Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The mine was pitch black, even with a mage's eyesight, Flynn couldn't see much. With a flashlight in hand, Andrew led the way. The air was damp, there was almost no mana lingering in the air, which was unusual for a mana cyrstal mine. Feeling the air Flynn came up with to possibilities. The first one was that there were no crystals in the mine, the arrangement was to publicly humiliate Flynn once he returned empty handed, and possibly make him fail the test. But that was unlikely since Andrew was also following, and the other three students could act as witnesses. The thought of the second possibility sent a shiver down Flynn's spine. What if there was someone, or something, in the depths, absorbing the mana in the air, waiting to pounce on them?
He slowly fell to the back of the group, in case what he feared was true. The stone walls were wet, with water droplets dripping down the ceiling. Suddenly, Harry gestured for the others to stop. "Something is moving in there," he said, pointing at the large chamber fifty feet in front of them. Being a Wind mage, the slightest disturbances of air in this cavern meant that there was something there. "Let's go see directly," James said, slowly walking towards the chamber. He couldn't directly detonate the whole room, mana cyrstals could sometimes react violently if hit with spells. Before he could enter the cave, a rodent that was mostly identical but slightly smaller than the one seen in the video appeared, lunging at James. Keeping calm, he nonchalantly punched the mutated rat in the head. With a small explosion, the rodent Mana Beast exploded into pieces.
Flynn noticed the brass knuckles on his fists, still radiating with some residual mana. "Must be some type of Medium or Catalyst," he thought. Blood splattering everywhere, several glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness. "Retreat," William shouted, backing up. "Thirteen enemies detected," Harry reported. The five of them retreated back into the narrow tunnel, setting up their defenses. "Who can fight?" James asked, taking the lead. "I can only cast Wind Blade, and I'm not sure if it could pierce their skin," Harry said. He was a Detection mage, fighting was definitely not his strong suit. "My attacks could collapse the tunnel," William said. "I'll help," Flynn said, stepping foward. He activated his Medium, the baton extending to the length of a broom.
The swarm of rats charged fowards, incisors dripping with saliva. The mages were the perfect meal for them, their whole body was full of mana. James was aggrieved. Normally, a single spell would demolish the whole swarm of rats, but the large explosion would also collapse the whole tunnel. James fists lit up, turning into two glowing balls of fire that lit up the dim mine. Flynn enhanced his body with mana, swinging his Medium at the frenzy rats. The staff knocked them back, but it wasn't enough to actually harm them. James was like a war machine, each punch was detrimental to the rats. The rodents were sent flying back, some of them received fatal wounds. Although James was very powerful, he was still surrounded by several rats. Knocking one back, his leg was gnawed on by one of the rats, leaving a gnarly scar. James clenched his teeth, enduring the pain. His eyes filled with rage, entering a state where slaughtering was the only thing left.
Seeing that James was in trouble, Flynn rushed in to help. A blue blade appeared in his hand, he slashed down at the rat that was holding on to James leg. Scalpel had some trouble cutting through the Mana enhanced flesh of the rat, but it still managed to slice through the rodent. Waving his hands, a burst of mana enveloped James wounds, healing them. Regaining his strength, James slightly nodded, thanking Flynn. Together, they easily mowed through the rodents. Harry also tried to support them with wind blades, but once he realized that he couldn't even pierce their hide, he gave up. He stood on the sidelines, cheering for the two. Andrew observed the fight, surprised by James prowess. He was definitely on par with some of the more experienced mages.
Ending the fight, the two sat on the ground, trying to catch their breath. Their was no mana in the air, so it was very hard for them to recover their mana. Flynn casted Invigorate on James, healing his wounds. James took out a vial of blue liquid, drinking a quarter of it with a single gulp. The Mana potion instantly recovered most of his lost mana, he was back into perfect condition. "You are pretty good," James said, realizing that he had severely underestimated Flynn. "You are the one who killed most of the rats, how are you so strong?" Flynn replied, quite impressed with James's prowess.
Flynn could actually take on the whole swarm of rats if he casted Anesthesia, but he was afraid that it might knock his teammates out. They entered the cavern, looking around. It was a large cave, with several crystals sticking out from the walls. "Jackpot!" William said, eyes lighting up. "How could we mine them?" James asked, some of the crystals were quite high up on the walls, embedded deep iside the rocks.
"This is my turn to shine," William said, as he activated his gadgets. Being a Tech mage, he was very skilled at controlling robotics. His backpack unfolded into several mechanical arms, each with different tools welded on the end. The mechanical arms extended, reaching some of the crystals. They went to work, drilling and hammering on the walls. One by one, the mana crystals that were embedded in the walls fell to the ground, which were then collected by Harry. James was eating the flesh of the Mana Beasts, roasting them over a fire he created with a simple spell. He was hungry because of Invigorate, and the flesh of Mana Beasts were actually quite beneficial to mages, since they also contained a considerable of mana.
The smell of roasted meat made Flynn's mouth water, he snuck over, asking for a piece. James handed him a piece since he also helped with killing the rodents. Biting down on the hot meat, Flynn almost puked. It was disgusting! Gamey and sour, the meat tasted rotten. "How can you eat something like this?" Flynn asked. "Swallow it," James said. Holding his breath, it took quite a lot of willpower for Flynn to swallow the flesh. Instantly, the meat was digested, turning into large amounts of mana. The mana ran freely in his body, he could feel the energy enhancing his cells. His mana reserves also refilled, he never felt so good before. He closed his eyes, focusing on digesting the sudden burst of energy. "This is actually the reason of why my body is so powerful," James said, seeing that Flynn had closed his eyes. "Are there any side effects?" Flynn asked, feeling that there must be some problem with eating the flesh of Mana Beasts like this. If eating the flesh of Mana Beasts were so beneficial, why didn't the cafeteria serve them to the students?
James raised his brows, surprised that Flynn figured out that something like this definitely had its consequences. "Eating to much could cause you to lose your rationality, turning into a mindless beast that only wants to devour more Mana Beasts," James replied. "Was that why you suddenly became filled with rage?" Flynn asked, remembering that James had temporarily lost his mind in the middle of the fight. "Perhaps, I am not too sure," James said. After a couple minutes of chatting, most of the mana crystals were mined by William.
"I think its time for us to decide our next step," James said, seeing the small pile of mana crystals that were definitely quite the fortune. "We have two options, head deeper into the mine, trying to find more mana crystals. Or we could head back, turn in the ores we mined and call it a day," James said. "We should head back, we already have quite the amount of mana cyrstals," Flynn said, not wanting to venture deeper into the mine. "We get to keep ten percent of the crystals we mine, I think we should seize this opportunity to obtain a good amount of mana crystals," William said, eyes full of greed. "I'm fine with any decision," Harry said. He was afraid of the possible monsters that lied ahead, but the glistening mana crystals were also very alluring. The three looked at James, waiting for him to make the final decision since the votes were currently tied.
"Although I understand your concern, I don't think that the school would allow us to encounter Mana Beasts that we can't defeat," James said, looking at Flynn. "So you've already made up your mind," Flynn sighed, shaking his head. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," James said with a confident grin.