A Nartheis turtle resisted a blazing ray from Valença, which deflected upon impact. Retreating into its shell, it began to spin in the air, firing water bullets toward the three.
"Ice Bear!"
An ice bear appeared in front of them and withstood the attack. They were fighting the boss because it was the best decision they could make, and they were sure that on the other side the others had thought the same.
The plan was to defeat it, and then the dungeon would begin to unravel, eventually forcing everyone out. That way, they could capture the thieves and rescue those who had fallen into the trap.
"Glacial Blades!"
Several blades summoned by Arvanys moved around the turtle, called the Colossal Shellback. Still inside its shell, several spikes appeared on its back and were launched toward the three. Everyone ran to different spots, but the spikes followed them wherever they went.
"Ice Claw!"
Elaris faced them head-on, her hands turning into claws, and she managed to break the spikes with them. Raising her head, she saw the turtle had emerged, its mouth aimed at her. Creating an ice shield, she managed to defend herself from the water explosion that came out of its mouth.
Arvanys jumped onto the turtle with the spikes still chasing her and waited until the last second before moving away, letting the turtle get hit. That attack seemed effective, piercing deeply into its shell.
'That was a good move. I think Enrico would've thought of something like this.'
Valença suddenly ran, letting the spikes graze past her and leave light cuts. Before they could turn to chase her, Valença covered them in fire magic, heating them up so much that lava burst from the spikes.
'I'm not even Circle 1 yet, so I'll use fire to deal damage.'
By forcefully controlling the spikes, she redirected them toward the turtle, managing to cause the greatest damage so far, as it screamed in pain. Elaris placed both hands on the ground, channeling magic into the soil.
"Total Freeze!"
The ground froze rapidly, spreading to the turtle, which was completely frozen, unable to move or cast any magic. A surge of mana pulsed from Elaris's hands, shattering the frozen ground and breaking the turtle apart, leaving only a helmet of armor behind.
"Now we just have to wait until they finis—"
Before Elaris could continue, the dungeon seemed to have been completed. That meant they had defeated the boss on their side first. Elaris and Valença were impressed with how quickly it was done.
"Looks like you'll have trouble in the battle between academies."
Arvanys was right—this showed that they were at least more objective than them. Still, they remained calm, thinking there were still months left, since the tournament would be in the tenth month before the year ended.
"Let's return to where the trap was."
"Right."
"Let's hope they're alright."
They ran to the cave's entrance, arriving just in time to meet Maevon, the two mercenaries, and the four Shengtian students—everyone except Liang. When asked where he was, they explained that he had summoned a jade dragon and sent it to carry those who had fallen up, then descended alone. Meilin looked upset.
"Our leader is an idiot. I'm sure he did it because he prefers fighting alone."
"Didn't he just want to save you?"
"Impossible."
They answered immediately, as if it were obvious. They all knew him well and understood that, despite being a good leader, he was someone who could never find anyone able to meet his standards. That's why he always preferred to face the biggest challenges alone.
"The only ones who can meet his standards are the rank 2 and rank 1 of our academy."
"He's that demanding? I feel sorry for you guys."
Footsteps echoed in the cave, where Valença and the others were. Kael appeared, carrying Alex on his back, his disguise still in place—he respected his companion's cover. Behind him, on either side, were Kai and Elowyn, both with some injuries.
"Thank you for agreeing, Kael… wait, Kael, you're alive? Impressive—you really can back up your words."
"Of course. I'm no fraud."
"Master!"
Lyssandra pushed Kael aside and held Alex in her arms as if caring for something precious. Kael hit the wall, and Meilin looked like she wanted to laugh, while Arvanys helped him up.
'Is this how others see Yumeha?'
They decided to wait a while at the spot where Liang had fallen into the trap. They waited long enough to start worrying, since he might be facing not only the thief but also a Nartheis. They didn't believe the thief would be foolish enough to confront several second-circle students. Elowyn saw the dungeon fading and prepared to face the thief, who would emerge with them if still alive.
"Since we faced two, maybe the one he's fighting is the strongest."
"Really? Damn, I should've gone to their side then."
Seeing Kael looking sad, Meilin patted his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
"Looks like you were waiting for me. Sorry for the delay—I wanted to capture him alive in case Lord Deymir wanted information."
With Liang's appearance, carrying some wounds, several of them sighed in relief. He had the thief bound, a jade dragon wrapped around his legs and arms. It seemed to have been a tough fight.
'Well, it makes sense—at this time, that guy was the strongest of the three.'
Standing up, Kael noticed the dungeon completely disappear, and several guards were already surrounding them. The chief guard approached and bowed, which made Alex nervous as he had just woken up.
"Thank you for helping our lord."
"No need to thank us—you're paying us."
Seeing Alex uncomfortable with the bow, Kael sighed, wondering why he was so nervous about it. Then he remembered that in the original story, Alex was always shy with guards because he admired those who wielded weapons and could obtain Ego Weapons.
'Looks like the boy doesn't want to see his heroes bowing to him.'
"Thank you very much, I truly appreciate it."
The voice of his employer was heard, and Alex's father appeared, his face relieved that they had managed to recover the core.