Search for Sef (2)

Around the time when the wave hit Gord, Sef was making his way to a cave located at the end of a narrow cliff path clinging to a tall barren mountain. There was enough space for him to move forward normally, but the edge of the path was prone to sudden deterioration so he was taking his time moving down the path with his front facing the mountain. Naturally, the wave had given him quite the scare, but by plastering himself unto the mountain he manage to stay safe. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of the path.

Rocks had piled up and blocked his way back, while a few patches ahead were now missing. It wouldn't be a mistake to say he was in a dire pinch, but Sef had no intention of giving up, especially not when he was so close to his goal. The gaps on the way forward drastically increased the danger, but he could jump over them. When he reached the edge of the first gap, Sef closed his eyes and took a deep breath before trying to estimate the distance he had to hop over. There was a foothold between this and the next gap, but if he overjumped then he would end up falling to his death.

Sef's heart raced as the breath of death seemed to tickle the back of his neck, but he fought back this eerie sensation with his passion. 

"You've already made it this far, you can't back down now!"

While taking advantage of his burst of determination, Sef leapt off his back foot and managed to land his other foot near the middle of the foothold. He honestly wanted to take a rest and pat himself on the back after that stunt, but instead he chose to complete the trip before his energy ran out.

"Ha...ha...ha..."

When he finally reached the end of the path, Sef's knees gave out and he dropped to the ground. He had no injuries, but he felt weary when he recalled those risky moves of his.

"Still, I'm here."

He hadn't forgotten his fear, but the cave in front of him helped him suppress it. Even though from the outside it seemed like nothing but a gloomy cave, with the Ore Seeking Art he could detect a vast amount of precious ores waiting for him within it. Sef was about to enter the cave with an almost fanatic expression, when two voices came from behind him. 

"So this is the place."

"See, I told you we should just stick to following him. Now we get to complete the mission and get a bonus."

"Depending on the loot we find in there, it might be better if we keep everything for themselves."

"Hehe, you might be right."

When Sef hastily turned around, he saw two men with greedy smiles watching him. Their clothes and armour were plain and shabby like bandits, but both of them were in the Soul Realm, so Sef knew that he wasn't their match. However, Sef had learnt his lesson from last time, so he made sure to be prepared to face stronger opponents.

The men saw Sef reach into his shirt, but they were certain that he couldn't pose a threat to them so they simply sneered.

"Let's not do something we know you're gonna regret. For now just turn around and -"

In the middle of the man's condescending talk, Sef threw something at the ground. It was a seemingly ordinary dagger so at first the men wondered if Sef was trying to make them laugh, but then the dagger suddenly glowed.

"Ahh!"

The small explosion produced by the dagger couldn't do much damage to the men even with their guards down, but Sef hadn't aimed to harm them in the first place. Right where the dagger landed, the ground split between Sef and the two and they began to fall. By the time they realized what he did, all they could do was scream and reach out towards him.

"Damn you!!!"

As he watched the two disappear, Sef felt some relief, but he knew that this didn't guarantee his safety. Even with the items he used up most of his savings on, it wasn't probable that he could kill even one of the men, so escaping seemed like his best option. Unfortunately, the vibrations from the explosion had also broken off the remaining edges that led away from the cave. Therefore, his only choice was his original one, to enter the cave.

Sef entered the cave without a torch to avoid bring seen, but there wasn't much of a difference in his vision thanks to his meagre cultivation. Even so, he groped the walls as he went deeper into cave. He knew that he had to find a path that would lead him out of the mountain, but since he wasn't in immediate danger he couldn't help looking for ores along the way. Close to the entrance he noticed deposits of spirit iron, and further in there was mystic silver. Salivating at the thought of finding mithril or possibly yellow diamond, Sef plunged forward with the Ore Seeking Art guiding him through the splits in the cave. He wished to think of nothing but the treasures waiting for him, but a frigid wave that swept over him reminded him of the danger.

Thankfully he was in the middle of a large deposit of energy-rich ores, so spiritual sense wouldn't be as precise, but that wouldn't matter if his pursuers got close enough. Still, it wasn't as if he knew how to find the exit, his Ore Seeking Art could only tell him which direction had more ores. Therefore, his choices could be split into two; he could either continue in the direction with the highest ore concentration or the direction with the lowest. Based on the geography of the mountain range, it was more likely that an exit would be in a direction with fewer ores, but if he went in that direction, then there would be nothing to stop his pursuers from finding him with spiritual sense. Sef knew that he couldn't outrun someone with that much of a cultivation advantage, so he happily and anxiously chose to continue moving towards the direction with more ores.

In the dim cave with the only light coming from the shiny, colourful ores peeking from ceiling, walls and floor, time quickly became vague. Sef didn't know how long it had been since he first entered the cave, but his feet never stopped. In addition to the fact that there had been many split paths, Sef's insistence on moving forward allowed him to stay ahead of his pursuers who would occasionally try to find him with spiritual sense. Based on the high frequency of the waves of spiritual sense, it seemed that they were lost, but Sef had already begun to forget about them. Sef's cultivation was low, but he possessed a metal affinity which was higher than his sister's, so he barely felt exhaustion despite the long trek. Every step forward seemed to supplement him with the energy he had lost. He took a sip of water once every couple hours, but besides that he took no breaks. 

He could detect rare metals like mithril and gems like topaz nearby, but what had him in awe and anticipation was the fact that there was still something ahead that called for him. He didn't know if it was some legendary metal or an ancient inheritance, but its allure was too great for him to resist. And so he kept moving in a trance, never noticing the gazes that surrounded him.