The dark grey mana

The cavern that was bustling a moment ago was now empty. All of them had chosen one of the tens of cave entrances that led to deep underground.

They had no way of knowing whether all the entrances would lead to the same destination or not. But Aiden felt that they had to lead to different places. As he walked around, he felt that each cave was giving off different types of mana sensation.

So, under the wise choice of their leader, they've all chosen different caves. It was to minimize the chance of infighting. Even though they had no idea what kind of mana crystals, it contained or where it led to.

Kaiser has arbitrarily chosen a cave. But what was amazing was that it was the same entrance to the cave that was pulling Aiden inside.

Aiden stood in front of the dark cave entrance, staring deep into its endless emptiness. He didn't understand what this unspoken feeling was, but he felt that something inside the cave was pulling him inside.

When Kaiser put his hand on Aiden's shoulders, he was a little startled. Looking at his reaction, Kaiser couldn't help smiling. He said, "What are you worried about? There is nothing dangerous about it."

Aiden nodded as he had entered the cave behind Kaiser, leaving behind the empty cavern.

"Could it be wind or water?" Putting his hand on his chest, Aiden muttered. Even though it felt different from those types of mana, Aiden couldn't ignore the feeling, and soon he got the answer.

[?? Mana crystal

Grade: A

Element: ??]

They soon found the mana crystals. But it was something nobody had ever seen before. Unlike mana crystals or mana stones, which release colored hues over their entire body, these crystals were like transparent crystal-shaped glass containers that hold the dark gray cloud inside.

"It's moving." exclaimed one of the slaves.

It attracted everyone's attention. Aiden was no exception to that. When he watched closely, he found that the gray cloud inside was actually tossing and turning endlessly.

However, when Aiden reached out his hand to the crystal, the movement of the grey cloud had stopped. Aiden was startled. His hand stopped in the middle of the air for a moment before he touched it.

*Buzz*

Just the moment he touched it, his legs lost all the strengths. He fell on the floor and hit his head on the floor, but Aiden had no senses at all. His eyes had turned white, and his hand was clutching his chest as he was struggling for air.

Yet the situation lasted for a second. Even before others could understand what had happened Aiden had already stopped struggling.

Aiden woke up on the cold floor with throbbing pain behind his head and Kaiser's concerned voice. He opened his eyes to find that many of the slaves were casting shadows on him.

"What happened to you? "Kaiser crouched beside Aiden.

"I don't know." Aiden was also confused, "All I remember was that the mana cloud inside the crystal stopped as I touched the crystal. Then ..." Aiden looked around one more time before asking, "How long have I been out of here?"

"Perhaps a few seconds." Kaiser said in a voice of concern, "Do you want to rest? We're going to stay inside the mine for three days, there's no need to hurry."

Aiden shook his head as he stood. "There is no need. I am o.k.a.y." Aiden had no intention of extending the last words, but he couldn't help looking at the crystal he had touched.

'It's empty! 'Aiden wasn't sure he saw everything correctly, but it was only the transparent crystal shell that was left. He touched his chest again, unconsciously. It wasn't the heart that he wanted to touch, but the mana core.

A moment ago, when he touched the crystal, he felt a large gust of mana flowing through his mana channel toward his heart. He moved his hand as soon as he could, yet it was too late.

When the big gust of mana reached his mana core, it throbbed like a heart, and the next thing he knew he was lying on the ground.

'Did it grow?' Aiden wasn't too sure about it, but he felt it had changed. And now his chest felt a little tighter, 'Why did my wind mana core react to this?'

Aiden had no idea about its reason, and there was nobody who could answer him. Seeing that Aiden was all right now, Kaiser said, "Nobody will touch the crystals, we will choose a different…"

"But I have touched one. Nothing has happened to me." One of the slave-handlers spoke, and soon most of the slaves confirmed his theory.

A slave even pulled out a crystal to show that nothing had happened to him. And Kaiser turned towards Aiden. Aiden could only give a helpless smile to those eyes.

"You will not touch any crystal," Kaiser ordered. After Aiden's nod, they continued through the cave.

The cave was wide enough for 5-6 people, and the roof was also high. But because of the dark gray color, it wasn't too bright. They've got to take out the mana crystal they brought with them.

Aiden was amazed to see the mana crystals embedded in the roof, and the wall could reflect the light of the mana crystal they had brought.

However, it was an uneventful journey. Some slaves wanted to gather the crystals, but Kaiser stopped them. Kaiser didn't explain why, but he went on to say that it wasn't the place to mine.

'What? You don't like A- graded crystal?' Aiden smiled in his heart. If it was Planet Will, the place would have already been dyed red. But none of them cared. Aiden thought, 'What are you looking for? S-grade crystal?'

Soon enough, they had reached another cavern. Unlike the last one, this one has only five cave entrances and Kaiser has chosen the next direction without hesitation.

'Does he have some kind of compass?' Aiden thought, but was unable to find the reason why every time Kaiser had chosen the same cave that was pulling Aiden. He couldn't help wondering what was actually in the cave.

"Enemy." Kaiser's cry broke his thought. Aiden was just behind Kaiser, so he didn't have a problem seeing the beast.

'It is a dog.' Aiden was dumb-founded. It was a normal-sized dog with black fur and a bushy tail. If not for the emerald coloured third eye on its forehead, Aiden would have thought it was a normal dog.

Kaiser had no intention of learning whether the growling dog in front of him was threatening them or it was just afraid. None of them did.

*Woof*

Its mighty roar did not affect its attackers, and it was soon turned into minced meat. One slave took out the emerald-coloured stone from his forehead.

'It wasn't an eye? I thought I saw it blinking.' While Aiden was confused about the eyes, Kaiser was concerned about a different matter.

"It was too weak."

"That is what you are worried about?" Aiden frowned, "Didn't they guard the entrance? How did that thing come here?"

"I don't know." Kaiser shook his head as he continued, "They appeared from time to time, but nobody knew where they were from. They're not generally strong ..." Kaiser took another look at the now-dead beast.

"Could there be another entrance to the cave?"

"No one knows that. They tried to find it a number of times, but they had failed. And it's not just that, they've never been able to reach the end of the cave."

'Not finding the end is not a problem, but…' Thinking about it Aiden's frown grew deeper. "How can these beasts live without food?"

"It isn't the first time. There were multiple cases when they found a beast inside the cave. But none of them has survived outside for more than a week."

"Didn't survive! Why?"

"We don't know. So as soon as one of them was taken out the mana essences were extracted and sold at a high price." His voice dropped a notch, and he added, "unlike the beast of our worlds, you can extract the essence multiple times and they won't die yet…"

Thinking about it, Aiden took another look at the now-dead beast and asked, "There was no case of successful absorption of their beast essence, wasn't?"

Kaiser was dumb-founded and couldn't help asking, "how do you know?"

'Isn't it natural? The essence contained their will, and extracting it is like taking away their sanity. Yet they survived such torture. Do you think that one can suppress such a strong will?' Aiden smiled, yet didn't answer.

"What type of beast have you seen before?" Aiden wanted to ask but didn't get the chance.

"There are more."

"Enemies are coming."

Aiden and previously one-handed slave spoke at the same time. Even if he hadn't, Kaiser was already staring at the dark path.

"Get ready." shouted the two handlers, and they all took out their weapon. And Aiden wasn't an exception.