Ch 2.20: Beneath

Elaina wasn’t sure who looked more distressed, Carline when she realized how dangerous the System said the monsters were, or Tira when she learned that the so called giant platypus might actually exist.

“I told you!” Flora said, skipping down further into the cave. “And if we are fighting dangerous monsters, it’s only a good idea to prepare ourselves.” She started singing that song of hers, spinning around as blue light illuminated the cave.

“Do you have to get naked at every chance?” Tira asked, still looking a little shocked from the revelation.

“This is just practical,” Flora said as she finished her transformation, twirling naked in front of the group. “I didn’t do it before cause I didn’t want any of the poachers to see me transform back after we captured them, but if they aren’t in here that doesn’t matter.”

Elaina was half distracted by Flora’s naked form itself, but even she realized the usefulness of it. They each gained access to something from their class gear, and even Flora’s travel bag had disappeared into whatever space held their belongings. “She’s right Tira.” Elaina focused on that pocket, the same place inside her body she pulled from to access her mana pool, and willed her outfit and crystal chain out into the real world. It was still surprisingly unnoticeable, other than the drop of her breasts, and soon she was standing there in just those sandals and the flimsy blue “dress” that was shorter than some shirts she’d owned. Temmie still remained in her hands though, not shaving disappeared into the space with her clothes and bag. At least our light source is still here I guess.

“Hey,” Flora said, “you’re not naked when you do it?”

“We’re not all perverts like you,” Tira said as she started the process herself.

“Yeah,” Elaina said, “we’re all different types of perverts.” Tira’s face was still obscured by the swirling crystal dust, but Elaina could still feel her eyes rolling.

Flora pouted a little as she watched Tira finish her transformation into her bodysuit, and then even more as she saw Carline’s outfit turn into those long flowing white robes. “I thought we would all be naked…”

“No, that’s just the type of pervert you are, Flora,” Carline said, giving her a pat on the back.

“Anyway,” Tira said as she stepped forward, “let’s get going. Carline, you in front since you can sense things. And Flora, you stay in the back since your crown does something similar.”

Both girls looked a little a little disappointed at the orders, but only Flora spoke up. “Come on, can’t I be in the front? It’s no fun being naked if no one can see me.”

“No. You only sense enemies actively targeting us. That’s good if we get snuck up on from behind, but we need Carline to lookout for things ahead of us before they spot us.”

Flora puffed out her cheeks, but eventually she lit up again. “Wait! I only sense when my allies are being targeted, not me, so I need to be in the middle! Elaina should be behind me, at the least.”

“Fair, Elaina, you follow behind her and me.”

Elaina had no complaints.

“Well, I’ll lead the way I guess.”

Carline started off, using her spear as a walking stick, going slow since the only light was from the subcore that Elaina was still holding. Tira was right behind her, walking side by side with Flora. Both of their backsides were swaying in sync, something Elaina was sure was Flora’s doing. One covered by the thinnest piece of fabric, the other completely bare, there might as well not have been another thing in the entire world to look at. Thank the gods I’m not supposed to be keeping watch over anything.

“I would like to clarify something before it becomes relevant,” Temmie said, snapping Elaina out of her ass-trance.

“Huh?”

“While I appreciate a certain level of respect from you when it comes to my cores, I cannot feel pain in this form. If battle does occur, you may drop me if required. Just please take care to not let me be captured.”

“Oh, right.” Elaina hadn’t actually considered that, but she guessed it was good to know. “You can feel pain though, right? When Myriala was touching you—”

“That is different, and not something I find pleasant to discuss.”

There was a finality in her tone that Elaina recognized. Even Tira had looked over behind at the words, but she didn’t say anything about it as the group walked on.

“Whoah,” Flora said from further up ahead, running off on her own down a corner.

“Wait up!” Tira hissed, following behind.

Carline just stood there, staring off as the two ran past her. Elaina thought she’d be staring at Flora, at first, but when she rounded the corner herself she finally realized what the commotion was about. In front of them was a large chamber, barely illuminated in general from Temmie’s dim light, but the walls, floors, and ceiling alike were all lit up like the night sky, thousands of tiny stars embedded in the rock. “Are these crystals?” Elaina asked.

“Uh-huh,” Carline said with a nod, scanning the entire room. “Too small to make anything with, but still…”

“Beautiful,” Elaina said as she stepped into the chamber. As she walked forward the light from Temmie’s core filled the room even more, lighting up both the cave surfaces itself and the two girls who had ran ahead. Despite her protestations, Tira seemed just as in awe of the crystal shards as everyone else, and Flora was running around the area, bending over and looking at particularly dense clusters of the little star-like formations before darting to the next. “This is amazing!” she said, spinning through the space as she looked up.

“It really is,” Tira added. “It’s also proof that this is certainly the cave. These rocks aren’t really worth anything, but they’re just the start. Bigger formations would be deeper in. Carline, you have a crystal portrait, right?”

“Oh, yes. But it’s with my bag right now, wherever that is.”

She has one of those things? Elaina thought, considering the implications. It made sense. She’d gathered they were pretty expensive, but Carline was rich. It was a fact she often forgot.

“When we come back this way then, make sure to change back to your normal clothes and take a picture. We’ll want to share it with Calivahn.”

“Oh, sure.” Carline even seemed to only be half paying attention, looking at the rocks with utter amazement, for once ignoring the plainly naked Flora right in front of her.

“I don’t get it,” Elaina said as she stepped further in, “how is this stuff worth nothing? It’s all just beautiful.” Even if they didn’t produce enough light to see by on their own, the stones would surely make for some sort of ostentatious jewelry, right?

“It’s worth nothing right now,” Carline said, “but it will be worth something. Over a few decades or centuries, these crystals will grow. The clusters will grow into each other, forming the pieces for complex devices. The littler ones may eventually do that, but they’ll probably be harvested for crystal lanterns before that point.”

“Or made into royal outfits,” Tira said with a sneer. “Like that sparkly robe the headmaster wears. The king won’t let anyone else have stuff like that though, not even people like the Fireguards.”

That robe Alonse wore at orientation had caught Elaina’s eye. She’d always wondered how such a thing would’ve been made. Mom and Dad would love to work with something like that.

“Girls,” Flora said, dropping her body and glancing around. “We have company.”

“Huh?” Carline said, looking around confusedly. “I don’t sense anyone, and I can sense the whole chamber.”

“Well something’s here, and at the very least it’s targeting all three of you.”