Chapter 22: Danger in the Dungeon

“Should we turn back?” Susanna asked. She studied the runes above them.

The question was probably on all of their minds at this point. Something strong enough to kill a fourth-year student from one of the most prestigious academies in the country was roaming around the dungeon with them. They had no way of knowing if it was still in Fire Kite’s tunnel, or if it had moved into theirs. Furthermore, the resurrection runes had been altered, and whether or not the same creature was responsible, none of them had signed up for a life or death situation.

Sen knelt and observed Lakin’s injuries. She hadn’t been the one that was thrown into the wall of the adjacent tunnel. Whoever that was had either survived and escaped, or been dragged off by the creature that did this. Lakin’s body had three wide scratches down the center of it. They were deep, and in a single slash her insides had been ruined. Sen knew it was useless, but he had to try.

“Total Restoration. Pure Resurrection Maxim.” Her body healed, but her soul didn’t return. To resurrect someone, you needed to capture their soul before it fully escaped their body. There was a small window of opportunity to collect it once it did so, but the chance of resurrection went down with each passing moment. Lakin had been dead too long; her soul had left this world. Still, at least there was enough magic energy within her body for it to heal. At least her loved ones wouldn’t have to see what she’d experienced.

“Seal Maxim.” He preserved her in this state. Predators and scavengers wouldn’t be able to get near her body now.

“Snake, we need to decide what to do,” Girch said matter-of-factly.

Snake chewed his lip. “This doesn’t change the fact that the Academy War is still happening. Fire Kite might’ve killed whatever did this. They might be moving toward the boss now. But there’s a chance they fled, and the creature is after them. So we have to decide how to approach this.”

Milim took a step toward him. “You aren’t suggesting we take out the boss when the other students could be in danger, are you?” she demanded.

Snake rolled his eyes. “I’m asking what all of you want to do. Save Fire Kite, or win the Academy War?”

Everyone looked down at Lakin’s body. It was clear where this was heading, so Sen spoke up.

“Actually, I think I preferred the Snake from round one,” Sen said, without looking up from Laken’s preserved body.

“What?” Snake said, his fingers turning green as scales formed on them.

Sen stood and smiled. “I say we do both. Prioritizing rescue, of course.”

That caught Snake off guard. A glint shimmered in his eyes. “That would piss Alari off.” He smiled. “Let’s do it.”

Now that their lives were truly in danger, Sen took the time to place careful wards over everyone. Even Snake. He’d wanted to keep the strength of his wards a secret, but this wasn’t the time for that anymore. He wouldn’t let a member of his team die because he wanted to keep a few tricks up his sleeve.

When he finished, Susanna created some defenses for their front-liners as well. She crafted golden armor for Girch; it fit him snugly and still allowed him plenty of room to move. She also created bands of light that went around Snake’s forearms, torso, and ankles. No one except her had any idea what they would do, but she promised Snake would like it.

Sen observed her carefully. That was something he believed he could replicate. He just needed to learn what exactly it did first. He had a good feeling about it.

[You always have good feelings about new magic. It’s why we’re a thousand years in the future slumming it with students and not living like kings!]

They found the body of one more Fire Kite student as they went. His head was missing, and Sen realized it was one of the ones whose name he never learned. That left whoever was thrown into their tunnel, plus Alari Kingcrew, leader of the Fire Kite team, Dasai River, and Marin Peace. Though one of those three could be the one that was thrown over, and the last nameless member of Fire Kite could be among the living instead. Now that their lives were in danger, he felt bad not knowing all of their names.

Snake stared up at the runes of resurrection. “Do you think you could fix the damage?” He turned back and looked over his shoulder.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It took Sen a moment to realize Snake was talking to him. Sen looked up. Did Snake think he could do anything, or had he given him some reason to believe he knew anything about runes like this? “Hm, no. I could try to learn, but it would take too long. If anyone isn’t willing to risk their life, going back down the tunnel we came is your best bet.”

He noticed Susanna looking up at the runes as they moved though.

No one took that offer. He partially suspected Joseia wanted to, and maybe Milim, but neither of them seemed the type to break off from the group in a dangerous situation. To be fair, it would be a long stretch of dungeon to walk back down alone.

They continued walking, picking up the pace when they saw more signs of fighting. Sen ran his hand over scorch marks on the wall.