Professor Gemstone in the snake pit. part 7 (48)

Ezera opened his eyes to Ilya's face, as the other man changed his bandages.

"How long have I slept?"

"Less than a day," Ilya replied. "How are your students?"

"They seem to be fine, for now. Ming's a bit reckless, I don't know how he turned out like this... And Yuga's as usual, picking fights wherever. And Kai..."

Ezera let out a long-suffering sigh.

"I didn't raise them like this... Sandra and Hiro are the only nice ones. I'm starting to worry for Leo."

Even though, Ilya probably had no idea of who was whom, he still nodded and hummed to Ezera's rant as he worked. Ezera chuckled internally through it. He felt like a grumbling grandpa.

He exhaled slowly once Ilya stepped back.

"It's been three days since I went out. So I guess we've been in the dungeon for five days now."

Ilya nodded. Then, he swung something at him.

"Eat."

Ezera uncovered the projectile as a piece of bread and some dried meat, which he happily dug into.

"Thanks," he said between bites. "Other than that, I learnt quite a few things while I was out there. For instance, did you know these nocturnal drakes were cannibalist?"

Ilya looked at him flatly.

"I am not sure I was aware... Is it relevant?"

"It is. It means they're not against killing each other in their group. It might facilitate the job a lot, in fact, if I play it right. This could stop them from ganging up on me to a certain level."

"They didn't attack you at all?"

Ezera shook his head.

"It's like I'd become a part of their tribe," he explained once he finished eating. "It's like species don't matter to monsters. As long as I'm not filled to the brink with firelight, they don't notice me as an enemy. And with all the time I've spent integrating their formation, I might as well have two legs, scales and a tail now."

Ilya nodded once more, his eyes digging into the ground. He then frowned.

"That is disturbing."

"Yes," Ezera couldn't help the grin, "sorry for the mental image. In any case, I killed one of these guys."

"You did?" Ilya focused once more. "Is that where all the blood came from?"

"Correct. These things are damnedly fast, I almost couldn't follow its moves. Did you know they had a weak piece of skin under their stomach... Uh, under their body anyway? You would have told me if you knew, right?"

"A weakness?"

"Yes. A juncture where the scales go back into the skin, all throughout the body, like a line. I would have thought you knew..."

Ilya shook his head.

"That is not something that I would need to worry about. It might make it easier to kill them but... Take a look at my sword."

He moved across their hideout to uncover his scabard, bringing it to a curious Ezera. He unsheathed the blade and presented it to the light of Lum. Ezera examed the blade idly, not knowing what he should look out for. Then, he narrowed his eyes as he realized something important.

"This... What metal is it made off? It's not iron."

"It's not. It's made with a precious and sturdy metal up metal called stjernest. It's found up north in the diamond mines. The fighters who eliminate monsters use this metal to stab them through. However reinforced they are with dark matter, stjernest will always pierce through. It's also known to have firelight accumulative properties."

"So that's how you were able to pierce the drake's back the night I met you," Ezera remarked. "My measly daggers really cannot compare to this world's level. By the way, one of them broke during the fight."

"How many do you have ?"

"A dozen, no more. I really should have informed myself better before coming in here."

"I agree," Ilya sighed. "But you might not have been able to buy sturdier weapons, with the surveillance you were put under. Even I would seem suspicious paying for weapons that I had not previously comissioned."

There was a lull in the conversation.

"Are these daggers an object of sentimentality for you?"

"Nothing as such," Ezera denied, waving a dismissing hand in the air before him as he leaned back against the wall. "It's fine if they break, I should have gotten rid of them before, even. These girls are damn old, now... I should have known they wouldn't make another full trip with me. It's fine. I still have an almost full set for now anyway, let's not preoccupy ourselves with weapon supplies now. More importantly, I saw something before I killed the drake."

Ilya perked up.

"What is it?"

Ezera smiled. Despite the appearances, Ilya seemed to be a man that felt deeply. But he was also an easily distractable man. Ezera had noticed before that social clues weren't something the other excelled at. It was a bit cute, to be honest.

He turned serious again.

"The exit," he revealed, "is up. I saw the light."

"Up?"

"Yes. In the ceiling, there's a big exit tunnel toward the middle of the cave. Right above the nest, in fact. I'd say there's something to decipher about that strange placement, but for now we should try to figure out how to climb up there. There's light above. And that helped me realize something else about the drakes."

"What?"

Ezera pointed at his eyes.

"Those snakes may be nyctalopes, but they can't stand the light. Even a flicker can blind them."

This would be extremely useful in the future. Ezera smirked.

"It's time we got rid of that snake pit's inhabitants. Let's devise a plan, alright?"