Kieran struggled to grasp how long he had been falling. If he had enough crystal essence he could have created platforms of earth to stop his fall. However, his crystal essence was depleted after his fight against the Mutated Ice Cloud Lion.
Complete darkness filled his eyes, making his sight useless to search for anyone close to him. Suddenly his body hit a solid surface, and before he could find a way to hold onto it, his body slid onto the smooth surface, continuing its fall.
Chunks of ice that had fallen with him when the cave floor collapsed slammed into him, causing cuts to appear that continued to open all over his body as he curled his body in on himself to reduce the exposed areas of his body.
After several minutes, Kieran hit another solid surface which halted his fall. The chunks of ice that had fallen with him ricocheted on this new surface, creating a thud and crystalline sound in the darkness.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his panting breath. He stood up carefully, feeling the sharp pain of the cuts on his skin. His hands instinctively searched in the darkness, looking for a solid grip to help him hold on.
"Where did I land?"
Accessing his aurora collar, Kieran pulls out a lamp made of beast crystal materials and potions to heal his wounds and recover his crystal essence.
Quickly surveying the surroundings with his lamp, the light revealed a vast tunnel of ice stretching out into the distance with numerous holes strewn all around it appearing to be dug by beasts.
"It looks like holes dug by Ice Devouring Worms. Is this their habitat?"
Kieran reflexively grabbed Shard of a Broken World, only to remember the cracks that had appeared on it.
He watched the weapon in his hands crumble slowly with his every move. A sense of shame invaded him as he lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, Master," he said, gritting his teeth. It had only been a few months since he got Shard of a Broken World, but losing it had affected him more than he thought.
"It's not important. It's just a weapon. You don't have to worry about it. It would be useless to you in a few months anyway," Runihoril said in a neutral voice.
Although Runihoril's words indicate that he had no particular feelings towards Shard of a Broken World, the look Kieran saw in his eyes as he stared at the cracks said otherwise.
He looked one last time at the form of Shard of a Broken World before stocking it into his aurora collar and replacing it with the weapon he had recently forged.
The new double-bladed sword felt heavy in his hand and didn't seem balanced, but he had no choice but to use it in his situation even though he couldn't show the full power of the Dance of Heaven and Earth.
Once again, accessing his aurora collar, he tried to search for a signal close to him but without any success.
"I need to find a way out of here. I'll look for the others while trying to find an exit."
He moved cautiously through the tunnel while wary of the scattered holes that might hide an Ice Devouring Worm.
After walking for a while, he noticed a faint, flickering glow in the distance. Intrigued, he quickened his pace and finally arrived in a large space with several tunnels leading to it.
At the center of the large space was an underground lake. A pure crystal essence seemed to emanate from it, reviving his senses.
Stepping closer to the edge, he plunged his hands into the lake. A shiver ran through his body as he absorbed the crystal essence present in the lake naturally.
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A wave of crystal essence rapidly filled his spiritual world, recovering all the crystal essence he had spent in his fight.
The intense cold contained in the lake tried to invade his body, but it only took him a simple effort to circulate heat through his body, thanks to his ability.
He began using the Heavenly Sun Body technique, and the rate at which the crystal essence was absorbed inside his body increased drastically. In just a few seconds, he felt his cultivation progress noticeably.
"This lake is amazing!"
Forgetting all about his situation, Kieran took off some of his clothes before diving into the lake with bright eyes. The cold that invaded him became stronger, and he had no choice but to separate part of his consciousness to keep his ability active while continuing to cultivate, causing him to lose track of time.
The hours passed quickly in this state.
Footsteps could be heard in the distance, gradually approaching him. Anna emerged from one of the tunnels with her white spear in her hands soaked in red blood.
Glancing around, she saw Kieran's figure in the middle of the lake. Making her ice spear disappear, she moved closer to him when several voices were heard coming from the other tunnels.
"Over here! Snow smelled an odor!"
"Is that Holden?"
The voices quickly came closer, and soon several figures emerged from the tunnels. Alexei, Caitlyn, Amber, Theo, Gaheris, Danaë, and Vagan were grouped together. Each of them had several wounds all over their bodies.
The group members froze upon seeing Kieran in the middle of the lake, absorbing the crystal essence with incredible intensity.
Amber was the first to react and quickly approached him, shouting, "Kieran! Are you okay?"
Kieran slowly came out of his trance and emerged from the lake. He glanced at the team as well as Anna, who was opposite them.
"Are you okay? Where's Holden?" he asked.
Amber wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead before answering, "We're all exhausted, but we're fine. Thanks to Snow's help, I was able to find everyone! Only Anna, Holden, and you were missing. Now that we find you, Snow will be able to follow only Holden's scent."
"You didn't find any trace of him coming here?" asked Alexei.
"No. I went straight here after my fall. This lake contains a huge amount of pure crystal essence. I stopped here to recover," Kieran replied.
"I didn't see anyone until I got here," says Anna.
"We need to find Holden as soon as possible. We can't afford to leave him alone, especially in this unfamiliar place."
The other members of the group nodded, all sharing the same concern for their missing companion. They trusted Snow to track down Holden quickly.
Kieran got out of the lake and dressed quickly, preparing to find Holden with the others. He felt invigorated after absorbing such a large amount of crystal essence.
He didn't know how much time had passed since he started cultivating in the lake, but his cultivation had rapidly increased until he reached the middle stage of Bronze rank.
Anna's eyes sharpened for a moment as she sensed Kieran's crystal essence.
"Congratulations on reaching the middle stage of Bronze rank," she said in an emotionless voice.
"Thanks."
Hearing Anna's words, each team member used their crystal sense to check Kieran's level, shock appearing on their faces as their gaze switched between Kieran and the lake. If they weren't all at the peak stage of Bronze rank, they would have thrown themselves into the lake to cultivate.
"This lake is truly a treasure. I'll have to let the guild know when we get back. It should bring enough merit for each of you to have a chance to advance to the Silver rank," said Alexei.
Everyone on the team rejoiced at Alexei's words as they followed behind Snow through the dark tunnels, guided by his keen sense of smell.
The tunnels seemed to intertwine, creating a veritable labyrinth of ice.
As they progressed, they could feel light vibrations under their feet, as if something was stirring in the depths of the ice. Dull cracks echoed at times, announcing the presence of the Ice Devouring Worms.
Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the ground. Cracks quickly formed, spreading toward the walls of the tunnel. The group stood on guard, ready to face the upcoming attack.
Bronze rank Ice Devouring Worms burst from the walls, bursting out of their holes to attack the group. It didn't take long for the group to kill them all before continuing.
As they proceed deeper through the many tunnels, the group occasionally encounters Ice Devouring Worms, slowing their search for Holden.
As the group exited a tunnel into an open space, Snow stopped in place, its little body shaking. Its muzzle quivered, and it uttered muffled grunts.
"Snow?"
Amber's voice was weak, barely perceptible. Her eyes and those of the group looked past Snow, and the sight that appeared in front of them caused them to fall into a dead silence as their faces went pale.
Tears fell from Amber and Danae's eyes, who stared at the scene without looking away, their bodies shaking like a leaf and their little hands clenched into a fist.
"Ho... Holden!" Amber screamed, but her voice was broken by her crying, her tear-filled eyes reflecting the scene in front of her.
Lying on the ground was the Mutated Ice Cloud Lion with numerous wounds on it, several gaping holes had been pierced through its body.
All around it was many Ice Devoring Worms of Bronze and Silver rank shredded into pieces.
But the thing that caught every team member's attention was its bloody face, as well as Holden's body, which had been cut in half, being chewed slowly between its teeth, a look of contentment on its bloodied face.