Chapter 98: What a Pleasant Surprise!
Silas had never wanted to enter the Time Mind World as desperately as he did now.
The moment the tunnel sealed behind them, darkness swallowed everything. It lasted only a few seconds before Darius pulled a flashlight out of thin air, and the world transformed.
It was as though someone had flipped a switch. The beam struck countless crystals embedded within the tunnel walls, where it scattered and reflected into a sea of shimmering colours that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The glow wasn’t bright enough to blind them, yet it possessed a mesmerising beauty that made both of them stop in their tracks.
"This is a Mana vein," Darius said in disbelief as he turned toward Silas. "I never imagined it would be this beautiful."
"It’s thanks to Lara," Silas replied with a faint smile. "Better get used to it. The final battle against the dragon will take place somewhere similar, except on a much larger scale."
Darius nodded, although the more he admired the dazzling crystals around them, the harder it became to believe anyone could ever grow accustomed to such a sight.
They continued through the tunnel for another ten minutes before Silas finally stopped and checked the map on his wristwatch.
"We’ll sleep here. The exit is only half an hour away, but I’d rather stay closer to the entrance, just in case."
Darius immediately understood. Both of them set five-hour alarms on their wristwatches before settling down to rest.
The tunnel was spacious enough to accommodate dozens of people without feeling cramped. As soon as Silas lay on the cold ground, a familiar coolness spread through his body, soothing every exhausted muscle.
’I want to meditate.’
The temptation was almost overwhelming. The Mana surrounding him felt richer than ever, and entering the Time Mind World had never seemed more appealing. Yet exhaustion weighed far heavier than desire. Pushing the thought aside, he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
For the first time in days, both of them slept peacefully, completely unaware of the chaos their disappearance had unleashed above.
Five hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Neither of them felt fully rested, though, but they had already risked enough by staying underground for so long.
"I can’t believe I actually miss the academy’s food," Darius said with a bitter smile as he pulled out a bag of dried chips and handed half to Silas.
"We’ll be back soon enough."
Silas accepted them without complaint. Compared to the hungry nights he had endured in the orphanage as a child, a handful of dried chips was more than enough. As he finished eating, he glanced at his wristwatch, expecting a flood of updates from Cher and Lara.
Instead, there was nothing. There wasn’t a single message there. And that gradually darkened his expression.
"Did you receive anything?"
Darius checked his own wristwatch before slowly shaking his head.
"Nothing... That’s strange."
The two tried contacting their teammates several more times, but the silence remained absolute. Minutes passed without a single response from any of their three friends. Then a heavy feeling settled over the tunnel.
"Do you think something happened to them?" Darius asked quietly, unable to hide the worry in his voice.
Silas remained silent.
According to the plan, Cher and Lara should have been sending them constant updates. The only reason they would suddenly stop responding was if something had prevented them from using their wristwatches. If that was the case, then they had either been captured or something even worse had happened.
’No way.’
Silas shoved the dreadful thought aside and urged Darius to move faster.
Neither of them spoke. The possibility they had just considered was so terrifying that even giving it a voice felt like inviting disaster. They ran through the tunnel, following its winding path toward the exit.
Twenty minutes later, they finally reached the end.
Unlike the entrance, this exit remained sealed. As Cher and Lara had planned, it had been concealed beneath a thin layer of loose rock, allowing them to break through from below with ease.
"Get back," Silas said immediately. "I’ll handle it."
Crash!
His daggers shot forward and shattered the fragile layer of stone. Instead of blinding sunlight, only darkness greeted them.
"It’s still midnight," Silas said after a brief glance upward. "Let’s get out, then seal the tunnel behind us."
That had been one of the reasons they had slept for only five hours. By emerging under the cover of darkness, they could slip past the mine defences without drawing attention.
Or so they thought. The moment the two climbed out of the tunnel, a blinding light descended from above.
"Well... what a pleasant surprise."
It wasn’t a single beam. Five powerful spotlights poured down from five shuttles hovering just above the ground, flooding the area with light.
Silas and Darius instinctively shielded their eyes. When their vision adjusted, they finally saw the person standing before them.
"Petite Girl?"
"Rachel?!"
Rachel stood at the front of a group of fifteen students, an amused smile spreading across her face as she watched the disbelief written all over theirs.
Silas couldn’t understand it. Their route had been secret. The tunnel had never been exposed. How had she found them?
Rachel seemed to read every question from his expression.
"Hahaha... that look on your faces is absolutely priceless."
She laughed without restraint, thoroughly enjoying her victory.
"I’ll tell you how I found you, then I’ll kill you."
The students behind her calmly took Mana Crystals from their backpacks, preparing for battle the moment she gave the signal.
"The answer is simple," Rachel said with a shrug. "Your wristwatches."
Her gaze settled on Silas, filled with unconcealed contempt.
"It’s hardly my fault that I was born into a powerful and influential clan, while you came from nowhere. An orphan dreaming of standing on the same stage as someone like me... isn’t that adorable?"
She raised a hand covered in strange bruises.
"My clan tracked your wristwatches from the moment you disappeared. We also blocked every line of communication you have with the outside world. You can’t contact your precious princess, and no distress signal is leaving this place."
Her smile widened into something cruel.
"Tonight, both of you will die."
"Attack."
The fifteen students surged forward without hesitation, while Rachel watched with complete confidence.
The trap she had woven was flawless.
Darius might have been a strong Hunter, but against fifteen Hunters working together, he could never prevail. As for Silas, he was merely a Buffer. No Buffer could survive a direct confrontation with even a single Hunter, let alone fifteen.
She was already imagining the outcome: Silas torn apart, Darius screaming in despair as they met their miserable end.
Screams did echo across the battlefield. Agonising cries filled the night exactly as she had expected. The only problem was that they weren’t coming from the people she intended to kill.
Rachel had made one fatal mistake; she had underestimated Silas.
And she was about to pay dearly for it.
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