Chapter 7: Darkness
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Chapter 7: Darkness
If the shaking had gone on for more than a few seconds, Sage would probably have dropped to his knees and started praying. He wasnt really religious, but being a mild mannered programmer meant the only real pressure hed faced was that of crunchtime before deadlines. The threat of imminent death was something hed only imagined and never really felt before. To his benefit, the shaking stopped and a giant boulder landed right beside him and not on top of him.
Im alive!
Turning his head, he looked over at the boulder, that rock the same height as he was. Sage gulped audibly, just a few feet to the side and he would have died instantly. Putting his hand on the rock that might have taken his life, it was a sort of baptism of danger. The time when hed died had been too surprising and confusing for him to even feel fear at the time. His heart was still beating madly, simmering in the excitement of the near death experience. It took him a few minutes to finally calm down and regain his senses.
What was I doing? This is a bad situation and Ive wasted so much time being afraid.
Deciding to never again let fear control him like that he took off down the path once again. Sage walked towards the chute to get back home before Uncle Zhang discovered anything. He was pretty sure as long as he showed up in time for breakfast he would go undiscovered. Unfortunately his premonition was correct. The path hed taken to get here was blocked, the quake caused a cave in.
Figures. It had to happen as soon as I use up my well stocked torch supply on an experiment Im stuck.
Sending out his Mantis, Sage had her quickly search over the caved in rocks to try and find a passage through. Unsuccessful, he pulled out his copy of the tunnel map and tried to scour the route hed taken. Locating some possible routes he took off, picking up the normally slow and careful pace. Slowing down only to mark which way hed come from at any crossroads. He only had two torches left and one of them had nearly run out already. Reaching the end of another tunnel he doubled back and tried the next option. Lighting his last torch and holding back from running to the last two options hed marked on his map. Another dead end. Every path that was on the top level of the mine was blocked.
Am I going to die again? Will I be stuck in here forever? Surely when I dont show up in the morning, Uncle Zhang will have people start to look for me. But how will they even have a clue where Ive gone?The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.
Whoa, the beetles also seem to be carrying water or some other liquid and spreading it over the moss.
Seeming to have a good idea on their habits now, Sage moved on, wondering where those tiny tunnels led to. Not yet feeling brave enough to tackle the vertical tunnel passage he brought out his map and decided to check every other route in the upper levels. This decision eventually panned out as after checking every tunnel he found two useful things. The first was the remnants of an office. There was a heavy wooden door and after pulling open the lock he stepped inside and felt like hed stepped out of the mines again.
It was well lit inside, warm and with clean air. Blinking in amazement, Sage noticed there were symbols and shapes engraved and inlaid with a silvery metal and glittering stones laid out on the walls, floor and ceiling.
Arrays! I havent got to look at any up close yet!
Sage had read about them in some of the general cultivator knowledge books. Arrays were special arrangements of symbols and shapes that channeled energy, like the meridians inside cultivator bodies, and perform miraculous effects without any attention. Arrays created a qi spell that continued operating without anyone watching them. They pulled in energy from the heavens and earth to keep running on their own. The book said that powerful arrays made use of Spirit Stones, or were controlled by Cultivators in order to get boosts to their power.
Taking a look around the room, it appeared to be general storage. There was a couple rows of lockers with benches between them. After that was an area with big racks for tools, and finally another area with rows of shelves. Walking through without giving it a detailed look yet, Sage came to a door at the other side of the room and lifted the latch. Slowly swinging it open, ready for something to jump out at him, he was surprised to find what looked like an Office. They must not have done much paperwork down here, the office only had three desks. One on either side and one to the front. Behind the front desk there was a paper window and another door, which he peeked inside and found was a private office with one desk in it.
Heading back into the office area there was another door that led into a set of bathrooms, and despite not realizing it, Sage was suddenly very glad it was there. Doing his business he returned to the offices and gave them a thorough looking over. He then did the same with the storage area. There really wasnt much, a couple shovels, a pick, a half dozen torches, some rope, and enough clothing to make a couple outfits. In the offices he found various supplies, parchments, ink, some brushes, paperweights, and a bottle of wine that someone hid behind a shelf and forgot to retrieve. As for furniture there was basically tons of storage, those 4 desks and a half dozen chairs.
Not much to work with. I sure hope Im not stuck here long.
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Chapter 7: Darkness
If the shaking had gone on for more than a few seconds, Sage would probably have dropped to his knees and started praying. He wasnt really religious, but being a mild mannered programmer meant the only real pressure hed faced was that of crunchtime before deadlines. The threat of imminent death was something hed only imagined and never really felt before. To his benefit, the shaking stopped and a giant boulder landed right beside him and not on top of him.
Im alive!
Turning his head, he looked over at the boulder, that rock the same height as he was. Sage gulped audibly, just a few feet to the side and he would have died instantly. Putting his hand on the rock that might have taken his life, it was a sort of baptism of danger. The time when hed died had been too surprising and confusing for him to even feel fear at the time. His heart was still beating madly, simmering in the excitement of the near death experience. It took him a few minutes to finally calm down and regain his senses.
What was I doing? This is a bad situation and Ive wasted so much time being afraid.
Deciding to never again let fear control him like that he took off down the path once again. Sage walked towards the chute to get back home before Uncle Zhang discovered anything. He was pretty sure as long as he showed up in time for breakfast he would go undiscovered. Unfortunately his premonition was correct. The path hed taken to get here was blocked, the quake caused a cave in.
Figures. It had to happen as soon as I use up my well stocked torch supply on an experiment Im stuck.
Sending out his Mantis, Sage had her quickly search over the caved in rocks to try and find a passage through. Unsuccessful, he pulled out his copy of the tunnel map and tried to scour the route hed taken. Locating some possible routes he took off, picking up the normally slow and careful pace. Slowing down only to mark which way hed come from at any crossroads. He only had two torches left and one of them had nearly run out already. Reaching the end of another tunnel he doubled back and tried the next option. Lighting his last torch and holding back from running to the last two options hed marked on his map. Another dead end. Every path that was on the top level of the mine was blocked.
Am I going to die again? Will I be stuck in here forever? Surely when I dont show up in the morning, Uncle Zhang will have people start to look for me. But how will they even have a clue where Ive gone?The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.
Whoa, the beetles also seem to be carrying water or some other liquid and spreading it over the moss.
Seeming to have a good idea on their habits now, Sage moved on, wondering where those tiny tunnels led to. Not yet feeling brave enough to tackle the vertical tunnel passage he brought out his map and decided to check every other route in the upper levels. This decision eventually panned out as after checking every tunnel he found two useful things. The first was the remnants of an office. There was a heavy wooden door and after pulling open the lock he stepped inside and felt like hed stepped out of the mines again.
It was well lit inside, warm and with clean air. Blinking in amazement, Sage noticed there were symbols and shapes engraved and inlaid with a silvery metal and glittering stones laid out on the walls, floor and ceiling.
Arrays! I havent got to look at any up close yet!
Sage had read about them in some of the general cultivator knowledge books. Arrays were special arrangements of symbols and shapes that channeled energy, like the meridians inside cultivator bodies, and perform miraculous effects without any attention. Arrays created a qi spell that continued operating without anyone watching them. They pulled in energy from the heavens and earth to keep running on their own. The book said that powerful arrays made use of Spirit Stones, or were controlled by Cultivators in order to get boosts to their power.
Taking a look around the room, it appeared to be general storage. There was a couple rows of lockers with benches between them. After that was an area with big racks for tools, and finally another area with rows of shelves. Walking through without giving it a detailed look yet, Sage came to a door at the other side of the room and lifted the latch. Slowly swinging it open, ready for something to jump out at him, he was surprised to find what looked like an Office. They must not have done much paperwork down here, the office only had three desks. One on either side and one to the front. Behind the front desk there was a paper window and another door, which he peeked inside and found was a private office with one desk in it.
Heading back into the office area there was another door that led into a set of bathrooms, and despite not realizing it, Sage was suddenly very glad it was there. Doing his business he returned to the offices and gave them a thorough looking over. He then did the same with the storage area. There really wasnt much, a couple shovels, a pick, a half dozen torches, some rope, and enough clothing to make a couple outfits. In the offices he found various supplies, parchments, ink, some brushes, paperweights, and a bottle of wine that someone hid behind a shelf and forgot to retrieve. As for furniture there was basically tons of storage, those 4 desks and a half dozen chairs.
Not much to work with. I sure hope Im not stuck here long.
Chapter 7: DarknessIf the shaking had gone on for more than a few seconds, Sage would probably have dropped to his knees and started praying. He wasnt really religious, but being a mild mannered programmer meant the only real pressure hed faced was that of crunchtime before deadlines. The threat of imminent death was something hed only imagined and never really felt before. To his benefit, the shaking stopped and a giant boulder landed right beside him and not on top of him. Im alive!Turning his head, he looked over at the boulder, that rock the same height as he was. Sage gulped audibly, just a few feet to the side and he would have died instantly. Putting his hand on the rock that might have taken his life, it was a sort of baptism of danger. The time when hed died had been too surprising and confusing for him to even feel fear at the time. His heart was still beating madly, simmering in the excitement of the near death experience. It took him a few minutes to finally calm down and regain his senses.What was I doing? This is a bad situation and Ive wasted so much time being afraid.Deciding to never again let fear control him like that he took off down the path once again. Sage walked towards the chute to get back home before Uncle Zhang discovered anything. He was pretty sure as long as he showed up in time for breakfast he would go undiscovered. Unfortunately his premonition was correct. The path hed taken to get here was blocked, the quake caused a cave in. Figures. It had to happen as soon as I use up my well stocked torch supply on an experiment Im stuck. Sending out his Mantis, Sage had her quickly search over the caved in rocks to try and find a passage through. Unsuccessful, he pulled out his copy of the tunnel map and tried to scour the route hed taken. Locating some possible routes he took off, picking up the normally slow and careful pace. Slowing down only to mark which way hed come from at any crossroads. He only had two torches left and one of them had nearly run out already. Reaching the end of another tunnel he doubled back and tried the next option. Lighting his last torch and holding back from running to the last two options hed marked on his map. Another dead end. Every path that was on the top level of the mine was blocked. Am I going to die again? Will I be stuck in here forever? Surely when I dont show up in the morning, Uncle Zhang will have people start to look for me. But how will they even have a clue where Ive gone?The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.Whoa, the beetles also seem to be carrying water or some other liquid and spreading it over the moss.Seeming to have a good idea on their habits now, Sage moved on, wondering where those tiny tunnels led to. Not yet feeling brave enough to tackle the vertical tunnel passage he brought out his map and decided to check every other route in the upper levels. This decision eventually panned out as after checking every tunnel he found two useful things. The first was the remnants of an office. There was a heavy wooden door and after pulling open the lock he stepped inside and felt like hed stepped out of the mines again. It was well lit inside, warm and with clean air. Blinking in amazement, Sage noticed there were symbols and shapes engraved and inlaid with a silvery metal and glittering stones laid out on the walls, floor and ceiling.Arrays! I havent got to look at any up close yet!Sage had read about them in some of the general cultivator knowledge books. Arrays were special arrangements of symbols and shapes that channeled energy, like the meridians inside cultivator bodies, and perform miraculous effects without any attention. Arrays created a qi spell that continued operating without anyone watching them. They pulled in energy from the heavens and earth to keep running on their own. The book said that powerful arrays made use of Spirit Stones, or were controlled by Cultivators in order to get boosts to their power. Taking a look around the room, it appeared to be general storage. There was a couple rows of lockers with benches between them. After that was an area with big racks for tools, and finally another area with rows of shelves. Walking through without giving it a detailed look yet, Sage came to a door at the other side of the room and lifted the latch. Slowly swinging it open, ready for something to jump out at him, he was surprised to find what looked like an Office. They must not have done much paperwork down here, the office only had three desks. One on either side and one to the front. Behind the front desk there was a paper window and another door, which he peeked inside and found was a private office with one desk in it. Heading back into the office area there was another door that led into a set of bathrooms, and despite not realizing it, Sage was suddenly very glad it was there. Doing his business he returned to the offices and gave them a thorough looking over. He then did the same with the storage area. There really wasnt much, a couple shovels, a pick, a half dozen torches, some rope, and enough clothing to make a couple outfits. In the offices he found various supplies, parchments, ink, some brushes, paperweights, and a bottle of wine that someone hid behind a shelf and forgot to retrieve. As for furniture there was basically tons of storage, those 4 desks and a half dozen chairs. Not much to work with. I sure hope Im not stuck here long.
