Chapter 30

- Be careful," Alice shouted, waving goodbye. Arthur, Tessia, and I got into the carriage, heading back to the academy.

It was snowing outside, so we had to wear warmer clothes to protect ourselves from the wind. Throughout the trip, the Elf kept asking me about the dungeons, which meant I couldn't enjoy the silence, unlike Arthur, who was napping brazenly.

When we reached the rendezvous point, we said hello to our comrades from the DC, shifting our attention to Professor Glori, who was dressed in armor, and looked rather spectacular. After greeting the students, she counted us out, and we walked toward the teleportation gates.

When we reached them, Glori waved at us, signaling for us to go through the gate, having previously negotiated a place to take us to the gatekeeper. After a brief teleport, we were there.

- Welcome! I'm guessing this is the first time most of you guys have been to the Beastfields, right? - The professor grinned.

Lucas stepped forward and stuck out his chest in pride.

- Hmm. I've been here countless times before. I am a class A adventurer after all.

The crowd was impressed by this and began to whisper, making Lucas even more arrogant until Professor Glori intervened in the conversation.

- Oh yes. I heard from Headmistress Goodsky that you really were an adventurer. I was also notified that you were disbarred for secret reasons.

- Pfft. It's all because of that bastard in the mask-unheard from the professor, Lucas muttered to himself.

- Now we're at the edge of the Big Mountain. In a couple of hours, we'll arrive at a famous pub called the Dragon Ridge When I was an adventurer, it was at this pub that I learned all kinds of information about mana beasts and dungeons. But we're going to a pretty weak dungeon, so don't worry. Also, I'll be with you the whole time, but I won't help unless it's really necessary - Professor Glori waved her hand and a small pile of black cloth flew out of her spatial ring.

- You must put these robes on. The dungeon we're going to is called the Crypt of the Widow. It's a simple dungeon, without any traps or mazes, so don't worry, you won't get lost. However, it is very cold, so you will need these robes. For the most part, of all the mana beasts, you will only encounter nasty big creatures called Howlers. There are two types of Howlers that you have to be very careful with, the Handmaidens and the Howler Queen. The Handmaidens are the ones you'll encounter most often. But the Queen's dwelling is on the lower floors, so you won't be able to cross paths with her. Now, you must divide into two teams of five. Except for Aaron, he will be alone, and will be as a support for everyone- Professor Glory finished informing us and took out a small piece of paper from her inside pocket.

- I have already decided how you will be assigned to the teams. Step forward when I call your name. Curtis, Claire, Owen, Marge, and Ethan-you're on the first team-the professor gave them their robes and stepped aside.

- That leaves Arthur, Lucas, Clive, Tessia, and Roland. Any questions? - She asked, pointing to the remaining robes.

"Well, Arthur and Lucas have been assigned to the same team, I don't like that anymore..."

We walked in silence, most of the students afraid of drawing unwanted attention from the mana beasts that might roam nearby. Soon the trees parted and the descent down the slope began.

- Almost there. We'll take a little break near the dungeon, so don't go inside just yet - Professor looked around, called the roll, and one by one we carefully slid down the steep slope leading to the entrance to the dungeon. When we reached the level ground, we slowed down.

- So. Since you're in groups, get to know each other better. You've probably already seen each other in action, but still discuss your strengths and weaknesses. Also, you must choose a leader before we go inside," Glori said, standing on the rock.

The others began to get to know each other while I concentrated on analyzing the dungeon with my perception. The deeper I tried to feel, the more anxious the feeling became. After exploring as much as I could, I went to Glori.

- Professor," she looked back at me with a questioning expression on her face. - Mana beasts in the dungeon behave strangely, howlers usually walk in small groups at most, but never in packs like this.

- Hmm... do you think we should cancel the tour?

- Huh... more likely not than not. - I sighed briefly. - The others will be against it, and if an S-rang Beast mana suddenly appears in an E-rang dungeon, we should be able to defeat it.

- Well, S-rank is overkill, but you're right, still, two A-rank adventurers and one AA-rank dungeon are quite capable of clearing even an A-rank dungeon. - She shrugged, gingerly peering deep into the dark corridors.

"My business is to warn, if only I could find evidence of danger, I could talk the boys into it. Hopefully it'll go okay, in a pinch I can use gravity. But just in case, I used my remaining points to increase Fireball and Earth Spikes to levels ten and nine."

- So, everyone seems to be ready. But first, I want to warn you that the Howlers are acting strangely and have huddled together in packs, so be on your guard. And get ready, it's going to be cold right after we enter! - exclaimed Professor Glori, before stepping inside the cave, which turned out to be a small, narrow staircase descending straight down into the void.

As we lined up, we began to descend the stairs, me trailing behind. With each step, the temperature dropped lower and lower, bringing back memories of my first time in the dungeon.

Soon, we arrived on the first floor. The cave stretched for a good hundred and hundreds of meters. The stone around the edges of the cave glowed with a dim blue light, a thin layer of ice covered the floor, and icicles dangled from the ceiling. When I looked closely, I realized that the cause of the light was the almost transparent moss covering the entire cave.

- It was strange. Usually, you could meet the Howlers here already...

- They're coming! - I felt a burst of mana signatures and drew my tanto.

- GRRRRRR.

- GRRRRRRRRR

- SSSSRRRRRR.

- RAK! RAK!

The disgusting sounds echoed all around us. From behind numerous boulders and small openings, countless red eyes peered out.

Even by mana-beast standards, howlers were hideous. With their thick gray fur, their one and a half meter bodies seemed muscular, reminiscent of shrunken gorillas. Their faces, on the other hand, looked more like those of a boar--long snouts and fangs, bulging red eyes, and wide ears. Looking at the thick, powerful jaws protruding from their snouts, it was hard to see that these mana beasts were merely E-class.

More and more monsters jumped out of their hiding places, snapping their jaws and growling low.

- T-so-m-so many Howlers? - Stuttering, one senior girl muttered.

- There are a lot of them, but they can be handled. - Glory took a step back, looking around anxiously. - But if I feel something is wrong, we'll get out of here immediately. Split into two teams and go through different parts of the floor.

- Ethan, take your team and walk along the left side of the cave. Princess Tessia - lead the group to the corner and take up defensive positions. I'll keep an eye on you, but you be vigilant, too - don't underestimate the Howlers, especially in such numbers. - She looked at me, and briefly nodded.

"If both Lucas and I attack with fire, soon, there won't be anything to breathe around here... we'll have to limit ourselves to earth and gravity." - Reinforcing my reaction with lightning, I rushed forward into a particularly large pile of howlers.

Lots of earth spikes flew around, hitting the monsters approaching me. I wouldn't have been able to do that before, but, with enhanced thinking, and a ninth skill level, I could easily create spikes, setting the angle, shape, and speed of flight that would keep them from hitting allies.

The walls of the cave glowed red and blue as various fire spells flew near them. The howlers tried to surround us, scattering around and keeping their distance, but I thwarted them by breaking up their formation. The beam of fire Lucas had summoned was still spewing streams of fire, but the Howlers were throwing chunks of ice at the fires, hoping to get rid of it.

From time to time I glanced over at the rest of the guys, who were doing pretty well, for their first trip into the dungeon. Arthur, deftly wielded his sword, but it was obvious how much harder it was for him without his two basic elements.

- GRRRRRR!

The particularly nimble Howler, managed to get to me, attacking with his massive paw. I pushed it away from me, sending a beam of lightning in its wake. And I created a lot of big spikes around him, giving the guys a brief respite.

This went on for about twenty minutes. I moved around, waiting for some kind of trick, easily killing mana Beasts, and helping the others as much as I could. Howlers aren't very strong, but thirty minutes of fighting countless hordes had an effect on the students. Clive and Roland were covered in sweat, and Tessia turned a little pale. Even Lucas's spells were much dimmer, which meant that he was almost depleted of his entire mana supply, which was not much less than mine.

- I think we should get back to Professor Glory. We're in no condition to fight anymore! - Tessia shouted.

- Then I'll cover your retreat! - As soon as they were back enough, I created a wall of earth, cutting off the Howlers, who, of course, didn't like it.

That's where I got tense. Dodging the hordes of monsters was tricky, but I managed to do it, and continued on my way.

*BOOM!

I was in the middle of the night, and I was in the middle of the night, and I was in the middle of the night. I was distracted by them, and almost missed a horizontal blow from one of the Howlers, but I blocked it with my tanto in time. The floor beneath me began to crack, and sharply pushing the Howler away, I shot earth spikes around me.

*BUM.

One of the larger stalactites fell, shaking my surroundings, and suddenly, the ground was out from under me, revealing a view of a deep hole. Before my body was halfway down, a platform of mana appeared beneath my feet.

Suddenly, I felt a blow to the back of my head, and my eyes went black.