Earth Magic

The innkeeper, as it turned out, already came prepared. His right hand clenched by his side, which was the only sign Heon could pick before the magic kicked in.

The room's floor opened a second later, and he fell through the instant hole appearing under his feet. He squeaked like a terrifying banshee when he plummeted into a mud pool as deep as his knee.

A second splat resounded on what looked like a man-made well—further covering him with mud from head to toe due to the impact. Someone grunted beside him.

Then, the third splat dropped between them, hands flailing, smacking Heon in the face, and he was once again pushed to the mud.

"I already paid you more than it should, you expired sack of a bastard!" Sunny yelled in anger, holding out a fist lack of a threat.

"I have enough of you people fighting in my inn! Fight down there all you want and get out of my face!" The innkeeper shouted back, and a slab of rock shut the hole they were dropped into.

"Freaking scumbag! You're no better than a gold digger bonking his own fist! Come back here so I can tear your lying mouth!"

"Stop shouting in my ear!" The girl's voice was two pitches higher than she was before.

Heon groaned. Looking directly at the girl who could bend the earth with her magic. "Get us out of here."

"You have no right ordering me around," she snapped at him just before she turned to Sunny – also covered in mud, only not as much as him and the girl. "Now, you can't run away from me."

"Well, you can't run away from me too, bi– argh! "Sunny cupped his left cheek. "Why are you hitting me?"

"You're lucky I don't have my spear with me. Else, I'd make holes in your vile body."

Heon gritted his teeth and moved to separate them physically. "Stop fighting for a moment and get us out of here."

Sunny bit back his response, showing that he still had self-control. Thankfully, the girl also followed in ceasing fire for the moment. Only muttering a string of swears, Heon heard quietly.

"I can get us out of here, but," she glared at Sunny, "You stay in handcuffs."

The red-haired manic boy snorted, "What handcuffs?"

"These handcuffs," the girl said, and the mud around them moved up in two points, swallowing Sunny's hands and then driving him to bring his hands together. The mud hardened, locking the red-haired manic boy's hand in a makeshift earth handcuff.

"You're kidding me," he grumbled, "I've lost all of my knives, you don't need to lock my hands. What else can I do, attacking you with my gorgeous look to make you fall on your knees?"

"Don't sell yourself short. I know you can kill a man twice your size with your bare hands in seven different ways."

Heon shifted away from Sunny after hearing the girl's freely given information.

"I know thirteen ways to do it, but whatever," Sunny rolled his eyes. "Just get us out of here. Make another hole or something, I don't like being covered in mud."

As stated before, the girl held out her right hand forward. She closed her green eyes, appearing to concentrate on something. Heon felt the dank air around them shift. Then, the wall in front of the girl crumbled. It became a tunnel, the roof as tall as Sunny but not wide enough so two people could walk side by side.

"Huh," Sunny stared at the newly made tunnel disinterestedly. He elbowed Heon none too gently on his ribs. "Wonder if that's a manifestation of her pu–"

A slab of hardened earth smacked Sunny's face, breaking his nose as blood came out like water.

Although, it didn't last long as his hands glowed that vivid green hue. Having healing magic surely came in handy. "Smack me all you want, but I assure you, the moment I get a knife in my hand, it's your end."

Heon's shoulders sagged at the continued animosity. "Can we please stop fighting verbally and move on please? I think a snake just slither past my feet."

"Snakes don't live in the mud, dummy."

"I'm sure they do."

The girl grunted, gesturing for Heon to walk ahead. She pushed the red-haired manic boy after Heon. The small knife made a reappearance in the green-haired girl's hand.

Sunny was grinning behind him. Sighing, Heon looked back and told the girl, "Careful with the knife. He might turn around and snatch it from your hand if you hold it too close."

The rustle he heard must be from the girl shifting back, as he suggested.

"Hey, no leaking other men's secrets, you back-stabbing idiot!" Sunny protested, throwing a dirty glare at him. "But, is mind reading part of your special power God gave you?"

"No."

"Pity. I could use a mind reading partner actually."

"Just walk," the girl ordered a little harshly.

The tunnel was dark.

Pitch black.

Cold.

Heon was a little hesitant to step first now. "Can someone summon a light or something?"

"Unless this murderer have been hiding another skill up his sleeve, then no." The green-haired girl said, gesturing with her pointy knife for him to keep walking.

"Seriously, what kind of a hero afraid of the dark?" Sunny sneered behind him. Heon could imagine an insulting smirk on his unfairly handsome face.

"Told you, I'm no hero," he grumbled in response, holding his hands out to map the tunnel they were in. It was quite a miracle that he didn't stumble on some rock or unknown creature that might live under the ground. "So… you guys can't do another type of magic or what?"

Sunny snorted again.

"What are you talking about?" The girl inquired. "It's a basic knowledge that anyone can only wield one type of magic. Did I hit you too hard earlier?"

"Oh, trust me, Heon came from another universe. He was brought here by God to do a secret mission. He's a hero, mark my words," Sunny helpfully supplied.

"I never actually said any of that. You just put words in my mouth," he defended himself, not wanting to look apathetic and being judged for losing a few screws inside his head.

"That's what he says," Sunny sounded like he was turning around to the girl walking behind, "But Heon can control beasts."

"And I'm the runaway princess of Atarion Kingdom," the girl huffed with no humor.

Sunny clicked his tongue, then indignantly said through clenched teeth. "No, I saw it with my own eyes. Why do you think I keep him around?"

Heon stopped in his tracks. "So, you intend to use me like I'm a disposable object?"

"Why else?"

Heon let his frustration loose and punched the red-haired manic boy in the face.