Just as Kye was about to open the random box through his system, strange noises came from the end of the cave they were resting in.
Hearing that, Suha, Maria, and John all stood up on alert. They had searched earlier if the cave was safe, and they deemed it after exploring it a little. However, they couldn't go too deep inside since they will surely be lost as time continue. Not to add that light was slowly disappearing the further they go inside the cave.
So they decided to rest right at the entrance. But they didn't expect to hear such noises. And in such a place, it could only come from one entity: a monster.
"We should go," Suha said as he headed toward the exit of the cave. "We rested enough anyway, and I don't want to face a monster that we don't know anything about, not to add that it's not the best place to fight."
They had rested for about an hour. And it was enough time to replenish all their energy completely. And as Suha said, a cave wasn't the best place to fight. It was too narrow, and they could hinder each other easily. And even though a cave allowed them to know from where the monster will come, they won't be able to do anything if it was a monster too strong for them to handle. They didn't know its rank, and Suha didn't want to take any risk. Not to add that fighting in a cave could cause it to crumble on them, thus closing their only exit, or worse, bringing them under rocks.
Maria, John, and Kye all agreed with him and began to head out. But not even after having swum for a hundred meters could they already see a giant whale chasing them.
"How can such a big thing could fit in a fucking cave?" John asked as they all speed up. The whale was clearly not a low-level monster. Maybe a mid-level monster, or even worse, a high-level monster. And they were sure that they couldn't win against such a monster.
The whale kept chasing them while breaking Suha's barrier and passing through Maria's water waves that were supposed to slow it down. John couldn't do anything since the whale weight too much for his telekinesis ability to work properly.
So since they couldn't do anything, they all decided to stop using their ability to conserve their energy as much as possible.
"I have an idea," Kye said as they continue swimming.
"Fuck off, we don't want something coming from the like of you," Maria cut him short.
"Please tell us what you have in mind, Kye," Suha glared at Maria before continuing. "Every idea is welcomed, especially in such a dire situation."
Kye didn't say anything for a moment, but he had to repay Suha somehow for being the only person kind enough to not talk to him as if he was trash. "The whale isn't really fast. As much as us from my observations, meaning that its power either lye in its defense or ability. But since he didn't use anything until now, I'm leaning toward a great defense," Kye began to explain what he observed from the moment they began to be chased by the giant fish. It was way bigger than a normal whale, making it very scary. "So we can either choose to run away while John increases our swimming speed with his telekinesis ability, or fight the monster by exploiting its weak spots."
All the group didn't say anything for a while because they were all thinking about what Kye had just said. His observations were correct and easily findable if not for their clouded mind. So even Maria and John who wanted to make his life miserable couldn't help but curse him for his calmness. As for Suha, since he was the leader, it was upon him to decide whether they will fight the monster or not.
On the one hand, killing such a great monster will surely assure them first place since the orb that the whale will leave after it dies will bring them a lot of points. But on the other hand, he couldn't put his teammates' lives at stake because he wanted to be first in the exam.
"John, do you think you can make us fast enough so that we can escape?" Suha asked seriously, not wanting to waste more time.
"It is possible, but not for long," He answered truthfully. "It's already hard to control a person, let alone four."
"Then we only have one option left," Suha said with a smile and determine look. "Kye, where are the weak spots you mentioned earlier?" They continue swimming since one moment was enough for the whale to catch up with them
"First, the eyes. Only by blocking its vision will we be able to fight easily," Kye said while thinking. "Then, any type of holes. Be it butt holes or things that don't have any protection. Aim for these spots, but be careful because you will immediately attract the aggro when you do that. And keep in mind that the whale can surely use some type of abilities, so don't stay idle for too long or you will surely die on the spot. Don't forget that even though it surely focuses on defense, its physical strength must be equal to it. So try to attack from a safe distance."
Suha couldn't help but smile hearing Kye's plan. Even though this situation was surely scary as hell for him, he didn't look like he had lost his cool. On the contrary, it looks like he was still cold-headed, even in such a dangerous situation where even those who were high level were scared of seeing such a big monster.
'Look at you Suha,' He thought, looking down on himself. 'You lost your cool the moment a big threat came in front of you, whereas a level 1 had kept its mind clear all along. How do you want to be at the top with such an attitude?'
Once his mind was clear again, Suha began to give orders based on Kye's observation. "John, you will stay behind and support us however you can. Your ability isn't suited for this fight. I and Maria will attack from a closer distance to distract the monster, while Kye will be at close range to attack the weak spot."
"What?" Kye was taken aback the moment he heard that he too had to do something.
"You're faster than us underwater but keep it secret to not arise suspicion. And you're the only one who has a sharp weapon."
'Why do people keep finding my secrets so easily?' Kye cursed in his mind before saying. "Even so, my weapon will surely brake the moment I try to attack, even if I aim for one of its weak points."
"Don't worry about that. I will protect your weapon so that you can attack safely. I and Maria will also do our best to protect you while John increases your speed."
'I wanted to fight to level up, but not in such conditions,' Suha took his silence for a 'yes' and ordered everyone to take their positions.
Maria and John were obviously glad that Suha made such a plan. They indeed wanted to kill the whale, but if they could kill Kye at the same time, they wouldn't say no. Not to add that it was only Kye who will risk their lives and not them.
Though, what Suha said next made them gulp down bitterly. "If I see either of you making a half-ass job in supporting him, I won't hesitate to tell the military that you tried to kill him by not helping him,"
"And how will you prove that?"
"By recreating the scene with my ability," Suha's ability allowed him to make a hard-like construct, so it wasn't hard for him to recreate such a fight and show it to the military.
Kye had already gone a few moments ago toward the whale, so he couldn't see his teammate's reactions. Even if he could see, he wouldn't be able to change the fact that if it wasn't now, they would try to kill him later.