Rather than a sheer descent to the unknown depths, it was a gradual slope. Like a carriage descending a steep hill, Tyrus slid down the rocky hole. As he picked up speed, the wind whistled in his ears, and rocks scraped against his bare skin like sharp twigs.

Tyrus looked around desperately. He saw little when he thought about it for a moment. Everything was pitch black; without a source of light, he was a toddler stumbling around in the darkness. To resolve that, Tyrus uttered the words Illumination and received a faint, golden glow. As he expected, he was currently sliding down a narrow tunnel.

It was still difficult for the weak light to pierce further downward, so Tyrus was left thinking of what was below. Was he currently falling to his death or would there miraculously be something there to break his fall? Regardless of the outcome, he had to act quickly, or he would be done for.

With no footholds in sight and a body wracked with pain, Tyrus brought out two daggers and thrust them onto the sediment. Right after piercing, both blades quickly snapped and darted past Tyrus, nearly blinding him. His mouth parted open as horror began seeping in.

In an instant, Tyrus mustered up his remaining mana–which had the world around him swim–and poured most of it into his fingers. The mana-created grip slowed his descent, causing sparks to fly as his fingers dug into the stone. Every muscle in his body strained against the relentless pull of his descent, but the glow of his mana-imbued fingers held fast. Before long, his body slowed down considerably until he fully stopped, left dangling.

His arms were relentlessly resisting Tyrus's grasp as if insisting on plunging into the chasm below. He ignored the negative thoughts swirling around as he looked up and down. Illumination was rapidly dwindling because of his reserves, and it was only a matter of time until his mana bottomed out. The longer he delayed in deciding, the more his body trembled.

Groaning to himself, he peered upward first. Of course, he couldn’t accurately tell how long or how far he’d fallen, but he knew it was a substantial distance. If he had to guess, he’d been falling for at least ten seconds. Judging by that time, he was way too deep, and the only way to leave was to climb up or down.

Speaking of down, when he shifted his gaze below and willed the light to descend, he found some solace in his situation. Shorter than two adults, a patch of soil and rock offered stable ground to walk on. At an L formation at the end, the tunnel continued.

In a heartbeat, Tyrus gritted his teeth and let go, falling as his feet crunched against the floor. As soon as he made contact, his knees buckled, and he fell face-first. He spit out a mouth full of dirt and pebbles as he wheezed. The illumination was also gone, casting the area in pure black.

“This is the worst day ever,” he mumbled. Laying flat on his back, Tyrus rested as he regained his thoughts and mana. He defeated two rock spiders yet at the cost of falling down a winding hole, battered and bruised. With his reserves treading on a thin line and his body aching, it’d be a while until he could escape.

His mouth churned as he spat out more unwelcome substances. “Those cave worms Meadow mentioned probably made this tunnel. I don’t see any around here, though. Must be an old tunnel that was just waiting to be discovered.”

With his body recovering, he had to lie still and wait for his mana to fill up. What he realized was that there was noticeably less mana concentration in the tunnel than on the surface. Recovering what was lost was a slow process due to the scarcity of energy. To even fill less than a quarter would take a while.

The tunnel was deathly silent and stuffy. His chest was rising more than usual, and his throat felt as if it was on the verge of clogging. Taking in a few more gulps of air was getting difficult. Leaving the tunnel before he ran out of air to breathe would be one of his top priorities.

As if I’ll get done in from the lack of air, he thought.

Tyrus stayed there for what felt like hours. Sometimes, pebbles would fall from above and land nearby like drips of water. Although the ground was excruciatingly uncomfortable like lying on a bed of needles, Tyrus stayed focused on more significant concerns. Every breath he took, snippets of his mana returned. He was trapped inside a box, with nothing else to do but recuperate while devising a means of escape.

Once he was well enough to move, there were two exits he could take. He could either use his mana to scale the wall or take the tunnel. Following the tunnel could lead him to encounter one of those cave worms. Tyrus assumed he would inevitably encounter the beasts if the tunnel was made from them unless it was abandoned.

On the other hand, scaling the wall would require a lot of effort on his part, but it was workable. Using augmentation to boost the strength of his fingers to make footholds, he’d make it to the top in no time. It came down to determining the required amount of mana. Falling to his death would be terrible if he didn't have enough.

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“One step at a time,” he said. “Once I’m recovered, I’ll just climb my way out. No need to push my luck and journey through the tunnel just to meet a cave worm. I think I’m done for the–“

The increasing sound of falling rocks halted Tyrus's words. What was once occasionally turned into a violent crash, accompanied by whistling from above. Instantly, he activated Illumination and focused his intention to cast the light upwards. As soon as the spell was a respectful distance away, he noticed a shadow hurtling toward him.

His body moved automatically, and he moved further into the tunnel by rolling. A thunderous explosion soon enveloped the space as the shadow smashed into the spot he was just at. Plumes of dust and speedy rocks flew everywhere as Tyrus shielded himself with mana. During his hacking and spluttering, the surroundings quaked violently, as if rocked by an earthquake. Squinting through the smoke, and with the help of the light, he saw the broken visage of the rock spider he was about to kill earlier curled up, completely blocking the exit.

That thing slipped into the hole? But why?!

Instead of pondering what made the beast do such a stupid thing, Tyrus turned in the other direction and ran. As he stumbled across the uneven terrain, the tunnel behind him roared with the chaos of his thrashing heart. With the light piercing the gloom ahead, he noticed the tunnel widening with every step. He didn’t have time to question if it was a good thing with the rambunctious noise and fear gripping his very being.

Before long, the tunnel’s path ended, connecting into a cave chamber. Amber-colored stalactites hung like chandeliers above, glistening with moisture, and their pointed forms seemed to pierce the darkness with otherworldly elegance. Drips of water echoed softly in the cavern, creating a soothing, rhythmic symphony that echoed off the stone walls. At the chamber’s center stood a tranquil pool of crystal-clear water stretched out, its surface mirroring the glittering stalactites and glowing crystals. A few shadows pierced the waters, gliding along like a serene fairy.

Tyrus burst forth from the tunnel with a yelp as he tumbled across, crashing onto a nearby rock. Pain flared across his backside as he watched the tunnel collapse. More dust and rubble spewed forth like the maw of a dragon as his one-way ticket to freedom was snuffed away.

He struggled to rise as he massaged his back. “Ugh… I’m starting to think the world hates me. What kind of dying beast decides to come after their prey? Escaping this place now seems impossible.”

Grumbling to himself, something flickering in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He realized his tail had disentangled from his waist. When he surveyed his rear, he detected a small tear in his trousers and tunic. Now attentive to his tail's unbridled movements, he breathed out a sigh.

“I just got these garments a few days ago and they’re already ruined. What a waste of sil. I should’ve kept the old ones in the ring.”

Hiding his tail was going to be a tough job without the proper fitting. Finding a fresh pair of garments out in the woods didn’t seem possible, and asking travelers on the road was out of the question. They could mistake him for a thief, or something.

“I’ll figure it out later once I get out of here. New garments are the least of my concerns.”

His attention shifted back to the cave chamber. Now that he was out of danger and calmed down, Tyrus shivered. The only notable characteristic of the cave was the pool of water. But when he searched around some more, he found some pathways embedded within the walls.

A lot of them were tight fits and few provided ample space. The problem would be finding out which pathway led to the exit–if it even existed. That was the true horrifying part of his situation; trapped deep underground with no way to call for help as the days ticked by…

Gotta get out of here fast if I want to make it on time. Missing the monthly exam because of this would seriously suck. No way will I die here.

Determined to escape, Tyrus assumed a meditative pose. Accessing the Sorcerer Plane wasn’t his intention, but to absorb the surrounding mana quickly. Each breath that escaped his lips, he counted in his head. He tuned out every external sound that wasn’t important, like the droplets of water falling from above or the splashing from the pool. The eerie silence encompassed his weary body as the flow of mana seeped into his pores. Because he was deeper underground, there was a scarcity of energy.

It was unknown how long he stood in that position. His sense of time was already ruined; for all he knew, it was probably already twilight. Never could it be true that two days had gone by since he was underground. He didn’t feel or hear his stomach growl, nor did that much pass between the defeat of the rock spiders and his fall.

Slowly but surely, his body was being rejuvenated with the fresh wave of mana. What used to be muscles that screamed with every effort was a dull pain. The dizziness had also disappeared, and his reserves were coming along nicely. Though it took a while, he was at the halfway mark. During his meditations, Tyrus was able to clearly see the flow of mana throughout his channels and how much energy he had in stock.

After what felt like an interminable amount of time, Tyrus opened his eyes to a rumbling stomach and a replenished mana heart. Silently, he pulled out a meat leg and cooked it with fire. An enticing aroma permeated the chamber as the meat turned to a crisp brown.

I don’t have much food stocked up, so I’ll have to eat sparingly, just in case. Good thing I hunted a boar and saved up the meat. There’s also a water source here, so I should be fine in the meantime. Then again, I don’t plan on staying long

Tyrus consumed a good chunk of the meat and satisfied his belly. With his body fit enough for travel, he rose from his spot and wiped the rubbish away.

“About time I take one of those paths,” he mumbled. “Depending on their length and where they lead, I should get through them swiftly with my speed. Hopefully, they aren’t blocked off.”

As unpleasant as it was, he would have to refrain from hunting rock spiders in order to ensure his safety. If he found himself stuck in the cave again, he would have only himself to fault. Meditation and mana training would do.

“Alright, enough delay. Let’s see which one leads to freedom.”