Along the narrow path, Emily gathered her mana in her staff before sending out small waves of it as it pulsed through the surroundings.
She stopped for a while before informing her party members that the area was clear of mobs.
"Guys, this way is safe. It seems some people had already came through here based on the residual mana particles"
All of them nodded in confirmation as they proceeded forward.
Emily on the other hand was perplexed about the mana particles that she had discovered a while ago.
'These are still fresh signals..but why is it so muddled. I can't get a proper read. The way it was left out seems really strange, it's as if the people in the passage a while back immediately dissapeared or ran away..' she mused.
She had an inkling feeling that there was more to the signal that she had sensed but unfortunately her class wasn't specialized in tracking.
In fact she was a support, so she was playing the part of the pathfinder in their party since everyone else was a fighter.
Emily knew that they needed one from the start but Lily was distrustful from others joining their circle.
The only exception was the two guys that Alice had brought up.
Although only one of them came along albeit reluctantly at that, the other one outright rejected the offer.
Emily took a sideglance at the back where Alice and Jun were positioned while Lily took the front.
'...Jun Carter..'
She looked at his serious face as if he was ready to draw his blade at anytime while Alice tried to make him relax a little but to no avail.
Emily had initially thought that it was a bad idea to bring him along not only because Lily didn't want anyone else to join but she had heard from everybody in the class that he was a fallen.
However she had also rationalized that the academy wouldn't accept anyone like that in the first place so it must be a misunderstanding even when his innate skill described in the database implied such idea.
As the more time she spent with him, the more she realized that he was just an awkward boy trying hard to become stronger, much like everybody else.
Emily thought that she was still gullible to even believe a little part of those rumors and allegations at all.
At the thought of that, another person came to mind who was also labeled as a failure and a pervert.
'..Maybe he's not, I think...I hope. Even Alice had no problem with him too, he was also a pathfinder if I remember so maybe next time... Hmmmm '
As her thougths wandered, she bumped into the slender back of Lily who had abruptly stopped moving.
"Lily? What's wrong?"
"..Run.."
"What?.."
"I said RUN!"
"Lily!?"
Lily quickly grabbed Emily's hand as she dragged her back from where they came from before.
Alice and Jun had also noticed her strange behavior and looked at the front.
"..You gotta to be kidding me.." Alice's face sweated as she retreated back.
"No way..." Jun immediately took out his sword while also visibly shaken.
Emily looked back as she was being dragged, even with the low illumination from the blue torch she could visibly see the wave of monsters.
Their red eyes gleamed in the dark. Their brown spiky fur stood on end as their savage sight and great numbers filled the pathway as some stuck to the walls.
"Booooruuuuu..."
"...Feralz.."
"""Bourrruuuu!!""" All of them roared as they kicked their legs in pursuit.
"G-Guys RUN!"
Emily managed to shout out as they ran for their lives.
-----
"Urghhh.."
I coughed out a litlle as dust filled the vicinity making it hard to see where I was currently.
After a while it finally settled and I was finally able to breath properly and see where I was.
"God damn Imps. They really had to make those treasure far apart from each other. Well that obstacle course really helped though"
I grinned as I looked at my vrace. I opened the inventory and saw the contents, all of which was all the treasures I had intended to get.
It was a close call but by using the slowed time perception from [Penetrating gaze], I was able to navigate through the falling debris and eventually find the exit which was a hollow spot once again on the wall.
"Now where exactly is this?"
I looked around and saw that the original environment of the first layer had come back as I realized that I was directly back to the main path.
After observing some more, I came to the conclusion that I was at the midway point of the first layer.
'Just like in the novel but about this time, that asshole must have already triggered those Feralz, I just hope he didn't use [Iron Call] on them and just stuck with [Force Strike] like in the cannon...'
Feralz, a tier 3 monster that can be found on the 1st to 5th layers. They are the savage variants of Kobolds and acts in groups just the same.
They are really dangerous such that even Professor Vivian warned us not to provoke them under any circumstances.
Fast and very agile, they can be a nightmare to deal with specially in a closed space like this where you can't seperate their groups.
The only option in those kind of circumstances would be to run and hide or find a way to disrupt and seperate the pack and kill them one by one.
The latter is near impossible for us freshmen but considering those party members I know it can be done and if it doesn't pan out, we're going to have to take the former option.
"..The only problem is how many there are.., If that bastard thought of kiting more than I originally expected then it's going to get a little difficult.."
I sighed as I brought out Sixth and wore my goggles.
"I just hope I'm not being too crazy about this. Time to find where you are"
'[Penetrating Gaze]!'
-----
"[Frost Enchant]!"
Lily's rapier hit a feralz at the shoulder as she turned her back to counter it's strike. The wounded shoulder quickly became frozen as it shattered.
Lily repeated such actions while running as the group went ahead.
"Booruuu!!"
Two feralz leaped towards Jun and Alice, catching them in surprise. Luckily Emily was able to cover their backs.
"[Barrier]!, Go! the open area is just ahead!"
The party was able to get out of the narrow path and into a much bigger space. The barrier shattered like glass as the rest of the pack surged out.
Jun quickly turned around and parried a swipe that carried a great impact that numbed his hands.
"Damn it! [Blitz]!"
He backstepped away as he saw another one strike him right in his face.
"Alice!" cried out Lily as she stabbed a feralz in the head with her ice enchanted blade.
"I got it!"
Alice then took out her weapon but this time, there was a white shotgun in her hands.
'Overload' a much more intense flow of red mana particles flowed into her weapon.
"[Howitzer]!"
"[Barrier] Everyone!" Emily then put up a mana shield for her party members to avoid the backlash.
A loud explosion erupted as the pack formation of the feralz came apart. Some of the feralz escaped the blast as they got divided into left and right.
Although the ones at the center were already pieces of meat left.
"Hah hah hah.."
"Alice wait, [Saint's Light]"
Golden shower of light rained upon Alice as her pale complexion lightened up a bit after that massive display of power.
The rest of the pack growled as they tried to circle around the party.
Emily scanned the area and the situation, she was at a stump of what move to take before their escape path becomes blocked by the encirclement.
All of a sudden, a huge crescent wind blade assualted the party. They quickly jumped out of the way but had unnoticingly divided their formation.
Lily then stared wide eyed as the encirclement of the feralz formed between Jun and Emily then Lily and Alice.
"Booruuu!"
""Move!"" both Emily and Lily shouted out as both teams went inside the alternate pathways.
-----
Jun looked back as they were being chased by four feralz on their tail.
'Why did we have to get seperated right now!?'
He and Emily were depleting their stamina really fast just to outrun their pursuers but it wouldn't take long before they get to them.
Jun looked beside him as Emily was clutching her staff desperately.
It had already taken them three stops to counterattack and two times of [Saint's Light] to recover their fatique.
"Boruuu!"
The howls echoed as Jun tried to shake off the looming fear of imminent confrontation and it quickly became true as they had met a deadend.
"No..this can't.."
"...Stranford, get behind me"
"What?"
"I said get behind me!"
Emily looked shocked as she saw the desperate and resolved look on Jun's face as moved in front.
"J-Jun don't be reckless. You're going to get yourself killed!"
"Then so be it. It's not like there's any other way now, besides I don't want to stay useless after this point"
Jun boldly said but the shaking of his hands could not be hidden from Emily's eyes.
"..But-"
"..Boooruuuu"
The pack of four then appeared behind the corner as they menacingly got closer, their bloodshot eyes eerily staring right at them.
"C'mon..." Jun readied his sword.
Two of the feralz suddenly leaped after Jun as he swung his sword down in response, his face showing a resolute look.
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
"Jun!"
-----
"C'mon where are you!?"
I continued to run following the bits of life I could see from beyond the walls.
After a little while I came across an intersection and quickly looked right and left.
I could see that there were people and monsters inside both paths. I immediately found Jun and Emily in a pinch and quickly ran ahead.
I deactivated my innate skill as I was getting too dizzy from overusing it but I still continued to run, brushing off my vertigo until I turned the corner.
My eyes widened in shock as I saw Jun's body sprawled across the ground as large amount of blood flowed on the floor.
The four feralz continuously clawed at the barrier Emily was desperately keeping intact as large amounts of sweat and blood flowed from her face.
I didn't waste any second and shot 4 bullets at the feralz's heads.
Unfortunately they had high senses and were able to move out of the way albeit it had grazed them. I quickly dashed ahead from the opened space and shot two more to keep them at bay.
"Boruu!"
"Open it now!"
"What?!"
Even when she was flustered at my sudden arrival, Emily was still able to split apart her barrier for me to come in and then close it again.
I quickly brought out Gratis from my inventory and placed it atop Jun's bleeding chest. It didn't even take seconds before Jun's unmoving body jolted out of nowhere.
"W-what Jun?! What did you do?!"
"Heal him now before he dies" I demanded while I activated [Reload Belt] as sparks light up from my gun.
"I wish I could but the barrier-"
"Release it.."
"Are you crazy!?"
"I said release it then heal him. I can handle this, trust me." my voice lowered as my eyes focused on the beasts in front of me.
Emily looked shaken as she glanced at the bloody state of Jun and had quickly made a decision.
"Ughh [Saint's Light]!"
I was inwardly relieved as I activated my innate skill.
My eyes glowed pink behind my goggles as the growl of four feralz assailed me.
"You know, I'm not a dog person so-"
My finger waited to pull the trigger.
Along the narrow path, Emily gathered her mana in her staff before sending out small waves of it as it pulsed through the surroundings.
She stopped for a while before informing her party members that the area was clear of mobs.
"Guys, this way is safe. It seems some people had already came through here based on the residual mana particles"
All of them nodded in confirmation as they proceeded forward.
Emily on the other hand was perplexed about the mana particles that she had discovered a while ago.
'These are still fresh signals..but why is it so muddled. I can't get a proper read. The way it was left out seems really strange, it's as if the people in the passage a while back immediately dissapeared or ran away..' she mused.
She had an inkling feeling that there was more to the signal that she had sensed but unfortunately her class wasn't specialized in tracking.
In fact she was a support, so she was playing the part of the pathfinder in their party since everyone else was a fighter.
Emily knew that they needed one from the start but Lily was distrustful from others joining their circle.
The only exception was the two guys that Alice had brought up.
Although only one of them came along albeit reluctantly at that, the other one outright rejected the offer.
Emily took a sideglance at the back where Alice and Jun were positioned while Lily took the front.
'...Jun Carter..'
She looked at his serious face as if he was ready to draw his blade at anytime while Alice tried to make him relax a little but to no avail.
Emily had initially thought that it was a bad idea to bring him along not only because Lily didn't want anyone else to join but she had heard from everybody in the class that he was a fallen.
However she had also rationalized that the academy wouldn't accept anyone like that in the first place so it must be a misunderstanding even when his innate skill described in the database implied such idea.
As the more time she spent with him, the more she realized that he was just an awkward boy trying hard to become stronger, much like everybody else.
Emily thought that she was still gullible to even believe a little part of those rumors and allegations at all.
At the thought of that, another person came to mind who was also labeled as a failure and a pervert.
'..Maybe he's not, I think...I hope. Even Alice had no problem with him too, he was also a pathfinder if I remember so maybe next time... Hmmmm '
As her thougths wandered, she bumped into the slender back of Lily who had abruptly stopped moving.
"Lily? What's wrong?"
"..Run.."
"What?.."
"I said RUN!"
"Lily!?"
Lily quickly grabbed Emily's hand as she dragged her back from where they came from before.
Alice and Jun had also noticed her strange behavior and looked at the front.
"..You gotta to be kidding me.." Alice's face sweated as she retreated back.
"No way..." Jun immediately took out his sword while also visibly shaken.
Emily looked back as she was being dragged, even with the low illumination from the blue torch she could visibly see the wave of monsters.
Their red eyes gleamed in the dark. Their brown spiky fur stood on end as their savage sight and great numbers filled the pathway as some stuck to the walls.
"Booooruuuuu..."
"...Feralz.."
"""Bourrruuuu!!""" All of them roared as they kicked their legs in pursuit.
"G-Guys RUN!"
Emily managed to shout out as they ran for their lives.
-----
"Urghhh.."
I coughed out a litlle as dust filled the vicinity making it hard to see where I was currently.
After a while it finally settled and I was finally able to breath properly and see where I was.
"God damn Imps. They really had to make those treasure far apart from each other. Well that obstacle course really helped though"
I grinned as I looked at my vrace. I opened the inventory and saw the contents, all of which was all the treasures I had intended to get.
It was a close call but by using the slowed time perception from [Penetrating gaze], I was able to navigate through the falling debris and eventually find the exit which was a hollow spot once again on the wall.
"Now where exactly is this?"
I looked around and saw that the original environment of the first layer had come back as I realized that I was directly back to the main path.
After observing some more, I came to the conclusion that I was at the midway point of the first layer.
'Just like in the novel but about this time, that asshole must have already triggered those Feralz, I just hope he didn't use [Iron Call] on them and just stuck with [Force Strike] like in the cannon...'
Feralz, a tier 3 monster that can be found on the 1st to 5th layers. They are the savage variants of Kobolds and acts in groups just the same.
They are really dangerous such that even Professor Vivian warned us not to provoke them under any circumstances.
Fast and very agile, they can be a nightmare to deal with specially in a closed space like this where you can't seperate their groups.
The only option in those kind of circumstances would be to run and hide or find a way to disrupt and seperate the pack and kill them one by one.
The latter is near impossible for us freshmen but considering those party members I know it can be done and if it doesn't pan out, we're going to have to take the former option.
"..The only problem is how many there are.., If that bastard thought of kiting more than I originally expected then it's going to get a little difficult.."
I sighed as I brought out Sixth and wore my goggles.
"I just hope I'm not being too crazy about this. Time to find where you are"
'[Penetrating Gaze]!'
-----
"[Frost Enchant]!"
Lily's rapier hit a feralz at the shoulder as she turned her back to counter it's strike. The wounded shoulder quickly became frozen as it shattered.
Lily repeated such actions while running as the group went ahead.
"Booruuu!!"
Two feralz leaped towards Jun and Alice, catching them in surprise. Luckily Emily was able to cover their backs.
"[Barrier]!, Go! the open area is just ahead!"
The party was able to get out of the narrow path and into a much bigger space. The barrier shattered like glass as the rest of the pack surged out.
Jun quickly turned around and parried a swipe that carried a great impact that numbed his hands.
"Damn it! [Blitz]!"
He backstepped away as he saw another one strike him right in his face.
"Alice!" cried out Lily as she stabbed a feralz in the head with her ice enchanted blade.
"I got it!"
Alice then took out her weapon but this time, there was a white shotgun in her hands.
'Overload' a much more intense flow of red mana particles flowed into her weapon.
"[Howitzer]!"
"[Barrier] Everyone!" Emily then put up a mana shield for her party members to avoid the backlash.
A loud explosion erupted as the pack formation of the feralz came apart. Some of the feralz escaped the blast as they got divided into left and right.
Although the ones at the center were already pieces of meat left.
"Hah hah hah.."
"Alice wait, [Saint's Light]"
Golden shower of light rained upon Alice as her pale complexion lightened up a bit after that massive display of power.
The rest of the pack growled as they tried to circle around the party.
Emily scanned the area and the situation, she was at a stump of what move to take before their escape path becomes blocked by the encirclement.
All of a sudden, a huge crescent wind blade assualted the party. They quickly jumped out of the way but had unnoticingly divided their formation.
Lily then stared wide eyed as the encirclement of the feralz formed between Jun and Emily then Lily and Alice.
"Booruuu!"
""Move!"" both Emily and Lily shouted out as both teams went inside the alternate pathways.
-----
Jun looked back as they were being chased by four feralz on their tail.
'Why did we have to get seperated right now!?'
He and Emily were depleting their stamina really fast just to outrun their pursuers but it wouldn't take long before they get to them.
Jun looked beside him as Emily was clutching her staff desperately.
It had already taken them three stops to counterattack and two times of [Saint's Light] to recover their fatique.
"Boruuu!"
The howls echoed as Jun tried to shake off the looming fear of imminent confrontation and it quickly became true as they had met a deadend.
"No..this can't.."
"...Stranford, get behind me"
"What?"
"I said get behind me!"
Emily looked shocked as she saw the desperate and resolved look on Jun's face as moved in front.
"J-Jun don't be reckless. You're going to get yourself killed!"
"Then so be it. It's not like there's any other way now, besides I don't want to stay useless after this point"
Jun boldly said but the shaking of his hands could not be hidden from Emily's eyes.
"..But-"
"..Boooruuuu"
The pack of four then appeared behind the corner as they menacingly got closer, their bloodshot eyes eerily staring right at them.
"C'mon..." Jun readied his sword.
Two of the feralz suddenly leaped after Jun as he swung his sword down in response, his face showing a resolute look.
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
"Jun!"
-----
"C'mon where are you!?"
I continued to run following the bits of life I could see from beyond the walls.
After a little while I came across an intersection and quickly looked right and left.
I could see that there were people and monsters inside both paths. I immediately found Jun and Emily in a pinch and quickly ran ahead.
I deactivated my innate skill as I was getting too dizzy from overusing it but I still continued to run, brushing off my vertigo until I turned the corner.
My eyes widened in shock as I saw Jun's body sprawled across the ground as large amount of blood flowed on the floor.
The four feralz continuously clawed at the barrier Emily was desperately keeping intact as large amounts of sweat and blood flowed from her face.
I didn't waste any second and shot 4 bullets at the feralz's heads.
Unfortunately they had high senses and were able to move out of the way albeit it had grazed them. I quickly dashed ahead from the opened space and shot two more to keep them at bay.
"Boruu!"
"Open it now!"
"What?!"
Even when she was flustered at my sudden arrival, Emily was still able to split apart her barrier for me to come in and then close it again.
I quickly brought out Gratis from my inventory and placed it atop Jun's bleeding chest. It didn't even take seconds before Jun's unmoving body jolted out of nowhere.
"W-what Jun?! What did you do?!"
"Heal him now before he dies" I demanded while I activated [Reload Belt] as sparks light up from my gun.
"I wish I could but the barrier-"
"Release it.."
"Are you crazy!?"
"I said release it then heal him. I can handle this, trust me." my voice lowered as my eyes focused on the beasts in front of me.
Emily looked shaken as she glanced at the bloody state of Jun and had quickly made a decision.
"Ughh [Saint's Light]!"
I was inwardly relieved as I activated my innate skill.
My eyes glowed pink behind my goggles as the growl of four feralz assailed me.
"You know, I'm not a dog person so-"
My finger waited to pull the trigger.
