Chapter 17 – Hidden Beasts
After tending to their basic needs, Dannie adjusted her posture and settled down cross-legged. Her eyes slowly closed as she began to cultivate, drawing in the scattered mana drifting through the air.
The surrounding energy started to stir, faintly glowing as if responding to her call. Wisps of soft blue light circled her body, spiraling gently into her chest. Each breath pulled more of the world's essence toward her, replenishing the mana core within.
Time passed quietly.
When Dannie finally opened her eyes, the subtle hum of power had faded. Her exhaustion had lifted slightly, though a faint ache lingered in her limbs. She scanned the group and realized everyone else had begun cultivating as well, silently focusing on restoring their own mana.
She guessed it had already been a couple of hours.
Brent sat cross-legged not far away, his aura dim yet steady. Arven rested against a fallen trunk, breathing in rhythm with the mana around him. The faint vibration of cultivation filled the small cave—calm, rhythmic, and oddly soothing.
Only Joren seemed distracted. Though he sat in a proper cultivation posture, his aura wavered now and then. Dannie could tell his mind was elsewhere.
Her gaze softened a little. Is he still thinking about what happened with Cally?
That memory made her chest tighten. It wasn't easy to call it betrayal, but that was how it felt. The taste of it was still bitter.
She let out a small sigh and activated her Presence Locate. A gentle pulse of mana spread outward, invisible yet precise.
The others tensed at the ripple, then relaxed—they knew she was only checking the surroundings. Joren straightened, finally focusing as if he understood what she was doing.
Her senses extended farther, brushing across the rough cave walls and cold air… until she froze.
There were life signatures inside the cave. Not from their group—but deeper within.
They were faint, fragile, and numerous. Some felt like small beasts, while most resembled insects. Among those faint presences, however, was something… strange.
A slow, steady pulse, buried deeper than the rest. It wasn't alive in the usual way, but it beat like a heart.
Dannie frowned. What is that…?
She sharpened her focus and realized many of the creatures were injured or weakened. They barely moved—almost as if they were hiding or resting.
After a moment's thought, she decided they probably wouldn't attack unless provoked. To conserve energy, she shrank the range of her skill, limiting her awareness to the immediate area around them.
Minutes slid by.
After more than half an hour, the others began to stir. One by one they opened their eyes, the faint glow in their cores dimming as their cultivation cycles ended.
Brent flexed his arms and exhaled. He had taken a low-level healing potion earlier; though he couldn't fight like before, at least he no longer felt like a burden.
Dannie smiled faintly.
She dispelled her skill completely, preserving the remainder of her mana for emergencies.
It wasn't long before Joren finished his cycle as well—his breathing even, his eyes sharper than before.
Outside, faint sounds came from beyond the entrance.
Scratch… scrape… claw…
Something—maybe several somethings—were dragging claws across stone.
No one spoke. They all heard it.
Still, they didn't move. The massive rocks they had used earlier to block the entrance seemed to be holding. Whatever was outside hadn't broken through yet.
For now, the barrier held.
Dannie informed them of the lifeforms she had detected deeper in the cave. "There are creatures inside," she said quietly. "Mostly small—insect-like. Some are injured. The cave doesn't seem very deep. We could explore it in under an hour."
"If those are injured, we could kill them to gain levels," Joren suggested bluntly. "We need to level up fast if we're going to survive being trapped here."
"Yes," Brent chimed in. "We need power. If those beasts want to get in and kill or eat us, we can't just wait."
Arven rubbed his chin, considering. "We should clear the smaller ones first. If there's a larger beast deeper down—something you sensed—we ignore it for now. It sounds weak and hurt. We'll handle things in order."
Dannie nodded. Her eyes flicked to the cave mouth and then to the faint pulse she'd sensed deeper below. For now, they'd take the safer route: deal with the small threats, conserve energy, and keep watch for whatever heartbeat lingered in the dark.
They prepared quietly, each of them tensing like coiled springs. Outside, the scratching continued, patient and unrelenting.
Reluctantly, Dannie followed along. She knew she was the only girl in the group, and as the team's support, she felt she couldn't be too defiant—especially when her offensive abilities were limited.
They ventured deeper into the cave, their steps echoing softly against the cold stone floor. Taking turns, they hunted down the small beasts that had sought refuge there—creatures clearly wounded, perhaps hiding to recover.
Each time one fell, faint glimmers of mana dispersed into the air, merging into their cores. The others were visibly pleased as their levels rose, but Dannie couldn't shake off a strange discomfort.
Something about it felt wrong.
Still, she reasoned that if these beasts weren't injured, they might have been the ones hunting them instead. With that thought, she forced herself to move forward.
They encountered insect-like monsters—creatures resembling spiders and mantises, their chitin dull and cracked. But as time went on, the group realized that killing them barely increased their experience. The gains were insignificant.
Eventually, they decided to focus on the slightly larger beasts instead.
"Do you guys smell something… sweet?" Arven asked suddenly, sniffing the air.
"Aye," Joren replied, frowning. "And as we move forward, doesn't it feel like this place was… a shelter? Maybe someone used to live here?"
Dannie's brow furrowed. She closed her eyes briefly and expanded her Presence Locate again, her mana spreading through the darkness like a ripple.
Almost instantly, she detected a cluster of life signs gathered in a corner farther ahead. They were small, faint, but definitely alive.
Her heart skipped.
After a brief hesitation, she decided not to mention what she truly sensed. Instead, she muttered, "There may be some insect beasts ahead. Let's just ignore them for now."
The others exchanged glances but didn't question her. They simply nodded and continued forward.
Upon closer inspection, Dannie discovered that the cave had two separate passages branching deeper inside. She immediately informed the others.
After a brief discussion, they decided on a plan. Arven and Brent would take the right tunnel, where Dannie had sensed only a small cluster of beasts. Meanwhile, she and Joren would explore the left path—the one that seemed more structured, possibly a shelter. Dannie had detected only a few insect-type creatures there, so it was relatively safe.
If it truly turned out to be a shelter, they could rest there and plan their next move.
Dannie took the lead, heading deeper into the left passage while Joren followed close behind. The dim light from their crystals cast flickering shadows on the rough walls.
She felt a bit uneasy having someone directly at her back, especially in the confined space. But she pushed the thought aside—this wasn't the time to dwell on discomfort.
After a few minutes, Joren stepped past her, his eyes lighting up. "It really is a shelter!" he exclaimed.
Dannie followed his gaze and blinked in surprise.
Inside was a small chamber that clearly wasn't natural. There were remnants of wooden furniture—tables, chairs, and even a crude bed frame pushed against the wall. Dust blanketed everything, but the structure looked stable enough to have once housed someone.
But what caught her attention next froze her mid-step.
A cluster of bees buzzed weakly near the far corner.
Bees.
Now the sweet scent from earlier made sense.
They noticed several broken sections of wax-like structures scattered across the floor—remnants of a hive that had been torn apart. The bees seemed disoriented, their movements sluggish and defensive.
"Maybe whoever stayed here kept them," Joren said casually, stepping closer to inspect. "They might've raised these bees for honey… and just left the smaller insect beasts behind when they left."
His tone was nonchalant, but Dannie's brows furrowed. Something about this place—the leftover hives, the faint hum of mana in the air—felt off.
Dannie could feel the bees' gaze—sharp and unyielding—fixed directly on them. It was almost as if the creatures were silently accusing them, warning them to stay away.
Maybe someone really did take their hive by force, she thought uneasily.
Several dead bees lay scattered across the floor, their small bodies still glimmering faintly with mana. The rest hovered protectively near the back of the chamber, forming a loose wall between the intruders and something they were guarding.
It didn't take long for Dannie to realize what it might be.
The queen bee…
She carefully scanned the area again. Near the back wall, she noticed a patch filled with unusual flowers—bright, almost glowing softly even in the dim light. Their scent was thick and sweet, mingling with the faint bitterness of honey and wax.
Beside them were traces of some kind of resin-like substance, sticky and crystalline, half-melted as if reacting to the mana in the air.
"These must be the bees' food source," Dannie murmured, stepping closer but staying cautious. "The person who lived here… they were really clever."
Joren nodded absently, crouching to examine the broken hive. "Yeah. Whoever stayed here clearly knew how to handle these insect beasts. Maybe they even raised them."
But Dannie's focus didn't leave the bees. The way they hovered and shifted, almost in sync, felt too deliberate—too intelligent—for mere insects.