(Time-Stilled World, Underground Cave System, Leo's POV)
Leo kept sliding down the dark tunnel for what felt like thirty seconds, where the tunnel took him through a couple of sharp turns before finally dropping him on a levelled surface with a soft, *Thud*.
He had no idea where he was, as the area around him was pitch dark with not a single streak of light in sight, however, while he could see nothing, he could sense that the room around him was at least a few feet wide, as although he stretched his arms wide and rotated 360°, he hit no surfaces for now.
The air around him was suffocatingly still, with the heavy scent of damp stone and musty earth as though it hadn't been disturbed in centuries.
'Am I alone here?' Leo wondered, as he paused to listen for any signs of enemies ....anything that might break the eerie quiet.
But all he heard was the sound of his own ragged breathing and the pounding in his chest, as he concluded that there were no immediate threats in this room.
With a grimace, he pulled out a torch from his spatial ring, before flaring it with a quick flick of his thumb, as almost immediately, the torch flared to life, casting long, wavering shadows against the chamber walls.
*Swirl*
*Swirl*
Leo swept the beam across the chamber, trying to find his way out of here, but it unfortunately revealed nothing but smooth, dark rock in every direction, as he seemed to have dropped into a dead-end.
"Curse my luck," Leo muttered silently, as he began walking around the perimeter of the dark chamber, trying to see if there were any hidden features that he missed.
And thankfully for him, there was one shaft that he missed to locate at the start, as near the west end of the chamber, there was a narrow vertical shaft that stretched upward, its surface covered in moss and pointy rocks, that made it very hard to climb.
It was steep— almost exactly like an abandoned elevator shaft at a 90° inclination, with the path above nearly invisible in the flickering torchlight.
"The hell? Just how far does this elevator-like shaft go?" Leo wondered, as he squinted his eyes and tossed the torch in his hand upwards, so that it could illuminate the shaft to the top.
And by doing so, he spotted that the tunnel was about 150 feet long, with there being a side tunnel branching at about 100 feet height.
"Guess this is it," he muttered, his voice sounding too loud in the dead air, as without any other options to go for, this seemed to be his only path ahead.
—---------
Leo took his time before starting the climb, as he brought out some rations from his storage ring, had a small meal, and a sip of water, before finally deciding to attempt the climb, as he clutched the torch between his teeth and began climbing by firmly placing both his hands and both his legs on the mossy walls.
Almost immediately, although he did not understand why, he felt as though there was something wrong with the moss, as the second his skin came into contact with the grass, it seemed to come alive as it crawled and moved against his body.
However, with the grass doing nothing but a light tickle against his skin, Leo forcibly pushed that discomfort aside and began climbing.
.
.
.
The first few feet were easy enough— he dug his hands into the mossy surface, finding purchase with every move.
His legs worked, though each step was slow and deliberate, as for the first time in hours, he could feel a semblance of strength returning to his limbs after the meal, however, that feeling of easy climb did not last for long.
After just ten feet, his legs began to feel heavy—unnaturally heavy, as the weight of his own body became unbearable.
His breathing quickened, his heart began to race, and his fingers felt as if they were sinking into the wall, grasping at something far deeper than the stone.
His head spun and a sharp dizziness suddenly overtook him.
"Shit," Leo muttered, trying to shake it off, as he reached up again, but his arms refused to lift.
His entire body felt like it was collapsing under some invisible pressure, and the pain that came with it was unlike anything he'd felt since waking up.
It wasn't physical—it was… draining.
Weakness seemed to seep into his very bones, and his chest constricted with every breath, as though he was losing his very life essence with every passing second.
"Fuck…" Leo said, gritting his teeth, as he fought back the urge to collapse back onto the floor.
His head was swimming, but his instincts kicked in, screaming in his head that something was wrong.
And it was here that he noticed the problem.
It was the damn moss's doing!
It was sucking the life out of him.
His pulse quickened as he realized the truth. The moss that covered every square inch of this cursed place, was leeching his energy, drawing from his mana reserves, just like the books had warned about.
The moss wasn't harmless. It wasn't just an unpleasant texture or an obstacle.
It was predatory.
And Leo was its prey.
With a sharp inhale, he forced himself back to the ground, his body sagging as he slid down the shaft's edge, the stone scraping against his back as he landed with a heavy thud.
His chest burned, but the moment his feet hit the floor, he knew exactly what had to be done.
"Fucking moss…. This is the end for you—" Leo cursed under his breath, his eyes flicking back toward the moss-covered walls.
He reached for his spatial ring, digging out the firestone he kept tucked inside, as although his fingers felt numb, he still managed to grab a hold.
"I'm not sure if I should burn you down in such a confined space… because the smoke could just choke me out, however, I think that the other shaft 100 feet up will act like a vent and suck the smoke up—" Leo talked to the moss before he lit it on fire, as if it could understand him.
*Sizzle*
Leo poured some mana into the fire stone, which instantly caused it to burn ablaze, as he then placed it near the moss, which soon caught fire.
Within seconds the entire shaft was turned into a fiery pit, as Leo ran away and watched as the smoke was mostly sucked up into the other shaft, rather than hitting him in the surface cave below, as his gamble paid off.
Finally, as nothing but blackened ash and lingering smoke was left of the initial moss covering the vertical cave, he let out a breath of relief, though it did little to calm the exhaustion gnawing at him.
*PLOP*
Drinking an intermediate grade stamina potion, he tried to supplement the lack of energy with an artificial stimulant, and soon he felt strength return to his body as usual.
Taking one final glance at the now-clear shaft, Leo braced himself for another climb, as he waited till the wall temperature dropped back to normal, before attempting the climb yet again.