Building The First Adventurer Guild In Another World

Chapter 305: Tense Fight

The growls didn’t cease; instead, they grew louder and closer, reverberating throughout the arena. More of those bizarre boar-snake creatures slithered out from the cracks in the stone walls and dark corners between the broken pillars that lined the outer ring.

Their scaled bodies scraped against the ground with a rough, unsettling sound, their eyes glowing faintly as they locked onto Boren and Lyana with clear killing intent.

The moment this new wave appeared, the already tense air felt even heavier, pressing down on them like an invisible weight. Boren’s breathing became more uneven as he stood there gripping his sword with both hands, his fingers trembling slightly.

His arms ached from continuous swings while Lyana stood just behind him, her magic circle still glowing beneath her feet but dimmer than before. Its rotation had slowed noticeably, showing signs of strain as she forced more mana into it to maintain control of the battlefield.

"Why... why are there so many..." Boren muttered under his breath, his voice shaky as he stared at the incoming wave, disbelief etched across his face. Lyana didn’t respond immediately; her focus was on calculating the beasts’ movements.

Her breathing grew heavier now, strands of green hair sticking to her forehead from sweat that had begun to form.

Though no longer calm, her expression remained steady as she urged him, "Stop talking and focus; they’re not going to wait for you to calm down." Her voice carried enough firmness to snap Boren back to reality.

The beasts did not hesitate.

They charged.

This time it wasn’t just a few coming from one direction but multiple groups rushing in from different angles. Their bodies twisted and lunged forward in fast, unpredictable movements while their claws dug into the stone as they propelled themselves forward with force.

Reacting almost instinctively, Boren let out a shout and stepped forward, swinging his sword in a wide arc. The blade sliced through the air before colliding with the first beast that reached him; the impact sent a dull vibration up his arms as he gritted his teeth to maintain grip.

Behind him, Lyana’s magic circle flared again, though weaker than before and several thick vines shot out rapidly from it, wrapping around two of the creatures mid-charge. Their movements were halted as they struggled against their restraints.

"Left!" Lyana called sharply. Without hesitation, Boren turned and swung his sword again just in time to block a sudden lunge from the side.

The force pushed him back a step as his boots scraped against the ground; he wobbled but held firm. Before he could catch his breath, another beast lunged at him from the front with its elongated body coiling to snap its jaws toward him.

Panic surged through Boren’s mind as instinct took over; he swung his sword downward with all his strength, the blade cutting into the creature’s head with a wet sound before it collapsed.

But there was no time for rest.

They kept coming. From the front.

From the sides and even from behind.

The pressure was relentless, and Boren found himself swinging his sword over and over again. His movements had lost their precision, his breathing grew louder and more uneven, and fatigue began to weigh heavily on him.

Each swing made his body jiggle in a way that would have been funny under different circumstances, but right now, there was nothing humorous about it, only desperation as he fought for survival.

"Lyana... how many are there?" he gasped between breaths, ducking under a snapping jaw and swinging his sword upward just enough to push the beast back.

Lyana didn’t answer right away; she didn’t know either. Her focus was entirely on maintaining her spells, her mana draining steadily as she controlled the vines that restrained, struck, and supported Boren as much as possible.

She felt herself growing pale as the toll became evident; her lips pressed tightly together as she forced herself to keep going.

"I don’t know... just keep fighting..." she finally replied, her voice lower now, tinged with strain that hadn’t been there before.

Boren let out a weak laugh, though it held no humor, as he said, "Yeah... easy for you to say..." Yet even while complaining, he didn’t stop moving or swinging; he knew that if he did, it would all be over.

The battle raged on. Time seemed to stretch endlessly; each second felt longer than the last as they fought against the swarm.

Their coordination improved slightly despite the chaos, Lyana adjusted her vines to create openings while Boren followed through with his attacks. Their movements weren’t perfect but were enough to keep them alive, barely, as more bodies of beasts piled around them, blood slicking the ground and filling the air with a heavy stench.

Boren’s swings slowed down. His breathing grew heavier. His vision blurred from exhaustion. Meanwhile, Lyana’s magic circle began to flicker; her control slipped momentarily before she regained it with effort.

Her hands trembled slightly as she poured what little mana remained into her spells; every passing moment made her body feel heavier, her legs shaking slightly as she struggled to remain upright.

"Boren... fall back..." she urged at one point, her voice quieter now and lacking its earlier firmness.

But Boren shook his head immediately, panting heavily as he replied, "If I fall back... they’ll reach you."

Despite his weak tone, determination shone through. a spark that surprised even Lyana for a brief moment.

The beasts continued their relentless advance, unstoppable and endless and slowly they began losing ground step by step. Their movements turned desperate; their attacks less effective until finally...

A beast broke through.

A beast broke through. It lunged past Boren’s defense, its jaws snapping toward Lyana, and for a split second, her eyes widened, her body too slow to react, her mana too drained to respond in time, but before it could reach her....

Boren moved.With a loud shout, he threw himself forward, his sword swinging wildly as he collided with the beast, knocking it off course, the impact sending both of them crashing to the ground, the creature letting out a hiss as it struggled beneath him, and with the last bit of strength he had left, Boren raised his sword and brought it down, ending it.

Silence for a few moments. Because the remaining beasts... stopped.

As if something had changed. As if the fight had reached a certain point.

And then...they retreated.

Not all at once, but slowly, backing away, their eyes still locked onto the two of them before turning and disappearing back into the shadows from where they came, leaving behind only the bodies of the fallen and the heavy, suffocating silence of the arena.

Boren stayed there for a second, his body frozen, as if his brain hadn’t yet processed what had just happened, and then, finally he collapsed.

Flat on his back. His sword slipping from his hand as it clattered against the ground, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he gasped for air, his entire body completely drained, his limbs feeling like they weighed a hundred times more than usual, and he just lay there, staring up at the faint golden ceiling, his expression blank as if his soul had left his body.

Lyana stood there for a moment longer, her magic circle finally fading away as she let out a slow breath, her body swaying slightly before she steadied herself, her face pale, her clothes damp with sweat, her hair sticking to her face.

After confirming that the beasts were truly gone, she slowly walked over and lowered herself to the ground as well, sitting beside Boren as she tried to catch her breath.

Neither of them spoke. There was nothing to say. Only the sound of their breathing filled the arena, heavy, uneven, but alive.

Boren... lay there like a dead corpse, completely still except for the rise and fall of his chest, his eyes half-open as he stared into nothingness, as if questioning every life decision that had led him to this moment.