Chapter 235 Check The Cave

Chapter 235 Check The Cave

Karl focused on his meditation while the last shift of the night ended, and the newly formed fourth space began to rapidly expand in his mind, absorbing everything that it could get, along with the lingering remnants of energy that Karl's blade had provided during the previous day's fight.

With the other three spaces waiting for their occupants to advance, and this fourth space being so small, the change was immediately obvious, and the enhancement of the focus was expanding the area much more efficiently than simply pouring energy into the space had.

The Monks knew what they were doing for certain, and this was so far superior to trial and error that Karl felt silly for not having thought to ask them in the first place.

The others began to wake, and Karl could smell food cooking, so he shifted most of his focus to the outside world, and let the new space form naturally.

[What sort of new friend are we getting?] Thor asked as he took his cue from everyone else and began to eat breakfast. Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

[I have no idea. What sort of friend would you like?] Karl asked.

[More Lightning Cerro.] Thor replied confidently.

He really should have seen that one coming. Thor was a pack animal, so of course he would want to be with more of his kind if given the option.

Hawk chimed in with his opinion. [All that we're going to find here are snowy things. Oh, the fluffy snow cats are alright, I think. They never finish their food.]

Rae wasn't picky. [Just pick someone cool.]

[Alright, so we're looking for someone cool, maybe a snow cat, and potentially a friend for Thor. But we should cover for holes in our skills. We don't have anyone who enhances the group, except for defence, we don't have a healer, and we only have one long ranged attacker.]

[Ooh, ooh, I can be the healer. Healer sounds like a fun job.] Thor volunteered.

[Well, alright, as soon as you learn healing magic, I will let you try out a run as the team's healer, and I will tank with the Golems.] Karl replied, indulging the Cerro's idea.

[That shouldn't be hard. I have felt lots of healing already.] Thor replied, optimistically.

If he really could manage it, the new cleric students at the Seminary Academy would never live down the shame. Outclassed in their own class by a Lightning Cerro.

"Are you lot going to head back out and try your luck to finish your goals?" She asked.

Larry and Corbin shook their heads.

"If you don't mind, we would prefer to stay with your group, strength in numbers. Yesterday's fiasco nearly cost our Clan its most talented proteges, and we really can't afford to have another ambush when it's not safe for the helicopters to come extract us." Corbin replied.

[See, he knows. Strength in numbers.] Thor agreed.

This day's trip might be rough on him and Hawk, neither of whom would have an easy time in the caves, so they would have to spend most of their time in the beast spaces. But Alice's Golem would have issues as well, unless she knew how to shorten it. They had been fighting all taller enemies outdoors since he met her, so there really hadn't been a reason for her to do it before.

Dana's golems were only a little taller than the tallest members of their group, but even their normal height would be a tight fit once they got further into the caves if Karl's guess was right.

He had a lot of experience underground, and he was likely the only one who would be truly comfortable there, especially if the ceilings were high enough that he could stand properly upright and not have to use the miner's duck walk.

Once the meal was finished and everything was cleaned and packed away, Karl led Rae in front of the group, as she was still a bit shorter than he was in her normal standing position, though much wider and longer. They could both see perfectly well no matter the light conditions, so they were the obvious choice to scout the area, and they could move ahead of the group to check the multiple tunnels that joined the room on the other side of the now vanished barrier.

Something felt wrong the moment that he stepped through, and when Karl turned to check on the group behind him, he saw the stone wall that had vanished on their side.

His hand passed through it, so he wasn't trapped in here, but he would have to remember where it was, or they would end up lost in the tunnels.

Rae had the answer to that. She used her forelimb to carve her name into the stone by the door, so they would know if they saw it again.

"You check the left side first, and I will start from the right. Don't get out of sight of each other, but look as far down the tunnel as you can." Karl instructed.

The first one on the right made a steep downward slope, then a hard left, so he couldn't see far until he moved down the ramp a way, then saw that it was a continued spiral downward.

So, he returned to the main room and checked the next. It extended for a hundred metres before making a ninety-degree left turn, obviously constructed and not natural. At the far end of that hallway was a closed door, but he could see the flickering of flames on the other side, so something was likely alive in there, and probably not Yeti.

Rae found a dead end, with a nice pit trap that she avoided due to her body design walking along the edges of the floor, and then another downward spiral that she didn't fully explore before returning to Karl.

"Well, we know what is in the area now. Let's ask the others what we're doing."