Chapter 71: Only Three Survived
In another part of the vast mountainous region, another team of four, led by a tall, red-haired boy with brown eyes, was fighting a huge, ten-foot-tall, grisly bear with dark golden eyes and four tails. The boy was Marcus Doyle, one of the awakened, with a team of newly awakened, two girls and a boy. Marcus was a B-Rank with the ability to manipulate fire. The other boy was David Gronsan, a tall, dark-haired, newly awakened B-Rank with an ability that allowed him to form echoes of things he imagined. Currently, he appeared to be in a huge mech suit, or more like a robot. This should have been powerful enough, but he was newly awakened, and the amount of mana he was expending to keep the echo up was a lot. It was just a matter of time before he ran out of it.
The other two were twins with dark skin, long, black ponytailed hair, and blue eyes. They had A-Rank abilities that complemented each other. One could conjure any kind of shield, she had a fair knowledge of, and the other could conjure any kind of sword she had a fair knowledge of. Their names were Felicity and Felicia Quinn. They were essential shield and sword, and the closer they were, the more powerful they could become.
But, as always, mana was a problem, and they’d yet to grasp the concept of control. You might think Silas and Chloe were having it easy, which they essentially were, but their true ranks were SSS-Rank and SS-Rank. These two ranks are vastly different from S-Rank. Even an S-Rank would have it difficult in a blue rift, newly awakened or not. How much more two B-Ranks and A-Ranks against an experienced B-Rank predator?
Alicia and her team were even lucky that Silas and the girls appeared there in time, otherwise...
The same thing that had happened to Marcus’s team would’ve happened to them. Just as expected, David’s mana snuffed off the moment he moved in for a kill. The mecha echo he’d formed along with the energy sword disappeared in an instant, leaving him shocked and bare. The others were a second too slow to save. The bear bit down on him, tearing him in half. His upper body was in the bear’s mouth, probably its belly, while his lower part dangled off one of its massive fangs, causing blood to drip down its chin and onto the floor.
The others were so shaken that they broke down, losing all will to fight. Everything happened so fast that they didn’t understand. The bear roared into the sky, asserting dominance, but the others weren’t hearing it. Their will to fight had been broken and had crumbled into dust.
Just as it lunged at the frozen amateurs, a strong gust of wind blew it back, causing it to crash into trees, turning them into splinters. It stood up, growling, but the three were nowhere to be found. They’d disappeared into thin air, or so it seemed.
***
Mr. Fatars and Mrs. Loraine stared at the shivering students, covered in blood, with grim expressions. Felicia’s eyes were blank and unresponsive, showing evidence of how traumatized she was.
"What happened?" Mr. Fatars asked the young man in front of him, while Mrs. Loraine approached the students.
"They were attacked by a Borotus, which would most likely be a B-Rank beast. Unfortunately, David..." the young man, Mr. Sylvester, one of the teachers who was a B-Rank wind ability user, answered with a grim tone.
"He got eaten," Mr. Fatars completed his sentence and asked. "And Alicia’s team? Any findings?"
"None yet. No tracks, no clues. The only conclusion is either they are missing or worse... wiped out."
"Their team is pretty strong, so I doubt the latter," a voice answered from behind Mr. Fatars. A new member, a teacher, joined them. She was a short lady with short black hair. Miss Gertrude was a C-Rank with the ability to control things with her mind. Telekinesis, though it was very limited because of her rank. She was strong nonetheless.
"This is a possible blue rift, Gertrude. What if they encountered one of the natives of this world? You think they would survive against a tribe of goblins or worse, orcs? Even an S-Rank is missing," Sylvester said, causing Gertrude to bite her lips. He was right. Rifts from blue to the fabled violet were unpredictable. You can die without knowing how it happened. You wouldn’t know what it was throwing at you until the last second.
"Right now, we can only hope and pray that they are alright," Mrs. Loraine joined, sighing. The three had been traumatized deeply, and the more they stayed in the rift, the less they would recover from it. It wouldn’t be shocking if they all developed PTSD from this.
"Somehow, I feel like we are going to be hit by something shocking and soon. I can feel it in my gut," Mr. Fatars suddenly said, making everyone look at him funny. Somehow, the last part of his statement sounded... ironic and true. Fatars... Gut. Strange how humor always appeared when something grave had happened...
***
Mr. Fatars was right on the dot because at the moment, a pink-haired guy was leading a group of nine right towards camp.
Earlier, after Silas and Victor’s episode, Silas decided to look for the direction of the camp. From how Alicia spoke, they’d been lured to this place. That was the strength of goblins, Gromda told him. They were masters of trickery and traps. Speaking of goblins, Silas had gotten two new rewards from the system. One was a title: Goblin Slayer, and the other was an echo of the Hobgoblin Chieftain, which he’d elusively managed to ste- capture. After using Thread Sight and Perception to locate the main camp, he quietly summoned the goblin echo and used it as a scout. So as they were walking, he was seeing the world through its eyes, and it was pretty awesome and efficient.
From his estimate, they would reach the main camp in about three hours, considering that they stop to rest. Chloe and Gromda moved beside him on opposite sides, watching him from the corner of their eyes. They could tell that he was focused on the way his eyes glowed once every second. The rest followed behind them without a word. Well, one looked as if he had something to say, but he was busily walking funny so as not to further increase the pain and agony he was feeling from the bruises he’d received after the beating.
"We can rest here or continue. We are almost close to camp. Your call," Silas shouted from the front, but didn’t stop moving. In fact, he increased his pace, and Chloe noticed immediately. Something was definitely wrong. And she was right, because when Silas used his ability to locate camp, he accidentally or unaccidentally saw a monster heading towards the camp, and from the aura of the beast, it was most likely an A-Rank beast. The reason why he was rushing towards the camp was that the beast’s trajectory was the same path they were traveling.
He wasn’t ready to face it yet, and he could use some rest. At camp, the teachers could take care of the monster, since they were more experienced. You can call him shameless for all he cared, but it was survival here. You gotta do what you gotta do.
