[Round 2 has begun.]
The moles charged at the group of humans, fully intending to fill their stomachs this time.
Nox and Lei struck out simultaneously, aiming for the biggest mole out of the bunch.
The mole let out a startling, human-like screech as it was flayed by lightning and slashed by a ruthless sword.
Despite the direct hit, the attacks didn't seem to do much harm to it.
[Wuwu, Number 4, come help me out!]
While the other moles were preoccupied with chasing the others down, Number 4 had been frozen off to the side, unable to pinpoint its target thanks to Nox and Lei teaming up together.
It ran over now, hammer raised in expectation. The flash of red offrom the hammer's head could be viewed from Nox's peripheral vision, missing his head by a few scant centimeters.
Number 4 huffed in annoyance, its pout expanding the chubby face as narrow bean-sized eyes glared at the two humans in distaste.
[Shit. Number 1, why did you go for the slippery ones!?]
[They came for me first!]
Number 1 let out a wail as a bloody gash appeared on its large nose, courtesy of Kuna sneaking in under Nox's next swing.
The two humans retreated back to a safe distance as soon as the attack landed.
Unlike Number 2, who's hammer had slammed into the cavern floor with a shattering impact, Number 1's hammer merely bounced off the pillar with a pitiful squeal as Lei flew backwards to avoid being hit.
Nox's mouth twitched as he heard the mole's complaint. "It's because you're the fattest." Because he hadn't paid much attention to the other moles in the first round, he could only aim for the biggest target this time. And wasn't the plumpest prey the most enticing?
Lei burst into laughter as a mass of purple lightning gathered between her fingers. "Mr. Mole, what Uncle says is right." Her hand extended far as strikes of lightning fell onto the two moles, sparks dancing off of her fingertips.
From behind, a deep voice rang out in the cavern. "Pull your hand back!" It was Victor. The tightness in the voice could be heard clearly, but the recipient failed to register the warning in time.
Number 4 spotted a break in Lei's lighting and dashed up to her, striking while the iron was hot just as the purple haired teenager flung out her next attack.
"Ah-!" With a yelp, Lei retracted her fingers. Her body instinctively stiffened as something brushed against her knuckles.
"Lei!" Nox pushed her back and countered Number 4's hammer with his sword, the two weapons pushing against each other.
A sighing squeak escaped from the hammer as one side got pressed flat against Nox's blade.
Wordlessly, Nox continued to bear the brunt of the pressure. Despite the squeaky hammer's playful appearance, it was rather sturdy with the mole's strength to back it up. Thankfully he had spared some points for his strength before.
He glanced back at Lei; the teenager had clearly been shaken up. He glanced at Kuna, who was prepared to jump in to assist him.
Understanding his master's message, Kuna obediently hopped onto Lei's shoulder as a small bodyguard.
"Lei, do you feel any different?" Nox asked, his words strained as his sword was locked in position with Number 4's hammer. There was no time to counsel her; he could only hope that her mental state wasn't too shaken up.
Lei flexed her fingers then turned the back of her hand towards him, showing a jagged black mark resembling an open eye. The mark spanned across four of her fingers.
Nox clicked his tongue, "Don't use your ability. We don't know what you've been hit with."
She nodded obediently.
Seeing the gruesome mark, the unease in Nox's gut rose. Perhaps it was due to the jagged black lines truly resembling a 'cursed mark.'
Number 4 stood somewhat taller than Nox so it was able to leer down at him.
[Pah, human, you think such a measly piece of steel will help you?]
Number 1 stood foolishly on the side, tucking its hammer into the crook of its arm to give a round of applause. [That's Number 4 for you! Domineering! All-powerful!]
Hearing Number 1 heap praises on Number 4, Number 2 raised its voice as it chased Victor around the cavern.
Victor's nimble movements were a constant source of frustration for the mole.
Number 2 lifted the hammer into the air, shaking it violently in Number 1's direction.
[I didn't see you praise me for crushing half of that human yesterday!]
Everyone could hear the note of dissatisfaction underlining the mole's words, but Number 1 remained clueless to its sibling asking for praise.
[But he's clearly alive. Did you even mark him properly?]
[Of course I did!] Number 2 sneered, bringing down the hammer with more force than necessary in its next swing. [Not my fault that stingy human doesn't even wield a weapon!]
Victor dodged the blow by darting around a rock pillar, coincidentally meeting up with So Jiwoo.
The two gave each other a brief nod, then swapped moles.
[Huh?]
Number 2 faltered in confusion as it came face to face with a different human.
[Aren't you-]
With a gentle smile, the mole's hammer appeared in So Jiwoo's hand. "I'll be taking this now." He waved the hammer in Number 2's direction.
Nox knew, instinctively, that So Jiwoo must have had something up his sleeve to perform such a provoking move.
Although the main goal of this trial was dodging the mole's attacks, it was frustrating to stay passive for all nine rounds. No one would be willing to give up the opportunity to retaliate against the moles.
Number 2's hammer was suddenly stolen away, leaving it staring at its empty paws.
It swiftly came to its senses and whirled towards So Jiwoo.
[My hammer! Give it back!]
So Jiwoo replied simply, "No." Pale fingers twisted the hammer in his hands idly. "It's rather light." The hammer was more than half of So Jiwoo's height, but the casual movement gave others the impression that it was his natural weapon.
While the game of cat and mouse took a sudden turn between the two, Victor quickly led the second mole away.
When Number 4 looked over in puzzlement, Nox pushed against the hammer with a burst of strength. The sudden movement successfully broke their static state, sending Number 4 staggering back.
Number 1 cried out in alarm. [Number 4!]
[Shut up, fatty.]
[...]
[Mother, Number 4 is bullying me, wuwuwu....]
[All you can do is cry and call for Mother.] Number Four rolled its eyes in annoyance, making a shooing motion. [I can kill these two by myself. You go help Number 2 get that hammer back.]
Number 1 squinted at its sibling with vigilance. [You're not going to eat both of them if I leave, are you?]
[I won't! Just go!]
Taking Number 4's word for it, Number 1 happily left to assist Number 2.
Nox let out a breath as Number 4 turned back towards them, warning, "Lei, stay behind me."
It would be best if she didn't deal with the moles for now. And if their guess about curse marks was right, then the curse effect would only begin in the next round.
Although her face was pale, Lei nodded in determination. "Okay." In any case, she could still run away on her own two feet so she wouldn't be a burden for the others. The mark on her hand was rather ugly, though.
She glared at it sullenly. 'If I had only been one second faster.'
But thinking about 'ifs' wouldn't help them now.
"Chii~" Kuna patted her face in comfort.
She gave the little red fox a tight-lipped smile.
On the other side of the cavern.
"No! Don't come near me!" Li Daiyu tripped over an uneven part of the cavern floor, twisting her ankle in the process. Fear and adrenaline made her ignore the pain as she scrambled backwards.
The one chasing her was Number 5, the mole that had targeted Nox the day before.
[Hohoho, this human sort of stinks,]
"Aaaik!" She hurriedly threw up both arms to block her face from being hit.
[And noisy.] Number 5 let out a suffering sigh. [Oh well. Maybe she'll taste better than she smells.]
The rest of her screams died in Li Daiyu's throat as she was hit by the hammer.
Sqiiio.
The hammer gently let out air as it tapped the upper portion of her arm.
Number 5 held some pity in its eyes as it observed her trembling appearance. [It's okay, I'm not as brutal as Number 2.]
Like a silent wind, Ari appeared next to Li Daiyu and dragged her to the side before the hammer could hit her again. With an unseen strength, the young girl whisked the woman a safe distance away.
[....?]
Number 5 blinked in confusion at the empty space in front of it.
"Stay here." Ari patted Li Daiyu's arm, over the sleeve of her fuzzy jacket that hid the curse mark from sight.
Li Daiyu stuttered, but didn't manage to reply.
With steady motions, Ari lifted a hand and peeled away a section of the wall, revealing the missing Wen hiding behind it.
At the start of this round, Wen had been hidden by Ari since his leg would've made him a burden for the rest of them. Seeing the man's unstable attitude, Ari decided that it was better to have him stay out of the commotion.
But she wasn't good at fighting, only hiding. He was really smelly.
Therefore she could only reluctantly share her hiding space with him.
As a result of Ari's decision, two moles out of the seven had been wandering in the secluded corner of the cavern, unable to sniff out their prey.
Number 7 was frustrated, to say the least. So when it spotted the small girl it couldn't catch yesterday, its eyes immediately lit up with a fierce light.
[I won't let you escape this time!]
Like a starving tiger leaping towards its prey, Number 7 charged towards the smallest human of the group. It didn't care that it would be eating less, only focusing on the fact that the human couldn't be allowed to slip away a second time.
Ari slipped away, ignoring Li Daiyu's startled cries.
For some reason, Wen staggered after her, running with a limp. He had a fierce expression on his face, but his eyes were faintly unclear as he roared, "You dare try to escape from me, Ava? See if I don't beat you to death! Your mother can't do anything to stop me anymore!"
The expressions on everyone's faces quickly morphed from surprise to disgust.
Even the other moles paused instinctively as they heard the word 'mother.'
Ari ignored Wen's statement, dashing across the cavern towards Nox and So Jiwoo.
"Watch out!"
Lei's warning shout fell just as the giant hammer smashed down.
Number 7 held the largest hammer out of the entire group.
Shhrkeik!
The long, exhaling squeak was echoed by the sound of a warm body being crushed.
Blood splattered across the floor in a violent motion, flecks of the warm liquid splattering onto anyone nearby.
Unluckily enough, that included Nox.
He frowned as the splatters of blood slid down his hand, dripping onto the ground. He quickly stepped back from the point of impact.
He pulled Lei back by her hoodie. "Don't stand there. You'll get dirty."
"But Uncle-"
"Ari is over there." He inclined his head in So Jiwoo's direction.
Wide, brown eyes peeked out from behind So Jiwoo. They blinked at Nox and Lei a few times before Ari brought up a hand to cover her face, eyes squinting as she yawned.
Which meant to say, the person who had been crushed was Wen.
Nox didn't really care about the man's death. He hadn't been useful either way. He told Lei, "Focus on your own survival first."
Lei, "..."
Lei recalled when her brother told her the same words, their words overlapping each other in the past and the present. Nox and Claude were alike in odd ways. Secretly, Lei wondered if it was simply an older brother quirk.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar boom that shook the entire cavern.
[Dinnertime! Number 1, where did you go? Number 4, you better not have run off again!]
[Mother is such a pain.] Number 4 grumbled, unsatisfied. The humans were too troublesome- the mole inexplicably felt like it was losing more weight than it would gain by eating one of the humans.
[Hurry, hurry.] Number 1 rushed them out. [Mother doesn't like to be kept waiting.]
Number 2 sniffed, sounding close to tears as it looked back at its hammer still in So Jiwoo's hands. [I will get my hammer back tomorrow!]
So Jiwoo waved goodbye to the mole. Ari mimicked his movements, causing Number 2 to snort angrily as it disappeared past the invisible barrier set by the trial.
The other moles fled as another resounding clang sounded from above.
Miraculously, Lei's line of thought hadn't been interrupted by the moles' abrupt departure. "I was going to take his items," she told Nox, pointing to Wen's corpse.
Nox released his grip on her hoodie as soon as the moles disappeared, not surprised given the similar events that occurred in the first round. He patted her shoulder. "You go do that then. Have Kuna accompany you."
His phantom familiar was practically salivating as he watched the warm blood spill onto the cavern floor.
So Jiwoo didn't stop Lei as she walked over to see what Wen had dropped. He dipped his head, talking in a low, murmuring voice to Ari.
Nox didn't bother to eavesdrop on their conversation. He tilted his head thoughtfully as he watched Lei rummage around.
After seeing the number of items So Jiwoo casually pulled out, Nox felt that acquiring items should be considered as a second priority to leveling up abilities and reinforcing physiques.
Compared to a big group like Arcadia, they really were lacking in that regard. Unless, of course, Claude had somehow found a hidden treasure room somewhere. Nox snorted at his own wandering thoughts.
Lei stuck her tongue out at Nox as she finished gathering the items. "You would make a decent villain, Uncle."
Nox laughed at her remark, "I certainly don't think I'm suited to be a hero."
Victor walked over to So Jiwoo, lowering his head to whisper something.
So Jiwoo nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Nox. "Shall we regroup now?"
Nox agreed, motioning for Lei to join them.
So Jiwoo handed the stolen hammer to Victor and walked over to Li Daiyu, exchanging a quick conversation before he supported her back to the rest of the group.
Lei and Nox looked at each other in exasperation when they spotted Li Daiyu trying to coax So Jiwoo into a conversation, her hands clinging onto his sweater persistently. Despite So Jiwoo's polite, distanced expression, Li Daiyu didn't seem deterred.
"Grandma, can you use that energy to run away from the moles next time?"
Li Daiyu paused, giving Lei a puzzled look. "Who are you calling a grandma?"
Lei expressionlessly pointed to Li Daiyu.
Li Daiyu's mouth fell open unattractively, clinging tighter to So Jiwoo's arm in protest. "I am not-"
"You're probably not," Lei agreed calmly. "But Uncle looks younger than you so I needed to address you with a generation gap."
"Pfft."
Victor recovered his neutral expression when the rest of the group turned in his direction.
Nox let out a cough to disguise his laughter, but mirth could be seen in his eyes. It seemed like Lei's mental state was still in top condition.
So Jiwoo let out a light laugh. "Let's get down to business first." He politely removed Li Daiyu's hands from his arm.
Li Daiyu sat down with a huff, twisting a dangling earring between her fingers. Her other hand rubbed her ankle, trying to alleviate the pain.
"Since Wen has died, we're down to six people. I have reason to believe that the next round will be significantly harder."
Nox nodded along in agreement. It was what they talked about before.
"Now, what I need to ask is this. Why did Wen die, when he only had two curse marks?"
The atmosphere took a plunge at So Jiwoo's serious question.
"Why... isn't it because that mole's hammer hit really hard?" Lei had already given up on trying to keep track of which mole was which. Besides Number 1, who was the biggest in size, the rest were more or less the same to her.
Nox frowned. It was true that the task stated that three curse marks would result in their life, but it never said that they wouldn't die from other causes.
... Then wasn't this a serious problem?
So Jiwoo came to the same conclusion a second later, letting out a long sigh. "This trial is more troublesome than it seems," he laughed bitterly.
Ari chimed in quietly, "Two people marked."
Lei spread out her fingers, observing the black symbol running across her fingers. She tried to use a joke to lift the atmosphere. "Won't Brother be mad that I got a tattoo before I turned eighteen?"
Nox smirked, "He'll probably kick your ass."
Lei froze at Nox's quick response, responding helplessly, "Don't jinx it!"
"I'm just stating the facts," Nox responded heartlessly.
So Jiwoo turned to Li Daiyu. "Can we check on your curse mark?"
Li Daiyu's enthusiasm waned slightly at his question. She fidgeted with the corner of her jacket, touching her right arm before giving a hesitant nod. "... Alright." Slowly, she let her jacket slip down, revealing a black smudge right above her elbow. But above that-
A harsh hand grabbed her arm, causing Li Daiyu to cry out in alarm.
Nox ignored the black curse mark, eyes staring intently at the other one right above it painted in a vivid red. He hadn't meant to grab her so harshly, but he couldn't control his reaction.
He took out his phone, opening the photo gallery to confirm it. His face darkened a moment later. With two fingers, he zoomed in on the image and turned it around to show Li Daiyu.
"Why do you have this?"
Her breath stuttered to a halt.
On Nox's phone was a picture of the core he had taken after they destroyed the Seed of Catastrophe. Interwoven in the strange, foreign text, was the same symbol that rested on Li Daiyu's arm.
The mark of a Serpent.