Chapter 99 Illuminated Depths

As Alten said this, the goblin's long elf-like ears perked up once again, as it tilted its head slightly back and to the side. After a few seconds of pausing, it cast its staff once again. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ N0ᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

On doing so, Leon stopped moving towards the dagger and froze in place. After another few short seconds, his hand slowly began to reach for the hilt of his blade.

Realizing this, Leon was happily surprised, 'Nice one... Alten.' He smirked in his mind.

Finally, Leon's hand reached the hilt of his blade as he slowly pulled it out from its sheath. Upon coming all the way out, his eyes began to glow a burning white color.

Finally, he took a deep breath...

"Leon! Quickly! My hand is about to kill me!" Alten hurriedly yelled, as his hand suddenly shot toward his stomach. 'No!'

In one swift motion, Leon lunged forward, slicing the head of the robed goblin right off, as the blade neared Alten also stopped in its tracks just a few centimeters away from his stomach, with him regaining control of his hand.

"Let's go to Lyrian," Leon said as he sheathed his sword once again, already beginning to dash forward.

Alten was still taken aback, the threat of almost failing to make him feel almost woozy. Seeing Leon take back to action so quick, he couldn't help but feel some admiration. Not wanting to be behind, he also picked up his pace and began to run behind Leon.

Back in the circular room, Lyrian decided to try and get the goblin away from the trap door behind it. He took a step backward, pretending to relent, hoping the goblin would take the bait and make a move. The goblin, however, seemed wary of the trap door and held its ground, clutching the map protectively.

Seeing this, Lyrian decided to formulate a plan. He picked up one of the helmets from the sticks on the right-hand side of the room and tossed it lightly in the air, causing the goblin to glance at the distraction. Taking advantage of the momentary diversion, he lunged forward, aiming to disarm the goblin and retrieve the map.

In a coordinated motion, he swiped his hand toward the goblin to grab the map, but right as his hand made contact with it, the goblin dashed backward, going right through the trap door.

'...' Lyrian was left speechless, so close to his goal yet now seemingly so far.

"Lyrian!" Leon suddenly said, entering the room with Alten shortly behind him.

"We can't waste time!" Lyrian shouted, an irritated expression on his face as he jumped straight through the trap door.

Leon was stunned for a millisecond as he saw this, caught off by Lyrian suddenly jumping into a random trapdoor, but he quickly shrugged it off as he didn't stop running and jumped into it as well. Seeing this from a few seconds behind, Alten too had no choice but to jump in.

As Lyrian jumped in, he expected to have to begin crawling through a small area, but instead, he fell down a hole that went straight downwards.

Illuminated with colorful moss, the hole was over 5 by 5 feet in size.

"What the hell!?" He exclaimed as he stuck next to one of the walls and slid down. All of his air was thrown up as he continued to fall, feeling as though it would never end.

Soon, however, he could see the goblin down below him, at that point, he also heard Alten's terrified scream, making that he had also entered into the hole.

Just as he began to catch up with the goblin, he noticed that reached for a hole in the wall, probably looking to get away. However, before it could get inside of that hole, Lyrian caught up to it and snatched the map from its hands before falling more downward.

The goblin managed to make its way onto the ledge, but in the end, lost the map. However, as it saw the three fall down, a sinister smile formed on its face before it chuckled slightly and turned around to walk away.

It had been over 10 seconds of falling so far, but the fall seemed to not end any time soon. After the 15th second, the hole suddenly opened up to a massive cavity stretching over 20 feet in width and length!

Double the time passed from that moment as they continued to fall straight down the pit, and after 32 seconds, Lyrian was the first to fall into the water down below.

As soon as he landed, he felt the warm, comforting water engulf him, but his moment was disrupted by Leon and Alten falling on top of him. Thankfully, the water was deep enough so that he didn't take any damage, seeming to be about 12 feet deep.

As Lyrian surfaced in the bright, light blue water, he found himself awestruck by the spectacle before him. The fall had led them into a vast underground cave system, unlike any they had ever seen. The cavern opened up into a breathtaking expanse, easily stretching hundreds of feet in width and length.

Luminescent stone plants adorned the walls, casting a soothing, iridescent glow that illuminated the entire chamber. The plants ranged in size and shape, resembling delicate crystals, radiant flowers, and ethereal vines.

Their soft glow combined with the shimmering reflections on the water's surface created a surreal and tranquil ambiance, despite the adrenaline still coursing through their veins from the fall.

The vibrant plants seemed to have a symbiotic relationship with the giant glowing ponds scattered throughout the cave. The ponds, like pools of liquid stardust, pulsed with magical energy, and the reflections from the luminescent plants danced on their surfaces. The water emitted a gentle warmth.

Lyrian's eyes widened as he gazed upwards, realizing that the ceiling of the cave was dotted with clusters of bioluminescent crystals, creating an impression of a starry night sky deep within the earth. The crystals emitted a soft, calming glow, bathing the cavern in a myriad of colors, reminiscent of the aurora borealis.

As they swam towards the edge of the glowing pond, they discovered a rocky shore bathed in vibrant light. The shore was scattered with peculiar, luminescent rocks that glowed with varying intensities, almost as if they responded to the presence of the adventurers.

Curiously, as Lyrian held the goblin's map, he noticed that the glowing stones reacted, emitting faint pulses of light in sync with the symbols marked on the map.