Underworld Race
"So that was you, buddy!" Edison greeted then grabbed him by the shoulder. But Lawrence just shoved his hands and continued walking toward the group.
"Who will be in charge of this team?" the boy asked.
"I will. Of course, if you're all agreeing with it."
"Well, I also want to be the leader" Edison laughed. "But I'm a kind person. You can have the position."
"It doesn't matter who it is. Just don't hinder my chances of getting in." the person replied before leaning on one of the pillars of the great hall close to us.
With his eyes closed, he remained unfazed by the mischievous grins and stares of the people around him.
"I'm really starting to get irritated with this guy. Can I punch him just once?" Edison asked.
"Please don't." the three of us replied in unison.
The ring-shaped machine began to crackle, releasing lightning sparks within its vicinity. Gradually, a portal took shape at its center. As soon as the artificial rift fully opened, the crowd rushed toward it eagerly.
"A-aren't we going as well?" Aika asked.
"No, not really. Let's wait a little longer." The young man seemed to be a little irritated by my response while Edison couldn't shake the feeling of impatient.
We waited until the last person entered then we followed before the rift closed. As expected, the bodies of the participants lie unconscious on the hard ground of this unknown canyon.
Blood was splattered on the ground and many were wounded.
"Dang, just what happened in this place?" Edison asked.
"To enter an academy of great benefits, one or two are bound to go to lengths just to get accepted. Even in such heinous ways."
"True, but shouldn't you be going already? The race had already started" A voice from behind spoke, and to our surprise, it was the school president along with the teachers.
"We could, but that would be running aimlessly. There's a reason why you are here, aren't I right?" Based on the tracks, all the people scattered in every direction as if there were no proper instructions given by any person present in this place.
The president laughed, "Oh-ho, looks like we've got people who are actually thinking here. You're right, I am here to give aid to those who couldn't continue and clues to patient people."
"Seek the saint hiding in the underworld, and she will guide you to where the next destination lies." the school president claimed. "That's all the hint I can give you. The rest is up to you now."
He then left, leaving the teachers dragging all the bodies back into our world but some dispersed in every direction, following the footsteps left by the participants.
"Underworld, huh?" I pondered then looked at the dark bottom of the canyon where light could no longer pass through in the thickness of the dark fog. "Looks like we already found the underworld part."
"Y-you mean all the way down there? How are we gonna get down?" Aika asked.
"Do you have to ask?" Edison grinned and then jumped into the edge, sliding his way through the bottom while his laughter faded into the darkness. Soon followed by Lawrence.
The ground seemed to be soft enough to cause less friction, and still hearing Edison laughing in a low tone suggests that it was safe enough to venture.
"I think we should go."
"O-okay…" Aika seemed to be hesitating, before accidentally falling as the ground on the edge of her feet crumbled and forced me to jump to catch her fall.
Thanks to the light she had conjured, it became easier to find her before we hit the slopes and tumbled to the ground. Yet the strangest part was… the fall didn't hurt as it should have been.
"Cipher, are you okay?" Gabby called as she descended.
"I'm fine. Just a few scratches…" The whole place was dark and the only light we had was from the glowing energy Aika had conjured. It was dim but enough to light the darkness existing in this place.
And what lies in front of us was a large gate holding an ominous presence.
"The gate to the underworld…"
"What are we waiting for? Let's knock!" Edison clumsily approached the gate then from the rubble, shadowy figures emerged.
Made of shadows, its eyes were glowing red and it didn't have a permanent shape as it changed from one figure to another.
**** Creature information ****
Evil Wraith
Level 6
HP: -300/-300 MP: 20/20
*************************
"N-negative!?" I gasped as I had never seen such a number on an enemy before.
Lawrence and Edison charged blindly into the midst of enemies, wielding an electric baton and blade, but their attacks seemed futile. Despite their efforts, the enemy's HP remained unchanged and even dropped to negative levels.
"Stop! It's doing nothing!" with a shaking voice, Gabby spoke as she noticed it too. I forgot she's a bit scared of ghosts and such. "Ahh! Stay away!"
Never mind, she is terrified.
Rubble and stones were searing towards us at great speed. And even though most of us could block and evade it, all of our attacks were still rendered useless as they just passed through those dark smoky bodies of theirs.
None of us could deal any damage at all.
** You've helped slay a living thing **
** Receiving 0.1 Abyssal Points **
"What in the-"
Back at the rear, Gabby was shaking behind Aika who had three orbiting lights around them. Whenever a wraith gets too close, the orb would dashs its revolution and lessens the negative number of the wraith, turning it into nothing but ashes.
"New plan! Protect Aika from the enemies' attack while she ends the wraiths!"
We surrounded Aika, blocking every stone hurling at her as she increased the number of light orbs. Her state was getting worse and worse the more she used her magic but the number of enemies had drastically dropped.
Until not a single wraith could be found.
"A-are you okay?" Gabby questioned as Aika collapsed to the ground. Her body became pale and her temperature rose into an unnatural state. "G-guys, I don't think this is normal. We need to return and get her into a hospital."
"All of you can go, I'll be continuing the exam," Lawrence claimed.
"Hey, dude. Have heart. The girl's already in pain, you know? Let's just come back next year or something." Edison argued.
"Next year!? I don't have next year!" Lawrence shouted. "You said you wanted to know my story. My mother got sick of cancer, and I'm living and struggling with my little sister just because my damned father left us! And if I don't get in this year, I'll lose both my sister and mother! So fuck it, I'm going whether I'm alone or not."
He walked over the gates and as he touched its surface, the eyes of the skull engraved into the giant door glowed and Lawrence was transported away.
"What now?" Gabby asked then Aika limply stretched her hands towards the direction of the gates. "No, you can't continue at your state."
"We don't have a choice either. We can't climb back up." We looked at the sky, seeing nothing but thick fog. But we knew how long we had fallen. It was too steep to climb and the additional weight, only made it impossible. "Right now all we can do is finish it race as fast as possible."
"So… Aika. Just hang in there. We'll get through this." I added.
As we touched the gates, the scene shifted into a gloomy grand hall lit by torches in every pillar, and within sight was Lawrence trying to fend off hounds of red eyes. His body was filled with wounds and his blade had snapped.
"Hey, buddy! Need some help?" Edison asked but he just ignored him and kept using the broken blade he had. "I don't think he needs it. Let's just leave him alone."
"Come on, stop joking! Help him already!" Gabby scolded.
"aight, aight. Geez…" Edison grabbed his taser and started his electrocuting the hounds.
Within the storage, I pulled the bow and quiver, then started aiming "Gabby, help them. I'll look after Aika."
"Where are you aiming at!?" Gabby scolded.
"Just go!" I released the bolt, heading towards Lawrence but curving its path into the hound in front of him. "Lawrence! Get back in here!"
"No, I can still fight!" he claimed.
"I know! Just get the hell back in here!" pissed, he returned with his broken blade. "You won't get anywhere with that blade of yours."
"This is enough," he claimed.
"I don't think so." I tossed him the newly crafted blade Simon made. The guardless sword. "I'll let you borrow this one for the duration of the exam. So win this shit."
With a grin, he dashed back into the hounds with the borrowed blade but something unexpected happened. The blade extended and became loose, grappling one of the hounds in the neck before it decapitated and returned to a normal sword.
"So that's what you were talking about Simon…" Just like he had said, it wasn't just a sword. It was a bladed whip.