The Innkeeper

Instead of sleeping, Lex chose to cultivate to recover. He needed to be in top shape to protect himself while the rest of his cohorts fought the Druks or any other enemies that might crop up.

A benefit of all the exertion he was experiencing was that his cultivation was progressing quickly. While the concentration of spiritual energy mattered little for Qi training, since he was absorbing individual strands of Qi, the indirect benefits he was receiving of being in an energy rich environment, such as eating healthier food or recovering from fatigue quicker, were speeding up his cultivation nonetheless.

The whole process of forcing a higher number of Qi into your body, and then having your body get accustomed to it, was apparently greatly facilitated by being beaten up and then recovering quickly. Considering Lex's defense, this was not how should have been cultivating, but just based on the fact that he was always surrounded by higher realm enemies made it so that the effect of his defense was always mitigated.

Lex firmly entered the 6th level of Qi training, and was already on his way to the peak of it. The good news was, if he continued to get hassled the way he was, it would speed up his cultivation. The bad news was, the protection talisman he had to protect him from Nascent realm attacks had limited energy. While it had sustained itself so far, it was because he had not yet taken any direct hits and mostly suffered shockwave damage. Even so, eventually it would run out. While it was not a concern yet, it was something Lex had to keep in mind.

Finally, it was time to explore the tunnel. The group going would be the largest group that ventured out into the forest yet, since the camp was founded.

Other than Ptolemy himself, 20 of the 30 guards would be joining as well as another 10 students that would serve auxiliary purposes to help in the combat of Druks. Lex and Barry were the only purely noncombatants joining in - Lex because he insisted on going and Barry because, should the tunnel end prematurely, or instead form an underground maze, he would be the one to guide them and carve out a new path should it be needed.

Their party set out, once again mounted on their lizards since there was no hope of being discreet with such a large group. Many animals would run away as soon as they saw the size of their party, but some of the stronger beasts still fought with them. However, no matter how much they fought or how much noise they made, the forest no longer made any moves on them. Lex genuinely wondered what Ptolemy had done to achieve such a result.

A few hours later, they finally reached the mouth of the tunnel. At the sight of the descending path, a new mood overtook the group. It was not anxiety, or fear, this time, but that of excitement.

One of the group members ventured ahead while the rest stayed back and secured the area. A small concealing formation was set up so that no other beast would accidentally discover it and attack them from behind.

A short while later, the group member that ventured into the tunnel came back out, a grim look on his face.

"According to the probe, there's three Druks down there."

The group members had various reactions with most grimacing as well, but a few jumped up with ecstatic faces.

"What happened?" Lex asked his fellow noncombatant, Barry.

"Three Druks means the size of the Spirit well is large enough to support three of them. But, at the same time, each Druk is ridiculously difficult to defeat. They eat various metals and absorb them into their body, augmenting their defense. Adolescent Druks, like the one you saw, get their tough body as a result of the metals, but adult Druks form a unique alloy that is even more difficult to penetrate. Three Druks signifies that two are probably parents while one is probably a child. Facing two adult Druks... it's not an exciting concept. But, at the same time, the reward will be all the greater."

Lex silently watched as Ptolemy discussed the plan with the rest of the combatants. He silently wondered, should he use the distraction from the fight to reach the well? If someone found out, it would be highly suspicious.

Once they were done with their plans, the group continued into the tunnel. Their primary plan was to try to capture the younger Druk, if possible, to use against the older ones. However, if capture seemed impossible, they would find ways to fight the beasts one at a time. They held no illusion that fighting all three together would be their demise.

It did not take long, barely a few minutes, before they once again ran into the Druk that Lex had encountered, still asleep.

The built up anticipation mixed with anxiety as the group quietly assumed their positions. Barry and Lex were farthest back, while a few went ahead to ensure the two adults weren't nearby.

The longer they took, the greater the tension that built up. Lex suddenly became very aware of his heartbeat. It was not beating fast, and maintained an even pace, but suddenly he felt like each beat was like a hammer trying to break through his chest.

Ba-dump. One of the guards, a female, moved close to the Druk, holding a rope made of bark. Ba-dump. Three others surrounded the group, trying to set up a suppression array. Ba-dump. Everyone drew their weapons, the sheen of their blades cutting through the darkness of the tunnel. Ba-dump. A drop of sweat rolled down Ptolemy's brow. Ba-dump.

A nod, so subtle one could have missed it if they weren't watching for it, from one of the group members was all the confirmation they needed. The adults were far away. Ba-dump.

Just as they had been ambushed so suddenly a short while ago, the group ambushed the Druk this time. Any kind of metal was useless against Druks, so the weapons they used were made of special synthesized materials and should have been harder and sharper than steel. Despite the surprise, though, their attacks failed to pierce the beast all the way through.

The Druk did not roar angrily when it opened its eyes. No, the tunnel itself released a sharp wail at their blasphemy. The walls shivered under the weight of the beast picking itself up, and then shivered again as all the metal ores were pulled straight out of them and fell to the ground like melting ice.

The sight of a massive, angry beast glaring them down with murder in its eyes would have intimidated a lesser group, but not this one. So far, things were going according to plan. As soon as the beast stood up, various members of the group swung their ropes through the beast's legs.

Their intention wasn't to tie it up, but rather, flip it. With inhuman strength, members of the group used the ropes to pull the beast in the air, while others attacked it once again, flipping it over. Its two front claws, its primary weapons, were pushed deep into the tunnel walls so that the Druk wouldn't be able to pull it out easily.

Upside down, and immobile, the beast was unable to retaliate as the group started to suppress it with their arrays. The beast was definitely a young one, and was too used to its foes being intimidated by its display of power. What it didn't know was that to these academy students, threats meant nothing except time gained to counter attack.

So far, things were going according to plan. But when the Druk finally awoke from the shock of what was happening to it, it finally roared in anger!

Stalactites shattered from the power of its voice alone, and Lex was pushed back, having to take Barrys support, but not much else happened. It's claws were already stuck in the wall, and it had been manipulated in such a way that it wasn't able to exert its full strength to pull them out. An unusual stalemate was formed where the Druk wasn't able to attack, but none of the humans attacks hurt the Druk. But the stalemate wouldn't last long. If the humans weren't able to do something, the other two would eventually notice something wrong. Time was against them.

"Try taming or subduing techniques," Lex suddenly suggested. It's physical defense was astounding, but that did not necessarily mean the same for its mind.

Ptolemy gave Lex a dirty look before turning to someone else and giving them the nod. They were already going to do that, but with Lex's suggestion, it now seemed like it was his idea. Over all, it didn't matter, but Ptolemy was irked by the fact that Lex seemed to be getting the credit.

Suddenly, Lex's heart started beating faster. Something was wrong.