The way forward was the same as before. Tight corridors, damp walls, and passages that would make any claustrophobe regret being born.

The only real difference was the bats. As Tanuki delved deeper and deeper, the realization set in.

“Did they die because we barricaded them out?” Tanuki thought while looking around. “Poor animals…”

Just as he was about to pass through a tight space between two walls, an ear-deafening screech echoed throughout the mine. It was one of the loudest noises Tanuki has ever heard, followed by one of the most terrifying sights he had ever come across.

It was a flock of bats flying through the tight passage. There were so many of them, that they coated the ceiling in black as they flew out.

“What the hell are these?!” Tanuki yelled while covering his face.

“Bats.” Maduka answered, gazing at the passing animals with bored face. For her, this was nothing out of the ordinary.

But for Diablo, it was the opposite. As the bats burst out of the cave, she froze down, then curled up on the ground while screaming at the top of her lungs.

“We’re going to die!”

Of course, the flock passed by without scratching anyone. The animals were more scared about their well-being than anything else and flew away as fast as they could.

This left Tanuki feeling pretty dumb for being so scared.

Nonetheless, he learned something new. For one, there are still bats in his world, which is not the most beneficial but still a cool fact. But what he also learned, is that the world seems to renew itself.

As if the Gaia Core was a tree, the world was its crown. Though its leaves fall and die, they always renew in the shape of what was there before.

“I see,” Tanuki thought. “This means I don’t have to worry about running out of resources. Not for now at least.”

There was something however that bothered him more than anything.

“Am I doing enough?”

As he delved deeper and deeper into the mine, he questioned more and more whether he was on a right track. The world around him grew with each [Expansion Point] and every time his Gaia Core evolved.

Yet, his resources remained mostly the same. Their numbers did not grow, nor did Tanuki feel like he has made any real progress besides building an unstable hut.

There was one big bump on his road towards progress and that was the [Shop] option.

When he first unlocked the [Shop] icon on his Gaia Core, Tanuki was hopeful about what he could buy. Given the name of the currency he earned, such as “World Points” and “Kingdom Points”, he suspected it would allow him to summon new creatures, mainly people into his world.

But there was a catch to the shop. When Tanuki first opened it, he was greeted by the following message:

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

[ Items will unlock after killing/befriending a God ]

This is where the problems began. He could not befriend Pam unless he completes all of her quests. That would require him to kill a God that’s invading his world.

“But how powerful is that god? Especially when she remains in her own world? It’s not like all gods are as weak as Soup!”

As he thought of that, something clicked in his brain. He stopped just before entering the pink crystal’s room and gazed into the distance with wide eyes.

There was a third way to unlock items for the [Shop], he just did not realize it before.

Tanuki turned around and looked at Maduka.

“Do you remember the Professor?” He asked gently.

Maduka blinked twice in confusion.

“Da bird?” She asked while scratching her head.

“Yeah! He told us we can summon and defeat Soup again for rewards. We can do that twice and if we win both times, we can summon your home into our world.”

“Uh… Maduka remembers home, but no Soup.”

“Oh, right.” Tanuki thought. “He used illusion magic while talking to us. Maduka did not hear all that I have.”

The Professor was an unstable force. While he appeared friendly on the surface, there were also many questions surrounding his plans.

Still, his presence was beneficial. He taught pearls of wisdom to Tanuki which greatly boosted his survival.

Even now without his presence, Tanuki still learned something new thanks to him.

“There are tokens in this world that grant us bonuses. I get them by defeating a god, then I can level that up twice for a greater reward. For Soup’s token, it’s mainly small bonuses and a large tile for defeating her the third time. That tile… I can get that from the [Shop].”

Thoughts ran across his mind.

He had a plan. Though it was risky, especially two days before a Wave, he had to try it. If not for himself, then for the safety of those around him.

But first, he needed Maduka and Diablo out of the picture.

Stepping into the pink crystal room, they lowered their lights. Maduka covered her face and Diablo squinted her eyes.

If they were to look at their reflections in the crystal, a monster would appear inside the wall and try to kill them.

“Could we go a bit faster?” Asked Diablo. “This place is creeping me out.”

As they approached the middle of the room, Tanuki stopped. He reached into his pocket and grabbed what appeared to be sunglasses. There were two of them, one for both girls.

“Here!” He said, handing out the glasses. “I made these from the drones’ remains. These glasses are special. They should defend you from summoning the monsters inside the walls.”

As Maduka put on the glass, the world around her turned dark.

“Uwaah! Someone turned off the sun!”

“We’re already underground…” Diablo muttered, then spoke aloud. “By the way, Tanuki, where’s yours?”

Tanuki only made two glasses. The reason for that was that he already wore one.

“I have bad eyesight.” He laughed awkwardly. “I can barely see without my normal glasses, so I would basically turn blind with one of those.”

“Alright, then we have to leave this place quickly.” Said Diablo but as she was about to continue forward, Tanuki stopped her.

“You two stay here.”

“Huh?”

“These gems are incredibly sturdy. They also seem to possess magical attributes, which I want to study more. Plus, we can trade them with some of the Satis below.”

Diablo stepped away. She had a bad feeling about where this was going.

“H-Hey, Tanuki!” Diablo forced a smile. “Buddy! Pal! We’re good friends, right? Angel and human? You don’t want to leave us here to mine… Do you?”

“You’re right. I don’t want you to mine out the gems.”

“Thank god!” Diablo sighed with relief.

“I want the monsters to mine for us.”

“HUH?!” And just like that, Diablo was panicking again.

“One takes off her glasses, while the other one gets into position. Once the monster breaks through the wall, the other one kills it in one hit. Then you’ll gather the gems that broke off the wall and repeat the process again.”

Diablo was still in denial.

“B-But… Didn’t we come here to kill a God?!”

“Yup, and the plan changed!” Said Tanuki, then approached the path to the surface. “Maduka! Be good and defend Diablo! I have high hopes for you two!”

Before any of them could have said a word, Tanuki was gone. He climbed back up where they came from, disappearing into a dark corner of the cave.

A small smile sat on Maduka’s face.

“Nuki believes in Maduka!” She celebrated with small claps.

Diablo was speechless. She gazed at the cold trail of Tanuki, regretting all her decisions that led up to this point.

“He left me to play bait…”