An enormous crystal-blue shark jumped out of the water to Alaric's right, opening its mouth to devour him. Before its teeth could reach him, Lyssandra's tiger charged forward and sank its fangs into the creature's body, diverting its trajectory. Alaric immediately took advantage of the opening. He spun the spear with both hands and delivered a precise slash, splitting the shark in half before it could return to the water.
Another one appeared right behind him.
Alaric noticed the movement through the reflection in the water and turned around at the last moment. The spear passed through the creature's open mouth and cut it before it could bite him.
"Wind Dragon's Roar!"
Shen Keifeng concentrated wind into his fists and advanced toward one of the approaching sharks. His punch released a wave of compressed wind, similar to an invisible roar, that struck the creature directly in its already wounded mouth. The force of the impact passed through its body and opened an enormous hole in its center, causing the shark to plummet.
"Line Magic: Heavenly Puppet!"
Qianlan moved one hand, and magical lines appeared in the air, wrapping around one of the sharks. The creature began moving like a puppet under her control. Instead of attacking Qianlan, it was thrown against another shark that was trying to bite her. The moment the two creatures collided, Qianlan pulled the lines with force, and the controlled shark's body was split in half by the magical lines themselves.
The problem was that those were not the only enemies.
From all sides, new sharks emerged from the water below the platform. As soon as they left the surface, their bodies began to levitate, allowing them to fly through the room like predators. Whenever they were struck with enough force to fall back into the water, their wounds began regenerating, making each creature even more difficult to eliminate.
Elowyn and Arvanys had to remain side by side for a few moments, using their own magic to prevent the sharks from reaching their positions. Weapons were launched through the air while ice blades cut the creatures attempting to advance.
"This second test is really difficult."
"I hope the reward isn't just a breastplate this time."
The group had already advanced to the boss room, but the situation had not improved. On the contrary. That room seemed to be occupied by a true school of sharks, all attacking without any pause.
Liang remained close to the others, maintaining his concentration while two jade dragons appeared around his arms. With a movement of his hands, he sent the creatures toward the approaching sharks. The dragons passed through several of them, but Liang did not seem satisfied.
He continued observing the room.
There were too many sharks, and they continued regenerating whenever they returned to the water. They needed to discover the source of that ability before the battle became unsustainable.
"The statues!"
Kael shouted while dodging another shark that tried to bite him.
Alaric looked in the indicated direction and finally realized what had gone unnoticed until then.
Around the room were several ancient statues. Some were partially covered by water, while others remained near the walls. There was something strange about them, but amid the chaos of the battle, no one had paid enough attention.
Alaric immediately understood the possibility.
"Of course!"
He raised his spear and created several more above his own head.
"Let's test it!"
The spears were fired in succession toward the nearest statues. The first impact destroyed one of them, causing its pieces to fall into the water.
Valença had also heard the conclusion.
"I understand!"
She raised her hands and created several fireballs. The projectiles crossed the room and struck the statues on the left side, destroying them one after another.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then, one of the sharks that had returned to the water received another attack.
Its body remained wounded, and no regeneration occurred.
Alaric widened his eyes.
"The sharks that returned to the water aren't healing anymore! Let's take advantage of this!"
The discovery completely changed the rhythm of the battle.
Everyone began attacking the remaining statues. While some continued keeping the sharks away, others concentrated their attacks on the objects responsible for the regeneration. Each destroyed statue made the battle a little easier, and when the last sources of magic disappeared, the sharks finally lost their ability to recover.
Without that advantage, the creatures began falling one after another.
The battle still required some time, but after a few minutes, the last shark fell onto the platform.
Silence returned to the room.
Some of the participants simply sat on the floor, while others remained lying down for a few moments, catching their breath. The number of enemies had been much greater than they expected, and the battle had consumed a considerable portion of their strength.
"Tsk... Looks like there will only be rewards for water users."
Elowyn was the first to find the reward. Among the remains of one of the sharks were two armor arms, apparently made to complete the breastplate they had found earlier.
She observed the pieces for a few seconds.
If the dungeon continued delivering parts of that armor, perhaps the next two caves would be necessary to complete the entire set. The idea did not seem to please her, mainly because that meant that only the water magic users were actually benefiting from the rewards.
Without showing interest, Elowyn threw the two pieces toward Kai.
"When the thieves passed through here, didn't they receive these rewards?"
The small fairy answered while flying near them.
"None of them had water magic or anything similar. So they only received low-level cores or weapons."
The explanation seemed sufficient.
No one asked another question.
Alaric, meanwhile, received the two armor arms from Kai. As soon as he placed them together with the rest of the equipment, he once again felt the magical energy being absorbed by the pieces. The sensation of power increased once more, and he realized that the armor was becoming increasingly valuable.
'There's no way I can give it up.'
After resting for some time and receiving treatment for their injuries again, the group resumed walking. The path to the next cave was relatively peaceful, although some creatures still appeared from time to time. The smaller Nartheis were quickly defeated, allowing them to continue advancing without needing to stop for long.
Valença and Arvanys had fallen a little behind the others.
As they walked, Arvanys noticed something strange. Valença repeatedly looked ahead, in the direction of the group following Liang. Whenever someone drew the others' attention, her eyes ended up returning to that same place.
"Why do you keep looking where they are?"
The question caught Valença by surprise. She realized that she had not managed to hide it as well as she had imagined.
"I... have a feeling of recognition with someone from there."
Arvanys continued looking at her for a few seconds, waiting for her to continue.
Valença, however, did not reveal who it was.
That person was part of Arvanys's team, and at that moment, it would be better to keep it a secret. Besides, she was still not sure what she was feeling. She only knew that there was something familiar about that group, something that made her eyes search in that direction even when she tried to focus on the mission.
Arvanys did not insist.
The two continued walking behind the others, while ahead of them, the group was getting closer and closer to the dungeon's next challenge.
Valença continued walking ahead, trying to hide her glances better. Kai seemed to be telling the others something about someone, which ended up awakening the curiosity of some of those present. Since she still could not hear the conversation properly, Valença slowed her pace a little and discreetly approached, with Arvanys right beside her. The girl gave her a curious look, clearly trying to understand why Valença had suddenly changed her behavior.
"This Enrico you're talking about must be very strong."
Upon hearing the name, Valença's ear twitched slightly. She paid even more attention.
From what she could understand, Kai was telling Liang and the others about Enrico. Valença ended up approaching together with Arvanys, trying to appear natural while listening to the conversation.
"He's an extraordinary prodigy."
"Really?"
"Yes. He's evolving so quickly that it's incredible. I'd say he's more of a prodigy than everyone here."
Valença finally reached the group. Upon hearing that, she could not help but give a small smile and nod in agreement.
Everything Kai was saying was true.
To her, anyone who disagreed simply did not have a good eye for recognizing potential. Enrico was truly extraordinary, and she was certain that this boy would still reach heights that few could imagine.
After all, the man who would one day become her husband was incredible.
Kael, who was walking a few steps ahead, seemed interested in the conversation. He turned his body while continuing to walk, looking at Kai with curiosity.
"Is he better than me?"
"Yes. Even though you've shown signs of evolution, Enrico becomes stronger during battles. If you had seen how he evolved twice during the last battle, you wouldn't have any doubts."
Kael remained silent for a few seconds.
"...If he has more potential than me, then he must be invincible against others at the same level... except me, of course."
Kael's confidence in his own potential was impressive. The strangest thing was that his words did not seem to be merely empty arrogance. During the test in the tavern and the battles inside the dungeon, he had already demonstrated enough power to support part of that confidence.
Alaric watched the small fairy flying around Kai.
She continued following the boy practically the entire time. Even after giving points to Kael and the others, she seemed increasingly inclined to choose Kai as her future user.
'Another reason for me to keep the armor... and Kael... well, since he already has enormous potential, he probably won't need it.'
Kael had made it clear that he did not intend to depend on the armor. If he really won the dispute, it was possible that he would simply give the item to whoever he considered the second best. In that case, Alaric would only need to surpass Kai.
When they finally left the cave, however, they found something unexpected.
The next two caves were open.
Everyone slowed their pace, and the fairy flew forward and explained the situation.
"This second test requires you to defeat both bosses with only a three-minute difference between their defeats. If you fail, all the rewards you've obtained so far will be taken away."
Some became more attentive upon hearing that.
"But don't worry. You will be able to redo all the tests from the beginning."
The possibility of losing all the rewards left the group silent for a few seconds. Still, knowing that they could try again if they failed reduced the tension a little.
The problem was that the three thieves were still hidden somewhere in that dungeon. There was no way to know whether they were preparing a trap or had already reached the next stage.
Liang immediately began thinking of a strategy. Among those present, he was one of those who most often analyzed situations before acting. Because of that, he looked for those he considered the strongest from each group: Elaris from Astrong Academy, and Alaric among the mercenaries.
Kael, on the other hand, had already chosen his direction.
He was simply sitting near the cave on the right, as if the decision had already been made.
"My plan is to divide the rookie mercenaries between the two academies."
"I think it's a good plan. They seem to have only recently gotten to know each other, so dividing the group is the best option."
"I agree too. But how are you going to divide us?"
Elaris immediately pointed toward the cave on the right, making it clear that she intended to follow that path, the same one chosen by Kael.
Liang looked at both sides and accepted the decision. In fact, he even seemed to prefer that division, mainly because it meant he could stay farther away from Kael.
With the sides chosen, the groups began to separate. Before entering, Lyssandra approached Alaric.
"Master, are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Yes, I am. Besides, I'm with strong people."
The division underwent a small change. Initially, there would be two mercenaries on one side and three on the other, but they realized it would be better to have someone capable of healing injuries on both teams.
In the end, the team that would accompany Astrong Academy consisted of Kael, Alaric, and Arvanys, while Maevon remained as the only member of Astrong in Liang's group to provide support. Lyssandra and Dorian followed Shengtian Academy.
"Don't fail."
Kael stood up and adjusted his clothes before looking at Liang.
"As if that were going to happen."
Without waiting any longer, he entered the cave accompanied by the others.
As soon as everyone crossed the entrance, a wall of mana appeared behind them, closing the way back.
The group began advancing through the corridor. For a few moments, nothing happened.
Then, after only a few steps, the floor trembled.
A line appeared beneath their feet and, before anyone could react, the ground split apart. Part of the team was pulled downward, while the other remained in the corridor.
"I didn't sense anything... so how did they..."
Valença looked at the ground and fired an Incandescent Ray.
The attack struck the surface, but, to her surprise, a water barrier appeared at the same instant and absorbed the impact. The ground remained completely intact.
"Did the thieves form this? But none of them can use water magic."
"It wasn't them."
Elaris carefully observed the area where the group had passed.
"It was the cave itself. If you look behind us, there hasn't been any damage to the ground until now."
Valença remained silent.
Arvanys did too.
The three looked at the path through which the others had disappeared.
Now they were the only ones on that side of the team, and none of them knew exactly where the others had fallen or what they would encounter ahead. Concern began taking hold of the three.
They did not even know if their companions were okay.
And at that moment, the only thing they could do was continue advancing, because there was no doubt that Liang's team would not stop at defeating the boss on their side.