Tepo and Varei were on high alert. Their thoughts raced, blood boiled in their bodies, ready for a fight to the death.

But a moment later their eyes cleared up. They found themselves in a bright room, mirrors surrounding them. Tepo stood on the floor, Varei still holding his shoulders.

In his surprise the dragon spirit skipped one flap of its wings, dropping, and almost throwing Tepo to the ground.

“Hey!”

The sudden movement allowed both warriors to come back to their senses. Realization settled in their minds.

Tepo smiled awkwardly, letting out a whisper:

“Water counts as a reflective surface…”

Varei let out a cough, not commenting. He was somewhat annoyed that his brain was always slower than Tepo’s.

“We were quite lucky there. But now we know what we’re dealing with. Let’s report to the church and let them deal with the beast.”

“What? After the way they treated us, you want to hand everything over to them?”

Tepo was surprised by Varei’s strong refusal.

“Do you have another idea? This beast obviously won’t let us reach the shore.”

“Then let’s find a way! The beast wasn’t that powerful. High-ranked acolyte at most. We have even won against a low-ranked ascendant!”

Tepo fell silent as he pondered, gauging their chances.

He couldn’t take the guardian as benchmark, since they had all advantages on their side at that time. Strictly speaking, they were even far from killing the guardian, only winning because the test stage judged that the guardian was defeated.

But still, listening to his instincts, Tepo also felt as if the beast in the water wasn’t all that powerful.

“We don’t necessarily need to kill that beast. If we can distract it, someone can solve the dungeon.”

“But who? I assume you won’t ask Yerive. Are you counting on your dormmates?”

“I guess they are our only options. I don’t even know their strength, but they are still students at the forum. They won’t be too weak.”

“I don’t know. Students don’t seem that impressive to me so far.”

Tepo raised his brow eyeing Varei with a dangerous look.

“Apart from you, of course!”

The spirit chuckled awkwardly as he placated his partner. Tepo let out an amused smile as well before bringing the conversation back on track:

“So, what do you think?”

“I guess we don’t have many options. Let’s inform your dormmates and hope for the best.”

“Alright.”

Tepo nodded his head as he took out two bundles of clothes.

“What is this?”

“Earrings. If you are in danger, you can use them to transport away.”

“Clever!”

After the short discussion, the duo quickly returned to the portal room. They waited for a while before Quordh and Shorey appeared as well.

Dragging them to another room, Tepo quickly informed his dormmates of the plan.

The two young men had thoughtful expressions.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Mate, are you sure you can deal with this beast?”

“Yes.”, spoke Tepo in a tone portraying more confidence than he really had.

“I’m ok with it, but cutey, why don’t you just report to the church? Why continue doing the dirty work for them?”

“Two reasons. On one hand I don’t want to crawl to them and ask for help, on the other I don’t want everything to fall into their hands.”

Shorey and Quordh both looked somewhat confused at Tepo.

“What exactly are you talking about?

It was Varei who answered with a sneaky smile:

“Although we only saw the island for a short time, it’s obvious that it is full of treasures. We can finally get our reward for solving the dungeon!”

Immediately Shorey’s and Quprdh’s eyes lit up. Naturally they were also frustrated, working for the church without any payment.

“So, what do you say guys?”

“Mate, do you even need to ask? Of course we will help you.”

“Mhm.”

The four young men smiled at each other. They were about to start a difficult fight, but no one backed down.

Tepo also gave his two dormmates some pieces of jewelry for safety before setting up another bottle of water.

“Everyone ready?”

The men nodded at each other with solemn faces.

“Good. We then we will go in!”

Tepo and Varei took deep breaths before reaching out with their arms and touching the prepared ring.

Immediately they found themselves back on the island. The soil was still muddy and wet, a few flowers on the island obviously destroyed by the flood.

This time the two warriors didn’t wait for the beast to appear. Just as planned Tepo immediately took out his flying ship. The duo hopped in, shooting into the air.

A deafening roar shook the ship. The ocean churned.

The beast’s head appeared on the water surface; sharp eyes focused on the flying object.

Tepo controlled his ship to fly away from the statue. They flashed through the air at high speeds.

All of a sudden, a massive fountain broke out of the water’s surface.

But this time Tepo was prepared, dodging at first notice.

The ship proved highly agile, shooting past the water seeking to rip it apart.

A growl spreads through the air. The beast dove down again.

Tension ran through Tepo’s and Varei’s bones. For a moment no sound could be heard from the ocean surface.

But suddenly their eyes bulged as a massive wave formed in front of them.

Compared to every other wave so far, this wave was at least ten times taller, reaching the room’s high ceiling. It felt like a world ending catastrophe.

Right at this moment, Shorey and Quordh also arrived on the island.

They already knew their jobs, taking out their own ships without even scanning the surroundings.

Only as they shot into the sky and acknowledged the enormous commotion reaching their ears, did they dare to turn their heads and look at the massive wall of water.

The two men’s heart skipped a few beats. But luckily Tepo had already warned them beforehand. Thus, they didn’t hesitate and immediately fulfilled their assigned tasks, relieved as the wave wasn’t targeting them.

Within Tepo’s ship however, the mood was tense. Varei stared at the wave with a wide-open mouth.

“Tepo! Do something!”

“F*ck! I’m trying!”

But the beast wasn’t as stupid as one might imagine. Its attack was well placed, cutting off Tepo’s path of retreat.

“Ahhh!”

Varei let out a loud scream as he watched the white foamy top of the water break above them. Gritting his teeth, Tepo tore his ship around.

The two men were pressed into their seats, foamy water splashed behind the ship, as Tepo surfed along the wave.

Surrounded by water, the duo saw the quickly closing opening before them. The scene was as beautiful as it was dangerous.

In his heart Tepo thanked Anvil for building him such a fast ship as they were just about to make it out.

But suddenly a vicious maw erupted out of the water, seeking to devour the ship in one gulp.

However, Tepo only grinned. He was already prepared as he used [Time Dilation: Target] to speed up the ship again.

Consuming a good chunk of his mental strength, Tepo managed to avoid the beast, leaving the area influenced by the wave.

“Great! Ha! Well done, Tepo!”

“Don’t be complacent. Let’s fire back!”

Suddenly Tepo turned the ship, aiming for the large, grey scaled back still visible on the water surface.

The ship’s cockpit opened.

Bang!

Two bullets shot through the air. Tepo had prepared in advance, taking some of the rare bullets Anvil had forged for him.

The tiny pieces of metal appeared insignificant in the backdrop of the large body. But their effect wasn’t bad.

Crashing into the scales, the bullets shattered, shooting out bolts of lightning.

The mighty electrical energy instantly engulfed the wet beast’s body and even spread in the water.

“ROAA!”

A pained sound escaped the beast’s mouth.

Varei grinned confidently.

“Let me show you a real roar!

ROOOOAAAARRR!”

The dragon spirit’s small mouth suddenly let out a brutal roar. It had the power to shake body and spirit.

This was Varei’s [Roar of the Dragon Spirit], a monstrous nine-runed spell feared in the World of Spirits.

The beast’s body shook, as some scales on its back cracked, traces of blood clearly visible.

However, compared to the size of its body these injuries were minimal. They only served to anger the beast.

The earlier wave hadn’t even revealed its entire strength yet when it suddenly compressed, forming an elongated wave. It picked up the beast’s body, letting it surf on the water surface, chasing after Tepo and Varei at high speeds.

Taking a deep breath, Tepo hastily controlled his ship to escape. He looked over his shoulder, getting a good look at the beast for the first time.

Unsurprisingly it looked identical to the one depicted by the statue. With a long grey body, a large tailfin, and four legs close to its body, muscular and ending in claws with webs between them.

Between its two blue eyes grew a sharp horn, which was now aimed at Tepo. Even from a distance the incredibly sharp tip sent a shiver down his spine.