The terrain here was familiar to everyone, however, once they reached a certain point, there would be a numerous number of different paths that they could take, which led to even more paths. There were previously Catacomb entrances on the surface which were closed up after creating infrastructure overtop of them. Strong architects made new ways to these cave systems by creating man-made entrances with earth magic. What used to be chaos in the start of The Catacombs, is now less chaotic, as you can only enter the cave systems from specific and unpopulated areas that stem from a road or staircase that leads to the very beginning of The Catacombs.

Aslan had made himself the commander of the group, as he had received teachings from his father about strategy and leading.

Elijah ended up in the formation next to Emelia, who were the only water mages capable of healing. Elijah did not want to appear weak, even when he had just learned how to heal with water after his exam, so he agreed to be in the middle.

Novius was in the very front of the formation with Theon and Raylen by his side. These three were the highest damage mages out of the group. People with purely offensive affinities. Lightning, fire, and ice.

Alexia and Aslan were on the sides to attack and support the main attackers, while Harry was behind the group keeping an eye on everything ahead as he stood taller than everyone by walking with metal struts under his feet.

Aslan was looking down at his map with Raylen providing a better source of light than the dimly glowing plants in the background. “We need to go through this winding cave to get to a special place. I didn’t tell you before, but there is a surprise before we start the mission. Something that is necessary for our success.”

Elijah was heavily interested. However, he also wanted to see more unique caverns.

Five minutes passed of walking through a dimly lit and colorful winding cavern. Small holes were scattered across the walls, floors, and ceiling that Aslan said were due to a beast raid decades ago. Aslan started walking towards the forefront of the group. “Before we go any further, I want you all to know that nothing bad will happen once we turn this corner.”

“This isn’t some peculiar betrayal right?” Raylen questioned the gray eyed man in front of him.

A laugh was heard from Aslan as he picked up speed and disappeared from the group. An opening that grew wider led into what seemed like a cavern with a ceiling that was not seeable in the darkness. The ground was littered with greenery. Small trees, mushrooms, bushes, flowers, and vines. Everything had an ethereal glow to it.

Incredible! Elijah was able to see thick and smooth stone pillars that stretched into the darkness, which probably meant the ceiling was higher than light reached.

Voices of shock and amusement were heard until Novius spoke his mind. “What is so special about this place besides it being gigantic.”

Aslan gave a smirk as he turned around with his ear-length brown hair flailing around his face. With a couple of backwards steps, he raised his hands to his side with his palms facing his friends. “CREVERON! EIGHT!”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Everyone was confused, laughing from embarrassment, and sighing due to nothing happening for twenty seconds. However, their faces became glued to the pitch black ceiling that they could not even see as they heard a metal scraping against metal sound.

Eight thick metal ropes with bright red handles fell to the floor. A whiplash sound reverberated off the stone pillars as the ropes did not fully reach the ground, but stopped just beforehand.

Elijah had an inkling at what it was, but decided to ask the question because it was probably not something well known.

Theon beat him to it. “What just happened?!”

Aslan stepped towards the metal rope and started explaining how there was a secret base close to the ceiling, in a place that can’t be seen due to the darkness. A metal foundation that spanned across the sky was connected by wooden bridges. There were two different layers that were built a long time ago solely for the purpose of a stronghold for hunters. This stronghold was called Nova40, and its main purpose is to monitor the forty different entrances to different cave systems within this specific area of The Catacombs. The only way to the top was by zipline, a fast zipline.

Scouts were people who were chosen at the core level of yellow. These scouts monitor The Catacombs and relay the information back to the guild based on when they think the capacitive cave system needs to be raided. This process was made even more efficient with the creation of Nova40, as they could monitor forty different cave systems at the same time.

Elijah was definitely impressed, but needed to see it with his own eyes first. “I will go first. Trust me guys, there is no need to worry.”

“Ha! I had a feeling you would be going first. You seemed to not shred a single ounce of fear towards Emery!” Aslan remarked.

“I’ll go next!” Both Alexia and Emelia expressed their motives at the same time.

Author’s note: THIS IS NOT A HAREM!!! But a based and esoteric novel.

Due to what Elijah had started, Aslan felt overwhelmed as he had never even explained how to hold the zipline. “Please, wrap the red part around your wrists tightly while using your hands to hold onto the bar. A wooden floor will automatically be erected from underneath you once you enter the stronghold.”

Elijah and the party began following the instructions of Aslan. However, not everyone did it correctly the first time, which was why Aslan was going in circles fixing everyone’s mistakes.

“Ready everyone?!”

“Ready!”

With a strong tug of Aslan’s zipline, everyone’s speed gradually increased as they flew into the darkness of the cave.

The loud sound of wood hitting wood signified that Elijah had made it to the top. The ride was fairly long, was hard on the shoulders, and took around forty-five seconds to reach the top. Torches were evenly spaced along the large room that seemed to have the capacity to pull fifty people up at the same time. The familiar pulley system was the reason for this being possible. I wonder who invented it?

A tall and buff man with not a single speck of hair on his body startled the group with his deep voice. The man was wearing all black clothing, which the party would later find out is custom in Nova40. “Welcome young ones. You may call me Brut. Please follow me to the mission room. The captain would like to talk to you before you leave for your mission.”

The eyes of the party members all hit each other in succession, and very quickly found themselves following the widely built man.

Wood was seen everywhere, which was probably due to its small ability to absorb sound. The metal underlayer seemed to be a visual protection, while the wood did not let noise escape from the structure.

A long wooden stairway took them straight to a thin wooden door. However, Elijah looked to his left and right and saw something that reminded him of a specific tree village, only this time, the village used thick stone pillars as its supports. Small and large wooden buildings that were built around each pillar had a small amount of light emitting from them. Small torches were placed scarcely in between, especially on the bridges that connected each pillar to each other.

“Welcome hunters. As the brother of Lorsen, and uncle of Aslan, I couldn’t let you start your mission without seeing me first right?”