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From the moment they arrived at the edge of the Cursed Grounds, Izroth had been closely examining the land with his Energy Vision Sense.

He soon discovered that while the earth within the Cursed Grounds was heavily tainted, if one were to dig almost fifty meters down, they would find no trace of the harmful miasma.

Of course, digging a hole fifty meters deep by hand was out of the question. And, even if one could dig it by hand, there was still the matter of stability to take into consideration, as well as the absence of a light source underground.

If one simply tried to dig without a proper plan at such depths, it would not take long for the earth to collapse and cave in on them, ultimately burying them alive in endless darkness.

Under normal circumstances, unless one were a skilled mage that specialized in earth-type magic, it would have been impossible to consider such a reckless action. However, Izroth now had a skill in his possession that gave him a solid foundation to tunnel underneath the Cursed Grounds.

Not to mention, with his deep understanding of the foundations of magic in RML, Izroth believed he would have no trouble controlling and managing the earth\'s stability.

Izroth swiftly glanced over the skill information that appeared before him after using the skill book.

\'I haven\'t bothered learning any genuine magic skills due to my low magic and mana stats; however, even with a lack of magic power, this skill is still quite useful. It also isn\'t too out of place with my current fighting style.\'

Skill Name: Molding Earth

Skill Mastery: 0.00%

Skill Rank: A

Requirement(s): 25 MP, 1 Magic

Mana Cost: 25 MP/per 1 meter of earth

Cast Time: Instant

Active: The user can freely manipulate the surrounding earth. If an enemy is struck by anything under the influence of Molding Earth, depending on the nature of the attack, it may inflict up to [375% of the user\'s magic] as earth damage and has a chance to cause one or more of the following effect(s): «Staggered», «Stun», or «Disabled».

Cooldown: None

Special Note: This skill can only be improved through repeated usage and proper execution.

\'Thinking about it a bit further, coming across this skill when I did was rather fortunate. It\'s not easy to find a high-rank spell that can be implemented with low mana and is still useful with weak magic power.\'

Of course, in the hands of a proper mage with high mana and magic stats, something like Molding Earth, if trained and utilized correctly, could potentially make them one of the strongest and most versatile mages in RML!

\'Since the usage requirements are so low, it\'s an ideal skill to place into a skill orb. Unfortunately, if I want to make it a skill orb, I will have to wait until I reach a level of complete mastery with it.\'

"Your dedication to the people of Tempest is admirable. For that reason alone, I am willing to overlook your momentary lapse in judgment. However... Should that lapse in judgment happen a second time, you won\'t have to worry about risking your own life—I will save us both the trouble and personally see to it that your wish is granted." Izroth stated in a distant and heavy tone.

"You-" Ranazera wanted to retort; however, she found that no words came to her mind at that moment.

At the same time, Izroth shifted his gaze toward the earth beneath him.

The surface resembled hardened clay and had a severe lack of greenery or any kind of plant life for that matter.

\'My current mana regeneration is still too low. But, thanks to the passive Magic Fundamental Mastery, my mana regeneration is increased by 100% as long as I\'m outside of battle. Still, it seems I have no choice but to rely on mana potions.\'

At first glance, 25 mana per 1 meter may not seem like a lot; however, the distance from their position to the other side of the Cursed Grounds was at least a couple of kilometers.

Even with the 17% mana cost reduction provided by the Seal of Ten Chakrams, it would still require a minimum of roughly 82,000 mana to reach the other side with enough space for two people. And this estimate was not even taking into account the inevitable adjustments that would have to be made to ensure the tunnel\'s stability.

In all likelihood, Izroth believed that it would probably take at least twice that amount—and that was a conservative estimate.

\'Let\'s begin.\'

Izroth held the palm of his hand outward toward the ground as the mana around him began to grow restless.

Ranazera rose a brow at Izroth\'s actions. So far, all he\'d done is take out some random book and destroy it. Just what did he possibly hope to accomplish?

Rmmmble!

"?!" Ranazera was startled by the abrupt shaking of the surrounding earth.

"Odd, there should be no such natural phenomenon that occurs in this area. Is it his doing?" Ranazera thought to herself with furrowed brows as her gaze locked onto Izroth.

Crrrrack!

The next moment, a shocking scene occurred as a hole opened up in the earth.

Inside the hole was a spiraling staircase that went down tens of meters!

\'Oh? The manipulation process is a lot simpler than I anticipated. It\'s true that controlling it is somewhat challenging due to the low skill mastery; however, it merely requires a more thorough adjustment.\'

To manipulate the earth with the Molding Earth skill, Izroth simply had to visualize what he wanted to create, and the skill would take care of the rest.

For someone like him, with a consciousness vast enough to envelop that of a normal person many times over and perfect picture memory, it was as easy as breathing to mentally conceptualize what he wanted to conjure.

Ranazera\'s eyes widened in shock as she witnessed the sudden formation of the spiral staircase.

This guy—she thought he was a close combat specialist, but... To think he would also be capable of using this kind of complex earth magic.

"How many more secrets is this person hiding?" Ranazera silently contemplated.

"After you," Izroth said as he motioned for Ranazera to step onto the spiral staircase.

As he did so, Izroth removed a plain-looking talisman from his inventory. He held the talisman in between his fingers and made a slight flicking motion with his wrist as the talisman began to release a soft illuminating light.

This talisman was commonly mistaken for the Grand Illumination Talisman due to its similarity; however, it was known as the Talisman of Illumination.

Name: Talisman of Illumination(Common)

Usage: Upon activation, this talisman released a soft illuminating light that can last for up to 10 minutes. This talisman is automatically destroyed when its light fades.

Cooldown: None

Unlike the Grand Illumination Talisman, which released a bright light for a fleeting moment, the Talisman of Illumination emitted a soft light that lasted for a prolonged period of time.

The Talisman of Illumination was not as useful as the Grand Illumination Talisman against the Skounae when it came to catching them off guard, but it certainly had its usage when venturing through the territory of a race that resided in the darkness.

Ranazera stood to her feet and approached the spiral staircase. As she looked down past the entrance, bathed in the soft illumination of the talisman in Izroth\'s hand, all she could see was darkness. Needless to say, it gave her an eerie feeling.

"Is it safe?" Ranazera inquired.

"Does it matter? It\'s either this or we travel through the Endless Mountain Range. Of course, you\'ve already made it quite clear where you stand." Izroth responded.

Ranazera inwardly frowned. But she knew that what Izroth said was correct. In the end, whether it was safe or not, there was no alternative.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Ranazera began her descent down the spiral staircase.

Izroth consumed a mana potion as he followed closely after Ranazera. Since the range of the Talisman of Illumination was relatively limited, he could not afford to lag too far behind.

As Izroth went traveled far enough down the spiral staircase, the opening above started to close.

...

Approximately twenty minutes after Izroth and Ranazera entered the spiral staircase, a group of individuals arrived near its entrance.

"The trace cuts off here. Although it\'s well hidden, it can\'t escape the methods of Nisang. They must have gone underground from a nearby entry point. Judging by the surrounding mana particles, it should be close by. They couldn\'t have left more than half an hour ago. Of this, Nisang is certain." One of the individuals stated.

The person who just spoke had an unusual appearance. He wore a mask with the face of an evil beast and wore a bizarre pelt that only revealed a set of unique triple-jointed arms. He crawled on all fours like a wild beast and spoke in a rather hoarse tone.

But this person was no wild animal. In fact, he was a member of the Order of the Eternal Aegis known as The Trackless Dog of Tempest, Nisang.

"Good work, Nisang. I knew I could rely on that nose of yours—well, or whatever you use to track others." Aurelius\' voice sounded in an amused tone as a slight grin formed on his face.