Chapter 53 False Hope

Everybody was terror-stricken and was trying hard to appear calm, but Jack was the calmest amongst them, which was the reason why he was in charge of their group right now.

Meanwhile, Nial was just exhausted, and could barely use his senses and mana perception to understand what was happening.

His thoughts were still distracted by the elemental crystal, but that was something that had to wait for a moment.

Forcing himself to stand firmly on the ground, he shook his head to clear it and followed the others that were led out of the cave by Jack.

The young man who was around his age was still filled with vigor and it was almost as if he was completely unaffected by the fight they had just fought and won.

His breathing was steady and so were his mana fluctuations.

This made Nial wonder if Jack was simply holding back or if his Innate ability had improved his stamina regeneration.

That was a feasible possibility which made Nial wonder if his own ability would receive similar benefits once it improved.

Yet, instead of daydreaming about turning into an almighty existence, he forced himself to pay attention to survive the disaster unfolding around them.

Even if his mind wanted to distract him, and make him think about something else other than his possible death, it was becoming hard to do that.

His mind, against his orders, was doing a fine job of vividly painting a picture of his flesh being ripped apart by thousands of petrification rats or possibly even worse ways to die.

A scowl escaped his lips as he closed his eyes forcibly and opened them again to help himself focus on the surroundings.

Quickly following the others, he caught up to them, and it didn't take them long before they reached the intersection he and the three students had been previously at.

Because of that, Nial tried to focus his senses on one of the tunnels- the tunnel out of which the petrification rats should emerge.

It was the tunnel he and the others had left just a few hours ago after all.

As such, Nial looked at Jack, who didn't seem to know which of the few tunnels they had to choose.

Thus, he simply pointed at one of the tunnels while shouting Jack's name.

The young man saw his trembling hand which was a clear indicator of just how difficult it was for him to move.

However, even after seeing this, Jack couldn't do anything because the screeches of the petrification rats were becoming louder with each passing second.

Because of that, he nodded his head before rushing inside the tunnel Nial had pointed at, without bothering to question or inspect if that was the correct one or not.

Meanwhile, Nial took another serum that invigorated him and made his hand stop trembling.

His body was still aching and begging for rest but that was perfectly fine with him.

Instead, he was more concerned about Shana, who was also shivering as she arrived next to him.

Initially, he had wanted to go to her, but Shana moved before he did and Nial could only hear her blabber several things at once, making it hard for him to understand her.

"Why…do I have such a bad feeling..?"

"There was not a single treasure…just how can I help my sister…?!"

"Was the voice wrong when it told me that I'll find a solution to every question I seek an answer to??"

Her words made him want to ask several things at once instead of trying to calm her down first.

Neither did Nial understand what kind of treasure she wanted to find nor did he know what voice Shana was talking about.

However, in the end, he slowly comprehended why Shana had entered the dungeon.

'She thought that the dungeon would have a treasure that would bring her sister out of the coma…and a voice told her that?'

When he understood this, Nial's mind began to rattle, making him momentarily forget the chittering and squeals of the petrification rats that were slowly nearing them.

The question about why everyone entered the two-element dungeon was now solved by a simple theory he had come up with just now.

He assumed that the voice was something that came from the two-element dungeon, beckoning weaker Originals in the proximity of the dungeon portal to enter it upon its emergence.

From the looks of it, school had just ended during that time, and it made sense for some students to walk past the main alley that was not far away from the location of the two-element dungeon.

Thus the voice had reached the depth of the Originals' conscience promising them all kinds of treasures they were seeking, including a treasure that could help Shana's sister.

Nial felt that this was even more terrifying than anything else, because he had never heard about a dungeon, or beasts from within being able to speak to someone in their mind, let alone that it was possible for them to figure out their deepest desires.

Goosebumps spread over his entire body, and Nial could only continue running away from the collapsing walls, hoping that the voice was the most dangerous threat the two-element dungeon had.

Yet, it was at this moment that he sensed something that caused him to subconsciously slow down.

What he felt was distinctly transmuted light mana that filled the entire room they were inside in bright, blinding light.

It came from behind them, the direction where the petrification rats were charging toward them.

Normally, transmuted mana wouldn't be anything special and only indicate that it was different than neutral mana.

In most cases, the mana was just transmuted in the form of an affinity, which was supposed to be the case here too.

However, right now, the light transmuted mana dispelled Nial's fear of the petrification rats. His tension subsided, resulting in his speed slowing down.

At the same time, the others felt the same sensation envelop their entire being, making them believe that the petrification rats were not hostile towards them.

Yet, it was just as all of them slowed down that both Jack and Nial got out of their trance-like state, releasing that they had been affected by some sort of illusion.

In fact, the two of them didn't know what was going on, and Jack was still under some kind of spell, and it was just a fraction of a second later that his Innate ability had freed him from the misconception that everything was fine.

However, this fraction of a second was too late as he had cut himself with one of his daggers.

Afterward, he felt the pain coursing through his injured arm, but he somehow forced himself to keep going.

Meanwhile, Nial had been affected by the misconception, only for a short moment before everything seemed to change completely.

From sensing a trace of hope that radiated from the light affinity, everything changed to darkness.

It was almost as if the true and hidden intention of the bright light that was radiating from the entire two-element dungeon was unveiled, revealing that the trace of hope was misleading, and a misconception to turn their hope against themselves.

When Nial noticed this, he couldn't help but feel shocked, but his mind was still foggy owing to the effect the unknown was caused.

He presumed that it was the act of the beast summoned through the blood ritual but that was not something Nial could be sure of, for now.

Owing to the fact that the others had slowed down as well and his speed that had been less for a short period, Nial was able to sense that the petrification rats had already closed the gap and were almost in front of them.

As such, given the fact that his group was still severely affected, Nial could only do two things.

First, he stored the Fang Spear which he should have done before already, and secondly, he took out several grenades which he held in both of his hands.

Calling out Jack, who was the only one who had recovered from the eerie sensation, Nial threw a few grenades towards him as he shouted instructions at him.

"Insert mana into them to amplify their effects, but I guess you know how to use grenades as a cadet of the military. Let's leave this fucking place with everyone alive, alright?"

Smiling lightly, Nial was trying to encourage himself, holding onto the belief that everyone would survive.

Thus, only moments after he threw a few grenades toward Jack, he pulled the pin out of one of the grenades he had been holding.

Most of the grenades he had were flashbangs, but that was perfectly fine because they could be thrown one after another in rapid successions, and the loud noises they caused would hopefully pull the other Originals out of the effect the light transmuted mana caused.

With that hope in mind, he threw the grenade behind himself, while dragging Shana along whose speed continued to decrease.

And as expected, the moment the flashbang exploded, everyone was forcefully dragged out of the effect the light transmuted mana caused.

Shaking their heads, they looked around in confusion as fear and disbelief could be seen in their eyes about what they had been doing.

Regaining their senses, they immediately hastened their pace without any other warning or instruction.

They barely realized what had happened, but that was already more than enough for the Originals to be scared witless.

While they were on the run, their body began to tremble heavily, but with each flash grenade that detonated, they became more confident of their survival and escape from the nightmarish dungeon.

In fact, they were forced to shut their eyes tightly relying on their mana to perceive the surrounding area.

Through this they were able to hear and perceive that the beasts behind them were influenced by the bright shining light.

Not being proficient in relying on other senses like Nial, they collided with each other, and restricted one another, halting the advance of the petrification rats' flood.

This allowed Jack and Nial to throw more and more flashbang grenades behind them as explosions rocked the entire room, until theyslowed down their throwing speed in an attempt to lure the petrification rats to open their eyes, only for one of the two young men to throw another flashbang grenade.

The continuous assaults of the grenade injured most of the rats and only one of the beasts was able to pursue them without too many restrictions through the thinning crowd of petrification rats.

In fact, the beast Nial sensed had to run on its four legs in order to not hit the ceilings as it was simply too large, and was trampling the petrification rats under its feet as it pursued the humans.

Fortunately, the explosions caused by the flashbang grenades were still strong enough to slow it down, followed by decreasing its control over the light transmuted mana that had some unique type of effect.

As such, not much time passed, until two things happened at the same time.

First, they ran out of flashbang grenades, allowing the weird beast that must be the newly summoned monster, to use its light transmuted mana to the fullest while its speed also increased.

Secondly, they reached the next intersection which caused Nial to shout with all the remaining air left in his lungs.

"TAKE THE ONE IN YOUR FRONT!"

Yet, it was just at that moment Nial felt his entire being enveloped in an extremely distinct light transmuted mana, restricting his steps, forcing him to be glued to the spot.

However, instead of panicking or feeling helplessly stuck, he felt extremely calm, as if everything was how it was meant to be. This feeling only intensified when something weird originating from the Odyssey seed was released.

"You fucking ugly beast! Let go of me, RIGHT NOW!!"