Day 5 Class B Part 1

"I'm guessing this is where we'll find whatever is controlling those dogs," Kaden finally breaks the silence as we reach our destination. We all stop in our tracks, taking in the sight before us. I guess walking nonstop really decreased the time it took to arrive.

We're standing at the entrance of a large, ominous cave. It's massive, big enough to fit all of us side by side. The entrance is half-covered with intertwining, gnarled vines, their green color almost unnatural against the darkness of the cave. There's an eerie stillness in the air, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

The ground leading up to the cave is littered with all sorts of animal bones. Some are small and delicate, likely belonging to birds or small mammals, while others are bigger, perhaps deer or wolves. It's a chilling sight, Just how many creatures have died? These bones don't look that old.

The cave itself is a gaping maw, dark and seemingly endless. Try as I might, I can't see anything beyond its entrance. The darkness is almost palpable, an impenetrable veil that swallows up all light. Interesting...

I sigh, my heart heavy. Inside a cave, huh? This is bad. What if the others get hurt? Should I go in alone? The question lingers in my mind, but I quickly dismiss it. I can't let my worries cloud my judgement. This is a group test, I can't do this myself.

Nyssa's cheerful voice cuts through my thoughts, "Hehe~ By the looks of it, isn't whatever monster in there quite big?"

"She's right," Ariande interjects, her expression serious. "There is no way a cave formed this big naturally, it was made by a large beast."

Her words only intensify my concern. If there's a large beast inside, it has the advantage. But just as quickly as the worry appears, it disappears. We've come this far. I doubt the professors would let us get hurt, I'm sure class A is dealing with a similar issue as well, we can't fall behind them.

Ariadne speaks up. "It's weird, I can't sense any life inside... to be more precise, it feels like something is blocking my senses."

Her admission seems reasonable. If her senses are being blocked, it only means that whatever is inside has the ability to naturally use magic, based on what I've seen it's most likely an undead beast or demonic beast. But despite this knowledge, fear doesn't grip me. It's worry, worry for my classmates, ugh, when did I get so weak?

Nevertheless, we can't just stand around. I want to sleep on a soft bed, I also miss Ash. This is the final part of the test right? I didn't get a chance to look around the yacht. Dammit! I'm getting distracted.

"Alright, everyone. Be on your guard. This isn't a simple beast. Let's do our best and make sure everyone comes out safe."

Mira steps forward, rolling her shoulders back and stretching her arms left and right with a smirk. "Finally, I've been wanting to have some fun," she announces, the gleam in her eyes is almost too bright. I guess it's a good thing no one is scared.

Gareth only clicks his tongue in response to her words, his eyes focused on the gaping maw of the cave. It's a small gesture but it speaks volumes. They have their differences, but it's clear Gareth is focused on what's ahead. Despite being called a muscle head, Gareth tries to learn and understand as much as he can.

Without a word, Luna takes an arrow from her quiver. She lights the end and releases it into the cave. The fiery arrow illuminates the darkness for a brief moment before being swallowed up. Luna glances inside the cave once more before speaking up, "Good, I didn't want to deal with some stupid surprise attack."

Nyssa promptly creates a crude torch from a sturdy branch and some cloth. Remi steps up to her, conjuring a flame with the flick of her wrist. The fire catches, sending a warm glow against Remi's focused expression. "The cave is sturdy, we don't have to worry about it collapsing," she comments, her palm flat against the cold cave wall. Her words bring me some comfort.

I nod in response. Alright, since there are no issues here it's time for us to enter.

The cave's interior is just as unnerving as its entrance, if not more so. But aside from the eerie atmosphere and an unexpected depth, nothing unusual happens.

Eamon stops abruptly, his boot nudging against a skull. He points to it, his face a mask of disdain, "Look, this looks like one of those annoying monsters we fought before."

He's right. The skull has the same grotesque features as the monsters we've previously encountered. Was there more of these monsters or did we miss one? From the looks of it, it doesn't resemble the ones we fought.

We delve deeper into the cave, each step reverberating off the walls, amplifying the suffocating silence. After what seems like hours, we finally arrive at an open space within the cave.

Elara squints into the darkness, her brows furrowing in disbelief. "Is there really nothing here?" she asks, her voice echoing.

I sigh again, more out of frustration this time. I can't see anything in the dim light, so I start to circulate mana to my eyes, enhancing my vision. As my surroundings become clearer, all I see is more of the same - bones, bones and more bones. Something is not right, it should be here, whatever it is should be here.

Suddenly, a sharp sense of danger pricks at my intuition. Without a second thought, I grab my sword, leaping back as far as I can. The attack comes from above, a blur of movement that barely registers before I raise my sword to block. Shit! I should've looked up.

I let out a gasp as the force of the impact jars my arm, pain lancing up to my shoulder. I barely hear Remy's shout "Are you alright, Sera!" over the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. But I'm aware of her next to me, putting up multiple mana barriers around us.

With gritted teeth, I relocate my dislocated arm. "It's nothing, just a scratch," I manage to say, my voice steadier than I feel. Tsk, that was a close call. I'm glad it attacked me, it was a second away from ripping my head off. Apart from Nyssa and Eamon, I doubt anyone else would have been able to react in time.

Mira points her weapon at the monster, her eyes wide. "Just what the fuck is that anyways?" she demands.

My gaze follows hers to the monster. It's tall, around thirteen feet, and has a disturbing resemblance to a wolf. Its body is emaciated to the point of grotesqueness, like an undead creature but it's alive. How can a monster be both alive and dead? Its fur is matted and sparse, revealing a skeleton-like frame underneath. But its eyes, burning with a feral, unholy light, undead magic. Did the professors steal this beast of a Litch?

Gareth, seemingly unfazed, grabs a rock nearby. His muscles expand as he throws it with all his might at the beast. The rock connects, creating a distraction and halting the monster's attack on Elara.

"How do we deal with this?" Nyssa's voice cuts through the grim silence, filled with a confused edge.

I don't have the time to dwell on the horror of the beast before us, as Gareth takes the lead, flexing his massive muscles as a gleam sparks in his eyes. "Hahaha! Try me!" he taunts, his body glowing with the pulsing aura as his muscles swell even further.

The beast doesn't seem to understand or care about Gareth's challenge; it lunges forward, slashing at him with deadly accuracy. Gareth manages to raise his arm in defense but the force of the blow sends him hurtling towards the cave wall. The loud crack as he hits the stone resonates throughout the cave.

Typical Gareth. We all sigh simultaneously, when will he learn? He's built to withstand such blows, and we know it. But does he really need to be the literal definition of muscle-head?

Mira snorts, "What a fucking moron. Just how much more damage will it take to completely scramble that brain?" She readies herself, her body shimmering with mana as she dances around the beast, her movements fluid, like a stream slipping past rocks.

Ariadne's voice cuts through my thoughts, "Its body is half alive and half dead. The core... I can't find it." Ugh, this is annoying, an undead beast normally has a core but can this beast be considered undead?

Luna pulls out three arrows, each one glowing with a thick layer of mana. With practiced ease, she fires them at the creature, but the beast anticipates the attack, swatting the arrows away with its paw. "Its paws are reinforced, huh?" Remy observes, taking note of the beast's defense mechanism.

In one swift move, she casts a spell, attempting to bind the beast's legs with magic chains. Three of the four legs shatter the chains, but the last one latches on long enough for Remi to land a swift blow. Her weapon grazes the beast's leg, but to our surprise, there's no blood. So it is undead?

Just what is this? Why can't the professors just test us with a troll or something more known? What a pain.

Suddenly, Nyssa's voice echoes, "Ugh, can someone help me deal with these fuckers?" She's surrounded by wolves, just how many has she killed already? I expected them to arrive but isn't this too soon? More importantly, is it using magic to cloud my senses? I should've sensed the wolves arrive.

I turn to find Zara already on the move, rushing towards Nyssa. "I'll help her, you guys handle that thing." They should be fine, Eamon is keeping an eye on them.

I gather myself as Gareth grumbles to his feet, his bones popping audibly as they rearrange themselves back into place. "Uuugh, Fuck, it's stronger than it looks," he admits, wiping the dust off his clothing.

"You're such a fucking idiot, how about you sit this one out? Moron," Mira shoots back, clearly annoyed by his stupidity. Gareth clicks his tongue in response, clearly irked by her words.

He reels back and lands a solid punch on the cave wall. The impact sends a jarring shockwave through the stone, loosening a large chunk of it. "Shut it you fucking cat, you won't be able to kill it since all you do is run around in circles!" he growls, swinging the piece of rock onto the beast's face.

The impact is hard enough to make the beast stagger back a bit but it doesn't seem to have done any real damage. The monstrous creature only grumbles, shaking its head a bit before resetting its glare on us. Just how strong is its physical resistance?

I can't afford to stand around and observe any longer. I enhance my speed with a burst of wind magic. With the breeze at my back, I circle the monster, considering my next move. Just where do I attack? The monster quickly takes note of my movements, and I find its glare focused on me. It lunges, slashing its monstrous claws in my direction.

With barely a second to spare, I manage to twist out of its reach. A slight breeze follows its attack, ruffling my clothes. Why do I have the aggro? Sigh, I guess it's better this way. As long as its attention is on me, the others are safe.

In the corner of my eye, I see Nyssa halting her massacre of the wolves. She's grinning, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Wow~ hehe~ Sera's reflexes are truly incredible~ wouldn't you agree?"

Luna, in the middle of firing an arrow at a few wolves, turns to respond. "Indeed, I'm quite jealous."

Feeling the beast's gaze on me once more, I hastily throw a mana shield in the air and leap onto it. As I dodge the next attack, I seize the chance to strike. I aim my blade towards its mouth, but my attack only bounces off its strong jaw. I clench my teeth in frustration, "Tsk, its jaw is tough."