Chapter 33: Frowns And Shrugs

Zach's angel and Dukiel's Sentinel worked double shifts to attack the stone wall and bring their masters out of the despair-filled Underworld. The Sentinel unleashed laser upon laser, and Yanael swung her sword like it was someone else's.

The Mannequin dabbed Julius' sweat away.

Although the group should have been close to the surface or an exit leading to it, it still took the familiars several hours of digging and drilling to bust through the stone and earth to finally reach the next tunnel.

Zach and the others felt defeated when they realized they weren't out yet. They had to continue walking uphill for what could very well end up being another several hours or days before seeing even a hint of the sun.

But the only way was forward, so they walked. And they walked.

Their exhaustion made the flow of time seem slower than it was.

But after a while, the dark tunnel finally became visible to their weary eyes. They no longer only had the Sentinel's red light to guide their way.

Zach's head rose, his back straightened, and he put a hand over his eyes as he looked ahead.

There was a light at the end of the tunnel.

"..."

No words could express their relief, joy, and exhaustion as the three tired young men hobbled, walked, and hugged their familiars over the finish line. The light forced them to squint or close their eyes that had gotten used to the darkness. But they found each others' arms and hugged with tears streaming down their faces.

"You guys know what would be horrible right now? What if this is another big cavern, just well-lit?"

"There's no way that's possible."

"Yeah, shut your damn mouth, Zach."

Despite their strong rejection of Zach's idea, Dukiel and Julius forced their eyes open to confirm that they were not in another area of the Giupusta Locale and, in fact, outside. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Their eyes stung, and more tears welled up. But Dukiel and Julius saw the mountain around them, the forest below, and clouds around the piercing sun.

They were outside.

"Fuck you, Zach."

"I did not like the feeling your words gave me, Zach."

Dukiel and Julius turned to glare at Zach after their eyes finally started to adjust a little. But he wasn't there.

Instead of standing right next to them, Zach had sneaked over to the side of the tunnel and sat down, leaning his back against the mountain. His eyes were closed, and Yanael stood in front of him, blocking the light from hitting his face directly.

"Is he asleep?" Julius asked Dukiel in disbelief.

Dukiel narrowed his eyes and looked at Zach.

"...I think so."

"Heh." Julius scoffed.

"That's a damn good idea." Julius hopped over and carefully sat down while massaging his intact leg. He had clung to his Mannequin the entire way. But he had still only used the muscles in one leg, and it ached like it was broken. He would know.

Dukiel let out an airy sigh before also plopping down and falling asleep.

The three young students slept like babies with their familiars protecting them.

"What the fuck? You three ran off ahead like you couldn't wait to get away from us, and all you're doing is sleeping?"

Yanael and the Sentinel noticed and reacted to the arrival of the source of the voice. But they recognized it and determined it wasn't a threat. Still, Yanael glared when Anerias woke up Zach and the others.

Zach had gone through too much for such a rude awakening when he was in the middle of resting.

"Shut up, Anerias Corom. If we wanted to listen to your annoying voice, we wouldn't have gone by ourselves." Julius didn't even open his eyes as he responded. He did, however, shoo Anerias and the ones who followed him up the mountain with his hand before turning over and indicating that he was trying to sleep.

Dukiel opened his eyes, but he didn't say anything and just looked at Anerias and the others.

Zach yawned and stretched his entire body like he had slept in a bed for a perfect eight hours and was ready to seize the day.

"Oh, Anerias, fancy meeting you here." Zach smiled and got up, greeting Anerias like they had run into each other in town.

Anerias ignored Julius and turned to Zach.

"I…I was about to ask why you didn't want to work with the rest of the class, but I think asking what happened to all of you is more important." Anerias looked worryingly at Zach and the others' torn and dirty clothes. They were even worse off than the group that had struggled through rain, mud, swamps, thorny thickets, and monster battles.

"Oh, boy, that, my dear buddy, is indeed important. But it's also not something just told like this. Let's grab a beer when we get back." Zach patted Anerias on the shoulder.

"...We aren't allowed to drink." Anerias' voice was strict.

"Oh, pssh. I didn't take for such a ruler. Who's gonna tell? Not me."

Anerias removed Zach's arm from his shoulders.

"So? Do you guys know where the camp is, at least?" Anerias changed the subject.

Zach's eyebrows rose.

"Huh? No, why would we? We've been stuck in the mountain for a while now."

Anerias frowned.

"How soon did you find this mountain?"

Zach shrugged.

"After a few days or so. Why?"

"...It's not on the map, but when we started getting closer to the camp, it suddenly appeared next to us. We figured it was hidden until we got close enough and that we could use it to try and spot the camp from afar."

It was Zach's turn to frown.

"...When did it appear?"

And it was Anerias' turn to shrug.

"A few days ago or so. Why?"

Zach pursed his lips.

"...I think that might have been us."

"What?"

"Ugh, I can't be bothered to give the full explanation. Just…Let's just find the camp. I want my bed."

"...Right."