The other chamber.
Conor, a Tier-1 Ground specialist Almagi, scratched his chin as he watched the other members draw their mana circles.
He was the voted leader of the second group. Maybe due to his imposing aura and large physique, the members thought he was a reliable figure just like Sir Finn.
If not for his pale complexion and dark eye circles, no one would think of him as an Almagi.
'Will this really work?' Conor highly doubted the strategy.
The concept of their chamber was 'The lone island'
To set up their 'Trap', Almagi from different specializations have to work to create an artificial island inside the chamber.
Conor sighed.
'There's no point in thinking about it. It's too late to back out now.'
Conor trudged toward the back of the chamber.
He took out his brush and loaded it with a vial of blood ink.
Red paint colored the brush tip and Conor began to draw a large mana circle on the ground, carefully putting in the symbols.
After finishing his circle, Conor looked over his shoulder to see if the other ground specialists were done.
Looking around the cavern, the Almagi gave him a thumbs up.
"Melee fighters except for the runner, to the center!" Conor roared.
The members obediently moved, leaving one member outside who stood near the tunnel entrance.
After confirming that everyone was at their places, Conor shouted, "ERODE!"
Several others bellowed their incantations and the outer section of the chamber flashed like a ring light.
When the blinding light subsided, the ground over which the spells were drawn had disintegrated into a ten-foot-deep trench.
"NEXT! WATER SPECIALISTS!"
Several Almagi came forward and faced the circumference of the inner circle.
They drew shining blue mana circles and chanted, "WATER BOA**!"
The blue circles ejected a jet of water shaped like a giant anaconda with its fangs bared.
However, since there was no one to attack, the Water boas just fell into the ditch and like a water-filled balloon pricked with a needle, the boas burst into a stream.
The water specialists continued to conjure Water Boas until they filled a third of the trench with water.
Conor walked up to the runner.
"Are you ready?"
The runner, a gangly teenager, looked at Conor with an expression of fear.
Conor understood the boy's heart. After all, he will be left isolated once he planted the pheromone bombs.
Conor gave the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "It's okay. You're going to be fine. All you need to do is to run back here as fast as you can."
The runner gravely nodded, and he turned to the tunnel entrance.
As soon as the runner was out, Conor drew another mana circle on the last bridge connecting the lone island and the tunnel.
"Erode."
And with that, the bridge crumbled into dust and water from its sides gushed to replace it.
Waves of water splashed against the tunnel walls, leaving the group standing in a narrow circle of land—The Fort, where they will try to defend against the monsters.
Twenty minutes later, the ground rumbled.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!! S-SAVE MEEE!!!" the runner came back, screaming.
Behind him were hordes of ants whose compound eyes glowed maniacally in the tunnel's darkness.
Conor was stunned!
The numerous red eyes seemed to laugh at their futile efforts.
SPLASH!
The runner dived into the pool and swam desperately into the island.
"H-help!" he croaked.
Conor's eyes were glued to the monsters'
They were so near…
Before the runner could swim inland, the wave of monsters dropped into the ditch.
"Sir Conor!"
Worried looks were directed to the leader. They were asking him if they should cast their spells or wait for the runner.
But an ant suddenly bit the runner's ankle and pulled him underwater!
"Hel..p…blubb blub blub…"
Conor watched as the runner drowned.
His conscience screamed at him to save the runner, but a small part of his mind wondered if it was wiser to sacrifice the man and proceed with the attack.
Suddenly, a one-armed melee fighter to Conor's left threw aside her sword and took off her armor.
The fighter glared at Conor before diving into the water.
"Sir!" the other members called him out with urgency.
"L-let's wait for them to come up." Conor stuttered.
The wave of ant monsters continued to spill into the trench like a faucet of black water.
The water level rose.
It was only a matter of time before it reached the island and if it did, their attack would be rendered unusable.
They have no more time to waste!
Pu-hah!
A few seconds later, the fighter resurfaced with the runner. She waded to the island in desperation and the moment they were safe, Conor shouted, "NOW!"
"SPARK!"
The yellow mana circles released a spark of electric current into the water.
The electricity danced on top of the pool. Then, the ants who tried to reach the people writhed in pain!
The current zapped the monsters underwater with such ferocity that a few moments later, the water surface was littered with floating dead ants.
Those who managed to climb to the land were dealt with by the melee fighters.
"DIE!! F*CKERS!" enraged cries erupted from the men as they mercilessly slaughtered the surviving ants.
The clear water soon turned dark green like an algae*-filled lake.
In a matter of minutes, the monsters were reduced into a pool of blood.
With that, the second group has successfully defended against their first monster wave.
But the fighter who dived to save the runner suddenly stood up and approached Conor.
The woman grabbed Conor by the collar, her gaze murderous.
"The fuck!? Why did you just stand there and watch, huh?!" the woman spat on Conor's face, "Do you want us to die, you bastard!?
--Chapter end--
**Water Boa is also known as green anaconda. They are the largest and heaviest known snake species and like other boas, they attack by constricting prey.
* An Abundance of Algae is the reason why lakes (or other bodies of water) turn green.