Release That Witch

Sylvie carefully avoided the water droplets above her head, and slowly walked into the cave carrying a torch. Even without the light, the Eye of Truth would not be hindered by the dark. She was only doing so to save her magic power.     

"We're at the junction." Nightingale who was walking in front stopped. "What's the number of the cave?     

"It's the first fork of the second door of the 23rd cave," Lightning took a glance at the record book.     

"Hopefully, this is the end," Sylvie muttered, opening the eyes that were completely formed by magic power, "On the left... separate from the mine area, no mine. On the right... the same."     

Lightning noted the results, "Well, there's one last door to check in this cave."     

"Let's go," Nightingale went from the front to the back of the line, taking everyone with her. Her ability was not simply becoming invisible. Sylvie could only faintly see Nightingale's changing magic power, but she could not capture her stature or action. Apparently, she was the most powerful combat witch in the Witch Cooperation Association.     

This was perhaps the reason Roland had asked Lightning to follow Sylvie. There were rumors that the mine was once the cave of an ancient monster, and several miners had gone missing in the past. Before they departed, Prince Roland, His Highness had repeatedly reminded them to be careful and that if they encountered any unknown situation, they should withdraw from the mine at once, and report to him.     

Sylvie did not need to worry about this. No monster could escape the investigation of the Magic Eye. She could even see the corpses of dead animals and twisting mollusk worms clearly.     

There were four people in the "expedition". Aside from herself, there were also Nightingale, Lightning, and a little girl named Lucia. Every time she found a mine, she would transform the material into various crumbs, and carefully classify them before putting them into her pocket. She said that it was for His Highness' verification.     

Lightning was responsible for drawing the topographic map of the mine. Of course, according to her argument, she must join for any of the adventures. Her proud tone reminded Sylvie of a captain who had stayed temporarily on Sleeping Island.     

The 23rd cave was a massive hole, deep in the bottom of the mine. It was divided into three junctions after hundreds of steps and there were more endless interwoven pathways walking deeper into the mine. It almost extended out of the scope of the mine. There was little possibility of there being a mineral vein, so they would stop after this section.     

When they came back to the first junction which was also the "door" Lightning recorded, Sylvie cast her ability to observe the situation of the 23rd cave with three doors.     

The wider the gaze of the Eye of Truth, the greater the amount of magic power was consumed. It was also a heavy burden to her body, so she chose to observe only once at each junction and explore the various channels one at a time.     

"Another three doors... Ah, no mine, there's something at the end..." She was shocked. "There're five junctions and one of the junctions seems to turn back around from the bottom."     

"From the bottom?" Lightning repeated.     

"Indeed, it's so," Sylvie said. The slender passageway turned around straight towards the mine after going downwards for a short way. She felt a strong dizziness in her mind when she wanted to continue exploring along the junction, interrupting her contact with the Magic Eye. "I think it may lead to a mine."     

However, this explanation was very farfetched. The intricate cave in the North Slope Mine was clearly not an artificial digging, and it would not link directly to the mine. The unknown mineral vein they had discovered previously was caught in the middle of two junctions. It was simply not possible to find a pile of metal stones hidden in the mud and stone walls without the Eye of Truth to overlook the obstacles.     

"No matter what it is, let's just go and take a look." Nightingale shrugged.     

They entered the cave from the third door and reached the end of the channel after about 15 minutes.     

The passageway was divided into five paths and the narrowest one did not allow anyone to walk through but had to be climbed into instead. The strange passageway Sylvie had seen previously was located in the middle of five junctions. The terrain drifted down, forming a steep slope to the ground on which they stood.     

"It looks pretty deep," Nightingale said, peering forwards with the torch, "I feel that the cave here is somewhat similar to the cliffs in the Impassable Mountain Range."     

"Let's go back after checking." Lucia could not help but tightly hold onto Nightingale's arm. "I don't like it here. I keep feeling like there's something staring at us in the cave."     

"There's nothing in the cave, except for mud and stones," Sylvie said. She did not like this damp, silent place either but her ability was telling her that there was no danger here. "The four junctions on the left and right don't have any mines, away from the mining area." She quickly glanced through the straight junctions and shifted her gaze to the middle one. She was shocked. "...Ah?"     

"What's the matter?" Lightning asked.     

"I... can't see the situation at the bottom."     

"Can't see?" the little girl was surprised. "Is it because you're too tired and your ability is fading?" "Take a rest."     

"No, it's not an ability issue." Sylvie closed her eyes and reopened them. It was still dark, and it felt like her vision was deprived. She held on to her aching head and further expanded the scope of her vision, but the results were still the same. The surrounding soil was clear and visible, but the center was completely enveloped in a darkness as thick as ink. "There's something blocking my vision."     

"Stay here and don't move." Nightingale pulled out two shining silver blades. "I'll go down and explore the situation, and I'll be right back."     

"Don't go!" Sylvie pressed on her painful forehead and stopped Nightingale. "There's only one thing that could produce such an effect. You're going to be in danger if you go."     

"What's it?"     

"God's Stone of Retaliation." She clenched her teeth. "There's a God's Stone of Retaliation below and it's covering the entire area!"     

…     

When Roland received the news, he immediately gathered the First Army soldiers into North Slope Mine.     

The final result of the investigation was just as Sylvie had guessed. There was a huge amount of God's Stones of Retaliation hidden in the cave below the mine.     

After making sure that there was no danger, Roland entered the 23rd cave under the protection of his guards. He wanted to see what it looked like with the entire bottom full of the God's Stone of Retaliation.     

"Please be careful, Your Highness." Carter reminded. "The exit is right in front."     

"You can't use magic power inside, and it's safer for you to stay here." Roland looked at Anna, Nightingale, and Lightning behind him. "Isn't it good to learn from Sylvie?"     

"I'm still more powerful than you without magic. If you can go, of course, I can go." Nightingale pouted.     

"I'm wherever the adventure is." Lightning lifted her chest.     

Anna did not say anything but just stared at Roland quietly. Looking at the pair of clear eyes reflecting under the torch, Roland knew that whatever he said would be useless.     

"Alright." He sighed. "You must follow beside me and don't get too far away."     

They came to the end of the path walking along the steep cave and Roland suddenly understood the meaning of the "exit" the chief knight mentioned.     

Their sight was suddenly lit up as a huge cave appeared in front of him.     

He could clearly see the entire cave without a torch. The light came from the God's Stones of Retaliation, and it sparkled like a crystal prism. They sprang up from the ground and each had a diameter of 20 to 30 meters. It looked like a giant neon tower standing in front of him.