Chapter 46: The Underground World! (2)
Kaiden kept pushing his vision deeper.
Fortunately, the Subterranean Vision skill consumed only ten mana points per second at its current level.
And after reaching Level Nine, his Intelligence attribute had risen to 101 points, granting him over a thousand mana points.
In other words, he could sustain the skill for close to a hundred seconds straight.
And of course, that wasn't all.
He also had Mana Recovery Potions that could support him when needed… when truly needed.
The descent didn't take long. His vision kept sinking until it reached a depth of fifty meters.
But the result was disappointing.
There was nothing but accumulated layers of soil and sedimentary rock, scattered bones of large rodent monsters, and tree trunks long forgotten and buried deep by the earth.
At roughly seventy meters, the situation was the same.
So after a moment's thought, Kaiden decided to stop.
He could have kept going deeper, but he had no desire to drain his entire mana reserve for no clear benefit.
So he decided to shift his search location.
For a moment he felt like an archaeologist who had spent a fortune on an expedition only to return empty-handed.
But he quickly laughed at the thought — in the end, he had only lost a few minutes and some mana that he'd recover while walking.
He thought for a moment before an idea sparked in his mind.
"What's beneath the Lord's Hall?"
The more he thought about it, the more his curiosity grew. So he immediately turned around and began walking quickly toward home.
---
Meanwhile, at one of the territory's many border points, an elite soldier spear-carrier stood with several militia members assigned to guard this particular checkpoint.
Patrol duty was extraordinarily dull when no monsters appeared — and that was precisely what was happening now.
So everyone passed the time chatting.
One of the militia members sighed with irritation.
"Captain, we've only killed two monsters all day. We've had the bait out for nearly three hours and still haven't drawn another one."
Before Gerald had a chance to respond, another soldier cut in:
"That's true! I heard from the guy who brought us our meal that Captain Rob's team has already killed four monsters. And they probably got more after mealtime."
A third soldier let out an impressed whistle.
"Ah, well — that makes sense. Captain Rob was the first militia soldier to reach his rank threshold and the first among us to receive the Lord's blessing. Honestly, I consider Captain Rob my personal role model."
And as the conversation went on…
Gerald's face grew progressively darker.
What did these fools mean by "that makes sense for Captain Rob"?
Were they implying he was less capable than Rob? They had already killed two monsters! The problem was simply that no additional monsters had shown up!
It wasn't as though he'd been lounging around sleeping on the job.
And on top of that — he too had reached his rank threshold, received the Lord's blessing, and been promoted to elite soldier.
Why were they acting as if Rob was the only standout here?
The veins on his forehead began to bulge.
These idiots — did they think his spear was made of clay? He'd show them what pain felt like right now.
In that very moment the entire team felt a cold shiver run down their spines, and they fell silent automatically.
At first they thought a monster had approached the post — but when they raised their heads, they found the source of the threat was their own commander.
Gerald was staring at them with a cold smile that made their hearts tremble.
Everyone went pale instantly, and the direction of the conversation shifted at astonishing speed.
"Ah… don't forget everyone — our captain is incredible too! He advanced at an amazing rate!"
"True! True! Anyone who dares say Captain Gerald isn't incredible can deal with me first!"
"Absolutely! Sure, Jobz said Captain Rob is his role model — but as far as I'm concerned, Captain Gerald is my one and only role model!"
Gerald recognized they were trying to appease him. But unfortunately, he felt a measure of satisfaction nonetheless.
So he simply released a cold "Hmph," turned his head away, and pretended not to care. He had no desire to look at these flatterers' faces any longer.
But when he turned around, his eyes landed on the distant ruins of the testing ground.
By coincidence, their guard post was relatively close to it.
True, they hadn't been able to watch the display as clearly as Kaiden and the spectators had — but they had heard the sounds of shattering and explosions that Josh and Laura had produced.
Josh in particular — even from this distance, the force of his strikes had been terrifying.
It had stirred everyone's excitement, and perhaps that was the real reason they were all so eager for more monsters to appear.
As for Gerald — he was the most hungry for advancement among them all.
He still remembered the Lord's words that morning when they had been promoted — he had told them that the elite rank was only the beginning.
The true goal was to reach the Champion rank. Only then could one be considered to have taken the first real step toward genuine power.
And those words had left a deep imprint on his heart.
But after witnessing Laura and Josh's power with his own eyes, he had realized the gap between the elite rank and the Champion rank was far wider than he had imagined.
The small swell of pride he had felt after his promotion vanished entirely, replaced by a resolve as solid as steel.
He wanted to reach the Champion rank as quickly as possible. And that was precisely why he wanted more monsters to appear more than anyone else here.
As if the world had heard his wish.
For while he was lost in his thoughts, his ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps from a distance. He raised his head immediately — and his eyes went wide.
A monster. Finally.
The creature approached gradually. It was a large spotted hyena.
Though they rarely encountered this type of monster, Gerald felt not fear but excitement.
In any case, there was nothing to worry about — the protective barrier kept them safe. And as for raw power, whatever defense this hyena had, it wouldn't surpass that of the prairie lizard he had successfully killed before.
The rest of the team noticed the monster too, and the joking atmosphere vanished instantly.
Silence fell.
Every face turned serious without any command being given — they were all professionals who knew their duties.
Gerald nodded with satisfaction, then refocused his attention on the prey.
The hyena moved with extreme caution, advancing slowly while looking left and right with a cunning gaze.
Despite its caution, it couldn't conceal the hunger in its eyes or the way its mouth watered whenever it looked at the pile of entrails set out as bait.
It was searching for the monster that had left this enticing meal behind.
That was why it kept scanning its surroundings before drawing any closer.
It crept forward more…
Then more still…
And Gerald and his team waited in their positions.
Come on… get closer.
Excitement blazed in his eyes as he tightened his grip on the spear.
He was waiting only for the right moment.
The hyena, having failed to see or smell any nearby threat, began to feel at ease — it trusted its nose more than its eyes.
And finally it reached the bait.
It bent toward the savory meal.
And on the other side…
Gerald was poised to strike.
Then—
BOOOM!
The ground exploded without warning.
Before anyone could understand what was happening, something enormous launched itself out of the earth.
The hyena was flung into the air like a cloth doll.
A terrifying monster appeared — its long body covered in rocky scales, its enormous circular mouth like an abyss, filled with layers of frightening saw-like teeth.
Before the terrified hyena's scream could even complete itself…
That hellish mouth closed around it in a perfect circle.
CRACK!
The hyena vanished completely. There had been no hope of escape from that ambush.
In a single instant the poor monster was reduced to a bloody mess, and nothing survived that ironclad swallowing but a few scattered drops of blood and some dirt that splattered across Gerald and his men's faces and clothes.
Everyone froze in place.
What the hell was that?!
Gerald fell backward from the sheer shock.
And the rest of the team were in no better condition.
Their minds went completely blank.
The monster landed on the surface after completing its lunge, and only then was Gerald able to get a proper look at it.
He froze for a moment — then something came back to him.
"Wait…"
"Is this… the Lord's pet?!"
He had seen it earlier when the Lord had acquired it today, so he was nearly certain of his guess. But knowing its identity didn't reduce his shock.
It actually increased it. Why had it appeared here so suddenly?
In truth, just a few minutes earlier, Ibla had been roaming the territory's surroundings and exploring her new world.
While playing, she had sensed a monster approaching the soldiers of her master — she thought for a moment, then arrived at a supremely brilliant plan.
She could help the Lord's soldiers and get a snack at the same time!
Two birds with one stone — Ibla felt immensely proud of her own genius.
And so what happened, happened. After landing back on the surface, she didn't wait for words of thanks or praise.
She disappeared back into the soil as swiftly as she had emerged, like a noble knight who performs a good deed in silence then departs.
And of course…
She didn't forget to close the hole behind her.
The master had reminded her beforehand not to leave holes open, and Ibla was a good girl who listened carefully to her master's instructions.
With that thought, she felt a deep happiness and began humming a pleasant little tune inside herself as she continued her journey beneath the earth.
And with the terrifying Dragon Worm's disappearance…
Silence returned to the spot.
Gerald and his team exchanged looks.
The shock was still plain in everyone's eyes.
Finally, one of the militia soldiers managed to speak — with difficulty.
"Captain…"
He paused for a moment before completing his words in a trembling voice:
"Did… did something just steal our kill?"
---
— End of Chapter Forty-Six —
Tomorrow and the day after are my poor author’s days off, as we agreed, lads. There are also ten extra chapters, as you know. I’d be grateful if you’d choose to support this work by subscribing. I hope you have a lovely time. Bye for now.