[Farmer] Mage

The brief discussion confirmed what Cal had suspected. The only difference was the area with the hanging corpses. Whoever designed this place had never intended that area to be accessible. That still left the question of why they could reach this chamber—the one with the tear in space.

Unfortunately, Cal knew that question couldn't be answered with the information they had.

"There's something deeply wrong about this place," Tavia said, stating the obvious. "What did the Overseer want you to do here?"

"He wants me to keep it open… and he gave me the means to do so."

Tavia looked uncomfortable. "…Maybe there's a good reason for that. They could know about the corpses and want to investigate them."

Cal hoped that wasn't the case. If the corpses were known, it wouldn't be a stretch for the gems to be part of the same secret.

"Maybe," he said, "but I'm not sure I want to take that chance."

Tavia shot him a smile, agreeing with his decision. It faltered when he stumbled, and she wrapped her arms around his waist to steady him.

"Thanks," Cal muttered. The stumble was his oversight—he'd neglected to feed enough mana into his body. He might no longer be on the verge of collapse, but he was nowhere near healthy enough for any serious action… or even light action. "You don't happen to have more health potions, do you?"

"I have several, but you should avoid taking more unless it's an emergency. Lower-tier potions always have odd side effects if you drink more than one in a day."

Cal grunted in agreement. She'd made it sound more harmful than it actually was—most side effects were minor, like increased hunger or restless sleep—but in rare cases someone could be unlucky enough to suffer organ failure and need healer attention. The chance was so low it barely mattered, but it existed. Since he'd already taken more than one low-tier potion, it might be best to hold off unless necessary.

Tavia took his silence for reluctance. She nudged him with her shoulder and smirked. "What? You don't think I can protect you?"

Cal laughed. "I already agreed with you, didn't I? That should answer your question."

Tavia hummed and moved closer when the tear in space announced itself with a burst of raw mana that washed over them. They shivered as they turned to look at it.

A few seconds later, Cal broke the silence. "What materials did you get?"

Tavia shrugged. "I have no idea. I found three different crystals, but my interface lists all of them as unknown."

Cal's eyebrows rose. He doubted she'd dug out voidiron pellets—not that those were crystals—so there was something he'd missed. He pulled out one of each type of crystal he possessed. "Do you have these?"

"I have nine of these." Tavia pointed at the large Earth Crystal. She nodded toward the unknown crystals. "And just under six hundred of these."

Her ability to fit all that into her inventory slots surprised Cal. She must travel light.

"I need some space for the last one." Tavia carefully released him, making sure he didn't fall, then stepped away and pulled out an oddly shaped rock nearly five feet wide, like a stone leaf. "I only have two of these. It's all I could find."

Cal stored the crystals he'd taken out, then reached to touch the leaf-shaped piece, marveling at its strange, leather-like feel. "Where were they? I saw nothing like this when I passed through."

"Ah, well, I spent the most time on the volcano level." Tavia trailed off, looking sheepish. "These were beneath the lava where the platforms formed. Not always, obviously, but these two were in those spots."

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Cal couldn't take his eyes off the "crystal." He had a hunch about what it might be. "Do you mind if I try something? If I'm right, it'll be gone."

"Go ahead." Tavia didn't hesitate, and Cal smiled in appreciation.

He pulled the [Rare Rake] from his storage pouch and brought it to the leaf-shaped piece. The moment they touched, the [Rare Rake] glowed softly. Light threaded into the piece—and the piece vanished. Tavia gasped as Cal pulled up his interface.

[Rare Rake: Excellent Quality] Upgrade: 2 Requirements

1. Tasks Required: 1

- 8452/20000 Tasks

2. Materials Required: 3

- 5/5 Earth Crystals

- 1/10 Dragonite Scales

- 500/500 Voidiron Pellets

Cal beamed, finally having a clue where to find the last material. He pulled Tavia into a kiss—then yelped as the sudden movement sent pain lancing through him.

"Cal!" Tavia scolded as he pulled away, blushing. Her mock glare melted into a smile. "I'm guessing I found something good."

"That's a Dragonite Scale, and I only need nine more to push the rake to the next tier!" He paused. "And the large round crystal I showed you before is an Earth Crystal. I bet Orrin can do something interesting with it. As for the other one, I still have no idea."

Tavia frowned, surprising him. "I only have one more Dragonite Scale."

"That's more than enough. Let's keep it for reference so we can track down others once we're out of here." Cal's excitement dimmed as he realized he'd assumed it was his to use. "I'll pay you back for any materials I—"

Tavia covered his mouth with her hand. "If you had something I needed, would you make me pay for it?" She held his gaze until he answered with a shake of his head. "Then don't mention that again. As if you haven't already done more than enough."

He stored the [Rare Rake] and pulled her back into his arms, grinning at her little cry of surprise. "As you say, Initiate Tavia."

Tavia's eyes glittered with amusement, as if she knew something he didn't. "Yes—and Initiate Tavia wants to know if you have something that can get us out of here."

"Unfortunately, I don't."

"Then we have to wait until the tear closes… or the sinkhole spits us out like the one of the Masters told me. But I doubt that's going to happen, not after we've come this far."

Cal nodded and settled in to wait. With his health no longer at the point of him flirting with death, he could wait weeks if he had to.

***

Several hours passed as they took the patient route: waiting for the tear in space to close on its own.

Cal rested against Tavia while they sat on the ground, watching the purple and red glows flare at random. The scene reminded him of the green and blue lights one sometimes saw in the sky—only much closer.

He hadn't just been enjoying the company and the view. He'd tried to heal himself, too, but the damage was too severe for him to fix alone. He'd need more potions or an actual healer. If the wait truly stretched to weeks, potions would suffice so long as he spaced the doses.

Still, I don't want to wait—

His muscles tightened when a blast of mana slammed into his back. It was raw, so there was no threat of attack, and the amount wasn't dangerous by itself, but it pushed the ambient mana closer to a tipping point.

A slight rumble rolled in from the borders of the chamber and then faded. "The influx must be from the area with the tree I destroyed. It might have fully collapsed."

He couldn't be sure, but the influx had to come from somewhere, and that was the most logical source.

"I think something's wrong."

"Hm?" Cal followed Tavia's gaze to the tear—and saw it. It had grown.

He was grateful they were already sitting. He redirected the mana reinforcing his body to his senses, ignored the spike of pain, and felt the increased flow coming through the tear. It wasn't slowing.

If they kept waiting, the mana in the air would overwhelm them and poison them. That happened to mortals who wandered where they didn't belong—but it was almost unheard of for those who could wield mana.

"You don't have a miracle up your sleeve, do you?" Cal asked lightly.

Tavia shook her head, worry plain on her face.

"Then I'll need those health potions."

Wordlessly, Tavia pulled five from her pouch and handed them over. He took one. It wasn't enough. He took another, then another, before he was fully healed. Side effects were the least of their concerns.

Cal's skin prickled as the air reached a critical saturation. With his reserves free, he noticed something his broken body had kept him from seeing earlier.

"You're an Apprentice!" he said, pride warming his voice. "Why did you try to hide it?"

"I wanted to see your reaction when you figured it out," Tavia said with a wan smile. "But this isn't the right time to talk about it."

"No." Cal drew her in for a hard kiss. "It's the perfect time. Didn't I say you were too hard on yourself? Look at you now."

Tavia laughed, even as the tear's low thrum swelled into a roar. "The last thing I hear is 'I told you so.'"

"Have some faith, Tavia."

Cal activated [Mist Walker].