39 Training 22

"This is bad! There's literally no end to them! What should we do?" Ray backed off from the battlefield as he formed his stance again. Numerous infernals were currently displacing themselves throughout the mysterious cave.

"Yeah, their number is not what I am expecting. This could be a test of endurance." Akai followed him on the corner as he evaded the attacks of the infernals. Shiori and Adara on the other hand, are still fighting the infernals using their knowledge on close combats. Even with their powered boost using the fire elemental magic, it is still inadequate to beat the other infernals.

Judging from their situation right now, some Astrochist has already fallen down because of mana depletion.

"I'm almost out of mana, If I go in there for any longer, I would literally die." Shiori finally joined the two.

"Same here, I don't even know if I can still fire some spells." Adara jumped in as well. They were all perplexed by their current situation as if there's no hope left at all.

"How much time do we have left?" Akai asked a question.

"We've been fighting them for like three hours now, we still have a lot of time but most of us are already tired." Shiori answered.

"What? We've been fighting them for that long? That's some surprising fact I thought we've just started. I didn't even notice it." Ray exclaimed as he discovers the time.

"Well, If only we knew how much infernals we've killed right now then we should have already passed it. According to the rules, we must kill a lot of these monsters to free the land from their havoc." Shiori followed.

Right until that moment, numerous fireballs were thrown at them by the infernals. Their group managed to evade it but the casualties inside the cave grew larger.

"Damn it! I don't have that much energy to face them. What should I do?" Ray panicked as he ran away from the infernals.

"Don't rush! It's not over yet, we're still alive and no one is giving up. Don't worry, I'm sure there's going to be a way to defeat them all." Adara sermoned him.

"Shiori, how much mana do you have left?" Akai asked out of the blue.

"I'm not sure, but I think I can still hold like five or ten of them at the very least. Why are you asking?" Shiori responded.

"I want you to buy me some time so I can reach the end of this cave. Maybe if we go there we might finish this task easily and we should be able to get out on the other side." Akai suggested a plan.

"Wait, that's too risky, what are you talking about? There might be a lot more infernals at the end of this cave, we don't even know our position and concept of this place!" Adara shouted at him.

"You're right, but are we just going to stand here and do nothing?" Akai fiercely replied to her and it made Adara twitched a little.

"I won't let us die here without doing anything. Trying out a lot of strategies and plans is one of the most basic important factors we need to consider in this training as what Pier said. Waiting for our demise won't be able to satisfy the pride we have when we joined this group in the first place..."

"That's why..." Akai walked closely to Adara. He slowly raised his left arm and patted Adara on her shoulder. She couldn't say anything. She was distracted by the mere decent words that are coming out of Akai.

"You need to try your best too, even if it costs your life." Akai ended their conversation.

"He's right..." Ray stood up. All of them looked at him.

"Even before all of this happens, I'm already aware that I'm making excuses for myself to skip training. That is because I'm not trying my best. I'm so scared to open up because I am aware that I am useless when it comes to fighting. I pledged myself to become a better magician and a warrior so I can protect my family, but here I am, being a coward. That's why..."

On the verge of his tears, Ray buckled himself up as he did that Astrochist salute by placing his right hand on his chest.

"I'm going to fight until the end..." He said.

"Akai! Please let me join you as well." Ray followed.

"Sure, prove to me that you can also do anything."

"Of course!" Ray smiled.

Adara sighed as she smiled at them. Shiori smiled as well and they all suddenly gained confidence and courage at the last moments.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

All of the other Astrochist have heard Akai and Ray's sentimental value. They all stood up and kept on trying to produce a large scale mana activation in order to strengthen their shield and foundation.

"Akai, Ray! We're counting on you guys! Go reach the end of this cave and find an exit for all of us!" One of the guys from their class has started shouting. Several cheering can be heard from their back and they all gained the war cry they needed in order to survive their test.

"You can do it! Both of you! Good luck! We're going to be supporting you from behind!"

"GO SMASH THEM!"

"Ray, here we go... At the count of three, we're going to use our mana to boost our immunity and shield while running faster. We need to be fast in order to avoid them, are you ready?" Akai prepared his form.

"Yeah!" Ray responded.

"Alright at the count of three... One... Two... Tree!" The two of them quickly jumped through the battlefield. With the help of their mana boost, their speed and flexibility to evade all attacks coming from the infernals made the flee possible. On the other hand, in order for them to keep on going without worrying about anything on their way, Shiori and Adara tried to distract some infernals by going punching them one by one.

(I have faith in both you, please save us, no, not me. You can save all of them and I will do my best to be a decoy if I have to. I don't want to experience 'that' again. What you said earlier about trying my best even though there's no chance of winning is what I lack in my previous era of life. I don't have confidence in myself, and what's worse is that I'm trying to be cool at all times and thinking about giving up. I may be fierce on my nature, but deep inside, I don't really have the will to continue.) Adara kept on fighting even when struggling to hit all infernals with her first. She's running out of magic power and her stances are dull.

Ray and Akai have managed to escape the battlefield and they successfully reached the entrance to the other side. Shiori noticed that Adara is still fighting even though she has suffered a lot of injuries as of now.

"Adara! No! Stop!" Using her mana boost, she took Adara's hand and they fled the scene.

"Come here! We will protect you!" Some of their companions have invited them to enter the barrier they have created using all of their mana. By accumulating each person's mana, doing a magical barrier or shield is easy, but it won't last long.

"The barrier is temporary, this should keep us alive for the time being. For those of you who are not part of creating the barrier, I want all of you to treat those who are injured. We must not waste time!" Shiori started giving orders. She placed down Adara on the ground while supporting her body. She can see that she gave her best even though her mana is completely drained.

"Adara, you pushed yourself too hard... Why would you do that?" Shiori asked softly as she lay her down.

"It's fine... you don't have to worry about me. Anyway, how's the situation?"

"Both of them entered the entrance to the other side of the cave. The infernals were disputed for a while so they won't know where we are. I've destroyed a couple of rocks to create a hideout." Shiori answered while gazing around.

"Shiori..." Adara raised her left arm slowly and placed her hand on Shiori's face.

"You should rest too... You've done enough..." Adara smiled. Shiori was surprised by this. After she said that, she suddenly fell asleep.

"You don't need to tell me that..." Shiori gave a soft smile as well. She joined Adara in her sleeping by laying down beside her. All of them took a break for a while.

A few minutes have passed, Ray and Akai entered the realm of the cave. The textures of rocks were different from the hall they are in earlier. There were several luminosity stones that give the light source in a form of green neon light to the environment.

"What's the situation?" Ray softly asked a question while they are hiding in the corner. Inside the cave, there are different kinds of paths that lead to other rooms. Mostly they are comprised of medium-sized doorways made out of stone. The ceiling is far away from their spawn. The concept of this cave is bigger than what they have expected earlier.

"All of the infernals are going on the hallway. I think we're fine for now. But the problem is, we don't know how much time we have left before we find the exit of this cave." Akai reported while walking slowly towards the corner.

"Do you really think finding the exit would be the end of the test?" Ray asked.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure if that is the case in finishing this test. I don't really feel like going inside these rooms just to find a suitable exit for all of us. It is literally impossible to call out to them after we venture this large scaled cave." Akai answered in a serious tone. He looked around for some clues but there's nothing to avail. All rooms are connected on the other side of the cave but most of them are dead ends.

"True, but I feel like, something is need to be done here." Ray responded.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Concerned, Akai stopped his own way.

"Well, the first thing that I have noticed earlier is the amount of infernals that are coming on us in which they spawn infinitely. I mean, if we're already dealing with them for like several hours now, our test should've been already completed. Yet, we're still stuck here and judging by the number of them, it is already passed 300 or so. Don't you think that it is kinda weird for them to give a test like this?" Ray discussed his thoughts.

"Well, they are not really the one who thought of this tests. What we are dealing right now is a common entropy that has caused some problems years ago. And they used this destructions and problems to be an option to test us. A pretty bold scheme I would say. But what are you implying?" Akai answered.

"The things is, if those infernals are contiuously spawning, doesn't that mean that someone or 'something' is creating them beyond this cave that needs to be defeated in order for us to be saved?" By the time Ray said that, a mysterious movement suddenly echoed in their field, leaving them awared.

"What is that?" Ray was bewildered by it.

"I don't know." Both of them have started charging thier fists with fire while switching their mode into combat. However it is not what they think it is...

After a few seconds, the figure revealed itself in front of Akai and Ray.

"Y-You are..."

"Hoohh..."

"YOU ARE THE GIRL FROM THE SPAWN POINT EARLIER WHO HELPED ME!" Ray shputed s loud that the infernals on the hall have started chasing them.

"Oh my god, Ray!" Akai exclaimed.

"Sorry!"

"Nevermind that, let's just run!" The two of them have started running, but while they are on the flow, the short haired girl didn't run away. She stayed behind their back.

"Hey what are you doing? Don't just stand there, they are going to kill you!" Ray raised his voice to call her out.

However...

The girl gave them a silent respond. She raised both of her arms and after she did that, a large magic circle suddenly appeared in front of them. The bright light of this circle emerged from their surrounding, giving off the intense feeling.

"Incendiary Bonds!" An unknown spell came out of her mouth.

The infernals who were chasing them suddenly exploded while burning their parts. It was a powerful spell that even the entrance of the cave were destroyed because of the intensity of it. The magic circle dissipated from the thin air and the infernals are killed.

Both Akai and Ray stood in their place while their jaw is dropped. It is something that they have never seen before.

The short haired girl finally turned her back to look at those two.

"Y-You're..." Ray were shaking in fear.

"Who are you? That spell, that's a high tier ranking spell that has not been taught to us yet." Akai began questioning her.

"I'm sorry for my late introduction. Nice to meet you, I am Savannah Teinai. A fire spirit."