Chapter: Cave exploration and mineshaft
"Where the pathway follows".
Oliver's boots echoed softly against the stone as he walked deeper into the mineshaft. The flickering light from his device's screen lit up the tunnel just enough to keep his path visible. Cobwebs hung like old curtains from the corners, and the occasional sound of dripping water reminded him he wasn't completely alone—nature was always watching.
Yet… nothing.
No imps.
No skeletons.
No mysterious glows.
Not even the eerie static of Wraiths.
Just the dull hum of underground emptiness.
He passed broken mine carts, rusted rails, piles of crumbled rock—signs of past labor long since lost. A half-collapsed tunnel teased with the potential of treasure beyond, but Oliver knew better than to risk unstable terrain.
His Investigation app showed minor mineral readings… but low-tier. Barely worth the swing of a pickaxe.
He sighed.
Even the ambient system gave up trying to build tension—just a soft wind simulation and cave droplets played on loop.
He checked his Mysticoins balance. Still low.
No rare drops.
No valuable loot.
Just… silence.
> "Maybe this part of the cave's already been drained," he muttered, more to fill the space than anything.
Still, he pressed on. That's what Travelers did.
Because sometimes, in the most uneventful stretches…
the next corner hides everything.
And Oliver wasn't about to miss that.
.....
Oliver adjusted the straps of his backpack and pressed forward through the mineshaft, the iron pickaxe he'd found earlier slung over his shoulder, clinking slightly with each step. Dust stirred at his feet. He passed another splintered support beam—half-rotted, but holding—then ducked under a low-hanging wooden brace where glowing moss coated the stone.
The Systematic Guide gave a soft tone:
> [Survey Update: Low-Vita Zone Detected]
"Chance of creature presence… minimal. Environmental hazards: low."
"Figured," Oliver muttered, brushing some moss off his sleeve. The place felt… emptied. As if something had cleaned it out long before he got here. And yet, the stillness was almost too perfect.
Suddenly, the cave ceiling groaned.
Oliver paused.
It wasn't a full cave-in, but it was enough to rattle a few pebbles from above. He looked up, eyes narrowing. The stone above shimmered with dampness from the stormwater slowly seeping in… and something else—a glint.
He stepped closer.
Using the Investigation lens, Oliver scanned the glinting wall and a hidden vein of silver lit up faintly in his interface.
> [Rare Material Located: Half-formed Argentite]
Silver-vita infused ore—valuable. Very.
Oliver pulled out his pickaxe, took a deep breath, and began mining carefully. Each strike of metal on stone echoed through the cavern. After a few minutes of rhythmic work, a few chunks of Argentite Ore tumbled loose. His Systematic Guide updated:
> [+9 Points Earned]
[Argentite: Added to Inventory]
He grinned. "Finally."
Then he froze.
From deep within the mine… a low thud.
Followed by… silence.
Then another.
Thud…
The cave trembled slightly.
Oliver tightened his grip on the pickaxe, his free hand reaching slowly for the stone sword.
Thud…
And then, faintly—a dragging sound.
Investigation flared:
> [Unknown Entity Detected — Signature: Partial. Name: ???]
Classification: Unregistered Aberrant Lifeform]
Oliver slowly backed into the shadowed edge of the mineshaft. The air felt heavier. Cold air drifted through—colder than before.
Then, faintly, he heard… something breathing.
Deep. Slow. Not human.
He knew then—
The mine wasn't empty after all.
.......
Oliver held his breath, pressing his back against the damp stone wall, listening.
That breathing — it was irregular, labored, guttural, almost wet. Each exhale reverberated softly through the cavern like the echo of something long buried. The shadows ahead were deeper now, swallowing the last of the mosslight.
He glanced at the Systematic Guide in the corner of his vision. Still no name. Still no proper classification.
Only a warning:
> [Threat Level: Blue+ – Proceed with Extreme Caution]
His grip tightened on the stone sword, though he knew stone would barely hold up to something above standard blue rank. But he had one advantage — awareness. The creature didn't seem to know where he was… yet.
The dragging sound continued. Closer now. It echoed differently this time — scraping along metal rails of the old minecart system.
And then…
A shape emerged.
Tall. Gaunt. Wrapped in soaked, tattered fabrics that used to be Traveler robes, now mottled with something between moss and rot. Its head crooked sideways at an unnatural angle. Arms… too long. And in its hand — dragging on the floor — a massive rusted cleaver. It wasn't a weapon. It looked like it had been forged from rail pieces.
> [Name: Forgotten Delver]
[Type: Echo-Class Abomination]
[Behavior: Dormant Until Provoked – Vision Poor – Scent Strong – Weakness: High-Purity Light or Fire]
"Of course it's plant-based," Oliver whispered bitterly, realizing he reeked of cave dust, sweat, and Vita essence. He checked his inventory — no light-based spell, no torches, and only one real option.
Stealth.
He moved slowly, silently, sliding behind old mine supports and broken beams, stepping carefully on compact ground. The Delver paused. Its ruined head snapped toward where he had just been, sniffing the air. It took one step. Then two. Its cleaver dragged behind with a sickening scrape.
Oliver ducked into a side passage. The creature turned… but then stopped, distracted by a faint sound in another tunnel — a dripping leak.
He used that moment.
Pulling out a bottle of basic potion water, Oliver poured a bit into his palm, infused it with Vita, and conjured a small flash of cold air with it — a minor decoy spell. Then he threw it down the opposite hall.
The Delver screeched — a high, metallic wail — and charged toward the spell's echo.
Oliver sprinted in the other direction, deeper into the mine, twisting through the tunnel layout, breath racing, heart pounding. The cave around him began to open again — a deeper shaft, likely leading to the older ruins below.
> [Systematic Notification: You have Entered—Deepwell Vein. This Zone is classified as: Neutral-Rank Hazard. Proceed Only if Equipped.]
He skidded to a stop.
"Neutral-rank?!"
Behind him, the creature still howled, searching—but slower. Confused.
He had a choice.
Go back toward a stalking Blue+ abomination, or forward into unknown, probably worse territory… but possibly a way out.
Oliver checked his remaining Vita.
Still enough for another 2–3 minor spells. Apple count: 46.
Stone sword durability: 52%.
He looked down the deeper shaft.
"…Of course," he muttered. "Forward it is."
And with that, he descended into the unknown of Deepwell Vein, the forgotten dark of Stonebark's underworld.