Just like planned, Theo brought the monsters in succession. Because of their positioning and safety, Theo ended up getting around ten monsters at a time before taking a rest for a while.
In the end, it took too much time to rest, making them unable to clear the entire tunnel within a day.
Theo didn't mind about it as he had expected something like this from the start.
The next day, the rest of the monsters were eliminated.
And Theo had been standing on the edge of the tunnel, looking at the bottom shrouded by darkness.
Agata, beside him, asked, "By the way, there is something bothering me. We have eliminated all the monsters, but with the sound the fight produced, shouldn't the intelligent species underneath this tunnel notice us?"
"Yeah. That's what I'm thinking too. The noise should have echoed through the corridor and gone down this spiral." Theo narrowed his eyes, feeling a bit suspicious.
"Then, there might be an ambush prepared for you."
"Well, that depends… If it's too far, I doubt they hear it. So, we will proceed according to the plan. If there's indeed an ambush nearby, we're going to return to the surface and see whether we need reinforcement or not."
"Understood." Agata nodded with a serious expression. She then turned to Ava and asked, "Do you think you can hear something from below?"
Ava shook her head with a disappointed expression.
After getting Ava's confirmation, Theo summoned his clone.
The clone leaped off the edge and transformed into an ant before using his Telekinesis to navigate in the air.
The hole was quite deep, considering it took him five seconds to land on the bottom.
When he arrived, he was still surprised by another corridor on his right. Unlike the tunnel on the top, this one had crystals that continuously provided the room with enough light. The size was also far smaller.
'Where will this place lead me?' Theo muttered inwardly as he started crossing the place.
To his surprise, there wasn't a single monster in the area. The corridor was long as Theo couldn't see the end of it even after walking for five minutes.
He continued for a while and looked around, finding nothing suspicious around. Now that he was equipped with these crystals all around the cave, he could see the details on the wall, floor, and ceiling. Unfortunately, none of them looked abnormal, so he thought people only used this as a passage.
'Still, it doesn't come up with the crack. Why would there be a crack in that area? Is it a normal phenomenon or an artificial one? If it's the latter, I'm afraid I am in danger right now.
'I haven't found anything useful right now and my Awareness is not picking anything.' Theo thought while looking around.
After careful thought, he raised the power of his Telekinesis to blow the air away. He could check the gap like this if he found a certain drop of his Telekinesis.
Even then, nothing was found. He ended up crossing the corridor for fifteen minutes before he reached the end.
What he found shocked him. The tunnel expanded in the last few feet, giving space for a double-door.
The door was made of metal and didn't have any pattern or something to learn other than a hammer drawing on it.
'Hmm… Is this what I think it is? I remember that back in Thersland, there was that Coal Dome that turned out to be a place inherited from old age. It became the home for all the mummies and no one knew what was inside.
'There was also the fact that the wolf could build a town on their own with a General Class Monster taking the command.
'This place must be built by someone, but I'm not an expert. I can't tell whether this place was built far in the past or recently.
'Looking at the door, there are some rusty spots, but I can see that the door is maintained very well. They even hide the rust marks… If that's the case, should I choose to leave this place to avoid getting killed by whatever monster residing behind the doors… or just face it?'
Theo was pondering his choice, not knowing what he was supposed to do.
'Hmm…' Theo bit his lips and asked inwardly, 'What if I push the door and they notice me? On the other hand, what if there's nothing inside and I'm just scared over nothing?'
He immediately checked the gap between the doors, ceiling, and sides, only to find no opening to exploit.
In other words, he couldn't slip through the door with his ant form, which frustrated him.
After contemplating for a moment, Ant Theo returned to his original form, planning to cross the tunnel once again to test whether there was a trap or not.
Before going back, Theo had one more thing to do. He approached the gate not to open it but to stick his right ear on it.
He wanted to see whether he could hear anything beyond the gate or not. Albeit, his expectation was shattered.
There was no movement inside. Even when he placed his ear on the ground, there was no vibration that would alert him of someone's movement.
'As much as I want to open this gate, I think it's better for me to go back first to check with Agata. I don't know whether opening the gate is the right approach or not, since there may be a need for me to retreat to get some reinforcement.
'In fact, it's better to have Sir Leonardo involved with this kind of thing.' Theo hesitated for a moment and returned to get some advice from Agata.
To his surprise, he could walk across the tunnel without finding any traps, making him think it was safe for them to explore.
Little did he know, their life would take an unexpected turn after this decision as many shadows began to appear in the darkness.
The moment Theo touched the door, it already gave a signal to the inhabitants behind the door.