Walker heard this offer and was interested, to say the least. It was clear that the elder needed to prepare so Walker, Su, Midnight, and Onyx would be limited in what they could do. The only other thing Walker was going to try to do is to explore for more materials, but what better than exploring the caves to do that?
"I think it would prove valuable for us to go exploring for a while. I think Onyx and Midnight can use a little exercise. But to be fair. Su and I will need some rest before that. We have been away for who knows how long." Walker had been fairly comfortable but could feel the nagging tiredness.
"Ah, yes. Humans are not as used to the environment down here. We have that artificial sun made with endless rune carvings and some valuable gems and ores. It is fueled by elemental mana crystals and gives off an aura that can help keep us working longer. I can go for a month without rest. But a human...I'm not sure." The elder spoke as if this was just a small detail forgotten.
"That's amazing. You can really stay awake for a month? I never imagined there was something like that without using a ton of magic." Walker and Su were both having trouble hiding their surprise. Even Onyx stopped talking to Midnight and focused on the conversation.
"It takes our best rune carvers and forge masters to keep it in order. It is not something that is easy to maintain. However, it is the masterpiece that many have worked on and it pays us back many times over. It is part of our culture." This was one reason why the dwarves had also become know as sleepless workers. They didn't actually force themselves not to sleep they just invented an item to assist them.
"I have actually seen something similar in the church. It gave off an aura of healing that assisted mana and health regeneration." Walker connected the two very well.
"We have found items like that in ruins and mines in the caves. There are so many ancient artifacts that span before any of the other races have recorded. I once went to the surface ruins and even they are newer than the ones we find below the earth. It's safe to say that the world history is a mystery." Zenith was showing a glimmer in her eye that explained why she would be exploring and mapping out caves in the first place. It seemed that the systems always matched the person that used them.
"Leader, I think we should go. It would be valuable to explore ruins and possibly discover new knowledge about the past. We may have had strange encounters in the ruins above ground but it is different now. We are different." Su was sure that they were still weaker than Immortal King, but this didn't mean they needed the most extreme caution in everything.
"I think we will go. It sounds even more interesting now. But like I said. Rest first."Walker would not compromise on Rest. Therefore, the elder left them to go and prepare. He mentioned he would be forging new arms from the best materials and it would take a full day of nonstop forging. Zenith showed them to a workman resting quarters. It was where the craftsmen from the high forge would rest if they were too exhausted to safely walk home. Walker and Su worried this was too common but after they ate and fell asleep they could not worry about anything as sleep overtook them.
"Brother, sister and I are ready." Walker was woken up by Midnight and Onyx working together to drag him from bed. It looked like they ahd already done this to Su who was just walking back after washing her face. The elemental spirits were flitting about in excitment since they had decided to spectate the adventure.
"I know you four want to watch and see what we find. But remember it is dangerous down there. The only one that has a place to hide is this earth spirit in their earth dwelling shield. So if something happens or you see something please yell for help right away." Walker lectured them as they prepared and he got up. It was one thing he wanted to be sure of.
"Leader, I would like to carry the earth dwelling shield with me. Please store my two shields. They are hard to use in the mines anyways if things get cramped." Su had accepted that using her dual shield style was not applicable. If she did then she could catch one on the walls and take a bad hit.
"Show me! I will see what you can do!" The earth elemental spirit did not shy away from what Su wanted. It actually was even more exciting to see what she could do since the dark spirit had already started to speak fondly of it when it discovered some elemental mana from Elise's dark spirit partner.
"The earth spirit already agreed. It's smart to stick with the single shield. I also think that it is a good chance for you and the spirit to bond a little." Walker grabbed the last of his gear and looked at the waiting Midnight and Onyx who were more excited to go exploring than either of them.
They had agreed to meet at the high forge entrance after they had slept for a few hours. So when the group got there and saw Zenith with a smaller back pack and a few more pieces of protective gear the rest seemed even more valuable. "Hello again. Hope you four rested enough. I grabbed a few things from home. I also made sure I grabbed some more mapping materials, I have a feeling we will get a lot done."