Marcus nodded, tapping his fingers against the smooth surface of the tablet. "Well, not the entire crypt, but a part of it." With that, he raised his wrist and moved the tablet above his bracelet. Light sprinkled free from the marble in its centre, and the tablet took on a hazy form before popping out of existence.

"What did you just do?" Hector asked.

Marcus turned to him and shrugged. "I figured that with its energy, it had something to do with the bead in this," he said, raising his fist. "I thought perhaps if they touched each other something would happen, and I'm kind of glad to see it did."

"You're quite the little experimenter, aren't you?" Jodie said, getting to her feet. She dusted off her hands and then turned to the door. "So, Mr Experimenter, how do we get past this?"

Marcus looked at Hector as if she'd asked a stupid question and then turned back to Jodie. "I think you just push it."

Jodie tilted her head to the side and then stepped forward. With a slight heave, she shoved against the black metal door. It gave brief resistance as it yawned open.

"Well, that was a dumb question," Lincoln said, shifting on the carpet and moving his spear to the other arm.

Hector shot him a look, and the boy shrugged. It was naïve of Lincoln to think he would not have made the same mistake. After all, so far this place had been one trial after another, and it probably wouldn't end soon.

Their shoes tapped softly against the red carpet, the sound echoing off the white walls of the hallway. They walked past the endless rows of sconces holding the white mana stones, with strained light chatter passing between them.

The last attack, while not coming out of nowhere, still proved that this place was dangerous. With Marcus being their guide and the most vulnerable, they had to ensure his safety got their primary attention.

Thankfully, no more of those strange constructs popped out the further they walked, though the trek started becoming a bit of a nuisance.

Having a crypt to lay someone to rest was one thing, but making it so you had to walk this far made no sense. Eventually, after several minutes and Lincoln's annoying grumbling, they drew up to a large door. Made of shining wood, the thick exterior spoke of its sturdiness.

Stepping over, Hector wrapped his knuckles against it, and the resounding thunks were more akin to metal than heavy wood.

An array must be enhancing this thing somehow. There's no way that wood like this could have formed naturally.

"So what's in there?" Hector asked Marcus, who examined the door with a curious eye, as if trying to figure out the process that had gone into crafting it.

The boy shrugged, stepping over and resting a palm against the cream wood. "Could be anything. Doors like this aren't exactly easy to get through."

"So you're telling me you don't know how to get in?" Jodie asked.

"No," Marcus said, shaking his head and letting out an exasperated sigh. "I'm saying I don't know what's in there."

Lincoln's sandals shifted on the carpet, and he bumped the butt of his spear on the ground. "Well, it's probably another one of those constructs just waiting to tear us apart," he said, shifting his spear onto his left shoulder.

The smooth carpet slipped under Hector's sandals as he stepped away from the door to get a better view of it. Deep engravings ran across its surface, intricate and beautiful in their design. He rested a hand on his hip and turned his head to Jodie.

"There's nothing for it, really. We can't stand out here guessing because we are too afraid to go in, can we?"

She nodded, raising her arms above her head and stretching, letting out a strained yawn. The walk had been annoying enough—nothing but endless white hallways and a red carpet.

Even Lincoln had simmered down his greed. The mana stones they had walked past were countless, and thus too much for him to carry back by hand. He no doubt still wanted to take some back, but the idea had probably been a lot more sobering. Though he'd probably still try to snatch one or two.

"Alright then," Hector said, gesturing towards the door and pointing to Marcus. "You want to open it?"

Marcus turned to him, his gaze unsure, as if opening this door would lead to more problems. It probably would if Hector were honest. Being in this crypt invited problems, but it was something they needed to do.

If Marcus didn't have an inheritance, who knew how he'd ever catch up to the rest of them? His cultivation hadn't exactly been stellar lately, and from what he told them, he was no better than Hector when he'd first started cultivating. Marcus had no secret family lineage to rely on to change that fact.

Stepping back from the door, Marcus let out a breath and then rushed forward. Heaving, Marcus strained against the wood until the door yawned open and revealed a wash of green that practically grabbed Hector by the eyes and pulled him in.

"Is that a garden?" Lincoln asked. His hands tightened around his spear, knuckles whitening as his eyes widened.

Short oak trees, lily flowers, and what seemed to be Monarch butterflies fluttered in the room beyond. The soft singing of birds slipped out and into the hallway, sending a wave of awe through Hector. How was this even possible? They were underground, weren't they?

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Hector stepped forward, passing by a confused Marcus, who stood stone still. Hector's sandals crunched onto a gravel path that led through the garden, twisting off into the distance before being obscured by trees.

"This is not a crypt," Jodie said. "I don't know who named it a crypt, but whoever did was absolutely insane."

She moved over to one of the two low brick walls that lined the path, guarding against the encroaching foliage in the garden. Resting down on it, she let out a sigh and plucked at the flower growing near the wall. Its red petals spun in a blur of motion as she lazily twisted its stem in her hand and examined it.

"Is this something you've seen before, Hector?" she asked, eyeing him. Her chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Was now really a time to take a break?

A butterfly flapped past him, and he frowned. He'd seen nothing like this before. Mirae loved plants and had grown nearly every variety available in the slums at some point. This didn't look like any of the ones she had kept.

"No, I haven't."

"Guys?" Marcus said, stepping onto the gravel path, Lincoln walking a step behind him.

"What is it?" Hector asked, frowning. The bird calls simmered his tightening nerves somewhat. It was as if he were simply in a random park, attempting to get in touch with nature.

"I've got a quest," Marcus stated, his eyes flashing with surprise.

"You have?"

"Yes, I do." His eyes hovered just above his wrist, where his screen rested. Not that Hector could see it. "It says I need to craft a Leiser's antidote."

"Leiser? Who's that?" Jodie asked, pushing herself off the wall and dusting off her pants.

Hector frowned at the name. It meant nothing to him, and the old man hadn't given his name when they'd asked previously.

So, assuming it wasn't the old man, then who was Leiser? Perhaps the person buried in this crypt? That's if there was, in fact, someone buried in a place like this.

His gaze flickered around the garden and landed on a bush filled with red berries—a small rabbit nibbled at the fruit, its white ears twitching at every sound. The animal was cute, but it raised a point: who would keep a garden like this if they were just going to bury the dead?

The logic made no sense.

"Well," Marcus said, pulling Hector from his thoughts. "It says I have to find several ingredients to make the antidote."

"And where are we going to make this antidote?" Hector asked as Marcus shuffled past him and moved down the path.

"According to the quest, there should be something up ahead," Marcus replied.

The group followed behind him, marvelling at the things within the garden. A few poppies clustered in open spaces, and lilies grew beneath tall oaks.

Shifting his eyes up from the foliage, Hector couldn't help but marvel at the roof of this place. It was tall, to say the least, and the faint outlines of what probably were clouds hovered just below the white ceiling.

It all seemed so natural and yet made one wonder how they'd put this all together. Was this some sort of enclosed ecosystem with a fully working water system supported by mana?

The ridiculousness of the idea boggled Hector's mind as they walked. Eventually, they got to the end of the path. There, they found a stone platform with an old wooden crafting bench atop it. On the bench rested several flasks and other equipment, such as a mortar and pestle. All this equipment sat near the edge of the table, catching the light with a soft sparkle.

"So you have to find the ingredients and make the potion yourself?" Hector asked, stepping up onto the platform and stopping behind Marcus. Boots tapping against the stone, Marcus made his way over to the table.

Drawing up to it, his long-haired friend gingerly reached down and plucked up a booklet resting on the withered wood, flipping through it. "It seems so," he said, "and from this recipe it doesn't actually seem too hard to make."

Marcus brushed a finger across the pages of the booklet, paper scratching against his skin. It was rather smooth to the ear. That was a surprise; people in the slums didn't really get much access to paper, and money was to be spent on food and clothing first. But the paper they used, if it was available, was often rough, more like dried flaking skin than actual paper.

Examining the white pages, Hector breathed deep. The slums were truly a suffering pit, and one he'd have to change. He then shifted his gaze to Marcus. "So, are you gonna fetch the ingredients?"

Marcus shook his head. "No. I'll stay here and set everything up. I'll need you guys," he said, turning to all three of them, "to collect the herbs."

"And how are we gonna do that?" Lincoln asked, taking a step up the stone platform and scanning the surroundings. As he looked around, his eyes narrowing, a subtle breeze blew through his hair, and he curled a strand away from his eyes. "I don't get it. How is there a functioning weather system in here?"

Hector shrugged and stepped around the crafting bench, moving to the edge of the stone platform. Stretching out from the structure was a large clearing, which probably took up most of this underground garden. The grass in the clearing shifted as the wind blew across its surface.

Beyond this open expanse, the tree line started again, thick with bushes and plants. Hector scrutinised the foliage as his mind churned; a large open space could mean many things, and for Hector, none of them were good.

"So where are these ingredients kept?" he asked, glancing back at Marcus.

Placing the book down on the aged wood, Marcus flipped through it with purpose, pointing at various drawings. One was of a flower, the stem thick and its purple petals beefy. "This one is called the marrow weed. It should be located towards the south of the garden."

"You mean where we just came from? By the entrance?" Hector guessed.

"Yes," Marcus nodded. "I want you to find that one, Hector."

"And Jodie." Marcus flicked the page again, pointing at a black flower with white buds sprouting from its centre. Its stalk was wood-like and thin. "I want you to find this basal wood. It should be in the east. Over there," he said, pointing to the side.

Hector followed Marcus's finger and frowned. How had he known what direction east even was? This place—the crypt—had disoriented Hector the moment he had set foot in it, making getting a sense of direction difficult. And that was before they entered the garden itself. With its obscuring trees and thick foliage, how could Marcus even...

Hector's mind paused as he glimpsed the description at the bottom of the flower Marcus was reading over. Marcus then moved his attention to Lincoln and flipped to another flower, but Hector shook his head, lamenting how blind he'd been.

It was stupid that he'd missed that; of course, Marcus knew the directions. If he said his flower was in the south, and the entrance was the landmark, then it was easy to identify every other cardinal direction.

Before Hector could dwell further on his oversight, Marcus spoke up. "Are we ready?" he asked, gaze drifting between the three of them. "If you guys could just go find those, I'll stay here and prepare the equipment."

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