Chapter 71 Journey To The Center

The two immediately went on to exchange several blows, with both seeming to go head to head-in terms of ability. Even though Lyrian was faster, Silong looked to have fighting technique, which Lyrian lacked, making up for his slower speed.

Although this was true, Lyrian's speed quickly overwhelmed Silong, causing him to jump backward and create some distance between himself and Lyrian.

"Damn it! How are you so powerful!?" Silong exclaimed in frustration, slamming his fists together to create a gold-colored magical shield around his body.

Right then, the several injuries from the blows that he took while fighting Lyrian began to heal on their own inside of the barrier.

"This is my final attack, you won't survive it!" He yelled out before quickly beginning to run at Lyrian, his body now fully healed of all its scars.

"This will also be my final attack." Lyrian retorted, dashing towards Silong at the same time.

As he got within 5 feet of Lyrian, Silong yelled, "Golden Fist Of The Dragon!!" swerving his hand that was radiating with yellow before unleashing it toward Lyrian, making a small illusion of a dragon flowing through it.

"Shock Fist." Lyrian also said, already having powered up his attack.

Now, with the time he had trained it during the exam, there was almost no more risk of it fizzling.

The two attacks clashed in the middle, sending gasps of awe through the crowd of kids who were looking as Silong's fist was almost instantly overpowered.

"What in the hell! How the fuck is this possible!?" He screamed as he was propelled into the air, only to land in the lake before being eliminated.

On beating Silong, Lyrian pulled back his fist and looked around to any other kid who wanted to challenge him, since there were still a few stepping up moments prior.

However, as his gaze met theirs, they shot away to the floor or somewhere else, not wanting to have anything to do with him.

Before long, the kids began to leave and dissipate the area, understanding that all of this was only a big waste of time for them.

Lyrian on the other hand was happy that he not only got the 20-point core from the Hydro Serpent, but even the cores from Silong and any other kid who had fallen to the beast.

After retrieving all of the cores around the area, the three met up together once again to address their plans.

"So, what do you think we should do next?" Lyrian asked Alten, curious as to what he would say. Leon also listened quietly, standing beside the other two.

"Well, we could continue to search for the Golden-tiered creature on to tops of the mountains, but now that I have seen the Hydro Serpent boss on here, I doubt the examinees would place both it and the Golden-tiered creature up here," Alten said before pausing, looking to think.

"I would say that the only plausible place for the creature to be now is... within the giant and intricate cave system within these mountains." He said, seeming slightly concerned as he spoke.

There was a small moment of silence between the three before Lyrian spoke, "Let's not waste any time. What's the fastest way to get into the cave system from here?"

"Well that's the problem, there are actually several cave systems within the Flatstone Mountains meant for various different creatures. All of these cave systems reach the main one of course, but we wouldn't be able to reach the main one through different cave systems, as they are meant for beasts and not humans. We would either get devoured, or lost forever. Our only option is to find one of the four main entrances, which I have no clue where they are."

"Hmm... if that's the case, then how about we start walking first? Standing around won't help us find the entrance." Lyrian said on hearing Alten's answer.

'I guess there really isn't any other choice. But, we might as well begin looking now, or someone might get there before us.' Lyrian thought to himself as the three began trekking across the top of the mountain.

Alten on the other hand sighed in disappointment. 'My only job to this team is supposed to be giving information, but I barely have any clue what to do compared to other people. I didn't even know about the Hydro Serpent boss.' He thought to himself, saddened by his lack of ability.

The three began their walk, knowing that finding the cave wasn't some small matter, as the top of the flat stone mountains stretched several miles and held powerful creatures which they had to watch out for.

On top of that, the ostriches also refused to go any further than the edge of the mountain, so they had to walk at their normal speeds instead of traveling on ostrich back.

First, their plan was to make it to the middle of these mountains, since they were near the edge right now. There, they hoped to have an easier chance at locating the entrance, as they could span a more extensive area rather than if they were near the edge.

After a few hours of walking, the sun began to set for them, giving them time to rest for the day.

Thankfully, they had brought foldable tents and extra supplies of food and water with them, which they expected would last a few days.

As the sun set and stars began to take over the night sky, glimmering in the distance, Leon and Alten went to sleep in their tents, while Lyrian stayed outside, laying down beside the campfire that they made as he stared at the stars.

They looked mesmerizing, especially since he was so high up. It almost felt as though he could touch them if he were to jump high enough.

As he lay there, Lyrian thought about the illusion spell that the Hydro Serpent put him under, making him think about his life.

'What is my dream after all? What do I really hope to achieve? Sure... I have a purpose, which is to free myself from restrictions and suffering, but that is not a dream...' He continued to think to himself about his dream, but before he knew it, he dozed off right then and there.

The next morning, the gentle brushstrokes of dawn painted the sky in a delicate palette of pink and purple, rousing Lyrian from his slumber. To his surprise, he found himself awakening within the confines of his tent.

Inhaling the invigorating morning air, he savored its crispness, perfectly attuned to soothe the depths of one's soul. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, and upon opening them, he declared, "It's time to set out."

After freshening up by a nearby stream, the trio of boys readied themselves and embarked on their journey once more. As they walked, they nourished themselves with dried meat jerky, serving as their breakfast along the way.

They woke up early, so before noon they had already reached the center of the mountains as they quickly set up their tents near there.

The center was nothing special, just a jagged stone land with a few crooked edges, but mostly flat. However, they did not want to make their base camp right there, as they suspected others would also come to the middle of the mountains and that would possibly put them in danger of being attacked or robbed.

Even now, Lyrian was surprised how he had yet to see core hunters, considering that it was allowed in the rulebook and how many examinees there were. However, he still expected to see them much more often once they left the forbidden area and returned to the normal land.

Their base camp was located several hundred meters away behind multiple large rocks which hid their tents nicely. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴøvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

It wasn't a fancy military base or anything, but it served its purpose. They had built the base so they would have a place to return to after their long days of searching for entrances to the main cave system. They knew it would take several days to find what they were looking for.

Once they had set up everything, the three of them split up and began scouring the area for cave entrances in every direction. As expected, they didn't find anything significant on the first day, indicating that their search would indeed take a while.

They persisted in their search throughout the second and third days but still came up empty-handed. They stumbled upon a few smaller or larger cave openings, but Alten was certain that none of them were the entrances they were seeking.

Exhausted, the trio reconvened at their usual meeting spot near one another and started heading back to camp as the sun started to set. However, upon their return, they were frozen in shock by the sight that greeted them.

"What the hell?" Leon exclaimed, utterly astonished by what lay before them.

"Who could have done this!?" Alten exclaimed in dismay, his voice filled with frustration.

Lyrian too stood there, perplexed, her eyes fixed on their base camp, which was now completely trashed and destroyed. Torn tents lay scattered, some even burnt, with remnants of their campfire strewn across the ground.

After looking around for a little bit, Lyrian noticed that there was a message written with charcoal on one of the busted tents.

"Look at this." He said as he read it, calling the other's over.

"Come to the middle." The message read.