Chapter 90 - Facing the Cavern

"Honestly, we could go either way," Chris said while overlooking the Central Mana Core.

The group stopped just a few feet before a tunnel that leads to a cavern where the Central Mana Core was. From there, they could actually see the gigantic thing that held the island in place. The only thing stopping them was a plan on how to proceed from here. They could go in guns blazing, but that won't end well for any of them.

This is because the number of creatures housed inside the cavern was ridiculous. A single misstep would've meant suicide. It was something that Rynold didn't care for.

"Well, we can't just go in and hope that they'd leave us alone," Neana said with a sort of snap in her voice. "Any of you geniuses got a plan?"

Rolling his eyes, Rynold seemed to have thought of an idea. "Sarcasm aside," he spoke with his natural serious tone, "Oliver, how fast are you now?"

"Faster than I was 8 months ago, that's for sure," Oliver responded without even giving it a second thought.

Rynold clicked his tongue, thinking that Oliver was messing with him. "No shit," he said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice, "I meant can you go in and out without being seen?"

Oliver looked from the vantage point and estimated the distance from where he was standing to the Central Mana Core. "Shouldn't be a problem getting in," he said after much deliberation. "The problem is getting out."

"I'll take it," Rynold nodded. "I've got a plan, but I'm going to need everyone's cooperation on this one. Oliver and I are going to purify the Central Mana Core. Neana and Chris, I'm gonna need you guys to distract the monsters."

"You're kidding me, right?" Neana argued. "We can't possibly fight against all of those things. Have you even seen them?! Not only are they the size of a fucking army, but there's also a bunch of them who looks as if they'll step on us like ants."

"Calm down," Rynold reassured Neana, "I didn't say you go on an all-out war against them. I meant that you buy us enough time to get it done. With your golems, it shouldn't even break a sweat."

Neana looked at Rynold with a disapproving expression but ultimately gave in.

Seeing that Neana was somewhat reluctant still, Rynold decided to keep going. Further details were needed to somehow ease her into doing it. Otherwise, she could panic and lose much more than she would have if she kept calm.

Any sort of mistake out here would be a life-and-death situation. Rynold knew that. And, no matter what, he didn't want to have someone die on him. Never again.

Rynold explained the plans further, adding details that he initially deemed unnecessary. However, it felt like he had to say it in order to minimize any danger to the team. After a few more minutes, the group was ready to leave for the mission.

The plan was for Neana and Chris to grab the enemies' attention first. Neana, who had done nothing but complain so far, finally showed off some of her magic.

Raising her wand, that's the size of a baton, up high and summoned golems. About 6 or 7 months ago, Rynold saw this spell up close. It was a purposeful expedition to explore what spells Neana had in her arsenal.

What surprised him, though, was that she was able to summon 5 golems now without any visible strain. 'She has gotten stronger,' was what Rynold thought when he saw the towering golems before him. Up until a few months ago, Neana was struggling to summon 3. But now...

Seeing Rynold stare at her so intently, Neana arrogantly laughed.

Neana raised her mage staff and pointed it at the entrance of the cavern. The golems followed their master's command without any hitches, immediately moving and crowding the tunnel.

The dark Mana creatures inside didn't seem to be bothered with the disturbance outside. Not that they could actually tell what was happening, anyway. However, soon after when the golems had made it inside the cavern itself, only then did the monsters start attacking.

Whisking her staff and motioning the golems back, the monsters were dragged out of the cavern. Unfortunately, though, the number of the dark Mana creatures seemed overwhelming. The creatures trampled on each other as they made their way out of the cavern through the small, narrow tunnel.

Rynold and Oliver awaited a few more seconds until the tunnel was clear. Even though seeing the swarm of creatures up close was a bit too much, Rynold braced himself for whatever remained inside the cavern.

"Shit..."

Both of them stood perfectly still as they were greeted by sheer awe. Not only was the Central Mana Core magnificent, but there were also a bunch of creatures left. To their surprise, the creatures before them were significantly larger than the ones they've seen so far.

Due to staying near the very Central Mana Core for a long time, the creatures that Rynold and Oliver witnessed had absorbed more dark Mana into their bodies. Therefore, the monsters they were looking at were much more powerful.

Oliver was the first to snap out of his daze. Nudging Rynold to snap him out of it, Oliver started walking to the center. As much as he wanted to do a mad dash to the finish line, doing something like that would only be stupid. So stupid, in fact, that they could literally die from it.

As the two made their way ever so slowly to the center, tensions seem to fill every step they took. While Oliver didn't seem to have a problem keeping his movements light and silent, the same couldn't be said for Rynold.

Casually making a mistake here and there, Rynold was the one that slowed them down. Oliver was quiet, like a creature of the night. Rynold, on the other hand, made noise so often that it was similar to a wannabe thief.

The two got closer to the center and the dark Mana creatures with each step. Since the monsters were inhabiting the inner circle that wrapped around the Central Mana Core, the two had no choice but to pass through them. A confrontation would only be considered an alternative in this situation.

Until, somehow, the creature nearest to them was suddenly alerted to their presence.

Opening its eyes while simultaneously staring onto Rynold's and Oliver's souls, the creature stood up on its two legs and let out a loud roar. The monster before them was tall as Neana's golems but much more domineering.

"Move!"

Rynold yelled out and dodged the fist that slammed into the ground. The force of the impact was strong enough for them to be blown away, even if they weren't near where it landed. There aren't many things in this world that could provide such a blow, but Rynold certainly didn't want to experience that firsthand.

Landing a few feet away, Rynold pulled the vial out and threw it to Oliver.

The plan was to let him do the purification process in the first place. Rynold was only here to serve as a backup in case shit hits the fan. In which case, it inevitably did.

Extending the gauntlets and drill, Rynold readied himself for battle. He was sure that he won't last long facing an opponent of this magnitude. But, there was no choice.

Oliver looked at the vial in his hand with still determination. This was all or nothing. If he fails, they'd spend all their time stuck sitting here in a dimension or probably die at the hands of the monsters. Either way, he'd rather not find out.

Taking in a deep breath, Oliver cast a spell that he had gotten a few months ago. It was the very first equip magic that he had learned. Through harsh circumstances, to be precise.

'Dark Equip: Shadowing Tread!'

Dark Mana started coagulating and converging around his feet. By using the same Mana around him, the spell produced extra firepower that Oliver welcomed. In a few short moments, the dark Mana finally wrapped around his feet, producing boots made out of pure darkness.

Dampening the sound around his footsteps, this powerful spell only lasts a few seconds because of Oliver's limited Mana reserves. Fortunately, though, Oliver had never found a use for prolonging the spell because he was fast enough to get things done. It meant that whatever he needed the spell for, he finished it before his Mana ran out.

Seeing the dark Mana around him converge at his friend's location, Rynold stared in awe. He never actually noticed that Oliver stating that he was faster than before was an understatement. At this point, Oliver might as well be a shadow.

Unfortunately for Rynold, though, his time to appreciate Oliver's newfound power soon ran out as the enemy he was facing bashed its fist onto the ground.