I've Got A Mana Processor In A Magic World

'Nahh there's no way…' Zephyr shook his head, forging forward hesitantly. The monster in question continued his way without a beat, giving Zephyr's doubt more weight.

Had they really made eye contact, or had Zephyr imagined it?

It had been too brief for him to be sure, and there hadn't been a single reaction from the monster either…

"Maybe it's just my nerves…" Zephyr muttered under his breath, the sound of his voice disappearing into his concealment field.

Regardless of what it might have been, it was best for Zephyr to keep his guard up just in case.

The fact that there was a slight possibility that his newly created concealment spell might have been seen through — from that distance to boot — made him more conscious of his movement. At the end of the day, this was still a trial… and he was entering uncharted territory — someplace that wasn't even registered on his 'Resource Map.'

He closed in on the mound, which didn't look so much like a 'mound' now that he was right before it.

All the crevices opened up more clearly to him. The traces of the monsters' efforts to shape the surroundings to their needs, the entire structure, carved and shaped deliberately over time.

Natural ridges had been widened into paths, slopes beaten into stairways, and cliff faces hollowed into openings like crude doorways.

The whole thing made Zephyr feel like he was trespassing on someplace… restricted.

'Damn… and I've gotta get inside there…' he looked around at the various entry points, like holes in a bee-hive, guarded mostly by black-colored clothed monsters and a few dark-gray clothed guards — these ones wore garbs to further differentiate themselves, unlike the their black-clothed companions wearing loincloths.

Zephyr watched the pattern of their movement carefully. He was fully imperceivable thanks to his {Silent Mirage} spell, but he still waited patiently for one of them to leave an opening clear for him to pass through cleanly. He didn't want to resort to violence and risk making the settlement vigilant at this point.

He slipped between two patrol arcs, moving when one guard turned to scratch at its ear, and another bent to sniff along the dirt. Their senses seemed sharp, but their discipline was laughable. It gave him just enough space to edge along the rock wall until he found a recessed passage sloping inward.

He stepped in immediately, just as one of the few dark-gray clothed monster guards frowned and took a deeper breath, sniffing the air.

Zephyr was already in before it could latch on to anything though, disappearing into the dim, narrow passageways.

There was still some source of light coming from a handful of flickering torches interspersed sparsely in the cracked walls.

It gave the passage an uneven illumination, with most areas dark and dim, while light reached only the immediate surroundings of the torches.

'Perfect for hiding,' Zephyr thought, brushing a palm along the rock as he moved.

He wondered how his concealment spell was faring with the new lighting situation, though that wasn't the main point of concern for him.

What was, however, was the interior — The passageways themselves.

They weren't built for someone his size.

For the most part it was only large enough for the short, stocky monsters to pass comfortably. The ceiling was low in most places, forcing him to hunch and angle his shoulders sideways whenever the passage narrowed.

He wondered what he was going to do if some monsters came towards him from the other end of the passage — the body gymnastics he'd go through to prevent a collision...

And as if his mind was being read, his ears picked up sounds coming round the corner.

He immediately dashed to a crevice up ahead, just before the curve, where the passage opened up a bit wider.

He flattened himself against the wall, reigning the reach of his spell in as they walked past. It would be crazy if one of them entered into his concealment radius and suddenly disappeared from the view of its colleagues.

Thankfully though, that didn't happen, they simply trundled right past, bickering among themselves in their gruff tongue, without a hint of suspicion.

"Alright…" Zephyr exhaled silently, looking back at them before trudging forward. "That's one hurdle passed..."

At this point he was still moving around probingly, without a particular goal in mind other than just observation, fueled by his curiosity. This was him simply scoping out the settlement.

And the further he went, the more he began to understand the structure of their society better.

Every monster had a role.

There were workers — the loinclothed ones — they populated the areas closest to the exterior.

The guards, with lighter-colored clothes became more numerous deeper into the settlement.

And further in, even lighter-colored clothes monsters began to be prevalent — these wore a plain gray, smack in between black and white.

Compared to the others, they stood straighter… were more dexterous… with more pronounced motor skills. They moved more like… humans… or elves… Basically, they moved with more grace. Somewhat akin to the superior races.

The other workers deferred to them, stepping aside quickly when they passed.

Zephyr narrowed his eyes. "So the garb isn't something that is just earned… It's tied to the differences in their nature itself…?"

He hadn't spotted another pure-white garbed monster like the one he'd seen outside just before, but he could already tell his conjecture was right from what he'd seen so far.

The clothes weren't just for status. They were like identities.

He ducked into a side hollow when a cluster of gray-garbed monsters came down a corridor, speaking in low, gruff tones, moving with more alertness than the others he'd met.

He let them pass, then slipped back out, tailing them, but from a careful distance.

The tunnels they traversed widened the deeper they went, opening into chambers with carved-out alcoves.

Zephyr slowed immediately as they entered another chamber. Steaming hot air stopped him in his tracks as he blinked repeatedly with his mouth slightly agape.

This was a forge.

"A forge right beneath the desert floor…?"

Zephyr reigned in his surprise and immediately started after the grey-clothed monsters who hadn't stopped moving ahead.

He quickened his steps to catch up with them as his eyes took everything in.

Monsters hammered away at chunks of ore with surprisingly precise tools. In fact if Zephyr didn't know better, he would think he was in a human-owned forge.

It was jarring to say the least.

The only thing that grounded him in reality was the fact that despite these tools, the level of skill displayed in regards to the actual forging was… pathetic, extremely pathetic and crude. To the point where Zephyr even wondered how they had managed to develop such tools when they were this bad with them.

He left the forge, still on the grey-clothed monsters' trail, but now with a firm, cemented idea in his mind.

"This is truly a society… a fully functioning civilization…" Zephyr muttered to himself. "Not just a mob of monsters."

It made him wary of where the grey-clothed… creatures?—more fitting—were headed.

They seemed to be in a rush. Almost as though they were late to report to a superior.

Zephyr carefully considered whether he wanted to actually see this superior.

If they were anything like the white clothed one he'd seen outside just before, then it was best he stopped, or at the very least, maintained a healthy distance and plan multiple escape routes.

'Aegis I hope you've—'

—No need to ask, host. I have already recorded our path from the start. If it comes to that, we will still find our way out…

Zephyr nodded, sending a mental thanks to Aegis as he pushed forward.

This time, he started up the smell and heat-signature concealment layer, "Better safe than sorry…" He felt the spell take effect, covering his body entirely, trapping and rerouting the scent particles before funneling them into the 'backpack' he'd crafted.

It weighed lightly on his awareness, but at least now he could step closer without worrying about being caught by any superior with sharper senses.

He wasn't willing to take such chances from this point forward.

Eventually, the tunnel started to take on a more pristine, more purposefully-crafted look, with interlocking bricks on the floor, and smooth, plain concrete on the walls.

It got wider… way wider and more expansive, able to fit twice Zephyr's height within.

'We're here…' Zephyr paused as he picked up traces of chatters coming from down the corridors.

The grey-clothes rounded a last corner, but Zephyr didn't follow immediately, staying still in his position and making sure everything was in place.

He could hear and feel a lot of monsters just beyond, so he made his last preparations, priming himself.

"Okay!" He breathed out sharply before walking round the bend and straight towards the glaringly large doorway…

And just as he did, his eyes widened in shock.

Ahead, the tunnel opened into a vast cavern, its ceiling soaring much higher than the passages leading to it. In fact, it was so high that Zephyr was sure the Titan back from the oasis could fit in comfortably.

Dozens of carved pillars held the weight above, with fire pits burning in scattered clusters, creating ample illumination for the whole cavern, with unseen vents overhead for the smoke to trail outwards.

And everywhere — monsters…

Grey-clothed, ash-clothed, and even something nearly white. Each seated, standing, or in whatever position suited them, doing one thing…

Mumbling.

That was what Zephyr had been hearing.

The chatters hadn't been coming from their interactions, but rather, from this incessant mumbling.

Zephyr stood rooted in shock, fully taken aback by what he was seeing. He had been expecting anything… anything at all… but not this.

It gave him the creeps.

Like he had just stumbled into a cult session.

'Okay… that's enough probing for one day,' he quickly scanned the cavern for anything of note, eager to get out as quickly as possible… when his eyes spotted one figure sat in the center of the cavern… clothed in pure white.

Zephyr's eyes suddenly constricted.

He had moved to leave immediately he saw them, but stopped subconsciously... He stared at the white-clothed's lips, matching it to the traces of what he was hearing them chant...

"A'theril n'feyre, v'lanthos mor'lune… sol'naeril kora'lath, n'dethin sol'varis…"

"A'theril n'feyre, v'lanthos mor'lune… sol'naeril kora'lath, n'dethin sol'varis…"

"A'theril n'feyre, v'lanthos mor'lune… sol'naeril kora'lath, n'dethin sol'varis…"

Zephyr's breath caught in his throat as every other sound— all the other chatters and mumbles, faded into the background. Only the repeated chants of the white-clothed remained.

Zephyr didn't know the language proficiently, but despite how little he knew, he could always tell when it was being spoken without fail…

"Elvish…"

The white-clothed one was speaking in the Elvish tongue from Zephyr's home world…