33 - First Test! - 3

First Test! - 3

The group barely had time to celebrate their initial victory when they heard the sound again. Dragging footsteps and guttural groans filled the air, growing louder and more intense. "Formation, now!" Jon yelled, urgency lacing his voice. He and Nortis took the front, swords at the ready, while Elija, Elara, and Gwen lined up behind them.

"Brace yourselves!" Jon warned, but nothing could prepare them for what came next.

Zombies burst from the shadows, an endless tide of death and decay. "Fire!" Jon commanded. Arrows flew, hitting multiple targets, but it was like trying to empty an ocean with a bucket.

"Damn, there's too many!" Elija shouted, reloading his bow with trembling hands.

"Nortis, left! To the left!" Jon roared, dodging a zombie and decapitating it. But in his eagerness to protect the flank, a zombie slipped past his defense, heading straight for Elara.

"Elara, watch out!" Gwen yelled, hastily launching a fireball that missed its mark.

Jon lunged in front of the zombie, slicing it in half, but not before receiving a deep scratch on his arm. "Ah, hell!" he growled, feeling the blood trickle down.

Gwen was drained, her face pale and sweaty. 'How does he do it?' she wondered, looking at Jon with a mix of awe and a poignant sense of loss.

"Reload! Quick!" Jon shouted, blocking another attack and kicking the zombie away.

Elija and Elara fired again, their arrows hitting but not enough to stop the horde. 'He's incredible,' Elija thought, even as he felt despair rising.

Nortis roared, clearing a path with his sword, but was struck in the shoulder by a zombie he didn't see. "Argh! Son of a bitch!"

Jon assessed the situation with critical eyes. The zombies seemed endless, and the group was visibly fatigued. Nortis had a wounded shoulder, the blood staining his armor a dark red.

"Gwen, do you have any area spells that can get us out of this?" Jon asked, his voice tense.

Gwen hesitated. "I have one, but it's complicated and takes time to cast."

Nortis, overhearing the conversation, looked at his injured shoulder and then at Jon. "With my arm like this, I won't be much help on the front lines. But I can buy Gwen the time she needs."

"That's insane!" Jon exclaimed. "We can't afford to thin our ranks."

Nortis smiled, a wild glint in his eyes. "Sometimes, insanity is the only sensible path."

Before Jon could stop him, Nortis charged, roaring like a wounded animal. He hurled himself at the zombie horde, his sword swinging in a deadly arc, clearing a path through them.

"NOW, GWEN!" Jon screamed, his heart pounding in his chest.

Gwen began chanting the spell's words, her hands tracing intricate symbols in the air. "Incendium Spiralis!"

Fire erupted around Nortis, engulfing the zombies in a whirlwind of flames. When the fire cleared, Nortis was on his knees, severely injured, but alive.

Jon rushed over to him, helping him up. "You're a brave fool, you know that?"

Nortis chuckled weakly. "I could say the same about you."

The group regrouped, looking at each other. For a moment, the reality of the trial seemed to vanish, replaced by the weight of the choices they had just made.

Jon surveyed the assembled group around him. Nortis had a makeshift bandage on his shoulder, fashioned from a torn piece of his own clothing. Azul and Gwen were leaning against the wall, their eyes closed, with Gwen trying to replenish her mana. Elija and Elara, the two archers, sat near Jon, expressions of curiosity and admiration on their faces.

"So, how do you keep your cool in a situation like this?" Elija broke the silence. "Every move you made in battle seemed so... precise."

Jon smiled, pondering how to answer without revealing too much about his six years of training in the goblin dungeons of Riverwood. "Experience helps. I've been in similar situations before, though never quite this intense."

Nortis grunted, adjusting his bandage. "You talk like you've been doing this your whole life. Are you some kind of war veteran?"

Jon laughed. "Not exactly. But I've been in tricky situations that required calm and strategy."

Elara, who had been listening intently, finally spoke up. "You're incredibly skilled with the sword. It's like you knew exactly where each strike would land."

Jon looked at her, noticing the glint of fascination in her blue eyes. "Thank you. The key is not just to react to what's happening, but also to anticipate the enemy's next move." Jon couldn't disclose that his seemingly simple sword was actually a Rank SS artifact, with passives so strong it felt like cheating.

Gwen, who had been silent until now, opened her eyes and looked at Jon. She said nothing, but Jon could feel the weight of her thoughts. 'He's changed,' she thought, 'and our relationship will never be the same.'

"Two hours left," Jon said, changing the subject. "Everyone should rest and recover as much as possible. Nortis, how are you holding up?"

Nortis glanced at his bandaged shoulder. "I've had worse. I'll make it."

Jon nodded. "Good. Let's rest now, but stay alert. We don't know what else this dungeon has in store for us."

As Jon and his group enjoyed a moment of respite, gathering their strength for what lay ahead, the situation was drastically different for the students who had chosen to stay behind. They had opted for the "safety" of the dungeon's first sector, a place already cleared of zombies. Or so they thought.

The air was thick with the smell of sweat and fear. The torches on the walls seemed to flicker more than usual, as if even the fire was nervous. The students huddled together, weapons at the ready, nervously eyeing the shadows that danced on the stone walls.

And then, the zombies returned. First, it was just a few, shambling out of the shadows as if drawn by the scent of fear. But soon, the shadows filled with movement, and what seemed like an endless number of zombies emerged, advancing toward the students.

Screams of panic filled the air. Swords were unsheathed, arrows fired, and spells cast in a cacophony of desperation. But for every zombie that fell, two more seemed to take its place. It was as if the dungeon was punishing them for their hesitation, for their lack of courage to move forward.

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