86 – Below Layer 15.

“Alright,” Yolin nodded and looked around, then turned to me. “Did the King tell you how the mine was shaped?”

I just stared at her.

“Do you have the schematics and the records of the way land around it bent to form the dungeon?” Lapia asked with an excited smile. “That way we could find diamonds faster.”

I looked at the ceiling.

“You forgot to ask for essential information!” Alyssa accused me in an amused tone.

I looked at my feet and cleared my throat. “I uh... didn't know we'd need that,” I admitted.

The three women covered their faces and sighed.

“Well, life is a learning process,” Lapia commented while holding her laughter.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

“We could use Sonya,” Yolin pointed out. “A Ratnak can sniff out diamonds.”

“The King mentioned I had to clear the dungeon to access the mine,” I recalled, squinting at the ground. “But Sonya found gold on the seventieth-something floor so that's a little misleading”

“Diamond forms way deeper than where you can find gold, though,” Lapia pointed out.

I groaned. “How about I pay a Geomancer to create diamonds?”

Lapia hummed. “That would take too long. And they don't create diamonds, they transmute matter into them.”

“How long?” Alyssa inquired.

The Elf turned to me. “How big do you want it to be?”

My face burned and I looked away. “Around my size?” I tentatively replied.

“I bet,” she giggled. “That would take a few months, and only one piece,” she added in a more serious tone.

I clicked my tongue.

Yolin laughed.

“Okay,” Alyssa began with a giggle. “So my bet is the celebratory party will be in eight days from now since the King knows you left with basically no info.”

I tilted my head. “Why would he know I left?”

Yolin shook her head and sighed. “I don't know, maybe because you're the only Halve in the city and he would be informed if you leave?” she pointed out with a smile.

“Ah,” I uttered with a nod. “Well, yeah. I kind of forget about that aspect of life.”

“Are you done having your talk?” Pokora called to us while walking in our direction.

Alyssa turned around and nodded. “Yeah.”

The Archer inspected our faces for a few seconds wile approaching. “Everything good?”

The four of us nodded.

“Sooo,” Pokora began with raised eyebrows. “Now we look for diamonds?”

“Yep!” I replied with a smile. “The bigger, the better.”

“I'll stay with Elena,” Alyssa announced, checking on a pocket watch. “It's half past nine.”

We nodded and the Luzo walked towards the rest of the group.

“Alright,” Lapia fixed a lock of hair behind her right ear. “My guess is that the dungeon deformed the mine shafts. If we find signs that would indicate the continuation of the mine, we let the others know and go from there.”

“Sounds good to me,” I replied. “Let's get to it, then.”

We agreed on that and parted ways.

I took Sonya with me and went to the northern section of the dungeon floor which was a plain with no outstanding features other than glowing cracks on the ceiling. I checked the walls, looking for something similar to the entrance of the mine.

After thirty minutes I had no luck so I retrieved one of Pokora's arrows I had stored in the fight at the arena and turned to the Ratnak.

She saw the thing and approached me.

“Can you find more of this?” I probed her, offering the transparent crystal tip.

She sniffed it and huffed, then looked away.

I raised my eyebrows and laughed, “You don't like it?”

Sonya shook her head and pushed my hand away with a claw.

“That's okay. You don't have to eat it. I just need to find more of this,” I explained while scratching her jaw.

She nodded and started walking along the wall while sniffing around.

I retrieved a bottle of water and followed her.

'Found' Yolin's soothing voice entered my mind at that moment.

I checked the Bond and it pointed in the direction we were going already so I didn't rush.

By the time the two of us arrived at the Oni's location, Lapia and Pokora were already there.

The three were looking up the wall. There was a clearly out of place square some seven meters above. It looked like a tunnel had been closed off with rocks and pebbles.

Pokora noticed me and hummed. “Took your time,” she complained.

“Oh, fuck off,” I retorted. “It took me a little under ten minutes to get here.”

“So,” Lapia began, scratching her forehead. “How do we go about this? We could make a ramp from here if the shaft goes straight ahead.”

Yolin walked to the wall and knocked on it. “We'd have to start from the top. The wall is a little weak here.”

“Alright,” I nodded and approached the wall.

“I'll help,” Yolin announced and stuck her fingers on the rocky wall like it was styrofoam.

I stored my gauntlets and did the same, then slowly climbed up.

Seven meters were easy after experiencing the drop at the arena.

“I'll catch whatever falls,” Lapia infomed us. “So go at it.”

“Okay,” I replied and stabbed the wall a with my fingers and pushed myself up.

Yolin and I made it to the sides of the blocked tunnel and shared a look.

“No punching,” Yolin warned me. “Scoop it out, alrigh?”

I nodded and released my left hand, equipped the gauntlet, and treated the rock like it was mud.

The debris blocking the tunnel fell and disappeared on the way down.

We made quick progress, repositioning ourselves to clear the shaft after we made a foothold.

“This is going to take a while,” I complained with a sigh, scooping solid rock and dropping it.

“Look at the bright side,” Yolin laughed, placing a foot on the hole she made.

I nodded. “You're right.”

Fortunately, the beings ruling the universe saw fit to make the blockage a meter thick. After that it was a proper tunnel.

“Well, that was quick,” Yolin commented with a smile then turned to me. “You go on ahead, I'll make the ramp.”

I nodded and went into the tunnel. The top of my head almost touched the ceiling, which made me wince a little. I equipped my armor and wrapped my braid around my neck, then retrieved my spear and shield and moved forward in a defensive stance.

The shaft was odd. There was no frame to prevent cave-ins and stabilize the rock around it.

Is it enchanted, then? I wondered while advancing and looking around.

After around ten meters the tunnel went down in a slope, then bent to the right.

I followed, looking around for anything that would indicate diamonds. A spot on the wall caught my attention. It was similar to the ore Sonya had found. I used my fingers to loosen the wall around it so I could get it out.

The wall cracked and it came off.

A loud rumble followed, and the tunnel shook.

“What the f-” I began.

Water shot from the hole, crashing onto me with uncountable tonnes of weight.

I got swept along like a leaf in a river, but quickly lined my pike so it would get caught on the walls. I had no idea where the tunnel lead to, after all. The weapon got stuck on the walls and I held onto it, stopping my body from being thrown around.

The water didn't stop, however.

“Holy shit!” I groaned behind my helmet, feeling the water pushing my body back. “No wonder they left that one behind.” I sighed and waited.

After about two minutes the flood stopped.

I sighed and moved my feet around to feel the ground.

Nothing was there.

I slowly looked back and down.

An endless chasm greeted me. Darkness was the only thing in my field of view.

I was dangling on the edge of the tunnel leading to it. “Okay,” I muttered and turned to the front. “Okay. That was close.” I sighed and pulled myself up.

The wall gave in, releasing the spear and leaving me to a fall that would probably kill me.

I closed my eyes and screamed, “FUUUCK!!! NOOO!”

Yolin's laughter came from above. “Those are your chosen words?” she teased me. “Fuck and no?”

I whipped my head up and saw the woman had grabbed the spear with a chain of floating arms. “Oh, Yolin! You Goddess!” I blurted out in immense relief. “I'll give you everything in the world. If you want the world itself, I can do that no problem!”

She laughed even louder. “You silly little Halve. Seeing you safe is reward enough,” she chuckled with a big smile. “What happened?” she inquired and started pulling me up.

“I removed an ore from the wall and water came out,” I replied with a nervous laugh. “I almost died.”

She tilted her head and grabbed the spear with her real arms, then pulled me back into the tunnel. “I doubt that fall would kill you, though,” she pointed out with a confused face.

I let out a long sigh and sat down. “No, that would definitely kill me,” I argued with a serious tone.

She hummed and took a fistful of rock from the wall, then dropped it into the chasm.

Fifteen seconds later a loud, distant click echoed from the pit.

“See?” she turned to me with a smile. “Around a full kilometer. No way you would die from a fall like that.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “The fuck you on about?” I questioned my girlfriend and her sanity. “That is certain death!”

She shook her head. “Natasha, Natasha, Natasha,” she sighed. “Terminal velocity can't kill me, I highly doubt it will kill you too. Death by fall is an impossibility for the two of us.”

“What?” I blurted out in confusion. “I don't know what terminal velocity is...” I admitted.

She bit her lips and sat down next to me, then explained what it was.

“I see,” I nodded after a moment of thought.

“Taking your weight into account... the fall would be shorter, too,” she pointed out with a pensive expression.

I stared at her for a second. “What does my weight have to do with it?”

“Well, you weigh a bit above five hundred kilos,” she cruelly declared with a smile.

“Oof!” I groaned at the unexpected blow she so ruthlessly threw at me. “Blin!”

“That would make the fall around half a second shorter,” she muttered with squinted eyes. “I may be wrong, though. Lapia would know better.”

I looked behind us and then back at Yolin. “Where is the rest?”

“I heard the water and came to check what happened,” she replied with a carefree smile. “They're probably waiting.”

I sighed and stood up. “Looks like we need to find another tunnel,” I muttered in disappointment.

Yolin stood up and nudged my shoulder. “We just have to jump down and see if there's diamonds there,” she proposed with a toothy grin.

“You're insane, Yolin,” I concluded while shaking my head.

“Nah,” she waved my statement away. “You're the one scared of heights, not me,” she pointed out. “It's alright, though. One step at a time.”

I smiled and gave her a hug. “Thank you for helping me,” I whispered and gave her a quick kiss.

“Anytime,” she gave me a wink and turned around.

We went back and finished the ramp at Yolin's insistence, then returned to the abyss with the other two.

“Holy shit!” Pokora muttered while looking down. “That's deep!”

“Hmm,” Lapia thought for a second and threw a stone just like Yolin did.

The echo came once again.

The Wizard nodded and turned to me. “Your call,” she pointed out.

I turned to Yolin and pouted. “Can't you do it for me?”

She laughed and hugged me. “Nope!” then she jumped into the darkness, taking me with her.

“AAAAAAAAHHH!” I screamed in terror.