The sudden release of corrosive gas was the biggest reason Cal had taken the damage. If he had known how severe it was, he could have pushed more mana into the protective layer to keep himself safe. It would have lasted only a few seconds, but that would have been enough for a retreat to safety.

Cal went back to rescue his precious shovel. Well, rushed back was a better description. He made quick work of the distance, pumped mana into the protective layer without limits, and jumped into the hole he had previously dug.

The green fumes ate at his mana layer and would reach his body in a few seconds. That gave him more than enough time to do what he needed. He snatched his fallen shovel and plunged it into the cracked-open ore, scooping out as many of the voidiron pellets as he could before jumping out and retreating to the void.

Cal grimaced and extended his arms, keeping the shovel at a distance while the green fumes dissipated off the voidiron pellets. He would not touch it until it was all gone, and that didn’t take long.

He stored the pellets and checked the interface.

75 Voidiron Pellets

23 Voidiron Pellets

Cal frowned, not happy that each inventory spot could only handle seventy-five pellets, but he couldn’t do anything about it. The ore he had cracked open contained well over a thousand pellets. That would be enough to complete the requirement for his [Rare Rake] and fill up all his open inventory spots.

He waited for his mana reserves to refill so he could return to the hole and do exactly that.

***

Cal smiled as he stored his [Rare Rake], having just finished collecting the voidiron pellets. He pulled up his interface to admire his work.

[Rare Rake: Excellent Quality] Upgrade: 2 Requirements

1. Tasks Required: 1

- 8452/20000 Tasks

2. Materials Required: 3

- 5/5 Earth Crystals

- 0/10 Dragonite Scales

- 500/500 Voidiron Pellets

He just had to find the Dragonite Scales, whatever those were, but that was a problem for the future. He pulled up the information about what his storage pouch held.

Basic Storage Pouch

Inventory: 20/20

1 Unknown Gem (x5)

137 Copper, 7 Silver, 5 Gold, 14 Guildmarks

1 Rake (Rare)

1 Map (Trade Routes of the Celestial Order)

1 Mana Restoration Potion (Minor)

2 Calming Potion

2 Rage Potion

4 Daggers (Common)

1 Voidiron Shovel (Advanced)

1 Voidiron Cube (Rare Artifact)

150 Unknown Crystals

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83 Unknown Crystals

2 Earth Crystals

75 Voidiron Pellets (x3)

Cal had thought about dumping the map and daggers to free up spots for more voidiron pellets, but given the little that was left in the hole, it wasn’t worth the tradeoff. And he definitely wasn’t willing to dig up another ore and risk getting his skin melted off… again. He didn’t have healing potions to bail him out anymore.

He looked at the cursed area one last time before stepping into the void, happy to be leaving it behind.

Cal had kept the mana layer active just in case, but dropped it after he confirmed the air in this new area wasn’t trying to kill him. The issue was that he did not know what was here.

It was dark… and quiet. Unlike in a previous area, where there were luminescent crystals that provided light, there was nothing of the sort here. His eyesight was far above any mortal, but in the absence of light, of which even the dimmest would do, there was nothing to be done.

He shifted his feet and felt the familiar, almost comforting pattern of the ground sloping downwards. He guessed there was another void below, so there was a target for where he should go.

The biggest issue was the lack of light, but there was a stopgap for that. He used [Mana Sense] with caution, having learned how some environments were not the best for the spell in previous areas.

Cal took in the feedback from the mana tendrils and frowned. It was… dead, for lack of a better word.

There was nothing for him to detect on the ground, not even oddities of the inanimate kind. However, the strange feedback occurred when the mana tendrils reached up and tried to go beyond five feet, about the height of his shoulder. While nothing stopped the mana tendrils, they dulled to the point of uselessness. This was consistent no matter how far down he extended the mana tendrils; the dead zone was always five feet above the ground.

Fire magic would come in handy here. Unfortunately, I’m not a pyromaniac like Tavia.

He pulled back the mana tendrils, but kept them active in a tight circle around him, no more than twenty feet away to keep it from draining his reserves. His shoulders and head were above the line that deadened the mana tendrils, but he physically couldn’t feel anything strange, nor did the flow of mana suddenly stop in his body. He settled on the guess that something here prevented spells from being effective above the five-foot line. As for why, he had no clue.

Cal made his way down slowly. He had his arms up, hands in front to prevent any surprises from smacking him face first, but it likely had a questionable chance of success. It was mostly for his own peace of mind, and that was reason enough to wander down this area like the newly blind man he was, accompanied only by the sound of his footsteps.

He stopped after just a few hundred feet of nothing. There was change, but it wasn’t external. It came from his storage pouch.

Cal couldn’t believe the thing that caused the change, and even after he double-checked with a mana tendril, he was still dumbfounded.

What in the world could cause a reaction from the damned gem? Cal’s alarm rose. Whatever it is might already have affected me!

His mana reserves roiled as he scanned his body thoroughly, his fear settling when he sensed that all was normal. Still, he recreated the protective mana layer that saved his life in the last area, or at least, tried to.

Cal wasn’t sure when the dead zone had changed, but using mana was now pointless over a mere foot above the ground. It was still ‘active,’ but for all intents and purposes, it was merely a show with no effect behind it.

The mana layer was useless, and after a quick test, he reconfirmed spells were the same. Sure, he cast them successfully, but they would have an effect equivalent to that of the flap of an insect’s wings moving a mountain.

Cal didn’t miss that the dead zone conveniently didn’t include the ground, allowing for his mana tendrils to continue being useful. He wasn’t sure if that should make him wary or not. It could be a coincidence, but considering where he was, he doubted it.

He kept his metaphorical eye on the gem in his storage pouch, and he restarted his blind expedition down to the void he hoped was below.

I’m hoping for a lot of things. Cal thought with derision. He had never felt less in control.

There were times that he was powerless, but he still had choices he could make. Here, he had only one option, which was to keep moving down and hope it all worked out.

Cal’s ears perked up at a faint rustling. He stopped, preventing his footsteps dominated the space.

He clenched his fist when he realized the rustling was close, not even thirty feet away. His mana tendrils sensed no changes, so that meant whatever was making the sound didn’t touch the ground.

Cal stayed motionless for several seconds before his ears picked up several more clues. The rustling didn’t get closer, and it wasn’t from a single source. It was from many, and not just ten or twenty. It was in the range of over a hundred sources, but all were so faint that it was hard to detect.

He had hoped to keep [Lightning Aura] in reserve, but he was no longer willing to go forward blindly. Still, it was a shame that he would need to use it as a lamp alternative.

Cal mentally nudged the interface.

Would you like to use [Lightning Aura]?

He accepted.

[Lightning Aura] activated.

Unlike the first time he activated the [Trait], his reserves did not drain. The increased capacity from his growth paid off.

Faint white streaks of light swirled about his body, and it took a few seconds before his eyes could use the light to take in what was around him.

Cal’s intention to observe the new area met a wall as he stared in disgust at what was before him. He stepped back and gagged as his eyes trailed up.

This place was no longer a curious little adventure. It was evil.