"Group C, please gather yourselves. Ground B will be out any moment now."
Today was a tour day organized by Class A12. They were escorted to the construction site by four instructors from the academy.
Because Class A12 had at most twenty students, they couldn't all fit in the cave due to ventilation.
The class was divided into four groups, each having at most five students.
"So glad Instructor Max is our tour guide."
"He's soo cute, and his classes are always interesting."
Although the instructor stood behind them, the three girls in front of him still carried on with their conversation about him.
Everyone in the academy loved him because of the way he taught and the fantasy stories he told. After all, he was also an author.
One of them that caught their attention was about a group of students transported to another world; however, only one came back alive.
He claimed the only person who survived was him.
"Dunno what's so special about that guy though," a male student murmured.
With Professor Max around, almost every girl displayed a liking for him, making it hard for the male students to even get a glance from them.
"Tsk, wonder why he's our tour guide," said another male standing beside the first.
The professor sighed, making his way forward the moment Group B came out of the cave.
"Alright, stay together, kids," he said while the students walked closely behind him. He heard the two males murmuring something about him.
"Kids? Hmph, shouldn't he be around twenty-five or something?"
The student said it under his breath; however, he noticed Max had overheard him due to the way he stared back with his eyes. It made the student feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Okay kids, stay behind your teacher, please. Thank you," the construction manager said, leading the way inside the cave.
After passing into the cave, Max turned around to see the other students and teachers. 'Hm, that felt strange', he thought.
This cave was particularly picked for the sightseeing tour due to the glowing crystals.
It was extremely rare to see this, according to Professor Max, since he was the one handling the topic. These crystals could glow for eternity, and they were also indestructible.
"Don't touch anything, Sarah," Professor Max said before the girl's hand could reach the crystal.
"Okay, Professor Max, sorry," the girl apologized with a frown.
Max sighed. "Maganite crystals are extremely cold. However, a single touch and they'd peel your skin off," he explained.
"The professor isn't wrong, kids. Can't touch one of these without gloves, haha," said the manager. "Come on, the rest of the workers are this way. You'll see how maganite crystals are being extracted."
Professor Max instructed the students to stay closely behind him.
Although the maganite crystals glowed, there were also a few lanterns fixed along the cave.
"Oh my god," the manager's heartbeat skipped several beats.
"What? What happened here?" he added.
Unfortunately, the construction workers couldn't answer. After all, they were all dead.
One of the female students who couldn't stand the sight of blood suddenly collapsed.
"Get Mira outside," Max instructed the male students. They quickly obeyed and picked her up. "What happened here?" he asked the manager.
However, the man was completely frozen. Whoever killed the workers wasn't an ordinary person; he was a serial psychotic killer.
The different cuts and stab wounds on their bodies indicated that the person enjoyed what he did to these people. Some had their heads separated from their bodies.
One of them had his whole face resting on a maganite crystal, which had peeled off his face completely, revealing his skull.
"Sir, we have to go," Max tried snapping the man out of it; however, nothing seemed to shake him.
Then he immediately heard Sarah's scream. Max instantly dashed toward the exit of the cave.
'If this is another summoning,' were his first thoughts, which actually pissed him off and made him run faster. 'My students.'
His speed increased, faster than that of a normal person. 'I sense a bad feeling about this.'
---
"What is that thing?" a male student asked.
In front of them stood a big green, human-shaped beast with long ears and eyes. The beast held an axe soaked in blood. Its size alone was twice that of a human.
And its fangs were the size of a baby's arm. It also had long black hair and glowing red eyes.
"I think... that's a—" the other male student stuttered. "A goblin?" he finally said.
As if the beast had answered its name, it launched forward at superhuman speed. It looked like teleportation to them...
Because they didn't even realize when the beast had grabbed Sarah by the face and lifted her up like she weighed nothing.
"Sarah!!!" a red-haired male student yelled, letting go of the collapsed girl and charging toward the beast.
However, accompanied by the growl of the beast, it effortlessly slapped him against the cave wall, nearly grazing his skin with the crystal.
"Fuck," he groaned.
At this moment, none of the students found the will to move. The aura kept them trapped in a suffocating corner.
"Go and die, little heroes. You're so weak," the beast growled.
All of a sudden, its eyes widened. It felt something terrifying was also inside the cave the moment it let her go...
Something—or rather someone—ten times faster than the beast dashed past them...
Out of nowhere, the professor's palm swallowed its whole face, squeezing tightly as he grabbed the monster.
Max smashed the beast hard against the ground—so hard the students couldn't believe the ground cracked and the goblin remained motionless on the floor.
Max stood up with his eyes closed. He then turned to look at the students, who wordlessly stared back at him. "Did anyone get hurt?" he asked.
When he asked, he saw the students suddenly become frightened once more because the monster was beginning to regain its strength.
"Sarah," when he saw the little girl crying on the floor, he didn't let the demon stand up. He walked closer and raised his leg high above the monster's face.
"Stop moving," he said. However, the demon wasn't a fan of negotiation, and when it tried to stand up, Max stomped its head deep into the ground.
Turning around to face the students, Max sighed. "How do I explain this?"