It took Ariel an hour to finally calm down under Seraphina's gentle reassurance, and only then did she loosen her grip. Seraphina was genuinely touched; she hadn't realized Ariel was this attached to her, or that a moment of danger would be enough to send her into a rage.
"Sorry about earlier," Ariel said shyly as she handed Bastion his cannon back.
"Keep it," Bastion replied with a smile, pushing it back toward her and adding all the Rank 2 cannon ammunition he had. "You'll get more use out of it than I will. I'll take my autocannon back, though."
Once Bastion retrieved his autocannon and stored it in his Weapon Slot, he finally turned to Elyra to assess the situation.
"How is it?" Bastion asked.
"Six intact Rank 3 basilisk corpses, Master," Elyra reported. "Along with the army of snakes that were decimated by the basilisks, we're at 50% capacity."
"We're cutting it pretty close, but it should provide more than enough space for the essentials."
It wasn't as if Elyra had the only magic bag in the group, but hers was particularly expensive, containing multiple bags inside. This meant Elyra was carrying more space on her person than everyone else combined, including Bastion's inventory.
"So, are we finally going to see this mystical cavern?" Seraphina asked excitedly.
Among everyone in the group, she had the most reason to be excited about rare ingredients, with Lilia second for magical materials and Bastion third for rare metals.
"Yes, now gather around so Pebbles doesn't have to strain itself," Bastion said, summoning Pebbles.
With a flash of white light, the group of floating stones appeared within a magic circle, vibrating excitedly in place.
"Take us down to the cavern, Pebbles," Bastion ordered as they drew closer to him.
The ground beneath them trembled before slowly descending like an elevator platform. After a few minutes, it began to slope forward diagonally. The earth around them closed up behind them, ensuring that nothing could follow. They reached a stretch of hardened ground that took Pebbles some time to break through. Finally, a tunnel opened ahead, revealing the entrance to the mysterious cavern.
The cavern glowed softly, illuminated by luminous flora that thrived on the nutrients left behind by the tortoise's immense body. Towering above them, the space stretched roughly 100 meters high and spanned about 120 meters across, roughly the size of two football fields. The ceiling arched into a massive dome, following the curve of the tortoise's inner shell.
At the center of the cavern, a pool of dark red blood shimmered unnaturally, darker than fresh yet retaining its deep hue instead of turning black from decomposition. Crystals formed from minerals in the decayed body, catching the light and refracting it across the cavern walls. Plants sprouted from the bacterial-rich soil, weaving around bones and shards of shell, their pale luminescence bathing the chamber in an eerie glow.
"Bastion! Look at this, an entire pool of Rank 4 fermented blood! With some filtering and purification, we could turn it into top-tier Rank 4 blood wine. Wait, is that a Rank 3 Luminfern? And… oh, my Goddess, an entire field of Rank 2 Aetherblossom! I can make so many Spell Scrolls with these," Seraphina said, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Bastion! Over here! There's a Rank 3 Terra Crystal. Could I try summoning an earth spirit like Pebbles from it? And… those are Mana Shards! We could use them to enlarge our carriage's interior tenfold. Oh, my Goddess, a prime Terrastium Catalyst! Just like the ones Seraphina used in our ritual," Lilia called out, her eyes shining.
The girls spread out, naming all the different materials and shouting out how they could be used, while Bastion continued staring fondly at the tons of Rank 2 blood iron in the center of the pool.
Ariel shook her head at the three production specialists. She was just a scout who could only appreciate the value of these materials in terms of gold. Being part of the harem party meant what was theirs was also hers, so she neither worried nor grew too excited.
After all, based on her sensibilities, they were already well-off even without these treasures. Any more would just feel like a drop of water in a bucket.
Elyra, meanwhile, carefully scanned the surroundings. The cavern was suspiciously empty. It seemed that nothing had been able to penetrate the tortoise's shell exterior, not even the Wraithwood's roots outside.
Soon, the excited exclamations gave way to a focused, energetic silence as Bastion and the girls began harvesting whatever they could get their hands on.
As for distribution of spoils, whoever claimed an ingredient had first dibs on how it would be used and had to be convinced to change their mind. It wasn't perfect, but it rarely led to conflict since their disciplines differed, though some common ingredients were inevitable.
"Leave some of that Aetherbloom for me! I need it ground into mana-conductive paste!" Lilia shouted across the cavern at Seraphina, who was busy gathering the glowing flowers.
"But I need it for my Scribe practice. This'll give me the chance to make some Rank 2 Spell Scrolls."
"Oh, then just leave me about a basket's worth, and you can have the rest."
"Thanks."
As the harvesting continued, Ariel found herself with nothing to do. It was great that their party had struck gold, but it had nothing to do with her, so she started roaming the place while taking in the sights.
First of all, this was supposed to be a Rank 4 creature's corpse. If so, where were all the bones? The entire interior was just fertile soil, while the rest was only plants and shiny rocks. She did spot some bone-like structures near the ends of the cavern, so perhaps this was just an underground cavern being covered by the corpse.
Unable to find an answer, Ariel sat down and decided to take a rest. She had overspent her stamina earlier during her embarrassing rampage, so she was quite tired. Also, nothing looked particularly dangerous here, so she might as well remove her stuffy mask.
She grabbed it and tried to pull it from her face when a hand shot out of the shadows and grabbed her arm.
"Wha!" she exclaimed.
"Master says the air is toxic. You will die in less than an hour if you take your mask off."
Ariel's face paled at the warning. She didn't realize it was that dangerous in here.
"Th-thanks, Elyra."
"You're welcome," Elyra replied before focusing on the surroundings. There was something gnawing at the back of her mind about this place, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"So, um, can I ask what you think of this whole hero thing?" Ariel asked awkwardly.
"There's no need to think too much. They are still themselves despite their circumstances. Why? Do you feel intimidated?"
"Honestly? Yes. It's overwhelming. But at the same time, it's also exciting. My mind can't decide which one to settle on, so my brain feels like it's riding a horse over rolling hills."
Elyra let a rare chuckle escape her lips before giving her expert opinion.
"Does it really matter?"
"Of course it does," Ariel exclaimed. "They're these amazing people with amazing destinies and lives, and for some reason, I'm tagging along."
"Then you're focusing on the wrong thing. Try judging them solely based on what you've seen of them, and you'll realize they're perfectly normal."
"Seraphina!" Bastion called out in the distance.
"What!?" she shouted back, abandoning her usual noble demeanor as her harvesting was being interrupted.
"I bet I can make a giant robot out of this."
"OMG! YES!"
Elyra gave a wry smile and corrected herself. "Well… relatively normal."
Ariel chuckled at Bastion and Seraphina's antics, then realized Elyra was right. Why bother with the specifics? She just had to enjoy herself while doing her best to stay alive. Surely, life with such interesting characters was better than being a solo adventurer.
"Thanks for helping me put things into perspective. I think I should just stop thinking about it and enjoy the ride."
"You're welcome."
"Ely! Come help me store all this blood!" Bastion called out near the blood pool.
"Yes, Master," Elyra replied, vanishing into her shadow and reappearing by Bastion's side.
Ariel meanwhile was slowly starting to understand what it meant to be a part of this group. She had assumed it would be no different from other harem parties that centered around the main husband or wife, but it turned out to be as normal a party as any other.
Each member had their quirks, but put together they could accomplish amazing things, and as far as each individual was concerned, they were already amazing, which made their adventure even more so. Best of all, she could see herself being a part of it.
As Ariel let her mind wander, she suddenly saw the all too familiar glint of a dagger's blade, a sight her training at the castle had conditioned her eyes to pick up. Someone was here in the cavern with them.
"We've got company," she shouted before pulling out her hand cannons holstered at her thighs and opening fire.
-----
Support me on Patreon
patreon/babywrath