Eris’s blood allowed for a good night's sleep. I awoke with a fantastic feeling. Not a single ache in my body nor mind-numbing pain. Now that I could think straight again. I wondered if the same situation would occur every time my shadow magic got released. We can’t even beat the Siberian tiger without having to resort to my now unreliable magic. Finding the Aurisavem was next to impossible now.

I invited the others to discuss our possible actions. They all urged me to rely on everyone else some more. Part of me didn’t want to put their lives at risk and they attacked my stubbornness with sound reasoning. They all knew the risks involved and wouldn’t be here right now if they weren’t willing to help. I ended up agreeing with their point and told Alexa to let everyone know that we were heading out as soon as possible.

We arrived as far up the snowy mountain as our vehicles could take us, bypassing and avoiding numerous monsters. I found it strange that the Siberian tiger didn’t stop us from entering. I kept stressing over how we would deal with and beat it in a fight.

Its absence left an eerie feeling as if we were being watched the entire time. Our aim was to investigate the battle location that collapsed inside the mountain. If nothing else this was a perfect chance to stop by Balthazar’s hideout afterward.

We ran into a few more frost wolves. They littered this area as the majority of the monsters we fought rarely differed. It wasn’t long until we found the same hidden passageway we entered before and this time it wasn’t concealed by magic any longer. Eris and I returned a weird look as I told everyone to proceed with caution.

There were times when everyone had to be in three single-file lines to get through the narrow passageways. As I feared, the entire area had collapsed and became cordoned from entry. Before I could let out any complaints, Eris created barriers to protect us from any potential cave-ins, while attempting to move the rocks blocking our path.

The ones that could help did so as the excavation process went smoothly. Just when I was about to tell them to call it quits, we reached an opening. A wide-open area like I remembered from last time.

Fallen rocks and ice littered the battered warzone. We saw the abyss that Eris and I, along with several military personnel fell into. I already knew where that led and wanted to search on the side that the monsters funneled in from.

Just like the tunnel, we entered from this one was covered with a mound of rubble. At least now we had an idea of how much needed to be cleared before we could carry on through. I helped by lifting the boulders that I managed to get a good grip on. My mind still hasn’t adjusted to being able to lift all these large boulders with a fair amount of ease. Even to the point of getting occasional glances of shock from those around me. They could tell that I wasn’t using any magic to help with the weight.

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The tunnels were much wider on this side and went on for a long time. It looked like packing those tents and supplies for the possibility of camping outside turned out to be a good idea.

The light shining through made everyone cheerful about finally reaching the exit. I had to double-take on the sight in front of us. Vibrant greenery and jungle-like vines wrapped all throughout the trees with a lake centered in the enclosed habitat. It felt like we entered a different dimension as the exit gave us a perfect overview of the new biome.

We were no longer in a snowy environment made evident by the thick and sticky humid air. I could feel sweat dripping by merely standing still. Such a nasty feeling causing me to ask Alexa to somehow help with the situation by altering our clothing again. I gave her time to do so for everyone while we took a break to eat some of the MREs provided by Mia.

Monsters were in plain sight and seemed to notice us but remained neutral to the point of not immediately charging and attacking on sight. The number of flying creatures was worrisome. There were so many that if they chose to swarm us all at once we would be instantly overwhelmed. I started to consider splitting up to have a group remain here and keep our escape route safe. Then trashed the idea since I realized my fears were getting to me. I promised the others we would be in this together and that meant everyone staying as one group.

“Let’s head to the lake. Do not attack any monsters unless they do so first.” I made sure everyone understood the no hostility rule. I wanted to avoid a situation involving us being surrounded by all the monsters in the area.

This freedom of the monsters avoiding our path felt strange. We entered a large clearing having reached the lake. A growing tremor caught our attention as I halted and told people to back up. Something was coming from beneath us. The grassy earth split apart from two large mole-like claws. A tunnel roughly two meters wide with the upper half of a mole creature pointing in our direction. The rumbling didn’t cease as another eruption of dirt kicked up with an even larger cobra monster appearing beside the mole. It towered above us, more than fifty feet minimum.

“Lower your weapons. Don’t attack!” Instincts urged me to pull out a weapon as I reminded everyone to lower their arms. Mainly as a reminder to myself about the no hostility rule set in place.

Now I had a clue as to how the many passages were formed all throughout the mountain. “A strange thought to have, given the position your group lies in.” I freaked out, wondering when the hell I connected to my comms ring as the voice spoke telepathically.

I quickly stared at Eris, Alexa, Rhea, and even Tessa standing nearby. None of their voices sounded similar to the one I heard. I’ve never actually heard this voice before at all. Then I quickly looked upwards at the giant cobra in disbelief.

“There it is. I’ll never get tired of that dumbfounded expression.”

No way..., how in the hell was a monster communicating telepathically?