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Chapter 15: Delving Deeper Than Planned

The nobility from both sides were long-lived, and knew each other even before the war for liberation. This translated into the day-to-day operations of border towns like Jerestir remaining unchanged even right after the war.

Frankly, the way merchants and common folks went to and from between Novarria and Aden almost made it seem like the war was a spat between the nobility rather than the people themselves.

Orodan and his group, which was composed of six Elites and a few dozen Adepts, were now standing in front of the entrance to the mines, the lead surveyor before him.

“How far has your surveying shown the tunnel systems to go?” Orodan asked the man.

“Sir, our earth mage who has a Seismic Sense of 47 reports that they extend at least two miles down before her detection reaches its limit. Of course, we still have roughly a thousand feet of rock to mine through before we reach these tunnels,” the man answered. He was an Adept metal mage and the one who had detected the deposits of Dothril. “And it’ll take at least thirty minutes for us to tunnel through this layer and create a passage down.”

“Alright then, you have my go ahead to get started on that. I’ll stand beside your team as you work and ensure your safety in case anything decides to come burrowing up in response to our downward tunneling,” Orodan ordered.

Soon, the work began, and while Orodan could likely have smashed a hole down towards the tunnel systems himself, he really didn’t want to cause a collapse. The survey team knew what they were doing and were trained in safely tunneling to create lasting and stable passages. They also had Construction personnel and an Architect who laid wooden footholds behind the tunneling as it progressed and added supports to ensure the tunnels could survive tremors and the passage of time.

The tunneling earth mage, a tall woman with a severe demeanor, had to take frequent breaks to chug mana potions and meditate. The supply of these was no issue whatsoever given House Firesword’s backing of course, and the fact that Gideon Fusturus had decided to tag along of his own volition.

The Burgher wasn’t exactly pleased with his Elite Alchemist’s insistence on running underground, but the man was adamant on tagging along and scouring the tunnels for potentially rare alchemical ingredients. He was also someone who had watched the scrying eye recordings of Orodan’s test at the examination center, and given the ease with which Orodan beat up the Elite tester, Gideon knew that Orodan was far stronger than he let on. So he held faith in this venture potentially going into even the wild depths.

Finally, with five minutes of work remaining, the tunneling earth mage’s eyes widened and she spoke up.

“I sense movement burrowing towards us, at least a hundred!”

The warning was followed by the survey crew and non-combatants immediately falling back while Orodan and the Elites of House Firesword took up positions at the front.

Two minutes later the rock began to tremble and eventually burst forth. Two pairs of skittering mandibles on the head, and far too many legs.

Giant centipedes, and they didn’t seem pleased about the intrusion into their natural habitat.

They were decently strong too, with each one being at least an Adept-level monster. Decently strong by the standards of the average newly minted adventurer that is.

Within a second, a hundred of them were slain, with Orodan actively trying to hold back so as not to overawe the Elites accompanying him. Yet they still looked at him as though he was a monster. Looks of fear and respect in equal measure.

More centipedes skittered through the tunnel they had burrowed, but they all died to Orodan’s fists. Frankly, he didn’t think they were worth drawing his weapon over.

The tunnel grew silent for a moment.

“I see now why Burgher Ignatius treats you the way he does sir… that was ferocious!” a nearby Elite-level spearman praised.

“Glad to know you’re on our side…” another pyromancer muttered.

Orodan brushed the comments off and remained focused as he began delving into the tunnel created by the centipedes. It was rough and not as suited to human descent as their constructed and supported tunnel was, but it didn’t matter to Orodan.

A few dozen more centipedes came through and tried to assault him during this process, but he tore them apart and his opulent outfit was beginning to get very stained with their ichor. After enough killing, the creatures must have instinctually sensed the difference between them and him, and simply began fleeing the other way.

Finally, he and the expedition following behind him who were re-purposing the centipede burrowed tunnel into a human-suitable one, reached the beginnings of the natural tunnels the surveyors had initially detected.

It was massive. Illuminated all throughout by growths of a glowing mushroom that were along the walls.

And it was filled with giant centipedes, and some even larger and fiercer looking variants that were beginning to gather in one spot. They were preparing to surge forward and attack the expedition in force.

“The rest of you, stay here and guard this choke point at the tunnel, I’ll deal with these things,” Orodan ordered as he was the only one who stepped out of their traversed tunnel and into the large natural one.

“But sir! This is… too many!” the Elite pyromancer exclaimed. “Even if you’re powerful, some of those larger centipedes are known to be Elite-level, and there are dozens of them!”

“I assure you, it won’t be a problem. Simply wait here, and keep quiet about what you see,” Orodan said.

Soon, the centipedes must have felt confident as they reached a threshold of gathered numbers. At least a hundred of the bigger and fierce-looking ones were at front, with nearly a thousand of the Adept-level ones behind them. Even the regular giant centipede was the size of two horses. The bigger ones were the size of a two floor house.

For a tunnel system in the civilized depths to contain this many monsters was unacceptable. Orodan would have to do his civic duty to make the town a safer place.

He looked at the leading centipedes and drew his sword.

In response, the flood descended upon him.

Two seconds passed, and this was when the centipedes surmised that something was wrong as a dozen of the leading Elite-level pests were killed.

Five seconds passed, and the Elites had all died. Now the regular centipedes’ momentum slowed as they were confused as to why their pack leaders had fallen.

Ten seconds passed, and thousands laid dead upon the ground. The massive natural tunnel… was eerily silent.

Orodan turned around to look at the opening of their own tunnel which lead into this massive one, and he saw only the pale and sweating face of the Elite pyromancer looking out.

Orodan put a finger on his own lips and gestured at the man to keep quiet about what he saw.

“I think the coast is clear now, they were weaker than I thought they’d be.”

And he also finally got a message of advancement he had been waiting for.

[Sword Mastery 69 → Sword Mastery 70]

[Title Slot Gained]

There was no hiding such a ludicrous amount of corpses, and neither could he simply hand wave away the fact that such a horde had abruptly vanished within ten seconds of combat.

The Adepts and non-combatants who were further behind simply assumed the Elites had worked together to take care of things. But the Elites themselves who were up front knew the real story.

And they could barely stand to look at Orodan straight in the eyes. The atmosphere in the camp had gotten somewhat awkward at the absolutely domineering amount of strength Orodan had displayed.

As the Construction crew began setting up a temporary camp and fortifications within the now cleared natural tunnel, the Elite pyromancer approached Orodan.

“Sir… you have my word that I’ll remain silent on the matter… but just how strong are you?” the man asked. “To kill nearly a hundred Elite-level monsters leading a horde of nearly a thousand Adept centipedes, that’s… are you perhaps a reincarnator?”

“No, I’m not. But if people assume it, that’s their business,” Orodan replied. “I know you’re honor-bound to serve the Burgher, but I don’t actually expect that such a thing can remain secret for long when there are at least a dozen Elite-level experts in our expedition. Even if the rest didn’t directly witness the battle, they saw the aftermath and will surely talk.”

“You aren’t wrong sir, be it in social gatherings or word of mouth, such talk tends to spread. After all, fighting is our bread and butter, and talking shop is a great way to pass the time,” the man remarked. “But… if someone of your power tells us to shut up… we didn’t reach the Elite-level by being stupid.”

“I don’t mind people knowing that I’m strong… but I don’t need the specifics known,” Orodan stated. “But, bullying you into remaining silent with a threat of force would leave a bad taste in my mouth, so what can I do for you to ensure that the lips of the Elite members of our expedition remain sealed willingly? Or at least so they don\'t speak of the magnitude of what I did?”

It was one thing if footage of him beating an Elite casually was spread and people talked. This was an incredible display of talent and would obviously get him poached and marked for an academy like Bluefire, but it wasn’t groundbreaking.

But for him to now have slain a hundred Elite-level centipedes which lead a horde of ten times that number of Adept bugs? It could lead to problems such as the High-Burgher or the Cathedral taking an interest in him. And he didn’t want the attention of the Gods just yet, but nearer to the end of the year at the Inter-Academy Tournament where the loop would be close to the end anyways.

The Elite-pyromancer thought for a moment, the man appeared almost nervous. But then he spoke once more.

“Mister Wainwright sir, I’m Geldric Sunfire, an Elite pyromancer that humbly serves as a retainer of House Firesword… all the Elites on this expedition are Firesword retainers, meaning we’re not considered actual members of the house as the Burgher and Lady Helga are,” the man who introduced himself as Geldric spoke. “It’s a good life and I have no complaints… but unlike the Burgher who can call upon a powerful figure from above to help aid in his disputes, we retainers aren’t often given the luxury to call upon our masters in return.”

It was true. While the retainers of House Firesword owed Burgher Ignatius loyalty for everything he had done for them, they in turn, while undoubtedly receiving protection and great wealth, couldn’t simply call upon the Burgher and the forces of the house for minor things and their personal ambitions and ventures the way the Burgher could.

Furthermore, the Burgher himself was the highest-level Elite of the house, nearing a Master, but an Elite still. Even if his retainers did call upon him, the man couldn’t just show up and solve their problems. The Burgher wasn’t strong enough for that. Rather, House Firesword was protected to an extent by an unknown powerful figure who the Burgher didn’t speak of, but who was likely at the Grandmaster level.

What Geldric was asking for… was a similar promise of aid and favors from a powerful figure. This figure being Orodan.

“I see… and you want me to act as this benefactor of yours?”

“We would just humbly request your aid from time to time in… smaller matters that don’t necessarily involve our life and safety, but our personal ventures,” Geldric elaborated. “Not to say Burgher Ignatius isn’t a good master to serve under… but he isn’t quite unoccupied enough to help all his retainers with smaller business where we could use a powerful individual standing beside us. Plus… our head of house is only an Elite himself.”

Orodan could understand where Geldric was coming from. What should be noted was that Geldric and the Elite-level retainers of House Firesword weren’t the cream of the crop. They were lower-level Elites, likely all hovering around the low 70s in their highest skill levels. If they were any better they would be elsewhere and not in House Firesword, a local noble house of Volarbury County.

Furthermore, House Firesword was in a rather strange position. They had backing from an unknown individual above, and it protected them from any blatant bullying. But the fact that they didn’t have any Master-level individuals like House Simarji and House Argon did was hurting their opportunities for expansion. Having a Master watching over ventures and attempts at seizing opportunities provided a safety net that made a big difference in what the Elites of a house were willing to risk.

“Fair enough,” Orodan replied. “And what sort of aid are you seeking from me? Could you give me an example? Surely nothing that would put me at odds with the Burgher himself or cause friction between other noble houses?”

Not that Orodan minded fighting, but causing a mess for the Burgher would be poor manners.

“Nothing of the sort sir,” Geldric immediately clarified. “As an example, I’ll be leading an adventurer party deep into the Aenechean Forest two days from now… while I normally wouldn’t risk going too deep for fear of drawing the ire of something we couldn’t handle, with you there, we could make some massive profits from securing rarer resources and it would greatly benefit us. We’ll even give you a fair cut of the increased profits.”

“That sort of arrangement doesn’t sound too bad. I simply watch over you and make sure you don’t get in over your head?” Orodan asked and the man nodded. “As for the profits, I have little use for money currently so you can keep it.”

At this the man seemed incredibly relieved. Perhaps he was expecting Orodan to try and gouge him with his superior strength and status under House Firesword?

“Thank you sir, truly,” Geldric replied. “If you help us, not only will the rest of the retainers be in your debt, we’ll even make sure whatever narrative you desire is spread throughout the county and beyond. And of course, should you need it, we\'ll be at your beck and call too.”

What was left unsaid was that Orodan could just make an Elite disappear if they dared to say more than they should. While Elites were important and their loss would most definitely be noticed, the loss of one or two compared to appeasing someone who could beat multiple, was something that could be swallowed by their masters as long as Orodan offered compensation or promises of favors.

He had seen it all too often growing up. House Argon could act with impunity even if people went missing, as long as they didn’t offend the wrong people, and as long as they soothed the wound by offering enough compensation even if it was the wrong people. The Republic’s ‘elected council’ didn’t suddenly make the old and powerful people and families irrelevant. The way of the world didn’t change simply because their nation was now known as the Republic and not the Empire.

Laws were meant to corral the common folk, and the powerful could work around them however they wished. Be it negotiations, bribery, connections or pure power.

There were limits of course, and offending similarly powerful people would still carry consequences, but if Orodan wanted to kill a commoner or even an Elite… if the proper price was paid or he didn’t offend anyone connected to the Elite who was similarly powerful, then who could stop him?

“If I might speak honestly sir? None of us would dare reveal what we saw here regardless,” Geldric spoke. “You… are at least as strong as a Master, none of us have a death wish, so if you explicitly tell us to hold our tongues, what can we do but remain silent? I have a wife and children who care about me, I wouldn’t risk that by blabbering about something that isn’t my business.”

Quite the pragmatist Geldric was, Orodan thought. Using the opportunity to request assistance while still clarifying that he wasn’t about to intrude on Orodan’s affairs.

Shortly thereafter, Geldric convened with the rest of the retainers, and from a distance he could see some of them giving him furtive glances, calculating and appreciative looks in their eyes.

Soon, the forward camp and fortifications were set up and the tunnel opening leading to the mines above were as secure as they would be.

“Truth be told, venturing forward from this point with the Adepts would be pointlessly dangerous for them. Some of the centipedes were Elites, and in the sort of fighting we might get up to further in the tunnels, many of them will die,” Orodan spoke. “So, this will be the defensive point for now, I’ll scout up ahead, stay here and ensure no bugs get past this point to our mines above.”

At this the Adepts had some very relieved looks on their faces, but the Elites still gave him nervous and uncertain looks.

“Sir… your strength is without a doubt… incredible. But is going deeper into the tunnels by yourself truly safe? Will you not even bring a tracking and pathfinding expert with you?” one of the Elites asked. “As grateful as I am to hear you’re willing to put yourself first in venturing these dangerous tunnels… the Burgher will be severely displeased with us if anything were to happen to you.”

“You’re not wrong that this seems a bit reckless, but I’ll be cautious. The Burgher would want us to see how far we can push with just the strength of House Firesword,” Orodan replied. “Frankly, a hundred Elite-level monsters and a thousand Adepts in just the initial tunnel we entered alone should warrant a more organized and heavy force than just us.”

“So should we not contact the Burgher? Will he not want to know about the situation?”

“Yes… but then we lose out on the opportunity to make tremendous gains for House Firesword don’t we? Knowing the Burgher, hearing what we encountered initially would make him call the whole venture off and involve the military and other noble houses. He’s a cautious man, but sometimes a bit of daring is a good thing,” Orodan spoke. “I’ll even throw in whatever valuable monster corpses we find in here as a part of your share.”

“I concur with Mister Wainwright,” Gideon Fusturus, the Elite Alchemist said. “These natural tunnels could be a treasure trove of rare ingredients not easily found elsewhere. From what I see, even just the bodies of these centipedes contain fantastic ingredients, and in such quantity too! Truly, how did just the group of you kill such a horde?”

Gideon was among the non-combatants at the back, and so did not know just how powerful Orodan was as he hadn’t witnessed the battle directly.

“Will you truly be going alone though Mister Wainwright?” Gideon asked. “Perhaps you have some swift movement skill or ability to evade detection, but in a tunnel system where we’ve encountered Elite monsters at the civilized depths already… is that not a bit too much daring?”

“Yes, I’m confident I can manage. In fact, venturing alone gives me a certain sense of freedom that traveling alongside allies does not,” Orodan spoke, and his tone was final.

The Elite retainers were already convinced once they heard of Orodan’s offer to share whatever he found. And Gideon, while uncertain, was no combatant and the promise of further profits swayed him too.

With a final look over at the fortifications leading up to the mines, Orodan headed deeper down the tunnels.

The expedition had tunneled into the side wall of a natural tunnel. To their right was a dead end, but it was to the left however that the tunnel extended deeper downwards, and the direction in which the survey team reported the Dothril deposits were.

Orodan went down this direction.

He traveled at a slower than usual pace, partly to ensure any hidden entrances, side tunnels and monsters were spotted. And partly because he somewhat enjoyed the strange and scary ambience of the caves. It was a stupid wish, but he always had a strange desire to fight something truly horrifying in a dark environment and prove himself scarier than it was.

The first fifteen minutes were spent moving through the tunnels, keeping an eye out.

It was after roughly twenty minutes that he encountered something. It was a centipede bigger than the Elites he had slain prior. It had fierce looking spikes growing out all over its body, and seemed to have a stronger plating of armor than normal.

It saw him and hesitated a moment, displaying a level of intelligence far greater than usual. It then turned and promptly attempted to flee, only for it to freeze as the Blessing of Agathor prevented its escape. Once it realized there was no way out, it instead charged straight towards Orodan.

A clash ensued, and while it was killed rather quickly, it was strong for an Elite, Orodan thought. Approaching the Master level. This variant was clearly superior to the regular Elite variants of the centipedes.

For there to be even stronger centipedes already? Orodan hadn’t even descended into the wild depths yet.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Thirty more minutes of exploration down the tunnel passed, which didn’t have any side tunnels, although it did have plenty of denizens. The centipedes he encountered were similarly powered to the near-Master one he had initially killed. A fact which was beginning to make Orodan think something wasn’t right.

Elite-level monsters were supposed to start appearing from the wild depths and downwards. For them to appear at the civilized depths already? It went against what he heard and was told.

Finally, he reached a larger chamber, where a hole was leading straight downwards. This chamber also contained a large amount of Dothril deposits, the metallic ore in the walls holding a subtle glow.

The only problem was, there were centipedes. The near-Master kind, and alongside them were some massive, fat centipedes which he assumed were a broodmother variant of some sort. These he surmised were at least the Master-level given their even larger size and the deadlier looking exteriors they possessed.

The chamber this hole was in, was truly massive, and yet these broodmothers themselves were quite humongous as well. Each being the size of a castle. In terms of size, each one was almost half the size of the hundred-headed sea serpent he had fought long ago. And he counted seven of them.

One of the Master-level broodmothers slowly approached him from in front of the horde and spoke. The strange sounds it made with its mandibles and mouth being converted into the universally understood language of the System almost immediately after.

“Surface-dweller. Why have you dared to invade our homes?” It asked as its mandibles clattered together in dangerous agitation. “We have not attacked you, and yet your kind decide to tunnel inside and slaughter our burrowers?”

As it spoke, the horde and other broodmothers behind it clacked their legs and mandibles together angrily.

Monsters were different from the mortal races. They usually didn’t begin to gain the beginnings of intelligence until the Elite-level, and while some gained it sooner, the absolute guarantee of intelligence was at the Master-level, where these broodmothers were.

All monsters at the Master-level could communicate with humans, if they didn’t, it was because they chose not to. Furthermore, the System’s ability for all races, species and cultures to understand one another also extended to them. The only prerequisite for communication then, was intelligence.

That a monster chose to speak to one of the mortal races in a circumstance like this, could only happen if the monster wanted something, or sought diplomacy.

“Well, from what the survey team tells me, your tunnels are awfully close to our mines. From the direction, it seems you’re burrowing closer and closer to the surface yourself,” Orodan replied. “We can’t have a horde of monsters assaulting our settlements above.”

Co-existence was possible only for certain species of monsters. The two races known for co-existence with monsters in the depths were dwarves and drow. But humans, which were the dominant race on the surface of the continent of Inuan, while often domesticating surface-dwelling monsters such as griffins, pegasi and dragons, absolutely abhorred subterranean monsters in general. If this hive of centipedes ran into the drow, perhaps an agreement of co-existence could be reached, but to encounter humans? In normal circumstances they would never be able to live alongside one another. Hence the lack of willingness to engage in negotiations until they had their backs pressed to the wall.

“We wish to be unrestrained and proliferate further upwards into the rock till we reach less… volatile territory,” the broodmother replied. “The vent of the world’s energy we are atop of, it goes very deep. Deep enough that some very old and terrible things slumber deeper down the shaft. We simply wish for a route, a safe passage in the event the one nearest to us awakens and decides to clamber upwards and annihilate us.”

Orodan deduced that this vent of the world’s energy sounded an awful lot like an energy well. He had heard stories of them. They were something coveted by nations, and for House Firesword’s mines to be above one… the Republic itself would now have a vested interest in ensuring the mines were secure and would want to step in.

Energy wells were openings on the surface that lead deeper into the ground, and at the bottom they usually lead to a vein of the world’s energy. Energy wells were a strategic resource that nations were willing to fight over, as they would empower the surrounding area in a way regular magic rarely could. They also were popular at attracting monsters which supposedly fed on the energy.

On the surface, monsters would often congregate around these energy wells, and towns built around a surface energy well would often have to deal with more frequent intrusions of monsters than otherwise.

But, from what Orodan knew, energy wells were supposed to have an opening leading out, being directly accessible from the surface.

The deeper the well went, the more potent the energy surrounding the well. With the most well known energy well in the Republic being the one at Anthus, which went all the way into the wild depths.

But for an energy well’s opening to start

at this depth? Frankly, this energy well didn’t even seem to have an opening to the surface, and nobody would have discovered it if not for the mines above delving deeper to coincidentally be nearby.

Officially, by Republic law, all energy wells were directly under the purview of the Council of Karilsgard and therefore Republic property. Their existence, benefits which extended a decent distance, and the potential threats they carried, were too high in magnitude to be left to the ownership of a single noble house. They were a strategic resource which nations were interested in, and entire regions could have their economy influenced by the existence of one. It was no surprise then that House Simarji was able to have preserves of magical trees and plants in Jerestir.

The expedition now went from House Firesword hoping to keep things within their House, to a situation that would have to be disclosed and the Republic’s government involved. Especially if there were more, and stronger monsters deeper down the shaft. Orodan however, would try his best to ensure the Burgher and House Firesword got their fair share of this venture.

But, if this energy well’s opening started underground already… then just how deep did this energy well run? Perhaps the slumbering things this broodmother warned of, were best taken seriously.

“Just how deep down the ‘vent’ is the nearest monster? How strong is it?” Orodan asked, trying to glean some information.

“It is at least at the Grandmaster level… a deadly burrowing worm, responsible for killing the progenitor of our hive and forcing us to flee further upwards along the vent. It\'s at least five miles further down,” the broodmother replied as her mandibles twitched in fear. “This is useless information to you however, as reaching it involves going through us, and we are not willing to allow you to delve down the shaft and awaken that thing… or worse, till we can come to an agreement. Our destruction would be inevitable if you did.”

“And how do you plan on stopping me?” Orodan challenged. “I require the Dothril present in this chamber, it seems more valuable than regular Dothril too, likely from close proximity to the energy well.”

“We are not reckless surface-dweller. We have seen you slaughter our hive guards with ease, whichever tribe that can send a warrior like you forward alone as a mere scout… is not one whose ire we wish to draw unnecessarily,” the insect answered. “Given your personal prowess and the threat of reinforcements, we are willing to offer up the Dothril without any further conflict between us, as long as we can come to an accord.”

The broodmother was smart. It likely surmised Orodan was far stronger than he appeared and that Orodan was likely still holding back given his confident approach down the depths by himself. Plus, the threat of reinforcements couldn’t be ignored. Although, the broodmother would likely have a conniption if it knew Orodan was mostly the only one of his strength level in the organization that sent him.

“And what is this accord you want exactly?” Orodan asked. In truth, both he and the broodmother knew all the power in this ‘negotiation’ was in his hands.

“Killing the worm, continued protection and the right to remain here, in return you can mine the Dothril without any resistance from our hive,” the broodmother spoke. “You cannot mine the Dothril without causing enough noise to awaken the worm regardless, and our hive can offer you much assistance in burrowing new tunnels and knowledge of the creatures further down the shaft.”

The hive\'s unwillingness to fight in this main chamber made sense now. Perhaps a fight against Orodan here would draw the attention of the worm situated further below.

But it was a reasonable deal.

While Orodan could simply slaughter the hive right here and now… they were essentially surrendering and seeking to avoid total destruction. While they were monsters, they weren’t things that actively raided the surface and butchered innocents, from what he knew anyways.

Orodan felt it would be going against the spirit of the second Quest he had to simply slaughter surrendering monsters who hadn’t even been the ones to start the fight with him. They simply reacted to detecting the survey team tunneling into their homes.

And as unorthodox as it was for humans, House Firesword could learn to co-exist with subterranean monsters under their mines. The dwarves and drow had showed that it could be done. There was no reason it couldn’t be attempted by humans.

At least, this was Orodan’s thought process. While Orodan felt this was an advantageous deal for House Firesword, it could only proceed with the approval of the Burgher himself. He could bring this proposal forth to the man, but it hinged on his approval all the same. Furthermore, the bigger issue was how the Burgher was going to deal with the inevitable response and attempt at takeover from the Republic once word got out.

But for now… Orodan felt this was an acceptable offer.

“For now, tentatively I can agree to this,” Orodan replied, and as he got the sense that the broodmother didn’t like the ‘tentatively’ part, he clarified. “To seal the deal, how about I go down the shaft right now and confront this worm?”

“Alone? You may be strong, but even our entire hive of broodmothers and guardians could not slay it,” the chittering mandibles clacked. “Going in without allies would be arrogance of the highest degree! That creature is at least at the Grandmaster level!”

They argued a bit more after that, but in time the broodmother came to understand that Orodan would not be swayed on the matter. Eventually, they evacuated the chamber and went elsewhere down another branching tunnel their hive had burrowed, accepting that Orodan was going to provoke this worm by himself.

Its parting words to Orodan were filled with bitterness and a promise to flee towards the direction of the tunnels leading up to House Firesword’s mines if Orodan failed. In other words, the expedition he had left behind would encounter seven Master-level broodmothers leading a fleeing hive, which would later be followed by a monster at the Grandmaster-level. It was a logical threat made out of a sense of self-preservation, saying that they whether they floated or sunk, it would be together.

Orodan himself paid little heed to the chittering overgrown bug. He was excitedly looking forward to fighting whatever was down the shaft.

Everything about his idiotic venture would be decried by anyone of sanity.

It was common knowledge that the education system and official sources of news never confirmed or denied the existence of Master-level monsters. So, even just the existence of the seven broodmother centipedes he had encountered would already be of severe alarm to the authorities of the Republic.

But if what the monsters told him was true? That there was a monster lower down the shaft at the level of a Grandmaster? Some of the hidden powerhouses of the Republic might be forced to step in. They would likely prevent any and all non-government access to the energy well from then on. So Orodan’s best chance to fight a Grandmaster-level monster for the first time… was now.

With those thoughts, he approached the opening of the energy well. It was his first time looking down its depths.

It was, as the stories had described them. A big hole in the ground, with lines of glowing energy along the walls of the shaft.

It wasn’t a perfectly straight hole into the depths. It went downwards, but with curves and bends that prevented one from simply seeing all the way down and how deep it might truly lead. If it was truly straight, then monsters from the top could easily see monsters below and vice versa.

Thankfully, the bends and curves meant that visually, no terrifying monsters from below could see all the way up. Which allowed groups like the hive of weaker centipedes to evade notice and survive.

Still, Orodan descended down the shaft rather simply, by jumping in.

Falls didn’t hurt him at his level of power, and diving a few thousand feet till the landing which was at a bend, wasn’t risky. Perhaps if it was a straight tunnel, jumping right to the bottom and encountering some utterly unfathomable creature might be risky, but the well’s curvature made such a thing impossible.

After two bends, he started to see some side tunnels carved into the walls of the well’s descending shaft. They looked similar to the burrowed tunnels of the centipedes above, and Orodan guessed these were likely the previous homes of the hive, before their progenitor was killed by the creature he was currently seeking.

Not long after, he reached a section of the well that had a single massive side tunnel burrowed into it.

And perhaps a mile into this massive burrowed side tunnel… was the tail of something truly massive.

The worm situated itself near enough to the energy well that it could feed off the world energy, yet far away enough that it could flee if anything more powerful from below decided to venture up.

Smart creature.

Unlike Orodan, who decided to close the distance and launch as powerful of an All-Strike as he could manage towards its exposed tail.

He empowered the blow with everything he had. His sword was strengthened with Weapon Aura, his body empowered by Death Rage, and Eternal Soul Reactor was running at a level just below where it would interfere with his anti-divination skills.

And the blow, even quadrupled with his Action Increases… carved a massive gouge onto the worm’s tail… but that was all it did. Even as the surrounding dozens of miles of stone completely collapsed around him from the shockwave of the blow.

It’s hide was very tough, it had weakened the power of the blow he sent its way and the portion that had gotten through, while still wreaking decent damage upon its flesh… wasn’t a particularly large wound on a creature of its size.

From his encounter against the hundred-headed sea serpent in the Sea of Uxumar, and now, Orodan was starting to learn that certain monsters were far stronger than their mortal counterparts of the equivalent level.

This blow he launched, which would have killed or severely injured the equivalent level Adeltaj Simarji, instead merely carved a severe wound onto the massive monster’s tail. But that was merely all it was, a deep blow upon the tail section of a creature whose tail itself was at least a half mile long.

On a human, this would be the equivalent of cutting deeply into one of their toes.

Worst of all, the flesh immediately began throbbing and attempting to grow new hide over itself and repairing.

This worm… possessed a ridiculous amount of vitality that would make even the sea serpent quiver in fear.

Beating Adeltaj Simarji by no means meant Orodan could kill this thing with similar ease.

His surprise attack failed, and the entire earth trembled as the worm turned around, it’s eyes emitting a purple aura, which soon extended to its entire body.

Rocks began floating in the massive tunnels it called home and it opened its hideous mouth to let forth a screech of pure rage as it focused its eyes on the measly bug that was Orodan, less than a fly before its tremendous size.

He had heard many loops ago that Adeltaj Simarji was historically famed for fighting alongside a hero who was bestowed a Quest to slay a rampaging worm that was as large as a mountain range.

Orodan felt that this was the sort of worm that would be the subject of such a Quest.

And it was capable of gravity magic, given the hundreds of thousands of rocks that arose and immediately flew towards Orodan at horrific speeds.

A few seconds of this bombardment persisted before it became clear to the titanic worm that the unempowered rocks it was firing were having little effect on the pest that had dared attack it. Somehow, the rocks lost all efficacy and gravity magic empowerment the moment they touched him.

Orodan’s Mana Resistance was an unfair advantage against any creature that dared to use mana against him. Be they mage or Grandmaster-level monster.

Orodan then put a stop to the tactic entirely by using Mana Black Hole offensively. At the skill’s current level of 69, it was almost Elite. And for a Legendary rarity skill to be at such a level… meant it was monstrously powerful itself and was now capable of draining mana without needing to directly touch something.

The very magic in the air was pulled directly into Orodan. The rocks which were glowing with a purple magic immediately lost their empowerment, and the very air seemed to become a bit drier as the natural mana saturating the area was drawn towards the storage of his skill.

Even the colossal mana pool of the worm was beginning to be siphoned, albeit given the sheer amount of mana, worth more than many ancient war machines put together, would take a while to fully drain without direct touch.

In response the worm immediately charged right for Orodan, realizing that mana based abilities were not the way to go.

It would be a scene of awe-inspiring terror if seen from an outside perspective. A man, being charged at by a worm the size of a mountain range. All while Orodan stood among utterly ruined debris, the sea of shattered rock he was in only illuminated by his glowing aura produced from Eternal Soul Reactor.

But Orodan did not quail.

This worm, despite being at the Grandmaster-level, didn’t possess a hundred heads, and thus its only real option of physical attack was to charge Orodan like a battering ram and hope to splatter him against the rock, like an avalanche upon a single man.

As long as Orodan could get onto its body and endure… he could eventually win. His energy and willpower were endless.

His All-Strike, powered as high as he could charge it safely, met the absolutely all-encompassing tide of worm that was barreling towards him. It was as though he was a man trying to stand against an entire mountain falling onto him.

Of course Orodan’s All-Strike, even quadrupled, was overwhelmed.

Overpowering the human Adeltaj Simarji was nothing like facing the full physical might of a worm the size of a mountain.

If skills like Physical Fitness amplified the power of the mortal races to a great extent, then the titanic body of such a worm would have its power amplified to even greater heights. It was born with natural advantages a human didn’t have.

He was utterly smeared into red paste, and his Eternal Soul Reactor was forced to ramp its power up to a point where Fate Disconnect failed. It wasn’t the worst problem given the Blessing of Ozgaric he had obscuring him still, but the fact that he had to exceed this threshold meant that this battle had suddenly gotten very serious.

He began swiftly reforming from the glowing pile of meat he was smeared into, his weapons and shield utterly obliterated by the force of the attack that had overwhelmed him.

But he had successfully, even if he was overwhelmed, carved a decent gouge into the head of the worm as it charged him and he met it with an All-Strike.

And it was this gouge that he was reforming within.

The moment the worm realized Orodan wasn’t dead, it tried everything in its power to dislodge him. Unfortunately for it, Orodan recovered too quickly with his Eternal Soul Reactor empowering his Regeneration skill to scary heights. He reformed to full health in seconds.

Another full power, quadrupled All-Strike hit the existing gouge on the worm’s head. This time Orodan cared not for staying within a safe threshold, and the attack was consequently twice as powerful.

The gouge was carved deeper, and Orodan delved deeper into the flesh of its head.

Purple gravity magic attempted to coalesce around Orodan, but it found no purchase in manipulating him directly. In worse news for the worm, Orodan was now directly touching it and was draining its colossal mana reserves at an alarming rate, which would soon take away its ability to do magic altogether.

It now began to furiously thrash and ram its head into the tunnel walls in an utterly berserk manner.

“You dirty surface-dwelling pest! I have kept quiet and well-behaved to avoid having a Quest issued upon me by the meddling world, and yet your ever-encroaching kind still dares to attack me?!”

It roared in a booming explosion of sound that was nearly deafening. Orodan simply kept launching All-Strike after All-Strike into the wound on its head however.

After its one roar of indignation however, it said no more. Showing no intent to negotiate with Orodan or attempt diplomacy for its life.

Whether it was the stubborn sense of pride that most Grandmasters carried or the territorial feelings it had towards its spot near the energy well, it seemed intent on fighting for its life. Orodan never once felt his second Blessing of Agathor activate to signify that an opponent was blocked from fleeing.

Orodan was now within the worm, furiously launching destructive attack after destructive attack from within, but it still showed no signs of stopping, even as he was certain the entire tunnel came collapsing down atop them. It was nothing he or the worm were overly concerned about at their levels of strength.

However, it was an endless battle.

Every All-Strike he launched was responded to by the worm’s almost godly vitality forcibly repairing itself wherever he caused damage. Orodan had never felt or seen such utterly titanic life force in a single living thing before.

Furthermore, the worm seemed quite skilled in actually manipulating its own life force. Orodan was starting to feel additional vitality flood the worm whenever he launched an All-Strike, almost in tune and in preparation for his attacks. The vitality would retract just before he struck, and would immediately surge to the damaged area right after.

It was possibly the slowest battle of attrition against the most durable enemy Orodan had ever faced to date.

Throughout it all, he decided to treat it as a training exercise.

He began attempting to target All-Strike, not just to have as much power as possible, but to also try and cause as much damage to the very vitality of the worm.

After maybe two days of this he was rewarded with a message.

[New Skill (Exquisite) → Vitality Destruction 1]

This new skill shifted the balance, and the worm began thrashing about even more furiously in an attempt to kill him.

The worm didn’t simply accept its own death however, as it repeatedly attempted to throw Orodan out of its body. Often it would use gravity magic on itself to tear out massive swathes of its own flesh and create openings in its body that lead to Orodan.

More than once a chitinous spike would then attempt to fish about its own insides in an attempt to spear Orodan and pull him out.

But the attempts proved unsuccessful. The spikes were utterly deadly, but anytime Orodan was hit he would simply allow the spike to tear right through him and take entire limbs off and bisect him rather than allow himself to be dragged out.

This process continued, and Orodan began experimenting with getting a feel for the vitality of the worm, and somehow attempting to mentally command it inside of himself.

More time passed as the endless battle raged on and the depths trembled from the cataclysmic tremors of their battle.

Given that he was inside of a giant worm, he wasn’t entirely certain of how much time had passed, but he was certain at least two weeks had gone by as he kept tearing apart the insides of the massive worm.

He had truly made massive progress in whittling its vitality down, but even after so long he felt that he had only gotten it down to two-thirds. A long road lay ahead of him. And he had undoubtedly missed his entrance date to the Bluefire Academy by now alongside helping in Geldric Sunfire’s adventurer party.

But, finally he was making headway in understanding something all-encompassing about vitality and life force.

For so long Orodan had only had the chance to study the life force of only himself. His mortal enemies typically died before he could truly observe their vitality, and they didn’t have enough of it either.

This titanic Grandmaster worm however, had a level of vitality that even thousands upon thousands of Orodans could not match. It was almost godly. A naturally powerful body which was rich in vitality, which was likely amplified by many life force bolstering skills.

It was a great opportunity for Orodan to engage in extended observation, experimentation and meditation on his findings as he actively tore the worm apart from the inside.

Finally, as he quadrupled an All-Strike and sent it in four different directions at once, each direction corresponding to an area of the worm’s body with a different level of vitality… he made the connection. He sensed vitality for what it fully was.

Vitality, was produced by the body… but it was also ‘colored’ by the soul, influenced by it. Thus of course each being’s vitality was unique, different. His own vitality was different from the worm’s, as it was different from the sea serpent.

But… if vitality could be ‘colored’ by one soul… why could it not be influenced by another, and then stolen?

[New Skill (Legendary) → Vitality Black Hole 1]

He didn’t know why he was able to obtain the mana version of this skill much easier. Perhaps it was a matter of talent or luck, or even his first Blessing of Agathor which considered Mana Black Hole as being under its purview. But this new skill, Vitality Black Hole was earned through much more grueling battle and meditation than the other one was.

He pushed the energy of his soul outwards to corrupt and influence the worm’s vitality, the life energy that suffused its flesh. It attempted to resist, and it was strong at it. But the very quality of his soul energy was higher than normal. His was denser, more powerful now, and his willpower was endless and it naturally carried over to the energy of his soul which refused to yield as each iota of it clashed against the worm’s attempts to defend.

This was further amplified by Eternal Soul Reactor running at a furious pace, his body kept alive only through the Regeneration skill which was empowered.

And as he converted massive amounts of the worm’s life force to his own, he pulled it all inwards to himself.

It was utterly overwhelming.

He didn’t have a corresponding skill to resist excess vitality, and so some very uncomfortable growths began to occur along his own flesh at the utter deluge of life force flooding through him.

It wasn’t the bottomless reserve of his new Vitality Black Hole that was the issue, it was his crude control over vitality. He had no manipulation skill for it, and so the excess life force spilled into his own body instead of the reserve of the skill where it was packed away like the mana equivalent was.

He actively willed Regeneration to stop and his Eternal Soul Reactor churned at speeds he’d never brought it to before, simply to try and harm his own body to burn the life force entering him as it healed actual damage instead of causing strange growths all over.

Vitality Black Hole’s reserve was starting to slowly absorb all the colossal amounts of vitality Orodan was directing towards it, and the worm’s thrashing actually began to get slower as devastating amounts of its life force were stolen in horrific pulses that caused the tremors and noises of devastation in the rock to gradually lower.

Five minutes later, it spoke.

“Filthy surface-dweller… do not reach too deeply… there is far worse than I deeper down the well…”

Those words were its last, as its dying throes lasted for another minute before its body went completely still.

The wounds on it weren’t terrible, but they would not heal anymore. Its body simply lay motionless, lacking life.

[Title Gained → Grandmaster Slayer]

Orodan finally let out a sigh of relief as he sensed no more of the beast’s foreign vitality in his immediate vicinity.

What a brutal fight that was. He had been fighting for over two weeks at least. Who knew what the hells was going on up on the surface?

He tore his way out of the worm’s insides, which were now offered dramatically less resistance without any of the worm’s skills or vitality bolstering it.

Upon tearing a hole out, he realized he was of course, completely buried under rock. Which was an annoyance to deal with, but nothing his current level of strength couldn’t handle.

Breathing technically was needed once every few hours at his level of Physical Fitness, but with Eternal Soul Reactor and Regeneration, he didn’t need even that. So he slowly began tearing his way upwards through the rock using his bare hands.

As he began his slow burrowing upwards to the surface he couldn’t help but lament the fact that the centipedes who’d dutifully surrendered and come to an accord with him were likely killed. He held a slim hope that they escaped to another section of the tunnels they burrowed, hopefully out of reach, but who knew how extensive the cave-ins and collapses from his fight were?

Hopefully the expedition members and miners above at least evacuated. Human constructed tunnels were reinforced with additional wooden supports which were amplified by skills, so the tunnels should have held long enough for an evacuation.

After nearly an hour of swimming upwards through rock like a fish, he reached the dirt layer and his speed quickened, curious to see what the situation was.

The second he broke the surface, he saw people.

Lots of people.

Republic military, Capital Guard, noble houses, lots of Masters. And even a number of Grandmasters in the back. All looking at him.

“Well… if Burgher Ignatius is here, I’d like to let him know I’m alive and have partially succeeded in the task he gave me,” Orodan said as his neck downwards was still buried underneath dirt.