Dungeon

Draco stepped out of the portal, scrutinizing his surroundings.

For now, there were no monsters around, letting him take a deep breath.

The dungeon resembled an extremely narrow cave. In front of them, there were three identical paths leading into darkness. Despite not seeing any monsters in sight, Draco could feel the dangerous aura in the air.

He once again reminded himself to stay cautious.

Yes, he was strong, but not invincible.

While Draco was still looking around, Jamie raised his hand into the air.

"I would like to have everyone's attention, please." He said, taking away everyone from their thoughts. "Since we only have some hours to spend here, I would suggest going forward immediately."

Draco smirked. Jamie's personality was perfectly fit for a leader since he was both strong and smart. As Draco predicted, no one faced any objections to him taking control and simply listened.

Xander and Sarah said nothing, either.

Perhaps Sarah could be fit for this position, but Xander wasn't the brightest.

"There are three paths, so I think the most logical choice would be to split into three teams. We don't want anyone to have any major injuries, or even...deaths." Jamie especially noted the last part, making those five others students clench their weapons more tightly. Except for Mark, he still showed indifference.

"Xander and Sarah will go to the left. Me, Cassie, and Draco will go in the middle. The five of you will go right. Is that alright with everyone?"

No one proposed any other ideas since every team was well balanced. Maybe putting Xander and Sarah on one team wasn't the best choice, since they weren't really on good terms. Though, as the future leaders of their guilds, they naturally had enough competence to not cause any troubles during dungeon training.

"Alright." Jamie nodded, summoning two daggers in his hand. "Then let's not waste any more time and go. Everyone come back here in 3 hours."

As Jamie and his sister turned around, Draco joined them while everyone else dispersed according to the teams. Before long, they had already disappeared into the dungeon's darkness, preparing for the battle.

"Whooh... that went better than expected. I thought at least someone would oppose my ideas." Jamie's demeanor completely changed now that there were only three of them. Though he didn't relax, since they were in a dungeon.

"Who would dare oppose you? You are the son of a mayor." Draco commented, taking out his weapon from the dimensional space, also preparing to hunt monsters.

Cassie, who was hiding beside Jamie, also nodded at Draco's comment.

"Well, I guess you are right," Jamie admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Is that a new sword? Where did you get the money?"

"Stole it." Draco calmly stated, causing Jamie to crack an uncomfortable smile. He didn't pry the matter further, knowing that everyone had their own secrets, him as well.

Little did he know it was partly true.

"Brother." Cassie's weak voice reached Draco's ears as he glanced forth. An orc. A huge green figure with pointed ears and teeth sticking. He held onto a club while looking around viciously as if searching for something with his red eyes.

His eyes landed on their group as he shouted ferociously, not thinking for a second, before rushing to them like a wild beast. Draco didn't move, glancing at Jamie and Cassie, who were all ready to take him on.

It happened in a matter of a few seconds.

Jamie blocked the orc's club with his two short swords while Cassie circled the enemy, cutting his weak spot with her own sword. She was like a black panther, moving swiftly, silently.

The orc was [F-] rank.

That's why this duo was so scary when they operated together. While one distracted the enemy, the other one would deal an immense amount of damage. Their martial technique heavily relied on the openings provided by each other.

"That was quick," Draco noted, clapping a few times as if in admiration. He could have dealt with this orc much faster, though. Hell, will all the skills and [Thunder's Wrath] he could probably take on [F+] ranks without too much trouble.

The boss of the dungeon, who would be [E] ranked, would pose much more problems. Though, if all five of them were together, the job would be done. Angelica just didn't want any unnecessary injuries that could hinder their growth.

"Thank you." Jamie smiled, touching the orc's body as it disappeared into his dimensional space. They would later dismantle the body and search for any cores. Now wasn't the time for such a tedious job.

Their hunting progressed further without any problems. They seldom met any orcs, and most of them were alone or in groups of two.

Jamie and Cassie did most of the job, while Draco only helped when it was getting troublesome. That feeling like something bad was going to happen didn't disappear, so Draco tried to converse as much power as possible. He had to be ready.

Besides, it wasn't like the twins had any objections.

On the other hand, they showed enthusiasm when going into battle.

"It's about time we head back. Others should also be moving already." Jamie shoved another body into his ring while Draco and Cassie nodded.

Barely half an hour later, they came out of their path. Others were yet to come. Draco scrutinized his surroundings intently, not noticing any changes. He managed to relax a bit as he neared the portal.

'Wait.' Draco halted his steps as he looked down. Then he saw it, debris that wasn't there before. His eyes dialed as he promptly stretched his neck, glancing at the ceiling.

Tens of mana bombs were glued to the ceiling.

"Run to the portal!" Draco shouted without a moment of thinking.

However, he was too late.

As if responding to his voice, the bombs blew up at the same time, creating an immense shock wave that hit Draco like a tsunami. The ceiling crumbled, and large pieces of stone started to fall upon them.

Keeping himself composed, Draco took another glance at the surroundings. The portal was too far away to reach. Going back to that path was the only choice he had been left with.

However.

If Draco did so, Jamie and Cassie, who were walking in the front, wouldn't make it. He couldn't just let these two die. They would be valuable in the future. Clicking his tongue, Draco activated [Berserker].

As Jamie and Cassie finally started running back to the path they came back from, they suddenly felt a hand grabbing them both by their collars. Applying mana to his hand, Draco threw them with everything that he got and they hit the ground with immense impact. The ground beneath crumbled slightly, but they were indeed back in the secure zone.

"No!" Jamie reacted promptly, understanding what had happened. He looked towards Draco's figure, which was far away, as suddenly a huge rock fell against the ground, raising dust into the air.

He could no longer see what was happening, nor could he see Draco anywhere.

"Just what the hell is happening!?" Jamie shouted in desperation, channeling his mana into his fist as he propelled it into the rock that was in the way. Upon the impact, it cracked in the middle, however, it was far from breaking apart.

Blood fell from Jamie's hand.

His arm stung.

With the pain, however, came the realization...

"This can't be true?" Jamie asked himself, feeling the shaking of the ground finally halting. Out of desperation, he punched the rock once again, and again, and again, until it eventually shattered into pieces.

Unfortunately, he saw nothing that would answer his questions, only more rocks of an even bigger size. He felt weak in his legs as he leaned against the wall, blood covering the ground.

"Brother... is Draco dead?" Cassie asked, her eyes visibly shaking. Looking at the blocked path and her brother, who ignored her question and dazedly stared at the ground, she felt strange emotions arising from deep within her.

It was as if a lump was stuck in her throat. She never was a talkative person, but it felt like she couldn't speak now even if she wanted to. There was probably no way that Draco could have survived this ordeal.

"How did fucking mana bombs appear on the ceiling?" Jamie grabbed into his hair, almost ripping it out. "Who is that fucking traitor?"

Intense killing escaped from his body.