[Alex]
We’ve been on this journey for over two hours now. Well, it’s much less of a journey if it’s just us travelling to the abyss gate.
How boring. I glanced at the raiders assigned from the Raid Association for our conjoined raid. It wasn’t that difficult to tell that most of these men don’t have the skills to back the large physique they possessed.
“Alex. Do not look down on the people who aren’t blessed with power such as yours.” My father’s words echoed once more in my mind.
Tch. Even my brothers, blessed with the same powers, can’t do much either. Sure, they have the right to the throne by blood. But it’s not like father would give some unskilled asses like those two the throne to the kingdom, right?
My eyes moved from the raiders and found another target on my brother, who was leisurely chatting with Pevrius, the royal knights commander who sat next to him in the carriage ahead of mine.
That’s why this raid is important. Involuntarily, my eyes formed a small squint on his back.
It must not fail.
[Eden]
I finally had the chance to let my equipment down. There wasn’t an announced break nor a rest, but most of the scavengers treated it as one, and so I followed through.
Finally, we had arrived.
The abyss gate. It sounded much like a giant gate leading towards a different dimension, yet it was completely different.
As I gazed upon it from some distance, another scavenger, in his mid-40s, approached me with a kind gesture. “First time, kiddo? Scary, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, somewhat.” As I stared at it, the enormous amount of pressure exerted by the air coming out from the abyss gate was apparent. It seemed almost as if it was giving a clear warning for those who came close to it: Do not enter.
Despite trying to keep my composure, a small gulp was unavoidable, after all.
“It’s alright. You’ll get used to it.” As soon as my companion-of-the-moment said that, he left and went up to a small group of scavengers, chatting away.
A quick scan of my surroundings only served to strengthen the animosity of the entrance that loomed before me. Most of the prior journey had been through plains and forests, filled with greenery. The hill areas west of the nation, where the gate resided, wasn’t supposed to be much different. However, in reality, that wasn’t the case at all.
The once luscious green shrubbery lost its life, showing the dread the cave exerts. A wide patch of barren land took its place around the region. The surroundings right before the cave entrance seemed completely void of life. Every aspect of the area implies a certain danger lies ahead.
Facing the abyss gate for the first time, I remembered the things I learnt about abyss gates from a book Mother gave me as a present.
An abyss gate was, simply put, an entrance to a cave. However, the cave was no normal cave. Those who dared to descend it would face an ever-growing darkness. In addition, the deeper one went, the stronger beasts one would encounter. Nevertheless, those were not the properties which made it special.
The space that the cave takes is not accessible from the outside. If someone tried to dig a tunnel to the cave, they wouldn’t find the cave opening at all. It’s as if it didn’t exist. No one knew where the abyssal gates led to, nor how they appeared. The only thing known about them was that they suddenly appeared in our world around 500 years ago.
Once in a while, a few beasts would find their way to the upper layers of the caves. Hence, regular raids were necessary to ensure that they would not escape into the outside world. Additionally, raids served another purpose: to gather resources.
The appearance of the abyss gates weren’t completely negatively impacting the world. Certain resources and materials were made available from the existence of the caves, such as mana crystals and mana dust, leading to a massive technological development in society. Moreover, their appearance led to the unification of all the sentient races.
These special resources were the bread and butter of a scavenger. Some of them, including mana crystals, reform over a period of time through mysterious circumstances. The mechanism behind it wasn’t exactly found, but it created a demand for scavengers.
In the briefing before our departure, Raynhert explained the outline of the raid. Raynhert was the raid leader, representing the Raid Association, and probably the most experienced amongst everyone present.
The raid consisted of two parts: clearing and harvesting. Raiders would clear a section of the cave, before the scavengers harvest the resources surrounding the area. The job was definitely riskier for the raiders, but it didn’t mean that the scavengers were free from danger. Unforeseen incidents are not uncommon in raids. Nevertheless, the job pays handsomely, and that was the driving motivation for most of the people currently present.
As I casually observed the scene, a particular gathering of people caught my eye. I could see certain key figures in the raid, including Raynhert and the royals, discussing something. Careful observation of the royals’ behaviours would show that Prince Allen was trying to keep his nervous expression as hidden as possible, while Prince Alex seemed more determined than nervous. The royals aside, the meeting of people seemed completely unfazed from the unnerving pressure coming out of the cave opening.
Were they simply calm, or tardy? If it’s the former, then… Just what kind of experiences did they have to go through to have such mental fortitude? I explored the possibilities in my head, but they were quickly ended when the meeting at the frontier of the group ended, and Raynhert started rounding up everyone from the Raid Association.
Readying myself, I couldn’t help but break a sweat.
“Scavengers, you’re up!”
Pyke, the group’s second-in-command and Raynhert’s direct subordinate, instructed us all. Forming a somewhat decent line, we entered the next section.
This is one of the most dangerous jobs a magic cripple could get. So why… Is it so boring?
When I entered the first section, my heart was filled with anxiety to the brim. By the time we entered the second section, I had calmed down a little, and by the third section, I was almost complacent. As we were entering the fourth, I couldn’t help but think that the job had been overly exaggerated. Sure, there are beasts and monsters residing here. But are they any of my concerns? Not really.
I took in the scenery laid around me. Dozens of other scavengers were scattered all over the place, each of them busy with their own thing, but they were tangential in comparison to the magnificent view of the cave. Still, gotta admit…
Completely devoid of any external light. Only dimly lit by the few glowing minerals affixed into the cold, soulless walls encasing the entire cave. The high cavern rooftop provided plenty of nothingness in the section. To think that each branch of the cave led to such magnanimous beauty was beyond my comprehension. …this place is beautiful.
I let out a quick, concealed sigh. Work’s not going to do itself. With a dissatisfied look on my face, I picked a crawler’s corpse up from the ground and chopped its claws off. I put them aside in the large carriage bag I had been carrying, together with the various other resources I had gathered along the way.
Abyssal beast corpses contained mana dusts inside certain parts of their bodies, which gave them special properties. In a delroid’s case, its claws were extremely sharp and durable, and processing them would yield great tools for syphoning sturdier resources.
Giving in to my curiosity, I tried to snap one of the claws I harvested, only to hurt my own fingers. Their claws are strong, alright. So, how strong are the raiders? I can’t see myself killing a single one of them.
Upon realising my fantasising being a raider, I gave my head a quick shake. What is up with me? All I’ve been thinking in this job is being strong, but it’s not like I want to be strong. All I need is the money from this job. Come on. Focus, Eden, focus.
“Hey. You there, the young scavenger.”
Shit. I distracted myself too long. As I turned my head to reply, I immediately regretted my tardiness. The voice calling for me was none other than Alex, the youngest prince.
“Y-your Highness. How could I be of your assistance?”, I said as I knelt on one leg. Just as practised, Eden. Calm down.
“Hold on to this stone for me.” He tossed a peculiar-looking stone towards me as soon as he gave me instructions. I caught it, carefully put it aside, and continued to maintain my subservient attitude.
“Y-yes, Your Highness. I promise to keep it safe.” He batted me a quick eye, before leaving me to my own devices.
Why did he give it to me? Was it because I was the only one around that was of his age? …No. It’s probably just because I’m more easily discernible from the other scavengers.
I peeked at the stone I had just put away. The stone was roughly slightly smaller than the palm of my hand in size. Intricate engravings covered one side of the stone, but was not so obvious due to it being uncoloured. The stone looked almost like any commonly found stone.
These engravings must be what makes it special, right? But I still can’t help but think they’re nothing more than a decorated stone. Maybe the prince wants a souvenir from this little trip.
…Never mind that. Time to get back to work. Catching myself out of focus once again, I gave my cheeks a good slap.
I picked up my pickaxe from my bag and continued slaving away, striking a nearby wall where a mana crystal stuck on. I kept chipping away at the wall, with each strike making me wearier. To keep this effort up without daydreaming would be a near-impossible feat.
CRACK!
A large echoing thunderclap interrupted my flow of work. Most of the scavengers looked towards the source of the noise, which was from section 5. I would have done the same, if not for…
The sudden overwhelming fear.
As the echoes died out, all that’s left was silence. Mere seconds of silence, only to be ended by an abrupt screaming from afar.
“R-RUNNNNN!!!” The owner of the voice soon revealed himself as he ran into us from section 5. He was a raider from the Raiders’ Association.
With sheer panic engraved on his face, he sprinted past all of us. Soon enough, a dozen more raiders followed through, all screaming in fear of their own lives. “T-THAT MONSTER!” “HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO KILL IT?” “I’M NOT GOING TO DIE TODAY!”
Panic presented itself as a contagious disease. In that instant, all the scavengers ran for their lives, fearing whatever dreaded monsters could make the mighty raiders be on their toes.
I was one of them. There’s no way, right? Everything so far was perfectly fine. I’m not going to die, am I? I’m not going to die, right? Panic ensued in my mind as I began fleeing amongst everyone else.
I’m going to be perfectly fi-
A body flew across the room. By reflex, I gave it a quick look, and it was as clear as day. It was the body of a raider, headless. The split second of the gruesome image almost made me throw up.
Right then, everyone stopped on their tracks, but what garnered our attention wasn’t the corpse. It was what caused it. It stood in front of us, blocking our only means of exit.
A crawler queen.
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