Water dripped, creating an echo in the open caverns. The sparse amount of Nightstones present made the scene both beautiful and creepy. Too many shadows and rock structures filled the caverns they passed through.

There were beasts hidden in the holes and recesses. All the beasts weren’t as scary as the plants and fungus that infested these caves. A phosphorescent moss, for example, spewed out a mild sedative to those unwary of its presence. Bones of the smaller creatures were all it left of those unlucky beasts. A carpet of moss covered even those, but Crow’s method of seeing things knew what lay underneath.

Toxic mushrooms were also a problem, but they were sparse. As long as they were careful most of those dangers were easy to avoid. However, not all the mushrooms were bad. There were tall mushrooms the size of a tree that was edible. It was a simple task to cut out hunks of its trunk. The best part—once grilled, those mushroom slabs tasted like steak. To be fair, that was probably because of Nadia’s talent and not the mushroom.

Crow and the others only learned about all this because Song Lin joined them. As she harvested, she’d explain everything out loud, and those watching inside his Soulscape learned about it. Song Lin joined them often of late while he and Faelan protected her as she extracted her resources. Crow also tried to create a similar environment in his Soulscape to accommodate the new resources. It could be said that because time was faster inside his Soulscape, his world could be a priceless treasure trove in less than a decade if he kept this up.

“What are you looking at?” Crow asked upon seeing Song Lin staring into a hole no bigger than his head that was filled with water. Glancing around the area, he saw dozens of similar holes.

“Not sure. I’m only seeing glimpses of whatever is in there. Don’t touch the water,” Song Lin said while holding up her trowel. It’d been heavily corroded and was falling apart before his eyes.

“Something is living in there?”

“Without a doubt.”

“We should go,” Crow said, feeling that whatever was in the water shouldn’t be disturbed. That was when he realized their predicament. The passage into the next area was roughly even ground, and those holes were scattered along its entire length. There were even larger openings or puddles that posed an even greater danger. “Faelan.”

“I heard,” her voice carried over from the shadows. This was how they operated when Song Lin was present. While her potions were potent, all the extracting she did made it a joke. Anyone watching would know something was up, so Crow remained visible to attract the Scath. He had to rely on either his Sage’s Sight or his Constellation to know where she was.

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“Any thoughts on what could survive in water like that?” Song Lin asked.

“There are some things that could, but because of the variation of beasts that exist, it is impossible to predict without seeing it. Besides, there is a chance that thing turned the water into acid, not the other way around.”

“It isn’t acid. It’s Frigid Mana, but this time isn’t the Arctic Star Anemone. It has some kind of corrosion effect.”

“Alright, back inside the Soulscape. I need to pass through this area, but monitor me. Also, take this. I decided all of you need to learn it.”

“What is it?”

“The primary method for Myriad of Beasts. I’ve finally modified it so that you don’t need to learn the Druid cultivation methods, and this won’t interfere with your current path.”

“We can turn into a beast like your Silver-Eyed Crow?”

“Yes.”

Song Lin’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Why now?”

“I’ve realized strength shouldn’t be hoarded. I’d rather none of you used it for now. However, it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. So it’s time I actively start trying to find the right beast cores for all of you.”

With that, Crow sent Song Lin inside and activated his Synchronous ability. He navigated carefully through the zone, trying to avoid the holes. The rattling of stones to his right startled him, and he stopped moving. It didn’t take long to discover what caused the noise, but he wished he hadn’t.

The beast’s wide mouth filled with jagged, triangular teeth was the stuff of nightmares. Its body swayed as it slithered out of the hole and landed on the ground with a wet splat. Its distorted shape writhed like a boneless worm, but he could tell from its structure that it wasn’t that simple. The creature had a collapsible skeletal system like a snake.

After a few seconds of squirming, four legs popped out of its fur. It stood up and shook itself like a dog. The flat tip of its tail swished the air and looked like a deadly whip more than the tail of a fish. Now that it had reformed itself, the head appeared to be a ball without eyes and a mouth that split it nearly into two hemispheres. It was even more terrifying looking than before.

Crow racked his brain to identify this thing and its risk but wasn’t coming up with anything. He wasn’t sure how to classify it because he couldn’t find its likeness in any of the images from the bestiaries he’d read. It only occurred to him that he might be looking at a mythical beast from ancient times that was only described but had no image associated with them.

*I’m pretty sure that’s a Dobhar-chu. Song Lin agrees with me.* Mara told him.

*Thanks.* Crow scanned his memories for that information and found very little. Half-dog and half-fish, or something considered an otter-like beast. Their fur is the dangerous part, but no details on why.

Other than the big mouth, it didn’t have any other opening except maybe its anus. Crow was about to sneak off but stopped. He felt Faelan move, and the fur on the beast stood on end and pointed in her direction. He flashed a warning through their connection, so she didn’t make another step.

Crow slowly waved his hand, seeing how much movement would attract it. This was why it was dangerous relying on stealth alone. A beast without eyes and heightened in other ways was like the bane of their current predicament.

*Thoughts?* Crow asked the brain pool inside his Soulscape.

*One, but you might not like it.* Mara said.

*I’m listening.*

*Run.*