Chương 26: Underground Survival

The more we stayed within this makeshift cave, the longer we realized how possibly brutal the war that happened above us.

The tremor and outright explosion sound similar to sci-fi laser weapons could be occasionally heard in this insulated hole.

Though, considering that the lid for this sloping tunnel was still intact, it seemed the battlefield between the Wild Hunt and the Headless Horseman happened somewhere far to the west outside of the damaged outer wall of our bastion.

And the fact that it was still ongoing for an hour after the start of the Ordeal of the Midnight, shows how dangerous and resilient the Qliphoth Object was.

"It should be the right timing where a Calamity Object might spawn inside here, so make sure to exercise caution."

The Abyssal Rift of Possibility was already neutralized by building a negative sloping and gapless insulated mudwall that we kept adding whenever we expanded another space further below.

And since the rift was facing up, everything that spawned from it would eventually fall down to where it belonged. However, they wouldn't be able to get back here.

The rift appeared to be some sort of chaotic interdimensional passage, a randomized mystery door where two objects could lead to two different destinations when thrown at a different time.

At first, I was afraid of its warping and distorting effect.

Since there was no sign of such syndrome on the surrounding wall, I could safely assume that the effect was euclidean and it would just stay within the isolated space.

"Huwaa! The ground is shaking!

Sensing the severity of the earthquake, I immediately told everyone to not be idle. "Everyone, move to the other side!"

Just a second later, the location that we formerly stood upon was immediately engulfed by a giant body of a long, armored, and enormous entity.

—

[The Burrowing Terror]

[Description: A massive, worm-like creature with armored segments and a maw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The Burrowing Terror moves swiftly through the earth, sensing vibrations on the surface and erupting from below to devour anything in its path. Its body secretes a corrosive slime that dissolves rock and metal, making it difficult to defend against]

[Hint: The Burrowing Terror creates tunnels as it moves, causing cave-ins and structural collapses. Its sudden attacks can catch individuals off guard, making it a persistent underground threat]

—

But just after it was traveling upward like an elongated train for a while, it immediately stopped dead in its tracks.

"I don't sense any soul left from that Calamity Object," Verina observed.

"Looks like it dies immediately the moment it exits to the surface," I wryly snickered. "I guess our comfy little cavern is still shut in a way."

This reminded me of the possibility of Sandstalker.

I remembered that they were quite the hassle to deal with, even with ballistas and Verina's offensive spells.

But fighting them in a narrowed man-made tunnel like this?

We didn't find much hardship after we managed to build the Fortcracker back then. But now, we didn't even have anything that possessed the same level of destructive power that we could reliably use.

As such we attempted to redesign the structure of this cave, building a looped tunnel for kiting and ambush, connected to a single wide open space, and all sorts of defensive measures that could be put in practice with the tool available at hands.

"This thing is really convenient."

To make the excavation much easier, we utilized the corrosive slime that continuously oozed from the dead body of the Burrowing Terror.

Strangely speaking, the slime didn't really affect any object made from wood and organic fabric, so we used our available containers and Tahlia's leather boots.

Tahlia surprisingly found comfort with it. "It's been a while since I dastardly touched the soil with my bare feet like this."

"Is this a cat folk's thing?" I asked.

"To an extent. We just feel that it's natural to wear nothing and let our body feel the breeze and the ground. Although we were criticized for it, we chose to be properly civilized and all."

It was basically akin to forcing human clothing to an actual cat or dog in a sense.

Then again, the effect shouldn't be as severe. The beastmen of Carcosa still had a lot of their human's traits to them, so it shouldn't be as medically unhealthy and disorienting.

In the middle of our establishment for our underground bastion, we encountered another Calamity Object, 30 minutes after the Burrowing Terror.

—

[The Crawler Nest]

[Description: A hidden nest of blind, insect-like creatures that thrive in darkness. The Crawlers have hardened shells and sharp pincers, allowing them to move swiftly through the narrowest of tunnels. They communicate with each other using clicking sounds that echo through the caverns]

[Hint: The Crawlers hunt in packs, overwhelming their prey with sheer numbers. They are drawn to light and noise, making it difficult for bastioneers to move through their territory unnoticed. Clearing out the nest is essential to ensure the safety of the underground]

—

This time, it was a whole new exotic cave connected to our tunnel that brought some unfriendly friends that were aiming for our throat.

A single Crawler wasn't as threatening as a single Bloodhound, so it was relatively easy to fight against them since we found their nest so fast, they didn't really have time to multiply.

And thankfully enough, they were dumb enough to be rounded inside their own special cave, while Verina shot out a flammable heavy compound of air into the sloping nest of the Crawlers, in which they set off on fire.

While Lupina and Verina were fending off the Crawlers that were being scorched and cooked alive, I transferred the excess soil, underground rocks, and materials that we had to build a wall that insulates the heat inside the Crawler's cave.

We waited for a while before storming inside using Verina's heat-tolerate spell and obliterated the nests for good.

"Looks like my chemistry lesson is used in good hands," I said, taking all of the Sage Internet's merits.

"I will make a better spell if you give me something better than a hug."

"Make a spell that can make me reconsider first."

"C-Can I have a hug too if I did something impressive to you?" Lupina asked with a blushing face.

"I relieved you with my own hand back then. Pay that debt first, then you can negotiate."

"At this point, the whole bastion is supported by their need to get a reward from Narcissus," Tahlia commented with a not-so pleasant expression.

Verina attempted a chuckle with her poker-expression. "Took you long enough to notice."

At this point, I'm more surprised that my Angelic Charisma didn't have any effect on him.

Was it because he was a Calamity Object that was trying to simulate the inhabitant of Carcosa?

It would be great to have another Wandering Imposter that possessed a non-demerit persona like Tahlia. The fact that my charm didn't affect them alone was enough to showcase their potential of utility.

Though as of now, Tahlia didn't really contribute much to the bastion.

"Tahlia, can you be more useful than you're now?

"Ehhh??"

"Nevermind that, I'm a little bit insane currently."

"That doesn't make it any less sinister!"

My Sanity had been holding on at 60% for a while now, and I also noticed that it affected my mental faculty and action to a certain extent.

Thankfully, I had slightly adapted to it, but I'm afraid that it wasn't the case for the rest.

But I'm happy that I didn't need to deal with that kind of problem at the current moment.

Verina's Sanity was at 80%, fortunately. Her high level of Consciousness might have affected that.

Lupina's Sanity was still at the staggering 90% threshold. I had no idea what was going on with her head, but I assumed that it had something to do with the Theotech nanites that were living in her bloodstream.

As for Tahlia.

I still couldn't see his detail screen since he was a Calamity Object. Then again, seeing his current state, he seemed fine enough. Maybe a Wandering Imposter didn't really need to deal with all of those mental influences, just like how my Angelic Charm didn't affect him.

Then again, Tahlia was terrified of me more than he saw me in an attractive light, thanks to our private talk before the Ordeal of the Midnight started.

Another half hour later, we stumbled upon another Calamity Object that manifested right in front of us.

—

[The Forgotten Shrine]

[Description: A small, ancient altar carved into the wall of a cave, the Forgotten Shrine radiates a faint, warm glow. Offerings of food, water, or valuable items made at the shrine are often met with boons such as temporary protection, increased luck, or sudden insights]

[Hint: The Forgotten Shrine provides random benefits to the bastion when offerings are made. However, neglecting to maintain the shrine's upkeep at the slightest can lead to a withdrawal of its blessings or even a curse of deadly misfortune on the whole inhabitants. It will stay bound to the individuals of the bastion outside of the ordeal. If it wasn't interacted however, it would disappear the moment the dawn arrived]

—

That was quite the long 'hint', much longer than the Calamity Object's description in fact.

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