They entered the tunnel from the basement of the villa. Because they needed to communicate for the trouble ahead, the six introduced themselves as they trod the rough earth. Scattered light from the crevices at the entrance still kept a semblance of visibility, but soon the pitch-black darkness devoured them. Thorin could only sense the path by the faint feedback from his boots. So, did his cousins.

  “Remember not to create any light, even when we’re attacked,” Iver said, still maintaining the deliberate deepness in his voice. “The owners of these tunnels don’t like the bright.”

  “Shouldn’t a source of fire scare them away?” Clay asked.

  “It would if we were overwhelmingly stronger than them,” Wolf said. “But we’re not, especially you three.”

  “That’s why when we get into a battle later, focus on killing enemies of your own level,” Casper said. “We’ll mark them for you. Try not to interfere in our fights. You won't be able to afford it.”

  “Are we being looked down upon?” Quin grumbled under his breath.

  “Everyone starts from the weakest position,” Iver said. “We did too, once upon a time. And we were told the same. It’s just the reality of things.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” Clay said. “What levels are you guys at?”

  “Iver’s at Sequence-0 late stage,” Wolf said. “Casper and I are at the middle-stage.”

  “What kind of enemies are we expecting?” Thorin asked.

  “Most of what we’ll encounter will be rat-type, insect-type, and bat-type Faes,” Iver said. “But there might be some surprises. Just be ready for anything. As I said, these tunnels aren’t ours. We’re just borrowing it. So, even coming across a hostile Magus isn’t really unthinkable.”

  “From the Silverfield Guild?” Clay asked.

  “Maybe,” Iver said. “Or maybe a rogue Magus who found these tunnels by chance.”

  Wolf chuckled. “If we really find a Silverfield Magus down here, then I don’t know about us, but the Greysnow fuckers are properly fucked.”

  “Language, Wolf,” Casper said, clicking his tongue.

  “How come the guild hasn’t controlled it yet?” Thorin asked. “Or why not just destroy the tunnels? Why do they leave such a threat lying under them?”

  “They tried and they failed,” Casper said. “The everchanging network of the tunnels depend on the ones who’re digging it. They tried to control them but failed. They then tried to eliminate them but failed again. They destroy one tunnel entrance, and another pops up somewhere else after a while. They’re helpless. But we get to enjoy on their behalf.”

  “Who are they?” Clay asked. “Who creates these tunnels?”

  “Subterranean dwellers,” Iver said. “The humans who shifted underground when Eldeth was dying. Even when the world started recovering and life became normal, many of them stayed underground and created their own form of society. They’ve now evolved into something else. We usually call them the Nocturnals or Night Dwellers.”

  “I heard one of their settlements up north reached out to the ruling guild for a cordial trade,” Casper said. “Perhaps there are still some among them who use their brain.”

  “Don’t insult the host in their own home,” Iver said, scolding Casper. “They help us out a lot, even if they don’t know it.”

  “They won't understand what I’m saying anyway,” Casper said.

  “Will we meet them?” Thorin asked.

  “No, we’re in the topmost layer of the tunnels,” Casper said. “They just use it when they want to come out, which they rarely do. Otherwise, it’s all just a pathway to get the fresh air in.”

  “Forget that. We have some uninvited guests,” Wolf said. “Bloody rodents.”

  “Get ready,” Iver said. “Casper, mark the targets for them.”

  The glow of their eyes and their grating screeches reached the group first before the ‘bloody rodents’ did. Casper cast his spell on Iver’s prompt, and a few rodents’ fur shimmered in the dark. They were Thorin and his cousins’ targets.

  “You probably already know this, but I’m just reminding you guys again,” Wolf said. “Do not use any fire spells or any quake type spells either.”

  “We’re really being looked down upon,” Quin grumbled.

  “We won't, don’t worry,” Thorin replied to Wolf.

  Clay chuckled. “Just when you got your new spells,” he said as his mana artifact, the Onyx Shot, floated before him, ready to shatter some skulls.

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  “I can still use three of my fusion spells here safely,” Thorin said, resisting the urge to deploy his chained blades. With the low visibility in the tunnels and the narrower space, the dance of his blades wouldn’t play its part. So, he stuck with his spells that had in-built targeting mechanism.

  He cast when the Irontooth Rats closed in. His targets were the glowing furs.

  Papervine: Icesnakes!

  The temperature dropped around him as his breath steamed along with the flicker of the snowy spell circle. Frozen vines of paper snaked away from him and closed the gap to the enemies, ice shards chipping and cracking from their slither. Under the curtain of darkness, before the rats could react, the ice snakes of paper assaulted them and strangled them in coils after a bite. They screamed and thrashed around, but the increased structural integrity of the frozen paper held its own, especially with the support of the booster ring and his Arcanist class. Even their claws and iron-teeth could only scratch the surface of the vines and scrape some frost.

  “Nice!” Quin exclaimed and rushed in with his claymore when the ice on the snakes delivered slight but sustained damage to the rats.

  “It’s looking good,” Clay commented with a smile and sent out his mana artifact for a kill.

  “It’s just the first one,” Thorin said, a sense of pride and confidence bubbling in his heart. Finally, his spells shone on the battlefield. They weren’t his flaw anymore.

  Papercut: Hoarfrost!

  He cast again. The flimsy paper blades of the past now carried the resilience of ice. Their edges glinted before him even in the darkness. When he hurled them out, they zipped through the air with a trail of cold mist. The blades of paper slit the rats’ skin and dug deep, and their frost delivered the icy bite. The rats screamed in agony.

  Quin sliced off the heads of those incapacitated with his claymore, while Clay worked on cracking more bones with resounding dull thuds.

  “Thorin!” Quin hollered as a rat took a bite of his leg. “Send some more this way!”

  “Coming,” Thorin said and tried out another of his new spells. But before he could trace the spell model, Wolf warned them with a shout.

  “More incoming from the back,” Wolf said. “They’re at your level, handle them. Make sure to warn us if you can't.”

  “I’ll get them,” Thorin said and turned around to face a small group of rats with shimmering furs.

  “We’ll manage the front,” Clay said and supported Quin with a thrust of his Onyx Shot.

  Because Thorin only had enemies before him now, he deployed his chained blades without any worry. Even if he couldn’t pinpoint his targets for its dance, indiscriminate attacks would still work.

  The eight set of chained blades floated around him like his arms as he imbued his mana in the links. They danced on his command. One chain stabbed while another sliced. Their torrent shredded the tunnel walls as well as any rats that dared to step into their range. Nevertheless, he couldn’t maintain the intensity of such output forever. So, when he slackened, a rat sneaked in through the gap and bared its teeth at him.

  Thorin spiked a chained blade into the roof of the tunnel and yanked himself up, avoiding the bite. While he wrapped himself in the chains and dangled in the air, he cast again.

  Deathwisps!

  The single bolt of death that he hurled in the past now split into several wisps of menace—weaker but far more efficient with more control. Their numbers matched the enemies below, and he rained them down one by one. They thudded onto the rats, and the threads of death latched onto them. Their furs and skin withered with their waning screams. They still breathed, however, and their grunts carried their hostility. They glared at Thorin and gnashed their iron teeth.

  “If only I could use the other two fusion spells as well,” Thorin murmured and cast again.

  Papercut: Hoarfrost!

  Another rush of chained blades had already pushed the rats to the edge, and the frozen blades of paper finally ended their misery. They all collapsed with whimpers.

  “I’m done here,” Thorin said after coming down to the ground and reciting his prayer for the dead.

  “I was first this time,” Quin said, shouldering his claymore dripping with blood. The bite marks on his shin healed with every step he took towards his brothers. Soon, only his blood marred his skin, and just the ripped clothes remained of the wound.

  “You have an advantage in this,” Clay said. “You don’t care about getting hurt.”

  Quin shrugged. “Not my fault,” he said.

  “I killed more though,” Thorin said, counting his kills, as the other three from the Haden House also finished their battles.

  “That’s because you had more to kill,” Quin grumbled.

  “All I hear is excuses,” Thorin said and let the notifications from the Archive flash by.

  [Spell mastery level-up.]

  [Papervine: Icesnakes -: Neophyte Level 2/5]

  [Spell mastery level-up.]

  [Papercut: Hoarfrost -: Neophyte Level 3/5]

  [Spell mastery level-up.]

  [Deathwisps -: Neophyte Level 2/5]

  “Hurry up and gather the loot,” Iver said. “We need to move.”

  Tunnel Scene Illustration:

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