The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Down Within

There were radical implications if the dwarves were really allied with the Alacryans, but regardless of my hunch, I needed to make sure my suspicions weren’t just me being over skeptical.

It took me another hour or so to locate one of the hidden entrances to the dwarves’ underground kingdom, but even that was only possible with the help of Realmheart.

‘Your breathing is strained,’ Sylvie noted from inside my cloak as I carefully ran my fingers down the faint crease, camouflaged to look like an ordinary crack along the steep cliff.

It’s fine. I just used Realmheart for too long, that’s all, I replied as I stared down at my arms. Without the golden runes etched into me and my vision returning to normal, I realized how pale my body had become—it wasn’t the sort of creamy pale that girls wished for but the sickly pale that made you worry for your wellbeing.

‘I feel like I shouldn’t need to remind you, but do know that there is a concept called moderation that works wonders on both mind and body?’

Ignoring my bond’s nagging, I tried pushing at the concealed entrance once more. Despite the added mana to strengthen my body, the earthen door refused to move.

There should definitely be some sort of way to open it. I’m missing something. I continued sliding my hands, which were surrounded in earth attribute mana, across the length of the hidden door.

‘Maybe you need to be a dwarf to be allowed to enter,’ Sylvie mused.

No. I highly doubt that there is a specific mana signature that only dwarves could have besides deviants, and if that were the case, more than eighty percent of their population wouldn’t be able to get in through their own doors. No, there has to be a different—I think I got it!

I immediately kneeled, sending Sylvie tumbling out of my cloak with my sudden movement.

You may not need to be a dwarf but a dwarf had definitely built this, so I should act as if I were one. I ran my hands through the rocky wall once more, pushing aside the shrub that covered much of the bottom-half of the hidden door.

‘Ah, the height!’ she exclaimed, her excited voice ringing in my head as she climbed atop my shoulder.

After several minutes of trying to find the handle, button, lever—anything—to open the lock mechanism, I finally found it. At about four feet from the ground, near the ridge of the door, my left hand sunk into the cliff. At first, it felt like I had accidentally touched some sort of sap or glue-like substance, but when I highered the output of mana into my hand, the viscosity of the wall changed. As I played around with the unique mechanism of this door, I realized that it wasn’t about how much earth attribute mana you put into your hand, but the precise pattern of mana levels you invoked as you inserted your hand deeper into the hidden lock.

If the mana output levels could be measured from a value of one to ten, then I needed to find the right combination between those numbers to successfully unlock this entrance.

Every time I guessed the output level wrong and attempted to push my hand through deeper into the lock hole, the earth surrounding my hand turned more viscous, pushing my hand out of the lock.

“Damn it,” I cursed under my breath after the twentieth failed attempt at unlocking the door. Half tempted to blow open the door, I took a deep breath and released Realmheart once more.

Immediately, a searing pain flooded out of my core and into body and limbs. I buckled and fell to my knees into a series of intense coughs. I didn’t just vomit food and bile this time but blood as well.

A wave of dissatisfaction and concern washed out of Sylvie.

I swear, if you say something about moderation again...

‘Let’s just get this mission over with. You can get some rest then,’ she replied.

With a feeble nod, I put weight on my legs to prop myself back up only to end up flat on my back. With the little mana I had spent on maintaining Realmheart, I rescinded the mana I’d coalesced into my legs to save for unlocking the entrance.

I could feel the emotions of my bond once again as she peered down at me. Staying silent, Sylvie helped me into a sitting position by pushing me back up with her head.

Taking breaths felt like I was swallowing needles, but I was thankful that I could even activate Realmheart again. Wasting no time, I focused on the area where the keyhole was, my hand barely reaching it with the help of Sylvie. Using the last bit of mana that I’d saved, I willed earth attribute mana into my hand.

Immediately, I could see the fluctuations of mana particles gathering around the concealed keyhole. When I willed the correct amount of mana into my hand, the particles lit up and dispersed, allowing my hand to go further into the hole without fear that I’d have to start over.

I bet you dragons never thought of using Realmheart for things like this, I smirked as my hand submerged into the wall, now up to my forearm.

‘Things like unlocking a door? No, that’d be beneath us,’ my bond grunted.

Situations call for adaptation, my furry little dragon, I retorted, tugging on the handle buried deep within the lock mechanism of the concealed door. With a satisfying click, the earthen wall rumbled before sliding open.

I turned back and shot my bond, who was still keeping my broken body up, a proud wink.

‘I get embarrassed at the thought of ever referring you as "papa".’ Even in her furry little fox form, there was a palpable sense of mockery as she rolled her eyes.

Hey, you were the one that hatched for me. Withdrawing Realmheart, I wiped the trail of blood that ran down my chin from the corner of my mouth and reallocated my miniscule mana into my legs once more.

Working with a single-digit percentage of my mana barely allowed me the luxury of being able to use my mangled legs, and even then standing was an arduous task.

Using the wall as a support, I got up and spared no time heading down the narrow corridor. The passageway that was about five feet wide and had a ceiling that scraped the top of my head even when hunched was more like a crude tunnel than an actual hallway. Fortunately, there were candles casting a dim light inside little cubby holes dug into either side of the walls. Without the need for mana aside from strengthening my legs, I was able to take advantage of this brief down time to use Mana Rotation and replenish my empty core.

I could feel the heat from the candles, but after venturing through the harsh sandy winds I wholeheartedly welcomed it. I stuck to the left side of the hallway, partly to be somewhat hidden and also because I desperately needed to lean against the jagged wall for support while walking down the small slope. Meanwhile, Sylvie trotted carefully a few steps ahead, checking and testing anything remotely suspicious that could be a hidden trap.

‘Is this really a good idea? You’re in no state for battle if, by chance, we encounter an enemy. I’m limited to what I can do in this form and even if we see that the dwarves are allied with the Alacryans, what can we do?’ my bond bombarded as we slowly made our way down hallway.

It’s not a good idea, but we need to do this, I replied seriously. You’re right; I can’t fight, and there’s not much place to hide in case we do run into someone, but we can’t waste time recovering. If I’m right, even if I can’t gather proof, I know at least Virion and Aldir will listen to me.

‘Fine, but our arrangement still stands. The moment we run into trouble, I’m breaking these walls and we’re getting out of here.’

Sure, I complied as we continued making our way down the dimly lit hallway until something luminescent—that wasn’t a candle—appeared in the distance. Exchanging a glance with each other, my bond and I made our way toward the light.

‘I’m getting us out of here,’ my bond stated, her body already beginning to glow.

Not yet! Focusing on one of the entrances to a tunnel just a few yards away, I managed to will a few rocks to dislodge. I immediately heard the flurry of movement as the platoon whirled around, weapons and armor clanking.

Hold your breath, I ordered Sylvie as I activated Mirage Walk. Coalescing the atmospheric mana around us to hide our presence was something that I’d never had the need to use since coming back to Dicathen, but in this situation where enemy mages would be marching just inches away from us, I didn’t want to take any chances.