Chapter 22: 22. Way into Crystal caverns
AT THE SAME TIME
ALEXANDER
We continued moving the next morning with Aiko flying ahead of the group like a tiny feathery scout nobody had asked for but everyone now depended on. At first it only detected another hidden trap line, then another, then a crystal pressure plate hidden beneath loose stone, then an entire section of unstable ground that would have collapsed under our weight. By the fifth hidden danger, even Noa stopped pretending this was normal.
"This many traps should not exist on a C-rank route."She said quietly.
"They do if somebody hates adventurers personally."I replied.
Aiko chirped proudly from above.
"You are enjoying this too much."I pointed at the bird.
The guards looked increasingly stressed every time the raven revealed another concealed hazard. One of them finally dropped to one knee beside the path and unfolded the original guild map again. His expression slowly became horrified.
"No."He whispered.
"What?"The second guard leaned over his shoulder.
"Half these hazards are missing."First one said.
Silence.
"No, impossible. Michael reviewed this route personally."The third guard grabbed the map directly.
"Then Michael got incomplete information."The first guard snapped back.
Aiko suddenly screeched again from farther ahead, everyone froze. The bird hovered near the wall, pecked the air once, and an entire line of crystal spikes suddenly shot upward from the ground where we would have stepped next. The guards collectively went pale.
"That trap was not documented."One whispered.
"Neither was that one."The second added weakly.
"This route was designed badly."Rosalia lowered her gun slightly.
"No."Noa corrected immediately. "It was hidden badly."
"Someone concealed the real danger level."Scarlet looked troubled.
One of the guards immediately pulled a small crystal device from his coat.
"I am contacting Master Michael now."He said as the crystal flickered blue.
A few seconds later, Michael’s exhausted voice exploded from the device.
"What happened NOW?"Michael nearly screamed.
"We found more hidden traps, sir."The guard answered immediately.
"How many?"Michael asked.
The guards looked around slowly, then at Aiko, then at the destroyed spike trap.
"We lost count."One of them said.
Silence came from the crystal.
"Excuse me?"Michael asked.
"The anomaly bird detected them."The guard continued.
"The WHAT detected them?"Michael asked again.
"Long story."I rubbed my face.
"Alexander."Michael sounded spiritually exhausted already.
"Yes?"I asked.
"Why is there a sentence involving you and an anomaly bird."Michael asked.
"I ask myself that constantly."I groaned.
"Sir, the route documents are incomplete. Large sections of the hazard zones are missing entirely."The guard held up the map.
Silence, real silence this time.
"That can not be right."Then Michael spoke again, slower.
"It is."Noa said flatly.
Aiko chirped loudly as if agreeing, another pause and then Michael suddenly sounded very awake.
"Get out of that route immediately."Michael ordered.
I looked ahead toward the Crystal caverns entrance visible in the distance.
"Too late."I said.
"What do you mean too late?"Michael asked.
Aiko flew back down onto my shoulder. At the same moment, the crystal walls ahead began glowing faintly blue, the ground beneath us vibrated once.
"I hate my life."I closed my eyes immediately.
Michael’s voice was still coming through the communication crystal, sharp with rising panic.
"Get out of that route immediately."Michael ordered again.
I stared at the glowing cavern entrance ahead of us.
"Too late," I said.
A pause.
"What do you mean too late?"Michael asked.
Aiko fluttered off my shoulder and circled once in the air, as if confirming something only it could sense. Then it gave a single, confident chirp and flew straight forward. Nothing stopped it, no barrier triggered, no trap activated, it just passed through. The rest of us exchanged a look.
"There is no defensive response."Scarlet frowned.
"That is worse."Noa narrowed her eyes.
"It is waiting for something."Rosalia stepped forward slightly.
"Of course it is."I sighed.
And then, against every instinct screaming at me to stop, I walked forward. The moment my foot crossed the threshold, the world did not explode, collapse, or try to kill me, it simply accepted us. One by one, the others followed. The bird hovered near the wall, pecked the air once, and an entire line of crystal spikes suddenly shot upward from the ground where we would have stepped next.
"Why are you moving forward?"Michael’s voice crackled again.
"We are already inside," I replied.
Silence.
"Sir, the entrance is active but not triggering any defenses."Then the guard holding the communication crystal swallowed hard.
That got a different kind of silence from Michael, a heavy one.
"That route was sealed." Then his voice dropped.
I stopped walking.
"Sealed how?" I asked.
The crystal crackled.
"Years ago." Michael said slowly. "After a full expedition team entered the Crystal caverns through that exact fracture point."
No one spoke, even Isabella went quiet.
"They were high ranking adventurers. Full guild clearance. They reported normal cavern conditions on entry."Michael continued, voice tightening. "Then their signal vanished."
"No recovery?"Scarlet’s expression hardened slightly.
"Nothing." Michael replied. "No bodies. No gear. Not even residual mana traces after the first hour sweep."
"So you closed the route."Noa’s eyes narrowed.
"We sealed it." Michael corrected immediately. "Physically. Magically. Administratively. It should not exist as an accessible path."Michael explained.
I looked at the crystal walls around us, they pulsed faintly. Alive, almost.
"We are walking through a sealed graveyard." I muttered.
Aiko chirped from ahead again.
And then, as if responding to the memory itself, the cavern walls lit up with faint blue lines. Pathways, not random, guided.
"We are being led."Rosalia raised her gun slowly.
"Master... this feels intentional."Scarlet stepped closer to me.
"Something is allowing us in."Noa exhaled.
"That should not be possible."Michael’s voice returned, lower now.
Aiko landed on a crystal ledge ahead and looked back at us, then chirped once, clear, confident. Like it had been here before, the system flickered.
"DING."The system said.
I didn’t even react this time.
"Route recognition updated. Sealed expedition pathway: crystal caverns deep sector. Status: reopened."The system said.
"Reopened by what?"I stared at the message.
Aiko chirped again and flew deeper into the cavern.
The passage ahead lit up in response, crystal veins glowing softly like a road finally remembering how to exist. Behind us, Michael’s voice went quiet.
"Alexander."Michael said.
"Yeah?"I asked.
"If that place sealed itself for years..."Michael started. "Why is it opening for you?"
I looked at the glowing path, then at the bird guiding us forward like it owned the place. And honestly? I didn’t have a good answer. So I just started walking deeper inside the cave.
The deeper we went into the Crystal caverns, the stranger everything became. The glowing blue lines along the walls continued to illuminate our path, making my lantern almost unnecessary for once. Crystal formations rose from the ground and ceiling like frozen trees, filling the cavern with shimmering reflections.
Aiko flew several meters ahead of us, for the first time since entering the cavern, the bird seemed cautious. That immediately made me nervous.
"Aiko found something." Scarlet said quietly.
The raven landed on a crystal outcrop and stared into the darkness ahead, then a low growl echoed through the chamber.
Everyone froze. The sound bounced off the crystal walls and returned from every direction.
"I don’t like that."One of the guards immediately grabbed his weapon.
"Nobody likes that." I replied.
Another growl followed, closer this time.
"Large creature."Noa narrowed her eyes.
"Hostile until proven otherwise."Rosalia calmly raised her gun.
"That is a very aggressive sounding growl."Isabella took one step behind me.
"Excellent observation." I muttered.
Aiko suddenly chirped, the growling stopped. That somehow made things worse. We carefully moved forward until the tunnel opened into a massive crystal chamber, then we finally saw it.
A giant crystal lizard. It was nearly twice the size of the D-rank crystal lizards listed in the guild records.
Its body was covered in translucent crystal armor that reflected the cavern light and most importantly it was eating. Not people, not monsters, crystals. The creature bit directly into a crystal formation and casually chewed through it. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
"It’s eating the ore."I stared.
"The mission ore."Scarlet blinked.
"So our target is literally being consumed."Noa folded her arms.
The lizard bit off another chunk. Crunch.
"That crystal is worth twenty gold."One of the guards looked horrified.
Crunch.
"There goes another twenty."Another one said.
Crunch.
"Report."Michael’s voice suddenly came through the communication crystal.
"Sir, we found the ore deposit."The guard immediately responded.
"Good. Begin extraction."Michael said.
"The ore deposit is currently being eaten."The guard swallowed.
"What?"Michael asked.
"Eaten, sir."Second guard tried to explain it.
"Explain."Michael paused.
We all watched the crystal lizard casually destroy another expensive crystal. Crunch.
"That."The guard pointed.
A long silence followed then Michael finally spoke.
"That is not in the report."He said.
"Neither were half the traps." Another guard replied.
"Fair point."He said.
The lizard finally noticed us, its head slowly turned. Bright crystal eyes focused directly on our group. Everyone tensed, Rosalia aimed, and Noa drew a blade. Scarlet gathered holy mana and the guards raised their weapons. Aiko landed on my shoulder, the crystal lizard stared at the bird, and then it stopped growling entirely. The creature tilted its head, and Aiko chirped once. The giant lizard blinked. Then, to everyone’s complete confusion, it sat down and continued eating crystals like we didn’t exist. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Finally, one guard lowered his weapon.
"I have absolutely no idea what’s happening anymore."He said.
And honestly? Neither did I.
