Ambush

'I felt it... right from when we first met. I knew something was off with him and his creepy smile.' Blake thought, clenching his fist tightly.

"Come to think of it, all these were caused by the government. To think our life doesn't matter that much."

Blake and the other miners were at the front while Grandi and his group followed from behind. They could see the large ominous tower glowing faintly from afar.

'Shit! What's to stop them from killing us and taking all the loot for themselves.' Blake had several thoughts going through his head as he walked slowly, each step pulling him closer to the tower and his heart beating tightly.

"Why do we deserve to be treated this way when it wasn't our fault." A wave of anger shot through his body as he stared at the groups laughing behind.

"Even the young isn't left out." He thought with scenes of how his brother had returned home with bruises evident from his peers. With the descent of mana, all humans, ranging from fourteen and above, in the world could access the strange tower and also awaken an ability through it.

"This was part of the reason I never really wanted to join a party in clearing the floors of the towers. This was the reason why I would rather endure hard menial jobs, although the pay was miserable." He didn't know when he clenched his fist so tight he hurt himself.

"Hey," he heard a voice beside him. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing," Blake said, staring at the young lady who walked up to him. Just within her pupils was a yellow star glowing faintly. Looking at her he could tell she was just in her early twenties.

"It seems this is your first time participating in a tower raid." she said, sizing him up with her eyes. His skinny appearance and shabby outfit accompanied by the dark bags underneath his eyes was enough to show the boy before him was just barely pushing through.

"Yeah," Blake muttered, still staring at her eyes.

"Oh, you might be wondering why I'm part of you guys since I awakened a... well... a yellow star talent." She said with a chuckle, causing Blake to quickly look away.

"Well, this I don't usually tell others, but, you see.... my ability is quite the useless one, and no one would let me join their party. And going solo is clearly out of the option."

"I see," Blake muttered, thinking back to the news shared to the public a couple of years ago. After much research about the strange towers and powers, which humans could awaken through it. They were able to create a power chart.

"When one awakens an ability, a star usually forms within the pupil of that person's eye." Blake muttered to himself. The colour of the star one gets decides the talent of that person. Yellow, orange, red, blue, and white. The order increased through the rank.

'It means she has entered a tower before.'

'I'm unable to see his eyes, I wonder what talent he awakened,' she thought while staring at his face.

"You're not an Ascendant, are you?" Mariam, the blue haired lady, asked with a smile that was trying to mask the strange expression on her face.

"No," Blake said, lowering his head. His messy dark brown hair further covered his eyes, just leaving the down of his eyes to be seen.

Sigh~

'That's quite unfortunate,' she thought. They continued in silence, and soon, they noticed the terrain began to change as they advanced closer to the tower. The ground was a bit barren with few patches of brown grass around the area.

"Just what's up with this tower," Blake thought. This was the first time seeing a grey coloured tower, which was different from the usual white ones.

"Huh?" Blake eyes moved towards a thickset of thorny shrubs a few metres from their position. 'I thought I saw a movement,' Blake thought. Maybe he was a bit too cautious, but that didn't stop his unease. Looking behind, Grandi and his group were still involved in their discussion.

"Geh, I made sure to research on the miners, and none of them amounts to anything. Their death won't even be noticed by the Association. This is gonna be a jackpot!" Grandi said to his peers, rubbing his palms together with an evil grin etched on his face.

'I guess I'm just imagining things.'

It wasn't even up to a second when he decided to discard his thoughts that it happened. A large fire ball streaked from across the thickset of the shrubs heading right towards their centre.

Blake, paying close attention to his surroundings, was able to just see the ball of flame that was already upon them.

"Shit! Dodge!" He screamed as he jumped away, trying his possible best to get as far away from the range of the attack.

BOOOM!

A large explosion rocked the area, releasing a searing heat along with debris of rocks and dirt flying all over the area

The moans and cries of those who got hit slowly resided as the dust disperse. Grandi and his goons behind were able to activate their various defensive skills in time, enabling them to come out unscathed. The unfortunate ones—the miners who faced the brunt of the attack were terribly burnt with some already dead while some barely alive.

Blake, who had managed to put some meagre distance, was on the ground with severe burns, though still alive but at the doorstep of death. The force of the explosion had thrown him a few metres away from the others.

"Ugh," he groaned in pain. Moving his body, he felt terrible pain shoot over his body, causing him to remain still. His hands had been twisted horribly, with half of his face severely burnt.

With his gaze fixed at the distance ahead, he could make out a group of people dressed in black robes emerging from a dark swirling mist and were coming towards them.

"Don't tell me... shit! Prepare for battle!" Grandi, on sighting them, yelled loudly and quickly brought out his weapon–a mace with spikes around the edge and a large jagged shield. His red-star eyes flared to life as he prepared for battle.

"Oh, a few survived." One of the robed figures said with a smile.

"I told you that won't be enough to wipe them out. It seems I won the bet."

"Focus on the task ahead." The one at the centre said his eyes fixed on the warriors preparing themselves. "Forget about those on the ground. They are the ones to focus on," he said, pointing forward, and soon, his form swiftly dispersed, leaving a dark mist behind.

"Where did he go?" Grandi thought in panic.

"Ahhh," a screamed echoed loudly from the back, causing Grandi and the others to turn towards the direction of the sound. They were just in time to witness one of their own succumbing to the dark figure with a hand piercing through his stomach and black veins spreading all over his face.

Grandi, with a yell, charged forward, but the figure was long gone before he arrived there. Once again, a scream erupted from within, and Grandi yet again was slow to react. With two men now dead, their group of ten had reduced to eight.

"Don't forget about us." The other two figures finally joined the battle. The one with jet black hair quickly conjured a fire ball and tossed it towards their direction.

Grandi, aware of the imminent threat, quickly slammed his shield on the ground. Get behind me, he yelled to the others.

With the shield beginning to glow, he yelled loudly. "Halo!"

[Shield skill: Halo]

A white glow spread from the shield enveloping Grandi and the others. The fireball struck the barrier with faint cracks appearing.

"We can survive this," Grandi thought, preparing himself for his next set of action. Just as he rose from the ground, his gaze turned dark.

Looking up, they nearly pissed their pants as they stared at the dozens of large fireballs looming above them.

"Shit! How do we survive this!" Regret now etched on their faces. The others stared at Grandi in contempt. "If only we didn't listen to his sweet talk about coming here," they thought.

Unfortunately, it was too late to turn back now. "C'mon, Marcus! Do something! Anything!!"

Grandi shouted with a terrified expression. With shaky hands, Marcus began drawing out a circle with his glowing chalk.

Grandi, seeing this, turned to the others. "Alright, I need your help in this. Lend me your strength!" Quickly stepping on the circle, as if practised before, the others placed their hands on him with the exception of Marcus, who watched with a pale face.