Chapter 15:

I felt like I screamed for hours. During that time, every one of my muscles seemed like they were on fire, and the feeling in my chest continued to get worse and worse. It kept pulsing with power, and each time it did, my agony only increased.

Eventually, though, after I don’t know how much torment, things finally started to settle down. The pulses became fainter. The pain receded. My breathing got easier. Then my muscles relaxed, and it was like all of that had been a bad dream.

Each second that passed after that felt more and more bearable. And then my weariness seemed to disappear as I felt a pulsing in my chest again. This time, though, there was no pain accompanying it. Instead, there was energy. Qi flowing back to the rest of my body. Far more than before. It made me feel powerful and energized in a way that I’d never felt before.

I moved to get up, feeling invigorated despite what I’d just been through. Then I froze at what I saw.

I was still in the escape tunnel where I fell to the ground. Ming Lin and Shui Jianfeng were there too. Ming Lin was sitting on the ground, her back to the wall, while Shui Jianfeng’s head was in her lap.

She looked at me with red eyes.

I swallowed heavily and looked back towards Shui Jianfeng. He looked… really still and was even paler.

“Is he…” I started to ask but couldn’t finish.

“No,” Ming Lin said softly. “But he’s completely focused on suppressing the poison and keeping himself alive now. I will have to carry him.”

I grimaced at that. Fuck. How much time had I lost because of my Rank-up? And damn it, why hadn’t the System given me a warning that ranking up would knock me out? If that had happened just a bit earlier, I could have died during the fighting. And now Shui Jianfeng might end up dead because I’ve been out this whole time.

Frustrated, I opened up my Status page to see if it could tell me more.

Status page:

Name: Michael Lan Li

Human Cultivation: None

Spirit Beast Cultivation: Early Stage Rank 1 (0% to next stage)

Qi: 75/75

Stats:

Strength: 35

Vitality: 40 (+40) = 80

Dexterity: 25

Mind: 15

Skills (12/20 slots):

* Primal Vitality (Passive) (Rank D: 1%)

* Basic Swordsmanship (Passive) (D Rank: 1%)

* Earth Sense(Passive) (D Rank: 1%)

* Rock Claws (Active) (Rank D: 1%)

* Earthen Camouflage (Active) (Rank E: 0%)

* Spirit Stone Devouring(Passive) (D Rank: 1%)

* Qi Leech (Active) (E Rank: 85%)

* Burrow Reinforcement (Active) (D Rank: 1%)

* Spirit Beast Cultivation (Active) (D Rank: 1%)

* Earth Wader (Active) (D Rank: 0%)

* Earth Spear (Active) (D Rank: 0%)

* Burrow Creation (Active) (D Rank: 0%)

Skill Consolidation. (13 Options available.)

For just a split second, I was stunned at what I saw. I’d been too focused on digging to check my stats regularly. So seeing everything increase by so much was startling, to say the least. Especially my Vitality. Not only was it my naturally highest base stat, but with Primal Vitality it was insane now. 16 times normal! No wonder I felt so energized.

Still, my astonishment didn’t last long as I remembered the current issue. But, not all hope was lost. With this much more strength and with this much more Qi, there was still a chance we could get out of here in time. I just needed to move fast.

“I’ll start digging right away,” I said, moving past the two of them as best as I could in such cramped quarters. “Is… is there anything we can do right after we reach the surface to help him?”

“Maybe…” Ming Lin said, still weary. “I know some herb lore. I might be able to find something in the forest to help… But… I’m not sure.”

“Alright then,” I said, trying to hold onto that hope. “We’ll focus on that once we get up there. Should only be a matter of time now. We just lost a lot of time, but I’m a lot stronger now and I have a lot more Qi. I can do this.”

“I hope so,” Ming Lin said before she reached down and picked Shui Jianfeng up. But despite her words, she didn’t sound hopeful at all. Instead, she looked and sounded defeated.

I grimaced at the sight but turned to rush up the tunnel. Hopefully, if I got us out of here fast, she’d regain hope.

I could hear her moving right behind me, not having trouble keeping up despite carrying her friend and her injuries. We only stopped when we reached the rubble I had been pushing down the tunnel before. For a moment, I considered the best way to get past. Then I remembered the Skill I’d gotten just before my Rank Up.

It could take care of this issue, and it would even speed up my digging!

Burrow Creation (Active) (D Rank): Mold, shape, and reinforce available earth to create a stone chamber for rest and safety. Strength of chamber walls is determined by the quality and amount of available earth.

* Cost: 1 Qi per cubic yard

“Step back for a second,” I said, turning to address Ming Lin. It probably wouldn't affect her, but still better to be safe than sorry. “I have a new Skill that should let me remove all this easily. And it might even make digging even faster.”

I gave her a moment to back up before I activated the new Skill while reaching out to touch the pile of rubble and imagining what I wanted.

Immediately, I felt the core in my chest pulse, Qi flowing out of it to my hand. Then it entered the rubble and expanded. As it moved to cover more of the rocks, more Qi was used, but I had a lot of it now and could keep up. Once everything was covered, it all seemed to melt and merge into the surrounding stone, changing the color to a darker hue.

And just like that, our way was clear.

Perfect. It worked just how I hoped, making it so I wouldn’t have to push any more rubble all the way back anymore, and I could even use it to reinforce the walls. It also worked pretty fast. About as fast as I could dig before, which combined with the lack of excess earth and need for reinforcement, made this method even faster.

“Did you see that?” I asked, turning back to Ming Lin. Her eyes were still red, but she had clearly seen what I had just done. Her eyes looked just a bit less dull. “We can still do this, okay? Just give me a little more time, and then we will find whatever herbs you need for him.”

Ming Lin nodded once slowly at that. Then she did it again more firmly. “We’ll be relying on you,” she said, her voice still soft and quiet. “Thank you.”

I nodded firmly and grinned, doing my best not to let any of my doubts show. Had to stay positive in situations like this, or we’d both lose hope. “It’s no problem. You’ve both saved me a lot down here and even before all this. It’s the least I can do.“

With that said, we started rushing back up the tunnel even faster than before. Ming Lin was right on my heels until we reached where the tunnel ended. Wanting to do this as fast as possible, I took out the single large spirit stone I had left and ate it whole. The energy pooled in my chest again, though I noticed it seemed to be positioned just below my core. Then I noticed that I wasn’t even close to my limit from that.

So I took out the rest of the spirit stones I had and ate until I felt that I couldn’t anymore. A quick look at my status showed me that 250 Qi was my new limit. So, I had a total of 325 Qi to work with. It took a lot of spirit stones to get that much—going through most of my reserve of stones—but it would be worth it if I could get us out of here in time.

So with that done, I began to dig.

I pressed my hand against the end of the tunnel and activated Burrow Creation. Rock melted away from my touch, and the tunnel began to extend. I moved forward to keep within range as I continued to work the Skill, not wanting to delay for even a second more.

This went on for some time. Even with my massive new reserves, Burrow Creation eventually ate up all my excess Qi. I had to eat more and more of my dwindling spirit stones to keep at it. At the same time, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of any more spirit stones in the earth around me. A good sign that we were far from the mines. But a possible issue if I ran out of Qi before getting us out of here.

I tried not to think about that as I continued to dig. Nor think about what would happen if I failed. Instead, I just gritted my teeth and used the Skill again and again. Stone continued to melt away from me and formed a tunnel with as steep of a curve as I could manage without hurting our ability to walk up.

All the while, my spirit stone supply continued to decrease. When there were only six spirit stones left, my worry returned with a vengeance. But, not soon after that, was when I finally felt it.

I wasn’t sure what it was at first. The earth at the edge of my range just felt strange. But as I continued to process what I was feeling, I started to understand.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The rock above wasn’t solid stone anymore. Instead, it was looser. We were getting close to the surface.

“We’re getting close,” I said, excitedly turning to look at Ming Lin. She’d followed along with me this whole time with Shui Jianfeng on her shoulder.

Her eyes widen at that. “How far?”

“I’m not sure,” I said, grimacing the moment I said it. I rushed to add, “But not much longer. I can feel it. The rock above us is loose now. We have to be nearing the surface.”

“Then dig,” Ming Lin said urgently.

I nodded at that and spun back around before I started using Burrow Creation again with renewed vigor. The rock outside of my ascending tunnel continued to get looser and looser. A couple more uses of the Skill then let me feel what had to have been soil at the edge of my senses.

Excited, I kept pushing, going as fast as I could until I finally felt it. My Earth Sense felt short of its maximum range. Because there was nothing but air beyond a certain point. We were at the surface.

Excitement filled me, and I almost shouted for joy. But before I could, I felt something else. Footsteps. And QI. I froze as I felt it and tried to get a better grasp of what I was feeling. Yet the more I did, the less I liked it.

The Qi I felt emanating felt stronger than the moles but perhaps weaker than the lizards. It reminded me a bit of what I felt from Ming Lin though a bit weaker. Yet there were several of them. And, I realized after a moment, that the footsteps seemed to be in pairs. As if the things above walked on two legs…

Fuck… What were the chances? Then again, I suppose we are luckier than unlucky. We could have exited and then run into them instead of them wandering over us while we were hidden.

The people above didn’t linger and soon moved out of my range. But I knew what I felt, and I really wanted to curse. But just in case they were still too close, I refrained. Instead, I started to step backward slowly.

I turned and saw Ming Lin looking at me confused, and I held up a finger to my lips. Her eyes widened at that before they darkened. We started to move back down the tunnel as quickly as we could.

When we were far enough that I felt safe that our words wouldn’t be overheard, I explained the situation.

“It has to be a bandit patrol,” Ming Lin said, sounding frustrated. “We must be very deep in the Amberwood for them to be able to hide the mine. So there couldn’t be any other people around for what you sense to be anything else.”

I grimaced at that. “Okay, so I’ll use my other Skills to deal with this. I can swim through the earth like the lizards. I’ll scout around, make sure they're gone, or at least figure out where they are. Then we sneak past them if we have to and begin looking for the plants you need.”

“Maybe,” Ming Lin said, frowning as she scrunched her brows. Then her eyes widened as if she had a realization. “Or maybe… this is our chance to give Jianfeng more time.”

“I don’t think I follow you,” I said.

“The Amberwood isn’t known for having many venomous spirit beasts,” Ming Lin said, speaking faster as her excitement grew. “But there are several kinds out here. One of the Marauders might have a pill to deal with that just in case. And even if they don’t, they should at least have some healing pills. Even a healing ointment could help, as you can eat those if you really had to, and it would bolster his vital energies and give him more time.”

I nodded but couldn’t help but hesitate just a little. I wanted to save Shui Jianfeng. And I was a lot stronger now. But there were still just only two of us, and I was still very new to fighting. And while Ming Lin didn’t move like she was injured, she clearly still was and only had a pick for a weapon.

Could we really do this?

“I’m not sure about this,” I said, hesitantly. “I think there were at least five of them. I don’t know if we can manage that many as we are now. And what if other Marauders hear our fight and join them? Are the pills really better than us rushing to the city for help? Or trying to find some plant to help him?”

“Yes, they are,” Ming Lin nodded firmly. “At best, I might buy Jianfeng a day if I get lucky and find the right plants. A healing pill could give him several or even allow him to save himself. And the bandits might be able to give us directions if we capture one, or they might have a map on them which will help us navigate back to the city faster. As for reinforcements… You will have to scout things out to be sure. But I find it unlikely they have that many patrols out here. The Marauders are nothing but thugs and bandits.”

Ming Lin’s face twisted in disgust and hate.

“I doubt they would have the discipline to be so thorough with their patrols. And if they are, then we will revise our plan again. You should be able to check that without being seen given your new ability. Though be careful. If their group is as weak as you felt, then they shouldn’t have a spirit sense. But you should still try and be as cautious as possible. As for our chances, they are not as bad as you seem to think. We don’t fight them head-on. With everything you can do, we can set a trap for them. A pitfall would help even the odds quite a bit.”

“Okay,” I said, nodding as I considered that. Setting a trap… Given everything I could do now, that could very well work… As long as I managed to scout them properly, and either they followed a set path or I got them to chase me. “Yeah, I can see that working. I can see that working really well. I’ll start scouting then.”

“Stay safe,” Ming Lin said as she started to set Shui Jianfeng down. “And return soon. We will need to act fast.

I nodded firmly and turned around to head back up. It was time to scout and to use my new Skill, Earth Wader.

Earth Wader (Active) (D Rank): Wade through any earth as if it were a liquid. Speed can be increased at a greater expense of Qi.

* Cost: 5 Qi

* Base Upkeep: 2.5 Qi per minute.

When I reached the top of the escape tunnel again, I put my hand against the wall and activated my Skill. My Qi seemed to resonate out of me in a strange way, then the earth turned to viscous liquid at my touch. I stepped forward right into it.

It was a very strange sensation as the earth gave way and enveloped me in darkness and cold. I couldn’t breathe like this, but I found myself having little issues holding my breath. Probably due to my incredibly high vitality.

Moving my arms like I was swimming in water, I started pulling myself up.

I swam as quickly as I could—about as fast as a quick jog—until I reached just below the surface of what I hoped was the forest outside. Then I moved around in a circular search pattern in an attempt to find the Marauders, pushing more Qi into my Skill to increase my speed. The more Qi I used, the less the earth around me seemed to resist my movements.

Not long after that, I found them, both to my relief and disappointment. They’d stopped for some reason and were all clustered together. I stayed at the farthest reaches of my Earth Sense from them, just in case they had any way to detect my presence. I double-checked that everything I noticed before was still true, both their numbers and the strength of their Qi.

As far as I could tell, my initial assessment was right, so I moved on to the next step of my scouting. I continued to push my speed above the normal amount, swimming around in another search grid to see if there were any traces of other Marauders.

I couldn’t spend too much time on it, as we would need to act soon. But from my rushed survey, it seemed that there were not any other groups of people. With that checked, I decided to do one final thing to ensure I knew just what we were getting into. I moved back towards where the Marauders were, stopping just far enough that I should be out of sight.

Then, finally, I emerged from the ground. I did it slowly and only popped my head out. Unlike in water, I didn’t have to spend any effort keeping afloat as I spun around to take in my surroundings. It felt kinda like I was neck-deep in mud.

The first thing I noticed was that I was indeed outside. In a forest, to be precise, though the trees here weren’t all that dense. I could see the sky and the sun above and guessed it must have been the late afternoon.

Once I was done checking that, and didn’t see any immediate dangers around me, I started moving towards my targets again. It was awkward and made me afraid something would appear and take a bite of my head. But I held my nerve and just got ready to sink back down in case something decided to attack me. I kept my head on a swivel for anything in the trees as well.

Occasionally, I had to sink back down because of plants in the way. But, in just a short amount of time, I got close enough to finally see what I’d sensed before. I was hidden under a bush that I could peer out of.

The first thing I noticed was that they were indeed the Marauders. They had the same dark clothes and black cloth face masks. They seemed to have stopped for a break, grouped up together as some of them sat and some leaned against trees. They were also eating and drinking.

All of them were armed, and occasionally they would scan their surroundings, but none seemed to notice me. Probably just worried about spirit beasts. Aside from that, I couldn’t make out much about them. But if we wanted to ambush them here, then I would need to hurry.

So I dipped back down into the ground and started heading back towards my tunnel. It was a bit disorienting, but I had made sure to constantly remind myself where the tunnel should be. I managed to find it without much issue and dropped out of the earth and into the tunnel.

After that, I quickly relayed everything I saw to Ming Lin. She’d been planning out our trap while I’d been scouting and quickly began directing me as to what we would do. It wasn’t anything complicated, but I couldn’t help but feel that it would be very effective.

I ended up excavating a large hole just under the surface of the ground above. Originally, for the sake of speed, it was only supposed to be a couple of yards deep and rely solely on the spikes to do their damage. But once I started digging, I realized something I failed to notice earlier. Burrow Creation worked much faster and less Qi intensively when working with loose soil. This allowed me to make a much deeper pit that was still wide enough to catch as many of the Marauders as possible without spending too much time.

Capping off this now much larger pit was a hardened layer of rock, preventing the remaining soil above from falling down. It was thin enough that I should be able to make it dissolve pretty much instantly with another application of Burrow Creation.

After the pit was done, it was time for the spikes. I carved the rocks into spikes with Rock Claws, then I used burrow reinforcement and burrow creation together to make them as hard and solid as possible. Once that was done, I rushed back to where I’d seen the Marauders earlier to make sure they were still there.

I cursed when I didn’t find them where I thought I would. In a panic, I started rushing around in the earth, hoping they hadn’t gone too far. Thankfully, they hadn’t and weren’t moving all that fast either. It seemed they didn’t feel the need to cover too much ground quickly.

After that, I popped my head back out just to get an idea of where they were on the surface. I then dove back down and rushed back to our tunnel and pitfall. There, I dug another hole down to the tunnel out of sight in some underbrush to let Ming Lin out. I told her the situation since she would be the one luring them over to the trap while I waited below to activate it.

“Given the speed of your technique, use it right before I step over the pit,” Ming Lin said as she left the tunnel. “That should let me jump over it and for them to fall in given the speed they should be moving at.”

“Alright,” I said, feeling incredibly nervous about my first real fight with other people. “Stay safe. Though, are you sure you will be able to get them to chase you?”

Ming Lin frowned before she reached up to her hair and undid it from the tight men’s style topknot it was in, letting her long hair run freely down her back. Despite her dirty and ragged appearance and the men's clothing she wore, it had already been apparent that she was a woman. But now it became even clearer. “Yes, I can get these men to chase me through the woods. It's not hard to get scum like them to do something like that.”

I grimaced but nodded. “Then good luck.”

“You as well,” Ming Lin said. “Remember, some of them might manage to survive the fall or not fall in at all. The trap is to even the battlefield, but we will likely have to at least finish them off. Be prepared for this to become a battle.”

After I nodded firmly at that, she turned and rushed off.

When she was out of sight, I hurried back down the tunnel. I took a branching tunnel that led to the pitfall and the small ledge I’d created just under the surface to give me room to stand.

Then I ate all but one of my last spirit stones. It wasn’t enough for a full boost, but given my new level of strength, I hoped it would be enough. After that, I began to wait for the start of my first true battle with people in this world, hoping that it would turn out well.