Lifestealer: Cursed Healer [A LITRPG Isekai Survival]

Symon knew he would be a fool to ignore the warning the Ledger had given when it had told him the recommended level for people exploring this dungeon, but he nonetheless felt himself grow more confident with every step he took through the twisting tunnels.

He still hadn't detected any life at all, and his thread drifted aimlessly in front of him. He'd sent it through the walls, floor, and ceiling just in case there was something he could use to heal himself, but the magic had come up empty every time.

It was reassuring that there wasn't anything preparing to ambush him, but the prospect of not having a way to heal himself was even more concerning. At least on the surface, he could take the life from plants, slow as it may be, but the cave seemed completely dead.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before he found signs that his only companion with a physical body was nearby. While Entisse hadn't had a proper pack like Symon did, she'd made a bindle from bedsheets taken from the servant's quarters in the manor. Now, it was set on the ground, leaning against the wall.

It didn't look like it had been dropped accidentally or thrown down in a hurry, which he took as a good sign. It meant that she intended to come back, though he'd already believed she would. Part of him was worried he'd be left on his own, but she wouldn't have gone through all that effort to drag him into the dungeon just to abandon him right away.

He hoped.

There was nothing in the bag that could help his present condition, but there was some food. Actually, it was just food. The bag was filled with those emberwolf steaks. He supposed he could use the sheet itself as a bandage, but he didn't think he'd need it.

Ever since he'd taken the Twilight Vigour evolution, his chest had stopped bleeding almost entirely. It was very odd, considering there was still a large concave depression missing, but only occasional droplets of blood trickled down.

Granted, any amount of bleeding was something he should fix, but it wasn't going to kill him anytime soon.

He left the bag where it was and continued onwards, or more accurately, downwards. While the natural tunnel hadn't been a particularly comfortable to move through, it had still been an easy fit for a full-grown man. This continued to be true, although the previously flat terrain became more and more treacherous as he followed the only way out of the cave.

It wouldn't have been a problem at all if he were healthy, but he wasn't exactly in peak condition. His legs worked fine — in fact, they felt stronger to the point he had to be careful not to push too hard off the floor. He felt a little like an astronaut on the moon. It wasn't extreme, but was noticeable enough to trip him up several times.

He caught himself before he fell each time, but it meant that he was so focused on the climb down that he didn't see the vicious creature waiting for him.

"Greetings," Entisse offered as she stepped out of the shadows.

"Oh Jesus Christ," Symon gasped. His heart would have been pounding in his chest, if it were capable of beating. "How long were you down there? Actually, more importantly, you did something to keep my blood going, right?"

She nodded once. "Yes. It is taxing."

"How much time do I have before it stops?"

"A handful of your minutes, but I could refresh it perhaps once or twice before running out of mana." Her hisses echoed softly around the cave.

"Well, could be worse," he said with muted relief. His emotions felt oddly flattened. "Did you see anything living up ahead? Any plants? Hell, I'll even take a monster."

"Perhaps," she said, drawing out the hiss. "It would be best for you to see it yourself. Follow me." Then, she turned on her heels and strode further down the tunnel.

At least the ground levelled out…

"Oh," Symon muttered, "I see where the crystal theme comes from."

From the mouth of the cave, Symon had a great view of the dungeon's scenery. It took the form of a massive canyon, though it was entirely underground. From floor to ceiling must have been at least a full kilometre, and they were currently positioned halfway up. Their cave's exit was nothing but open air.

The cavern was roughly crescent shaped, meaning he couldn't see the ends from his position in the middle, but what he could see was impressive enough.

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Glittering yellow crystals coated the towering ceiling in a beautiful fascimile of the suns. They shifted and pulsed with a gentle glow, casting the scenery below in soft, warm, light.

To his right lay a beautiful yet eerie landscape. It was a forest, though it seemed to be made entirely of one form or the other of luminescent crystal. Great treas with hanging vines of purple crystal dominated the forest floor far below him, though almost every colour of the rainbow was represented below him.

The distance was great enough that fine details merged into a kaleidoscope of dizzying colours, but one thing stood out. Or rather, one thing didn't stand out.

Even after staring in awe for longer than he should have considering the ticking time limit of Entisse's mana, he didn't see any movement. No animals traversed the forest floor, and no birds flew through the canopy of crystalline leaves. The trees didn't sway either, though he couldn't feel a breeze even partway up the cliff wall.

As he looked to his left, the crystals slowly grew less and less prominent. Large growths snaked out of the forest like veins, but they eventually tapered off. There, a true forest grew, one with proper trees and green grass instead of purple.

For being entirely underground, that part looked remarkably mundane. He was pretty sure he even recognised a species of tree he was familiar with in the forests around Brackstead.

"That's where we want to go," Symon said as he stiffly pointed towards the lush forest. For one, it was their best chance of finding some vitality to take. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly in the long term, it was in the opposite direction from the crystals.

Whoever this Durnemeth guy was, Symon wasn't interested in meeting him anytime soon, and it didn't take a genius to guess that the so called Architect of Crystal had some connection to the crystal forest.

"I concur," Entisse hissed softly. She leaned over the edge, gazing down at the floor hundreds of metres below them. "But how?"

Symon shuffled next to her, though he didn't lean out nearly as far as she did. Most of the wall was a sheer drop, though the last quarter was a more navigable slope. Still, that left two or so hundred metres he'd have to find a way to get down.

The stone was rough, filled with handholds and other caves and ledges he could take a rest in, but he wasn't confident in his rockclimbing ability. Keelgrave would have been able to drop that distance and brush off the landing, back when he'd had the body of someone on the Third Step, but Symon didn't have that luxury. If he fell, he'd probably just splatter. Even if he managed to stay in one piece, he had no vitality to fix himself up.

"Err, I'm not sure," he answered honestly. Entisse could make the climb down, but his injury made things difficult. Even with the Ledger strengthening his muscles beyond the limits of an ordinary human, missing bones and muscle made certain movements impossible. "How long did you say I had before the magic keeping me alive stops?"

She gave him a long, appraising glance, before nodding appreciatively. "Your blood is stronger than when I left. Good."

He quirked an eyebrow, hoping for a more concrete answer.

"We have time enough we need not take unnecessary risks. The mana is dense here, and this new strength of yours aids the process. An Evolution?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod.

"Good. It gives my magic more… momentum." That final word took a long time to say in her native language, but the translation ring cut it all down to one word.

"I see," Symon said, though he didn't really. It felt strange to see her be so lackadaisical regarding an injury that would have killed a normal person virtually instantly, but her efforts had kept him alive this long, so he just had to trust her. "Oh, and thanks for saving my ass out there. It was… pretty close."

He'd had so many near death, or even actual death, experiences recently that they were beginning to lose their edge. Maybe it was the adaptability of the human brain, or help from the Ledger, but he had no desire to curl up and cry just because of how close his brush with death had been.

That being said, this recent one was more than just a brush. Death had reached out and grabbed onto him, and he'd just barely been able to break free.

"It was necessary," Entisse said, breaking him from his thoughts. "Now, the life debt is balanced."

Symon chuckled softly. "I suppose it is. Did you just drag me all the way here?"

"Yes, back to the tunnel we located beneath the tower. I intended to stay there, but the pursuit eventually followed. When I touched the archway, it took us both here."

"Shit, good thinking. Sure beats getting both our hearts ripped out up there, at least."

With one had gripping onto the wall, he leaned into the open air as far as he felt was safe, trying to find a way down on the wall below him.

Keelgrave suddenly spoke up for the first time in a while. Naturally, it was to complain. <Ugh, quit doing that, we're going to fall and get turned into paste.>

"Yeah, yeah. You got anything useful for me?"

<Sure, because you asked so nicely. And because I'll die if you do. Look riiiight… there.>

It was an odd sensation, but Symon could feel where Keelgrave was focusing on, in the same way that he could feel where his hand was even when his eyes were closed. It was a smaller cave opening a dozen or so metres down and a little to the side. It had a little ledge that would make it easier to get into, but the entrance seemed pretty tight. He'd fit, but Atabek wouldn't have.

Thinking about his friends and their possibly dark fate threatened to make him sad, so he shoved those thoughts down where they belonged.

"Right, I see it. What about it?"

<I'm pretty sure something's moving around in there. The mana's so fuckin' thick I can barely see anything, though.>

Symon hummed. "You see that cave down there?" he said aloud while pointing with his free hand.

He winced as Entisse swung out dangerously far into the open air to get a look at the cave, but her claws gave her plenty of grip. She looked back at him and nodded.

"You sense anything in there?"

Her eyes scrunched shut in concentration for a few moments, the time stretching on as they both awkwardly hung there. "I am unsure," she admitted uneasily. "My senses are… oddly opaque."

"Great," Symon muttered. "Well, I'm going in. Standing around isn't going to do anything, and we'll let my magic stretch out ahead of me."

The crack in the wall wasn't very large, but there was no telling how deep it went. It could have been filled with vitality rich plants, or with vicious monsters. Either way, Symon knew he couldn't stay here for long. Waiting was simply a delayed death sentence, and sometimes, you just had to take a calculated risk.