"Tsk, that’s cute but too late,"
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Simultaneously, all three of the monsters launched a projectile attack utilizing their natural affinity for energy attacks in the form of three powerful orbs of reddish light, which slammed into the Gate, generating a massive dust cloud formed of rocky particulates thanks to the abundant stone and rock walls.
The loud, concussive explosions were probably so deafening that if I could actually see through the cloud for the reaction the three monsters had, or maybe hear them, I would have covered my ears.
Fortunately for me, the opposite side of the Gate, which I had barely crossed in the nick of time, was like another segregated world when compared to the lobby.
And unless someone passed the trial, nothing, sound, nor object could make it through the sturdy barrier that separated the heart of the Instance from the lobby.
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With my arms crossed over my chest and a confident smirk on my lips, I waited for the dust cloud to settle and reveal the intimidating half-bear, half-snake creatures.
When it finally did, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I saw blood dripping from not only the ears of each Titana-Griswyrm but also their eyes, snout, and mouth.
"Well, I’ll be damned, they must have really put a lot behind those attacks. Ignorant dumb beasts, you’d figure they would know better than to attack the Gate’s barrier, but NOOOO, now look at you three morons, deaf as can be, and suffering the reflective defensive protocol of the gate tisk tisk." Shaking my head and acting as if the three monsters could hear, let alone understand my words, I carried on a one-sided dialog.
"Eh…I really should deal with them now when those three knuckleheads are weak, but once I leave the Gate, it will take seven days for it to unlock again, even if I kill them." Tapping my left foot on the ground, I sucked my teeth loudly while debating my next course of action.
Meanwhile, the three Titana-Griswyrms could be seen on the other side of the transparent, 10-foot by 8-foot barrier, thrashing their heads about and pawing at their ears in agony.
"Sigh, if I were in a higher Grade Instance, I would say fuck it and go in for the kill, but the particle saturation in the lobby isn’t even 1/4th of what it is here." I mused while spinning around, putting the Gate to my back and observing the dimly lit, winding tunnel I had entered.
As far as the eye could see, the only discernable features apart from the torches spread out every ten or so feet were the rocky walls and dirt ground.
On either side of me was around 15 to 20 feet of space, along with a ceiling that was around the same height, making the dimensions of the tunnel large enough for something as large as a train to navigate through easily.
Locking in on the glowing object on either side of the wall and noticing the torches were lit, my expression steeled, making me poke the inside of my cheek with my tongue and tilt my head to the side.
’Someone’s been here…’ I thought while accessing the information I had on the caverns, my goal was to figure out how long the torches would remain lit before going out.
’Two weeks, that’s how long the torches will naturally stay activated before blinking out and requiring time to recharge.’ Walking toward the right side of the tunnel, I drew down on the torch and examined it carefully for any sign of recently being activated.
Scanning the lengthy iron pole with a spherical ball atop, I ran my finger along the base before bringing my index finger and thumb together and rubbing them against each other.
’There’s a thin layer of dust on this torch, roughly a week’s worth of accumulation. That means that someone took this bronze entrance in that amount of time, and judging by how many of the torches are lit, it was a team of people, 3-4…that’s annoying.’
Brushing my dusty fingers against my pants, I crouched down and walked around the immediate area, investigating my surroundings for any clues to reinforce my theory.
Soon enough, I was able to locate the signs that four people, two small and two grown, had made a minor camp here by the Gate, a common tactic since the Gate was considered a safe zone.
’Four sets of distinct footprints, two from children and two from either teenagers or young adults, along with the remnants of a campfire and impressions of two tents…it seems my luck hasn’t failed me yet.’
Based on my findings, I was able to conclude that the group had indeed left the Gate about a week ago, heading deeper into the never-ending depths of the Caverns.
’Furthermore, since all three Titana-Griswyrms are in good health, I believe they either evaded the Guardians like I had, or they were killed weeks ago and had only just respawned recently.’ Making my way back toward the Gate, I began searching around the left side of the tunnel’s walls.
My objective was to find a crevice I could hide away in while carrying out my plan for my first week in the Instance. Since there was a 200-foot buffer zone between the Gate and the depths of the Caverns that was inaccessible to monsters, I knew I only had one threat, and that was people; thus, I wanted to hide in plain sight, in case the group I had discovered returned.
For the next hour, I searched high and low for any cracks in the walls that could be used to my advantage, and eventually, after coming up empty-handed close to the Gate, I found one…the only problem was it was part of the ceiling.
About half the distance from the Gate to the edge of the safe zone, roughly three and a half stories above, was a deep crack caused by what I could only assume to be a stray attack, which in itself was food for thought but I didn’t care at the moment.
’Heh, it just had~ to be high up…didn’t it,’ I mused while opening my inventory and searching around my provisions for something to help me out.