Underground Nest

"Who's Innos? Is he some kind of god?" Gerald casually asked as he watched the people enter the underground.

"What?! You don't even know who our God is?! I bet he is a spy from the Empire!" Cot immediately shouted, taking an opportunity to bring trouble to Gerald.

"Huh?"

"You don't know?"

"Is he really a spy?"

Some people were surprised, while some were skeptical about the validity of Cot's accusations.

"Well… I come from a small village, so I'm a bit ignorant on this matter," Gerald spoke with an ashamed expression.

"Stop it you guys, leave him alone!" Elly placed herself between Gerald and the rest. Then, turning to him she spoke in a comforting voice, "Don't worry, I can tell you all about our great God on the way."

"Thank you, I would appreciate that!"

Since it was now time to go, Gerald, followed by Elly and the rest, entered the dark underground tunnels. They all wore lanterns so as to not waste Mana for lighting.

"So, where do I even start…" Elly placed a finger on her smooth lips, "Innos is our God of Fire and Life, as well as Knowledge and Guidance."

"His symbol is a Phoenix, who in turn represents the everlasting sun. Followers from the Church of Innos gain increased courage as well as protection from the Church. His soldiers, the Paladins of Innos, carry strong Rune Magic, capable of purging even Demons themselves!" There was a bit of exaggeration in her words, but Gerald didn't need t know that.

As Elly spoke, they went deeper underground. Gerald led them through twists and turns, sometimes doubling back or speeding forward. It almost appeared as if he was going blind, especially since he wasn't using any map or wall markings to find his way.

"So, what you are saying is… This God, Innos, he is the giver of life?"

"Yes! Every person has a flame of life inside them, and as they mature, this fire grows stronger, coming closer to Innos and that's why we can cast stronger magic as we get older. But then, as a person grows older still, the fire is slowly exhausted and it becomes smaller until it completely goes out at the end of our lives."

"Oh? That's depressing…"

"Not at all! After death, the fire is reignited, and like a Phoenix, it is reborn in the embrace of Innos in the eternal flames of the afterlife!" Elly spoke with great vigor and conviction.

"And this is…good?" Gerald questioned doubtfully.

"Yes! This way we can all be reunited with our life-giver, our God!"

'Oh, damn! Eternal flames mean something else in my old world… Now I'm even more certain that religions and gods are all full of hot air. Although they do serve their own purpose…'

Gerald chuckled and sped up once again, only to be rudely stopped by Cot, who grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hey! Do you think we are stupid? Running around like this, are you trying to make us lose our way? I have observed you closely, you aren't even watching which way you are going!"

Gerald flicked his hand away and scoffed, "You sure are a great observer, but did you notice any Minecrawlers during this time?"

Cot wanted to refute him, but then his angry face stiffened and his eyes enlarged.

"No? Can't remember any? Guess why that is! That's right, I have avoided all Minecrawlers for the last few hours, and your stupid disruption and shouting ruined all of that!" Having the ability to see lifeforms through walls, Gerald noticed quite a few of them indeed coming closer.

He moved back, and with a quick "Stone Armor" spell, his entire figure melded with the wall.

"Yoh, guys, we are surrounded. You can thank our friend here later, but now we have to get out of here first!" Gerald shouted.

"What?!"

"Was that your plan from the beginning? Getting us killed underground while you hide?!" Cot shouted in rage.

"Shut up! We already established the fact that I'm the weakest among you all and that you have to protect me! Why would I be bringing trouble to myself? Now get ready to fight!"

Berating him harshly, Gerald rose a few layers of rock with a short "Stone Wall" chant and almost completely hid behind it.

"Whatever, it's just some small bugs…" Dark Knight spoke with a calm tone, completely unconcerned with the danger around him.

"Dark Lions, Bone-grinding formation!"

The few of his teammates that came in with him took out their weapons and reformed the walls around them with magic, creating a hole for each of them to hide in.

They were now completely protected from any attack coming from the sides or back, while their front was armored with thick metal from head-to-toe.

Each of them held a brutal-looking mace, ready to crush whoever came close. This way, the part of the tunnel where they stood turned into a real meat-grinder for any living being that came through.

Mad Weasels, on the other hand, stuck their backs together and waited for the beasts to show themselves.

Almost as if waiting for the preparations to be complete, the Minecrawlers swarmed in as soon as the warriors took their positions.

Elly mimicked Gerald and covered most of her body with a layer of stone and hid partially in a wall, before casting her Light spell.

"Oooh, that's cool… I remember one of the old video games I played having a spell like that!"

"Sorry, what? I need to concentrate…"

"Just thinking out loud…"

As Gerald and Elly exchanged a few words, the rest of the group went on to massacre the Minecrawlers. Most of the work was done by the Dark Lions as they turned the beasts into minced meat, the strong Minecrawler Warriors included.

"These guys are quite powerful!" Gerald gasped. "There is no way I can do the same without using magic!"

It didn't take long until the beasts were crushed under the weapons of the mighty Dark Lions. And he paid close attention to their moves and strikes, noticing they all had a cold and calculating personalities, with immense strength hiding in their bodies.

None of them ever showed any sign of anxiety or fear, instead, they didn't even blink when being sprayed with the blood of their fallen enemies. It was especially so for their leader, the Dark Knight. Although his face was hidden behind the helmet, his eyes didn't show any emotions at all.

Boom!

Crack!

Crushing the head of the last Minecrawler Warrior with his hammer, the Dark Knight turned to Gerald.

"It's all clear now, let's continue."

"Good~"

Gerald released his defenses and stretched his back before looking around to see if there is any danger remaining.

"Okay, the coast is clear! Follow me and stay quiet please, we are coming close!"

Walking through the dark tunnels for another hour, they arrived at the open stone hall where the ancient building stood.

"Gasp!" Elly took in a cold breath in disbelief.

The rest also bunched around the exit and looked out in amazement. Although they knew what to expect, the sight was still too much to take in at once.

The sea of Minecrawlers walking around made even the bravest warriors shiver when they realized what would happen to them should they be discovered.

"Sssh, don't make a sound!" Gerald warned in a low voice.

"Where is the King? I don't see it…"

"How should I know? Last time he was here, but he could have gone somewhere else…"

Just as they were discussing, they heard a low rumble, coming from the old building. The broken stone door shook slightly and opened to reveal the Minecrawler King.

Being twice the height of the tallest human, and having the giant body built like a tank, with armor plates strong enough to stop light artillery, the Minecrawler King was a sight to behold.

Its front legs were like sickles of death, swiftly and accurately cutting down any and all living beings that came close to it like it was nothing. The strong mandibles then crushed the tough armor plates of its fellow Minecrawlers with ease, producing sounds as if it was eating salted chips.

"Holy mother of-"

"What is that?!"

"Oh my god, it's huge!"

"Sssh! Be quiet, stupid! Do you want to get us all killed?"

Luckily they were far enough and the Minecrawlers themselves were considerably louder, so they didn't attract any attention.

As the Minecrawler King went on to feed on mushrooms and the guys calmed down, Gerald quietly asked, "So? What do you think? Did you see enough or do we need to stay here for a few more minutes?"

"Let's go back, I think we all understand the situation."

"Agreed, we need to report to the Bishop as soon as possible."

"I'm with you on this one."

"Yep!"

"Definitely…"

Quietly agreeing with each other, the Dark Lions and Mad Weasels left the place as fast as possible, with Gerald leading them.

On the way back they just went on the fastest route, so they met some roadblocks and had to fight their way through it.

It was not even noon when they already returned to the surface and went to the Fort to report their findings and create a plan.

While they were discussing, a guard came to Gerald and handed him a Golden Space Pouch.

"For me? Oh, it's the books I requested!" Gerald exclaimed excitedly after looking inside. "Can I keep the pouch as well?"

"Err, the Bishop didn't mention anything about taking it back, so…" the guard answered with uncertainty.

"Wow, thanks! That's really generous of him!"

Having received another spatial storage treasure, Gerald was more than happy with it. While the discussions were still going on, he found himself a comfortable place to lay down and started reading…

"[Basics of Ice Magic], [Mana Conductors for Treasures], [Guide on Taming Wild Beasts]… Haha, I struck gold this time!"

"Why are you so excited? It's just the basic knowledge…"

"Trevor, huh? It's easy for you to say, being born with a golden spoon in your mouth!" Gerald answered with an annoyed expression to the guy that disrupted his happy moment.

"What are you even talking about? Our spoons are made of silver, gold is too expensive and heavy to be used like that!"

Gerald rolled his eyes at him and turned his attention to the books once more.

"Mmm!" Elly came out of the room, performing some light stretches to relieve muscle fatigue.

"Hey, Elly! You came just in time!" Gerald jumped up and put his books away. "I was really intrigued by your Light magic! You are the first person that I saw using it, can you tell me more about it?"

"Eh?" Being so blunt about it, Gerald made Elly blush slightly, "I- I'm not really that good at it, I just know a few simple spells…"

"Oh, can you make illusions? Or do you ever use magic to blind your opponents or disorient them?"

"Wha-?"

"What about a laser? Can you make it? Does it burn stuff?" he fired his questions in rapid succession.

"Aaah!" Elly shouted. "I don't know what you are talking about! I can just use Light magic for illumination, look…"

Chanting her spell, a small ball of light was created and hung in the air harmlessly.