Chapter 144: A Good Opportunity — I’m In
Dawn had only just begun to lighten the sky when the camp was already bustling with activity.
Ryan lifted the flap of his tent, and a rush of cold air hit him in the face. He had changed into a set of dark gray travel clothes, the fabric fitted close without being restrictive, the sleeves and trouser legs tied tight with cords. The belt carrying his Magic Tools was fastened at his waist, and his backpack was slung over his shoulders.
Rex was already waiting outside. The mont he saw Ryan erge, he waved. “Over here!”
Lillian stood beside him. Today, she had changed into an ice-blue set of fitted combat clothes, with that slender sword hanging at her waist. Randall still wore that sa polished smile, dressed in a deep green hunting outfit, a small pack strapped to his back. Evans hovered at the rear, his pale green hair a little ssy, his washed-out gray robe faded almost white, carrying a pack larger than he was, like a snail burdened with an enormous shell.
Once the five of them had gathered, they headed toward the center of the camp.
It was already crowded there. More than sixty young people stood around in twos and threes. So were talking quietly, so were checking their equipnt, and so simply stood in silence, staring at the distant forest.
The fire in the middle had already gone out, leaving only a pile of ash. It still held a trace of warmth, and thin strands of white smoke drifted upward.
Cassius stood at the very front of the crowd, with several figures in high-ranking Magic robes at his side. Their robes were dark in color, with silver runes embroidered along the sleeves and collars, giving off a faint gleam in the morning light.
When nearly everyone had arrived, Cassius raised a hand. The crowd fell silent.
“Follow ,” he said, then turned and strode out of the camp.
Everyone followed behind him, passing through the camp’s wooden barricades and into the forest.
The morning fog had not yet dispersed, and the woods were still shrouded in whiteness. Dew dripped from the leaves above, landing on shoulders with a chill, damp touch.
The earth underfoot was soft, muffling their footsteps. Every now and then, a startled bird would take flight, flapping through the mist before vanishing into the pale gray distance.
After walking for about half an hour, the fog gradually thinned. A mountain ca into view ahead, its base split open by a gash, as though so gigantic blade had slashed it apart.
A cave.
Its entrance was large, easily tall enough for two n, with enough width for three or four people to walk through side by side.
The cave walls were made of gray-black stone, slick with moss. In so places they had been blackened by torch smoke, likely traces left behind by the earlier scouting teams.
Cassius stopped before the cave and turned around.
“This is the place,” he said, his voice carrying through the mountain forest. “About thirty paces in, there is a Spatial Rift. Three months ago, a Herb-Gathering Team stumbled upon it by accident and reported it to the Empire.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
“The Empire sent in three teams to investigate. The first team disappeared. The second disappeared. Of the third, only one man made it back alive. He ca out gravely wounded and spent two months bedridden. He is still recovering now. But he brought back one piece of information—”
Every ear in the crowd pricked up.
“There may be traces of the Elves inside,” Cassius said. “He could not describe much in detail. But based on what he saw, the Imperial Magic Research Institute examined his account and determined that he had indeed encountered signs connected to the Elves.”
A low wave of commotion spread through the crowd.
Cassius raised a hand and suppressed it.
“After that, the Empire sent in several more groups of mages to asure the spatial fluctuations in detail. Combined with the testimony of the man who made it out alive, it has now been more or less confird—” He paused. “This ruin truly is connected to the Elves.”
Unless those Elven relics were worth more than those ten thousand gold coins.
Cassius continued, “In a little while, we will open the Spatial Rift and send you inside. But there is one thing you must rember—this rift is unstable. Once you enter, you may not arrive at the sa location.”
The crowd stirred again.
“Spatial Transfer ans there will be deviation in the landing points,” Cassius said evenly. “It may be only a few dozen paces. It may be several miles. So once you enter, the first thing you must do is confirm your position, confirm where your companions are, and confirm your own safety.”
Cassius lowered his hand and added, “Once you are inside, life and death will be in the hands of fate. If you make it back alive, the Empire will not mistreat you. If you do not…” He paused. “Then soone will still rember you.”
No one spoke.
Morning light filtered through the treetops, falling across the moss at the cave mouth, making it shine a vivid green.
Cassius turned to the mages in their robes and gave them a nod.
They stepped forward and lined up before the entrance. Each of them drew out a staff from within their robes. The gems at the tops shone in different colors beneath the morning light.
Then they began to cast.
Ryan had seen mages cast spells before, but he had never seen anything on this scale. Those mages all raised their staffs at once, chanting the sa incantation. Their voices overlapped, low and drawn out, like echoes rising from the depths of the earth.
The Mana in the air began to surge.
Ryan could feel that surge. It was like wind, but not wind. Like water, but not water. So formless, invisible thing was gathering from every direction and rushing toward the cave entrance.
The robes of the mages began to billow without wind. The gems atop their staffs grew brighter and brighter—red, blue, violet—every color weaving together until the cave entrance was drenched in brilliance.
Then, all at once, the light contracted.
The air at the cave mouth began to warp.
It was as though invisible hands were tearing at it, as though so unseen fla were burning through it. The distortion grew more violent, more obvious, until at last—
It split open.
A rift appeared out of thin air, suspended a few paces inside the cave. It was roughly the height of two or three n, irregular in shape, with faint blue light glowing along its edges. Through the rift, nothing could be seen but a profound darkness, like a gate leading into another world.
The mages lowered their staffs. Their faces had all gone slightly pale. One of them gave Cassius a nod without speaking.
Cassius turned back to the crowd.
“The gate is open,” he said. “Go in.”
The crowd went quiet for a mont.
No one moved.
More than sixty people stood before the cave, staring at that blue-lit rift, and not one of them wanted to be the first.
Then soone stepped forward.
Parker erged from the crowd, Hayden following behind him. He strode up to the cave mouth and, without so much as a backward glance, stepped straight through the rift.
There was a flash of blue light, and his figure vanished into the darkness.
Hayden followed, disappearing into the rift as well.
It was as though so invisible stalemate had been broken. The crowd began to move. So hurried after them, so still hesitated, and so were half-dragged forward by their companions. Figures entered the blue light in twos and threes, disappearing one after another.
Ryan stood among the crowd, his gaze sweeping over those who went in.
When Shiloya and Karen entered, Shiloya cast a glance back at the crowd, that faint, elusive smile still on her lips.
Then Ryan saw a figure in red.
Eleanor.
Today she wore a dark red combat outfit, her crimson hair tied into a high ponytail, with that sword hanging at her waist.
She walked steadily, planting each step firmly before taking the next.
When she reached the cave entrance, she stopped for a brief mont.
Then she turned and looked back across the crowd.
Ryan was already looking at her.
Their eyes t for the briefest instant through the sea of people—so short it could almost be ignored. Then Eleanor turned back and stepped through the rift.
The blue light swallowed her figure whole.
“Ryan?” Rex’s voice ca from beside him. “Should we go too?”
Ryan ca back to himself.
Randall, Lillian, Rex, and Evans were all standing beside him, waiting for him.
“Let’s go,” Ryan said.
The five of them walked toward the cave entrance. The blue glow grew closer and closer, casting a chill light across their faces.
Ryan took a slow breath and stepped through.
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