The cave was uncomfortable to say the least. The ceiling was high enough that he could move comfortably but that was the only positive point. It was dark, damp and he couldn't help but feel like every shadow hid a monster. Intellectually, he knew that it was his imagination and that was as strong if not stronger than most things here. That did nothing to make him feel better. He looked back several times just to make sure that he wasn't being followed and that he had imagined the creepy hand reaching for his neck. He was pleased to see that there were no signs of struggle. With any luck that would mean the scouting party had gotten hurt or lost. He could deal with either of those. As long as they were alive. His mood fell as he was headed deeper underground. Several times he was forced to squeeze either below or in between stones. Areas that made it feel like he could trapped at any moment. He didn't consider himself claustrophobic by any means but this deep in the earth he couldn't help himself. He wanted to go back.

  He continued like this for what felt like a day but was likely closer to two or three hours before he came across his first sign. He knelt down next to a black tactical flashlight. He flicked the thing on and was surprised to find it worked. The light it created was twice as intense as his electrical darts so he decided to keep it. Lighting the thing was a bit like holding a spot light down here but stealth was the opposite of what he needed. If anything he would've preferred to blast a radio or a horn to let people know he was here. He called out as loud as he could without spiritual energy but either no one was nearby or they couldn't respond. Either way it only intensified the solitude he felt. He pushed his misgivings to the back of his mind. When a creature burst out of stone in front of him he let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't do anything about his thoughts but this? This was something he could handle.

  The creature was the size of a monitor lizard and could almost blend in with the stone. From what he could tell the creature lacked eyes and could only see by flicking its tongue. The creature dug itself out of the ground but Maximilian didn't let get any further. He blasted it with an electrical dart. He was almost surprised when it put almost no resistance. He had already put together a pretty solid understanding of how beasts work. They typically had more attributes than humans which confused him and then worried him. He figured that was a baby or at least a child for its species. He scanned the ground and ceiling for any more but when none appeared he let out a sigh of relief. He continued down the path. He assumed that those lizards were going to be the dominant beasts here which should mean there was a mother beast nearby. At least one but possibly several. He figured he could handle that but it might also provide a pathway for the scouts. If they managed to hide themselves and their scents than they just might have lived. He wished he had a skill that could help with this. The tutorial's obsession with providing weapons was fine and all but information was much more important.

  He was forced to mark up the walls as his path diverted several times. It felt like he was trapped within the minotaur's labyrinth. After what felt like an hour, he found something. It started off quiet, so quite that he had almost convinced himself it wasn't real but there was a scratching sound. As if someone or something was being dragged across the stone. He turned off his flashlight and slowed down until he pinpointed the area. He headed down a pathway to his right and entered a chamber almost as big as a football field. His eye was drawn to the far end of the chamber where he found a lizard. Though calling it that was doing a disservice to lizards. It was the size of an elephant and looked far too bulbous to move. It looked similar to its smaller brethren just on a larger scale. He had to tear his gaze away from it to refocus on why he had come. There was a tree of humans against the back of the chamber. They were covered in dirt and other detritus to the point that he wasn't sure they were alive. It wasn't until he saw the whites of their eyes that relief surged through him. He rushed over and took another moment to survey the scene. They were in some kind of hive or den for the creatures. The countless remains made it clear what would happen if he didn't get the people out of here. It wasn't hard to figure out what they had done. Their look of relief was replaced with terror as soon as he was within five feet of them.

  He apologized, sealed his killing intent and then summoned a bottle of healing pills. The first person he approached tried to speak but he stopped them. They were covered in so much gunk that he couldn't tell what they looked like let alone their gender. The person stared at him as if he were an angel and he couldn't be sure they were fully in there at the moment. It didn't matter. He placed a healing pill into their mouth and then he did the same for the other three. Focus returned to their eyes within a few moments. He held up a hand to stop them from taking any unnecessary movements. "Listen I need to know if the three of you are the only one's alive in here. Nod once for yes, twice for no." Two said yes while the third said no. Maximilian grimaced as he tried to come up with a strategy. He could lead the three out but if there was someone still here then he would have to come back. Further if they were conscious and saw him leave? The mental shock that could cause could get them all caught. It was too risky. Which left him with one option. He would have to kill the beast or at least distract it long enough for the others to leave. After that he would either leave or kill it. Just when he was about to make up his mind he received a quest. One that made him silently curse the Network and whoever else was listening.

  Forgotten Valor (Unique): Save the Forgotten Soldiers. Note loss of more than two soldiers will result in failure of quest. (0/2) Reward: Formation Realm Gear, 10 2nd-Realm Spirit Stones

  The quest not only forced him to fight but it didn't even tell him how many soldiers there were. He wanted to be angry at the Network but part of him found it beyond amusing. He took a breath and placed a bottle of healing pills into their hands. "When the battle begins you make your exit. Search for anyone still alive and take them if you can." He summoned a set of straight swords and handed them over. He didn't think they were trained in the weapons but he figured they could figure it out. If they wanted to live bad enough. He got to his feet and started to walk toward the creature. Every step felt like a weight being removed from his shoulders. He didn't have anymore choices. He didn't want to run, not really and part of him wondered if that was why he got the quest. If the Network just gave him the excuse he needed to do what he wanted. Not that he cared. He crossed half the distance when he released his killing intent, aura and Dao field. He kept them contained as much as he could but he wouldn't fight while holding back. An eerie stillness fell on the cavern as he stared at the bulbous lizard. He wasn't sure it could understand him, but he figured it got the idea.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  That only one of them would leave here. A part deep inside Maximilian was exhilarated at the idea. The lizard let out a roar that shook the cavern and shattered the stillness. His display wasn't just vanity. He needed the creatures focused on him and the only way he could do that was by threatening them all. His plan worked far better than he thought. The ground and ceiling erupted as dozens of the lizards crawled out and surged toward him. A rainbow barrier sprung up in the middle of the pitch-black darkness. A defiant flame against an all-consuming darkness. As soon as they were close enough his dao fields began to rip into them. On their own they weren't enough. Maximilian rapidly formed a mine field of electricity. A second layer of defense against the onslaught. He wasn't sure how much time it would buy him, but it would have to be enough. He formed a pair of imbued Severing Discs and launched them at the lead lizard. He hadn't expected them to be very effective, but he hoped they would reveal some of the creature's cards. As soon as his attacked crossed half the distance the lizard leader lowered its head and unleashed a torrent of black bile from its mouth. The gunk made him want to punk. The black liquid slammed into the first of his blades. It held up for a moment before it collapsed. Its failure provided the electricity imbued disc the opening it needed.

  It sliced through the air and dug almost half an inch into the lizard's skull. Black blood drained to the ground which only infuriated the creature. It howled loud enough to shake the cavern. Maximilian cocked his head and stared at the creature. He couldn't be anymore sure than he was with any other beast, but he figured this thing was a higher level than him. Much higher. When was the last time he faced something like that? The tutorial? Or rather the mountain beasts? Both felt like a lifetime ago. The smaller beasts had made their way to his shields. Their efforts were little more than insects nipping at the heel of an elephant. Together they would be a problem. Together they would drain his spiritual energy. Despite that he wasn't worried. His mental energy drained as he conjured electricity all around him. Dozens of darts fell like the judgement of heaven. He lost count of how many he had killed before the big lizard took action. It moved its massive body and charged toward him. Maximilian's danger sense screamed at him in no uncertain terms. His shields wouldn't hold against that. Instead, he launched himself from the ground and grabbed a stalactite. The lizard slammed into the wall with enough force to cause stone to fall like rain to the ground. Half of which killed more of the weaker beasts. Maximilian checked his quest counter and was pleased to find that it still sat at zero. Which meant he hadn't gotten anyone killed yet. He scanned the ground but found nothing that resembled humans so he figured they were gone.

  With that handled he saw no reason to restrict his attacks. A sphere of electricity formed in his palm. It began the size of a walnut before it began to expand. It grew until it was the size of a baseball, then a basketball and finally a beach ball. He cut of the energy infusion when he started to lose control. Next he formed a ring of water. The two dao fought against his control but he refused to relent. He could tell that he was close to mastering this. He couldn't call it a skill. He wasn't sure what that step would need but it was close. So close that he could almost taste it. The lizard let out another roar as half a dozen smaller beast rushed toward him. He was forced to release the attack before it was ready to avoid them. He pushed the sphere forward seconds before the big lizard unleashed another blast of bile. He watched the two for a moment before he was forced to abandon his spot. He shot toward the ground like a meteor seconds before his sphere shattered. Water and electricity converged with the overgrown lizard as their battlefield. He stared at the impact site. He wasn't sure what it was but he was certain there was something there. Something he could use to advance both of his daos but it was away. It felt like someone had painted over a picture and now he was trying to see through it. Once again the effect ended and Maximilian was returned to the battle. He could tell the beast wasn't dead nor was it doing well. He activated Severing Disc but as soon as he tried to imbue the skill he was hit with a blinding agony. As if someone had taken a pick axe to the back of his head.

  He grimaced and tried one more time. When it was clear that he had overexerted, himself he focused on the skill. He conjured both buzz saw like blades and shot them into the creature. As soon as he could, he activated Static Bolt. The combined onslaught was enough to land the killing blow on the lizard leader. His dantian surged with enough spiritual energy to push him to the threshold of level sixteen. As soon as his elation faded he collapsed as fresh pain surged through him. He bit back the urge to scream as he fell onto his hands and knees. He passed his mental eye over the rest of his body but didn't find any injures. Had the black bile been a mental attack? Or was this the result of pushing himself too hard to combine both his dao? He was about to chalk it up to both when he felt something odd. He reached behind him and ripped something off. He brought the thing to his face and blanched. It was some sort stone slug. One that reminded him more of a leech than the creatures he had been fighting. He went over his memories, but he couldn't recall ever being attacked by something like that. He crushed it, tossed it away and then blasted it with Static Bolt. He was pretty sure crushing it was enough but he wasn't taking any chances. That and the disgusting creature had irritated him.

  He summoned a pair of mental energy crystals and sat down to absorb them. Before he started he pulled up the quest and found it complete. It wasn't until he confirmed that he kept the death counter at zero that he let himself relax. He had succeeded. He hadn't succeeded he excelled. He decided not to claim the reward now. He wasn't in the mood to deal with it now. The crystal's energy felt like a cool glass of water poured across his burning skin. He drained two sets before he felt good enough to get moving. Now that he was paying more attention, he realized they had leveled the place. For a moment he was worried that he had lost the way out but that wasn't the case. He had to blast a few pieces of stone to reveal his path. With that done he decided to make his way back up the path. He decided to seal the cave behind him. He wasn't sure if there were other entrances nor was, he willing to search for one. He would do what he could to make sure no one else entered. He resealed himself and then fled the cave. Now that he wasn't searching for other people he was able to focus on speed. When he left the subterranean world, he took a moment to suck in fresh air. He knew he hadn't been down there for that long, but he couldn't help but feel relieved. He was not a spelunker. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

  The sun had already set so he decided to rush back to the settlement. He kept an eye out for the survivors in case they ran into any problems. When he had failed to find any sign of them, he figured they made it back safely. It took him half an hour to return to the settlement where he found both groups waiting for him. His mother and the entire council one side. The family and survivors on the other. When he saw the couple embracing one of the trio he smiled. He hadn't been able to confirm that he had found their child down there so he didn't let himself think about it. Now that he had the confirmation he considered it a win. His happiness faltered when his mother opened her mouth.

  "We have a problem."