One of the healers in Boris' crew cast a light spell, radiating light over the large underground cavern. The light reflected and shimmered as it hit the sandy orange and red of stratification sediment wall. The moment was brief as the

The crew climbed down the rope, 100 feet to the rocky ground. The crew heightened their senses as they reached the ground. The crew navigated through the uneven surface toward a glowing plant, avoiding the stalagmites with sharp layered blades. The cavern could be their tomb if they don’t steel themselves up for danger. The stray falling stalactites could pierce through and kill them within a single blow.

Maddox approached a glowing green plants. “It’s a palmatis sapling.” He was partially amazed that plants could survive underground. “The surrounding plants are all D-rank plants are the gibarel moss.”

Giberal moss were exoplants with little function, other than being used as a general use binder and filler. It was a good haul, but the discovery of the cavern was even more important.

“Mark the location of the entrance,” said Boris. “We’ll explore the cave again next week.”

“But boss, we still have some time left,” said Radley. Despite the danger, exploring a cave was tempting.

Boris looked ahead in the distance where the light couldn’t reach. There was a faint light of green glow in the distance. If they could see from that distance, it wasn’t too far away. The main crucial decision was whether he should separate the crew. He already left six members on the surface to keep watch, and with only thirteen members inside the cave, he couldn’t afford to divide further.

“Any five of you want to go and retrieve the plants?” asked Boris.

Radley looked around, but no one raised their hand. It was too dangerous to split up.

“Come on Naza, another batch of loot between us gives you money to buy that staff you wanted,” Radley pleaded his case to the strongest magi on the crew.

“I’ll go down with you if you can get one good tank and fighter to go down,” said Naza. She was interested, but she needed protection.

Radley nodded. He had convinced a small crew of five members to travel down the following morning. He stared at Maddox for a moment, but decided that a tracker was useless. Even if he asked, Maddox would have said no. As much as it would be interesting to explore, Maddox would rather stay close to the strongest person on the team, who happened to be Boris. He also needed some time to create some offensive potions.

Boris agreed to let them explore on their own. As usual, the retrieval members get 70% of the loot and the rest who remain would split the remaining 30%.

Naza casted a smaller radius of light around the party. They traveled toward the green glow.

As they moved closer, Naza immediately sensed danger.

“Quick! Back to the others!” Naza cried.

The ground shook, and several stalactites slammed toward the ground. The green glow shifted and moved about. Suddenly, an armored centipede monster, the aphopede, appeared from the ground with a plant growing on its shell. The centipede had pointed needles on every single leg and a thick armored shell. The green glow of the Loridene plant was a way to lure in prey. It had been successful, finding five humans in its cave.

The aphopede sprung out from the group, trapping the five travelers from running back to the source of light. The aphopede appeared to be flying, but it was simply its 50 sets of legs running faster than most land creatures. The force of its dash rumbled the cave, knocking down more stalactites. The members destroyed the stalactites before it landed, but the aphopede snatched one of the members.

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The pincher cut through the member, dismembering them into cleanly into two sections. The member screamed loudly, the echoes of his scream remained even long after his life had been distinguished.

From the cave entrance, Boris had already begun evacuating the members. Maddox held onto the rope and secured his feet over a knot. The members on the surface had already pulled on the pulley, moving the knotted rope upward. Maddox watched the distance the rope hoisted upward. In the distance, there were flashes of fighting between the monsters and the members. Boris, the last person on the rope, shook his head. It was something he could have prevented, but it was ultimately their decision to follow their greed. His only regret was that Naza was one of the better magi.

As they were halfway up, they felt a movement on the rope. There appear to be three survivors. Naza and Radley made it out with wounds from shards, but the tank suffered heavy damage to the abdomen. Naza reached for the rope first while Radley and the tank with a long bladed leg sticking out of his abdomen. On their trail was the aphopede with blood all over its mouth. It had just finished feeding, but was hungry for more flesh. As it made its way closer, Naza chanted a spell, triggering the stalactites to fall toward the aphopede. The pieces fell on top of the giant monster, but the monster whipped the pieces out of its way. Then, it jumped toward the tank closest to the bottom of the rope.

The tank activated his shield, and Radley swung his sword toward the aphopede. The force forced the rope to swing in a pendulum motion.

From above, Maddox gripped tightly onto the top. He was closer to the surface.

Once on top, they all took a moment to breathe. The healer focused on the member with the most injury, the tank. Within ten minutes, the wounds were sealed out with a slight marking of a scar.

Boris held onto the blade and passed it along to a member. The bladed leg could be turned into a weapon.

“There’s no way to recover their bodies?” Boris asked.

Naza shook her head. “Even an S-rank healer won’t be able to save Cal. As for Mark, I don’t have any hopes.”

It was a shame, but the least Boris could do was send a letter to their families. People inside Halland City knew the risks. They all say it was for money, but there were easier ways to make money in the real world. A lot of them were there because they were thrill seekers.

“You think there are more aphopede down there?” Boris asked.

Naza nodded. “Probably three. When the first one attacked, there were rumbling in other parts of the cave. It was probably traveling closer.”

Boris understood that aphopedes was one of the most feared monsters around Halland City. They were regular fixtures in the dunes, but they mainly lived underground. Any type of caverns were likely carved out by the aphopedes. It would take the whole crew to take one down, but only on the surface. The uneven layout and structure of the cavern made it difficult to coordinate an attack.

“Aphopedes are weak against cyma and elektro spells, Ernest, are you able to hold one off?” Boris asked.

Ernest, the mage sitting in the back, looked at Boris plan.

“You’re not planning to attack it again, are you?” asked Ernest.

“Not this trip, but on the next one, I’ll bring in another mage. Do you think two magi can handle one aphopede?” The carcass of one section of aphopede was $10,000. For one whole aphopede, it was worth $250,000. It was not something Boris was going to let go so easily.

“If you can isolate just one, then yes,” Ernest replied. “But how are you going to lure one up to the surface?”

The most effective way to fight the aphopede was cymo and elecktro spells. The shock and cold spells were used to slow down the aphopede, enough time for the fighters to pierce underneath the armor shell from in between the sections.

However, Maddox won’t be able to participate in the next expedition.

“I have an idea,” Maddox suggested. “We can try the sleep baiting strategy.”

Boris’s ears were ready to list. Baiting wasn’t a new strategy, but even if they were to put a monster to sleep, there were two other aphopedes they had to worry about.

“We only have one sleeping bait,” said Boris.

“I have one sleep bait and one cyma potion,” said Maddox. “The aphopede closest to us is likely full, and will be the most tired when dawn arrives. The sleeping baits by the two farthest aphopede.”

Maddox had been primarily focused on pills, but liquid was the best form for offensive attack. He had a cyma potion. However, with one small vial, it wasn’t enough to stop an aphopede. It could only work if the aphopedes consume it directly.

Boris reviewed the plan. Sleep baiting wasn’t always a successful strategy, but it was one of the safer options. Having already lost two people, Boris needed to be extra careful. However, he also knew it represented an opportunity. As gruesome as it was to think about it, the aphopede had likely satiated its hunger. There was no better time to strike than at dawn.