As they walked deeper, following Ellis's imaginary trail, Michael saw rubble overgrown with vegetation. There were stone pillars scorched and crumbling as if there was a previous battle. The trampled grass became more visible and the smell of smoke caught their attention. Michael made out a stone building that was almost near destroyed, just a gaping doorway into the darkness inside. This place could have been abandoned for years as the forest had taken over. Was this the place that Stefan mentioned earlier?
"It's them again," Mave scanned around. "We'll have to fight for this."
Ellis waved her off, studying the ash on the stone pillars.
"I don't see any other choice. They're here for the scroll just like us. Do you think they'll hand it over if we ask nicely?"
Stefan grabbed her shoulder. "Relax. They don't know the mana beasts had taken it inside its nest, that's our advantage. Besides, we also have the kid."
Mave scoffed. "How could I ever forget?"
Michael looked behind him. If he had come here alone, he would have been lost in the first minute. This entire trip felt like they were going nowhere. The tall trees and clouding foliage looked all the same. Maybe he should be grateful that Ellis could remember the directions in the uncharted.
Then they turned to the sounds of growling and claws scraping against the walls.
Ellis drawed his shortbow.
"No," Stefan stepped forward. "I got this."
Three beasts crawled over the stone wall. These were different beasts compared to the one that Michael encountered back in the arena. They had long and slender limbs, bearing no fur on their skin, and had the features of a feral wolf. The difference was they could run on their legs but charged at them with all fours. Their jagged teeth and long claws wasn't what made Michael tense. It was their primal nature. These mana beasts didn't stand around to stalk them with their scent. If anyone happened to stumble onto a mana beast, they would have to fight for your life immediately.
Stefan hovered his hand over his blade, pouring his mana across. He shouted when he swung his sword. A slash of mana projected through his slash, hitting right into the beasts and crashing them into the stone wall. Smoke exploded through the impact as the beasts laid on the ground, their bodies bloodied and sizzling, covered with debris.
Michael stared in awe. "What was that?"
"A swordcast," Ellis said. "Think of it as a swordsman's way of spellcasting."
"Do you think I can learn something like that?"
Stefan chuckled. "Maybe later. We have a quest to worry about."
They kept moving through the ruins, climbing over the tall rubble and closer to where the place was. Stefan recalled about how they were successful in grabbing the artifact but dark places also doubled as a popular spot for mana beast to live. They tried to escape, fighting against the beast along with the third-party adventurers that also tried to steal the artifact from them. Michael imagined how ruthless it would have felt knowing everything was going to be against them from the very beginning. Being forced to venture into the uncharted, walking into a potential mana beasts nest, and having to fend off other adventurers with the same goal. Stefan's party probably wasn't the only one that was trying to retrieve the artifact. It was a matter of time for whoever would catch each other first.
Michael wasn't no stranger to trouble but he didn't expect it would be of this degree. He knew adventurers didn't get along, that was already obvious. Yet having them compete against each other with their life threatening quests was a different story of extreme.
They reached a chapel that was consumed by the forest. This building could have been ten times older than Michael. It looked nothing like any of the architecture back in Aldoria.
"The uncharted is the spoils of war," Ellis glanced over to Michael. "Left here for centuries, waiting to be discovered again."
Stefan walked back to them. "We should be fine, I don't see any more beasts. I guess the only way to go is down."
At first, Michael didn't know what he meant. But once they stepped over into the entrance of the chapel, all there was to see was darkness. The entire floor had caved in as if the ground had swallowed it whole. Michael felt uneasy standing over the edge. Even if the sun provided some type of light, it wouldn't be enough if they stepped deeper inside.
Stefan fished a hearty rope out of Michael's bag and tied it tight against a stone pillar. Michael asked what would happen if the rope was cut but he guaranteed nothing like that would happen. Though their faces said otherwise, Michael just hoped he didn't spark any uncertainty.
They descended with the trusty rope and struck a torch on fire.
Michael saw the flame. "I thought mana beasts are attracted to light."
"You're right," Stefan said. "But we don't have any special talents to see in the dark, do we?"
"A simple spell would fix that," Mave grumbled. "Someone like a mage, I presume."
"We did it before with a single torch."
"And we paid with our lives."
"Then we'll pay it again."
Stefan moved in front with the torch as they walked deeper. The setting had completely changed from the subtle noises of the forest to the echoing silence of their fear. Or was it Michael's fear, he didn't know. They were directly heading into the heart of where mana beasts slept yet Stefan didn't even sound scared. Mave's reaction was justified, if a mage was here then they wouldn't have to rely on a torch as their only source of light. Ellis kept his eyes and ears keen, scouting out for any incoming forces.
The narrow corridors they moved through looked too man-made for a mana beast to claw into. It was like the chapel had an underground passage already built before they came. Michael didn't understand the obsession with rich buildings having secret rooms underground but he kept it to himself. What bothered his mind more was how filthy and damp the place was. The ceiling was just above their heads and the smell of rotten, old meat infiltrated the air. The more Michael stayed here, the more he wanted to get out.
Ellis stopped him. "Don't walk there."
Michael looked at the ground he was about to step on.
"No, not there, look up."
Michael turned to the ceiling. Stefan held the torch closer to where he looked. It was a blob of green slime. Through its slimy exterior, Michael could barely make out the little blob's organs.
"Slimes wait until you're under them," Ellis said. "They drop from up top and suffocate you inside their body. The mucus from their body will burn you alive, and while you scream, they spit more of that in your mouth."
Michael hated to imagine what that would feel like as Ellis explained it.
"It's worse when you're sleeping," Stefan raised the torch closer to the slime. "Trust me, I've seen what these nasty snots do."
The slime moved away, sliding across the ceiling away from the flame.
"They're very sneaky," he continued. "But they hide in the dark just like any other beast. Just make sure you know where you're walking next time."
Michael nodded. He definitely didn't want his face being melted off for his way of dying.