Chapter Fifty
A wave of mana from inside sent him scrambling back, staff in his hand in an instant. Did the building seal the mana in? Was he wrong about the place being abandoned?
Fear growing, he spread his senses, especially focusing on the melody, but other than dense nature affinity mana, nothing else stood out.
Still, he waited until his bracelet’s came off cooldown. He wasn’t entering potentially hostile territory without his full arsenal. Though the tower was still part of his territory, it was so far from the core he barely felt it.
Staff at the ready, he approached the open hatch and peered down. To his surprise, artificial lights illuminated the ladder.
Unlike the hatch, the ladder looked pristine. As if someone installed it a day ago. It gleamed with fresh white paint showing reflections of the lights dotted down the tunnel, leading to what he could tell was a large room.
He remained at the top of the tower, caution screaming at him it would be a bad idea to descend the ladder, but he had an easy out with his territory card.
That thought sent a spike of annoyance. This was his territory. He had every right to explore it. So, what if they claimed it? If this was a hostile base, he needed to know.
Soon after, his bracelet’s regained their glow, killing any further hesitance.
Instead of climbing down the stairs and leaving himself vulnerable, he shifted to his bird form and dove. With the same tactic they used in the dungeon to reach his target, he plummeted down the tunnel.
Just before the bottom, he shifted back to his humanoid form and spun in a circle, staff raised to strike anything nearby.
Nothing came after him, but the room wasn’t empty. Rows of planters took up most of the room with small trees, some visibly browning.
It only took him a moment to find the reason. Nature mana gushed out of the still open hatch above. There wasn’t much he could do about that though, and he didn’t think it would harm his territory to get an influx of nature mana.
One thing was for sure, the planters weren’t maintaining themselves. Sure, there could be some automated processes, but they were way too organized to grow naturally.
That meant living people. The question was how many and how often. If they found the broken hatch, they would investigate and maybe spot the central tree. Though even with his excellent bird vision, he barely spotted the green from the tower. That didn’t mean it would be like that forever. The tree may grow bigger.
No, he needed to ensure they remained undetected until they had plans for defense. They were sitting ducks as they were if anyone wanted a territory. Two grade ones were no match against an invading force.
Worse, they needed a food source. Unlike the dungeon, they couldn’t survive indefinitely. That was when he spotted several plants populated with green fruit. The problem was, he had no way to transport it back. However, one thing he could do was grab some seeds.
That was what he did. He grabbed a green palm sized fruit. After prodding it with his senses, finding no poison, he took a tiny nibble so small that if it was toxic, he should be able to fight it off. Fortunately, nothing happened other than mildly sour juices reaching his tongue.
Just in case, he peered inward, finding no issues with his body, confirming the fruit was edible.
Not the most appetizing fruit, but it appeared to be edible. He took another bite, this time bigger, then gasped as a flood of nature mana rushed into his body, bringing with it a sweet taste. That was when he realized the source of the nature mana wasn’t the tower, but the fruit.
A smile formed as he continued to take bites out of the fruit, reaching the center. Instead of plucking the little black seeds, he continued to nibble around it until only a core remained.
Arden’s hand reached toward another fruit, but he held off. He didn’t know the effects of eating multiple of these fruits.
His parents always warned him against eating too many magical items at once, and these fruits counted as magical. What effects they had he didn’t know, but they had a potent dose of nature mana.
Why did someone grow them hidden in the middle of a dead zone? Magical fruits were valuable, but not valuable enough to hide them like this unless he was missing something.
Despite his thoughts, he grabbed a few more fruits and stuffed them in his tattered robe after he pried out some seeds to grow more back near the territory core.
Based on the browning of the leaves on the trees, it wouldn’t be long before the planters died off. If was quick with his investigation, he might make a trip to the core and back to grab a bunch of fruit.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Was it possible to grab an armful then shift to his bird form? Something to test after he checked out the rest of the tower.
Just for good measure, he grabbed a few more fruits, then scanned the room. Near the center of the room was another hatch, this one in perfect condition, and opened without issue.
Another rush of mana reached him, but this one wasn’t as potent. More like an equalization of ambient mana. Like how he entered the tower, he shifted to his bird form, happy to find the fruit disappeared along with his humanoid form as he shrunk and gained black feathers.
Beak first, he dove into the hatch. He continued to fall for several seconds longer than should be possible. Was he underground?
Just as he had that thought, the floor became visible. However, something else became visible. A group of people armed in wood and metal from head to toe gathered around a natural-looking pathway leading further down.
It only took him a moment to realize what it was. A dungeon entrance. The problem was that moment was enough for one of the lighter armored bow wielding group members to notice him. Arden spread his wings, parachuting.
Instead of the hostility he expected, the group turned toward him, confusion in their grayish green eyes. Did they think he was a bird? Should he teleport away or play the part? Was it worth the risk of getting too close when he had an escape? If he used his escape, would they become suspicious?
For now, he slowed his descent and flew in a circular pattern, trying to look as natural as possible. It was difficult, as he had to maintain the tightest circle he had flown so far.
As he waited for their reaction, he prodded his bond to send out a message, only to find it fuzzy. A spike of panic shot through him, worried his territory card wouldn’t work.
That was when he realized he needed to be in his humanoid form to use it. How could he be so stupid? He knew cards didn’t work transformed. Now he had no choice but to expose himself to escape.
The tallest of the armored figures pointed at Arden, anger simmering in this tone. “Who let a bird in here? Did someone think it was funny to push a bird through the portal?”
Everyone in the group shook their heads, but Arden paid them no attention. His mind raced for a solution, not trusting he could act like a bird under scrutiny and if he made an escape, they would notice the broken hatch on the roof.
Why did he think it was a good idea to explore the dungeon without backup? He should have brought the snake. Together, they might have a chance against the group. They weren’t all that strong. The largest one was mid-way through grade one, around the same strength as him.
If they had the element of surprise, they could have gotten the upper hand, though five against two wasn’t the best odds.
Grasping at straws, he listened to the melody, expecting a dark tune, only to find it was the opposite. Most were on the lighter side, with one being lighter than the rest.
They didn’t suspect him? He could use that. At least until he found a path of escape. Well, escape was possible even now. All he had to do was fly up and shift then teleport but that didn’t solve the problem of the damaged hatch.
Now that he knew about the dungeon, the hidden nature of the tower made a lot more sense. This was probably a private dungeon, which made things worse for him. When they noticed the damage, they would be extra suspicious.
Was there a way he could fix the hatch? Probably not in the time he had if he flew up. Maybe if he escaped later when they weren’t looking.
For now, it seemed like his only option was playing the role of a lost bird and hope they didn’t suspect anything.
He continued to circle as the group below conversed. “We can’t leave the bird here. Someone needs to stay back and bring the bird through the portal. It won’t survive long trapped in the tower.”
One figure with a more neutral tone to their melody gestured toward the dungeon entrance and up to the bird. “I get protecting life is important, but why do we need to send it back right away? It should be fine until after our delve. Why should someone give up their delve slot just to bring it back?”
Arden’s heart leaped at the suggestion, mentally willing the rest to agree.
The tallest figure, who also had the lightest melody, looked up at him then suddenly tensed melody darkening slightly. “The bird isn’t alone. I feel a mana leak from above. Someone opened the hatch for the bird.”
That sent a ripple through the entire group, most of which had rapidly darkening melodies though none yet hostile.
Should he make a run for it? Well, fly for it. There was no way they could catch him before he reached the hatch. Now that they suspected someone, there was no point in trying to play the innocent bird role.
Or maybe there was. If he didn’t try to escape and they reached the hatch and found no one, they may not suspect him.
Birds can open hatches after all. His mind flashed back to a book he read about some black birds using their beaks to open things. Those birds looked similar to him, though smaller.
Was it the worst thing if they thought a smart bird broke in? That might be the best-case scenario. They wouldn’t tighten security if they thought it was a lone, curious bird. There was the problem of a bird flying in the middle of nowhere.
Unless. An idea sparked. He hoped it worked, otherwise he would have to expose himself to escape.
He flew back up, trying to look as natural as possible. The sound of booted footsteps echoing through the cavern reached his ears, but he ignored it as he flew toward the hatch.
However, just as he reached the hatch, some spring mechanism activated, probably from the gust of his approach, slamming it closed.
Panic shot through him as he couldn’t transform to stall momentum. His wings spread, but in his haste, he built up too much speed to stop himself in time.
With a crunch, he impacted the hatch beak first. His vision blacked.
The next thing he knew, he was falling, pain radiating through his entire body.
In a daze, he spread his wings, but they wouldn’t respond. He tried again, this time with a pulse of mana, but even then, his wings only twitched.
His blurry vision picked out shapes rushing toward him, but even in his compromised state, he could tell they wouldn’t make it in time. He was on a collision course with the floor and certain death if he didn’t transform.
That thought sparked some lucidity. He craned his neck, sending spikes of agony through his body. If he could change his course, he may have a solution.
With pushed mana into his left wing, blacking out for a moment as lava burned through him, but the wing extended though at an odd angle. That push was all he needed.
Instead of crashing into the floor, he plummeted down the tunnel leading to the dungeon.