Ayan burst into the chamber, glimpsing Ainur drawing her bowstring whilst Yernazar assumed a combat stance. The turn came sharp—his heel slipped on wet stone, but his balance held. The protazan swept upward, blade aimed precisely at the opening.

  The larva flew in after him, maw gaping in a soundless scream. The spear met its chest, pierced clean through. The shaft shuddered from the impact, but his hands held the weapon motionless. The creature thrashed on the point, claws scraping along the shaft, trying to reach its opponent. The side blades gave it no chance.

  "Don't kill it!"

  The cry tore free at the same instant Ainur loosed an arrow. It struck the creature's shoulder, making it jerk aside. The second arrow whistled past Ayan's ear, hit the creature's neck.

  "Wait until it begins its effect and try to shake off the hypnosis!"

  The orc maiden lowered her bow but kept the arrow on the string—just in case. Yernazar nodded, moved closer, axe at the ready.

  The creature rasped, issued a drawn-out moan that echoed off the chamber's walls. The weeping resumed—quiet, pitiful, so convincing it sent shivers down one's spine.

  Ayan drove the point into the stone and now the larva was firmly pinned, unable to slip off the blade. He could even relax slightly and turn round, watching Ainur's face. The orc maiden's eyes dulled, her gaze becoming absent. The hand holding the arrow slowly lowered. Her lips parted, exhaling something unintelligible.

  "Ainur! Snap out of it!"

  Yernazar grabbed her shoulder, shook her with all his strength. No reaction. The orc maiden looked through him, as though seeing something beyond reality.

  The youth tried slapping her cheek. His palm met skin with a dull smack—it helped instantly.

  Ayan stood motionless, holding the spear. The shaft trembled from the larva's jerks, but his hands remained iron. His muscles were tensed to the limit, but fatigue didn't come. The moment Vigour began to drain, "One Who Knew Oblivion" restored the scale.

  Next time both his companions fell under mental influence and he couldn't help them. They didn't respond to his shouts, and he couldn't reach them. Then he remembered another member of their party.

  "Rayan."

  The worm immediately slid forward, crawled to the healer's leg. Its maw opened, revealing concentric rows of teeth. The bite landed precisely on the calf—not deep, but noticeable.

  The youth jerked and blinked. His gaze gained awareness, focus returned. He looked down, saw the worm at his leg, then raised his eyes to Ayan.

  "What happened?"

  "It got you too. Rayan, Ainur now."

  The worm crawled to the other leg, bit just as carefully. The girl flinched, closed her eyes for a second, opened them again. Clarity returned instantly. She shook her head, as though casting off the remnants of the spell. She gripped the bow tighter, drew the string again.

  "Seems to work. Let's repeat and confirm." Ayan said, continuing to hold the protazan. Sweat rolled down his brow, his hands burnt from the strain, but he didn't slacken his grip for an instant. Still, Vigour began draining faster than it could restore. By the lad's reckoning, they had time for only one more experiment.

  It went without problems, after which they too armed themselves with spears and stood on either side of Ayan. The creature didn't last long under the hail of strikes and perished.

  The boy's soul left the body and they decided to take a ten-minute break before continuing onwards.

  "What can we do with these carcasses?" Ayan nodded towards the corpses of two larvae.

  "Don't know, maybe skin them?"

  "I'd never wear anything made from their hide!" At such a thought, Ainur's shoulders shuddered involuntarily.

  "Will you take it on?" Ayan asked Yernazar.

  "I only suggested it, I don't need such a thing either!"

  "Then how about I just chuck them in the Seal, and when we get out of here we'll decide what to do with them? If we can sell them, we'll split the profit in half, agreed?" The others agreed to the proposed plan and the lad, touching both creatures, transferred them to his inventory.

  Having rested, the group moved on down the corridor. The stone underfoot grew ever wetter, the walls narrowed, forcing them to walk in single file. Ayan went first, holding the protazan horizontally—in the confined space, swinging it was impossible. Ainur followed behind him, bow at the ready. Yernazar brought up the rear, glancing back periodically. Rayan travelled on his shoulder.

  The corridor continued winding into the mountain's depths, as though coiling like a serpent's body—first descending at a noticeable angle, forcing them to place their feet carefully on the damp stone, then rising again, making them strain their leg muscles on the climb. Three more times on their path they encountered chambers similar to the previous ones, guarded by identical larvae.

  With each new encounter the fights with these creatures became ever more familiar and practised, no longer causing the group members any particular problems or difficulties—movements became precise, strikes accurate, and coordination practically flawless.

  "Stop!" Ayan raised his hand, listening.

  "What is it?" Ainur asked impatiently.

  "Weeping, only not from one creature, but three at once."

  "What shall we do?" Came from the back of the party.

  "Fight them one by one. They won't get past me in the opening, and no more than two will fit. Ainur, get out your spear, you'll work from beneath my shield. Rayan, don't leave her leg."

  Ayan took position in the corridor's opening, braced the shield's edge against the left wall, held the protazan at an angle—the point aimed precisely forward, the side blades blocking approaches. Behind him positioned Ainur, extending her spear from beneath his left arm. Yernazar took position slightly behind, axe at the ready, his gaze darting between his companions.

  To attract the creatures' attention, they began shouting and it worked.

  The first Devourer larva emerged from the corridor's depths, followed by the second and third. The weeping intensified, multiplied, became almost deafening. The creatures moved in sync, as though controlled by a single will.

  "Hit the left one!" The lad himself thrust at the right one, the protazan plunging into its chest. The shaft jerked, clawed paws scraped along the wood, trying to reach his hands. The side blades gave them no chance.

  Ainur's spear darted from beneath his arm, struck the second creature precisely in the neck. The orc maiden didn't try to pierce through—she jabbed, withdrew, struck again. Fast, sharp, without unnecessary movements.

  The third remained behind its companions, attempted to get round them, but space for three in the opening was insufficient and it retreated. Freezing, the creature began its mental attack, immediately joined by the other larvae.

  The weeping transformed into a single wave of sound. Pressure crashed down on consciousness—not softly, not soothingly, but hard, like a hammer. Something cracked in his head, his temples clamped in a vice.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Ayan squinted but didn't slacken his grip. Health began to melt—slowly but steadily. Each second the scale lost several units. Having waited for healing from his heritage, he nodded with satisfaction. The damage was fully compensated, even with a surplus.

  "Hold on!" Yernazar stepped forward, placed his left hand on Ainur's shoulder. Turquoise radiance enveloped his palm, flowed into the orc maiden's body, making her exhale with relief.

  Despite the absence of health damage, Ayan's head began splitting. The mental attack was affecting the lad's mind as well. He understood they wouldn't last long like this.

  "Work on my creature!" Following his words, Ainur retargeted her attacks, Ayan blocked the second larva with his shield.

  Having verified it was fully focused on destroying the obstacle, the lad used "Strike of the Ether Follower", then "Verdict of Ether" on his target. By that moment "Strike" had recharged and he repeated it.

  This brought him three Etheric Light charges, so "Etheric Burst" dealt terrible damage to the larva, killing it on the spot.

  The mental pressure noticeably weakened, though the periodic damage persisted.

  Ainur seized the moment whilst the third creature hadn't approached. The spear in her hands flashed thrice in succession, each strike hitting the same place. The second creature rasped, then Ayan's protazan flew into it, charged with "Strike".

  The larva tried to leap back, but the orc maiden gave it no chance. The final thrust pierced the throat for the fourth time, the point literally severing the last tissues holding the head on the shoulders and it rolled with a dull thud beneath Ayan's feet.

  The creature fell to its knees, and from its throat blood continued flowing, occasionally sending streams upward like a fountain. All this flashed at the periphery of the youngsters' perception, for the fight wasn't finished.

  The last creature remained.

  The third larva tried to break through on the right but ran into the protazan's side blade. Ayan turned the shaft, struck with the second blade into the muzzle—a technique used for binding an opponent's weapon worked against the monster too. Crunch—the jaw broke. The creature howled, recoiled.

  Ainur's spear pierced it from the side, slid between ribs. Then "Verdict" and "Strike" flew into it, adding two charges to the one already present. Wasting no time, Ayan used "Burst".

  The weeping cut off.

  Immediately afterwards, simultaneously, children's souls flew from the creatures' bodies.

  Ayan exhaled.

  "Everyone alive?" His voice came out hoarse.

  "Alive." Despite the question being clearly rhetorical, the girl answered it. She wiped the spear's blade on the larva's body, straightened. Sweat glistened on her brow, but her hands remained steady.

  "I'm fine. In case anyone's interested." Yernazar lowered his axe, rolled his shoulders. "Mana's enough for a couple more fights."

  "Mana's good, but a five-minute break won't hurt us." Ayan collected the carcasses and, retrieving a waterskin, passed it to the girl.

  Rayan slid off Ainur's leg, crawled to his master and stared at him questioningly. True, instead of eyes he possessed only a terrible maw, which meant the lad couldn't find his actions endearing. Rather the opposite—he was ready to give him anything, if only he'd turn away.

  "You did well, handled your task excellently!" Ayan nonetheless praised him and as a reward issued a large piece of dried meat.

  The break ended quickly, five minutes flew by unnoticed. Ayan rose first, checked his grip on the protazan, nodded to the others. The group moved on down the winding corridor.

  The next larva came across alone—tumbled from a side passage as they were walking past. The weeping struck their ears, but Ayan had already grown accustomed to this sound, and its appearance came as no surprise. He'd heard footsteps long before the creature entered the radius of his sphere.

  The protazan swept up, pierced the chest clean through. The creature didn't even manage to turn properly. Ainur's spear flew into its neck. Once, twice, thrice. The speed of her strikes impressed, but Ayan in the same time delivered five strikes already, two of which were charged with the ability. The larva didn't even manage to begin its mental attack before it was killed.

  The child's soul left the body.

  Having checked the corridor from which the monster had come, they found nothing and returned to the main route.

  Next they encountered a pair. Standard tactics worked without hitches—Ayan held one on the protazan, Ainur killed the second. After which, they jointly beat the first. Yernazar healed the girl when the mental attack began pressing too hard. Rayan hung on the orc maiden's leg, ready to bite at the first signs of hypnosis.

  A group of three was encountered after two turns. The fight dragged on slightly longer than similar ones. These creatures tried to get round each other, attempted to attack from different directions. But the narrow corridor gave them no chance. Ayan blocked, Ainur struck, Yernazar supported. The mechanics of combat were honed to automatism.

  One more solitary encounter. Two more pairs. The corridor continued winding, leading them ever deeper into the mountain. The walls grew damper, the air heavier. Sweat ran down their backs, soaking their clothing, but their hands didn't tremble.

  After the next clearing—a group of two larvae—Ayan stopped. Something caught his eye. The wall on the right looked... wrong. The stone seemed the same as everywhere else, but the texture differed. Barely noticeable, as though someone had tried to mask the seams.

  "Wait."

  He approached closer, ran his palm across the surface. Cold stone met his fingers, but beneath them he could feel an irregularity. A crack? No, too even for natural formation.

  Ayan drew his knife, worked the blade's tip under the supposed seam. Metal slid along the wall, found purchase. A quiet scraping—and a small piece of rock shifted aside.

  "What's there?" Ainur stepped closer, peering over his shoulder.

  "A cache, it seems."

  The lad worked with the knife for several more seconds, widening the opening. The stone yielded reluctantly, but methodical movements did their job. Finally, he pried off a sufficiently large piece to thrust his hand inside.

  His fingers found something solid, wrapped in rough cloth. Ayan carefully extracted the bundle, unwrapped it.

  Inside lay three small vials of murky liquid and a leather pouch. The lad shook it—it jingled. Coins? He untied the cord, looked inside. Silver. Lots of silver.

  A system message immediately appeared before him.

  ["Attention! Congratulations! You have gained a new skill: 'Treasure Seeker'."]

  "One of the refugees hid supplies." Yernazar voiced.

  Ayan turned one of the vials before his eyes. Because of the dark glass, determining the liquid's colour was impossible, even with the lad's vision. No identifying marks, no labels. Simply glass, a stopper and contents.

  Concentrating, he summoned the interface. Information appeared before his eyes.

  ["Lesser Healing Potion"

  Rank: F

  Elixir

  Durability: 100/100

  Required level: 0

  Sale price: 1 silver coin

  "A beginning alchemist's concoction. Restores 150 health points instantly."]

  "Lesser healing." Ayan handed the vials to Ainur. "Three of them. Plus coins."

  "I don't need this money." Yernazar waved away the extended hand with the purse.

  "We'll decide what to do with them after we get out." The lad placed the pouch in his inventory without removing its contents.

  Ainur turned, surveying the corridor. "Wonder how many more caches are hidden here?"

  "Check every wall?" Yernazar snorted sceptically. "We'll be stuck here till old age."

  "Maybe not every one. But worth looking more carefully."

  "This is the first cache we've encountered. I wouldn't have missed any..."

  The youngsters decided to keep silent, not knowing whether Ayan spoke the truth or was simply boasting. Though they knew of his phenomenal abilities, in such a situation they hadn't yet had occasion to test them. With such thoughts they continued on their way.

  Ayan knew—they were approaching the water source. His hearing caught a distant, barely distinguishable splashing. The sound grew louder with each turn, breaking through the thickness of stone. And most likely, precisely there the dungeon's first boss awaited them.

  He didn't share his guesses aloud. Why? Unnecessary worry for his companions served no purpose. Let them concentrate on the fights.

  The next group of larvae proved to be four creatures.

  The weeping crashed down in a wave, but they were ready for this. Four silhouettes tumbled from a side passage—in sync, as though on command. For the battlefield they chose the corridor's narrowest section. The opening was so small only one creature could fit through, but the mental pressure from four creatures was very strong.

  "Hold on!" Ayan replaced the protazan with a one-handed sword. Even before the first creature crashed into the shield, he thrust "Verdict" into it, then began furiously working with the sword, not forgetting to use "Strike" as it recharged.

  Ainur positioned herself behind him, extending her spear from beneath his right arm. Yernazar took position slightly further off. Rayan coiled round the girl's calf, jaws opened ready to bite.

  The first creature lasted until "Burst", which tore apart its chest, leaving a gaping hole. The strike came out powerful—the sword shuddered, his hands went numb from the recoil. But the second larva followed and there was no time to hesitate.

  Ainur's spear darted forward, pierced the new target's neck. Once, twice, thrice—fast, precise, without unnecessary movements.

  The mental attack, weakened to familiar levels, was already perceived calmly. His temples were clamped in a vice, the health scale dipped habitually and just as habitually restored.

  The fight dragged on. His arms burnt from constant strain. His back muscles ached. But Ayan's grip remained iron. Not one of the creatures managed to shake his shield, and each strike found its mark.

  The last creature fell after a minute and a half. Ainur's spear pierced its eye, reached the brain. The larva sank to its knees, collapsed backwards.

  The weeping cut off.

  Four children's souls left the bodies, dissolved in the air.

  "Break." Ayan lowered both shield and sword, exhaled. "Fifteen minutes."

  In that time, Yernazar fully restored his mana reserves. During the fight, it had dropped to halfway.

  Continuing on, they encountered two more groups of four creatures. Tactics remained the same and they had to give it their all. Fortunately, the corridor began widening already after fights with them.

  At some point, the cave's walls spread apart, revealing an enormous hall. The splash of water became distinct—somewhere to the right burbled an underground stream.

  In the centre of the hall stood something large.

  Ayan stopped at the threshold, peering into the half-light. The silhouette slowly turned in their direction. Eyes flared with dull red light.

  The first boss.

  And it stared at the youngsters with predatory intensity.