Chapter 116: Spelunkers

Chapter 116: Spelunkers

It was a quiet, sunny day on a certain small farm near the border with the Burronian Empire.

A group of people was currently gathered around a hole in the ground.

A few days ago, the ground suddenly collapsed after a substantial rainfall and a massive underground cavern was exposed.

The farmer was shocked to see such a thing happen, but then, strange sounds kept coming from the hole periodically. Especially at night.

The sounds carried a certain tone that made it extremely unnerving if one listened to them for a long time.

Since he didn't dare explore the cave on his own, and the anxiety from the sounds grew stronger, the poor man had no choice but to alert Warrior's Guild and have them check it out.

The people gathered around the sinkhole were precisely the experienced Warriors from the Guild.

"Khand, make a way for us!" the one that looked like the leader called out.

The man in question, Khand, replied strongly, "Yes, boss!" Then, with a serious face, he lifted his hands and then pushed them down while chanting, "Shifting Earth, Moving Ground!"

Rumble!

The ground around the sinkhole shook and shifted, making a ramp that led to the underworld.

"Elly?" the leader turned to a young girl.

"I'm on it, boss!" She grabbed a shiny amulet around her neck and held it tightly in her small tender hands. "The sun as my guide, I call from the sky, a ray of light, and a drop of sunshine! Let there be Light!"

With the magic chant coming to an end, the light in the surrounding area dimmed for a second and gathered to a single point in the air.

The ball of light was about the size of a fist and shined brightly like a small sun.

"Your Light magic is still just at the beginner rank, eh Elly? Are you sure you are still a mighty Wizard?" a guy teased the young girl.

"Oh, shut up, Cot! I would like to see you cast Light spells if you know so much!" Elly replied while keeping an eye on the ball of light. A constant connection had to be established with a spell, otherwise, it would go out.

"Enough you two, knock it off!" The authoritative voice of their leader sounded out and disrupted their bickering, "Elly, lead the way! For the rest, keep your eyes open wide! We are going into the unknown, so it's not the time to mess around!"

Everyone present confirmed the order in unison, and Elly led the group, with the ball of light illuminating their path. Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

The sinkhole led to a humid underground room in which moss and weird big mushrooms were growing.

The leader turned to face the rest and said, "Weird Soll, what do you make of this?"

Tired and with low morale after a failed bounty hunt, the team requested an easy job so they could get their spirits back up and recover at the same time.

He never imagined stumbling upon such a rare creature.

Who knew that a simple mission of checking out a hole in the ground at a small farm would turn into this mess?

Belmar frowned at the sight of the Minecrawler. The beast had a similar body structure to an ant, though it was hundreds of times larger, measuring almost two meters in height.

It had four legs supporting its body and two front-facing arms that were curved at the ends like a sickle. It was using those sharp appendages to scrape into solid rock, making long grooves on the stone surface.

Its entire body was covered by a gray stone-like chitin exoskeleton armor.

Just as Belmar was debating whether they should retreat, the Minecrawler turned its thin antenna towards them. It detected foreign vibrations in the air and immediately stopped what it was doing.

Skreee!

A loud, high-pitched screech reverberated in the cavern, making the people cover their ears in pain.

"We've been discovered," the leader stated in a heavy and serious tone.

Skreee, skreee!

Soon similar sounds came from other tunnels and the sheer amount of them made the members of Mad Weasels' blood run cold.

"Get ready to fight!" After the shout, Belmar gripped his mace and lifted his shield to cover his chest.

They were surrounded. Unknowingly they came deep into the Minecrawler's nest and now the only way to survive was to fight for their lives!

Soon after giving the warning screech, the first Minecrawler charged forward.

Bang!

The sickle-like front legs collided with one of the big shields the guys in front were carrying, producing a booming sound.

The force of the impact made it so that he had to take a step back to keep his balance and his hand holding the shield felt sore.

In retaliation, the guy lifted his other hand and smashed the Minecrawler on the head with a spiked hammer.

Bam!

Despite taking a strong blow to the head, the Minecrawler seemed to be unconcerned with what just happened. Although the exoskeleton was smashed hard, only a small crack was formed at the point of impact.

"Damn, the beast is so tough!"