A SHADOW

"Dammit, I couldn't pass the third floor," Jake complained as he came out of the pagoda with an exhausted expression.

"Jake!!, come take a look at Dave's battle!" Viona screamed while waving her hands for Jake to see. Jonah and Miranda were seen behind her as they looked at the viewing crystals as the latter had a look of respect on his face while the latter had a look of disbelief on hers.

"Looks like I loosed to him again" Jake muttered as he approached Viona's group with a defeated look on his face.

But when he turned to watch Dave's battle on the screen, his expression quickly turned to disbelief as he thought.

'This boy is really a monster'

Dave right now is facing the two middle phases of Rank C beasts in simple close combat and he wasn't in a passive state!

'I can't last like this for long, Time to end this' Dave thought while using one of his ranked weapons to block the attack of the two beasts. After defending against those attacks, he suddenly into a trail of light as he gave a 30 meters distance between him and the beasts.

<LIGHT FLASH>

'What are you going to do now' Austin thought as he watched Dave with the utmost attention. After seeing how Dave cleared the two floors easily, Austin began to regard him as his rival.

'Be one with darkness' Dave thought as he relaxed his body with his eyes closed while slowly raising the two sabers in his hand. The two beasts were fast approaching Dave but he seems to be ignoring them as he entered into a peculiar state.

But right when the beast could lift the claws to attack Dave, he suddenly moved.

<ENERGY MOVE:DARK IMPACT>

No one seems to see when Dave activated that spell. All they could see was Dave moving a little bit before stopping there. But what made them believe that something has happened was that when Dave moved, the beasts suddenly paused in the offensive.

After some seconds of silence, a loud explosion suddenly rang out on the fourth floor as the two beasts Dave was facing suddenly disappeared.

"What just happened?" asked Jake with a bewildering expression on his face while looking at the viewing crystal. Not only him but almost everyone in front of the pagoda had a bewildering expressions on their faces.

'How is this possible!?' Austin screamed in his mind as he had a shocked expression on his face. He was the only student in that area that seems to understand what Dave has done.

'This is unexpected' Mr. Lucas said with a surprised expression on his face. He also saw what Dave did in the fight against the two beasts.

"You have cleared the third floor, proceed to the next floor?"

While preparing himself for the imminent clash, he replied to the message he heard in his mind.

"Of cause"

Suddenly, a light enveloped Dave as he vanished from the third floor. But right when Dave vanished from the third floor, the pagoda began to shake as the runes on it dimmed till no light came out of it at all.

'What is going on here?' Mr. Lucas said with a confused expression on his face while trying to use his mind to find out what is going on inside.

But before his mind could get into the pagoda, an ominous and suffocating aura suddenly covered the pagoda completely while spreading towards the students in front of it.

"Shit" cursed Mr. Lucas with a panicked expression on his face as he vanished from where he was and appeared in front of the students who had panicked and frightened expressions on their faces.

But before they could ask Mr. Lucas what was going on, he suddenly activated a spell that covered the students with a dome made of ice.

<ICE BARRIER>

"Sir Lucas, can you please tell us what is going on?" Viona suddenly asked with a frightened expression on her face. After glancing at the students behind him and feeling that he should give them an answer, he answered with a solemn expression that was on his face since when he activated the spell.

"Humans' greatest enemy is right in front of us in that pagoda. Get ready for anything unexpected that might happen"

Surprised gasps can be heard from all around the ice dome as the students frightened expressions intensified while bringing out their various weapons with trembling hands.

'Please be ok' Viona thought as she brought out her cannon with a worried look Mr. Lucas close to her brought out a communicator and began to report what has happened in his gathering area.

"Where am I?" Dave asked with a confused expression on his face while looking at where he was currently in. Where he is seemed to be a void since everywhere he looked is covered with a pitch black color.

"Hey!, Dave!" a voice suddenly rang out in the distance. When Dave turned to see who had that voice, he saw a familiar boy running toward him.

"Muzi, do you know what is going on here?" Dave asked as Muzi stood right in front of him. But unfortunately, he shakes his head as he replied.

"I have no idea"

"I might know what Is going on here" another voice suddenly rang out in the void. But its tone was deep and mysterious.

"Who Is there?" Dave suddenly asked as both he and Muzi entered their battle stance with the former holding his sabers while the latter holding a broadsword.

"Greetings, your highness" that same voice spoke as a shadow suddenly formed in front of Dave and Muzi. it was completely black as only his crimson red eyes were seen in the void.

"Who are you?" Dave asked while staring at the eyes in front of him with killing intent leaking from his body. But the shadow didn't seem to care as it replied amusedly

"Me? Am just a shadow"

(To be continued...)