Reborn into Beast Tamer Clan with Monsters-Only Affinity-Chapter 64: Small tunnel

They didn’t talk much after that. The forest grew denser, and the light barely slipped through the thick canopy above. Axelius kept his hand near his side just in case he had to grab something or defend himself.

The sounds were getting louder now—more creatures waking up, more danger crawling out from the dark.

Then, Owen suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Axelius asked, lowering his voice.

"There," Owen pointed with a slime tendril. "Looks like a cave... maybe."

Axelius stepped beside him and squinted through the trees. Between thick roots and overgrown vines, a small dark opening was barely visible, half-covered in moss.

"It does look like a cave," Axelius said.

"Could be a monster den too," Owen warned. "Let me check first."

He bounced forward carefully, peeking inside while staying low. A moment passed before he turned back. "Seems clear. No strange scents. It’s dry inside too."

"Then let’s go," Axelius nodded and ducked inside the narrow entrance, brushing aside some leaves as he entered.

Inside the cave was small, just enough space for two people to sit down and stretch their legs. The ground was dry, and the walls had a faint shine from some kind of glowing moss. It was quiet, safe—for now.

Axelius sat down heavily, leaning back with a long sigh. "Finally. A place to rest."

Owen rolled to one side of the cave and settled in. "Don’t fall asleep too fast."

Axelius didn’t feel sleepy at all. While Owen settled in his spot, Axelius kept looking around the small cave, his curiosity pulling him to explore more. The glowing moss, the cracks on the wall, even the little insects crawling nearby—it all felt strange and new.

He stood up, stretched his arms, and walked slowly to the back of the cave.

"I’m just gonna look around a bit," he muttered, mostly to himself.

As he stepped forward, his foot suddenly pressed down on something that didn’t feel solid. The ground beneath him gave a soft crunch, and before he could even finish the thought, he froze.

"Oh-oh," Axelius said with a half-laugh, half-gasp, as the ground cracked completely.

Then, he dropped straight down into the darkness with a surprised yelp.

Owen shot up immediately, his slime body jolting forward as he shouted, "Axelius!"

Without even thinking, he bounced toward the hole, muttering loudly in panic. "Why do you always step on weird stuff?! That didn’t even look like a trap!"

Inside the dark hole, Axelius was still falling. Unlike earlier where he had slid through slopes and tunnels, this time it was just a straight drop, nothing to grab, nothing to slow him down.

"Okay, this is bad! This is seriously bad!" Owen kept talking to himself as he jumped in right after him. "If there’s solid ground down there, he could be injured... or worse!"

Owen’s voice echoed in the hole as he fell, his body glowing faintly in the dark. "Axelius! Say something! Are you okay?!"

And from below, a familiar voice shouted back, loud and playful even while falling, "No worries! I’m still alive! Probably!"

Owen nearly lost it. "Stop joking! This isn’t funny!!"

Axelius laughed as he fell, wind hitting his face. "What? You know me! I fall like a pro!"

"Stop moving like an idiot! Just try to land on something soft!" Owen yelled back, already trying to angle his body.

Owen quickly changed the shape of his slime body, stretching and flattening himself to make himself fall faster. He zipped down like a slippery arrow, trying to catch up with Axelius who was just casually spinning through the air like it was no big deal.

When Owen finally reached Axelius’s side, he stared at him in disbelief. The boy didn’t look scared or nervous at all. In fact, he looked bored.

"This is boring," Axelius said with a blank face. "How long is this fall? When do I actually land or something?"

Owen sighed so loud it echoed in the air around them. "This guy! We’re literally falling who-knows-how-deep and he’s bored?!"

He looked around quickly, hoping for anything—roots, a ledge, a ledge, anything to stop them—but there was nothing. Just the wind howling around them in the pitch-black hole.

Then, finally, they saw it.

A glimmering reflection from below, moving and rippling—water.

Owen let out a breath of relief. "Thank the slime gods... water!"

Axelius grinned wide. "Ohh, another swim! I should’ve brought a floatie!"

Then, with a loud SPLASH, they both crashed into the water. But instead of sinking calmly, they were pulled forward by a strong current, like a hidden water slide.

They spun and swirled, the water pushing them fast through a long tunnel. It was more intense than any ride they’d seen on Earth—twisting, splashing, turning. It felt like they were trapped in a giant pipe.

The tunnel finally spat them out into a deep, circular pool of water glowing faintly from the moss on the stone walls. The pool had a whirlpool in the middle, sucking everything toward it.

Owen, still in his slime form, looked back at Axelius while swimming with little arms forming out of his goo. He could talk underwater thanks to his slime body, his voice sounding strange and echoey.

"I’ll find the way out—there has to be a hole or tunnel," Owen said quickly, and Axelius nodded, kicking his legs slowly to keep from being dragged in too fast.

A few tense minutes passed. Axelius floated near a large rock, breathing calmly but clearly getting tired of resisting the pull.

Then Owen came rushing back, swimming fast, his body glowing faintly in the dark water.

"There! Found a small tunnel. I’ll pull you!"

He quickly transformed, stretching a long part of his body like a rope and floated beside Axelius.

"Hold on tight!"

Axelius grabbed onto him with both hands, and Owen started paddling with all his strength, dragging them away from the swirling pull. They pushed through the narrow tunnel Owen had found, the space getting tighter as they moved, until—

They burst out from the water’s surface with a loud gasp.

Axelius coughed and shook his head. "Finally! Man, you really are my boat now."

Owen grumbled, floating beside him. "I swear, you owe me snacks when we get out of here."