Min looked at him with disbelief, his eyes widening. "Wait a minute. This whole time you’ve been telling us how dangerous it would be to alert the females because they’re too many and deadly in groups. And now you want us to go directly into their nest?"
"The point was to prevent the male from alerting them," explained Ren while checking his tools. "If we keep noise to a minimum and don’t wake them, we won’t die."
"We won’t die," repeated Min. "Great. Very reassuring."
Despite their doubts, nobody seriously protested when Ren began advancing toward the entrance first. Everyone knew that, despite his strange methods, Ren had proven during their visits to the depths that he wouldn’t put them in danger unless he was certain he could protect them in the worst case.
The cave descended at a soft gradual angle, with walls that glowed faintly thanks to pure mana crystals embedded in the rock. The light they emitted was sufficient to navigate without torches, which was convenient considering the need for stealth. Stay updated through freewebnovel
Not that they needed them with Ren’s mushrooms at the front though.
The air grew cooler as they descended, carrying a faint metallic scent that tingled in their nostrils.
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"These crystals," Ren indicated in a murmur as they advanced, "collect all you can. It’s difficult to obtain pure crystals of this size without access to a vein. The pure ones the kingdom distributes are always in large denominations so it’s convenient to be able to easily take them here instead of wasting time at the vein again. The sentinel won’t need them anymore..."
The group began carefully extracting the most accessible crystals, the soft scraping against the stone barely audible in the hushed silence.
"They’re worth double the normal ones," commented Ren while storing several. "But they’re difficult to obtain and... Their true value lies in their applications for initial cultivation."
After collecting all the easy crystals, they continued their descent. The tunnel gradually widened until it opened into a large chamber where dozens, no, hundreds of female shadow stalkers slept in groups, adhered to the walls and ceiling like enormous bats. Their translucent bodies pulsed with light bioluminescence, casting eerie, shifting shadows across the cavern floor.
Everyone instinctively stopped, holding their breath at the sight. The creatures, smaller than the male but equally lethal, pulsed softly with a rhythm that suggested deep sleep. Occasional soft chirps and whistles escaped them, creating an unsettling symphony.
"Don’t make much noise," whispered Ren, so low he was barely audible. "And don’t wake any of them. We’re not going to kill any yet."
"Yet?" Taro silently articulated, shooting him a worried look.
Ren simply gestured for them to follow and began advancing along the edge of the chamber, keeping as far as possible from the walls where the creatures rested. The group followed in single file, each step calculated to minimize sound, even their breath controlled.
At a particularly tense moment, one of the shadow stalkers moved in its sleep, partially extending its tentacles before returning to its position. The entire group froze, nobody daring to even breathe until the creature settled again. Larissa’s hand found Luna’s in the darkness, squeezing tightly.
After what seemed like an eternity, they reached another tunnel that descended even deeper into the cave. They continued advancing for several minutes in silence, until the tunnel finally opened into a new chamber, larger but with a clearly different purpose than sleeping.
"The molting chamber," announced Ren, his voice returning to a more normal volume though still controlled. "What we were looking for."
The chamber was filled with discarded skins, all nearly complete, piled in mounds that reached almost to the low ceiling in some areas.
"They’re beautiful without any scratches," murmured Liora, approaching to examine one of the upper skins, which appeared to be in better condition than those below. The membrane felt cool and slightly slick beneath her fingers.
"And quite valuable," added Ren. "The ones on top are the most recent, therefore the best preserved. Even some slightly older ones from the pile can serve, at least for the exam’s purpose."
"How much is each worth?" asked Han, already mentally calculating, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Depending on the condition," Ren responded while examining a particularly well-preserved skin, holding it up to catch the faint light, "between 300 and 250 crystals. The old or damaged ones, perhaps between 50 and 100."
"With just 33 or 34 of the good ones, any of us could meet the exam requirement," calculated Larissa, clearly impressed.
"Exactly," Ren nodded. "Last time I couldn’t carry too many because of the weight and space, but there should be about 30 for each of us here... Collect all those in acceptable condition. We’ll look for more chambers like this during the rest of the day."
"There are more?" asked Han, surprised.
"At least three more, if my calculations are correct based on this colony’s size," confirmed Ren. "Shadow stalker colonies always make multiple molting chambers. It takes little time for them to degrade, but with just one chamber for this big a colony, it would fill faster than they disintegrate."
The group began to work, selecting and packing the best-preserved skins. Each had to be handled carefully to avoid additional damage, and properly packed to maintain its integrity during transport. The soft rustling of membranes and whispered instructions created a strange harmony in the dimly lit chamber.
As the skins accumulated and backpacks began to fill, the atmosphere among the group became more relaxed. The expedition’s success was practically assured now, even if they found nothing else.
"This is just the beginning," commented Ren while packing the last usable skin in his backpack. "The other chambers may contain even more, especially if we continue descending."
"Further down?" Taro couldn’t help but ask with certain apprehension. "Where there are more sleeping shadow stalkers, I assume?"
"Yes," Ren confirmed naturally, as if discussing the weather.
"Of course," sighed Min. "Because we can never simply settle for what’s safe and easy."
Ren smiled slightly, his mushrooms pulsing with what seemed like amusement. "That’s the easy part. The hard part comes when you help me get some small tentacles."
The silence that followed was immediate and absolute. Taro almost dropped the skin he was examining, his face draining of color.
"Tentacles?" Mira finally asked, her voice a worried whisper. "From the live females?"
"Of course," Ren nodded as if discussing something as simple as picking flowers. "The sentinel’s are for one thing, but the females’ have different uses. Equally valuable to me."
"And you n-need our help...?" Han left the question hanging in the air.
"You’ll give me your help as thanks, won’t you?" Ren responded simply. "For bringing you here and showing you these chambers. It’s a fair exchange."
Everyone audibly swallowed, exchanging looks of resignation mixed with nervousness. Finally, they nodded one by one, their faces a mixture of dread and determination.