End

Ling was aware that aside from trading food and other goods, people pay for items using mined shells, like what Tala used before. Some paid with gems.

The shells were available on coastal areas. According to the people there, they mined the shells at caves near or under the sea. It was said that the 'mist' from all parts of the sea converged to form a solid object which was the shells.

This was the same for gems but it were mined on mountain areas. However, even though the Mal'it Clan was near a mountain range, they were unable to find any gems in the caves they explored. Therefore, they only used the goods they hunted and harvested for their trading.

Since the shells and gems were from 'mists', people could also absorb energy from it like how they absorb the life 'mist' in the forest. That was why these items were valuable to any person. One could use it to increase their strength even when they were not in an environment like the forest. It would also restore their energy or work as food if food was not available.

When he was over his amazement, Ling ran forward and left the still frozen Maga to look at the gems closer. As he didn't sense any danger in the place, he was not afraid to ran ahead. He never saw a gem up close before. Usually, a clan member would come back from the trade with shells but not with gems.

Gems were often used by the traders from the central islands were it was said to have an abundant supply. However, not anyone from the village had managed to offer an item to be exchanged with these traders.

"Maga, come over here and look. I think some big ones were coming lose from the wall and those on the ground were already detached from the rocks."

There were different sizes and colors of gems around the room. Most were orange, forming from the 'mist' in the cave and ranging from light orange to reddish ones. Green gems were also abundant but the sizes were smaller. The biggest one Ling could see was about the size of his fist. However, these were placed high up where he could not reach unless Maga flew to get it. Meanwhile, the smallest one were the size of a finger nail.

After a while, Ling realized that his friend was ignoring him and had not paid attention to what he said. It still didn't move from its previous spot while looking at another entrance in the cavern.

The entrance also had 'mist' flowing to it. But despite the light from the 'mist', the place still looked dark like the darkness itsef was absorbing the flowing 'mist'.

Concerned, Ling shifted his attention from his fascination of the gems to his friend. It was the first time he had seen Maga act this hesitant and quiet.

Its eyes were trained at the darkness but its gaze was dull, not really focused on the place but more inside its own mind. Carefully, Ling stepped closer back to the dragon.

"What is it, Maga?" he whispered when he walked back to stand beside the dragon again. "Do you want to go there?"

As if it just woke up from its trance, Maga's body shivered like getting rid of the chills before turning to Ling to comprehend what was said. Then, it shook its head as an answer. It then turned at another opening with the same amount of flowing 'mist' then turned back to Ling as if to say that they should choose that way instead.

Since Maga was more familiar with the caves, of course Ling decided to listen to it. However, he was still curious about what was in the other opening. His curiosity this time had to be put aside however since their main concern now was to get out of the cave. Their friends should be really worried about them now especially when the two did not have any idea how long it was since they fell because of the earthquake.

"Then, let's go there." As he stepped forward, Ling suddenly remembered something. He walked back to the walls again with a determined look. It would be a waste not to take any gems when he knew it was useful but he wasn't sure how to tell the adults in the village about it.

Later, when they were leaving, Maga also seemed reluctant and curious about the darker area since it kept looking back until they turned a corner and the place was out of sight.

___

Meanwhile, since the test was nearing its end, Yabang and the other two already left Rin alone in the cave. Yabang was still hesitant to leave but he knew he could not change the other child's mind. Aside from being concerned about Rin as well as Ling and Maga, he was also afraid of how to tell Ling's parents about the situation.

It was known around the village how Mahina and Bobo loved and worried about their son. Due to the unlucky circumstances the child had encountered since Ling was born, their hearts were more tormented everytime the boy was out of their sights.

As Yabang sighed while running in front of Lino and Tang'ga, his thoughts were disturbed when he heard a roar not far from their position. He stopped running then signaled for the two to stop too, then they all heard another roar.

The animal sound was familiar to them since they heard it on the second night of the test. And it was different from any other animal sounds they heard before. Yabang smiled at the two beside him before unhesitantly running to the direction of the sound.

The forest was a blur for the three rushing. Despite the short time they had been together with the other group, they were still excited that the two were safe. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any ferocious beasts. Probably because they also knew that the creature making that sound was more ferocious than them.

As they got near, they heard another roar,this time more urgent, making the three increase their pace. From the sound, the animal seemed like it was irritated and in pain. A whimper even came out after the urgent roars.

When the three reached the place where the noise was coming from however, they were surprised with the scene in front of them. Ling was standing outside a cave opening, unharmed, while pulling a stuck Maga out of the hole.

The hole was actually big. It could fit the dragon if its size was the same as it was two days ago. If the three didn't know the story about the dragon's growth, they would have thought that this one was a different dragon.

Another growl from the dragon woke the three up. The look it gave was also saying that they weren't any help while standing with their mouths open.

As a support to the dragon's growl, Ling also turned to the them with pleading eyes. Unfortunately, he currently could not speak since he hadn't drunk any liquid for the past days except for the lava inside the caves. For Ling, it was better to drink the lava than to get dehydrated in spite of the burning throat after.

After a while, even with the four children, two on each arm, pulling the dragon, it still took almost an hour to wrench Maga out of the cave. Later, back at the earlier cave where Rin was left alone, Ling managed to drink some water to explain what happened to them when they fell.

Taking a breath after the long monologue, Ling reminded the others, "What day is it now, by the way? Shouldn't we be returning to the village? My mom will get mad at me if she didn't see me right after the test."

Therefore, they did not talk for long, since they still had to go back to the village to finish their hunting test. It was already the test's sixth day in the afternoon and the sky was getting dark, indicating the return of the night. If they never moved before dark, they would not be able to reach the village on time since they could not travel when night came.

As the five children were getting ready to leave with the dragon sadly watching, Ling remembered and suggested that they hide the incident about the earthquake and his fall. Nobody was opposed to the idea since they knew they had to tell the villagers about Maga too.

Soon, Ling knew he had to tell the adults about the dragon but he was also hesitant about leaving the village. Aside from that, he was afraid of having only the two of them travelling alone outside the village.

Even so, after two years, the secret of the five children regarding the dragon was not discovered. The volcano was still having sporadic activities though it was not alarming or affecting the village except for the hotter weather.

Nevertheless, the elders were having frequent discussions of whether they should start evacuating their clan now or still wait for further observation. Of course, this means that it was exposed this year, and it was because of Tang'ga.