Varun POV

  Varun leaned forward slightly and peered into the tunnel, trying to force his eyes to adjust.

  The stone walls near the entrance were uneven, marked by shallow grooves that might have been tool marks or something older. Past that, the darkness thickened until it felt almost solid. He couldn’t tell how far it went, only that the air drifting out was cooler and carried a faint scent of cut grass.

  “Should we go inside?” Pallavi asked from behind him. Her voice cut softly through the quiet, tighter than usual. There was an edge of strain in it, as if she were forcing herself to sound calm.

  “No.” Rohan stepped closer and placed a hand on Varun’s shoulder. The contact was firm and deliberate, as if trying to prevent Varun from using his skill. “Let’s barricade it. It’s too risky to go in.”

  The cowardice in Rohan’s tone irritated Varun more than he wanted to admit. Worse was the way Rohan kept hovering whenever Varun tried to contribute, as if he needed supervision. It felt less like concern and more like control. The contact on his shoulder made that irritation sharpen.

  “That’s a bad idea.” Varun turned, shrugging Rohan’s hand off and meeting his gaze directly. “What if there’s a monster in the tunnel?”

  He took a step to his left to get a clearer view of Sid. “We don’t know if a barricade could stop it. I’d rather be informed than ignorant.”

  Varun studied Sid’s face, searching for a reaction. Sid’s expression was hard to read, as always. Varun had learned to pay attention to the smallest shifts in his posture, the pauses before he acted. Everything he had seen so far suggested Sid was a regressor, someone who had already lived through this nightmare once before. That alone made his reaction valuable.

  Sid helped Varun merge his three common rank skills into an uncommon one, a result that had changed how Varun approached his own growth. The reward was undeniable. That experience had also made Varun reconsider Sid’s earlier choices.

  Now he understood why Sid avoided absorbing random skills. Sid was chasing synergy, not quantity. Each addition had to fit into a larger structure. That was why he had let go of Quickstep and Backstep, even though both suited a scout build on the surface. Back then, Varun had struggled to understand that choice.

  Sid moved closer to the group and crouched beside the backpack Pallavi had dropped earlier. He unfastened the flap and reached inside, pulling out a short branch wrapped with dead vines and dried leaves. The crude torch looked fragile, its materials brittle and uneven.

  “How do you suppose we check out the tunnel?” Rohan had a smile on his face that didn’t reach his eyes. It was the practiced smile of someone used to steering conversations, someone confident the outcome would bend in his favor. “Bringing an open flame into a tunnel is suicide.”

  “Why is that?” Pallavi asked, surprising Varun. She shifted her stance, resting one hand on her hip while her spear leaned against the cave wall beside her.

  “Everyone knows you are not supposed to do that.” Rohan turned slowly to face her, though his words spilled out faster than his movement, as if he were stalling for time while assembling a proper explanation. “Miners do not do that, right? They use bulbs and torches.”

  His fingers twitched as he gestured toward the tunnel entrance.

  “Fire reduces the oxygen in the air, making it harder to breathe. It also increases the heat. And if there are flammable gases inside, using a flame torch is dangerous.”

  “Why would there be flammable gases inside?” Varun squared his shoulders as he faced Rohan. His voice sharpened despite his efforts to keep it steady. “You’re just making excuses for not checking it out.”

  Rohan’s smile returned, smooth and almost reassuring. “No. I’d go in with you if we had another light source. Unfortunately, all our phones are dead.”

  The words landed with finality, like a door being closed. Varun exhaled through his nose. Arguing with Rohan went nowhere once he decided his position was the reasonable one. Rather than push further, Varun turned his attention toward Sid.

  Sid had brought them here for a reason. That much felt certain. Varun doubted Sid would allow them to turn back without at least confirming what lay inside the tunnel. From everything Varun had read, places like this often hid resources, materials, or relics that could make the difference between progress and stagnation.

  Rohan followed Varun’s gaze. Sid was crouched near the ground, cupping a goblin lighter and blowing on it until a weak flame flickered to life. The light trembled, casting uneven shadows across his hands and the nearby rock.

  “What do you think, Sid?” Varun asked. There was an expectation in his voice that he did not bother hiding. He was almost certain Sid would support exploring the tunnel. After all, Sid had gone through the trouble of lighting a torch.

  If it were up to Varun, he would have Rohan and Pallavi guard the cave entrance while he and Sid explored the tunnel. That way, Rohan would not have to do something he clearly did not want to do.

  “We don’t know if there are any flammable gases inside the tunnel,” Sid said. He rose to his feet and turned toward the section of the cave reinforced with webbing. The torch remained low in his left hand, held close to his thigh, while his right hovered near the dagger at his waist.

  He stopped in front of the webbed wall and examined it in silence. The strands were thick, layered, and dulled with age. After a moment, he sheathed the dagger and crouched again, picking up a brittle piece of silk that had peeled away earlier and fallen to the ground.

  Throughout the movement, he kept the torch angled away, careful not to let the flame brush the wall.

  “There’s a high chance this kind of webbing continues inside the tunnel,” Sid said. He held the loose strand over the fire, watching closely.

  For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the silk darkened, curled, and finally caught flame.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Sid dropped the burning piece to the ground and crushed it under his boot, stamping it out like a cigarette.

  Rohan’s smile widened the instant the webbing ignited.

  “You have a visual skill, right?” Varun said, turning to Sid. His eyes were bright with urgency, his expression open and hopeful. “We can both check out the tunnel while Rohan and Pallavi hold the fort here.”

  Sid gave a short laugh. He glanced at each of them, pausing briefly as if gauging their reactions. “I don’t have night vision. I can see finer details than most people, and I’m better at tracking movement. That doesn’t mean I can see in the dark.”

  Varun’s shoulders slumped. “We could try checking the tunnel without light. Having a light source would make us an easy target for anything lying in wait.”

  Even as he spoke, he knew the argument was thin. Moving blind through an unknown tunnel bordered on reckless. Still, he could not shake the feeling that Sid had brought them here for a reason. What lay beyond that tunnel mattered, and Varun did not want to walk away without at least trying to understand why.

  “That won’t work,” Sid said. His eyes unfocused for a moment before settling on Varun again. “If that is a natural tunnel, there might be sharp drops. We could get injured or even die if we slip while moving in complete darkness.”

  Fine. If you are going to shoot down every idea I have, then figure something out yourself. I’m done trying to help, Varun thought.

  Sid did not miss the shift. His gaze lingered on Varun, observant and quiet, as if trying to read how far he had pushed him.

  “Shall we get some things to barricade the tunnel?” Rohan straightened his back and squared his shoulders, his posture confident and expectant.

  “No, Varun is right,” Sid said, turning to face Rohan. “We need to find out what’s inside the tunnel. Barricading it will not help us. Besides, it can also serve as a place to retreat if we are attacked from the entrance.”

  Pallavi leaned forward a little, her grip tightening on her spear. Varun felt a faint surge of validation at Sid’s words and leaned in as well, listening closely.

  Sid raised the torch higher and crawled his gaze from right to left, as if measuring their reactions. “We need a diffused light source. Not too bright, so it does not stand out to any predators, if there are any.”

  His eyes stopped on Rohan. He tilted his head slightly, holding the look. “The person holding the light should walk in the second position. That way, the scout can keep their low-light vision active while still having visibility of the immediate surroundings.”

  “What are you talking about?” Rohan raised his forearm, palm up, fingers half curled. His brows drew together and his jaw tightened, irritation leaking through the confusion.

  Varun shifted his gaze between Rohan and Sid, then understanding struck him.

  “He’s talking about you,” Varun said, patting Rohan on the shoulder. “Your Mana Web skill.”

  Rohan’s eyes widened. His expression tightened, lips pulling downward as discomfort flickered across his face. He opened his mouth, closed it, then swallowed whatever protest had been forming.

  Varun felt the corner of his lips lift into an involuntary grin. There was something satisfying about seeing Rohan cornered by his own earlier words. He had, after all, said he would go in if they had another light source. And now it turned out that he himself was the light source.

  Rohan let out a long sigh. “Alright. Let’s go in and check.” He swept his gaze around the group, stopping at Pallavi. “Are all of us going in?”

  “I’m also coming with you guys,” Pallavi said at once. Her tone left no room for argument.

  Sid froze for a heartbeat, mouth slightly open, before nodding. “Alright, let’s go.” His hesitation was brief but noticeable, as though he were weighing the risks of Pallavi joining them against the benefits.

  Varun felt a flicker of satisfaction. They were going to check the tunnel. If they found something valuable at the end, it would further support his theory that Sid was a regressor.

  His thoughts were already racing ahead. He wondered how he could nudge Sid into trusting him more, into admitting what he knew. Varun was convinced Sid held back information because his source of knowledge would raise questions. That secrecy limited how much help he could provide, reducing his insights to small, careful hints.

  Varun wanted to squeeze every advantage they had. He still regretted not leveling Quickstep and Wall Walk before evolution. The thought nagged at him. Sid had never confirmed it, but Varun suspected he had missed out on a few stat points because of that choice.

  The quartet moved through the tunnel at a slow pace. The dim light from the sphere in Rohan’s hand barely pushed back the darkness, forcing them to pick their steps carefully. Sharp-edged stones littered the ground, while the right wall rose in uneven, jagged ridges that looked eager to tear at clothes or skin.

  The roof and the left wall were smoother by comparison, worn down by time or repeated contact. Thin patches of moss clung to the rougher sections, releasing a stale, grassy smell that lingered in the air.

  Sid had not mentioned any danger regarding the air, so it was probably safe to breathe. The thought steadied Varun more than he expected.

  Sid led the group, spear drawn in his right hand. Before each step, he lowered the weapon and tested the ground ahead, listening for changes in sound or resistance. The muted tap of wood against rock echoed softly through the tunnel. Varun thought that if something were lurking nearby, it would hear that sound long before it noticed the weak glow of Rohan’s Mana Web.

  “Stop,” Sid said suddenly, just as the light in Rohan’s palm fizzled out. “We wait here until Rohan can cast again.”

  “Now we know there’s a time limit for an uncast web.” Varun tried to keep his tone light as he spoke.

  The tunnel swallowed his attempt at humor. No one replied.

  “I’m using the skill again,” Rohan said. A moment later, the dull glow returned, forcing Varun to blink as his eyes adjusted once more.

  They resumed moving, keeping the same careful pace. Twice more, the light faded, and each time they stopped until Rohan cast it again. The repetition settled into a tense rhythm that made the tunnel feel longer than it probably was.

  “Stop,” Sid said again, extending his left arm sideways with his fist raised.

  The group slowed to a halt. Varun shifted to the side to see what had caught Sid’s attention.

  Ahead, far in the distance, a pale blue light glimmered faintly. It was wide, almost as wide as the tunnel itself.

  The exit, Varun thought.

  “Let’s be careful with the noise from here on out,” Sid said, his voice lowered to a near whisper.

  Varun thought about using Flash Step to get a better view. He directed his focus towards the specific location where the light appeared most potent, in hopes of making the skill activate. Nothing happened. He tried again, concentrating harder.

  Still nothing.

  Either I need to see the entire path and not just the destination, or I need enough space to run without obstacles, he realized.

  The group continued forward at a cautious pace. The pale glow grew brighter with every step, spreading across the tunnel walls. By the time they reached the end, Varun had fallen to the back of the formation.

  He stepped out last.

  Before him opened a wide cavern, its ceiling rising higher than the tunnel allowed. The space stretched outward, illuminated by the same pale blue light he had seen earlier. His three companions stood at the edge, completely still.

  Their mouths were open.

  Varun followed their gaze, his breath catching as he took in what lay ahead.