The Evil Cave looked like the open mouth of a monster, with only pitch black visible from the outside.
Standing outside, one couldn't help but feel that something was lurking in that darkness, peering out, causing goosebumps and a general sense of unease.
"This... are we really going in?"
Tenten, who was visiting for the first time, couldn't help but shiver, wanting to back out.
"Don't worry, Tenten, it'll be fine."
As the only girl in the team, Sakura saw Tenten's fear and quickly encouraged her.
"If everyone is ready, then let's go in."
Sakura had calmed Tenten down, and no one else had any objections. After speaking, Kakashi was about to lead the way into the cave.
"Wait a moment, let my crow go in and check first."
Kakashi slapped his forehead in regret; he had actually made such a basic mistake.
If he had gone in first and encountered a large group of monsters blocking the entrance, their current activity would have been over.
"After all, this place is different from reality, so a momentary oversight is understandable."
Kakashi nodded, accepting Guy's comfort.
At this moment, Sasuke had already sent a crow into the cave.
At Sasuke's current Rank, he could already summon wolves and bears to fight. The reason he only sent a crow was because crows are weaker, and less mana is used when resummoning them after they die.
After a while, Sasuke sensed that the crow was still alive, indicating that there were no monsters at the cave entrance inside.
Only then did he say, "It's safe, we can go in."
With that, he took the lead and entered the cave... The existence of such caves is somewhat similar to dungeons in online games. The entrance is in the same space as the 'big map', but the interior is separated from the 'big map', existing independently in another special space.
Because they didn't know the situation around them, no one spoke. Even Naruto, who usually loved to shout, was silent now. Only the sound of dripping water echoed from deep within the passage, eerily quiet.
The entrance to the cave was relatively spacious, but the passage became narrower the further they walked, barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.
Although the highest point inside the cave exceeded three meters, the stalactites hanging from above forced them to carefully avoid them. Who knew if they were poisonous... Immediately after entering the cave, there was a downward slope, and the ground was wet and slippery. Everyone felt like they were treading on thin ice, fearing any accidents.
Only Sasuke's summoned creatures performed better; the crow could fly, and the wolves and bears, with their four limbs on the ground, had rough paws that made it easier to grip the surface. These summoned creatures were well-suited for such an environment.
Kakashi had been worried about an attack in such conditions, but by the time they finished traversing the entire downward sloping passage, his concerns had not materialized.
Under the illumination of the natural light in the cave, three diverging paths appeared before everyone's eyes.
"The three paths look no different, let's just pick one," Guy's deep voice broke the silence in the cave.
Just as Kakashi was about to arrange for Sasuke's summoned creatures to take the lead, he saw Sasuke suddenly put his index finger to his lips: "Shh!"
He whispered in a low voice, "Something's coming."
"Where?" Everyone was immediately surprised and excited.
They hadn't forgotten that they came in to kill monsters for points, but they hadn't seen a single monster so far, which had made them all jumpy.
Sasuke pointed to the middle passage: "It should be Wandering Dead. I hear the sound of their legs dragging on the ground as they walk."
Everyone had been on high alert, but hearing that it was Wandering Dead, their tension immediately vanished, and they weren't as excited anymore.
As everyone knew, 'zombies' like the Wandering Dead were the weakest of all monsters, and naturally gave the fewest points.
Everyone was now at the junction of the three passages, which was much wider than before, about the size of a single room.
Naruto stood at the entrance of the middle passage, axe in hand. His appearance clearly marked him as a Barbarian. Sasuke and Rock Lee stood on either side, with Kakashi and Guy behind them. Everyone else consciously retreated to the very back.
As the rustling sound grew louder, Sasuke's expression became solemn.
"Everyone, don't be careless. There are probably many Wandering Dead this time."
"How many is 'many'?" Kakashi asked jokingly. He didn't think monsters like the Wandering Dead could cause them any trouble.
"It sounds like a lot, maybe hundreds, maybe even more," Sasuke suddenly said in a somewhat flustered tone.
"What? There are so many?"
Hearing Sasuke say that, everyone else also became nervous.
"There are so many? That's good news. I actually hope there are more of these monsters so we can earn more points."
Seeing Kakashi's relaxed demeanor, everyone's tension immediately dissipated quite a bit.
Actually, when Kakashi first heard there were hundreds of 'zombies', he was also startled.
Even if these small fry weren't enough to threaten them, even just slicing them one by one, his hands would probably ache by the end.
Moreover, the bones of these 'zombies' were much harder than watermelons.
However, thinking that there was still a passage leading outside, and they could retreat at any time, with the 'zombies'' movement speed being slower than a turtle's, there was no need to worry about being caught.
Thinking of this, Kakashi truly relaxed.
"By the way, Sasuke, why can you hear these movements when we can't?"
He had just tried and found that he couldn't hear anything other than the sounds of some insects moving.
"It might be because of my profession."
Looking at Kakashi, Sasuke replied, "Druids are favored by nature, perhaps because of this, my hearing in the wild is especially good."
"Druids are favored by nature, perhaps because of this, my hearing in the wild is especially good."
"Alright."
Hearing that it was due to his profession, Kakashi didn't ask further.
"Careful, they're coming."
Just then, at one end of the passage, a large number of Wandering Dead emerged from the darkness. They were packed tightly, one after another, surging forward like a tide.
Before the two sides even made contact, a foul stench of rotting corpses assailed them.
In the enclosed space of the underground cave, this stench couldn't dissipate. After accidentally inhaling a breath, Sakura, Tenten, and the others almost couldn't help but vomit the contents of their stomachs.
"This is just a game, why is it made so realistic?"
Don't ask, just attribute it to the System's awesomeness!
Several Genin showed discomfort, but Kakashi and Guy remained calm and composed.
These two were veteran Jonin; what kind of situations hadn't they seen?
Back in the day, for missions, let alone this corpse stench, even if they had to hide in a cesspit, they definitely... well, they probably wouldn't do that.
In any case, this bit of stench had no effect on these two.