Chapter 48: Roots of the Abyss

Chapter 48: Roots of the Abyss

The ruins were dark, overgrown with black and desiccated plants. Their thorns dug deep into the flesh, and they often smelled of poison and decay. In many places, the ruins were sunken into swamps, and strange creatures watched, hidden beneath the surface. On several occasions, groups of harpies attacked the party but were quickly repelled with spears and arrows.

These ruins were not being explored for the first time. The problem was that something or someone had restored them and turned them into an exit point from the depths of Tartarus.

The strange, inscrutable labyrinths and tunnels through which the monsters of darkness found their paths required a guide. They needed strong energy sources to lead them through the tunnels. These ruins were like a guiding light, protecting and directing. That is why they had to be destroyed at all costs!

In some areas, numerous massive roots emerged from the earth, enveloping the buildings. Fjorn and Douglas often stopped and examined them. The Mayor cast gloomy glances at the strange roots, while the scouts returned empty-handed.

"We must check the dungeon," the Mayor finally insisted. "There is nothing here, and every minute is precious."

After some hesitation, Douglas agreed. The two groups of humans and Echidrids headed toward the largest underground area, from which waves of dark, heavy, earthen mana flowed into the surroundings.

Emilia was tense the entire time, constantly prepared for an attack by harpies or something worse. During one of the assaults, she was nearly carried off by a large harpy!

One of the Echidrids, however, rushed to her aid and pierced the creature with his spear.

'Become Acolyte, Emilia. You'll be safe, Emilia. This is a divine quest, Emilia. A whole 20% Mana improvement, Emilia...' And I could have been warm in my bed, or we could have sailed back to the city to drink tea and eat sandwiches with Tobin and Parima.

At that moment, a multitude of red-eyed rats, snakes, and enormous spiders began to emerge from the depths. They attacked the group, and a fierce battle ensued. Emilia had three saved combat talismans and was forced to use one of them to save herself from a massive rat. A huge fireball, the size of the rat's head, appeared before Emilia, and with a gesture, she launched it at the repulsive, disease-ridden creature. The ball flew, struck the rat in the flanks, and a sharp, strong smell of burning hit Emilia's nose.

Following her endless training with Cassian, Emilia retreated between the defenders to avoid being bitten by a snake or spider. The Echidrids were protected by their thick fur, tough skin, and the layer of snake scales beneath. Ordinary rats and snakes were unable to penetrate their hide. The humans, however, were less protected. Although they wore leather armor and boots, the small creatures often found gaps and sank their tiny teeth into the hunters' flesh.

Finally, the battle, if it could be called that, ended. It turned out that Fjorn had been bitten by rats, and one of the hunters was applying various ointments to him.

"Fjorn, you need to be more careful. I told you to stay in the center of the troop formation!" the Mayor scolded him.

"I was there, but spiders dropped from above!" the tired formation master protested.

After that, the group proceeded more cautiously, each holding a torch. Several magical orbs also illuminated their path, and the soldiers periodically stopped for a rest while the mages restored their mana and spiritual energy. Emilia continually used her magical senses at maximum capacity and felt the exhaustion as well. In many places, there were magic traps, and sometimes the walls themselves opened, and various monsters attacked the allies.

However, all sorts of mana-rich plants thrived in the gloom. Emilia collected an entire bag of them, recognizing some from the books in old Harman's library.

"This is a Hell-Shroom. Rich in Earth and Dark Mana. It usually grows in deep caves. Hunters sometimes collect these. It's worth at least 70 silver coins." Emilia collected three such mushrooms.

"These are leaves of the Red Songstress." This was a strange climbing plant that typically wrapped around mana-rich trees, slowly sucking out their life force and collecting it in its leaves. Each such tree produced one leaf. They were highly sought after by alchemists in the city and had numerous applications. "One, two, three... twelve leaves! Fifty silver coins each!" Emilia couldn't believe her eyes. The Red Songstress was coiled around one of the roots coming from the depths of the earth and vibrated slightly, emitting a quiet, soothing sound, like an old song. The Songstress's vibrations changed daily, and they were capable of 'singing' many songs.

In addition to the herbs, Emilia also found a great many mana-rich pebbles. No one had harvested here for a long time, and the stones were much larger and richer in mana. Fjorn also needed these pebbles. He usually used much stronger reagents for his formations, but he had lost almost all his monster cores while attacking the formation and enchanting the defensive walls.

These pebbles weren't as strong, but as the saying goes, "even a mosquito is still meat." The two of them filled a rather large bag with pebbles. In several places, Fjorn stopped and collected strange fruits. During the short breaks, he ground them into a thick paste and enriched them with his mana.

Emilia watched the process with interest and even asked a few questions. Fjorn decided to take advantage of her enthusiasm and had her grind fruits into a paste as well. He explained how to properly infuse them with mana and what to watch out for. The work was not easy and required quite precise mana control. She was learning many new things and, at the same time, quickly improving her skills.

Periodically, the attacks grew more frequent, and the soldiers stopped to rest more often.

This continued for five hours. Finally, a strange forest of tangled branches and glowing mosses appeared before them. Black, peculiar trees and dense, thorny bushes were visible. Three massive, grim trees shone with an enormous amount of mana in Emilia's senses.

"We need to cut down these trees," the Mayor said and spat on the ground.

"But will we be able to? Sss..." Douglas mused, thoughtfully examining the tree bark.

"These trees are tougher than steel," Fjorn interjected. "We can, however, try to burn them."

Emilia recalled the second labor of Heracles and how he had fought the Lernaean Hydra, which grew two new heads for every one he cut off. He had similarly outsmarted it and burned its necks.

The group split into smaller teams and dispersed, searching for roots and thorny bushes that were easy to cut down. Fjorn approached Emilia and whispered, "Try to collect acorns from those trees. Only children with high mana concentration can safely climb and gather acorns from these trees."

"And what are these acorns for?" Emilia asked, looking at the trees suspiciously.

"They are Thunder Acorns. If activated with mana, the acorns split in two, and their core is launched with tremendous force, exploding on impact."

Emilia smiled uncertainly. "They won't explode while I'm picking them, will they?"

"Don't worry, if you don't trigger them with mana, you will be safe. Just be careful while climbing, as the trees are full of mana, and it will be harder to use your aura to secure yourself to their bark."

Emilia often used the thin, few-millimeter layer of mana around her body, sometimes called an aura. Cassian often scolded her for not practicing this skill enough in her free time. However, Emilia had chosen to focus on her talismans and rarely found time to climb larger trees. She primarily used the aura on her feet while running and maneuvering in Cassian's training labyrinths. True masters, though, could use it to protect their bodies from attacks, like armor!

"Whatever you gather will be yours," Fjorn encouraged her.

"If I fall and crack my head, I will haunt you for a hundred years!" she threatened and slowly began to climb.

"Hah, I am a Master of Formations; do you think I can't stop some mere ghost?"

"Then... then... I’ll haunt your formations for a hundred years, so their mana runs out faster and you have to keep buying new monster cores!" she threatened again.

"Now that..." Fjorn quickly moved closer to the tree. "If you fall, I will catch you. Don't worry. Just gather the acorns."

Each of the trees held twelve acorns. They grew on the stoutest branches and were surprisingly easy to pluck. Emilia quickly gathered them one by one, moving deftly among the branches.

The tree had numerous thin, hanging twigs, which were, however, extremely sturdy for grabbing and support. This made the climb considerably easier.

In less than 10 minutes, Emilia had picked the first tree, and before half an hour passed, she had cleared the rest. Her pockets were full of Thunder Acorns, and Fjorn repeatedly reassured her that they would not explode unless she explicitly activated them with her mana.