—R-Run!
...ugh.
Raising his voice, Daren alerted us to what was approaching.
Carrying the backpack, which was terribly heavy, I ran with all my might, despite the fear clouding my mind.
While we were fleeing with Liria and Elia, the monster chasing us was very fast, getting closer and closer.
It was a giant salamander, dark brown in color with a bright red back; its colossal body could cover half the cave, and each step it took made the ground tremble.
—¡¡GRRRGHHHHrr!!— Like the echo of a throat full of water, it reverberated around, tormenting our ears.
—Don't stop, keep running!
We continue without stopping, dodging rocks and stones, hoping not to fall on any of them.
The faster we accelerated, the deeper we ventured into the cave, where the darkness obscured everything.
But that would only happen if there were no light.
Liria, who seemed tired, recited a few words, shooting a sphere of light inside the cave each time, which allowed us to see the obstacles coming for a few seconds.
In the next throw of the Liria sphere, Elia turned to look at the salamander while still running.
Stretching the string of his bow, he prepared a mana arrow, and the next moment... he shot.
Illuminating with its faint purple light, the arrow approached his head.
Track —it didn't pierce, nor did it come close, as if there were an invisible wall, the arrow crumbled before it even touched its target.
—...
Elia, with a disgusted look, continued running after Liria and she responded.
—It has a magical preference barrier, magical attacks don't work.
Surprisingly, even the monsters had magical preferences; well, it could be considered normal, almost everyone has them.
But those from the cave were more resilient.
Among the four of us, I was the one closest to being caught by the monster, and that wasn't a good thing, to be honest.
The mouth of the salamander approached me, with intentions of eating me.
Her slimy mouth was something I wouldn't want to get into, not even in my worst nightmares.
...uh-uh, not that!
In a quick twist, I grabbed and stretched his tongue, while I stabbed it with the sword.
KREEE!! — The heartbreaking scream of the salamander deafened me for a fraction of a second.
And in that very moment, I let go of his tongue —(pulse)—, pushing myself away, but dragging myself across the floor.
Daren looked at me and stopped, heading towards where I was.
—Get up already, it's not time to rest!
The salamander didn't chase us, but it started moving its head as if it were in pain, and each time its tongue was getting closer to the cut part.
It was regenerating at an incredible speed.
...I'm fine, we need to get away from here.
My body was slightly sore, but I couldn't stop; we had to escape.
At least, I managed to get some time.
—¡¡¡...!!!
I didn't have any sightings; he barely managed to react, defending himself with his sword.
The salamander, using its tongue, shot it at Daren, hitting him and sending him flying.
...¡Daren!
Being thrown, he fell unconscious upon hitting the wall.
While Elia, who heard my voice, returned, becoming almost invisible as she approached us.
If I hadn't known he was coming here, I wouldn't have realized he was approaching.
It's an incredible skill.
...¡Woa!
Pulling the collar of my shirt, Elia dragged me along with Daren in the same way.
Starting again, with the chase.
I never let go of the backpack, I was afraid of losing things.
But I would have liked not to be dragged; the dusty floor and the small stones made the path painful.
And thank goodness the uniforms have magic for durability and protection; otherwise, it would have been a disaster.
Blash! — Doing the same, the salamander shot its tongue over and over again.
With a quick action, Elia dodged each one of them at an astonishing speed.
Sweeping through the rocks, Liria illuminated whenever everything turned dark; the situation became even more complicated.
How did I end up in this place in the first place?
It would be better to rewind to the moment we entered the cave.
The warm embrace of the heat disappeared after a strong icy wind, coming from the depths of the cave.
…frr, a-achoo!
What intense cold it is in this place, it's strange to be outside.
The darkness was not complete, because we were at the entrance, so some parts were still visible.
While admiring the new surroundings, Daren said a few words.
Let's delve in.
...how will we manage to see?
I agreed to move forward, but I wondered how we would see in the depths where light disappeared into the intense darkness.
-I'll take care of it.
Liria answered my question, while a light burst forth from her wand, illuminating the surroundings with great intensity.
…That helps a lot.
-don't get too excited, this consumes my mana little by little, so when I think it's enough, I'll turn it off.
...I see...
Honestly, it was too good to not have something behind it.
We ventured into the cave, where the darkness was swept away by the light of the liria wand, revealing every nearby detail.
The smell of the cave was like wet earth, but the deeper we went, it changed to a metallic smell.
With a slightly damp appearance, where rats lurked around every corner, making squeaking sounds.
It does have a disturbing look, but it seems that others didn't think the same.
Anyway, I was a city person, so I have zero knowledge about caves.
-according to the map, the monsters' dwelling is 100 meters away.
Seeing the window generated by the equipment stone, Daren pinpointed the location where most of the monsters resided.
But what mattered to us was increasing our eliminations.
It reminds me of those games where you drop into a place with other people, facing off to the death on the battlefield. Well, first of all, I'm not someone who has played many games.
After traversing part of the cave, ignoring other entrances, we were getting closer to where the monsters would appear, but Daren stopped us.
-we need to stop
-Why?
Asking, Liria showed her negativity.
-dumb, listen…
Maintaining silence, before passing through a new entrance, Daren leaned, pressing his head against the wall.
Seeing what Daren was doing, we expected a response to what he was listening to.
…
-it seems like there are people fighting, breaking through this wall.
Listening to the sound of swords, Daren silently informed us.
…is there a team of hunters?
Just on the way back, we had hardly been there for so long and we had already found other students, but if they are watching sword clashes...
We didn't expect this, despite the thousands of kilometers that the snow-capped mountain has.
How could we find another team of hunters, if there are so few of them?
-yes, apparently.
-Why would they be fighting in a place where any enemy could attack them?
Also expressing her opinion, Liria also wondered.
-maybe they were already fighting before.
It was the safest option, I suppose they also didn't have time to check where they were located in the first place.
Well, unfortunate for the students, if they don't lose against the hunters, the monsters will.
The best thing I could come up with was to wait until they were weak and finish them off.
Although their numbers were high, I don't think they are a problem.
That's what I thought...
-we have to go in.
I expected those words from Daren, but never from Liria.
With slight surprise, Daren supported his response.
-it seems fine to me.
…hey wait, we can't get too worked up.
I didn't want to be brusque, it didn't seem like the best approach, but when Elia put her hand on my shoulder, I had no other choice.
Breathing deeply and exhaling forcefully...
…ok.
Placing the backpack on a cluster of rocks, I rolled up my shirt sleeves and took out a sword from it.
-it seems like everyone is ready.
With his words finished, Daren drew his broadsword, which was slung across his back.
-liria, you and elia keep your distance at all times, noah and I will handle the front.
Nodding, Elia and Liria first moved with Elia's stealth skill, positioning themselves among rocks of their size.
Not without first turning off the light of his wand.
Where the students were fighting another team of hunters, there was visibility, thanks to their wizards illuminating part of the cave while providing support to the swordsmen.
As a result, they were fragile due to the constant consumption of mana that each magical power they performed produced.
Only one of them was holding up a bit better than the other, because one of his companions was helping him with the supply of mana through vials filled with a bluish liquid.
…interesting.
-don't get distracted, focus and wait for the exact moment
It seems that Daren has learned not to be so reckless, but why do I feel a bit insulted?
Maintaining silence and waiting cautiously, we observed the other students for a few minutes.
Although they were holding on, there was a clear difference in dominance in that fight.
Five students against four, the numbers were not in favor of the hunters, but for some reason, they had total control of the situation.
The divisions were rare, consisting of two archers, two wizards, and a swordsman, by the students.
While the hunters had an alchemist, a wizard, a warrior with a huge hammer, and apparently an elementalist, who was carrying a dark brown robe.
It was normal to find doubles, like the wizards, due to their tall build and variety.
The elementalist was the real problem; it depended a lot on which element they could control and what types of abilities they could manifest with it.
-I know what you're thinking, Noah, we need to get rid of the one with that tunic.
...sounds good to me.
Marking the target, give a hand signal (palm), alert Elia.
Elia turned her eyes away from the signal and pulled the string of her bow, creating an arrow. And with a recitation, she wrapped it in a warm red like the flames.
-1…2…3…
daren with a whisper, closed the palm.
The arrow held between Elia's fingers slipped, but for some reason, from the base of the shot, it created a small backward jerk, making her stumble a bit.
But the arrow was shot with a speed that swept everything away, and it briefly illuminated the barely visible.
Hello! How can I assist you today?
The elemental mage realized what was coming at him, and with a swift raise of his arm, he created a rocky wall, so fast that it got there just in time for the arrow. Despite being destroyed, he emerged unscathed from the attack.
-Guys, there's another team!
He couldn't eliminate it, as expected from an elementalist, the magical capacity of a pure element was terrifying, though not very varied, it was a force to be reckoned with.
-tsk, we relied too much on a single attack.
Daren showed his anger, not only for not eliminating it, but also because we had to deal with two groups.
Revealing our location, they now knew where we were, there were two options.
Keep fighting until there is a winner or consider escaping.
Many will believe that the snow-capped mountain is just that, a mountain.
But not everyone knows what it hides inside, not even at the tip of it.
A huge hole that reaches the heart of this, resembling a volcano, but without lava or heat in it.
A being of thousands of years was being hidden.