Though it hadn’t been long since they entered the tunnels, the perpetual darkness without even a hint of light had already distorted their perception of time. It should be the peak of the afternoon when they ended their rest and started their walk. It should be dusk when they reached the cave where the tide of mana would hit them. Yet, if someone told Thorin it was nighttime all along, he could agree with a nod. Nevertheless, their journey was peaceful for the most part. It was so because they’d grazed the exit area of the tunnels which the Faes tried to avoid, Wolf had explained.

  “We’re here,” Iver said as they stepped into a cave that carried distinct traces of human touch. “Look around and get used to the surroundings. Once I’m done with the preparation and the time is near, we’ll start the central spell array.”

  “Are we going to get attacked from all directions?” Thorin asked, checking all the exits of the cave. There were more than what their group of six could cover.

  “No, the defensive spell array will take care of that,” Casper said, checking the walls alongside him. “We’ll divide our sections depending on our levels, and the spell array will separate the incoming enemies based on that and send them our way. It’ll be a battle of attrition for us from that point on.”

  “Why not just block them all?” Clay asked, joining them with the rest.

  “The spell array won't hold for long if we did that,” Casper said. “They come in numbers that the defensive barrier can't manage. If we don’t cull the horde as they come, we’ll be run over before we even get to taste the fruit of the tide. Not to mention, by doing this, we earn a good haul.”

  “So, if we can't kill them effectively and things get delayed, we’ll become their meal,” Clay said and chuckled. “That’s nice to know.”

  “Risk and reward go hand in hand,” Wolf said.

  ……

  Before long, when they’d surveyed every inch of the cave, they took their position at specific exits according to Iver and sat down in their meditation posture. The tide was still in its infancy, but the mana in the air was already getting denser. So, they meditated in the free time they had at hand.

  Thorin intended to increase his ‘Spirit’ as much as possible before the tide of mana drowned them. He wanted to use the chance to break through to the next layer. The increase in strength would secure their journey to the Southern Whispers where they would meet stronger Ghosts. Not to mention the threat of the Shepherds still remained out there. His cousins had the same idea as well as they all fell into a quiet rhythm with their breaths almost synched.

  But soon, Thorin was interrupted. As a frigid breeze caressed his neck, he opened his eyes and looked at the hazy Ghost who peeked at him from the corner. When their ‘eyes’ met, it pulled back and hid itself. Or at least it tried to. The flutter of its ragged cloak exposed it every time the wind blew.

  Quite a shy Ghost, Thorin thought. Because his blood attracted them, yet terrified them at the same time, they often lingered around him without ever crossing a certain boundary. So, he was used to their presence. But rarely had he seen a Ghost with a personality. Nevertheless, that was it for his curiosity. He went back to his meditation after a glance.

  Like that, they spent some days in the silence of the cave. Whatever the chaos that had gripped the surface above had nothing to do with them. Thorin only focused on the rise of his ‘Spirit’ while getting his fill of amusement from the antics of the Ghost that lingered around.

  Then the time of the tide came.

  “Get ready,” Iver said, breaking the quiet of the cave that lasted so long. “We’ll start soon.”

  “About time,” Quin said, stretching his limbs and rotating his shoulders. “Anymore and my joints would rust.”

  “How is your meditation progress?” Clay asked both Quin and Thorin.

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  “Good. The denser mana really helps,” Thorin said. From 4.21, his ‘Spirit’ had risen to 4.23 in the matter of days. The growth rate had almost doubled with the current density of mana. Albeit his own limitations shackled the speed of rise. Without any external interference, it had accelerated to the absolute height that it could reach. The evaluation of ‘average’ reared its ugly head here.

  “I’m full and pumping,” Quin said, grinning. “Now I need to vent.”

  “You’ll soon vent so much that you won't wanna vent ever again,” Wolf said from his position.

  “Be careful,” Casper reminded. “Though the spell array has our back, if you can't clear the incoming Fae soon enough, it’ll get overwhelmed. Our end won't be a nice sight if that happens. We’re taking a risk with you three on our Granduncle’s account, so don’t fail us.”

  “Casper, don’t be rude,” Iver said.

  “I didn’t say anything wrong,” Casper said. “We can't afford softer words when it’s our necks on the line.”

  “Don’t worry,” Thorin said with a smile. “We’ll carry our weight.”

  “Alright,” Iver said, clapping his hands. “Let’s start.”

  His words fell with the echo of his clap, and the protective cover around the cave radiated a glaring milky hue. A surge of mana exploded from the center of the array that Iver controlled remotely from his position and stuffed the cave.

  “Take your potions now and start meditating,” Iver said. “When I call your name, switch its effect to mana regeneration. It’ll be your turn to fight the Faes. The potion will stay in affect for a few days, so take full advantage of the mana tide. It’s a rare chance.”

  An icy wave engulfed his stomach when Thorin downed the vial of potion. Within a few seconds, it rose to chill his head. When it embraced his soul space and his mana vessel, the chains of ‘average’ that limited his meditation efficiency loosened. He traced a spell model to pull the radiation from the arcana then created another one by the side. It was a one-man’s job before, but it had become a team-effort now with multiple spell models that popped up around the mana vessel. The surge in mana density that fogged up the cave supported his boosted meditation, and the spell models showered his soul in glimmering radiation. His ‘Spirit’ soared.

  “Casper!” Iver shouted. Casper opened his eyes and braced himself for combat. As he took a deep breath, a horde of rat-type Faes rushed in from all sides, screeching with bloodshot eyes, covering every exit. But only the exit that Casper faced opened a gap and let them in. Casper began his fight with a muffled grunt.

  While he meditated, Thorin chanced a glance at his exit through the crack of his eyelids, and he gulped. The sheer number of Faes scratching and biting the protective cover sent a shiver down his spine. There was even a muffled buzz of a swarm lingering behind them. Luckily, Iver could control the number that he let in each time.

  “Keep meditating,” Wolf reminded as the cousins paid more attention to Casper’s battle and the flood of Faes outside. “Don’t get distracted, you’ll just end up wasting the precious chance.”

  Minutes went by. Thorin’s ‘Spirit’ shot from 4.23 to 4.24 then to 4.25. What he usually gained in a matter of a week, he obtained it here in minutes.

  “Casper, that’s enough!” Iver shouted and closed Casper’s section of the protective array. “Wolf, you’re up next!”

  As Casper exhaled a heavy breath and returned to meditation, Wolf took the stage. Unlike Casper with his elegant water spells and his potions where he remained pristine even after a tough battle, Wolf fought like a savage with his vambrace and gloves. He punched the rat Faes until their eyes popped out then ripped their jaws apart, blood spraying on his nonchalant face. The others scratched and bit him, some fangs even reached his bones, but he focused on one at a time and decimated it before moving to another.

  “Wolf, back off now!” Iver said, adjusting the gaps in the protective array. “Clay, it’s your turn!”

  Clay was nervous, as evident from his trembling fingers that tied his hair in a ponytail. Nonetheless, he performed without faltering when in action. His sympathetic artifact—Onyx Shot—hovered about and cracked one skull after another, while his spell stunned any Fae that came close enough for him to target its shadow. Because Iver had used the spell array to separate the enemies based on their levels, Clay’s battle was doable. The mana tester on him never went beyond the pure white. Though strained and sweating bullets, he held his own and protected his exit.

  “That’ll be enough!” Iver yelled again amid the chaotic clamor of the fight. “Thorin!”

  Thorin opened his eyes and exhaled the breath that he held in his chest. Finally, it was his turn.

  ?