Staring up at the ceiling, the light revealed a moving ceiling that was ever-shifting in a giant black mass.
The arrow struck one of the creatures, making it cry out in pain.
All of them covered their ears, the sound of the creature sounding like nails on a chalkboard. A sound that pierced the darkness. Hearing the noise, a rippling was seen along the surface as though all the individual masses were awakened.
"What the fuck did you do, Liam...," Timothy spoke softly, his voice trembling in terror by the sheer number of things beginning to move as they awakened.
A sea of eyes, reflecting the light from the torches were revealed, cascading from the center where the first creature was struck by Liam's arrow.
Somewhere the smell of ammonia wafted through the air in addition to the whimpering of one of the girls.
Han's eyebrows raised, witnessing what they had awakened. "Is this the reason why we didn't encounter any additional monsters? Did we stumble upon these creatures' territory?"
Thinking about what they were going to do, there was a quake as the hallway shook and rumbled. Before they could register what was happening a sound louder and worse than nails on a chalkboard hurtled out from the hallway ahead of them.
It was a sound dreadful enough to make their bones shiver in pain as they flinched.
Tears began streaming down Jae-Hwa's face, without her realizing. When she touched her face, her eyes widened in shock.
"Her senses are likely screaming at her that what she heard would be the cause of her death. The instinct ingrained inside the human body is truly a marvel." Han looked at the woman. "She probably doesn't even realize that her body is trembling uncontrollably," He remarked in his mind. "Though she isn't alone in that aspect." Scanning the group, all of them were scared out of their minds.
With how everyone behaved, it was apparent they wouldn't be able to confront the threat. Closing his eyes, he tried to think about what his move would be to allow everyone to survive.
"I'll need to buy some time," Han grimaced, unhappy to be forced into a corner.
"Boy, if we get out of this alive, I think I might just skin you," Katya's voice was heard, helping to distract the group from the overwhelming fear being felt.
Han grinned when he saw Katya, Ji-Min, Venessa, and Liz had recovered. "I don't know about Katya, but the other three have their experience back in the cave. I guess my investment is starting to bear fruit."
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Ji-Min was alerted to the smell of ammonia in the air by the suit's artificial intelligence. Scowling, she focused on clawing her way back into sanity.
"I won't go back to that pathetic girl in the cave, huddling and waiting for death!" Grinding her teeth, she could taste iron in her mouth.
Her body kept trembling despite her attempt to control her emotions, the suit unable to protect herself against the sound generated by the single creature above them and the sight of all of the monsters beginning to stir and awaken.
Jerkily turning her head, she stared with fury at the boy named Liam, who had foolishly fired a flaming arrow at the ceiling just to sate his curiosity. "I'm going to wring that boy's neck if we get out of this!"
Breathing faster, the terror ran rampant through her body. Everything in her screamed that she needed to run away. The word "SURVIVE" might as well have been flashing in her mind in bold lettering with a blood-red background.
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Sliding out both of her blades from her waist, Ji-Min ignored the way the blades shook.
Looking to Venessa and Liz, "The both of you. If we survived that cave, then we can survive this."
Though both women were shaking as they likely experienced the same thing Ji-Min was feeling, Ji-Min felt a sense of pride well up inside of her as she saw the two grimly nod their heads and took out their weapons.
Both of them had defensive weapons chosen for this simulation, their training after the cave being focused on a mixture of attack through defense.
Venessa had chosen heavy tonfas, a thick steel cylinder with a perpendicular handle. It was a weapon helpful for protecting her arms while having offensive capabilities. There was a long and short section, and the tip of the shorter section had a deadly surprise with the shooting out of a sharp point. Spinning the weapon parallel to her arm, Venessa was able to generate sufficient blunt force damage on an opponent. Each of the steel cylinders was the thickness of her arm while wearing the suit.
Liz detached a weapon that appeared to look like a shield, though the edges of it were sharp as a blade. Using one of her arms, Liz could attach herself to the weapon. It was similar in style to the swords on Katya's arms. The only difference was how Liz could protect her entire body. Its sheer weight was what allowed her to cleave through her opponents.
With the two women working together in tandem, they were able to provide a solid defense for Ji-Min. She purely focused on offense and would be able to dash out form the protective cover provided by the women.
"That woman better appreciate us trying to save her and her team," Katya muttered as both blades on her arms revealed themselves.
Ji-Min grunted, thinking how this world still didn't compare to the two humanoid modified humans they had witnessed that day. It was a grim comfort, knowing that there were things more frightening in their world compared to this one.
"If you're able to get out of this place, along with all of your companions, you may end up remembering this nightmare fondly." Ji-Min grinned, though the woman wouldn't be able to see it with the helmet Ji-Min was wearing currently.
Katya snorted. If there's one thing I've learned is how there's always something more terrifying in the world. If where you all are from is anything like my part of the world, I can only imagine the horrific things we'll encounter.
Though Ji-Min couldn't say she thought the woman, Katya, was a friend, Ji-Min hoped that she would be able to get out of this world. "Feels like someone who'd be fun to hang out with and train next to."
The creatures began lifting themselves off of the ceiling, stretching their bodies and acting similar to how a house cat would behave after taking a long nap.
"It looks like things are about to get started." Ji-Min thought to herself. "Venessa and Liz, remember that our goal is to stay alive. Neither of you is allowed to die in this fucked up place. We can't afford our numbers to dwindle if this is the type of thing we'll be encountering as we search for Katya's comrade!"
"Yes, Ji-Min," Venessa and Liz answered together, their attention focused on the creatures stirring above them.
As Ji-Min was thinking about when the battle would begin, she couldn't help but think of the loud noise they heard deeper in the hallway. What was waiting for them after they survive the shit storm they found themselves in.