Master Of Astral Summoner
Chapter 56: The Cave of the Living Thief

Chapter 56: The Cave of the Living Thief

While walking down the cave passage, Shaan saw absolutely no signs of Chelsie’s presence in this place, even though he and Nalira had walked quite far from the cave entrance. Damn it. Where exactly is Chelsie?

"Nalira, do you see-"

"Psst." Nalira stopped her movement. Shaan... do you hear that? That voice... it sounds like someone calling for help."

"Huh? What voi—" Shaan’s face instantly went pale. He heard it too now. "My god... that voice—it sounds like Chelsie!"

"That’s right. Hurry up, we need to help her immediately."

They immediately accelerated their footsteps until they reached the end of the cave passage. A tense look appeared on Shaan’s face when he realized that right at the end of the cave passage, there was a wide room surrounded by thick walls of creeping vines.

"Shaan.... Let’s split up," Nalira suggested. "This room’s too large. If we stick together, it’ll take too long."

"Yes, I think what you say is true, Nalira." Shaan nodded his head. "It’ll be easier to cover more ground that way. But... are you sure—"

"I’ll go this way," Nalira said, already turning to head down one of the overgrown paths. "We’ll meet back here after we find Chelsie."

’Gosh, this woman is so weird.’ Shaan shook his head. "Never mind, instead of thinking about that. I’d better get going and start looking for Chelsie’s whereabouts," Shaan walked in the opposite direction of Nalira.

While walking through the cave, Shaan kept pointing his torch forward and saw many black-colored mushrooms with black spots appearing all around the place. The size of the mushrooms was also unusual, as they were twice the size of Shaan’s fist, which was not the typical size of most mushrooms Shaan knew.

’Damn, I’ve never seen a mushroom this big at all.’

[Hey, Shaan. Come here. I think you need to see this.]

A giant dark purple plant with black and white spots towered like a tall tower right in the center of the room. It didn’t move at all, yet a strange rhythmic sound echoed from it, which sounded like purring. Strange. Is it possible this plant is sleeping?

[Shaan, look... look at that.]

Robin Hood aimed his finger at the root of the giant plant, where there were several small cocoons and two fairly large ones. At first glance, it resembled a human body. Damn. There must be Chelsie inside one of these cocoons.

[Shaan, we have to move and destroy those cocoons. Chelsie is in danger.]

Shaan stopped in his tracks when he saw the strange movement near the plant’s roots. "Wait. Robin Hood... we can’t make a move just yet."

[Huh? What are you talking about?]

Shaan slowly raised his finger, pointing toward the shadows around the giant plant. "Look. Those things... they’re here. The same creatures we fought in the forest. Not just one, but there are four of them," Shaan said. "Just one of them would have overwhelmed us, and now there are four of them? Damn! Surely this mushroom-headed creature is in charge of kidnapping the living creatures in the forest and bringing them here."

[So... in other words, we’re standing in the middle of their nest?]

"Exactly. And I don’t think they’ll let anyone get near those cocoons without a fight."

[You’re right about that,] Robin Hood said, crossing his arms. [But if we don’t do something soon, Chelsie will die.]

"I know that, but we need a plan and can’t be rushed." Shaan slowly stroked his chin. "Hmm... Let me think of a way to-"

Shaan paused for a moment as he noticed a strange movement on one of the boulders not far from the position of one of the large cocoons near the roots. Slowly, he turned his flashlight to the side, and there he was. A familiar figure crouched behind a boulder, with long blonde hair and a calm demeanor - it was Nalira. She was hiding behind one of the boulders and occasionally looked up from her hiding place to see the position of the mushroom-headed creatures guarding the cocoons.

’What the hell is she doing?’ Shaan furrowed his brow. ’Is she seriously planning to take all of them on by herself?’

[Hey, Shaan. That’s... that’s Nalira.] Robin Hood’s eyes widened. [Wow. That woman’s got guts.]

"Yeah. She is fearless."

[We have to help her. She’s going to need backup.]

"You’re right. If we can distract those mushroom-head creatures guarding the cocoons, it’ll be easier for her to get close."

[Exactly. And while they’re focused on us, we can also move toward the other large cocoon.]

"Right," Shaan nodded. "Now the real question is—how do we draw their attention without getting torn to pieces?"

[Agreed, besides, we can also approach the other large cocoon.]

"Right." Shaan nodded his head. "Now, the important thing is how we distract the creature?"

[Actually, Shaan... I don’t think we need to worry about that anymore.]

"Huh? What are you talking-"

Shaan’s words caught in his throat. His eyes widened slightly as he watched Nalira move. She slipped out from behind the rock and walked straight toward one of the mushroom-headed creatures. In a flash, she drew her blade and sliced through its neck—silent, precise, deadly.

The creature collapsed without a sound. But she didn’t stop there. In seconds, she took down two more, killing all three with frightening ease and without making a single noise. It was clean, efficient, and lethal.

’Darn... what kind of skill is that?’

Shaan swallowed his saliva not once but twice. Honestly, he had no idea that Nalira had such a great sneaking ability. Extraordinary. Nalira seemed to not only be good with a sword, but she was also good at sneaking around like an assassin. Calm but deadly.

[Wow... that woman’s incredible.] A look of awe lit up Robin Hood’s face. [I have to admit, she’s way more skilled and braver than you, Shaan.]

"Yeah... yeah, I know," Shaan muttered, rubbing his chin slowly.

"Looks like I’ve got a lot to learn from Nalira."

[Ugh, my adrenaline just shot through the roof!] Robin Hood said with excitement in his voice.

[Look! There’s still one mushroom-head left. Come on, Shaan—let’s prove we can be just as strong as she is. Let’s take it down together!]

"All right, let’s do this."

Without lingering, Shaan and Robin Hood tried to approach the remaining the last remaining mushroom-headed creature. Slowly but surely, Shaan walked closer and closer to the creature, which, luckily, had its back turned. Good, if the conditions are still like this. Perfect. If it stays like this, I can take it down quickly before it even realizes what’s happening.

’Almost there...’ Shaan moved with measured steps, inching closer as he slowly pulled out his dagger. ’This time... I can do it. I’m sure of it!’