Chapter 624: The Ground Is No Longer Safe ( PS Bonus - )

Chapter 624: The Ground Is No Longer Safe ( PS Bonus Chapter )

Lian nodded, and Noah smiled with satisfaction.

"Great."

Rindo did not object either, and then all three headed toward the southern part of the entrance area.

A few minutes later, while walking along the stone path, Lian checked his resources.

He still had the healing potions and Mana recovery potions he had bought before the expedition.

In addition, he had collected a considerable amount of plants and resources from the Land of the First Dawn during the first day.

Some of them had extremely high monetary value, but their importance was no longer limited to their selling price.

Plants that could restore Mana were essential resources in a situation where the exit was sealed.

Healing materials might also become more important later, along with the new treasure he had taken from beneath the pillar, the Core of the Fallen Star.

An S-rank treasure that granted the ability to manipulate gravity.

He had not yet had the chance to fully test its abilities, and according to the treasure’s description, its final effect depended on the user’s power and Mana.

However, the fact that someone with enough Mana reserves could even change the gravity of an entire world did not mean that he could do the same thing right now.

Even so, even limited control over gravity in a small area could have many uses, especially when moving around, crossing obstacles, or fighting enemies who depended on high mobility.

Lian gave a faint smile for a moment.

’This is a really good treasure.’

However, he had no intention of activating its ability in an unfamiliar environment without testing it first, he still needed to check its Mana consumption and the actual range of its effects.

He turned his attention back to the path.

’For now, I need to figure out what’s going on with this land beneath our feet.’

They moved away from the main entrance area and reached a part of the plain where several golden trees grew along the path.

On the left, the ground gradually sloped down toward the river.

On the right, there was a group of white rocks, with thin roots visible between their cracks.

Every few minutes, Rindo checked their position on the map, while Noah used his communication device to keep track of the nearby groups.

Lian paid more attention to the Mana flow beneath the ground, and in some places, the energy was still moving naturally.

However, the closer they got to the rocky areas, the more narrow paths leading downward he could sense.

’The same pattern again.’

He stopped beside one of the white roots for a moment, but before he could examine it further, he felt a brief vibration beneath his feet.

Several small stones fell from beside the rocks.

Noah raised his head.

"Did you feel that?"

Rindo nodded.

"Yeah."

Lian looked down at the ground, the vibration had lasted only about a second, and its strength was not particularly great, but something about it caught his attention.

The pressure had come from a specific direction, as if part of the ground had shifted deep underground for a moment.

A few seconds passed.

Then a second vibration occurred, and this time, it was stronger.

The sound of breaking stone came from the right, and one of the golden trees near the rocks swayed slightly from side to side.

"Move away from the rocks." Rindo immediately prepared his spear.

All three took several steps toward the more open part of the plain, and at that moment, a long, cracking sound came from beneath the ground.

Krrrrrk!

A thin crack appeared on the surface of the soil.

At first, it was only a few meters long, but it quickly spread along the stone path.

Small rocks moved to both sides, and the crack widened enough for the soil between them to start collapsing.

"I don’t think this is a normal earthquake." Noah looked at the crack.

Lian had noticed it too, instead of spreading in an irregular pattern, the crack was moving along a specific path.

At one point, it even changed direction and continued almost in a straight line toward another part of the plain.

’It’s as if the ground already had a specific fracture line.’

He still could not be certain, but the shape of the cracks looked more like parts of a large structure breaking apart than the result of natural pressure within the ground.

Rindo checked the map.

"If this continues, it’ll cut off part of the main road."

The young Vorhelm nodded.

"We need to inform the authorities."

Noah immediately activated his communication device, but before he could finish his report, a scream came from a short distance away.

"Help!"

All three turned toward the sound.

Near one of the golden trees, an exploration staff member was standing on a section of ground that a large crack had separated from the main path.

The man had apparently been caught off guard while recording the area’s condition, and now there was a gap several meters wide between him and the safe path.

The ground beneath his feet was also slowly moving downward.

"That section is breaking away." Rindo immediately assessed the situation.

"I see it." Lian replied, and at the same moment, two enormous black wings spread out behind him.

[ Wings of God ]

He pushed off the ground and took flight, covering the distance between himself and the trapped man in just a few moments.

The staff member was still trying to keep his balance, but when part of the soil beneath his feet collapsed, he instinctively stepped backward.

The young Vorhelm reached him before he fell, grabbed his arm, and lifted him away from the unstable ground without stopping.

A few seconds later, they landed on the safe part of the path.

The man was breathing heavily.

"T-Thank you..."

"Stay away from the edge of the crack." Lian released his arm.

The staff member immediately nodded and stepped back, while Noah, who had been reporting the crack’s location to the authorities at the same time, glanced at Lian.

He then approached the trapped man and helped him move away from the dangerous area.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No... I was just scared." The man shook his head.

"Good, you’d better return to the main forces, this area is no longer safe."

After thanking them again, the staff member started making his way back.

Lian looked at the crack, and a few seconds later, the small section of ground where the man had been standing collapsed completely.

The sound of rocks hitting each other came from deep below, but contrary to his expectations, the sound reached their ears much later than it should have.

He furrowed his brows.

’How deep is it?’

He approached the edge, where he could see thick darkness, but a little farther down, a red light appeared between the deeper sections of the ground.

At first, he thought it might be a special Mana flow, but a few moments later, hot steam rose from the crack, causing the grass near the edge to start drying out as the smell of heated stone spread through the air.

His eyes narrowed.

’Magma.’

Molten material was flowing at a much lower depth, but there was enough of it for its red glow to be visible even from this distance.

Noah approached after finishing his report, and when he looked into the crack, his expression changed.

"Is that... really magma down there?"

Lian nodded.

"It seems so."

Rindo also moved closer, but kept a safe distance from the edge.

"If more of these cracks appear, we won’t be able to trust the current paths anymore."

Lian looked in the direction of the cracks.

"It’s not just the paths. It seems that parts of the land itself are breaking apart." If this continued, walking across the surface would practically become impossible.

Noah looked at the surrounding plain for a moment, several other trees in the distance had also tilted, and smaller cracks had appeared across parts of the soil.

"We need to warn everyone."

Lian nodded.

"Yeah, no one should cross areas that haven’t been explored for now."

At the same time, Rindo recorded the exact positions of the cracks.

He knew that if this continued, the maps they had prepared over the past seven months would probably lose much of their practical value very soon.

The young Vorhelm looked at the crack again.

’The sun has awakened, the curtain has closed, the Mana flow has changed, and now the ground is breaking apart too.’

Four events.

And all of them had happened within a very short period.

’They’re probably all connected to the same thing, but I still don’t know what that thing is.’

Just as they were about to return to the main area, a faint sound came from beneath one of the broken rocks.

At first, it sounded like stone scraping against stone.

He stopped for a moment, and Noah, who had walked a few steps ahead, turned around.

"What is it?"

Lian raised his hand slightly.

"Wait a moment."

He activated the skill [Primordial Predator’s Perception].

His senses spread through the surrounding area, making the Mana flow, the movement of the air, the faint vibrations of the rocks, and the sounds rising from the depths of the crack clearer to him.

At first, he could only detect the sound of shifting rocks and the faint movement of molten material.

But then he sensed another movement, something was moving deep inside the crack, but its movements were not like those of a four-legged creature, a crawling snake, or even a monster with the movement patterns he would expect from an ordinary monster.

Its movements were irregular, sometimes it stopped completely for several seconds, then several points shifted almost at the same time, before everything became still again.

He furrowed his brows slightly.

What the hell is this?

What the fucking hell is going on here?