"Me too."
The man looked at Jin in front of him in surprise. Jin turned to the others and spoke again:
"I forgot these in my dimensional bag. I'm sorry, my memory is bad, I couldn't remember."
Jin distributed the lanterns, water, and bread to everyone. As for Arthur, he handed him the dagger along with the others and spoke with a grateful expression:
"Thank you for the dagger."
Arthur nodded, glancing at what he held in his hands. He put the dagger in his dimensional bag and began to eat the bread. The others slowly joined him.
Within three minutes, everyone had consumed half of the bread and water. They then placed the water jugs in their bags. Jin handed the two remaining lanterns to the man.
"Give one to the monster you summoned in front, and the other to the one behind. They will be the first to attack. This will give us enough time to prepare."
The man nodded and took the lanterns. Arthur stepped forward and spoke at the entrance:
"Are you ready?"
The man nodded again and summoned his monsters. Within less than ten seconds, the number of creatures in the room began to increase.
The summoned creatures were approximately two meters tall. They had long, sharp teeth and blue-tinged fur. Their eyes were completely white. They resembled wolves, but on their foreheads were two glowing rubies. Each was at the "master" level—that was what made the man so terrifying. Or rather, the summoners.
Summoners can summon monsters even stronger than their own level and keep them under control for hours. That's why they are one of the most feared classes.
Summoned monsters are divided into 4 classes:
1. Low Level: Novice ~ Master
2. Medium Level: Master ~ Transcendent
3. High Level: Transcendent ~ Immortal
4. Peak Level: Immortal ~ ???
Each has different powers, and these powers increase according to the summoner's level.
Adam attached one of the lanterns to the creature standing in front of him and ordered it to move forward. The wolf slowly stepped out of the room and began to move in the given direction. It headed toward the tunnel on the right.
The others continued to wait. After about twenty seconds, the man gave the signal, and the group moved forward. The man attached the second lantern to another wolf and ordered it to follow from the rear.
****
Arthur was in front. Jin was quietly following right behind him. Both of them kept their hands on their weapons, their muscles tense as they scanned their surroundings. Their every step was careful and measured, for this darkness was deadly enough to punish even the slightest carelessness.
Ahri spent the entire night alone and managed to pull herself together. She walked just behind the group, her bow half-drawn. Her eyes constantly scanned the surroundings, trying to sense danger before it arrived. Her mission was clear: to contribute to the group's defense, no matter what.
Adam was moving toward the center of the group, but he was not alone. His field of vision was not limited to what his eyes could see—he was using the senses of the monsters he had summoned to monitor both his front and his back. His task was extremely critical, and he knew it. However, detecting and sharing the mental signals of another being placed a heavy burden on the human brain. That's why he had set a limit for himself: he would only check once every minute.
His mind was also drifting back to the past. He had joined school later than his peers, and when he started at the academy as a first-year student, he was nearly two years older than most of the students in his class. But that didn't matter to him. It wasn't about age; it was about power. And he spoke through his power.
Emma was moving through the center of the group. She looked around anxiously, scanning every shadow as a potential threat. She was the most vulnerable among them, and this made her more cautious than ever.
She was a healer. And healers were the last bastions of civilization in this age. They did not merely heal physical wounds; they also suppressed spiritual breakdowns and replenished magical energies. Of course, this meant expending her own magic, which caused her to deplete faster than others. But for her, it was a sacrifice worth making.
The staff in her hand was her greatest ally. It was a rare, three-star magical focusing device. It was a gift from her father. With every healing, every magical touch, she felt his presence. Emma might not have been the best in her class, but she had developed faster thanks to the resources her father had provided. She still received regular supplies, but she hadn't seen him in two years.
The words whispered from her lips:
"Father... where are you?"
No one heard. But that voice continued to echo inside her.
****
Arthur, walking at the front, moved forward without saying a word. The lanterns they used might reveal their positions, but in the darkness, they had no other choice. Even in this silence, the weight of responsibility bore down on his shoulders.
Arthur was the next leader of his clan. This title had brought him prestige, resources, and respect. However, he had rejected most of these advantages and had come this far on his own strength. He had led many expeditions and missions before; but this was different. This time, death was closer with every step.
Though he was considered the strongest among the fourth-year students, he was waiting for the academy to end. He was already powerful enough to advance to a higher-level mission; but the clan leader had asked him to wait. Out of respect for his leader, he had not questioned this decision.
But now, a small voice whispered inside him:
"If I hadn't hesitated... maybe I could have done more now."
And the silent footsteps continued down the dark corridor. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, but they were moving toward a shared destiny.
****
Arthur continued forward with an expressionless face. The silence was broken by Adam's voice.
"Arthur, there's something ahead."
Arthur narrowed his eyes. As his power increased, his range of vision expanded, but darkness was always a faithful enemy. Whatever lay in the depths of the tunnel was invisible except for the faint light of the lantern.
The group was like a line of light moving through the darkness. This made them an easy target for hunters. Arthur raised his hand to signal them to stop. Everyone froze instantly. Breaths were held, tension sharpening the air.
Ahri had her bow drawn halfway. She narrowed her eyes, fixing her gaze on the area where the summoned beast lay ahead.
Arthur silently began to watch that spot. They waited... for a minute, only the sound of heartbeats could be heard.
Then...
The monster where the lantern was suddenly began to move. A strange, muffled roar echoed. Then the lantern went out... and a scream came.
Short. Sharp. Like a life cut short.
"GET READY!!!"
Arthur's loud voice filled the tunnel. Everyone grabbed their weapons. The situation was serious. There were no tanks in the group... which meant the entire burden was on Arthur's shoulders.
At that moment, a sound rose from the depths of the tunnel:
"Cik... cik...!"
It sounded like a mouse. Thin, high-pitched, and growing in number. Their numbers were increasing.
Arthur closed his eyes, focused, and activated his ability. He thrust his spear into the ground. A blue flame erupted from its tip and swept forward through the narrow tunnel. This flame, licking the surface, engulfed the first wave of morvaks bursting out of the darkness.
The Morvaks—feathered, one-meter-tall creatures with hideous faces and rusty gray eyes—did not stop even when they saw their burning vanguard. They charged forward, trampling over the ashes of their brothers.
Ahri drew her bow fully and released the arrow.
The first arrow struck the Morvak's head. Then another, and another… Each arrow found its deadly mark. The bow kept drawing back, and with each draw, another creature fell.
She fought with silent fury.
The man gave orders to the three summoned wolves behind him. The wolves roared and charged forward. They passed Arthur and plunged into the morvaks. They moved like a death machine woven from teeth, claws, and muscles. They bit and tore the morvaks apart, crushing them to death.
But the end of the herd was not in sight.
Jin raised his sword, Azure.
He took a slow breath.
The first morvak charged at him, drooling, its eyes wild.
Jin split the beast in two with a vertical slash without taking a single step back. Then another came. Then another.
These were only first-tier corrupted creatures. They weren't strong, but... they were a numerical nightmare that never ended.
Arthur was in the middle of hell.
He swung his spear in a circle, sending four morvaks flying into the air at once. Each strike was an explosion of rage.
But it wasn't enough.
Countless footsteps, screams, and animal roars echoed through the tunnel.
A moment came. Arthur knelt down, gripped his spear tightly, and struck the ground vertically.
'BOOOM!'
Blue flames spread outward in a circular explosion. Dozens of approaching morvaks burst into flames instantly.
Screams rose. The smell of flesh filled the tunnel. A brief moment of respite had been created. But… this was only the beginning.
Emma, her trembling hands clutching her staff, her eyes darting constantly around. Blood, sweat, and dust had thickened the air, but she didn't stop.
As soon as she saw someone injured, she whispered a spell. A pale green light shone over the wound, and the bleeding stopped.
She had no offensive power. Perhaps she couldn't even stop an enemy. But that didn't mean she wasn't fighting.
With every spell she cast, she was saving a life.
And she was fighting too. In her own way.
In front of him was Jin.
His eyes were constantly on both Emma and the enemies.
Arthur had said to him before the battle began:
"Protect her."
And Jin had accepted this order without question.
The distance between them was three meters.
But in the midst of everything, those three meters were a shield, a world apart.
When the Morvaks surrounded Jin, his sword danced like a ghost.
Azure tore through the flesh of a beast with a blue glow with every strike.
But sometimes, a creature dared to break through that deadly circle.
At those moments…
Ahri stepped in.
Her bow was nearly spent, her breath caught in her throat, but her hands remained steady.
Each arrow beat like a heart.
Fifteen minutes had passed.
Sweat, blood, screams…
Minds were clouded. Bodies were weary. The Morvaks still attacked, but their numbers had thinned.
The end was in sight.
Hope flickered like a spark within everyone.
Until…
A deafening roar shook the tunnel.
'KRRRRRRHHHHHUUUUUUAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!!!!'
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound.
Emma's eyes widened.
This was unlike anything she had ever heard before.
It was not the sound of an animal.
It was the scream of a curse.
A shadow appeared in the darkness of the tunnel.
A giant, ominous thing, very different from the herd.