FVR

Chapter Twenty One.

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The mouth of the mine dripped with an oily substance that hit the ground with a sticky plop, a stark contrast to the patter sound of the rain outside. Joel placed the ore Ali had given him into his trouser pocket, then found the resolve to put one foot in front of the other.

Knowing that the wave had begun placed a lump in his throat and a pin in his heart. Survive, Joel, he told himself, remembering why he had joined the trial. However you can, survive. Ali's words echoed in his mind; channel your one mana into it. Think protect, and the shield shall activate. This is not the time to risk it all.

The storm raged on behind him as he walked down the slight slope. He followed the tracks of the mine carts forwards; their raised, polished grooves etched into the rock, caught the vestiges of light from outside as they guided his path forward. Shattered glass lined the ground from broken lanterns, their oil pooled down like bloodied tears on the uneven floor. Joel made sure not to step on any glass he saw, but the further he walked, the harder it became to see.

His breathing rose with every step as the light diminished. He walked on top of the tracks, using the feel of the metal underfoot to guide his way.

Each step echoed with a dense, sharp thud that mingled with the distant rumble of thunder.

The shaft descended gently until it bent to the right and into a pitch-black tunnel. The darkness and the cold greeted him like an old friend as a sense of claustrophobia hung its fingertips on his shoulders. Every step shuffled him forwards slowly, every faint noise rang with a potential threat.

His heart pounded as he completely lost any sense of Beatrice or Damon, but he still pressed onward, certain of their presence. Memories of his recent descent into the unknown with Fluffy shone brightly in his mind as darkness painted his vision. Who knew I'd look back on that fondly... He pondered for a moment on the feeling of fear, and the peace of hindsight. For all he knew, he'd make it through this wave as easily as the previous one, and he'd look back on it tomorrow with the same sense of relief he feels over his time with Fluffy. The thought brought an invisible tear to his eye as his doubt consumed him. In the darkness, his mind shone with thought. He pictured Fluffy, and remembered the loneliness he felt having to leave him, then found solace in what little training Aurora had given him, and the knowledge that the people he followed were likely very strong. The thought calmed him slightly as he continued to use the tracks to guide his way.

The smell of damp earth began to assail his sense as he continued on. Raised earth suddenly stubbed his toes. He stretched out a single mana and touched the space below him, immediately helping him find his balance. The ground had traces of mana that shone in his mind like stars reflected on a body of water, sending a wavy but clear image into his mind. The ground looked bumpy, with sharp spears of dirt protruding upwards. Once the ground levelled out again, and not wanting to drain his mana, he allowed the single - extended - bead to dissolve, and then relied only on the guidance of the track as it smoothed back out.

Finally, after a long descent and another bend, light returned from an unbroken lantern that illuminated a widening tunnel. As the light returned to his eyes, his belief had been vindicated - he saw Beatrice, Damon, Gareth, and Theo, all but a meter in front of him, each one alert to their surroundings.

Beatrice had come to a halt, lost in a thought that trapped her in place.

"Mana sense?" Damon asked.

Beatrice's voice sounded strained as she replied, like the creaking of a weathered hinge. Each word she spoke scratched with a pained discomfort. "From here, it should be internal only. Keep mana shields above ground and to your own."

"Internal only?" Joel asked. His question seemed to catch the others off guard, their attention briefly turning his way before refocusing on their surroundings. I'm really just in the way here, he thought, unable to shake the feeling of being out of place. The situation reminded him of the feeling he had when he met Roland - of his weakness, and his childishness. I've grown since then, he reassured himself, I'm still no fighter - but I can fight. I've killed, he paused, realizing what he had said. I've killed, he echoed in his mind.

"Joel," Beatrice breathed, "keep to internal mana sense only, the ore here can be volatile."

Joel swallowed the taste of iron in his mouth and nodded. He fell into step closely behind Beatrice, as the four of them moved deeper into the mine.

As the light enveloped the path, it revealed a chamber larger than the entrance. The cavernous space echoed with the faint rumble of distant thunder from outside, and the nearby drips of water from an unseen source. The air hung heavier here, with the scent of damp earth, a metallic tang, sweat, and a faint hint of blood.

Scratch marks marred the stone along one side of the room, their narrow cuts colored with splashes of a light red substance, likely blood. Deep red feathers with an orange hue and intricate markings littered the floor, their sodden plumes drenched in water. The earth seemed twisted and raised, with parts of the wall and ground in jagged spikes or swirled walls. Yet, despite the struggle, there were no bodies to be seen.

Ahead, Damon, Gareth, and Theo, moved with a silent purpose. Joel had only just now realized that they hadn't made a sound as they walked, and wondered if it were the same trick Ali used. Their movements were sharp and coordinated, they never left each other's eye-line and continued to remain vigilant even in the empty room. I suppose, with magic, attacks can come from anywhere, Joel thought to himself, his anxiety raising with the realization.

Gareth had walked on slightly ahead, he picked up a feather and turned back to Beatrice. She stood still by the entrance of the chamber, her calculating gaze showing a hint of frustration.

"What is it?" Beatrice asked. Her voice still strained.

"I'm unsure," Gareth replied with a puzzled tone, "it's clearly a flier. Large." He measured the length of the quill as he studied its unique texture. "Roughly the size of a full-grown steed. The coloration and condition could mean it's still young, and from a tropical, forested environment." He raised his vision to the room and noted the raised earth, scattered and random. "It's a mover, possibly with impaired sight."

Amazing! All that from a feather!?

"Something from the southern lands perhaps?" Damon asked.

"Escaping the war?" Gareth added. "Exactly my thoughts."

"So, we have a large bird of prey from the southern lands hiding out in a mine with restricted movements and one exit." Beatrice summarized, then paused briefly to rub her throat. "We'll go with formation four - keep it simple. Lead it into a confined space and drop the cave on it using mana on the ore. We take no risks with this one, understood?" She gestured to Joel, who in turn followed her movements with an inspired obedience.

Damon and the others nodded and spread into the new formation. They continued down a new shaft, away from the chamber. Gareth walked in front, a shield in hand and a mace in the other. Theo walked in step with Gareth, no more than half a meter behind, a dagger in each hand. Damon hugged the left side of the wall, his short sword and buckler readied. Finally, Beatrice hugged the right wall with Joel closely behind. She held a long sword in her right hand, with her left arm stretched back as to protect Joel. Just who is Aurora that Beatrice feels such a strong need to protect me?

The thought would have to wait.

***

Joel continued further into the mine, remaining closely behind the outstretched hand of Beatrice. He had a lot of questions, but they were all pushed aside in place of the seriousness of the moment at hand. It took everything Joel had to not trip up or kick a stone, all the while feeling incompetent again. It won't be like last time, he promised himself. With tensed muscles and his buckler held across his body, he prepared himself for an attack; his dash hung loosely on his lips.

The mines twisted and descended even deeper into the earth, and the chill of the air began to feel lonely on his skin as the walls closed in around them. As the stone walls became darker and denser, Theo raised a hand, signaling for the group to stop. His gaze fixed on a spot in the darker part of the wall, then gestured to a near imperceivable crack - at such an angle and in such a way that it almost perfectly blended into the stone. He held up a single finger, and the others all stood with a prepared stance.

"We are soldiers from Kyrstil," Damon called out, barely loud enough for those nearby to hear, "identify yourself."

A moment of hesitation lingered before the scurried footsteps of a disheveled man shifted across the ground as he shimmied out of the wall.

"I'm a miner... I'm a miner of Durnovia," he cried, breaking free and into the open.

Caked in mud and soot, and donning miners ware, the man ran into the middle of the group the moment he exited. He collapsed to the floor with his hands and head pressed into the soil, then looked up to Beatrice; his wide eyes inspired a feeling of vicarious fear within Joel that he hadn't felt since the first wave. The man then swept his gaze to the others in the group, twisting around in the dirt before his back faced the way out.

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"It's unlike anything I've ever seen..." the miner's words trailed off as he shook, a pained sense of fear evident in his words, "it moved the earth, it ravaged the walls, barely able to fly... It... It..."

"Whatever it is," Beatrice said aloud, her voice cracking, "it's possible it'll kill itself by reacting its mana with the ore, but there's no reason to leave it here." Beatrice paused on her words and rubbed her throat. In the silence, the miner nervously stayed low on the ground, etching towards the exit while waiting on the others to move. Beatrice looked back to him, "the other miners?"

"It followed them," he gestured down the shaft, "that way. I... I heard such things... I dared not..."

"Do not concern yourself," Beatrice interjected, "there was nothing from here to the exit. Run. Follow the tram lines in the darkness, and meet with our remaining unit by the entrance."

"Yes, yes, at once," the miner stammered. He hesitantly left, stumbling as he ran and looking back every few steps.

"Is that for the best?" Damon asked, watching the miner leave.

"We can't leave him here, and taking him further in would cause more trouble," Beatrice replied.

"And of the recruit?" Damon questioned, "He can't be healed if he's dead, and if Aurora's only member dies, she could become a disaster." He spoke as if Joel weren't capable of understanding him, but he understood clear enough.

"By my side is the safest place for him," Beatrice replied with unwavering confidence and a commanding voice. "I'll handle any attack directed at the recruit. The three of you handle the flier as you would any other tier two."

Damon lowered his head and turned away.

***

The group continued into the solitary mine shaft. Joel thought to the objective for the wave, locate the miners. It seemed so simple, so easy. They're acting on the assumption that it's just one young creature. That it's a tier two, and is blind. But... His mind flashed back to the ambush in the initial wave, and he shook his head. We're prepared, he tried to convince himself. We're the aggressors.

As the group came to a junction, an oppressive, nauseating smell like that of rusted metal berated Joel's senses; the scent permeated the air, becoming more pungent as they approached the two paths: one leading left, the other right.

Gareth stopped at the passing, he looked to both sides then gestured to his left. Damon moved across the path in front of Joel and forwards again behind Gareth, taking up the same formation to Gareth's left as he had before. Beatrice moved out closely behind with Joel following.

As Joel looked up, his heart froze with the memory of a sickening sight: a bloodied path ran into a dark chamber, painted with the blood of a dozen miners. Their mangled remains lay torn to shreds along the narrow path. Images of his dead group gripped his vision as harsh tears filled his eyes.

"It's a neutral zone," Damon said softly.

Joel wanted to ask what he meant, but as their movements stiffened and slowed, he held his tongue.

They took slow, deliberate steps towards the chamber. Joel remained careful to not trample on the men or body parts that lay beneath, but the thought of looking down at them put a lump in his throat. As he tried to step with Beatrice, he felt his foot press down on something soft, and then saw blood splurt up the wall. Sick creeped into his mouth. He swallowed. His head ran with a cold heat as he held back more.

As the chamber's darkness enveloped them, Joel's eyes caught a glimpse of something crimson. Squinting, he adjusted his sight to the dim light; his gaze followed a red line as it rose several feet.

The moment Joel focused on the red line, he realized the group had made a fatal mistake. The name he saw had a color that he had only encountered twice before on a living thing; it pierced through the shadows like an arrow, leaving an indelible mark on Joel's vision: Uranatalo.

〘Wave Five. Locate The Missing Miners〙

〘Wave Five. Defeat The Uranatalo〙

It's... the same as Aurora...

The Uranatalo screamed a blood curdling screech as it unfurled its large wings and slashed through the air with invisible strikes. Many of which crashed invisibly into an impromptu mana shield Gareth erected, while the others crashed into the ground or into the walls. The cavern shook with each heavy impact. Debris and dust quickly smoked the room.

Whether they had noticed that the creature was tier four or not, Damon and Theo moved into action as Gareth pushed further in. Gareth tanked the barrage of attacks from the creature with his mana shield, but several strikes still managed to break through and carve deep lacerations into his shield.

Damon flanked left and Theo flanked right. However, neither made it close enough to strike the large creature before the earth twisted upwards from the ground, pushing them into the walls and pinning them in place. The Uranatalo, still mostly concealed by darkness, dashed around the corner of the room. It twisted the earth and threw the air, but every attack came randomly, as if it were lashing out blindly.

"WE MADE A MISTAKE," Beatrice screamed, blood spat from her mouth as she yelled. "IT'S A TIER FOUR. RETREAT!"

Beatrice extended her arms and sent an unseen wall hurtling toward the Uranatalo, pushing it backwards and slammed it into the corner of the room.

Damon and Theo broke free from the earth that bound them and fell to the floor. Damon gathered behind Gareth, while Theo took his chance to charge forwards. He sliced at the Uranatalo's legs, then jumped high to slash at its neck but was blown backwards as the Uranatalo fought against Beatrice's attack. He hit it!? Theo landed deftly besides Damon, blood spilling from his nose. How did he hit it!? Joel's confusion came from his vision of Aurora and her impenetrable mana shield, compared to that, he found it impossible for a tier one to penetrate it. How can Theo hit it!?

"I'LL HOLD THE ESCAPE," Gareth roared, burying is feet into the ground as he steeled his resolve.

"DON'T BE BRAVE!" Damon shouted, "WE'LL STAND TOGET..." crashing sounds interrupted him as dozens of spears made of earth from the wall behind the Uranatalo shattered through Beatrice's mana shield; each spear shot through the air and into the group with a thunderous speed, rocking the room as they assailed the ground. Damon and Theo managed to evade in time, but Gareth had been too immobile to move and had been hit directly. Blood pooled from his chest through a tear in his armor. He leaned against his shield, motionless. "GARETH!" Damon screamed.

With the familiar itch in his feet and the same word forced to the tip of his tongue, Joel looked on, stunned at seeing a creature with a red name, and the hopelessness of the others as they fought against it. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to flee, to escape and save his own life. Yet, as he watched Gareth and the others fight against the Uranatalo, a potent mix of fear and guilt washed over him. He felt the weight of his inexperience, the burden of his inadequacy, and the feeling he had felt in the first wave. As his toes dug into the ground, he glanced up and caught Gareth's eyes. They were wide open, and staring back at Joel. In all of the chaos, Gareth's eyes had found his, and they spoke a single word.

"Help."

Joel dashed. But not backwards. Forwards. Through the field of earthly spears that plunged into the rocky floor like a rain of arrows. He stopped besides Gareth and pulled out the ore from his pocket. Thinking protect, he sent a single bead to the ore and a visible shield expanded around him. Taking what little time he had, he broke the earth that pierced Gareth - freeing him - then wrapped both arms around his body, pulled him up, and cradled him in his chest. The Uranatalo continued its barrage of invisible attacks, crashing around Joel with enough force to split him in two, but none of them hit.

With Gareth firmly in his cutches, Joel dashed backwards and returned to the tunnel behind Beatrice.

Damon and Theo shared a look, then Damon ran back into the chamber, grabbing the attention of the beast, while Theo ran to Joel.

Beatrice continued to stand with her arms extended, fighting back as much as she could to protect the group from the vicious attacks.

"Exit," Theo said. It was the first word Joel had heard him say, and it was full of anger. Theo ran ahead, leaving Joel to carry Gareth on his own.

Joel turned back before he left, and gave a final glance to Beatrice. She stood steadfastly resolved, remaining in place like a solid statue. Without an ounce of fear in her eyes, she gave everything she could to defend them from the wild attacks of the tier four monster before her.

Joel had so many questions for her, so many things he wanted to say. But as the moment passed, he accepted the fact that he'd never get the chance, and he turned and ran away.

***

Joel ran through the mine with surprising ease considering the two hundred pound man in his arms. He caught up to Theo quickly, then kept with him until they arrived at the exit.

The same crash of thunder and patter of rain welcomed him as he arrived at the entrance to the mine. The fresh scent of rain and the cool breeze were a pleasant change from the atmosphere in the chamber.

Joel panted heavily as he delicately placed Gareth on the ground. He lowered his head to the floor and applied pressure to his wound. Remarkably, Gareth was conscious.

As Theo grabbed a small piece of ore from the ground, and threw it into the storm, Gareth called out to him. "Theo," he said weakly.

The ore Theo threw exploded in the nights sky, sending a bright flash for the second unit to see - if they hadn't vanished out of sight yet.

Theo quickly moved to Gareth and held his outstretched hand.

"Save... the boss," Gareth stammered with a tender smile.

Theo nodded, then let go of his hand and turned away.

"You can't be serious," Joel called out to him, frustration in his voice, "going back is suicide!"

Theo didn't turn around or reply as he left, he simply ran into the darkness and out of sight.

It's just a game, Joel. Your actions here don't matter. His thoughts burned with two truths: that killing The Touched One wasn't murder, and that if he didn't go back to help, he'd consider himself a bad person. Both truths conflicted with one another as they derived from the same source but split into two paths: the game isn't real, therefore his actions don't matter, and, the game isn't real, yet his actions do matter. Either way, he felt compelled to go back, despite what he knew it would could mean for his survival.

His mind ran with questions as he replayed their time in the mines. The mistake of it not being a tier two aside, Joel felt as if he had missed something. He looked to Gareth, whose breathing starting to slow, and asked a passing question - certain Gareth would think it dumb. "When Theo struck it, there was no mana shield. Why is that?"

Gareth took a moment to reply. HIs chest rose and fell slowly as he hung on to life. "It's...young," he replied painfully, "low...proficiency."

Its attacks were wild, thrown in any direction because it couldn't specify a specific target. It's exactly what I'd do if I had an abundance of mana but no control... But how does that help!? It has no mana shield because it can't do attack and defense at the same time, which means our best chance to kill it was when Beatrice pushed it back and Theo managed to hit it... So, we just have to recreate that moment and wait for it to attack... and... hope we don't get hit...

Joel saw a flash of light, unlike lightning, appear in the sky towards the stables. That's them, they saw Theo's message... Joel looked to Gareth, cautious of leaving such an injured man alone, then checked his inventory. With only one healing potion left, he chose to save it, hoping Gareth would pull through long enough for the others to arrive and treat him. I may need this soon... Sorry Gareth.

"I'm going," Joel said, more to himself than to Gareth, who smiled and held out a hand. Joel accepted it, and squeezed tightly, then let go and dashed back towards the mine.