The Cave of Tigers

"...Why do you give us these trials God?"

In the dead of night a voice echoed.

The Man who had approved the sign ups of many people sat alone in his tent, staring fixedly at the list of names written down.

One hour had passed since the midday sun hung in the sky, in the midst of circling the planet once more, the sun hung someplace in the horizon, preparing to be replaced by it's much closer cousin the moon.

By now, despite it only being an hour many of those names written on the list have most likely perished, granting an extra hours respite with each additional death from the monsters surging out from within.

Without those deaths, there would be more even more deaths, despite rationalizing it in his head the man couldn't help but feel an emotion deep within him

Being a devout follower of the faith, the man had memorized many of the verses within the bible, still reading it's many texts to this day.

And with it, he was unable to understand why so many of the lord's lambs had to willingly walk into the jaws of a tiger.

"Did your son not sacrifice himself for our sins oh lord? Why give us more trials to dispel us of our sins?"

Speaking aloud, the man prayed to a figure who couldn't answer.

"Sir Antoine! There's a problem with the rift!"

Blinking, the voice of the apprentice mage shook him out of his prayers.

Almost instantly two of the Squires of the Blue Lions Order appeared besides the mage who was gesticulating wildly.

Getting up from his wooden seat, Antoine had a serious look on his face as he stared at the mages face lit up with firelight.

"What do you mean there's a problem with the rift mage?"

"The Level! the Level is increasing!"

"What?!"

Instantly raising his voice Antoine instantly changed his expressions.

Shoving past the mage who was now half hysterical, he burst out of the tent only to see the Abyssal rift they were in charge of guarding had suddenly changed.

Purple tendrils leaping out of the rift to whip at their surroundings, the rift tore up the earth as two other apprentice mages accompanied by a proper mage struggled to uphold the barrier.

Knight Squires sweating underneath their helmets, Antoine stared in horror as the level display in front of the rift continued to leap higher and higher.

Meant to measure the residual mana levels the rift emitted, the fact that the level continued to climb higher past its initial state meant one thing and one thing only.

'The Baron's daughter is in danger.'

Immediately turning to grab his weapons and equipment Joseph Antoine shouted at the hesitating Knight Squires.

"What are you waiting for!? Prepare to enter and rescue the Heiress!"

---

The Day that the abyss ascended was the day that society in Ars changed

Replacing most of the stories parents use to keep the children in their beds at night, the Abyss was a place of mystery and danger.

And within that mystery and danger came great rewards.

Rewards that were proportional with the dangers that they were accompanied with.

Changing the very way that Ars had operated on, unclaimed rifts were sources of terror and danger as many prominent Knight Orders refused to even enter some of them due to the unknown nature that they held.

With even some of the greater knight orders such as the Red Horned Knights falling into one of the many ungraded rifts containing dangers beyond their ability to deal with, the Mage Towers came together with a way to categorise the level of unclaimed rifts.

And the culmination of their efforts was the level system that detected the average mana residue a creature or object left behind in their wake.

Holding the distributed amulet in his hands, Ren stared at the written words that it displayed.

[Personal Lvl: 3]

[Rift Lvl: 15]

'Is the amount of mana I have?'

Curiously staring at the series of numbers that had popped in front of him with a blue light, Ren noticed that many of the others were doing the same.

With varying levels that ranged from the low level of 2 to much higher ones like 5, the only thing that they had similar to each other was the rift lvl that it displayed.

Turning his eyes to the innards of the rift that they had just entered, Ren felt it was more underwhelming than the stories had made them out to be.

Still holding the spear in his hands, Ren stared at his surroundings expecting to see something akin to a blazing hellscape, a poisonous swamp filled with miasma or even a frozen glacier with no life to be seen for miles.

But there was none of that within his sight.

Although Dark, Ren could still make out the vague appearance of a cave, with the color grey being the dominant feature, the stone walls had dust clinging to their sides as stalagmites and stalactites hung on the floors and ceiling of the cave.

It wasn't the abyssal hell with no hope in sight that the bards had made it out to be, but strangely enough, a disgusting stickiness clung to his skin like mud that couldn 't be washed off.

Feeling goosebumps climb up his arms, Ren suppressed the urge to shiver.

A strange eerie silence overcoming them all as all of the aspirants stood stock still amongst each other, a voice suddenly brought them out of their individual thoughts.

"Attention inhabitants of the Lorelai Barony!"

Voice echoing in the cave, flames suddenly burst from the someone's hand.

Raising her hand above her head, Ren's eyes were uncontrollably attracted to the teenage girl no older than himself.

Face shrouded by the shadows cast by the firelight, Baron's heir Meredith Lorelai shouted from underneath her iron plated helmet.

"I am the Lorelai Barony's Heiress Meredith Lorelai and if you want to live, then it shall do you good to listen to me!"

Golden Eyes scanning the crowd of aspirants, they all met her gaze as she continued with an echoing voice.

"You are in a level 15 rift! Do not fear however, this only means that the collective mana of all the creatures of this rift only adds up to level 15! THe actual danger level of this rift surmounts to roughly level 7 and 8!"

Flanked by two knights, she continued as the ball of fire continued to burn brighter around her palm.

"If you are having second thoughts now I won't stop you from leaving! But if you do leave, then know that you are forfeiting your right to become an enlightened, so inhabitants of the barony! Tell me! Will you stay or will you leave!"

Voice echoing in the cave Ren felt his heart beat uncontrollably as he felt incredibly inclined to follow the teenage heir of the barony.

'Meredith Lorelai was it?' Carving the name of the future Baroness of the Barony into his mind, Ren clenched his palms around the spear, feeling as if a future where he and his family could live happily underneath the baroness's rule was at hand.

Unsheathing her sword, the silver gleaming blade pointed into the depths of the caves where the shadows crept.

"So if you want to live and meet your families again as a future enlightened of the Barony! Follow me into the depths of the abyssal rift and help me tear open its ghastly core!"

"For the Heiress!"

Ren didn't know who shouted those words, but the next thing Ren knew was that those very same words were leaping out of his throat as he raised the spear above his head.

Ignoring the shadows dancing underneath the firelight, the Heiress took the first step into the depths of the Abyssal Rifts, flames still dancing above her palms, she was flanked by two knights who unsheathed their swords.

And following the future golden eyed Baroness of the Lorelai Barony was an army of ragged conscripts wielding spears and daggers with a zeal in their eyes locked onto the flame in her hands.

An hour flew by just like that however.

Still leading the crowd of aspirants, the once omnipresent tension covering all of their bodies had ebbed away like the clouds in the night.

Having an hour pass by with nothing but the sounds of their guarded breaths to listen to, soon enough, the guard and caution that all of the aspirants had put soon was taken down.

Although it wasn't on the level of a casual conversation one would have in a marketplace, small talk was exchanged amongst the crowd of aspirants walking in the cave system.

But since an hour had passed with nothing happening as they headed deeper and deeper into the core of the rift, it was something that would inevitably happen as people let their guards down.

One would've thought that by now something should've happened, but against all odds, nothing had happened.

It was so much so that Ren had taken to idly playing with the amulet in his hands while silently eavesdropping on the words exchanged by the Baroness and her retainers.

"...Is this normal Sir Patrick?"

"No Miss Lorelai, It is unusual for a rift to be so empty."

Patrick who Ren assumed was the broad shouldered male besides the Baroness scanned the numerous branching hallways, still holding the large longsword in front of them.

"I concur with Sir Patrick Miss Lorelai, this is highly unusual."

"...Is that so Sir Daniel?"

Still holding out the flame in their hand, Ren watched the dancing flames in her palms as she pondered on the nature of her retainers words. 

"In that case, continue keeping up your guard, it shall not hurt to keep your caution in a place as dangerous and unpredictable as this rift."

Green hair peaking out of her helmet, Ren couldn't help but wonder what it was to be a natural born leader such as her before seeing something that caused him to frown on the surface of the amulet.

Widening his eyes, Ren couldn't help but shout loudly to attract the Heiress's attention

"Miss Lorelai! The Rift Level-!"

Several gazes turning to Ren causing him to unconsciously cringe from the sudden attention suddenly gathered onto him, he nevertheless plowed throught he sudden metaphysical pressure placed on his shoulders and pointed to his amulet.

"The Rift level! It's increasing!"

"!" Widening her eyes at the sight of the rift level which was known by many to stay extremely static, a story the bard had told in the barkeep he worked at couldn't help but flash through Ren's mind

"-And wouldn't you know it!? The Rift level that the Blue Lions order encountered wasn't even its real level!?-"

Perhaps making the same or a similar conclusion in her mind, the Heiress Meredith raised her hand and blasted the ball of fire into the ceiling where it lit up its surroundings and caught people attention.

"People of the Barony! We have to retreat now if you value your lives-!?"

Voice catching as the flame lit up its surroundings, it also revealed something that was previously hidden in the darkness.

Hanging from the ceiling with its claws embedded into the hard stone earth, a sleazy and gritty voice leaked out of the beings mouth.

"Why hello there..."

Grinning like a cheshire cat, a pair of red eyes glared at the people below.

Leaping to the ground, almost like a panorama everything slowed around Ren allowing him to appreciate every menacing detail.

Black stripes covering their orange furred body, a body rippling with muscles leapt from the ceilings even as the red slitted eyes of a hunter tracked the still reacting people below.

Claws extending out of their paws, the sharp obsidian colored natural blades gleamed underneath the still dispersing firelight.

Carrying a face that was as if someone had mixed the head of a tigers and a humans together, the jaw of the tiger like being split into four separate portions.

Four different sets of gleaming white ivory teeth gleaming brightly, they were soon stained with crimson red blood as they landed on the nearest poor fool unlucky enough to be caught underneath the 300 pound predator.

Slamming into the ground and rendering the man underneath their monstrous pounce into mush, Ren couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the blue light that the Amulet produced.

[Personal Level: 4]

[Rift Level: 2 |?|]

+++

Tree that drank vinegar and regretted it immensely.