Elves

[All right, people. I have divided you all into groups of ten, and the list will appear on the screen. You will delve into the dungeon together with your team and retrieve the core, which you will then use for the next trial.]

Kyl explained the contents of the trial as he floated back and forth. The subtle contortion of his face went unnoticed as he finished his explanation. Following his explanation, the members of each team were displayed on the screen.

[Team 1 - Jamie Anderson, Korbyn Bruzesse…]

[Team 2 - Maxwell Thompson, Eric Cartman…]

[Team 37 - Alex Horatius, Simon Sarabeth, Sarah Garcia…]

As the djinn instructed, the team members of each team huddled together, forming a circular formation.

'It seems that man's name was Eric,' Alex overheard Team 2's introduction as he headed towards his own team. 'It should be nice for him to get to know Maxwell, who also has a skill of the same element.'

As he approached his team, he was instantly bombarded with the aggrieved and fearful gazes of his teammates. They stared at him as if there was no tomorrow with hateful eyes, trying to pierce his soul.

Alex raised his eyebrows as he approached them without paying mind to their gazes. Although they did not voice out their concerns, Alex could easily predict the reason for their behavior, which caused the stuffy atmosphere.

A man who seemed to be in his twenties took a glance at the blade strapped to Alex's waist. The man's name was Simon Sarabeth, a college student studying medicine. He had unusual facial features that seemed oddly attractive.

As Alex noticed Simon's unhidden gaze, he shot a cold glare towards the youthful man. As the latter gazed into the mana-filled cyan eyes which quickly reverted back to their amethyst color, chills went down his spine.

On one hand, the cyan eyes contained death, destruction, and a thirst for power. However, on the other hand, were the amethyst eyes, which contained tranquility, wisdom, and peace.

Simon quickly turned his head away, but Alex did not waver. The latter maintained a cold expression as he scrutinized the former with deep suspicion.

"W–Why don't we introduce each other?" Simon quickly thought of words to end the awkward silence and to try to stray Alex's eyes away from him. "It'll be nice to get to know each other."

"Sure!" A cheerful voice stated in an innocent tone. It was a girl no older than 16 with a face capable of swaying even the sturdiest of hearts. She wore a clean school uniform with no stains of blood and stood in a seductive position.

'Did she not fight at all?' Alex wondered as he scrutinized her appearance. His first thought was that she might have changed her clothes, but the fact that no blood remained even on her overly exposed skin was worrying. 'Is she that strong or was she at the back the entire time? That doesn't explain how she avoided all the predators, though.'

"I'm Sarah Garcia," The girl said in a somewhat enthusiastic tone, in contradiction to the heavy atmosphere. "Nice to meet you all."

Many directed gazes of discomfort and irritation towards the girl, but Sarah paid them no mind, waiting for the others to introduce themselves. Finally, after a couple of minutes of waiting patiently, a middle-aged man stepped up. "I'm Jimmy Hayes."

"I'm Alex Horatius," Alex said in a bold tone. "Why aren't you guys introducing yourselves? Do you want to die due to lack of cooperation?"

Although hesitant, the others eventually introduced themselves, even going as far as to state what style of combat they are proficient in. Alex commented inwardly on how people in this timeline were much more flexible and had the capability to adapt, unlike his previous life.

'Is it because of my interference?' He wondered. However, could there be that much of a difference? Was the flow of time so fragile?

*

After the introductions, the team members exchanged supplies before lining up before the amethyst portal. Alex gazed at the portal with hungry eyes, as he desperately needed Stones of Soma to heal his injuries.

He did not trust his teammates one bit, as they had all directed negative intent towards him. Since he could not rely on them, healing his injuries needed to be his ultimate priority, so that he could display his full power when needed.

Alex took a glance at Durendal before letting out a subtle smile. 'This boosts my combative abilities at least 1.5x.'

The sword seemed to have a faint ego, which was important since it could choose when to display its full potential. Alex had also noticed a unique quality of the sword, which was the utilization of excess mana to completely eradicate the opponent.

Durendal did not just leave cuts on its master's foe. No, it absolutely demolished the enemy's body until it was unrecognizable. It was an explosion of sorts without the need for gunpowder. All you needed was a tiny bit of excess mana, which every person releases after gaining the ability to store mana.

The amethyst portal released lilac flames as they crackled. Bryxton Tower quickly became tumultuous as the members of the teams gazed at the raging flames with fearful eyes. The lilac flames dimmed as they began spinning counter-clockwise, encompassing the portal.

[Go on, everybody.]

The djinn said, a gentle smile plastered on its face. Hearing his words, the survivors entered the portals one by one. As their figures disappeared into nothingness, many attempted to look behind the portal to see if they had passed through. However, all that remained of them was stale air.

As Alex entered the portal, his five senses were dulled immediately. His mana was nullified, while his body was suppressed. The state only lasted for a couple of seconds, as he quickly emerged from a dark hole.

Alex found himself alongside his teammates in what seemed to be a lush forest. As he calmly observed his surroundings, he noticed the freshness of the leaves and grass. Even the air around him was fresh and mixed with the scent of mint.

"Is this the dungeon we're supposed to conquer?" Simon asked no one in particular as he scratched his head in perplexion. "Doesn't this look more like a regular forest? Aren't dungeons supposed to be dark and filled with monsters?"

"You've read too much fiction," A nameless man replied coldly. "Isn't it nice that the dungeon isn't too dangerous? Are you a masochist?"

"What are we supposed to conquer in a damned forest, huh?" Simon shot back, directing a glare at the nameless man, who shrunk back. "The djinn told us to conquer the dungeon, but if there's nothing to conquer but trees and leaves, what's the point?"

"Maybe you should think from the perspective of a regular human instead of a fantasy-addicted maniac," The nameless man responded, despite knowing Simon could easily wipe the floor with him. "I'm guessing you don't have a girlfriend."

At those words, Simon lunged forward, preparing a punch using all his strength. Alex was amused as he watched the scuffle, carrying a subtle smile on his face.

The punch landed on the nameless man's cheek and he fell backwards. Fortunately, his back suffered the impact instead of his head, as the latter colliding with the ground would have caused a deep injury.

Sarah interjected herself between the two as the nameless man recovered from the shock. As the latter raised his head and prepared to stand up, a slithery noise emerged from the ground beneath.

A rat the size of a bobcat emerged from the soil as it gobbled the head of the nameless man. The nameless man struggled as he desperately tried to free his head, but to no avail, as the rat inevitably clenched its teeth, ending the life of the man.

A stream of hot, viscous liquid escaped from the rat's mouth. No one dared move as the rat chewed the man's head, displaying its pleasure using dog-like methods such as wagging its tail.

Alex immediately unsheathed Durendal, beheading the rat in a matter of seconds. "These are slaves of a species higher ranked on the food chain."

The others were too stunned to speak as they directed bewildered stares at the rat, the corpse of the nameless man, and then Alex. Simon trembled as he stared at his own hands, guilt practically overflowing from his body.

"Did I… murder him?" He asked no one in particular as he collapsed on his knees. Simon buried his head into the ground as soft wails were heard by the others.

Alex only spared a glance at the man before inspecting the corpse of the rat. "I know what species we have to face."

"What species?" Sarah asked in a concerned tone as she patted Simon's back. Alex grimaced before muttering…

"Elves."