The depths…

I looked down at the ground, at the faint reflection of my face in the white marble. The light from above rippled through it, faint and trembling, like moonlight over shallow water.

"What about all this?" I asked, raising my head toward the massive dome that covered the skies. "How did you do all this? Is it another illusion? Or something else entirely?"

The Chieftain's gaze lingered in his cup for a while, the amber liquid swirling slow and lazy under his thumb. His face gave nothing away, but his eyes---his eyes carried the same distant weight I'd seen earlier when he'd traced his hand across the desk in his chambers.

"Something else entirely," he said finally. Then he stood, setting the cup aside. "Come. I'll show you to your room."

I watched him go for just a second. He had very clearly deflected the topic.

I turned away, calling to the cub who was still gnawing on a strip of bear meat left from the first trial. It looked up, blinked at me once, then bounded over, licking its lips.

We followed the Chieftain out through a side passage. The walls changed as we went---that same smooth black stone replacing the sandstone of the colosseum, veins of red ore branching across everything like roots. The air cooled as we went lower---a different route this time.

Instead of the slope I'd previously followed down to the Chieftain's study, this corridor widened until it opened into a staircase. But to call it a mere staircase didn't do the structure justice. It was massive and deliberate, wide enough for a 20 men to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, as if it expected heavy traffic.

And yet, it was only the three of us that descended now.

The stairway wound endlessly, circling a vast, open shaft. The air was still at first, but as we went deeper, a low wind began to hum---soft, constant, like the breath of the earth itself. Our footsteps echoed, steady and hollow.

Halfway down, the cub grew restless. Its claws clicked against the polished stone as it paced, then, apparently deciding the descent was too boring, it leapt onto my shoulders with a small grunt. Its weight settled comfortably, head resting against the side of my neck.

I sighed, but didn't push it off.

The staircase ended suddenly.

A faint gust brushed past, bringing with it the scent of sand. Clean, and dry.

The view opened before me, and for a moment, my breath caught.

It stretched out below us.

A colossal underground expanse carved into a cone-like shape going straight down. And along the sloping walls, were concentric layers of land, each one lit by glowing streaks of gold in the ground. Above us, was another dome, mirrored to the one on the surface, this one lined with crystals instead of tile.

It wasn't dark at all. The whole place shimmered a warm yellow from the strange luminescent lighting along the ground of every layer. Narrow tunnels ran along the streets, wind coursing through them, whispering softly through arches and creating a comforting breeze.

Scattered throughout every layer, were fountains---slender spires of more black-stone that poured streams of clear water into shallow basins. The water glowed a faint, light blue, purified as it fell, no doubt being drawn from deeper underground. Children played by the edges, laughter carrying faintly through the ever-shifting air.

Fields of strange crops filled the lower terraces, their leaves glimmering faintly gold and silver. Rows of tall, reed-like plants bent gently under the wind, roots sunk into sand instead of soil.

Everything here was alive---structured, deliberate, thriving.

The Chieftain looked back at me, faint amusement in his tone.

"Not what you expected, is it?"

"No," I said honestly. "It's…beautiful."

He smiled faintly, then continued on.

We walked along a raised path that curved over the city like a bridge. It gave a perfect view of the tiered streets below. Buildings rose in patterns like waves, all carved from the same odd black stone I'd seen in the underground. Every surface gleamed faintly, polished smooth by what I assumed was time.

"What material is this? The black, polished stone? Everything I see is made of the stuff, but I haven't seen it anywhere else..."

"It is a variant of Sandstone, unique to the Shavrak. But that is all you can know for now."

The Chieftain pointed toward one of the larger plazas---a square surrounded by towering stone spires. In the center was a massive open courtyard, its floor covered in numerous faintly glowing runes.

"That," he said, "is the Courtyard of Tenacity. It is indestructible. Every Chieftain must add to it their own layer of protective enchantment. Now, after centuries since the First Shavrak, it has become so ridiculously sturdy that not even I can put a scratch on it's surface."

"Indestructible..."

My life's goal, and a damn courtyard had done it before me. "Is it really? Surely there exists a being that could destroy it."

He smirked. "If such a being exists...then they are beyond the realms of Mortals."

I gulped. We continued walking.

The path grew narrower as we reached the outer rings of the city. The sound of rushing air grew stronger here, like a constant wind in the ears. Finally, he stopped before a broad door, wooden, but inlaid with the same faint luminescent gold on the streets.

"This will be your room," he said. "It is simple, but you'll find it comfortable."

He pressed a hand against the door, and the markings flared. The door swung open silently, revealing a spacious chamber inside. Smooth walls. A low bed carved from the same stone, draped in furs. A table, a basin, and a faint, steady light radiating from more golden markings in the ceiling.

The cub hopped off my shoulder and padded inside immediately, sniffing every corner as if claiming the space for itself.

I turned to find the Chieftain holding something out to me.

The serpent's beast core.

It pulsed faintly in his palm, red glowing beneath its surface. "Yours," he said simply.

I took it, feeling its warmth hum through my fingers.

"Get some rest," the Chieftain continued. "Tomorrow, your five days will begin. Come find me in the Courtyard of Tenacity in the morning."

I asked, glancing up at the dark dome, "How will I know it's morning? We're underground..."

"Oh, you'll know." he replied with a toothy grin, then turned and left without another word.

I shook my head, wondering just what he meant, then closed the door behind me.

Silence followed.

For a while, I just stood there, feeling the hum of the core in my hand as I took in the room.

My room.

I had never had a room before.

My eyes wandered along the walls. The same, polished black stone, marked by gold. A startlingly beautiful combination of color, yet also...a little overwhelming. I'd have preferred something more...plain.

My gaze returned to the core in my hands, and I realized...

The Daily Quest...this is the Hunting Objective complete...isn't it?

I pulled up the window in a rush.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Daily Quest #2]

Standard Axemanship Practice (5/5) (COMPLETE)

-500 Downward Chops (500/500)

-500 Horizontal Slashes (500/500)

-500 Downward-Diagonal Slashes (500/500)

-500 Upward-Diagonal Slashes (500/500)

-500 Tail-End Stabs (500/500)

Mana-Channeled Axemanship Practice (0/5)

-5 Downward Chop (0/5)

-5 Horizontal Slash (0/5)

-5 Downward-Diagonal Slash (0/5)

-5 Upward-Diagonal Slash (0/5)

-5 Tail-End Stab (0/5)

Resource Directive (REDACTED)

-Host has acquired a Mana Pool large enough to support Mana-Channeled Axemanship Practice. Training Support for Mana Usage has also been redacted.

Hunting Objectives (COMPLETE)

-1 Beast Core at a rank higher than the Host's. (1/1)

OR

-Equivalent EXP.

Current EXP Requirement : 10,000EXP.

Time Remaining: 3 hours 7 minutes 42 seconds

Reward: 100 Mastery Points

Failure: Attribute Seal (–15%)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It's possible. 3 hours for the Mana-Channeled swings...

The System wouldn't be limiting my mana as assistance from this point forth, so it was up to me to figure out how to control. And though I hadn't had any succuss yet...I had a good grasp on what I could do. I'd had plenty of time to think along the way. From the walk through the core, to the cliff-side paths up to the plains, and then the many hours on the plains themselves...it was a lot of time...when you had two minds.

My second awareness had been constantly formulating ways to control the Berserk Mana. The Purple-eyed lady had made it very clear that it was impossible to control...but I knew I could get it to move with enough Destructive intent.

But it worked more like an on/off switch. It was either full power, or none at all, and the force required to flip that switch, was the destructive intent.

Trying to use less destructive intent to in turn use less berserk mana was pointless. The switch just wouldn't flip.

That was what I had learned.

It was basically a flood gate once it opened. The Mana poured out full-stream into my blood vessels and nerves.

So the solution I'd come up with?

If I couldn't control the flood-gate...then I just had to add a another gate atop it.

One I could control without a shadow of a doubt.

I exhaled deeply, eyes settling on the Beast Core once more.

I had grand plans, and now, I'd need all the Mana I could get.

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