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We spread out, our eyes straining in the dim cavern. I moved slowly, running my hands along the rough stone walls. Suddenly, a tiny sparkle caught my eye.

“I think I found one!” I called softly, excitement bubbling in my chest.

Sky was at my side in an instant, his blue eyes intense as he examined my find. A smile, the first I’d seen from him, briefly crossed his face.

“Good eye,” he murmured. “Here, like this.”

He demonstrated how to carefully chip away the surrounding rock, revealing a small cluster of pale green crystals. Sky gently pried them loose and placed them in my sack.

“These are worth a decent amount,” he said, his voice softer than before. “Keep looking. There’s usually more in the same area.”

Encouraged by my success, we all searched with renewed vigor.

Mira’s keen eyes spotted several more clusters, while Rhia’s strength came in handy for breaking larger chunks of crystal-laden rock.

Even Kuro, despite his earlier complaints, seemed to throw himself into the task with enthusiasm, using his sword to pry the crystals loose when he found them.

As we worked, I noticed Kai gravitating towards Sky.

The two of them worked side by side, with Kai asking quiet questions about the crystals and Sky answering in low tones.

There was something almost companionable in their interactions, a stark contrast to Sky’s earlier standoffishness.

However, the more I watched, the more I felt my stomach twist into a small knot of jealousy.

I tried to push the feeling aside, focusing instead on the task at hand. It wasn’t my place to feel that way about Sky anyway, especially when he was so clearly over me in particular.

As I continued searching, I couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly our fortunes had changed. Just hours ago, we were facing certain death. Now, we were learning a valuable skill that could help us survive in this strange new world without having to put our lives on the line.

“Hey, look at this!” Rhia’s excited whisper drew our attention. She was holding up a small, glowing blue stone that gave off a metallic glint. “Is this... mana ore?”

Sky’s eyes widened as he hurried over to examine her find. “By the gods,” he breathed, carefully taking the stone from her. “It is. And it’s not a bad size either!”

The stone was about the size of a large grape, pulsing with a soft blue light. Even from where I stood, I could feel a faint hum of energy emanating from it.

“How much is that worth?” Kuro asked, his eyes as big as saucers.

Sky’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he examined the mana ore. “This... this could fetch a small fortune in Selas. Enough to set you all up with regular gear and supplies.”

I felt a surge of hope. Maybe our luck was finally turning around.

“So, what do we do now?” Kuro asked, peering at the glowing stone with an intense greed.

Sky shot him a warning glance. “We keep looking,” he said flatly, carefully wrapping the mana ore in a cloth and tucking it into a hidden pocket in his cloak. “This is the kind of find that can set a person up for a month or more, even in a nice part of town.”

“Good. We found it,” Kuro protested, seeing the stone disappear into Sky’s cloak. “Shouldn’t we get a share?”

Sky’s ears flattened against his head. “You wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for me. Besides, I’m already paying you for your help with the crystals.”

I could see Kuro’s face reddening, ready to argue further, but Kai stepped in smoothly. “We’re grateful for the opportunity, Sky. The crystals alone will help us immensely. You can keep the ore.”

Sky nodded. “Let’s keep looking for now. Where there’s one, there might be more, and that means a better payday for us all. We’ll figure out splitting it up later. But we need to be careful - mana ore can attract monsters. And not just the weak ones.”

As if on cue, a low rumble echoed through the cavern. We all froze, eyes darting around nervously .

“What was that?” Mira whispered, clutching her wand tightly.

Sky’s ears twitched, scanning for danger. “Not sure. But we should move. Now.”

We quickly gathered our sacks and followed Sky as he led us deeper into the cavern. The rumbling grew louder, accompanied by the sound of shifting rocks.

“Is it an earthquake?” Rhia asked, her voice tight with worry.

“Worse,” Sky growled, picking up the pace. “Earth elemental. They’re drawn to mana ore like moths to flame. And they’re almost impossible to kill.” He glanced over at me, his blue eyes wide with fear. “They… they like to eat it.”

As if to confirm his words, a massive shape began to coalesce from the cavern wall behind us, moving through it as if the stone were made of water.

It was vaguely humanoid but made entirely of rock and crystal.

Glowing veins of what looked like mana ore pulsed through its body.

Magic crackled around it as two bright glowing white eyes popped into existence.

In a matter of seconds, they found us, zeroing in on Sky and the tiny piece of ore in his pocket.

The creature leaned forward, a gaping hole in the center of its torso opening up and emitting a deep, ear-splitting roar that shook the very foundations of the earth.

“Run!” Sky yelled, pushing us forward. “RUN!”