Something was definitely wrong.
The ether concentration in this region far exceeded that on the surface.
By all rights, with resources this abundant, the magical beasts here should have been stronger, and the competition fiercer.
Yet after traveling for half a day, the strongest creatures they had encountered were those few malnourished level two magical beasts.
There was only one explanation.
An absolute ruler existed in this region.
Its presence suppressed the growth of every other magical beast. It might even have wiped out every species that posed the slightest threat.
The magical beasts on the surface were merely scavengers forbidden from entering its core territory.
The party continued onward.
The deeper they ventured, the stranger their surroundings became.
They saw "echo mushrooms" that mimicked sounds to lure prey, as well as "stone grubs" that crawled slowly along the rock walls, feeding on ore.
Kale intervened several times, clearing out weaker magical beasts that tried to ambush them.
None of these creatures ranked above level three, but their bizarre abilities kept Ola and Barrett from letting their guard down for even a moment.
On the afternoon of the second day, they passed through a narrow fissure, and the view suddenly opened up before them.
The dense ether energy in the air had almost condensed into a thin mist. Every breath sent a cooling sensation through their minds.
Veylin opened his system panel. To his astonishment, [Growing] appeared beside his bloodline. The increase was slight, but it was undeniably there.
They stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking an even larger cavern.
Countless blood-red crystals studded the rock walls, brightening and dimming in turn, bathing the entire space in a dreamlike glow.
Veylin knew these crystals very well-[primordial blood crystal].
This was a primordial blood crystal vein!
"We're rich..." Ola