Chapter 175 - Radioactive Crystals

Third person POV

 A bit later, as everyone in the tavern noticed the drinking competition and started watching it, Russell and Gregory were done, panting after chugging their sixth round of booze. Russell couldn't drink any more alcohol because his stomach was now full like a fully loaded tank of water, while Gregory felt like drinking a bit more. So, the latter did so with a glass of light beer, and thus, won the competition. He and Russell didn't get drunk, proving that their bodies had alcohol immunity.

Everyone applauded Gregory's victory, and Russell was surprised that he lost the competition but acknowledged and accepted his loss. "Man, you beat me, Gregory-san."

 "Yes, thanks for the good game," Gregory replied back. "Also, after lunch, can you accompany me to a series of caverns east of this town? And also, can I have a ride in your bus towards that place, too?"

 "Sure, after lunch," responded Russell back while drinking a glass of water to wash down the alcohol taste from his tongue.

With that, Gregory went back to his meal to finish it off.

The tavernkeeper then waited until Gregory was done so he could give him his bill for his meal.

 Stunned that their friend was completely fine, the May party asked him if he was fine. "Yes, I am," replied Russell back positively. "That ability you have was beneficial, right?" Ria asked him.

 "Yeah, it was, but my stomach had limits, you know…"

 "Yeah, that's true…" Azalea responded with a nod.

 After that, a waiter handed them their bill for the meal. The bill totaled 14 gold coins, plus 4 gold coins for all the alcohol Russell consumed last time. That amount was supposed to be thrice the original amount, but because of the drinking competition Russell and Gregory had last time, it was decided to discount the bill for the consumed alcohol instead. Russell and his party saw their bill and were stunned to see that the bill for the consumed alcohol was cheap. The waiter explained to them the reason for it. Russell was grateful for the tavern and paid his part of the bill for the food and the whole bill for the consumed alcohol while Azalea paid for the rest of the bill for the food. At the same time, Gregory was done eating his meal, and the tavernkeeper came and handed him his bill for the food and the consumed alcohol. Like Russell, the bill for the consumed alcohol was 4 times less than the total price for every booze Gregory had consumed. Gregory, being a regular to the tavern, paid for it, alongside his bill for his meal, with his money, before grabbing his Geiger Counter and knapsack and standing up from his seat.

 "Thanks for coming here," the tavernkeeper brightly said to him while receiving his payment.

 "Yes, you're welcome," replied Gregory nicely and politely.

 At the same time, Russell and his party stood up and grabbed their belongings. "Okay, we're done," Russell said to Gregory, "let's go." Gregory nodded, and all of them left the tavern. Outside in town, it is still noon, so Gregory still has some time before his next class at the town's academy. "So…" Gregory said to Russell, "…where's your bus?"

 "Oh, it's just right around the corner here," replied Russell as all of them turned left at an intersection.

Not long after, all of them arrived at the spot where Russell's bus was parked. Gregory was shocked to see a bus in that fantasy world. "Woah…this bus is so cool…" Feeling a bit proud of his bus, Russell replied, "Yup, this is my bus. Nice, isn't it?"

 "Yes, it was…"

Gregory's mind was like, "I wonder what model of bus it was…"

 And then, Russell opened the door, and all of them boarded before Russell would sit on his seat and turn on his bus's engine with his key. Russell then closed the door and drove his bus out of the vacant spot and towards their next destination in the east of town. Gregory then said to him the name of the caves he wanted to explore for quite some time. Russell got that and used his bus's Navigacion for directions. The Navigicion then got his command and responded with the following:

Tokap Stenen Caves

Northeast of Carelis, Province of Haki, the Zale Valleys

Approximately 9 kilometers away from the current location

Estimated Travel Time at this current speed: 4 minutes

Road conditions: Very Good

Traffic: Very Smooth

Weather: Partly cloudy

Russell was confident about getting to their destination in a short time, while Gregory was shocked to see such a very high-tech navigation system of Russell's bus.

Russell, while driving, then explained about it and its peculiarities from a typical navigation system of any land-based vehicle.

Gregory was stunned with amazement.

 A bit later, all of them arrived at the sites of the Tokap Stenen Caves, a series of caves inside a main cave. Seeing that heightened Russell's and his group's sense of adventure with enthusiasm. So, after Russell had parked his bus somewhere accessible and close to the caves, all of them grabbed their stuff and got off, walking to the entrance of the cave. Now all of them entered its entrance and were walking through the first cave passage. The cave system was full of beautiful crystals, which were long crystals by shape, come in different bright colors, and were numerous in number across the cave system's walls and ceilings. The May party was amazed at their looks while Gregory was measuring any possible radiation in the crystal caves with his Geiger Counter, a thing that the party found a bit strange. And then, Gregory found a low amount of radiation in the first cave passage, but as all of them went deeper and deeper into the complicated cave system of beautiful crystals, his Geiger Counter picked up gradually more amount of radiation. So this means this cave system is full of radioactive crystals?