Kyle kept walking carefully.
“What even is a Fighters Guild?” Kyle asked. “I heard that term several times, but I don’t exactly know what it’s about.”
“You worked for a Hunter Hall. How do you not know what a Fighters Guild is?” Theodor asked with annoyance.
“Dwarf brain, remember?” Kyle asked.
Theodor snorted like the horse he was.
“A Fighters Guild is a company selling mercenaries. Specifically, Adepts, Fighters, and sometimes even Grandmasters.”
“What do the mercenaries do?” Kyle asked.
“Anything,” Theodor answered. “Fighting in a war, assassinations, escorting, guards, and so on.”
“Do they also hunt beasts?” Kyle asked.
“Occasionally,” Theodor answered. “The Hunter Guilds deal with killing beasts, but if there is a very powerful beast, they might ask for some Fighters to help them.”
“Speaking of,” Kyle said as he kept walking forward. “How does the Hunter Guild deal with Ferocious Beasts?”
“Hunter Guilds are made up of a mix of different paths. They have their own Fighters, Sorcerers, Beast Tamers, and even some Knights sometimes. They are not weak or helpless. They just do not specialize in a specific path.”
“Then, can I just join a Hunter Guild?” Kyle asked.
“You join Hunter Guilds when you are done with growing more powerful. They pay more money, but they do not have many resources for teaching.”
By now, Kyle had gotten pretty good at walking on the walls.
The only thing he had to be careful of was not to take steps that were too big.
While walking, he also held the hilt of his hammer, making sure that it wouldn’t fall away in case he lost focus.
After walking for several minutes, the sun illuminated more of the crevice.
“Stop walking,” Theodor said evenly.
Kyle stopped.
“Reposition yourself so that you stick as closely to the wall as you can.”
“Sure,” Kyle said, lying down on the wall.
“Stay like this,” Theodor said.
“Okay.”
Minutes passed, and the sun moved to a spot directly above the crevice.
Kyle could see in the dark, but it was still difficult for him to see the bottom of the crevice without the sun’s help.
Everything merged into an unrecognizable mess at a certain distance.
But now, he could see everything at the bottom.
’Wow, what a surprise,’ Kyle thought. ’There’s nothing.’
At a depth of about 200 meters, there was just rock.
Yet, when Kyle saw the bottom, his instincts warned him of danger.
’Yeah, no shit, it’s dangerous. If I fall down there, I will die!’
“Do you see it?” Theodor asked.
“The ground? Yeah,” Kyle said.
“That’s not ground,” Theodor said. “Look at everything. Don’t focus on the details. Just look at the entire bottom of the crevice.”
Kyle moved his head back and forth.
After a while, he noticed something.
’Wait, the ground is actually elevated a little bit in the middle. In a way, it looks like it could even split in two.’
“Does the shape remind you of something?” Theodor asked.
“Eeeehhh, a snake?” Kyle guessed.
“No,” Theodor said with annoyance. “That’s a closed eye.”
The hair on Kyle’s back stood up as he looked down.
An eye?
Now that Theodor said it, Kyle could see it.
But that eye had to be around 300 meters wide!
How big would the entire beast be?!
“This is an Abyss Eye,” Theodor said. “It creates big crevices and uses them as a trap. If anything falls into the crevice, the eye opens and consumes the victim.”
“Wait,” Kyle whispered. “So, this crevice is not natural?”
“It’s not,” Theodor answered.
“Hey, Boss, why am I down here again?” Kyle asked.
“Because it is safer to be here than on the surface,” Theodor answered. “The Abyss Eye is big and powerful. Strong beasts have learned to avoid it.”
Kyle gulped.
“What happens if it opens?” he asked.
“You die.”
Kyle looked nervously at the gigantic closed eye.
“Can we avoid that somehow?” he asked.
“No.”
“I’m getting a bit nervous here,” Kyle said. “Can’t you say something to calm me down?”
“If you want to travel to the south, you have to get through these things,” Theodor answered coldly. “Don’t ask me to deal with your problems. Solve them yourself.”
“But you sent me down here,” Kyle said.
“Yes, because it’s relatively safe.”
“How is it safe?” Kyle asked with annoyance.
“Because the Abyss Eye only opens when it feels dense Ether. You do not have nearly enough Ether to wake it.”
Kyle still hadn’t calmed down. “What about the stones that fell down earlier?”
“Stones fall off walls all the time. That doesn’t wake an Abyss Eye.”
At that moment, Kyle had an intrusive thought.
“Can I walk on it?” he asked. “I mean, my Ether isn’t dense enough to wake it, right?”
“Do you want to take the risk?” Theodor asked.
Kyle looked at the closed eye.
“No,” he answered.
“Then, don’t ask stupid questions,” Theodor answered with annoyance.
At that moment, a huge shadow appeared inside the crevice.
Kyle looked up, and his eyes widened.
A humongous bird was passing over the crevice!
’That thing is the size of a plane!’ Kyle thought.
“Do not move,” Theodor said with a serious tone.
The next moment, Kyle heard crackling coming from the bottom of the crevice, and he carefully looked over.
The bottom of the crevice was shaking a bit, moving the stones on top of it.
Kyle stopped breathing as terror overtook him.
“It also reacts to shadows,” Theodor said. “That’s why I told you to stick to the wall.”
Kyle didn’t answer.
The next moment, the middle of the crevice split.
There was just black beneath it!
Then, Kyle saw a beam of light coming from one side of the eye.
’It’s coming closer!’ Kyle thought as he saw the beam sweeping across the entire crevice.
“Do not move!” Theodor shouted. “Get as close to the wall as you can!”
Kyle did his best to make himself as flat as possible.
Moments later, the beam reached him…
And paused.