The Academy’s corridors were left behind him as Ren ran toward the mines.
A month of Lin’s brutal training had transformed his once scrawny frame, his pursuers could barely keep pace now, their heavy breathing betraying their exhaustion.
“He’s getting away!” Jin’s breathless voice resonated in the distance. “Don’t let that rotting boy reach the mines first!”
Ren smiled as he descended swiftly down the path toward the caves, each step sure despite the growing darkness.
The mushrooms in his hair glowed softly, not just providing light but revealing intricate mana patterns in the walls that only he could see, a roadmap of power written in light and shadow.
Though these fools pursued him and wanted to ruin his day, he couldn’t afford to miss even a single day of gathering.
The sixty-some Bronze-rank crystals he’d accumulated over the month, while impressive for a beginner, fell far short of his needs. The thirty days of relentless mining had yielded decent results, but nowhere near enough.
After spending 500 iron crystals on the lens to process Taro’s crystals, only 200 remained in his reserves. He urgently needed to replenish his stocks.
The exchange rates weren’t helping either, trading his remaining iron crystals for Bronze ones would also be wasteful with the school’s exchange tax raising the cost from 10 to 13, yielding a mere 15 Bronze crystals from his 200.
Not worth it… Especially considering the other costly materials his evolution would require.
And that wasn’t all, the deep earth needed for Taro’s sealing and the large crystals grew increasingly scarce in the permitted levels.
The past month had stripped the easily accessible areas bare, leaving only remnants where rich veins once flowed. Second and third-year students had already claimed the prime safe locations, forcing newcomers to work harder for lesser rewards.
♢♢♢♢
The sound of clumsy footsteps and labored breathing faded as Ren delved deeper into the tunnels.
‘Perfect,’ he thought while navigating the dark tunnels with precision, the mushrooms in his hair barely glowing now, adapting instinctively to his need for stealth.
‘They’ll follow exactly where I need them to go.’
He paused at an intersection, studying mana patterns invisible to normal eyes. The official mining zone’s deepest point at 100 meters loomed ahead, but the real treasures lay beyond.
Untouched veins of Bronze crystals gleamed faintly in the depths, visible only to his specialized sight.
Distant footsteps echoed through the tunnel, Jin and his group weren’t exactly masters of stealth, their heavy steps and whispered curses giving away their position.
“Over here!” one of Jin’s followers shouted, voice bouncing off the stone walls. “I saw his stupid mushrooms glowing!”
Ren continued deeper into the tunnel, each step precise and soundless. The mushrooms in his hair dimmed further, becoming barely visible specks of light.
His knowledge showed him exactly where to step, which patches of ground to avoid, which walls could bear weight and which might crumble at a touch.
‘They’re still following,’ he confirmed, briefly increasing his light to draw them on, listening to their unsubtle pursuit echoing through the tunnels.
Ren stopped near the 100-meter mark.
The mushrooms in his hair pulsed more slowly now, struggling to process the dense mana saturating the air.
A guard hummed distractedly beside the access to the next level, clearly bored with his assignment.
‘Guards never let Iron-rank beast students pass below 100 meters without authorization,’ he reflected, hearing his pursuers’ echoes growing closer. ‘But if I can get Jin’s shouts to distract him, I could make it down to 150…’
Knowledge flowed through his mind as he calculated risks.
Incorrect Maturation: 31/1000.
At this depth, his spore accumulated 1 point of incorrect maturation per day, in 30 days of ventures here, he’d accumulated 31, and deeper levels would add 2 points instead of 1.
Just 4 hours of work today would bring him to 33.
But with only 33 points accumulated out of 1000, he still had room to maneuver.
‘Should hold out about 4 hours before mana poisoning becomes an issue at 150 meters,’ he continued analyzing. ‘Lesser worms are easy to avoid if you know their patterns. Time will be the real limitation.’
Jin’s group’s footsteps grew louder, their confidence building as they thought they had him cornered.
“Don’t let him escape!” Jin’s voice thundered through the tunnels. “This time the Rotting Boy has nowhere to hide!”
A smile played across his face as he positioned himself near a specific intersection.
They were exactly where he needed them.
“There’s light ahead!” Kai called out, his scales glinting in the dim light. “I saw those stupid mushrooms glow!”
Jin and his group were about to learn that following the “Rotting Boy” into the depths might not have been their wisest decision.
“I can barely see anything down here,” Cass complained, her eagle eyes straining to adapt to the darkness.
“Shut up,” Jin hissed, his tiger patterns casting faint shadows. “I think I see him ahead.”
Ren moved with precision across the uneven terrain, each step calculated to lead them toward the natural trap he’d discovered days ago. The lesser worms’ abandoned nests created perfect cavities, invisible to inexperienced eyes but clearly marked in the mana patterns only he could see.
‘Just need them to fall in there,’ he thought as he approached the exact point. ‘Their shouts will distract the guard long enough. There are rich Bronze crystal veins at 150 meters, and more importantly, uncontaminated deep earth.’
“Over here!” Jin’s voice echoed through the tunnel. “I saw him turn this corner!”
The group of bullies turned sharply, their footsteps resonating against the stone. The mushrooms in Ren’s hair barely emitted a faint glow as he hid in a wall crevice, watching.
“Where is he?” Jin growled, his tiger markings glowing in the darkness. “He couldn’t just disappear like that!”
“Maybe we should…” Cass began, but her voice cut off abruptly.
“There he is!” Jin’s voice thundered through the tunnel. “We’ve got you, you’ll learn to respect real beasts, Rotting Boy! You can’t go anywhere now!”
“Oh, there are many places to go,” Ren stepped back, carefully calculating his position. “You just have to know where to step.”
Ren feigned surprise at seeing his pursuers running toward him.
“Don’t let him escape!” Jin ran at the front, his tiger markings glowing with anticipation.
‘Just a little more…’
The ground beneath their feet gave way with an ominous crack. For a moment, time seemed to freeze as the reality of their situation registered on their faces.