Chapter 263: Tabula Rasa
“You sure you’re okay?” Coop tried confirming, not for the first time.
Grizz put a scarred hand on the shoulder of the fragile seeming member of his little group in solidarity, supporting Dan as the mana guide gulped and nodded that he really was alright. Coop tilted his head to the side, trying to get a read on the guide.
“Don’t worry, Champ.” The older veteran spoke on behalf of the scout. “Dan’s a soldier.” He concluded, and Cap bowed her head like his words were profound. Dan smiled weakly at the support of his party.
Dan had nearly been overwhelmed by the currents of mana flowing through the enormous cavern when he first tried to make sense of their surroundings. When Coop only saw a pristine wilderness of untouched dirt, Dan was subjected to the deafening roar and crushing weight of an avalanche. He described the ambience like mana was slowly rolling across the landscape with the inevitability of a glacier: an unstoppable force of nature, less guided by the tunnels and more responsible for them. The potential energy was terrifying.
By his own account, he had things under control after having a little time to acclimate, but his initial experience was staggering. Even after hours of adjusting, he was pale and clammy as a result of the inundation of mana. Coop frowned at his sunken eyes, genuinely worried for the guy. It was like he had been forced to march across a desert with no relief.
Just for fun, Coop toggled his own Vaporform to see what he could witness for himself after hearing Dan’s impressions. He figured it would be better to know ahead of time what he was getting into if he had to use the ability in the middle of combat.
He toggled the skill back off a fraction of a second after testing it out, feeling like he had been punched directly in the retinas. It felt like his very essence could have been smothered in a molasses-like cascade of mana that threatened to drown and suffocate his spirit all at once. While he could jump in and out of Vaporform, he thought it would be best to avoid lingering with the skill toggled on. He was extra thankful that his mistjumps had been streamlined to the point that he wasn’t dragged through the mists anymore. They were really in the thick of it in terms of mana density.
The galactic community had compared the Underlayer to a planet-wide mana well for good reason. The same drifting tides that Coop had witnessed for himself in the Coral Forest were present in the empty underground, but magnified by thousands of times. The difference between the Underlayer and a Mana Well was like comparing the global ocean conveyor belt with a local drainage canal. Dan had needed time to adjust before he could make sense of the seemingly empty caverns, and Coop couldn’t blame him.
“There’s something major in that direction.” Dan insisted, eyebrows furrowed with concern. He pointed off to their left as his squadmates huddled at the foot of the Ghost Reef pillar to share their findings with Coop.
“Otherwise, you can go that way.” Dan pointed past the right side of the monument as he continued his assessment. “Or that way.” He pointed straight left from where Coop stood, away from the pillar. “Those seem to be the passages that continue further.” He let his hand drop after indicating each way.
“And what directions are those actually?” Coop asked for his own sake. The complete lack of landmarks was confusing enough. Having every direction be defined by pointed fingers wouldn't help much.
Cap answered for the strained mana scout, having already organized their presentation after they explored the immediate vicinity of their landing point with Amanda and Mikey B. “The point of interest is to the west northwest, but the major flow of mana seems to split between southwest and northeast.” She lifted the palms of her hands out like the intel could have been more concrete, but they had to work with what they could get. “We’re making educated guesses based on our orientation when we came through the teleporters.”