“This is it. Planet Hex‘s famous tunnel system.”, announced Groob as he took the lead back from Uramant.

“No one can say for certain which beast was responsible for which tunnel. Ever since the Frozen Hell and with it the Empta Line came into existence, beasts had to adapt.

Especially those that wanted to grow bigger needed to discover new ways of life. Therefore, many beasts began to burry underground.

When we enter the tunnels, you have to pay attention at all times. Bests can cover behind every turn. There is no place that guarantees safety. Even the army checkpoints can be overrun from time to time.”

The siblings listened with rapt attention. It was hard for them to imagine such environments which deviated from everything they knew.

Despite their confidence increasing over the last few weeks, it was hard to prevent some tension from spreading every time the planet threw something novel at them.

“Another thing you need to be careful of is the environment. You see those patches of vines, right? The trailblazers used up all their creativity as they decided to name them Icevines. Try your best not to touch them!

They secrete a strange juice. On one hand this is poisonous to humans when not processed correctly, on the other hand it is loved by small beasts. They will hide in those vines and attack when disturbed.

Of course, if you ever where to slip you can use those vines to stabilizes yourself. They are surprisingly sturdy.”

Groob quickly observed the group after such a long explanation. He already knew that Lilly and Iain weren’t the types ignore his words, but he was still satisfied every time he noticed their attentive faces.

“Alright. Did I forget anything?”

“What about maps?”, reminded Voro.

“Ohh of course. Let’s put all our SMTs together.

The army and adventurers work together to create a map of the tunnel system. It shows all the parts that are already explored.

As long as we are close to some checkpoint we will also be marked as blue dots on the map. All other SMTs will be marked in red.”

“That’s convenient.”

Groob smiled wryly as he overheard Iain’s remark. The young man will soon notice that his thoughts are still too naïve sometimes.

After the adventurers put all their SMTs together, a new option appeared on Lilly’s and Iain’s devices.

The young woman was the first to think ‘map’ in her mind. Quickly a three-dimensional model appeared in her mind. It depicted her immediate surrounding in simple gray outlines, only showing the tunnel’s entrance right now.

Lilly easily figured out the controls of this new feature. Her eyes widened more and more as she enhanced the map.

A low gasp escaped the redhead’s mouth.

Uramant could easily tell what had happened as he turned towards Lilly.

“It’s better not to zoom out too much. Most of the tunnels aren’t relevant to us anyways.”

Iain also got a glimpse of the tunnel’s complexity a moment later. Both siblings smiled awkwardly as they nodded.

As she slowly zoomed in on her map again, Lilly couldn’t stop herself from wanting to curb her curiosity:

“Can I ask you something? Are the tunnels completely mapped out?”

Uramant calmly shook his head.

“Naturally not. There are many things hindering the process.”

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“For example?”

“For example, the sheer size of Hex. It’s one of the empire’s biggest planets.

Or the fact that there is simply not much incentive to do so. What is the reason we are exploring those tunnels? It is naturally to find resources. At some point all the easily available resources are taken away and it is more effective to move the city.”

Lilly listened with relish to those explanations. These novel things kept fascinating her, so she quickly followed up with another question:

“But isn’t it said that the Frozen Hell only exists because of a treasure? Why isn’t everyone scrambling to find it?”

Some laughter with a desperate undertone reached Lilly from the side. The turned her head, directing a perplexed look at Groob.

“The treasure…”, sighed the bald adventurer.

“Everyone you have seen over the last few days dreams about finding the treasure. But how can it be so easy?

When you find a way to get through the layers of increasingly dense minerals we can talk again.”

Some hopeless expressions could be seen on every adventurer’s faces.

Uramant also shook his head as he wanted to explain:

“What Groob wanted to say…”

“It’s enough Uramant.”, interrupted him the bugged team leader.

“Do we have any relevant questions left?”

Lilly and Iain frowned. They had already realized that Groob had quite the temper sometimes.

Now he disregarded Lilly once more. Iain felt like they had put up with the bald adventurer enough times.

“Can’t you watch your tone?”

Surprise appeared on Groob’s face, but it quickly turned into anger. He stretched his burly body as he took a step forward. Just as the big man wanted to open his mouth Voro and Uramant hastily interrupted.

“Calm down guys.”

“Don’t cause trouble before a mission.”

Groob’s eyes narrowed for a second, but the experienced mercenary knew better than to displease his clients. His rationally took over again. He forcefully calmed his mind before waving his hand.

“Let’s go!”

Thus, the group’s expedition started under a subtle atmosphere. No one talked as the disharmonious team entered the tunnels.

Only the quiet steps of heavily armed men and women echoed throughout the tunnels. Although everyone tried their best, it was difficult to suppress their steps on this stony floor.

It took a few minutes but soon everyone managed to enter the necessary mindset again. They carefully advanced while paying attention to their surroundings at any time.

Naturally the beginning of the tunnels was most frequented by adventurers. But Uramant still quietly reminded the siblings that some beasts might find their way here, since the tunnels were too complex to cover all options.

An oppressive mood soon assaulted the sibling’s minds. It was a scary feeling walking amidst complete darkness. No electrical or natural lights could escape the mystical treasure’s hunger.

Meanwhile their heightened perception constantly reminded the siblings that they were watched. If Groob hadn’t told them about the beasts attracted by Icevines, they might have gone crazy already.

Uramant on the other hand took his job seriously as he constantly kept an eye on the siblings. His own perception allowed him to passively gain more information from his surroundings. Thus, he could instinctively feel the sibling’s tense moods.

After a short contemplation he knew where their uneasiness may come from.

“Take this as part of your training.”, advised the ice mage quietly.

“Perception is one of the most practical stats for warrior. However, you need to develop your own filter. You will lose your mind if you pay attention to every single gaze you receive.

Try to actively train your brain so it will sort out those unintentional gazes. This will also help you to better perceive subtle emotions later on.”

The siblings took deep breaths as they thanked Uramant. They concentrated to follow his advice. Naturally this was easier said than done, but the siblings already knew they had to invest a lot of time to grow stronger.

Their group calmly continued for another hour as Lilly and Iain did their best to adapt.

Suddenly Groob signaled the team to stop.

The bald adventurer quietly stood in place as he put all of his attention on his surroundings.

A few seconds later he announced with certainty.

“Beasts incoming!”

At this moment Lilly and Iain even felt some tension leaving their bodies. They had been on tenterhooks all the while. Constantly waiting for a surprise attack. Not knowing what waited for them in the darkness.

The siblings finally realized why humans feared the unknown. Now that Groob confirmed they were attacked by beasts they at least had to face a known enemy.

Soon a multitude of steps could be heard. The team orderly took their combat positions. Lilly and Iain stayed close to the wall with Uramant, only leaving enough room for movement.

“That’s not a small group. Should be about a dozen beasts.”, analyzed Groob.

“From the sound they are rather light.”, added Voro as he took out a strange pistol-like device connected to a big screen.

Iain’s observed in interest as Voro held it up. The engineer gathered a bit of mana before activating the device with it. The siblings seemed to hear a feeble sound. It hurt slightly in their ears, but it vanished soon.

Looking at this piece of tech, Iain couldn’t hold himself back from quietly asking Uramant:

“What is Voro holding there?”

The ice mage answered carefully, his eyes never turning away from the tunnel.

“Basically, a better version of a SMT. Look at the screen.”

As the siblings did as they were told, a picture soon appeared on Voro’s screen. A herd of beast could be clearly made out on it.

Groob calmly asked for an update at this moment:

“What are we dealing with?”

“A small group of Rockrats. From the looks of it, only one has reached rank two.”

“Ok. Standard procedure. Voro, prepare electric carpet.”

The lightning mage nodded solemnly as he put his scanning device away.