The sergeant didn’t want Cal to be killed by a shadow, so he told him to stay at the center of the group with the High Priestess. Cal followed the order and moved closer to the High Priestess. He knew the only thing helping him find the route to the heart of the abyss was his intuition. It was leading him to whatever kept calling him all these years. Therefore, it didn’t matter if he was leading the group, or he was at the back. He would always know which tunnel to take after they reached a fork. Even if the tunnels were always shifting around.
It was his first time seeing the abyss so clearly. The tunnels seemed to be twice as large as the deep mines and the walls were pitch black with no rough edges. It was so smooth that it looked unnatural. They encountered the occasional shade on their way but no shadows yet. Cal was sure that one will eventually come out. He was glad that they wouldn’t have to fight it in the darkness. Still, he was alert and on the lookout. While he was doing that, the High Priestess suddenly spoke to him.
“Say, Cal. Is this job so lucrative that you enforcers want to continue doing it even when you are freed from slavery?” she asked in curiosity.
“Lucrative? Hmmm. That might be true for some, but most don’t stay for the salary,” he replied.
“Then what else is there?”
“Power, your excellency. Enforcers can do whatever they want in the city, within a certain limit, as long as they finish their quotas. There are many enforcer gangs within the city that have a large influence in the slum and port districts. Most of their income comes from smuggling, prostitution rings, and protection money. The guards turn a blind eye to their crimes if they aren’t too out of hand. Since most enforcers were criminals, to begin with, they took quickly to the gangs that suffer almost no consequences for their crimes.”
“What?! Are you saying that the Marquis does not protect his subjects from criminals?” she shouted and looked incensed.
“They will still stop them if they try to commit mass murder or target someone important. But the regular people from the slum are mostly left to fend for themselves. It has been the norm here for the past ten years,” he replied.
“That’s unforgivable! This cannot be allowed to continue! Once we are out of here, I will have to talk with the Marquis. I will make sure this stop before I leave this island,” she said resolutely.
Cal doubted she could fix a ten-year-old issue with only words, but he didn’t want to offend her by speaking his mind.
“And are you also a part of these gangs Cal? Is that why you have been an enforcer for more than your required term?” she asked icily.
Cal knew he had to answer very carefully, or he might turn her into his enemy. But Sergeant Ved interrupted their conversation before he could answer for himself.
“It doesn’t matter if he is one, your excellency. His job now is to guide us. He can answer for any crimes he committed once we are out of the mines,” he said trying to end this topic.
“Let him speak for himself, sergeant,” the High Priestess silenced him with her furious tone. She looked at Cal and motioned for him to answer her question.
“I am not, your excellency. I don’t know how to prove it to you, but you can ask around once we are out of here. Most of the gangs are antagonistic to me and have tried to kill me many times. Unsuccessfully,” he answered.
“I hope you are telling the truth Cal, for your own sake,” she replied and relaxed her stance. “But if you are not a gang member then what other benefit could entice you to stay for so long? This is your fourth year here, correct?”
“Yes, your excellency. I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” he lied. He didn’t want to reveal his objective for staying here. If he said that something was calling him from within the mines, then they might start thinking that he was showing signs of corruption.
“Nowhere else to go? You can always find a safer job with your skills. Are you trying to lie to me?” she asked confused.
“No, your excellency. The shades in the mine help me hone my skills. It is rare to find so many fighting targets in one place,” he said trying to salvage the situation.
“Hmmm. It sounds like an excuse,” she said. “Well, alright. I won’t pry out your secrets, but I will make sure that you did not lie about the gang stuff when we are out of here.”
“As you wish, your excellency,” he said relieved that she dropped the topic.
They ended the conversation when the sergeant told them to stop. Cal looked forward towards the edge of their light zone. ‘It’s here finally,’ he thought after recognizing the shadow.
“I will put up the barrier,” the High Priestess spoke to the sergeant.
“A moment, your excellency. I want to test out its strength first,” the sergeant said.
The High Priestess looked like she wanted to refuse, yet she nodded and put her trust in him.
The shadow was six feet tall and looked like a human made from the same stuff as the surrounding walls. They only noticed it because it couldn’t blend well with its surrounding at the edge of the light zone.
Sergeant Ved walked forward again to meet this new foe. He constructed a club made of earth in his right hand. When he was 20 meters away from the group, he stopped walking and waited for the shadow to come to him.
The shadow seemed to have the same idea as it also did not move from its position. When it realized that its prey wasn’t going to come any further, it took a step back and blended in with the darkness again.
Sergeant Ved did not let his guard down as Cal had already informed him that the monsters here did not run away even when they were at a disadvantage. It was this vigilance that saved his life in the next moment.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
A black arrow flew out of the darkness and would have pierced his head if not for his fast reflexes. He quickly raised his club and used it to block the arrow. The club shattered from the force of the arrow and Sergeant Ved was sent flying from the impact.
The shadow seemed to have already known that its arrow would fail since it was running behind the arrow at an inhuman speed. It reached Sergeant Ved before he could land on the ground and kicked him hard in the stomach. The kick was so powerful that Sergeant Ved was sent flying once more—this time perpendicular to the ground. His body hit the roof of the tunnel and was stuck there for a few seconds before it started to fall again. The shadow was ruthless in its attack and didn’t pause for a second when it kicked Sergeant Ved. It created a dark bow on its hands and shot another arrow at the falling sergeant.
The sergeant finally reacted by putting his left hand forward and materializing a thick shield to better defend against the arrow. The arrow met the shield and made a loud noise, but the shield survived the blow. It could not, however, stop the arrow's momentum. Sergeant Ved hit the roof again. This time he was stuck there for longer than a few seconds.
The shadow did not shoot another arrow as the sergeant still had his shield. Instead, it turned and ran towards their group to take care of the weaker prey.
The knights prepared their abilities to defend against its attacks. The peak Rank 4 knights all stood at the front to meet it head-on. The moment they were about to collide with the shadow, a harpoon made of earth pierced through the shadow’s chest and stopped it from taking another step. Cal looked behind the shadow to see Sergeant Ved standing on the ground with an earth chain wrapped around his right hand. The chain was connected to the harpoon’s tail. Sergeant Ved pulled on the chain with all his strength, tossing the shadow over his head and slamming it on the ground. Their positions were back to how it was when the fight started—with the shadow near the edge of the light zone and the sergeant standing between it and their group.
Sergeant Ved’s armor had a huge dent around his stomach and a line of blood was dripping from his mouth. But, from the looks of it, there were no major injuries. The shadow quickly stood up again. It looked totally unbothered by the harpoon in its chest. Sergeant Ved did not want to give it time to recuperate, so he tugged on the chains again to pull the shadow towards him. The shadow, on the other hand, was already aware of the chain’s function and would not fall for the same trick twice. It ground its feet and grabbed a hold of the chain. What happened next was a tug of war between it and the sergeant which the shadow inevitably won due to its superior strength. It hurled Sergeant Ved off his feet and pulled him towards the darkness before he could let go of the chains.
Cal realized that the shadow was trying to shift the fight into its favorable territory. With its ability to create objects anywhere in the dark, the sergeant would surely die if they fought in there. He hurriedly spoke up to the High Priestess, “We must not let him fight in the dark, your excellency.”
The High Priestess nodded and ran towards the sergeant with their group. When they saw the sergeant again, they were shocked by his appearance. He was on the ground on his left knee. A thin dark spike went through his right thigh and there was a stab wound on his left shoulder that went through his armor and only missed his neck by a few inches. Furthermore, there was a huge black sword floating behind him. It fell on the ground and quickly disappeared when it touched the light just like the thin spike, but if they were even a second late then the sergeant might have been dead. Yet, the sergeant didn’t take the beating lying down.
Further ahead, the shadow’s legs were caught in a bear trap that came out of the ground. It had a huge hole in its chest from the harpoon. But only a small amount of black blood came off the wound. Tiny dark tentacles were wriggling around the edges of the hole, and it was closing at a visible pace.
Sergeant Ved stood up with difficulty and started making a ball on his right hand. The ball kept growing until it reached a diameter of 5 meters. It was so big that he should have never been able to lift it if it wasn’t made from his own mana. Once he was done adding more earth to the ball, he started to shrink the ball. He shrunk the five-meter sphere into a small pebble with the same mass.
The shadow didn’t know what the sergeant was trying to do, but it knew that it could not keep standing in the same position. It materialized a sword in its hands and cut of both of its legs without hesitation. It then made a grappling hook on its hands and shot it at the ceiling before pulling itself away from the ground.
Sergeant Ved watched as the shadow quickly healed itself and created new legs. He didn’t do anything since he could not run with his injured leg and wanted the shadow to come to him. He knew the shadow was cautious of the pebble in his hand and would not attack recklessly. He had to bait it somehow.
Sergeant Ved lost his footing and fell to the ground. The shadow thought that it was natural as it had previously pierced its prey’s thigh. It did not want to waste the opportunity, so it leaped towards the sergeant's exposed back to finish him off. When it was within arms reach of the sergeant, a spike suddenly rose from the ground and pushed it off course. The sergeant stood up again and pounced on the shadow. He made a small spear and stabbed it into the shadow’s chest again. The spear didn’t have enough force to impale the shadow, but it still made a hole in its chest. Sergeant Ved shoved the pebble into the hole, making sure it was stuck inside and then jumped back. The shadow quickly got back its bearings and also jumped back to analyze the situation.
“It’s over,” Sergeant Ved said in a confident voice.
He released his hold on the pebble inside the shadow’s chest. Without any compression force holding the pebble together it expanded instantly. A huge earth sphere burst out of the shadow’s chest. It exploded as it expanded too quickly, killing the shadow with it. Sergeant Ved made a tall wall in front of him to stop any debris from hitting him. He also quickly dematerialized the remains of the sphere as they were flying, so that none of them hit the knights and High Priestess behind him.
“Huuuh,” he whizzed and then took another deep breath before sitting down. “That--” Gasp “--was tough.”
Some of the knights ran forward and started tending to his injuries. One of the knights, who had the nature aspect, used a technique to quickly scab over the sergeant’s wounds. It quickly healed his injuries and left behind new scar tissue on the spot.
The High Priestess walked up to him and admonished, “That was foolish Ved. The barrier could have easily dealt with it.”
“I know, your excellency. I never expected it to be that strong. But now we know what we are dealing with.”
The sergeant then stared at Cal and asked, “You fought that when you weren’t even peak Rank 4?!”
Cal nodded and said, “Mine wasn’t nearly as strong as the one you fought, sir. As I said, it had only recently evolved and didn’t have a good grasp on its abilities or intelligence like this one.”
“Don’t go selling yourself short Cal. The fact that you were strong enough to face and kill one of these monsters is a miraculous achievement in itself,” said Sergeant Ved with respect in his eyes.
The High Priestess also agreed with him and said, “You should apply to join the Knights Templar if you really have nowhere else to go, Cal. You got the light aspect, right? I will give you my personal recommendation. I’m sure we could use someone of your capabilities. It’s rare to be so skilled at your age, especially when you aren’t manablessed. We will treat you much better than any lord at the outskirts of the empire.”
Once again Cal received another job offer. This time from someone of much higher standing. He wasn’t sure how to answer or react to their compliments.
“I will think about it, your excellency,” he dodged giving out an answer now.
“Well, you better make your decision fast,” she said, “we will leave this island after we are done with this expedition.”
Cal nodded. The High Priestess turned back to the sergeant.
“How much mana did you spend?” she asked him.
“I am down to my last half.”
“Are you ready to move again?”
“Yeah, my wounds are already healed, your excellency. Just give me a moment to catch my breath.”
“Alright. I will start setting up the barrier, no more tests,” she ordered.
“As you wish, your excellency.”