It only gets worse...

Quiet it was as Eren found himself huddled in a corner of the cave, staring at the exit with narrowed eyes and clenched fists. The cave was absurdly cold, and with his previously drenched clothes, he felt as though he might freeze at any moment.

Yet, he still couldn't afford to take his eyes off the cave's exit. If he said they had always been at the top of the leaderboard for bad luck, he would be speaking for both himself and Arael.

It sometimes seemed as though luck had a grievance against him, as things ALLLLLLWAYS seemed to enjoy going south whenever he was involved.

"OH GREAT…" he muttered sarcastically as he heard a low growl emanating from outside the cave.

He definitely needed to find out what luck had against him, or he would be toast sooner or later.

"Growls…" The vibration of the growl intensified, growing louder.

At this point, Eren could make out what appeared to be a huge shadow on the stone wall across from him. It looked like the shadow of a beast standing on all fours.

"Tsk… This is going to be problematic," Eren muttered as he suddenly realized his blunder. Mana beasts had a… well, if it could be called a sixth sense, it had to do with sensing the surrounding mana. What Eren realized was that he had exposed his location with his constant use of mana to create an array. So hiding here was no different from handing whatever that beast was a menu with his name boldly written on it.

"I have to get out of here," he muttered, sweeping his gaze around the cave. It was then he noticed something. "Wait a minute… was that… always there?" he asked under his breath, raising his brows as he stared at what appeared to be an opening leading deeper into the cave.

He glanced once more at the shadow, which seemed to be enlarging on the cold stone wall across from him. Then he looked again at the opening in the distance. He alternated his gaze several times before heaving a deep sigh.

"Fuck this," he said, steeling his resolve as he dashed toward the opening with all his might. But then he realized something.

'Why am I… still here?'

Yes…

The young man found himself unable to move. It felt as though he was…

…Frozen in place.

"SHIT!" he roared in frustration, but that only brought instant regret.

"Oh… No,"

Was all he could say as he stared at the abomination before him.

Faceless.

That was the best description. A faceless abomination made of nothing but tentacles. There were no eyes, no mouth, no body… well, if you could call the huge mass of tentacles a body.

"SHIT, WHAT A FREAK!,"

Well…

He didn't actually mean to say it that way, but…

Yeah… he did, and it seemed to piss off the beast.

"ROAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" roared the monstrosity as the mass of tentacles that seemed to be its face opened up. Eren felt an instant chill race down his spine, gazing at what was before him.

It was like a tunnel made of teeth.

Disgusting…

It was utterly mind-ripping.

"No…" Eren muttered as he felt a sensation he had only experienced once before in his life. A feeling he hated the moment he felt it.

The feeling…

…of fear.

"Urgh," he shuddered as goosebumps rippled through his body.

In that split second, he graduated from a complete novice in mana manipulation to a grandmaster. What little mana had found its way into his mana pool was instantly channeled through his muscles and veins. At that moment, a power unlike anything he had ever felt before surged through him.

And…

He ran.

He ran…

…For his dear life.

"ROAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

To this even the cave shook tremendously, a testament to the beast's unfathomable power.

To this, Eren found himself running deeper into the cave.

But at this point....

... It seemed things were only going to get worse.