Bab 3: Cashing in on good deeds
5 Hours...
Each hour, I have been moving for about 50 minutes. The air in this cave is stale and tastes like rocks. With no visual or auditory input, it's hard to keep track of time.
13 Hours...
I continued onward. The cave curved left and then right. Hmm, the path was eerily familiar. My exploration in the impossibly dark cave continued. There were no beasts here, so this can't be a dungeon... Ah! I halted my steps and shut my eyes tight. First left, then right... Uh, Adrion's hideouts on the southern end. So, if the left is east, then... Got it. This place is a goddamn cave under the city of Scalmourne... A labyrinth...
At least there is some good news in all this. The exit suddenly disappeared, and nothing was visible here, knowing my general direction was great. But if this is under Scalmourne, then why can't I hear anything? The trams should make a fucking drum set off the ground—
—Of course, some magic is obstructing my hearing, too.
I shaved off some of the cave walls with my dagger and dropped it right next to my toes. I could hear this. Then, is there a range in which this magic works? Next, I chipped a second stone quite far away, no sound. As I thought.
To make sense of the mechanism, I did a few more trials. Any sound that is over 2 meters away from me instantly cancels out. What a fucked-up spell. No sound, no sight, and no damned exits. The sound of the trams didn't reach down here since the ceiling of this place was 3 meters high, information courtesy of a broken piece of the cave walls.
15 Hours...
Walking in this cave pointlessly is tiring. Since this place was under Scalmourne, I could somehow make out which way I had to go to make it to the center of the cave.
"AHH! Let's speak instead of thinking? But that'll make me thirsty... Whatever, Ivan, shut up. Don't speak, think."
Yup, thinking is easier. The magic here is expansive. It is scary to admit, but I think the spell here is at least of the Eighth Grade, a feat that the best of mages in all the seven lands can't pull off.
There have to be engravings in this cave. I grazed the walls of the cave as I moved ahead. Things would look much better if I could find the engravings.
21 Hours...
My left hand was aching now, even though I had just switched to it! Walking around without letting your hands down can be tiring. 6 hours, and nothing! Heck, I even crawled on the floor for an hour to look for the engravings! I constantly changed the height of my hand from high to low. My hand moved ahead with my feet when I felt a thin hollow in the walls.
My head jerked to the side, and my feet drifted to a halt. With my face almost touching the wall on my left, I ran my hand over the walls at a frantic pace. Fuck, yes! I found the goddamned engravings! My camel impression finally paid off! At least they weren't engraved on the ceiling. Wonder what that would have made me.
In case you are thinking what is so euphoric about finding some magic engravings, it's because two things could be concluded from this finding.
1st, this cave is made by a person, so there is surely over 1 exit. If my luck is good, then there should be part of the walls shaped to let you reach the ceilings. Looking for it will slow my pace, but what am I even hurrying for, anyway?
2nd, the fact this cave has engravings means that not only is the cave a completed structure (more chances of multiple exits), it also serves a purpose. Unless the creator was an extremely talented idiot, there is some kind of secret this place holds. A secret I will steal, thanks to Adrion. Hah, such a sweet turn of events, right?
25 Hours...
I got lucky. I finally found a place where I could rest. A cave wall near the floor was slightly bent inward, resembling a bed. There were no rocks here but soil. I rechecked the amount of food and water I had with me before I fell asleep.
31 Hours...
I slept for about four hours. Too much sleep will make my throat dry, as well as make me hungry. In the remaining time, I once again cashed in on my good deeds from my previous life. From the spot I was sleeping at, it might just be possible to reach the ceiling. I firmly planted my feet in the cavity on the wall and slowly reached around to the top. After a few minutes of feeling around, I finally found the ceiling of this darned cave.
With caution similar to before, I craned my neck over to reach the top of the cave and placed my ear right next to the walls. It seemed the effect of the spell only worked inside the cave since I could lightly hear the trams moving above ground. The sound of the trams reassured me of being below the city. It would be easier to move around now.
39 Hours...
If my internal map is correct, then I was pretty close to the center of the city. Something felt very unnatural. I mean, of course, I am in a cave made right below a whole damn city. The whole thing's unnatural, but here an odd resistance pushed my body back. What is happening?
40 Hours...
The resistance grew strong as it got harder and harder to walk. Even my breath was running short. The air here is definitely filled with something... This whole cave is strange! Right from the very outside, even Adrion and his damned goons cringed when they reached this place's entrance... Could it be? This weird resistance in the air, is it magic? SHIT! That is the most plausible cause now, right? Are you telling me the magic here is strong enough to make even me, the magicless, be pushed back? Then... won't anyone that could feel magic die in here? What crazy place was I in?
41 Hours...
Light! Seeing some light had me break into a sprint towards its source. Stupid move, I know.
My eyes adapted to the light, and an enormous room spread wide before me. The dome-shaped room was adorned with marble walls. 7 large pillars encircled an altar, holding up the imposing room. Every pillar was engraved with the language of each of the 7 countries
The altar was decorated with rainbow-colored hues and a beautiful rainbow stone was at the center, which I could only assume to be the source of all this magical energy. Right above the stone, hanging from the ceiling, was a beautiful golden-purple pocket watch...
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone