Chapter 60: The Mines
The frost-hardened path to the mines crackled beneath their boots.
Lan led the group—Venom, Bragg, Garran and Thorn following close behind. Morning mist curled through the ravine, hugging the broken scaffolds and rusted mining tracks like ghosts too stubborn to leave.
The mine’s entrance stood ahead, jagged and dark like a wound carved into the earth. It was once the Solaris Kingdom’s pride, now hollowed out and left to rot.
But that was before Lan.
He stopped at the mouth of the tunnel and pulled out the talisman pouch, its interior pulsing faintly with spiritual energy. The others gathered around, watching him closely.
"We’ll set two per blast," Lan explained. "One Staggered Pulse to break through. One Reinforced Ward to prevent collapse. Together, they’ll dig us deeper without crumbling the tunnels."
"Seems a lot safer than explosives," Garran muttered, inspecting the talisman’s glow.
Lan handed the two talismans to Bragg. "Place the Staggered Pulse in the center of the target wall, about waist-height. Then put the Reinforced Ward just above it, angled slightly down so it shields the space."
Bragg nodded and got to work.
Once the talismans were secured to the stone face, Lan stepped forward. His eyes glowed faintly as he activated both with a touch of spiritual will. The glyphs pulsed—red for destruction, blue for defense.
"You’ll have two minutes before the blast," Lan said, his voice echoing in the tunnel. "That’s more than enough time to clear the radius. Let’s move."
They retreated down the tunnel. Lan counted under his breath. Fifty... sixty...