Alan thought over his next goals and the obstacles as the three walked through the tunnels. Though he doubted its credibility, he found it hard to disregard entirely. Based on the rumors he heard, the consciousness of the monster, the ancient evil being, that built the labyrinth now lurks in it, harvesting souls of those brave enough to enter so it could revive itself.

This is however, just a rumor, but the fact remains that most of all who have entered the labyrinth lost their lives inside. Whether it be the ancient evil, or something entirely different, it's a place far more dangerous than any other. Despite his efforts to gather the strongest allies he could work with, he still carries doubts.

The information he managed to gather on the other teams by now indicate they are far more likely to make it through than his, or were at the very least. There are many powerful creatures on the other teams, though none he can think of compare to Kristine. The other teams are far more balanced, such as Obsidian's having a Phoenix capable of wide range attacks, healing, and even revival.

Despite their strength, he refuses to work with them unless absolutely necessary. The only other team that stands out to him are the three wyverns, and the caster spirit. Not only do they have information on other teams, having kept a decent relation with them all, Alan also possesses some information one of them would more than willingly trade for.

By the time we get back, they should've already made their move. I just hope Snow stood up to my expectations, otherwise negotiations might be somewhat harder. Alan thought as he glanced Kristine and Crystal stop to look at something.

Continuing forward without them, he soon reached the entrance of the mining site and chose to wait for them. He considered waiting for them outside, but thought better of it. The height of the top, as well as there being no walls near it, make it very hard to exit without taking his draconic form.

After a wait of several minutes he heard a sound, though not from behind him where they would've come from, but right in front of him. It sounded like a wet cloth being squeezed, a strange sound. Getting up in an instant he ignited an orb of flames in his hand, revealing the many eyes that shined in response to the light of the flames.

It appeared to be a fish, except that it possessed legs, though they seemed to be almost just a goopy mess. The sound he heard came from the fish coming ashore, a species of fish type monster he has never encountered before. The water came alive as many of the fish started coming ashore, all possessing razor teeth lining their circular jaws.

I suppose they use that circular jaw to bite pieces off larger prey, or to swallow smaller prey. Alan observed as the flames burnt even brighter and steadily grew bigger. Unfortunately for you, dragons are not prey. Before he could release the flames an arrow pierced the head of the nearest fish, striking right through it's body and embedding itself in the ground behind.

Surprised, he turned around, expecting it to be Kristine's, only to find Crystal standing behind him, a bow in her hand. Alan watched on as Crystal pulled the string back, holding it for a moment as three arrows of pure energy materialised on it. She released the arrows, striking through three fish perfectly, as well as several behind them as the arrows dipped under the water.

"I suppose these are troublesome." Kristine sighed as she stomped her leg on the ground.

The ground rose in a ring around the fish, closing around them in an instant and smashing them together. A layer of solid rock covered the water as the ring passed over it, sealing the fish under it. Alan tossed the orb of flames in his hand onto the platform covering the water, nodding in acknowledgement as it did not so much as leave a scratch.

"I suppose the labyrinth won't be as hard as I imagined." Alan mumbled to himself, stepping to the side as Crystal threw herself on him.

He patted her on the head, searching for the bow she held earlier but finding no trace of it. Though he already figured out how it worked, he wished to see it clearly. Energy-based bows are truly exceptional afterall, converting energy from the wielder and the surroundings into the shape of an arrow, sharper than any actual arrow could ever be.

Raising her hand to the air Kristine built a spiral staircase leading all the way up, also constructing a guard rail on noticing Crystal cowering behind Alan. The three of them moved up the staircase, Alan walking behind the two now as he arranged his thoughts. By the time they reached the top, he sorted them out and decided Crystal could be great help, though only with the exceptional bow she found.

This short interaction also helped him gain a better understanding of Kristine's ability as a caster. The main attributes for casters are range, casting time, mana capacity, and control. Range and control work in unison most of the time as better control allows you to cast and control spells at longer distances.

Not only did he find Kristine's control to be exceptional enough to completely turn around projectile attacks at very long distances, but also being able to seal large areas like that in an instant. Not to mention, she required close to no casting time for any of her spells, though bigger spells might still require a short time. He didn't sense the slightest bit of decrease in her massive amount of mana, further establishing as an incredible caster.

Another thing which he realised were that Kristine surpassed any other Earth Dragons even in their main attributes. A punch with not even all her strength could more than easily tear through Alan, who is also a dragon. Not to mention the toughness of her scales that could withstand even his attacks without so much as a scratch.

While he still felt unsure, he believed Crystal's vision still far surpassed theirs. Kristine used vibrations in the ground to sense her surroundings for the most part, an ability common in Earth Dragons. Alan on the other hand, found himself inferior to the two in terms of perception, and chose to rely on their senses for any signs of danger.

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They could see storm clouds covering the skies as they travelled through the rainforest, making their way back as fast as they could. The winds also started picking up by sunset, and threatening to blow away smaller trees by night. Crystal also found it hard to walk, being pushed many times by strong gusts of wind due to her small size and light body.

"So, what should we do?" Kristine questioned Alan, glancing down at Crystal who clung to her for support.

"Keep moving and stop only if we can't keep going anymore. That is what I am planning though, if the two of you don't want to then its fine as well. We can wait here till the storm passes, but this is called a rainforest for a reason, and I doubt it would miss an opportunity to stand true to it's name." He answered, glancing around for any safe location to stay and wait.

"I have no problems with traveling during a storm." Kristine shrugged as she wrapped her arms around Crystal and lift her up.

"Then we should hurry." Alan sighed as he walked forward, slashing away any thick branches or shrubs that could slow their progress.

Thunder roared in the sky above by the time they reached a break in the rainforest, another line of similar trees waiting for them in the distance ahead of the grassland. Alan walked beside Kristine, both of them taking it slow for a moment to conserve their stamina.

Being next to each other, they both noticed Crystal snap her head to the side, as well as the slight movements of her ears. Kristine set Crystal down as both of them stopped, using an earth spell to keep her from being blown away for the time. Alan's greatsword materialized in his right hand as he prepared for the danger, and so did Crystal's bow.

Pulling the string back she aimed at the ground, holding it in place as she snarled towards it. Alan noticed the ground in front of Crystal pushing slightly up, as well as Kristine's eyes glancing between Crystal and the spot. Relaxing his body he waited, understanding Kristine could already sense it.

A roar emanated from the ground, a moment before a creature burst out a few steps in front of Kesshō, much closer than where she aimed. Kristine raised the ground in an instant, though not in time as it hit the creature's leg and allowed it to fall towards them. Crystal stepped back, not having released the arrow yet.

Alan could tell the roar disoriented Kristine, delaying her reaction greatly. He expected as much from a powerful but inexperienced caster, and also expected a creature smart enough to take advantage of it to be just what stood in front of him, a Chimera, also considered the most basic and many times failed hybrids, usually created by humans.

It grinded it's thin and long claws on the ground, disorienting both Kesshō and Kristine's perception. A red patch appeared on it's white head as it opened it's jaws, possessing ridges in the skull instead of teeth, meant to crush anything trapped inside. It possessed no eyes, it's face just an empty white canvas other than the red inside of the jaws.

The long black spikes lining it's back rattled as it moved it's brown body from side to side, all four of its legs folded as it prepared to spring back into action. Alan prepared to flashstep right to it, if he felt it could harm either of the two. If it decided to flee on the other hand, Alan planned to leave it alone. Though it's intentions became quite apparent as it snarled at Crystal.

Crystal let out a low growl, glancing at Alan from the corner of her eyes, the arrow still pulled back on the bow's string. Alan chose to accept her request and let her handle it, though he still remained vigilant in case it got far too close to her. In which case, he wouldn't kill it, but rather cripple it for life and let it die a slow death.

The Chimera lunged at her, it's short arms reaching for Crystal as it's jaws opened wider. Crystal reacted at the very last moment, right before it's claws could touch her, and right before Alan interfered. Jumping over the Chimera she placed the bow around it's head, allowing it's jaws to clamp onto the bow as she pulled string further back.

The arrow shot right through its skull when she released it, the bow bouncing out of it's mouth as it crashed onto the ground. Alan kicked the body to ascertain it's death before picking Crystal's bow and handing it to her when she walked up to him. Receiving the bow Crystal allowed it to disappear, using the same storage spell Alan uses.

I wonder if she knew it already or learnt by watching me, He thought to himself.

"She is much stronger than she looks." Kristine acknowledged as the earth moved up and swallowed the corpse, leaving behind no trace of it.

"Yeah." Alan agreed as he crouched down in front of Crystal, gesturing her to hold onto him. "Be on your guard, there must be more of them." Misunderstanding what he meant Crystal climbed onto his shoulders, her legs hanging in front of him as she rested her head on his. "I barely even feel any weight on me." He sighed, raising his hand above Crystal's head.

They started again on their path, keeping an eye out but finding no other Chimera along the way. Before long, they came upon a dirt path that lead through the rainforest, the trees having been cleared for it, making their travel much easier. It seemed to have been made for the transportation of ores and supplies for the mine. Both Alan and Kristine were already somewhat tired from the constant walking, and also from not having eaten in a long while.

While Alan did not know what Kristine even ate under the ground, he could easily tell she felt hungry due to her constantly lifting her hand to her stomach. Crystal offered them some of her berries, which they refused, knowing she would need them more for the long road ahead. Being dragons, the two could go for months without any food, though they would still feel hunger even when not having eaten for a day or so.

They did not come upon any dangers on their way either, helping them conserve their energy to keep walking longer. However, that nice walk did not last long, being interrupted by the rain. The winds got wilder as the storm reached them, and the rain started picking up as well in the matter of a few seconds.

They still continued walking, not bothering to stop as Crystal did not mind the rain, and even enjoyed it. They figured it would be a better idea to rest during the day as monsters of any sort are less active during that time, including the Chimeras, similar to the one they just found. If they found one, they figured there could be even more.

Kristine's ability to detect vibrations only works when she is awake and focused, and only loud vibrations are detected when isn't using her earth manipulation, common for Earth Dragons. Alan knew even Crystal's senses are not reliable when she is asleep, otherwise she would not have been caught off guard before. His own senses are inferior in general, and when exhausted even he would not trust himself.

Kristine froze on the spot as she sensed something, Crystal's ears also tensed as she attempted to hear something. "What was it?" Alan questioned the two, though neither answered for a short while.

"I can't sense it now." Kristine replied with a shrug. "I think whatever it was isn't moving anymore, and it was really far away so nothing to worry about."

Crystal let out a hiss as she turned her head away to the side, her eyes focusing on something in the dark clouds. Alan and Kristine followed her sight, both straining their eyes to see what it could be. Kristine noticed it first, preparing to fight at once. Alan also noticed it as it came closer, a Storm Dragon, regarded as one of the strongest types of draconic beings.