Chương 30: Beneath the Hollow

I cleared the dust from my mouth. I struggled to breathe. A rock was pushed against my chest and I shoved it off, allowing my rib cage to rise once more. I coughed… and it smelled metallic. Was that blood? How injured was I? I tried to move and found out… My leg was broken. Shattered really. Some ribs too, at least that's what I expected. I shoved a rock off my broken leg and screamed from the pain. It echoed down and down and down into the depths of the unknown. I stared upward and saw nothing.

Darkness surrounded me. It was as if I had been swallowed by the earth itself. Dirt pressed in around me. Loose stones shifted whenever I breathed too deeply. A layer of fine dust hung in the air, reminding me of its presence with each labored breath." Help!

"I croaked, the sound so low that I could barely hear myself. I drew in a deeper breath, and my broken ribs ached." Help!" I yelled as loudly as I could. Echo in the distance… and nothing else. Nobody was coming to help me. Hell, I had no idea if anyone else had even survived the cave-in. I couldn't worry about that now. First, I needed to save myself; then I could help the others. I heard a voice, faint. Just a hair above death.

"Ma… ster…"" Darwin!" I began digging at the dirt and stone from where I'd heard the soft sound.

"You idiot!" I said.

"Why did you jump after me? Why did you—" Darwin coughed.

"Need… to save… Master…" I sighed.

"You really are an idiot. A brave, stupid idiot." Finally, I moved a rather large stone and felt something soft and squishy. It was Darwin, although I could not see him. I felt something sticky and slick. Blood. I couldn't tell if it was mine or his.

"I don't… I don't think we'll get out of this one," I said. Darwin, in a raspy voice, replied, "I believe in master." Heh… believed in me. I didn't even believe in myself. I was just a chef. No, not even that. I couldn't make anything without magic. And I had no healing magic. I could only make food— Food! I scrambled and found my bag.

"Lucky!" I said as I rummaged through it. Through various spices and herbs, I finally found what I was looking for.

"Here," I held a stick in front of Darwin's face.

"It's a Heart Skewer… it gives healing. Eat!" Slowly, I felt a slight tug on the stick and heard a soft swallowing sound. I found another stick and ripped chunks of heart and carrots off, not even bothering to taste or savor the meal. Like a bucket of cold water being thrown over me, I felt my life restoring. Pains I hadn't even realized I'd had began to knit. My leg straightened, and eventually I heard a loud pop as the bone mended. Holy shit… my food cured a broken bone. Maybe my class was overpowered after all.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. It took about ten minutes, but I felt almost entirely cured. Darwin had hopped onto my shoulder as well, the life in his voice returning.

"Master save Darwin, Master save Darwin," he chimed repeatedly." Heh… I guess I did," I replied, unable to stop smiling. But then I frowned… there might be others under the rocks. Nobody else had been too close, so maybe they avoided the cave-in. That was the best I could have hoped for. I stood, and my leg wobbled. It was as if I'd grown a new set of legs and had to break them in first. I took a single step, which led to my primary issue… I couldn't see anything.

I hit a hanging rock with the tip of my nose, breaking it instantly.

"Fuck!" I said. Within a few seconds, my nose fixed itself. It was still sore, but it no longer hurt.

"I can't see," I told Darwin.

"Darwin can," he replied.

"Can you lead me?" I felt Darwin's approval, and soon my companion began giving me directions. He wasn't very good at it, as I still ran into the occasional overhang, slipped into crevices, and ran straight into more than a few walls. Luckily, the healing from the Heart Skewers continued, and I could see my HP bar ticking up every time it fell. System: HP: 125/135… 127/135… I walked in total darkness, led by Darwin's voice alone, for what felt like an eternity.

The tunnel was narrow in places and uneven beneath my boots. Sometimes the ceiling dipped low enough that loose dirt brushed my hair. Other times the path opened just enough for stale air to drift past, warm and damp. The farther I walked, the more humid and hot it became. Eventually, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel." There!" I shouted, running forward.

"We made it. We made it—" I froze, completely entranced by what I saw. The corridor Darwin and I stood in gave way to a larger section underground. Circular, and filled with a pungent smell that hit me before I took another step. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but squirming white larvae the size of loaves of bread. The chamber pulsed with movement. Pale bodies twisted over one another in slow waves, glistening beneath patches of faint fungus-light set along the walls.

The floor made wet, soft sounds beneath them, and the air was thick with heat and the sour stink of rot. I vomited to the side, unable to hold it in.

"This is fucking disgusting," I said, holding a hand over my nose. Darwin's goblin eyes flickered back and forth.

"They look… delicious!" My companion's words almost made me throw up again. Slowly, I walked down into the infestation. I was as careful as I could be, finding small spots where there were no larvae. The ground was slick under my boots, and every so often one of the grubs twitched close enough for its soft body to brush my ankle. But suddenly, I remembered my new recipe: EarthGrub Pâté. Were these EarthGrub's? I looked down at a particularly fat and juicy larva… Did I dare?

I kneeled down, and Darwin eyed me with a mix of curiosity and judgment.

"Shut up," I said as I drew my knife. I lowered the blade slowly until it hovered an inch above where I thought the head should be. With a flick of my wrist, I plunged the knife down. Green goop exploded from the larvae, coating my hand. It smelled sour and sick. Where the gore had touched my bare skin, it burned with a slight irritation, and light steam came off. It was damaging me, but I was healing for more than it did. I opened my pack and drew some large fronds. Lina had given them to me as a gift.

They were useful to store various ingredients… especially the more disgusting ones, as the leaves held in the smell and gore. I cut the entire larvae into thick slices and set them into four different fronds, packing them back into my bundle. Having wasted more time than I had hoped, I turned and carefully began to walk toward the other side of the would-be hatchery… I was engrossed and disgusted that I hadn't even noticed the shadow lumbering above me until it was too late.