A Lake

The group stopped running when they reached the 14th cave they were supposed to search for a Spirit Fox Gem. They entered and settled just beside the entrance. Everyone was panting from overexertion. Thankfully, they did not encounter more beasts along the way that could potentially slow them down.

"Beasts will start heading our way in a few more minutes, we better rest well," Aeon said.

He settled Samuel down in the center of the area then he leaned on the cave wall. The run wasn't much for him, but he was carrying another person. Moreover, the person he was carrying was extremely heavy, especially with his gear. Almost all of his equipment was made of metal.

Typical Earth Serans.

It was was still early in the morning, so the mouth of the cave was brightly lit. After Selena recovered, she headed deeper into the cave together with Levi in order to check for any lurking monsters. Nothing was worse than being ambushed, especially when they would be fighting against the beasts to come.

The two returned after a few minutes. They did not return because the checking was complete. They returned because the cave was too big to explore. Bigger caves tend to house bigger beasts. It wouldn't be safe to survey it with just two people.

Ultimately, the group decided to lock the rest of the cave by having Korona erect an Ice Wall and postpone the checking. In no time, the wall was finished. Not only did it provide protection, but it also filled the small space where they were staying with cool air in such a hot morning.

"Yo, does this mean we're giving up on the last two items and just search for the Spirit Fox Gem?" Aeon asked as he stood up. He brushed off the dirt on his pants then approached the unconscious Samuel. For sure, they won't be able to search with a liability around. Unless Samuel wakes up or they return him to camp, they won't be going anywhere.

"If we want to give up on the grass, too, then that's a yes," Levi replied.

"Can't we just say that we coincidentally bumped into it?" Korona chimed in.

Levi took out the jar that held the glass. It was full of fertile soil and the blue grass sat comfortably on top. Its roots firmly housed by the soil. He did not respond. It looked like he was thinking about something.

"Well, Klaus has been on to us since Dan returned, so I guess that's not possible," Aeon said casually.

Aeon had always been keen. He did not miss Klaus' staring at them at least once a day whenever they went back to the camp. He was also always curious about which item they brought in and in which areas they got it from. It looked and sounded normal because it could be for recording purposes, but it appeared that he was also cross-checking it with the areas that Dan knew about. Because of this, the group decided to provide some false info that seemed legit.

"I disagree," Selena suddenly said, catching everyone's attention. She flushed, but ultimately, she continued, "maybe we can fake it by not returning for three weeks,"

Selena's comment surprised all of them. For some reason, Selena rarely spoke with them. Most of the time, she only shared her thoughts to Levi. For her to suggest such a bold approach was quite rare.

Staying in an area filled with magical beasts beyond their level for three entire weeks.

How could it not go wrong?

Aeon thought about this and thought that it would get through Klaus. As long as they take good care of the Sapphiric Witch Grass and none of the other teams saw them, then it might pass. The other teams really might assume that they were staying deeper into the forest. However, staying in areas beyond what they could hypothetically handle… it reeks of trouble.

Hearing this, Suri and Korona eased themselves on the cave wall and sighed. They had been prepared about not returning to camp for at least two weeks, but staying in an area where magical beasts didn't fight amongst each other made them quite anxious. The next thing they knew, those beasts would be playing hopscotch.

Suddenly, Suri had the urge to ask Aeon about a certain matter. He looked at Aeon whom he met eyes with and asked, "By the way, what exactly happened back there?"

Aeon smiled crookedly and started narrating the details.

….

About an hour ago.

When Suri and Korona asked Aeon to follow Levi and Selena, he entered the hole. Inside was pitch black so Aeon couldn't run at full speed. He had to touch the walls as he moved forward. He noticed that the path was leading upwards based on the tilt of the ground. The path didn't have any twists and turns, so he did not have any problems with catching up with Levi and Selena.

After a few minutes, they found each other, and Aeon immediately got a scolding from Levi. He was supposed to be the person who would alert them if anything happened down below by screaming into the hole. Now, because no one was reassigned with the task, they would be in a pickle when Suri and Korona encounter trouble. They couldn't do anything about that anymore so they moved forward at a steady pace.

The small group continued tracing the path, and they were inwardly amazed at how the path was made. It must have taken tons of magic power in order to create such a long tunnel inside the wall. Also, based on the wall's condition outside, the wolf did not even notice Samuel entering it. If it did, the walls would have been devastated up to some extent. Maybe he was able to distract the wolf for a moment, then just disappeared from its sight.

The three basked in their own thoughts when they suddenly saw a light.

It was extremely bright. After closing in, they realized that they were already on top of the wall. Beside the hole they climbed out from, a person was lying on the ground. It was Samuel. They were relieved, but they were already prepared for it. The tunnel gave it away.

Aeon and Levi immediately treated Samuel's wounds. After some time, however, before they could finish the treatment, they heard Selena shriek. The two looked up and saw the shocked expression on Selena's face. Aeon left the treatment to Levi and rushed beside Selena who was standing near the cliff.

What he saw stunned him.

The top of the wall provided a great view of the forest, and it was way above the towering trees. It was able to clearly show where the inland bodies of water, hills, and clearings.

One particular lake caught their attention, though.

The lake was surrounded by a horde of unmoving magical beasts. They could not tell what they were doing exactly. They were just there, staring off into space. Beasts of different kinds stood next to each other peacefully instead of burying their fangs in each other's necks. The site was disgusting, but it would pique any intellectual's interest.

It would have ended there when suddenly, the beasts started leaving the area. Moreover, one particular beast, a bluish-grey wolf with unusually large forelegs stared straight at Aeon and Selena. The two immediately looked at each other and saw the surprise and horror on the other person's face.

Aeon rushed towards Levi and went back in assisting him in order to speed up the treatment process. They also made sure that Samuel's body was ready for relocation. Thankfully, a mage's body was tougher than a normal person, and the treatment ended quickly.

Selena was on the cliff to monitor the beasts' movements. She screamed at Aeon and Levi when the wolf moved. Several trees started falling down. They couldn't see it, but they knew what it was trying to do.

It was heading in their direction.

Aeon put Samuel on his back and started running down the hole. The other two followed. Selena's fireball provided enough light for Aeon to see the turns inside the hole as he ran in front. When he saw the light of the exit, he rushed at a higher speed.

The entire group was then reunited.

….

"But we didn't tell you to head up th��"

"And that's how the story ended," Aeon nodded with his hands crossed in front of his chest. He paid no attention to Suri's comment. "Thankfully, the wolf was slower than it should be. Maybe because of its unusually large forelegs."

"What do we do now? We now know that they don't end at a particular time. It was only a coincidence that their 'meeting' lasted for half a day when Samuel's group was in the area," Korona commented.

Levi was about to respond when they started hearing footsteps. The footsteps did not belong to humans. The beasts that lived around the area finally arrived.

Immediately, they leaned flat on the wall to avoid catching any unwanted attention. They kept as silent as possible.

Rumble! Rumble!

The ground shook as dozens of beasts passed by the cave they were hiding in.

Based on the average size of the beasts around the area, their group could only take on three at the same time. The difficulty for them would increase for every beast that added after that because they only had two Serans.

Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub.

Each of them could hear their heartbeat inside their chest. All of the beasts that passed by had extremely strong bases. Bulls, rhinos, bears, wild cats, and many more. This was the primary reason why they estimated the area to be beyond their capabilities. All of the animals there were aggressive.

After a few minutes of being tense, the calm of the forest finally returned, and everybody sighed with relief. They inwardly asked themselves if they could handle such tension every day for three weeks. They were reminded of the reason why they didn't think about the method Selena proposed. It was because staying there for three weeks was practically impossible.

Aeon was about to propose they move deeper inside the cave when it suddenly darkened.

"Who turned out the lights?" Aeon asked as he looked up towards the underground cave entrance.

When his eyes finally settled, he realized that something was blocking the mouth of the cave.

It was a huge face.

A huge face of a fox.

….