"RUN"
Ignis's sudden shout was filled with intense urgency, and everyone, including Ethyn, looked towards Ignis, who was shouting. Everyone looked confused. Why was he so tense?
Understanding that Ignis never told her anything useless, Ethyn shouted to the group, "Ignis would never say anything useless; let's run if he says so."
The group was even more dumbfounded. Kate asked the question that was on the whole group's mind: "Why...?"
It was at that moment, before even Kate could complete her question, that a sudden feeling dawned on her, and she too shouted, "Let's run as he says; the guardian is not dead, and I have a feeling that it hasn't used its full power yet."
Ignis, who was just about to run forward when he heard this, was impressed by the deduction of the situation by the sexy lady and shouted again, "HURRY! LETS GO!"
The whole group, including Ignis and Ethyn in front, started to run towards the north of the area; the battle had destroyed at least 200 metres of it.
Still, it would not take less than twenty seconds to leave this area, so they ran as fast as they could.
Their stamina level was low due to this intense fight, but running as fast as they could was the only thing they could do right now. Even if that speed was not their best on these levels.
Ignis, who was leading the group, was experiencing a range of emotions. Anger, annoyance, irritation, and the biggest one, confusion, but there was no fear in those emotions.
'Why the fuck a creature of that level will appear now...'
'The fuck...'
Ever since his reincarnation, things had been going well for him. He was the first to reach level 2 and the first player to breakthrough , hunting many monsters and earning many system points, and was accumulating those points to purchase a gold-ranked skill. It was going very smoothly.
And in fact, the best thing that happened was that he met his friend Ethyn, which he was highly grateful for, as meeting her this early would mean that he could make her even stronger than in his previous life and he could even make up for his mistakes.
'But now, suddenly, the fuck... how can Unique Monster show this early..?'
'I-I.. I didn't sign up for this script while I was reincarnating.'
The group was running and attempting to flee the area as quickly as possible, though not everyone recognised the gravity of the situation as Ignis did.
However, they knew they had to get out of there as fast as possible. Every second counted in this life-or-death situation. They pushed themselves to the limit, ignoring the pain and exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm them.
They had fought hard and bravely, but now they had to run harder and faster. They could not afford to slow down or look back. They had to trust their instincts and their teammates. They had to leave this area as soon as possible.
It was at this moment.
Rustle!
Bustle!
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The ground trembled beneath their feet, and a low rumble began to build, growing louder and more intense with each passing moment. The trees in the surrounding forest began to sway and creak, their branches rustling and shaking with a menacing intensity.
The earth itself seemed to groan in protest, as though some ancient force were awakening from its slumber deep beneath the surface.
The air was thick with a foreboding sense of dread, and the group could feel their hearts pounding in their chests as they braced themselves for what was to come. It was as though the very earth itself were rising up to swallow them whole—a fearsome and unstoppable force that threatened to engulf them in its terrible, crushing embrace.
It was at that moment that they heard a voice.
"It doesn't matter; just focus on running!" The whole group could hear the thunderous voice of the man running in front of them in between this earth shake. They didn't know what was causing the ground to tremble, but they knew they had to get out of there fast. They felt a surge of adrenaline and fear.
"We're not falling here; everyone has it!" The group of individuals who had just had a very tough and intense battle with the guardian and who didn't even properly know the name of the person running in front of them could again hear his voice.
The message was loud and clear: There was no option to give up, no matter how violently the earth shook beneath their feet. They knew that their only chance of survival was to keep moving forward and face whatever dangers lay ahead with unwavering determination.
Despite the ground quaking beneath them and the overwhelming sense of foreboding that hung in the air, they refused to be deterred. Giving up was not an option, not when their very lives were on the line. They took a deep breath and pushed on, their hearts beating like drums in their chests.
"YES!!!" They could again hear a voice, and this time it was from the group of individuals, and they were familiar with this sound; it was none other than their leader Kate.
Ethyn, who had been listening intently, felt a growing sense of unease creeping up on her. The very atmosphere seemed thick with a palpable sense of danger, as though something sinister were lurking just beyond the shadows.
Her skin prickled with goosebumps, and she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. It was as if the very air itself was urging her to keep moving, to not look back, and to press forward into the unknown.
This feeling was very strong.
Ethyn had a tense expression on her face, with widened eyes and a furrowed brow, indicating her growing sense of unease and apprehension. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, as if it were trying to escape, and her palms were sweaty with nervousness.
'NO! JUST RUN' she shouted in her mind, reminding herself.
Ignis saw her expression from the corner of his eyes.
'Shit, it's even worse than I imagined if she has that kind of face...'
'Surroundings are making her feel the situation...'
'No, no, no, just run and exit this place.'
'Dammit, what a fucking mess we got ourselves into!'
Ignis even started cursing in his mind after seeing that kind of expression on Ethyn's face, as he realised that the mess they had gotten into was not just limited to the guardian converting into a unique monster.
He knew that she could feel the atmosphere better than anyone because of the Inquisitor talent, even though its effect showed that it was for the dead. But the fact was that many things were dead in the atmosphere, and that would always warn her of her situation and make her extremely sensitive to it.
As the surroundings were getting more chaotic, the group was just metres away from leaving the battle-damaged area. Though they had to run for a short but crisp time to escape this situation, leaving the battle-damaged area was the first goal, followed by entering the forest.
"Ahh! hhhuh hhuuh! "
"I can't..."
"I can't run anymore..." Soon, everyone heard a panting sound and a very tired voice.
The group suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
Rex shouted in the noisy situation, "Zen, we can't giv..."
But before even Rex could complete his sentence, he stopped.
As it was the first time the group turned around as they started running, what was before their eyes was unimaginable.
Before their eyes lay a partially opened rocky dome, where the guardian had once stood. The rocks and the mana in the surrounding area were being inexorably drawn towards the dome, as if some unseen force were pulling them in.
It was an eerie and unsettling sight, and the group could feel a palpable sense of danger emanating from the structure. They could hear a faint humming sound emanating from within, as though some powerful energy source lay dormant inside. It was a sight that left them both fascinated and fearful, as they braced themselves for whatever lay ahead.
Hannah's cheerful voice was replaced with a trembling tone as she spoke, pointing towards the partially opened rocky dome with shaking hands.
"W-what is that thing, and what is making that sound?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The humming sound emanating from the structure had grown louder as seconds passed, sending shivers down her spine.
The sight of the dome and the energy swirling around it filled her with a sense of dread and unease, and she could feel her heart racing in her chest. It was a feeling she had never experienced before, and one that she hoped would soon pass.
Hannah's question was met with silence, and as she looked around, she could see that everyone else was in the same state of fear and confusion as her. Only the scarlet-haired man seemed to be less affected by the sight of the dome, his expression unreadable as he surveyed their surroundings.
While the others were trembling and wide-eyed, he appeared calm and collected, as though he had seen something like this before. It was a strange contrast to the rest of the group.
Noticing her gaze, the scarlet-haired man looked towards her and spoke not to her but to the whole group, telling them their reality.
"That's not the only thing we should be worried about." With a bitter smile on his face, Ignis said and continued.
"It looks like we are surrounded on all sides by monsters."
Ignis's words finally shook Ethyn and the rest of the group out of their trance-like state. They tore their eyes away from the ominous dome and looked around. As they did, they realised that the surroundings were growing darker, an unnatural shadow swallowing up the remaining light. In that darkness, they could see the glimmering reflections of countless pairs of eyes staring back at them.
The reality of their predicament hit the group like a tonne of bricks.
Ethyn's voice cut through the tense silence that had settled over the group. "Looks like that scream was not just from pain, eh?" she said, a note of bitterness creeping into her voice.
"It looks like the reason the guardian didn't fight back was because it was already planning all this. What a clever son of a bitch!" The group listened in horror as Ethyn's words sank in. They had been played from the start, and the realisation was bitter to swallow.
"It had us from the start!" Ethyn continued, her annoyance palpable. As an information geek, she somewhat understood the situation, and the feeling she was currently experiencing from the atmosphere was something she would never want to feel again.
Kate had been listening to the conversation with growing dread, her mind racing with the gravity of their situation. She felt a heavy weight of responsibility on her shoulders for bringing her group into this deadly predicament. If she had the power to rewind time, she would have done it already.
Taking a deep breath, Kate forced herself to focus on the present. She couldn't afford to lose hope or give up now. 'This is not the time for thinking like this,' she thought to herself.
'We'll have to make it out alive and for that..,' She steeled herself for what lay ahead, determined to do everything in her power to protect her group and make it out of this alive. For this, she needed the help of the two powerful individuals who were not from her group.
She looked towards the scarlet-haired man, the man who helped her group and was looking quite collected to others, and spoke, "I'm Kate, and that is...", She introduced her groupmates to Ignis and Ethyn.
She then continued, "We're surrounded on all sides by I don't know how many monsters..."
"But if we want to escape and not fight that thing in the dome, then we should fight our way towards the north, where we are currently the closest to."
She was looking towards the scarlet-haired man as she completed her analysis.
Ignis, who heard her analytical words, was impressed by her logical thinking in this kind of situation. 'I guess these are the born leader type guys, or just life has taught many things.'
'Though one thing is for sure: this group was not there in his previous life; otherwise, given how well they perform, they would have long been famous.'
"I'm Ignis, and she's Ethyn." He spoke and continued,