Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol 2- Descent of Darkness

Episode 37: Ancient Sites

*Nyima*

Kadriya led the four of us to the end of the northern hallway stretching out of the arena. Blocking the rest of the way was a metal shutter with an access panel next to it.

"Where does this lead to?" I questioned, glancing back at him.

Iah squatted and put his hand at the bottom edge of the door. "This is well locked, I can't tell where it goes thanks to all this metal."

Adela closed her eyes. "There's a cavern beyond here," she said, puzzled.

Kadriya nodded. "Yes. It is the remnants of an underground system of tunnels which once linked Xian, Mina, Miha, and Sera thousands of years ago. Though the tunnels to Sera have since been collapsed one of our several wars. I am unsure about the condition to the other three nations, but these tunnels are a safer bet than having you escort Lei above land with that stranger going around."

"Good luck you four," Eien said, leaning against the metal wall. "Nyima, I leave Lei in your hands."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't get into any trouble. Either with whoever this strange guy collecting abyssmal cores or with the abyssmal powers within him."

Eien smiled and turned his back to us. "You better, I'll hate to get nagged at for failing to do my task."

Lei sighed. "I'll be fine. I am not some kid," he said, pouting. "Mister Kadriya, open this door."

Kadriya nodded and inputted some numbers and letters into the panel, causing the shutter to tremble to life. On the other side was a dark corridor which seemed to go on for who knows how long.

I glanced back at Kadriya and Eien. Did they seriously expect us to travel across a series of dusty old tunnels covered in cobwebs which haven't been used in who knows how long?

"Take care!" Eien said, grinning as he waved goodbye.

This guy is a demon!

Lei gulped as he saw all the cobwebs.

"Are you alright?" I asked, putting a hand on his back.

He averted his eyes.

"You aren't afraid of spiders, right?" Nyima asked.

Lei shook his head. "Of course not. If I were how could I call myself Ayawamat's rival?" he asked, giving me a nervous smile.

He did seem fine when Ayawamat used them during the entrance exam. So what's the trigger of this reaction? Could he be afraid of dark tunnels?

Averting my gaze, I grabbed his hand. "It'll be fine, I'm here."

Adela narrowed her eyes at me.

I let go of Lei's hand and created a sphere of light. "Let's go," I said, waving at him to follow.

Lei nodded and followed close behind me while Iah lead the way. Having Iah at the forefront was the wise choice, given he could remove any road block that came up.

"How deep does this go?" Lei said as he cut the cobwebs down.

Iah stopped and put a hand against the dirt covered stone floor. There were strange symbols on each individual stone. Each one was as long and wide as the width of one's average teacher's desk. In fact the sheer size of the tunnel dwarfed that of the Huo's modern tunnels by a long.

Iah whistled. "Whoever build these tunnels clearly did so with the thought of transporting massive groups of people, potentially cargo too," Iah said, glancing around the place which was supported by wooden pillars which were at one point covered in intricate clay carvings.