Janis hadn’t realized how much better than a human’s her vision was until now. She’d rarely had occasion to go somewhere that was very dimly lit but not entirely dark, at least without some kind of light source. Especially since she’d mastered Spark, her very first Spell, which she’d learned from her parents.

Now, she watched Earl Whitor stumble in the dark, squinting against the darkness and walking cautiously, and she couldn’t help but smile, secure in the knowledge that he couldn’t see it. He was high enough leveled that his eyesight had to be quite good, for his race. High levels brought lots of those little improvements. Someone above level 40 would not complain about little aches and pains, or suffer a loss of hearing as they got older, or any of such other small issues. Plus, good eyesight was important for any fighter to have, and it wasn’t rare to have a Skill that sharpened the senses.

Not that Janis saw everything clearly. She could make out enough of her surroundings to orient herself, but she was sure that she saw less than her other companions. In fact, she could tell that was the case when she dove into the psychic link. But itt also meant they could help to guide her, so she hardly minded.

“How far does this tunnel stretch?” she asked in a whisper.

Tia turned to look at her, or so she thought. “I’m not entirely sure, there’s a bend up ahead, and, judging by the airflow, probably a fork further up.”

Janis nodded and fell silent. Tia was walking ahead of her, in part because she had a higher Con stat. She had already Evolved, after all. And even aside from that, the shell all of the Hive drones had would probably protect them much better than Janis could hope for. She was a bit less sanguine about two of the other three drones also being in front of her, at least Ina, who was definitely weaker in combat. Granted, Janis was all for fighting at range, not close up.

She suppressed a sigh. She had been working to vanquish more monsters, hoping to gain enough Experience to push her over the brink. It rankled, especially because she felt she was very close to a breakthrough in learning a new Spell. Even if the prudent part of me knows it would presumably be better to wait until I have reached level 20 and Evolved my Class to learn another Spell, even a Conjuration one.

Janis knew she should be ecstatic have already reached level 19. She had attained in a matter of months what usually took years, if not decades. Of course, there was a war going on, and she was well aware that she would not have risen the most in it, by far. War somewhat put a stop to the usual rules. Even if she preferred not to think too closely on her participation in the battle, it couldn’t be denied that she had achieved quite a bit. Killing people instead of monsters felt differently, but it did not give any less Experience, especially not people who were generally a higher level. And bunched up like they were on the battlefield, the common soldiers had been a good target for her Spells. Especially Fire Manipulation. She had also cast Haste on a few of her side’s champions and most likely gained some Experience as a share of theirs.

A noise up ahead pulled Janis out of her ruminations. She resisted the urge to jostle forward to get a better look as Tia and the others ahead of her slowed down. The noise was strange; it felt somewhat familiar and yet not. There was a sort of faint whirring sound, and what she only recognized as a deep hum after a moment.

The tunnel they had been on widened slightly, so they no longer had to be careful about grazing the edge with their arms, and opened up into a mostly regular room. It had an actual ceiling, one made out of some dark material that Janis suspected was not naturally occurring, though she could not be sure. There were two doorways - and they did seem remarkably like doorways - at the end.

“This is definitely some kind of artificial structure,” Tia quietly said what they were probably all thinking. She glanced at Whitor. “Earl, do you know anything about this?”

He shook his head. “No, I did not know anything like this was here.” He stared at the ceiling and back. “What is this material?”

It was only then Janis realized it had gotten a little brighter. There was an odd, slightly bluish illumination coming into the room.

“Is this like those ruins under the hive’s part of the forest?” she muttered. “How many of these places are there?”

I get the feeling there aren’t nearly as many as there used to be, Regina muttered into their minds. Janis cocked her head, exchanging a glance with Tia, but after a moment, the Hive Queen continued, This was probably a heavily populated area. Maybe even a metropolitan area.

Janis whistled silently. She only had a vague idea of what ‘metropolitan area’ meant. But there had to be, well, a few dozen kilometers between the other tunnels and here! She had heard that Precursor cities were huge, but that was just insane. Although she supposed cities did have outlying villages, so maybe this place was something like that. That did not make the thought less daunting.

They carefully advanced into the cavern, or maybe the room. Janis took a deep breath. She could feel the mana levels in this place rising further, although something felt odd about them. It was hard to pin down, but she suddenly hoped she wouldn’t have to rely on her magic in here, which was obviously a stupid sentiment.

“Let’s go take the right one,” Dan said. Tim had stayed behind up above, so he was their highest-leveled warrior, except, of course, for Whitor.

They looked around once more and moved closer together. Then the group carefully made their way into the right tunnel.

It curved slightly, Janis discovered after a few steps. She found it hard to tell exactly how far they had gone, or which direction they were facing. She didn’t know if the drones were having an easier time of it.

Then they suddenly stepped out into a wider room, the small amount of light that still came from somewhere dissipating into the distance. But, after a moment, it seemed to grow, some kind of light brightening up ahead. At the same time, Janis felt a gust of air coming from the side.

She had only just started to turn before her mana sense suddenly registered a disturbance. Someone cried out, but her attention was fixed on the danger barreling towards them.

It was a monster that seemed far too big for the cramped tunnels. A mana beast, she realized after a short moment. Like Arcanis back with the Hive, but not nearly as friendly. It was a bit smaller, darker, and its pure white claws shone in the sparse light.

She instinctively grasped for her mana and almost formed a Firebolt, but didn’t as she recalled her location. That split second of hesitation cost her. The monster’s own mana attack shot towards her, a short coil of flame faintly reminiscent of the Flametongue Wolves. She barely dodged it in time.

Then someone shoved her and Janis stumbled backwards. She blinked, trying to process what she was seeing. Whitor seemed to move in front of the group from one second to the next, raising an opaque orange shield against the monster’s next attack. He ducked under it, angling th flame up to stream towards the ceiling, then punched the beast in the snout.

As it drew back, shaking its head, and Whitor set himself into a defensive stance, Janis finally had the opportunity to take a better look at it and get the System’s description.

[Mana-Warped Mana Beast — Level ?]

Janis blinked. She hadn’t even known that was possible. Warped mana, or mana that could warp something else, was something you only encountered in tales. Despite herself, she thought back to Regina’s story and shivered.

“Don’t attack with your magic,” Tia told her, as Dan and the others spread out a little, looking like they wanted to join the fight. “Well, maybe if you can curve a Magic Missile above them. Anything else might be too dangerous.”

“I’m not stupid,” Janis grumbled.

But she shook herself from her reflection and cast Magic Missile. It was like trying to write with thick mittens on her hands, but she could steer it somewhat. Carefully, she guided the magical missile in an arc above Whitor’s head and let it descend on the Mana-Warped monster from above.

It impacted and the monster let out a hiss. Whitor used that distraction to attack. In a flash, he closed the distance, then punched it again. But this time, he didn’t let up, instead grabbing onto the monster and heaving it into the air. Then he twisted and had it crash into the ground.

That seemed to stun the beast, if not worse. Dan used the opportunity to stab it in the eye, and Eva quickly followed suit.

Janis relaxed as she confirmed that she couldn’t pull up the monster’s description anymore. Well, I suppose it is good that Whitor is here, she thought. Not that I was doubting Regina, but …

But? Regina asked, sounding amused.

Janis winced. She hadn’t realized the Hive Queen was still listening to her mind. I did wonder why he was here, she admitted. Why did he even want to come?

I think that was pretty obvious. Curiosity, most likely. This is a chance for him to see the hive in action, so to speak, to see our operations up close. And maybe to get a better estimate of our actual strength and potential. And he’s probably as curious about what’s here as any of us. Besides that, well, the drones do appear like kids. Not you, of course, but you are still a young woman. Now Regina seemed amused, for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually does feel like protecting you all from harm.

Janis resisted the urge to scowl or show any other reaction. Instead, she elected not to answer and simply turned her attention back to their situation.

The group cautiously made their way further into the room. Either her eyes were adjusting to the increased darkness or the light actually was growing brighter, because she could now see it more clearly. Unfortunately, that did not help her much. The room was smaller than she had first thought, though there was a dark opening that might be another tunnel or just a small cavern, and it was relatively long but narrow.

At the end of this corridor, they encountered a door. Like in the tunnels below the outer part of the forest.

“This reminds me a lot of the subway tunnels to the northwest,” Tia said quietly, echoing what Janis was thinking.

“They are different, though,” she commented.

This door really wasn’t like the other one. Instead of steel, or any kind of metal, it looked much more like stone had grown in the shape of a door, completely blocking the doorway. A somewhat different kind of stone than they’d seen so far in the tunnels, admittedly. The front was very regular, though it didn’t look quite smooth.

Could be concrete, Regina commented quietly, although Janis had the impression it wasn’t only to her. I’m not really sure.

More importantly, this door actually had a lock. It was a big, heavy one, looking like it was made out of metal, but with a place where a key was clearly supposed to fit.

“Do you think we can open it?” Janis asked, still keeping her voice down. She glanced around uneasily as she stepped forward towards the door.

“We certainly don’t have the key,” Whitor commented. “Unless your Hive has been holding out on me?”

Tia just gave him a look.

“Or perhaps someone can pick locks?” He continued.

Janis exchanged a glance with the others. “This lock looks pretty sophisticated,” she observed. She hesitated. “If it’s alright, I’m going to make a small light to take a closer look.”

Tia and Dan nodded, so she stepped forward and cast Spark, taking care to use little mana and keep the resulting light small. She paused for a minute, listening hard. The others also sent wary glances around, but it didn’t seem like there were any other monsters hiding to jump out at them.

Then she focused on the lock. She looked at it for a bit, then nodded. “I don’t know what the inside is like, but it might be possible to pick it.” Janis glanced at the others. “I don’t suppose anyone has lockpicks?”

They all shook their heads. Whitor looked almost offended. “Why in all the worlds would I own a set of lockpicks?”

“Figures,” Janis muttered. She shrugged. It wasn’t like she was an expert at the skill, either. It was just one thing she had picked up in an afternoon, a few years ago. Talking to a young adventurer from the city who she now realized had most likely just wanted to talk her into his bed.

If I was there, I think I could open it, Regina muttered. Just with Conjuration.

Janis hesitated. She breathed in deeply, almost feeling the mana in this place. “Maybe I can do it,” she said slowly.

She held out a hand, then focused. She already knew the mana pattern she’d have to form for Lesser Basic Conjuration by heart. This time, she used the situation, the heightened emotions of being here and the drive to explore, to focus and hone her will, concentrating on an image of what she wanted to the exclusion of all else.

Endless seconds ticked by, and she felt a drop of sweat roll down her face. She didn’t let it bother her, just recalled all of the lessons Regina had given her.

Then, finally, a small rod of metal appeared in her hand. Janis breathed out, clenching her fist around it victoriously and grinning.

Congratulations, you have learned a new Spell: Lesser Basic Conjuration You have leveled up

She dismissed the next notifications.

“Congratulations, Janis!” Tia smiled widely. Then she cocked her head. “You just reached level 20, didn’t you?”

Janis nodded, still smiling as well.

“Is that so? Congratulations, young miss,” Whitor said. “I assume you will advance to a Class that might be of help now?”

Janis shook her head. As much as she wanted to, that wouldn’t be the best idea. “I think I’ll have to put off my Class Evolution. I do not want to risk being incapacitated while we’re down here.”

“Well, we could at least try and see if this works,” Dan suggested.

Hesitantly, Janis tried putting the metal rod into the lock. She’d probably need to conjure at least one other, a prospect that filled her with both excitement and dread.

I would try Conjuring something that conforms to the lock’s shape - Regina said, then broke off as a low sound started.

The lock vibrated, then seemed to sink into the stone door. Janis yanked her hand and the metal she was holding back. At the same time, a voice spoke up, with a strange tone. “Unauthorized intruders. Disengage. Sealing further. You are not authorized.” It paused for a moment, then continued. “Well, I doubt anyone is really authorized, but you still do not have permission to go here. It would not be safe if you did. Go back.”

Janis took a step backward. Everyone just stared at the door.

Wait, Regina said. She sounded troubled, and perhaps something else. That sounded almost like a computer-generated voice. The inflection and all.

Janis frowned. It had spoken in an odd manner. “We don’t wish you any harm,” she tried saying. “Can you explain why we can’t go in there?”

Silence. Nothing changed, although everything seemed darker now.

The others tried as well, but none of them had any luck or got any reaction from the door, or whatever entity had spoken.

I’m pretty sure AI technology wasn’t this far, Regina mused in the back of their minds. Then again, who can say what mana can do, in a thousand years?

Janis frowned again. Whatever this was, she could sense the mana here. It was definitely something magical. She didn’t think they would have much luck trying to find out anything else, though.