Barrier!"
Before they had fallen even a second, the five of them stopped mid-air under the effect of Levitation. A layer of pale blue atmospheric barrier appeared around them, forming an indestructible wall against any attack. Meanwhile, Amira's eyes were flashing with red light. Frowning, she quickly said to her companions: "Massive life reactions! We must have arrived at the underground world Lisa and the others discovered!"
"That tunnel just now was much smaller than the previous ones. It shouldn't have been dug by Chu Hao, but by a local creature!"
Nick quickly added what he hadn't said before. He pulled a battle-axe-shaped wand from his waist, with a noticeable trigger on the axe handle. The dwarf skillfully took out several large alchemical bullets engraved with 'Burn,' 'Freeze,' and 'Blast' runes, then loaded them into this personal magical tool that was part axe, part wand, part hand cannon, perfectly prepared for battle: "But no matter what creature it is, let it eat my Elemental Bombs!"
Faint glows of various strengthening magics began to appear around the dwarf, and the others also made their preparations.
Unlike before, the battle-hardened First Squad had long planned for combat in any sudden situation. A simple collapse was nothing. Before starting the underground exploration, they had already prepared corresponding plans. According to the backup plan, even if they encountered a hidden Dracolich, they were confident they could escape alive.
But obviously, they didn't need to fight a Dracolich, whose strength usually ranged from Gold Peak to Ultimate-rank Low. After the soil and rocks beneath them had completely collapsed, the five suspended in mid-air, illuminated by the Glowstone Lamp's light, clearly saw the enormous underground space behind the collapse.
Glowing slime molds, a panicked swarm of underground bats due to the loud noise, abnormally thick mana fluctuations, and a series of strange yet rhythmic 'swishing' sounds.
"Descend?"
"Of course. Isn't that why we came to explore the underground world?"
Having encountered an accident but all emerged unscathed, and directly found their destination, the five were excited but suppressed their double joy. Under Kaelin's soft chanting and adjustment, the Levitation spell on them began to slowly dissipate, bringing them closer to the ground. They finally landed on the pile of dirt formed by the collapse.
"So this is the underground world? Feels a bit empty."
Alva looked around and sighed: "I thought it would be a mushroom forest or something like an insect nest... Didn't expect it to be this barren."
Saying this, he intended to step forward and take a closer look. But then, Ivan reached out and grabbed him.
Alva turned around in confusion, but what he saw was Ivan's serious face.
"There's hostility."
The moment these words were spoken, Alva's pupils slightly contracted. He also suddenly felt a series of faint but exceptionally solid hostility—even killing intent—rapidly converging on their group.
"Clang!"
Without hesitation, Nick twisted the direction of the Glowstone Lamp, shining it towards the source of the hostility. Under the light, countless black and brown insects could be seen fleeing from the fungal clusters. The next instant, in the dark depths beyond the lamp's reach, amidst the faint glow of the fungi, two golden points of light suddenly lit up.
Soon, two became four, four became eight, eight became sixteen... A few seconds later, over thirty golden points silently approached the group, entering the range of the light.
Snakes... No, at this size, they should be called 'pythons.'
Over a dozen black pythons, each over twenty meters long, slowly crawled out from the darkness. They emitted a strange mana fluctuation, as if they could absorb the surrounding light. Accompanied by the 'swishing' sound of their bodies rubbing against the rocks, the pythons' cold serpentine eyes scanned the five people before them. These deep-dwelling, bizarre creatures opened their mouths, filled with sharp teeth, and let out a silent screech.
Instantly, a deep brown mana surged. The soil around the First Squad began to rapidly deform, turning into sharp rock spikes and blades, pressing down on them!
"Begin combat!"
Without any tension, the battle-hardened First Squad, who had even slaughtered the shark-lizard hordes along the coast of the Extreme North Icefield, were long accustomed to attacks and being attacked. This sudden battle in the underground world was exactly what they had anticipated.
Rather, this was precisely why someone's disciples were so eagerly looking forward to this dangerous exploration.
...
"Kaelin, add fire."
Deep underground, in the center of a chaotic battlefield, the exhausted five members of the First Squad lit a campfire.
The dwarf Nick, who had already set up a wire mesh grill and brushed it with olive oil, was carrying something nearby. When he returned to the simple cooking setup, the red-haired girl beside him also skillfully lit a blazing fire under the iron griddle.
Sizzle. Instantly, the familiar aroma of oil appeared in the underground world. However, the fragrance didn't spread; it was bound within a certain range by magic.
On the other side, the siblings Ivan and Amira also walked back from a distance, their arms full of washed glowing fungi and various strange herbs.
"Lucky, there's even Kaman White Grass growing here. This stuff is the main ingredient for Energy Potions," the young man remarked.
"Compared to the Jilan Crystal Grass Lisa and the others found, this stuff is worthless," the girl shook her head.
On another side, Prince Alva was skillfully using his personal short knife to expertly dissect the python carcass Nick had carried over.
The technique he had honed from dismembering countless shark-lizards was no different when applied to the python. The former prince, now an adventurer, was displaying his exquisite swordsmanship inherited from the royal family to its fullest. In just a few seconds, the python, whose skin was tougher than steel and muscles knotted like tree roots, was easily broken down into smooth, firm strips of meat.
"Is the sauce ready?"
"Ready. The seasonings too."
"The meat is also cut."
"Great! Leave the rest to me!"
Everything was ready. A glint of light flashed in the dwarf's eyes. Using magic, he levitated the snake meat Alva had cut, then took out iron skewers from a pouch at his waist, threaded the meat, and placed them on the preheated wire mesh grill.
[Grilled Underground Python]
[Required Ingredients: One unnamed underground python]
[200 grams of sugar]
[150 grams of salt and pepper]
[50 grams of Holy Life Water]
[200 grams of sauce]
[Detoxification Magic (twice)]
[50 grams of Kaman White Grass powder]
[100 grams of glowing fungi essence]
[Effect: Unknown]
"Can this glowing fungus even be eaten?!"
Beside him, Alva watched the dwarf skillfully mix the sauce and brush it onto the snake meat with a look of accustomed surprise. The mouthwatering aroma made him instinctively swallow. But even so, for the safety of his digestive system, he cautiously raised an objection: "That stuff... doesn't it smell a bit rotten?"
"The rotten smell is from the decaying slime of dead fungi. Actually, if you wash a normal glowing fungus clean, you'll smell a faint, woody fragrance similar to resin."
Nick, who had lived underground for many years in the past, shook his head. Holding a cleaned, spherical fungus in his hand, he corrected the prince's misunderstanding about glowing fungi: "The reason this stuff glows is because of the mana-rich jelly in its center... You could say the jelly at its core is similar to slime—pure mana colloid. Of course, it's edible."
Saying this, Nick took a brush and applied a layer of fluorescent mana colloid onto the snake meat. Instantly, the aroma became even richer.
"The fungus is fine... But can this creature really be eaten?"
Beside him, Amira said hesitantly: "This python can control earth, rock, and water with magic. It seems like an intelligent life form... Is it really okay to eat it?"
"Some magical beasts can even talk. The most important thing is that it tastes good. Look at dragons—they have civilization, but plenty of people eat their meat after they're hunted down."
Beside her, Ivan said nonchalantly: "We already checked. The python is non-toxic and nutritious. Plus, we added 50 grams of Holy Life Water. With that, even if you chug poison, you'd be fine... We've been exploring underground for so long; we need to replenish some protein."
"Yeah."
On the other side, Kaelin also nodded in agreement: "Look at Lisa. She's been eating dry rations for weeks and looks pale. We're professional explorers. We can't be like her. We need to learn to source materials from the environment to supplement our nutrition."
The grilled snake meat was done quickly. Soon, everyone began their first meal since entering the underground world.
"Brother, feed me!"
"Honestly... At this rate, you'll never get married." Faced with Amira, who still didn't want to touch the snake meat, Ivan could only helplessly indulge his sister's whim. He said softly, "Open wide."
"Ah~"
Beside them, Nick listened to the sounds of 'Mmm mmm!' 'So good!' 'Delicious!' while chewing on the snake meat, assessing the effects of his cooking.
"It has some energy recovery effect. It should be from the Kaman White Grass and the fungus essence. Slime mucus mixed with Kaman White Grass powder is the simplest Energy Potion."
While eating, the dwarf pondered, took out paper and pen, and wrote down the effects of the grilled python with one hand: "It can significantly restore earth and water attribute mana, and can enhance night vision perception to some extent... Got it. The snake meat tastes great."
Having roughly written down the cooking process, ingredients, and effects, Nick contentedly put away his simple recipe book. One could vaguely see that the other pages of this simple recipe book were already densely filled, and the entire book was almost full.
A few days later.
Upon hearing urgent news, Joshua immediately went to the underground laboratory of Winterfell Academy after returning to his territory.
There, he met Nostradamus, who had a serious expression.
"What's wrong?"
The warrior raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled: "What's so urgent? Is the server down? Or does the warship production line need me to make some adjustments?"
"Neither. You underestimate the empire's mana technology too much..." Shaking his head, the old mage showed a barely perceptible smile, but quickly, his expression returned to seriousness. He stood by the tempered glass panel outside the lab and gestured to Joshua: "As for why I called you back... Take a look at this."
Shrugging, Joshua turned around. He didn't walk to the window but directly pierced through the wall with his gaze, looking at the spot Nostradamus indicated.
It was a dying black python, kept alive by nutrient solution. Its golden serpentine eyes had become numb, devoid of their original vitality.
"This is..."
At first, he didn't see anything special, but soon, Joshua's eyes widened. Then, he frowned deeply. The warrior said in a deep voice: "Divine Power?!"
"Earth Divine Power?!"